Riley’s plans, so far, had gone almost too smoothly.

Strengthening Snow—his main goal so far—was a success.

Not just in the sense that she had grown stronger, but in a way that completely exceeded what he originally aimed for.

There hadn’t been any major setbacks, no serious complications that forced him to adjust course.

If anything,

Things had lined up a little too perfectly.

And it didn’t stop with her.

Rose, Seo, Alice—each of them had been growing at their own pace, steadily becoming stronger without falling behind.

Even beyond them, the other key figures—Stacia, Flamme, Emilia, Vanessa, Janica—none of them had stagnated. Whether through direct involvement or the natural flow of events, they were all progressing.

Even Lucas.

Riley let out a faint breath at the thought.

His growth alone was enough to raise an eyebrow.

The increase in his overall capability wasn’t something minor—it was noticeable, significant enough that it couldn’t just be brushed off as coincidence.

At this point...

It was safe to say Riley had done it.

He had successfully begun shaping the people who would stand beside him in the future—preparing them for what was coming next.

Because the real problem...

Hadn’t even started yet.

—

The festival would end soon.

And after that—

A two-month break.

Then came it.

[Act 5: The Three Epilogues]

The turning point.

The point where everything split.

Originally, there were three possible routes.

But now—

One of them was already gone.

The [White and Red Route].

Alice’s scenario.

Riley had already cleared it.

Which meant only two paths remained.

And both of them—

Were far from ideal.

The [Chaos Devourer] route.

And the [Apocalypse] route.

Neither of them led to anything close to a proper ending, let alone the kind of future Riley was aiming for.

This was where things actually started to matter.

Because from here on out—

Every decision carried weight.

’...Once the next semester starts...’

Liyana.

Liyana Heavens.

His original fiancée.

And more importantly—

The final boss of the [Chaos Devourer] route.

She would be enrolling into the academy soon.

And when she did...

Things would change.

Riley’s gaze lowered slightly, his expression hardening just a bit

Because unlike everything up until now—

This wasn’t something he could just guide from the sidelines.

"...My choice will decide it."

How he handled Liyana—

Whether he interfered, approached her, or left things as they were—

That alone could decide which future unfolded.

Although Killing Liyana was ultimately the final goal in the route.

Liyana was someone he resolved to save... and he already has plans in mind to do so.

Whether any of it would actually work, though...

That was a different question.

Liyana wasn’t simple.

She never was.

Even now—she was already different from the version Riley remembered from the game. Different from the Liyana he had seen in those broken timelines as well. The core was still there, but the details... the way she moved, the way she would react—that part was already shifting.

And that made her harder to deal with.

Not something he could fully control... or even fully understand.

Riley exhaled slowly, his thoughts tightening.

On top of that—

He had already done more than enough to provoke her.

...Yeah, that’s going to be a problem.

A small, dry mutter slipped out.

His mind drifted for a moment.

I just hope she already knows about Alice...

A pause.

"...No. Actually—maybe not."

His expression turned slightly complicated.

If she already knew, that meant she had been watching more closely than he expected. If she didn’t... then the moment she found out would be its own issue.

Either way—

There was no version of this that stayed calm.

Riley let out a quiet sigh, running a hand through his hair.

No matter how it played out—positive or negative—

He already knew what he had to do.

When the time came—

He would suppress her.

Not kill.

Not destroy.

But keep her in check.

That was the line he had to walk.

But before that...

There were things he needed to confirm.

...Lucas.

Liyana’s reaction to him.

That mattered.

Because if what Riley remembered was still true—if that part of "fate" hadn’t completely broken yet—

Then Lucas and Liyana were meant to collide.

Her soul.

His existence.

Two things that naturally pulled toward each other for a reason Riley didn’t fully like.

For her "unbeating heart" to move—

Lucas had to be there.

If his assumption was right...

Then that connection wouldn’t just disappear.

It might not play out exactly the same.

But something would happen.

Because even if Riley had already twisted a lot of things—

Fate had a way of correcting itself.

Still—

Compared to everything else—

Liyana wasn’t the biggest problem anymore.

Not really.

He had already prepared for her.

Strengthened the people around him.

Built something solid enough to stand against whatever came next.

So dealing with her—

That wasn’t what worried him most.

His expression darkened slightly.

...That goddess...

Erebil.

Even now, she had been finding ways around their agreement.

Not breaking it outright—

But bending it.

Twisting the gaps.

Turning technicalities into weapons.

Riley’s eyes narrowed.

That kind of opponent was worse than someone openly hostile.

Because you couldn’t trust a single word.

The timing alone was enough to piss him off.

The sudden surge of activity during the academy competition... and then Rose’s father right after that. None of it felt like coincidence anymore. If anything, it was too clean—like someone had been waiting for the right moment to move.

That goddess... she really knows when to slip things in.

Riley’s expression hardened slightly.

She hadn’t broken their agreement.

Not directly.

But she didn’t need to.

She just had to move around it.

And that was exactly what she’d been doing.

Which was why—

He couldn’t afford to leave any gaps anymore.

Not even small ones.

If there was even a chance she could interfere with what he was setting up, then he had to shut it down before it happened.

"...Vanessa."

"Huh?"

The girl turned at the sound of her name, blinking in surprise.

"Senior Riley? When did you— I heard you were gone for the past few days..."

Riley had ended up at the back of the academy’s church, where the atmosphere felt completely different from the rest of the campus. Quiet. Calm.

Too calm.

Behind it—

Was a garden.

No—not just a garden.

A full-on mini forest.

Rows of crops stretched out between tall trees, the air filled with the scent of soil and greenery. It looked less like part of the academy and more like a separate world entirely.

And in the middle of it—

Vanessa.

Along with a group of foreign elves from the other academies, all of them bent over, tending to what looked like... watermelons.

Riley stopped for a second.

"...Since when did this exist?"

The scene was so out of place it almost felt wrong.

A group of elegant elves—people who looked like they belonged in paintings or royal courts—

Working the soil like farmers.

Casually.

Peacefully.

And why is it this big...? Does the church even allow this?

It was practically a forest.

No one seemed bothered by it either.

If anything, they looked... comfortable.

Riley ignored the stares he was getting and walked straight toward Vanessa.

"Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Talk?" she tilted her head slightly, brushing a bit of dirt from her hands. "Sure, what is it—"

She didn’t get to finish.

Riley grabbed her wrist and pulled her up to her feet in one smooth motion.

"Let’s go somewhere more private."

"E-Eh?"

Vanessa blinked, clearly caught off guard.

"But—"

She glanced back briefly at the others, then let out a small sigh.

"...Alright. But at least let go of my hand first."

Riley paused, then released her.

She adjusted her clothes, brushing off the dust from her pants before straightening up again.

Vanessa.

Princess of the elves.

A high elf closely tied to the World Tree—someone many would consider a saintess in her own right.

And right now—

She looked like she had just stepped out of farm work.

"...Lead the way," she said.

Riley nodded and started walking.

The two of them moved deeper into the back of the church grounds, eventually reaching a quieter corner where the sounds of the garden faded into the background.

Neither of them noticed—

That from a distance, a few passing students had already caught sight of them.

...

Somewhere on the continent—

In a place now called the Dark Lands—

There stood what used to be a town.

Or at least, what was left of it.

Broken houses leaned into each other like they were about to collapse at any moment, their frames charred black from old fires that had long since died out. The ground itself had turned dark and lifeless, cracked in places, stained in others... as if something had soaked into it and never left.

No wind.

No sound.

Nothing alive.

Except—

"Hmm~"

A soft, light hum drifted through the empty streets.

Completely out of place.

A girl walked along the ruined path, her steps light, almost playful as she moved with a slight skip. She looked young—no older than fourteen or fifteen at a glance—and yet there was something off about her presence.

Too clean.

Too... untouched.

Her clothes were spotless. Her skin unmarked. Not a speck of dust clung to her, even as she stepped over ash and broken wood like it wasn’t there.

She didn’t belong in a place like this.

"At last... Mother is letting me move~"

Her voice carried a quiet excitement, almost like a child finally being given permission to play.

Behind her—

A headless knight stood still for a brief moment.

Then—

It exploded.

Flesh and blood scattered outward—but didn’t fall.

Instead, it stopped mid-air, as if held by something unseen, before compressing in on itself. Bone, muscle, armor—everything crushed together into something small.

A single marble-sized orb of flesh.

"Fwoosh~"

She flicked it forward casually.

The orb landed at the center of a magic circle drawn across the ground—one surrounded by a disturbing arrangement of severed heads, placed carefully like offerings.

The moment it made contact—

The circle lit up.

A dark pulse spread outward, the air itself seeming to tighten.

Her flaxen-colored hair shimmered faintly under the glow, the soft curls at the ends swaying gently as the energy around her thickened.

There was something unnatural about it—something that didn’t quite belong in the world of the living.

Her caramel-colored eyes lit up with interest.

Anticipation.

The ground trembled.

From the center of the circle, something began to rise.

A mass.

Large.

Wrong.

The shape of a corpse—no, something made from corpses—pulled itself together, growing, expanding until it stood as large as a house. Limbs formed where they shouldn’t. Flesh stitched itself together without care for symmetry.

Then—

It moved.

The girl watched it all with quiet fascination, her lips curling slightly into a smile.

"...Hehe."

Two months.

Just two more months.

Her eyes gleamed.

She was already looking forward to it.