After the freshman entrance exams concluded, Baek Yu-Seol hurriedly departed for Adolevit, where Hong Bi-Yeon had been urgently taken for treatnt.
The other students, who had no involvent in the entrance exams, were enjoying their day off. It was an unusual occasion for them.
Although it wasn't the weekend, the seniors also took the day off since the faculty had been focused on the freshn evaluations.
Despite the lack of classes, most students at Stella Academy used their free ti wisely, either studying in their dormitories or gathering in the library for group discussions.
Fla was one of those students who diligently used her ti to study. She originally had plans to study with Hong Bi-Yeon, but those were canceled when Bi-Yeon was suddenly taken away for treatnt.
It had taken considerable effort to arrange study sessions with soone as proud as Hong Bi-Yeon, and Fla couldn't help but feel a twinge of disappointnt. Still, she couldn't fault soone who had collapsed and needed urgent attention.
'Tsk, what a sha. I really wanted to learn more about fla magic.'
From a young age, Fla had been hailed as a magical prodigy, possessing an intellect beyond her years and powers that seed divinely gifted.
However, unlike her, both Hong Bi-Yeon and Eisel had achieved their current level of skill purely through hard work and strong comprehension despite not having adult-level intellects.
Recently, Fla had been spending more ti with Eisel and was often surprised by her wisdom. Unlike herself, who applied adult knowledge to magic, Eisel demonstrated pure, creative thinking that often left her in awe.
Although she didn't expect such inventiveness from Hong Bi-Yeon, she still acknowledged Bi-Yeon's extraordinary ability to morize and weave complex magical formulas... an area where even Fla felt outmatched.
'But seriously, what happened to make her get hospitalized...'
In the novel, all the stories related to Hong Bi-Yeon were dark and ominous, which made Fla uneasy.
On the surface, Bi-Yeon was royalty, but internally, she ca from a troubled family background. She suffered from an incurable disease that brought endless pain and had broken relationships with others.
In fact, she was even more unfortunate than the character Eisel from the early parts of the story. By the later Chapters, Hong Bi-Yeon's life beca a series of misfortunes stacked on top of each other.
Although the current tiline was only the second year of high school and far from the later parts of the story...
Ever since Baek Yu-Seol intervened, the story's progression has been accelerating.
In other words, it was impossible to predict when Hong Bi-Yeon's misfortunes would suddenly explode like a bomb.
"Hey, have you thought about where you'll work after graduation next year?"
"Well... that guy in the next class was bragging about getting an internship offer from the Magic Tower, but I haven't received anything like that."
"What's the point of graduating from Stella if we're all stressing about jobs anyway?"
"Honestly, if you lower your standards a bit, you can still get into a decent place, right?"
"Are you crazy? Then why even bother coming to Stella in the first place? I'm definitely getting into the Grand Magic Tower. I'd rather die than beco a magic warrior."
From her seat in the academy's outdoor study area, Fla overheard snippets of conversation carried on the breeze.
The seniors' voices were distant, too far for most to catch. Yet ever since Fla had cast the spell 'Angel's Descent,' her senses had sharpened unnaturally.
'Employnt, huh...'
Co to think of it, she had never seriously thought about her future before.
When she first enrolled at Stella Academy, Fla's only goal was to linger near Eisel and wait for her to achieve her 'happy ending.'
'A happy ending.'
But now, that goal seed hollow.
Eisel was already happy enough, and the 'happy ending' that Fla had envisioned wasn't a true ending anymore.
Beyond the horizon lood the Twelve Divine Moons and the shadow of Destruction.
And right now, sowhere unknown, a boy was fighting desperately to stop it.
Compared to such dire stakes, worrying about career plans seed almost laughable.
Yet lately, Fla had found herself grappling with another unsettling burden.
— Fla, what are you doing right now?
"... Nothing."
Voices echoed in her mind.
Beyond the clouds high in the sky, there were beings who lived in the heavenly realms. Blonde-haired, golden-eyed n with wings.
People called them 'angels.'
Fla had never doubted their existence. The novel had referenced them more than once, and most importantly, she had seen them with her own eyes.
Not once, but many tis.
But now, she began to question what it ant to 'see them.'
Fla had only ever projected her consciousness to that distant, ethereal realm. Not once had she laid eyes on the so-called angels with her physical sight.
Had she?
'Listen carefully, Fla. The angels you believe in are nothing but illusions.'
Baek Yu-Seol's words echoed in her ears again and again.
Now, even in her dreams, Baek Yu-Seol appeared to warn her.
'The ones speaking to you... are the countless constellations scattered across the night sky.'
Don't be deceived by them.
The beautiful appearance you see is nothing but a lie.
— Oh? Then would you care to listen to our story?
"Story...?"
— Yes. There's sothing we've been wanting to tell you for a long ti. Sothing we couldn't say until now.
She didn't want to listen.
Honestly, even hearing the voices of the so-called angels had beco exhausting and overwhelming.
Because now she knew the truth. They were fakes.
It might have been better if she had never found out.
Sotis, she resented Baek Yu-Seol for revealing the truth to her. But at the sa ti, she was grateful that he did.
Ignorance is bliss?
She didn't need such nonsense. If she had to live in deceit forever, it was better to know the truth—even if it hurt.
Fla rose quietly from her seat, leaving the outdoor study area behind. She wandered down a secluded path until she reached an ancient swing dangling from the branches of an old tree.
The swing groaned under her weight as she sat, but she paid no mind to the sound.
Looking up at the sky—a sky she once thought might house a heavenly realm—she asked.
"What... Story is it?"
— Well...
The angels hesitated. Their usual ease and confidence faltered, as though the truth they carried was too heavy to share.
Was this it? Were they finally about to unravel the secrets they had kept buried for so long?
Fla waited, her breath held, until at last, they began to speak.
— The truth is, the reason we've been speaking to you—
"Oh my! Student Fla?"
Just as they started to reveal sothing, a sudden voice interrupted the conversation.
"Who... Are you?"
It was a stranger.
The woman had hair that was closer to yellow than gold and didn't look like any of the professors at Stella Academy.
Her outfit looked more like an extravagant party dress than a mage's robe. With her stunning beauty, she could easily have passed as a princess.
Despite the odd setting and situation, she sohow fit in perfectly with the atmosphere.
"? I wonder if you'll recognize my na. I'm not exactly well-known among humans."
"You're speaking as if you're not human."
"That's because I'm not." The woman smiled, her expression both serene and mocking. "I'm sothing far superior."
Fla's eyes narrowed as she studied the stranger. She probed the air around her, searching for the natural flow of mana that all humans unconsciously emitted.
But there was nothing.
No mana.
The woman's gaze flickered toward the empty space Fla had been staring at monts before. With a thoughtful tilt of her head, she smirked.
"Were you, by any chance, talking to soone?"
Fla's body froze. She had almost never been caught communicating with the angels before.
"No need to be so startled~ Soone like can perceive their presence easily."
"Who... exactly are you?"
"What? Do you need my business card or sothing? I can't tell you my na right now. You'll have to forgive for that. Our nas carry power, and even speaking them can reveal our presence. And right now, it'd be a bit inconvenient for to be discovered."
"I'll call the professors. You need to leave the school imdiately."
"Really? If I leave now, are you sure you won't be the one who loses out?"
"No. I don't believe you at all."
"Even though I know you're not originally from this world?"
For a brief mont, Fla's breath stopped. She tried to keep a neutral expression, but this ti, she couldn't hide her shock.
"Oh my, so it's true?"
The woman—Pale Yellow Autumn Moon—smiled mischievously. She was clearly entertained by Fla's reaction.
When Fawn Prevernal Moon first told her about this, she had thought it was absurd.
There was a person who wasn't from the Aether World but from an entirely different world?
For soone like Pale Yellow Autumn Moon, who had believed this world was the universe and all there was, it had been an unbelievable - and unsettling - revelation.
Fawn Prevernal Moon was not one to spin lies without purpose.
"Hey, Fla."
"What is it?"
"We know you're different. Special, even. Soone who wasn't born of this world but ended up here... for reasons you can't explain."
Raising a single finger, she pointed directly at Fla, as though branding her with truth.
"Here's a question—why do you think that is?"
That was sothing Fla had always wondered about. She had spent her entire life thinking about it, but no answer ever ca.
"You've probably thought about it a lot too. But you never found the answer, did you? Look at yourself—you're more special than anyone else, yet here you are, sitting in so dull corner of this school, reading books like any ordinary human."
As she spoke, Pale Yellow Autumn Moon slowly leaned closer to Fla, lowering her voice to a whisper.
"Do you... Think Baek Yu-Seol's destiny is special?"
Flinch.
Feeling as if her deepest thoughts had just been exposed, Fla's shoulders tensed slightly.
"That's right. Baek Yu-Seol is special. As one of the Twelve Divine Moons... Even I acknowledge that. But what about you?"
"I don't know."
"No, you do know."
Her words sank into Fla's chest like thorns.
"You, just like that boy, were summoned to this world from another for a reason. Do you really think it was without purpose?"
"I'm... Different from Baek Yu-Seol."
"Oh? How are you different?"
"That's..."
Fla bit her lip. She couldn't say it.
Fla wasn't foolish enough to reveal Baek Yu-Seol's secret so easily.
But Pale Yellow Autumn Moon didn't seem to mind. It wasn't Baek Yu-Seol's secrets she was after in the first place.
"Nothing in this world happens without a reason. Just like Baek Yu-Seol has a fate to fulfill, so do you."
Fla pressed her lips together tightly.
She didn't know.
Was what Pale Yellow Autumn Moon said really true?
'Why was I brought here?'
It was a question she had struggled with her entire life. It was more complex and difficult than any magical formula she had studied. The more she thought about it, the farther the answer seed to slip away.
To be honest, she had been neglecting that question lately.
Ever since Baek Yu-Seol appeared and started solving every problem that arose in the world, she had grown reliant on him.
But what if—just what if—
"What if Baek Yu-Seol can't solve everything on his own?"
"What if, in the end... He fails?"
"What if... The world is destined to be destroyed according to fate?"
What nonsense.
But then why did it sound so plausible?
When she thought about it, there was a foundation to that idea.
Baek Yu-Seol repeated ti thousands of tis. But at the sa ti, that ant he had also failed to save the world thousands of tis.
"He's going to need your help. I can guarantee it. Your special destiny is the power that must support him."
"I..."
"Do you see it now? You are—"
"That's enough."
Slash—Thud!
A boy's voice cut off the woman's words. Despite sounding young, his tone carried the weight and dignity of centuries.
Fla flinched and jumped to her feet.
The woman's right arm, which had been resting on her shoulder, was severed and had fallen to the ground.
The woman looked down at her severed arm and then slowly raised her head.
There, floating in midair with his white hair fluttering, was Elthman Elwin—the boy mage, and his face was contorted in anger.
"How dare you ddle with my student, Pale Yellow Autumn Moon."
'Pale Yellow Autumn Moon...?!
Only then did Fla realize the woman's na, and her face turned pale with shock.
In the novel, Pale Yellow Autumn Moon had only been ntioned and never made an actual appearance. But her abilities were well-known.
"What? Are you worried I'll charm this little girl or sothing?"
Her words dripped with playful malice, but Elthman's expression only hardened.
"You disgust . Even looking at you is unbearable. Leave. Now."
"Tsk. Don't you know it's rude to talk to a lady like that?"
"If you don't leave quietly, I'll track down your true form and destroy it. I have no intention of sparing you."
"Oh? Acting like you can actually beat ?"
Elthman's voice remained cold and firm.
"I can kill you—right here, right now. The only reason I haven't is for the sake of the greater cause."
"... You're an insufferable brat."
Pale Yellow Autumn Moon imdiately considered trying to enchant Elthman's mind, but she quickly realized it was impossible.
To dominate his mind, she would have to abandon the countless puppets she had painstakingly prepared over the years. Moreover, as a Class 9 spatial mage, Elthman had anchored his soul across multiple dinsions, making it nearly impossible to infiltrate.
'As if he knew I was coming... He was prepared.'
She wondered how he had found out but decided it didn't matter. With Elthman here, it was ti to retreat.
"Fine, fine! I get it!"
The woman took a step back, and her lower body began to fade away. Before completely disappearing, she turned to Fla one last ti.
"Fla, think carefully about what I said. Seriously."
Once Pale Yellow Autumn Moon had completely vanished, Elthman landed softly on the ground and approached Fla.
"Are you alright?"
"... Yes, I'm fine."
"Whatever she said, don't trust it. She's a manipulator. A liar. You're smarter than that... I know you'll handle this well."
"Of course, Principal."
Fla responded with a bright smile.
Pale Yellow Autumn Moon was like a cunning fox who manipulated emotions. Everything she had said was probably a carefully crafted lie designed to deceive her.
At least, that's what Fla told herself.
And yet...
Why did she still feel an uneasy weight lingering in her chest?
Suppressing the inexplicable sense of frustration, Fla quickly left the area.
For today, at least, she didn't want to think about it any further.
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