"Stop being so mysterious," Greg asked urgently in his mind. "What the hell is that thing?"
Nightmare's voice grew quiet, carrying the ethereal tone of a deity speaking of ancient secrets:
"These were drawn or engraved by the followers of those Outer Gods after listening to unspeakable whispers, fueled by madness and obsession. They contain fragments of power that correspond to those Outer Gods—fragments that are extremely faint yet inherently lofty."
She paused, seemingly sensing the subtle vibrations emanating from the stone tablets.
"Judging by the rhythm and inclination contained within these patterns... they likely originate from the being dwelling deep within the dungeon at the northernmost point of the continent—the Mother of Depravity. Her Authority is closely tied to twisted desires, spiritual corruption, and the pleasure of sinking into primal instincts."
"The Mother of Depravity?"
Greg felt a chill. Nightmare had mentioned before that there were Outer Gods in this world besides the ancient gods like herself.
But he hadn't expected to come into direct contact with something related to them here, and in this manner.
Moreover, wasn't the northernmost dungeon one of the Five Great Dungeons, the Demon Realm Dungeon?
Did this... actually involve the Demons?
But didn't the Demons all worship the Demon King? Why would anyone worship this Mother of Depravity?
Wait—!
Like a flash of cold lightning through his mind, a figure suddenly emerged in Greg's thoughts.
No... it couldn't be. Although she definitely gave off a mysterious vibe from start to finish and her style of action often hovered on the edge of a gray area...
But she was the officially designated Primary Heroine of the original game!
No matter how much the development team let themselves go, they wouldn't set her background to be this... dark and complicated, would they?
A cold shiver quietly crawled up Greg's spine.
He shook his head vigorously, temporarily suppressing this terrifying speculation in the back of his mind.
Now was not the time to delve into that.
Instead, he turned his gaze to the magic circle at Silvia's feet.
"Then what about this magic circle? What does it do?" Greg pressed Nightmare in his mind.
"This circle is a medium for spiritual interference, working in conjunction with the power of the Outer God within the stone tablets."
Nightmare explained:
"Its primary function is to plant a seed originating from the Outer God's power deep within the subject's soul. This seed will quietly absorb the subject's own desires, fears, obsessions, and other negative emotions as nutrients, slowly sprouting and growing. If there is no intervention, or if the subject's mind is not firm enough, the seed will eventually mature, causing the subject to undergo a spiritual aberration and become a dangerous Apostle."
As if fearing Greg would worry, Nightmare added another sentence:
"However, this circle has no effect on you as you are now. Although our Authority remains shattered and our Godhood incomplete, your essence is no longer that of a mere mortal. This level of crude Outer God corruption cannot shake the foundation of your soul."
Greg breathed a secret sigh of relief, but then he caught a key term.
"Apostle? How is that different from a Messenger?"
"Messengers and Apostles, while both related to deities, are fundamentally different in essence."
There was a hint of subtle indifference in Nightmare's voice:
"A Messenger is a spokesperson or agent voluntarily chosen and given a mission by a deity. Messengers possess independent will and personality; deities usually communicate with them through revelations, blessings, or by establishing contracts. A Messenger can use power bestowed by a deity but cannot directly wield the deity's own Authority. Thus, the relationship between a Messenger and a deity can be considered one of subordinate status."
"As for an Apostle..."
Nightmare paused, her voice turning a degree colder:
"They are the products of aberration after an Outer God's power forcibly corrodes, pollutes, and twists a mortal soul. Apostles themselves have often lost most of their independent will and personality; the core of their existence is replaced by the whispers and power fragments of an Outer God. They can no longer be called complete living beings. Correspondingly, however, an Apostle can more directly use small characteristics of the corresponding Outer God's Authority by acting as a medium themselves. Even if it is just a fraction, it is extremely dangerous. This is why Apostles are regarded as dangerous existences."
"...I see."
Greg suddenly understood; many of the baffling settings in the original game now became clear.
No wonder... in some routes, once Silvia turned dark, her strength would explode to such an absurd degree.
It wasn't just the development team playing the trope of 'ten times stronger when evil, three times weaker when redeemed,' but because the setting of an Apostle was supporting it from behind!
It also explained why... in the original game, when the player arrived on time, they saw Professor Audrey already completely mad while Silvia had fallen into a coma.
The truth was likely that during the game's blank period while the player was traveling, Audrey had already activated the magic circle to perform spiritual interference on Silvia.
This process caused a massive mental shock to Silvia, leading to her falling unconscious again, while Professor Audrey herself, due to excessive contact with and activation of the Outer God's power in the stone tablets, had her mind completely corroded, falling into irreversible madness.
"Looking at it this way, isn't the darkness hidden behind this game a bit too cruel?"
Greg couldn't help but feel this way.
Because it meant that no matter how hard the players worked in this event, they couldn't truly save Silvia, because by the time they found her, the seed had already been planted!
But even so, there were still good endings regarding Silvia's route in this work.
For example:
Walking with the Holy Light Ending: The protagonist and Silvia together purify the corrupted holy land. She becomes a revered Saintess, and the protagonist remains by her side as her guardian knight. The two are united under the blessing of the Holy Church of Light.
Pastoral Idyll Ending: After the turmoil, the protagonist chooses to give up their academy career and goes to an unknown village with Silvia. They live a simple and warm life in the peaceful countryside, far away from conflict.
Academy Twin Stars Ending: The two remain at Glory Cael Magic Academy. Silvia becomes a young instructor in the field of light magic, while the protagonist makes achievements in other fields, teaching together as a respected couple.
On the surface, these endings were all successful outcomes harvested after many hardships: love found its home, characters grew, and the future was full of hope.
But as Greg carefully recalled the detailed descriptions of these endings, he gradually felt a chill. Several details that had once been overlooked surfaced in his mind:
In the Walking with the Holy Light ending, the daily descriptions of Silvia always carried a hint of "perfect exhaustion," and she never used any light-attribute magic again, as if she were being completely bound by some presence.
In the Pastoral Idyll ending, the protagonist would occasionally wake up from a dream, only to find Silvia always staring into the distance from the window with hollow eyes, as if she were looking at something that didn't exist.
Late-stage records of the Academy Twin Stars ending mentioned that Silvia began to frequently visit the academy library to consult forbidden ancient texts that even senior professors required special permission to access, citing vague reasons.
Individually, these details might just be atmospheric touches, but connecting them now outlined a terrifying possibility:
Were the so-called good endings merely wrapping those dark, hidden dangers gently in a facade of happiness?
Had Silvia truly escaped the influence of the Mother of Depravity or similar existences?
Or had that influence simply transformed, lurking more deeply beneath a happy life?
Greg couldn't help but gasp. A thought rose uncontrollably in his mind:
Could this be some grimdark trash game that claims to be about wholesome pure love on the surface but is actually dark and twisted to the core!? Holy crap!
Rate on N.U.
