Chapter 126: Finding the Lost

“Musica.”
Vinesha trembled as she called the name.

“Master, Grantoni.”
She spoke the next name in succession as she forced herself to stand.
The evil spirit shattered the fragments of the sky, sending her outside.

Vinesha crawled on the ground, coughing violently.
The fragments of all her memories flooded in, and tears continued to stream down her face.
She was so ashamed of herself that she could hardly bear it.

“It’s my fault. It’s all because of me.”

She looked down at the pendant in her hand.
Musica had been captured and killed by the Abomination.
Marisa sacrificed her life to save Vinesha.
Grantoni had been swept up in his own rampage, losing his face and everything else.

Yet, despite all that, Vinesha had wandered aimlessly, having lost her memories.

“Grantoni.”
She whispered the name bitterly.
The sibling who had the greatest reason to resent her.

At this very moment, her brother had entered the Abomination’s spirit world to retrieve Musica.
Vinesha clasped her hands together.

No.
She couldn’t lose Grantoni as well.
Not after Musica and her master.

Grantoni would not be able to find Musica.
No matter how talented he was, facing the Abomination was beyond his strength.

‘If it were me.’

Vinesha was the one who had offered Musica to the Abomination.
If anyone could find traces of Musica, it would be her.
The Abomination knew this too, which was why it destroyed her memories.

But it couldn’t erase the memories etched into her soul.

With blood dripping from her palm, Vinesha began to draw a magic circle.
She needed to create a coordinate to summon Musica here.

Just in time, the Abomination had revealed its form in the mirrored world.
This was the only opportunity to call Musica.

If she could find Musica, Grantoni would return as well.

‘I’ll accept whatever blame comes my way.’

With tears blurring her vision, Vinesha bit down on her lip.

‘Musica, please, I beg you.’

Years had already passed.
There was no guarantee that Musica’s mind remained intact.

But at this moment, Vinesha wished for it desperately.
She prayed with all her heart that Musica’s consciousness had not been completely devoured by the Abomination.

Finally, she completed the magic circle.
Vinesha poured all of her remaining mana into it.

“Musica.”
Around Vinesha, a crimson magic infused with both soulcraft and blood magic began to unfold.

“I have to save Grantoni.”

The tear-streaked magic circle glowed brightly, erupting into the air.

Boom—

In an instant, the light of the magic circle flickered and died.
It collapsed, fading into nothingness.

Vinesha stared blankly at the empty sky, devastated.
No response came.

She knew better than anyone what that meant.

“Ah.”

Musica’s consciousness had indeed been devoured by the Abomination.
She was gone.

Vinesha could not bring herself to believe it.

“No.”

Once again, she drew a magic circle and activated it.

“No. Please, no.”

She kept drawing and redrawing magic circles.
But every time, the circles fizzled out.

Splurt—

Blood gushed from her nose and mouth.
The toll of using so much magic had finally caught up with her.

Yet she used that very blood to trace the circles with even greater precision.
If she couldn’t find Musica, she wouldn’t be able to save Grantoni either.

“Cha, Lari.”

With trembling hands, she continued to draw.

“Then just take me instead. Kill me.”

Finally, after forcing her exhausted body to complete yet another magic circle, she squeezed out the last remnants of her magic to activate it.

“Let them go.”

The moment she invoked the spell, coughing up blood —

Boom—

Once again, the magic circle extinguished.

Vinesha stared blankly at the ground.
Countless failed magic circles, drawn in blood, were scattered across the shattered fragments of the sky.
But Musica did not respond to even one of them.

It was all her fault.

Tears of blood trickled from Vinesha’s eyes.

“Please.”

She pleaded toward the broken sky.

“Please, it’s all my fault. They did nothing wrong.”

Vinesha wept.
Like a child, she sobbed and begged the heavens.

“Take me instead. Just take me.”

But the sky remained silent.

Her head dropped, her gaze fixed on the blood-soaked ground.
Then, with the last remnants of her empty magic, she forced her trembling hands to draw yet another circle.

Even if she died here today, she would call for Musica until the very end.

With that resolve, she continued her work.

Dudududududududu—

A sound reached her ears.

Vinesha lifted her head.

What she saw were souls, puppeteered by the Abomination, rushing toward her.
They sprinted across the broken sky fragments, their empty eyes locked on her.

Vinesha stared in despair.
Her body had no strength left.
Even the evil spirit that had protected her had vanished.

There was nothing she could do now but await the inevitable.

The Abomination wouldn’t even allow her to complete a single magic circle.

Just as grief overwhelmed her —

Clap!

A woman appeared before her.

Her blue hair fluttered wildly, engulfed in brilliant azure flames.

The Unyielding Azure Flame.
Eve.

“Assistant Professor Vinesha! I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but I was told by Airei to be your guiding light!”

Eve bit her lip as she looked at the rushing souls.

She was terrified of ghosts.
But at this moment, she suppressed that fear with sheer determination.

Whoooosh!

Eve’s azure flames surged wildly, reaching as high as the sky.

“How about this? Is this a lighthouse bright enough to touch the heavens? Can it help you find the one you seek?”

The azure flame’s lighthouse illuminated the sky, its brilliance so intense it could awaken even the deepest slumber.

In that light, a figure appeared before Vinesha’s eyes.
The name Eve had just shouted moments ago—

Hanon Airei
Vikarmern Niflheim

At that moment, Vinesha realized who had guided her here.

“My… husband.”

She had no idea what he knew or why he led her to this place.

To Vinesha, Vikarmern had been a target for her self-destructive tendencies, justified by her endless craving for affection.
Her heart was a gaping hole that could never be filled.

Even when stripped of her memories, she had subconsciously believed herself to be an unforgivable person.
So, she clawed at that emptiness and threw her twisted love at others.

She had always believed Vikarmern would never return her affection, no matter what.
That certainty gave her the freedom to lavish her twisted emotions upon him without restraint.

That was all he had been to her.

Yet now, the image of Vikarmern’s gaze lingered in her mind.
Eyes filled with sorrow and regret.
Emotions she couldn’t quite decipher.

Blinded by her own self-obsession, she had never once truly looked back at him.
Only now did the memory of his expression resurface.

She didn’t understand.

She had no idea why he brought her here or why he had restored her memories.

But one thing was clear —
He hadn’t wanted her to suffer.

The azure flames burned fiercely, like a beacon calling out across the vast, dark sea.

Vinesha placed her hand upon the completed magic circle.

“Musica.”

She closed her eyes, calling her younger sibling.

How could she have been so blinded by her own warped desires?
She had even grown jealous of the sister she loved.

Vinesha hated herself for the person she had been.
Even if she had been manipulated by the Abomination, the root of those emotions had always been hers.

“Musica.”

Through her falling tears, Vinesha spoke.
She begged for just one chance to see her beloved sibling again.

The magic circle began to glow.

At that moment, a warmth settled on her shoulder.

Slowly, Vinesha turned her gaze behind her.
There, standing silently, was a spirit.

It was only then that Vinesha realized who it was.

Marisa.

The master who had sacrificed her own soul to save Vinesha.

Though her will had long since faded, she had once again appeared at Vinesha’s side.

Marisa gently placed her hand over Vinesha’s.

At that touch, Vinesha felt a surge of magic rise within her — a power she had thought lost.

Even at the very end, this disgraceful student had to rely on her master.

Drawing forth every ounce of magic she could muster, Vinesha screamed with all her might.

“Musica!”

A blinding flash of light exploded before her eyes.

The brilliance was so intense that she nearly closed her eyes, but she forced herself to keep them open.

And then, in the corner of her vision, she saw it.

A child.

Curled up, seated in a distant, shadowed corner.

Without a second thought, Vinesha ran toward the child.

She stumbled as she ran, falling to the ground, but she quickly got up and rushed toward the child.

The moment the child saw Vinesha, she tilted her head.

“Sis? Why are you rushing like that?”

Hearing the question, Vinesha couldn’t hold back her tears. She embraced Musica tightly.

“Musica, I just missed you so much.”

Returning the same words Musica had once said to her, Vinesha held her closer.

“I missed you too, Sis.”

In the distance, hurried footsteps echoed.

Vinesha lifted her head at the sound.

There stood Grantoni, his face reduced to a skeletal form.
His spirit was battered and scarred, showing how much he had endured traversing the spirit world.

Panting heavily, Grantoni fixed his gaze on Vinesha and Musica.

He had wandered through the vast, dark abyss, chasing the blue flame that served as a beacon.
And upon reaching its source, he found Vinesha and Musica.

“Vinesha, Musica.”

Grantoni called their names, his voice trembling.

Vinesha, still holding Musica in her arms, stood up.
At some point, Musica had lost consciousness and fallen asleep.

“Grantoni, I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.”

Even after Vinesha lost her memories, Grantoni had come to find her once.
But she hadn’t recognized him at all, rejecting him without a second thought.

After that, Grantoni descended into madness.
The once reserved and stoic man had become erratic, laughing meaninglessly as if to escape his unbearable reality.

Vinesha felt an overwhelming guilt toward Grantoni, whose life had crumbled because of her.
To him, Vinesha had been nothing short of a calamity.

“But there are people waiting for you.”

She believed Grantoni had every right to be angry with her.
But she also knew he shouldn’t ignore those who had come to save him.

“I will make sure Musica returns safely. So, let’s meet again on the other side.”

They had wandered such long, painful paths.
Now it was time to return and find their way back.

Grantoni silently stared at Vinesha for a moment before slowly turning around.

The moment he saw Musica, he had realized the truth.
He had no way of bringing Musica back from the Abomination.

Even if he found her, their reunion would amount to nothing more than a few words exchanged.

But Vinesha was different.

She was the most exceptional soulcaster he knew, and the one most deeply connected to Musica.

“Vinesha, I never resented you.”

Vinesha’s eyes widened.

“I only resented myself for being so pathetic that day — for not being able to do anything.”

Grantoni knew that Vinesha had always considered him and Musica her family.
That’s why it hurt him to see her stripped of her memories, and why he despised his own helplessness.

So, he had tried to fix it.
He thought that if he could bring Musica back, everything would return to how it once was.

“No.”

Vinesha shouted at him.

“Grantoni, it’s because you searched harder than anyone else that we were able to find Musica.”

She wanted him to understand that, at the very least.

Grantoni remained silent for a moment, absorbing her words.

Then, the figures of Vinesha and Grantoni gradually faded as they returned to the real world.

“Heh.”

Grantoni let out a dry laugh, baring his teeth.

“Tell Musica I looked my best while searching for her.”

Years had passed since Musica’s death.
Even the once-stern Grantoni had grown sly and mischievous over time.

“You can’t have my sister.”

And Vinesha, too, had changed.

The two of them, faces streaked with tears, laughed together as they disappeared.

The rift that had formed long ago — the chasm of unresolved emotions — had finally begun to heal.