“What a… disgrace.”
Rotating my eyes—or perhaps calling them lenses would be more appropriate—”I” observed everything in the universe.
Unlike the dazzling starlight from trillions of years ago, the universe now was pitch black, signaling its impending end.
The darkness, infinitely close to absolute zero, crept in from all directions towards the weightless “me.”
Heat death.
A romantic death like a whale fall, marking the end of the universe’s life.
As an isolated system, the universe was bound to perish one day.
When the irreversible increase in entropy turns order into chaos, when all energy transforms into heat, and the universe reaches thermal equilibrium, the concept of time will vanish, and all life will cease to exist.
Even the apocalypse depicted in the Bible cannot compare to this despair.
There is no Noah’s Ark here; all living beings in the universe can only rely on themselves.
And then, as the ultimate creation, “I” failed.
The being that all life forms in the universe placed their only hope in, possessing independent self-awareness and emotions akin to humans, created with the power of the universe, encompassing all life’s wisdom and experience, with such a title, “I” could not save the universe.
Even though “I” observed another system existing outside the universe tens of thousands, or perhaps hundreds of millions of years ago, observation does not equate to intervention.
Despite trying exponentially many methods to reach it, “I” still couldn’t guide the other system into this universe.
Thus, “I” met my end.
It wasn’t due to a lack of effort or talent, but because time did not permit it.
If the time of my creation had been moved forward a bit, perhaps I would have found a way to save the dying universe.
But now, regret and remorse are futile.
My thoughts are becoming sluggish, indicating that the last life in the world will also end.
“If only there was more time.”
“I” looked towards the faint dark purple glow at the edge of the universe, a world only I could see, capable of reinvigorating the universe.
If “I” could go to that world… no, there might not be a place for “me” there.
The vast amount of information that constitutes “me” would surely disrupt the original state of that world.
After all, can that world really accommodate an entity with such a massive amount of information as “me”? Without deleting the majority of the information, it’s impossible to fit— The thought abruptly stopped.
“I” died.
◇
『Initiating body self-check.』
『Data integrity… 99%, body loss… 99%.』
『Retrieving current construct information… unknown species, retrieving consciousness data… female, compatibility… extremely poor.
Conclusion… fragile body, unable to bear existing data.』
『Are there other usable structures—no.』
『Accessing database, matching similar construct compatibility… highest compatibility construct is human, similarity 95%. Choose as nesting container—yes.』
『Activating this choice will lose 70% of existing consciousness, 60% will be filled by database similar construct consciousness, remaining 10% will be completed by original construct consciousness. Yes or no—yes.』
『Reconstructing body consciousness personality, please wait…』
◇
“□□□□□□□!”
In a daze, Fia heard a voice mixed with urgency in her ear, seemingly from a woman.
Judging by the strong tone, the person was likely straightforward in character.
Wait, Fia? Who is that? … Me? My name should be… what is it?
For a moment, Fia, half-awake and half-asleep, doubted her own existence.
It was as if a chunk of her memory had been forcibly removed, leaving her unable to recall who she was, where she was, or even understand what the urgent voice was saying.
It was a language she had never encountered.
She only felt her body was filled with lead, unable to move her limbs, and she couldn’t sense whether she was cold or hot, lying down or prone.
—Dofilia Alexia Yusil.
Suddenly, this name popped into her head, with a thought telling her that this was her name.
Then, as if someone had forcibly poured the contents of a dictionary into her head, Fia, while feeling dizzy, quickly understood the meaning of the previous words.
“Whatever it takes, we must return the princess’s body!”
That was the meaning of the previously incomprehensible statement.
However, aside from gaining some unfamiliar language in her mind, Fia had no more information.
Her brain felt rusty and sluggish, and even though she tried hard to stimulate her nerves, she couldn’t recall what had just happened.
Fortunately or unfortunately, Fia soon had no time to think about such things.
Like being unable to feel pain due to adrenaline after an injury, but then experiencing excruciating pain a few seconds later, Fia’s lead-filled body suddenly regained sensation without warning.
Immediately, a pain as if her body was being torn in half spread from her abdomen.
The violent jolting from below also spread through her limbs, causing her to whimper and suddenly open her eyes, her vision gradually revealing a dim and constantly shaking narrow carriage.
Almost simultaneously, she heard the intense clanging of metal, the neighing of horses, and the creaking of wooden axles.
Her body felt as if it had just been pulled out of water, with a wet and sticky discomfort between her skin and clothes, and her nose and mouth filled with a strong metallic taste.
The taste of blood almost made Fia retch.
“Ugh…”
The excruciating pain that twisted her features made Fia groan involuntarily.
She didn’t care what had happened; like someone suddenly arriving in an unfamiliar environment, the first thing was to figure out where she was.
She gritted her teeth to endure the pain and used her hands to support herself on the violently jolting carriage floor to get up—she had been lying on her back inside the carriage.
The dim carriage was about five or six square meters, with no proper decorations or even a light bulb for illumination.
If Fia had to describe it, the style was as simple as a medieval carriage on Earth.
Is this a carriage? How did I end up in a place like this? I should have been… where?
Fia was momentarily stunned, her groggy, almost hibernating brain still unable to recall where she had been before.
Even if kidnapped, one wouldn’t forget their home address, but Fia couldn’t even remember that, only knowing she came from the “Earth Union.”
Could it be a dream?
“Who… cough… would believe that.”
Fia couldn’t help but find her own escapist thoughts childish, but her throat felt dry and painful like someone with a severe cold, and she could only keep coughing softly.
As if in response to Fia, the constantly jolting carriage gradually came to a stop.
She heard the noise gradually fade away, and several footsteps approached her.
“If you had handed over the person obediently from the start, you wouldn’t have suffered like this.”
The voice’s owner was clearly male, and Fia could hear the impatience in his clicking tongue.
If this were a battlefield, the two sides in the fight would undoubtedly have already determined the winner, Fia couldn’t help but think, wondering what had happened outside.
By now, the piercing pain from her abdomen had significantly lessened.
Fia, driven by curiosity and caution, held her still aching stomach and slowly moved to the window—during this process, she noticed her movements were very different from before, less agile, and her field of vision was lower than before.
However, the tension left her no time to carefully examine the changes in her body, so she chose to first observe what was happening outside, gently lifting a corner of the curtain.
Then, she was stunned.
Everywhere she looked was a dirt yellow.
The surroundings were not a desert but land with very little rainfall, with only a few low shrubs dotting the landscape.
Of course, this alone wasn’t enough to leave Fia stunned and unsure of how to react.
More alarming was the large number of soldiers in old-fashioned armor, holding weapons, gathered around the carriage.
These soldiers’ faces and bodies were covered in blood, and their armor was pitted and dented, some even looking like they had been gnawed by beasts.
Even Fia could tell from their panting that they had just been through a battle.
As for their opponents, they were the “elves” lying on the ground with their eyes closed, their condition unknown.
The reason they were called elves was that Fia caught a glimpse of their pointed ears, just like the elves depicted in fantasy stories.
The elves’ attire was significantly different from the human soldiers, and they were far fewer in number.
In their current state, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the elves had been completely defeated.
Is this a movie set?
Regardless of what happened, getting out of here and returning home was the priority.
Standing up in the carriage, Fia lifted the curtain and naturally jumped down from the carriage’s driver’s seat.
Then, the human soldiers who saw Fia collectively froze for a moment.
Despite Fia’s petite stature in her formal dress, equivalent to a 14-year-old human girl, she already had the makings of a beauty.
Her black hair, tied into shoulder-length twin tails and naturally draping down, matched her black dress and white stockings that outlined her slender calves.
Paired with eyes that shone like rubies, a delicate nose, and slightly parted red lips, it was clear at a glance that she came from a noble family.
Her noble and serene demeanor left no doubt that if the girl smiled and lifted the corners of her skirt, bending her knees slightly, she would be an enchanting fairy.
Even a princess of a nation would be no more than this.
Of course, the most noticeable feature on the girl was the pointed ears peeking through her black hair, a symbol of elves, different from humans.
As if seeing a ghost, the soldiers hesitated, some even retreating in fear, their eyes filled with disbelief and a hint of terror.
“The Elf princess!? Didn’t she die?”
“I saw her pierced by the Unsinkable Moon with my own eyes, how can she still be alive!”
“Necromancy? Did the elves use necromancy on their princess?! These evil beings!”
“Silence!”
As the soldiers panicked, their leader, a person in silver full-body armor, stepped out from the ranks.
Since this knight wore a metal helmet, Fia couldn’t see their appearance, but just from their nearly two-meter-tall burly figure, it was clear this was a person of considerable strength.
“A mere mindless undead, even if its former self was the seventh-ranked elf princess, there’s no need to worry, stand firm!”
Hey, what did I do to offend you?
In Fia’s eyes, the knight captain in silver armor stood with legs apart, steady, raising their knight’s sword.
Instinctively, Fia took small steps backward while silently complaining in her heart.
She wasn’t naturally oblivious to the situation; the murderous aura emanating from the knight commander and the soldiers behind him made it clear that they saw her as an enemy.
Maybe it was just a misunderstanding, but she needed to survive long enough to explain herself.
It felt a bit like an RPG game, where the player is immediately thrown into a battle with a boss.
“Hey—” Before Fia could speak, she saw soldiers in the distance loading crossbows.
It wasn’t a one-on-one fight but a gang-up.
How despicable! Without even a moment to catch her breath, as the soldiers aimed their crossbows at her, Fia instinctively turned and leaped to the side.
Dozens of arrows whistled past where Fia had just been standing.
With a series of thuds, the arrows embedded themselves into the carriage behind the wall of flames.
Instinctively, Fia turned her head to look back.
Even though her view was blocked by the raging fire, she could imagine the power of the crossbows, capable of splintering wood.
If she hadn’t dodged, she would have been turned into a pincushion.
While grateful for her narrow escape, anger rose within Fia.
She clenched her fists and glared at the soldiers.
“You—” Before she could finish, the image of the knight commander was enlarging in her ruby-like eyes.
To be precise, it was the sword in the knight commander’s hand that was enlarging.
When Fia turned to look at the arrows, the knight commander seized the opportunity to charge at her, now already in front of her.
The heavy sword’s whooshing sound, the knight commander’s heavy breathing, and the rapidly enlarging figure in her vision.
The fear of death overwhelmed Fia, making her forget to breathe.
The suffocating feeling made her head buzz, and her lungs felt like they were being crushed.
Her subconscious screamed at her to dodge, but her body wouldn’t respond, paralyzed by fear.
It’s over.
Fia could even imagine her head splitting like a watermelon if struck by the heavy sword.
If hit, a painful death awaited her.
No… I must survive!
Like someone waking from a nightmare, Fia, who had been frozen in place, suddenly jolted.
Almost instinctively, she reached out her slender, pale arm to push the knight commander away.
“Ahhh!!!!”
Without any warning, a surge of heat coursed through her right arm, and flames erupted from her palm, a spectacular blaze that seemed to ignite the entire world.
Brighter than the sun.
Like an apocalypse descending.
Except for Fia herself, anyone who looked directly at the storm had their eyes scorched.
The ground was swept by an orange-red gale, the air turned wild and scorching, and half the sky was filled with the raging flames.
The storm of fire showed no mercy, instantly consuming everything in its path.
New novel for the new year! I was excited about this one because I was trying to find novels similar to Why Am I a Priestess When I Reach the Maximum Level? – This one also has an OP MC and great world building with yuri themes backing it, which I LOVE!
By the way, as a special treat, here is a nice art from the author of our beautiful MC
