In the desolate Wedelia Plains, Caroline was burdened with two impossible tasks—finding the mythical True Wedelia, a rare flower Staly needed for alchemy, and protecting a nearby town from a ghoul outbreak.
The ghouls weren't powerful… but they preyed on the mind.
For Caroline—already at her breaking point—that made them deadly.
She'd meant to send a letter to Phel before she left. But the journey alone would take two weeks round trip—
And she still had to stop by the capital first.
One thing at a time, Lumino told himself, feeling Caroline's heart beating in sync with his.
He could feel her anxiety, her exhaustion… but also a strange, eerie calm.
We are different, Lumino reminded himself.
I am Lumino. I am not Caroline.
In the dead of night, Caroline sat alone in the plains, hugging the weathered red book to her chest.
"Sera… are you there?" she whispered.
Lumino felt the longing in Caroline's voice—
A longing that somehow echoed in his own chest.
He didn't know why… but this "Sera" meant everything to Caroline.
And then—
"You called me?" A soft voice.
A child-like figure emerged from the mist. Pale skin. Void-like crimson eyes. A smile curved unnaturally on her lips.
"Will you accept my offer this time?" Sera asked, extending her hand.
Lumino's mind reeled. He'd seen those eyes.
A tidal wave of memories hit him—A woman inviting him to dance in a dream. Playing the piano together in a forgotten memory.
Those haunting, hollow eyes.
"Lady Seraphine…"
Stop, Caroline—don't touch her! Lumino screamed inside. But Caroline moved on her own.
And when their hands touched—
A sharp, searing pain shot through Lumino's entire body.
"Hello… Lumino," Sera whispered straight into his mind. "I see you're enjoying your stay inside."
Before he could react, a hand yanked him back—
Carol.
"You shouldn't peek at my memories." Carol glared at him, her astral form shimmering.
Lumino was no longer inside Caroline.
He was a mere observer. "Stay a spectator. That's all you'll ever be."
Infront of them, Caroline scream—There's no more her radiant green eyes, it all change into gloomy crimson eyes.
"Caroline!" Lumino shouted.
He tried to re-enter… but nothing worked.
"Stop digging into me, Lumino. You'll only regret it."
"…Are you Caroline?" he asked softly.
Carol's sad smile crushed him.
"That… thing is me. The calamity destined to destroy Letruish."
Lumino watched helplessly—Caroline's slow descent.
How she fought ghouls by absorbing their essence. How she drank vampire blood in forbidden experiments. How she became the most feared Red Witch in history.
Her name spread across the continent.
But her heart… disappeared.
She brainwashed the Coven, Turned the king into her puppet,
And even then—Wistery remained by her side.
"When will you stop this, Caroline?!" Wistery's desperate cry echoed in the darkened throne room.
"You want to rule the kingdom? The world?
You eradicated the vampires... are you planning to exterminate humanity as well?!"
Caroline's crimson eyes stared blankly.
"So what? I want a utopia. Where humans stand at the top of the food chain.
Where we… become gods."
Wistery collapsed at her feet.
"Is this… my fault?" Wistery choked out. "For hiding the truth…?"
"What?" Caroline asked, tilting her head.
"You killed Teracota … you killed your mother, Stela."
Caroline froze.
"You left a spell burning, and it caused your house and your mom to burn alive. I erased your memories. I tried to protect you. Was it too much for you…?"
A sharp slap echoed. Caroline trembled. The memories broke free—
The guilt. The lies. The perfect mask she wore all her life. "Why… Wistery…?" Caroline's voice cracked.
Wistery sobbed."I'll do anything…So forgive me…"
Caroline's eyes gleamed.
"Then…Would you die for me?"
Wistery stiffened—about to bite her tongue—
But Caroline lunged and stopped her.
"Die… when I kill you myself." Caroline whispered, pulling Wistery into a suffocating embrace.
The end began with a single spell.
Caroline sabotaged the kingdom—manipulating nobles and peasants alike.
And then… she unleashed a forbidden spell—
Driving the capital into mass suicide. Not even the king remained alive. He died begging an apology to his own daughter.
Thousands died. Their souls fed her dark ritual.
Finally, she returned home to Flirmus City. Back to her hometown.
"I'll create a perfect dream for everyone," she said. That night in her room.
She cast a spell that trapped her hometown in an eternal dream—
Their bodies left as wandering shadows. They become an abomination that will wipe an entire human in this world
"I just want to die now…"
"I'm sorry, Mother…Forgive me…"
But Wistery stopped her. Wistery begged to die in her place—So Caroline lived.
And Lumino—though now separate— Felt every ache, every tear.
He cried watching her. "You will kill your loved one?"
Carol stood beside him—expression unreadable.
Caroline's final ritual—She sacrificed witches, spilled blood,
Prepared for eternal slumber.
But the ghosts she created devoured an entire continent.
All that remained… was Phel.
"Come with me…Let us become…Eternal." She drove a stake into Wistery's heart—
Then reached out to Phel. But Phel shook his head…
Transformed into a lizard—And fled. Leave her with nothing but pain.
"None of it matters…"
"Why did I even do this?"
Why…?"
"You want to be like me, don't you?" A figure stepped forward, lowering her hood.
It was Sera—not the child, but the real Sera, the red witch, Lady Seraphine Mideway. "Aren't you combined with me?" Her smile then twisted into something monstrous.
"Your chaos… excites me, Caroline."
And Lumino finally understood—all of Caroline's grief, rage, and twisted love…
It was always… for Seraphine. Beside him, Carol whispered softly. "That's all I ever wanted. To be loved… By her. No, I want to be like her."
----------
"Carol… are you really Caroline?" Lumino whispered, eyes fixed on the girl beside him—
The same soul that once unleashed madness on the world.
"Seraphine… you've seen it all, haven't you? Are you proud of me now?" Caroline's lips twisted into a grin.
Before Lady Seraphine could answer, Caroline lunged forward, casting countless piercing spells into her body—
"Die. Die. Die. Die."
But the next second—Seraphine vanished—
And reappeared right beside Caroline.
"What's wrong? Did you break?"
Caroline screamed and charged again, her magic surging wild.
Seraphine sighed.
"Was it my fault for letting your mind rot this far?"
With casual grace, she dodged every attack.
"I thought you were the perfect vessel…but apparently i'm wrong."
A strange glint flashed in Seraphine's hand—
"The Orb Eternum…" Lumino gasped.
"That ancient orb… this was all her plan," Carol whispered beside him.
Lumino looked at Carol—then back at the storm before him.
"SERAPHINE!!" Caroline hurled herself forward, magic swirling like a tempest.
But—
A massive sigil erupted beneath Seraphine's feet, flinging Caroline backward, where she collapsed, unconscious. For a fleeting moment, Lady Seraphine's gaze flickered, focusing on Lumino. "Does she see me...?" he murmured, taking an instinctive step back.
Carol spoke quietly, "Even if she sees you…she can't even touch you. This is my memory. My domain."
"What are you planning?" Lumino snarled. "You trapped me in twisted dreams…Made me see things that aren't real… Trapped me into a lovely illusion, and…Now I'm stuck inside your cursed memory!"
Was this Caroline's rage spilling into him—or… was this his own?
"You're the one who leapt into my memory," Carol said.
"So tell me, Lumino… what exactly are you? How did you break my illusions? You really wanted to crawl back into the nightmare and called that your life?"
Carol gave a faint glance toward Caroline's fallen body. "I couldn't even stand before the real Red Witch…"
"I don't care about your nightmare," Lumino growled. "I just want my memories back. What did you take from me? Who's the man who keeps haunting my mind?! I feel like he's important."
"You want your memories that badly?" Carol asked with a sad smile. "Alright. I've unlocked the seal."
Lumino stumbled immediately. A torrent of visions slammed into him.
"Wait... what is this?" Carol stood frozen, eyes wide as she watched the memories unfold, unable to control it. Everything was bursting out. "The burden you carry... What... did I just do?" she whispered.
Lumino watched—crimson blood slicked across the debris. The crackling fire echoed, a symphony of destruction. A metallic scent hung heavy in the air. He felt the chilling finality. The truth struck him: It was him. He destroyed his world.
H-3 before the disaster.
The memory dragged him further—
It was the day Lumino stayed locked in his room, heart broken after failing to confess to Kali.
Outside—an argument.
His grandfather's voice.
"Why are you here again?"
"I'm his mother. Why won't you let me see my son?"
"I told you—you'll never meet Lumino."
"You have no right! You're not even his real grandfather!" she snapped. "Do you know the pain I carry? I… I was just a trophy for the king. And now am I supposed to watch someone else sit on the throne meant for my child?!"
"You threw him away because you were afraid of him. And now… now you dare to come back and claim him? Lumino is my grandson now. Get out."
Lumino stepped out—his eyes blank.
"Grandfather… who was that?"
"You're not at the festival? Since when were you here?"
"Was that… my mother?"
"Forget her. She means nothing to you."
"You lied to me?" Lumino's voice cracked, rage welling up.
His eyes burned with hurt — And his grandfather fell silent.
"Go back to your room, Lumino."
But he didn't. Lumino ran after the woman — Left everything behind—and walked straight into the capital.
Not knowing…That was the beginning of the end.