The city lights shimmered against the night sky, casting long reflections across the busy streets below. People moved endlessly—cars passing, footsteps overlapping, voices blending into a dull hum that never truly stopped.
My name is Irene Nightfall.
I'm a business worker—well, I was. I quit recently. The job was too boring. Sitting in one place all day, staring at a screen, repeating the same motions until time blurred together. I couldn't stand it anymore.
I should probably look for a new job soon. Something that at least lets me move around. Maybe a waitress at a restaurant. That sounds tiring, but at least it wouldn't feel like my body was rotting in a chair.
Should I look for a job tomorrow… or later?
Ah… so much stress.
Irene sighed silently as she walked, her thoughts tangled and restless.
Then—
A sound.
A sudden, sharp noise from behind her.
What is that? Irene thought, her steps slowing instinctively.
She turned—
And her eyes widened.
A truck was speeding straight toward her.
Wha—?
But I'm on the sidewalk—
The thought didn't even finish.
The impact was violent. Her body was hurled sideways, slammed into a hard wall. Pain exploded through her senses—and then—
Darkness.
—
It felt like drifting.
As though she were moving through a river—warm, yet cold at the same time. The sensation wrapped around her, pulling her forward without resistance.
I'm… moving? Irene thought dimly.
A voice echoed faintly, distorted, as if coming from far away.
"…please… help us…"
What? Irene thought. Help…?
Before she could focus, a sudden force grabbed hold of her—dragging her violently forward—
Then everything stopped.
What the—?
Wait.
I can feel my body.
Her awareness snapped into place.
She opened her eyes.
An unfamiliar ceiling greeted her—white, smooth, illuminated by harsh lights.
Did they… bring me to the hospital?
She tried to move, to speak—
"Aaah—"
Only a weak, broken sound escaped her throat.
What's wrong with my voice?
Panic crept in.
She tried to move her arms—
Clink.
A metallic sound.
Her eyes darted downward.
Iron restraints. Thick bars clamped her arms and legs firmly to the bed.
What the—?!
Her breath quickened. She tried to feel her body, to ground herself—
…It feels… smaller.
Her gaze shifted, trembling, until it landed on a mirror mounted on the wall.
And what stared back at her—
Was not her.
A small body. Short limbs. The face of a child—no older than ten.
What…?
Who is that…?
Is that… me?
Her mind reeled.
Then a man stepped into her field of vision.
He wore a white lab coat. A face mask covered most of his features, revealing only cold, uninterested eyes.
"Subject D6 is still conscious," the man said calmly.
Subject…?
Before she could process the word, another voice replied without hesitation.
"Continue the experiment."
Experiment…?
The thought was cut short.
A massive surge of electricity tore through her body.
"AAAAAAHHHH—!!!"
Pain consumed everything.
It was unbearable—searing through her nerves, ripping screams from her throat. Her vision blurred as tears streamed uncontrollably from her eyes.
It hurts—! It hurts—!
"Celestial Energy body limit increasing," a man behind a computer announced.
"Please—stop—!" she tried to beg, her voice tiny, broken, barely audible. "It hurts—please—!"
"Increase the power," the man beside her said indifferently. "She's still resisting. She should be able to handle it."
Her eyes snapped toward him.
Hatred burned inside them.
This body… already hates him.
Good.
Now we agree on something.
She clenched her teeth, forcing herself to endure.
"Celestial Energy body limit increasing. Increasing output," the voice behind the computer continued.
The electricity intensified.
"AAAAAH—!!!"
Her mind screamed—
Then—
Something changed.
Within the violent current, she felt something else.
Flowing.
Like water.
Cool.
Soothing.
It wrapped around the pain, dulling it, calming it.
…If I can control this…
It's inside my body too—
I can block it—
She focused desperately.
The energy responded.
It began moving through her body, circulating instinctively. The electricity still burned—but it was bearable now. Controlled.
"Celestial Energy body limit has stopped increasing. Energy is now clouding on the surface of the body," the operator reported.
"Stop the experiment. Move Subject D6 to containment," the man beside her ordered.
The electricity ceased.
But the energy clinging to her skin felt strange—heavy, uncomfortable.
What is this…?
If I can control it—
She gathered the energy, shaping it instinctively, compressing it into a small sphere—and expelled it.
Better.
The energy shot forward—
And exploded.
The blast rocked the room.
"What just happened?!" someone shouted.
"An explosion in the testing area!"
"How?!"
"I don't know—possibly expelled clouded energy reacting externally!"
"Tch. Don't damage the subject closest to success," a voice snapped. "Move her. Now."
Her bed began to move.
The large white room vanished as they pushed her through a long hallway—walls reinforced with metal, bright lights lining the ceiling.
"Subject D6 entering containment DR05," one of them announced.
The bed slid into a sealed chamber.
The restraints unlocked.
Finally.
She sat up slowly, staring ahead.
The door—and even the walls—were transparent, glass-like. Yet instinct screamed that it was stronger than steel.
"Confirmed containment of Subject D6," someone said.
Then—
A voice echoed through the containment chamber, calm and mechanical.
"Confirmed containment of Subject D6. Lucy Meril."
Lucy Meril…
The name resonated strangely in her chest.
Ah… maybe it's because of this body, but I can tell—this is her name. Lucy.
"…Okay. I'll answer to it for now," she thought.
The footsteps outside the transparent wall faded as the researchers moved away from the chamber. Silence returned, thick and uncomfortable.
Lucy lifted herself slowly, her body still aching as she looked around the room. Unlike the cold restraint bed she had been brought in on, this room held a softer, more comfortable bed placed neatly against the wall. The walls themselves were smooth, white, and spotless—too spotless. The door and walls were transparent, glass-like, yet instinctively she knew this material was far stronger than steel.
This isn't a room… it's a cage.
She sat on the bed, legs dangling slightly as her smaller body adjusted.
"I've figured out part of it already," Lucy thought quietly. "Celestial Energy… If that's what they're using, then this really is the world of the novel I used to read."
"The Hero Descends."
She'd only read it halfway. The novel hadn't even finished serialization back then.
Lucy groaned softly, pressing her fingers to her temple.
"But how did I end up here…?"
Her thoughts drifted back to that voice she'd heard in the darkness.
Please… help us.
"That voice," she murmured internally. "That's what pulled me here."
A soft sound interrupted her thoughts.
"Lucy…"
Her head snapped up.
"…Lucy."
Multiple small voices echoed faintly.
"Huh?" Lucy turned toward the transparent wall.
Beyond her containment chamber, she noticed others—dozens of similar chambers lining the corridor. Inside them were children.
Small children.
Her breath caught.
"What… what is this…?"
Her hands clenched.
"They brought in more kids…?" Lucy thought, anger flashing across her face. "These sycophants… don't tell me they're doing the same thing to them…"
Her chest tightened.
"Did they… go through what I went through…?"
For a moment, fury burned in her eyes—but she forced herself to breathe, to calm down.
"Um… hi," Lucy said aloud.
The small boy directly across from her looked up, his face lighting up.
"Ah—Miss Lucy! You came back!"
"When you said you might not come back, we were scared," a little girl beside him added quickly. "But you did… thank you!"
Smiles spread across the children's faces.
Lucy froze.
"…I forgot something important," she thought bitterly.
"When… when do they usually come here?" Lucy asked gently.
"In about three hours," the boy replied. "They bring us food then."
"Three hours…" Lucy repeated softly.
She straightened.
"Don't worry," she said, forcing confidence into her voice. "I'll get you all out of here."
The girl beside her shook her head urgently.
"Didn't you already try that once? They caught you… I don't want them to punish you again."
"…So she already tried," Lucy realized.
She smiled faintly.
"Don't worry," she said again. "This time, I have a plan."
"Ah, Miss Lucy, you never listen," the boy said, half-laughing.
Some of the children giggled nervously.
Lucy turned away and sat cross-legged on the bed.
"You're probably wondering what my plan is," she thought. "It's simple."
"I'll force my way out."
"It doesn't sound like much of a plan… but it's the only one that works."
"The only way to escape this place… is to destroy it."
Her expression hardened.
"But before that… I need to get stronger."
She closed her eyes.
"According to the story," Lucy thought, "the first step is forming a core… then rotating it to gather energy."
She focused.
Almost immediately, energy began to gather.
A core formed naturally.
Too naturally.
"…That was fast," Lucy thought uneasily.
As she continued, it felt as though her body remembered what to do. The flow became smoother, faster—control coming instinctively.
Memories surfaced.
"There was also a technique in the story," Lucy recalled, "about inheriting memories from those who came before."
She hesitated.
"It's weird… looking into someone else's memories. But I need it."
She guided the energy from the core to her head, then back again—over and over.
The air around her grew heavy, dense, perfectly circulating
Where I am, everything is white.
"Huh… my normal body is back?" Irene muttered in disbelief.
"It isn't really back. This is just your mental form—that's why."
The voice came from beside her.
Irene turned sharply.
A small girl stood there, identical to the body Lucy now occupied—same face, same eyes, only younger and faintly translucent.
"Wait… are you the real Lucy?" Irene asked.
"You can say that," the girl replied calmly. "But I was. You're Lucy now."
"What do you mean? You can take your body back if you want," Irene said quickly.
The girl shook her head, smiling faintly. "I'm already dead. That's why you were able to enter this body in the first place."
Irene clenched her fists. "Then… what do you want from me?"
"Please help those kids," the girl said softly. "And beat that horrible guy."
Irene frowned. "You want me to do what you couldn't? And why should I listen? I could just leave them and go on my own."
"Because I know you," the girl replied without hesitation. "And I know you won't leave them behind."
Irene let out a short, bitter laugh. "You know me, huh? …You're right. I can't ignore how they're treating those kids. But how do you know me that well?"
The girl only smiled.
"So you won't talk," Irene sighed. "Fine. For now, I need to get stronger."
"Well, for that…" the girl said gently, beginning to fade. "I'll give you access to my memories—and those of people from the past. Get stronger. Help them, Miss Iren—no… Lucy."
Her figure dissolved into light, leaving behind warmth and something heavy in Lucy's chest.
Then—
The memories flooded in.
Her vision snapped into a scene: a vast training space, echoes of movement, the sharp hiss of air splitting.
She saw herself—no, someone else—training with a spear.
Every movement was precise. Every strike flowed naturally into the next.
Lucy didn't just see the techniques—she understood them.
It felt as if she had trained like this for years.
The novel said inheriting memories would feel foreign.
This didn't.
This felt perfect.
Like remembering something she had forgotten.
"Hey—focus."
The sudden voice startled her.
Lucy stiffened. "That surprised me," she muttered.
She looked around.
No one.
"…Who were you talking to?" she whispered.
Then the realization hit her.
If this were a memory, she should be seeing through the person's eyes.
So why was she standing separately—able to move, to observe?
"Is this really a memory… or a space inside my mind?" Lucy murmured.
The woman training stopped.
She stood upright.
Then—
She turned and looked directly at Lucy.
"What—?" Lucy froze.
That shouldn't be possible.
The woman smiled.
A strange reassurance settled in Lucy's chest—like this was normal. Like this was how it worked for people like them.
"…Us?" Lucy whispered.
The synchronization was overwhelming.
She could feel emotions—not her own—bleeding into her thoughts.
But she couldn't read the woman's mind.
The woman smiled again.
Lucy groaned. "I don't even need to read your mind to know what you're thinking…"
Then she noticed it.
The woman looked a lot like her.
Like an adult version of Lucy.
"You're smart," the woman said. "But not yet."
Before Lucy could respond—
"Lena!"
A man's voice echoed as he entered the room.
"Damian?" Lena turned, her entire demeanor shifting instantly. "It's nice to see you. What are you doing here?"
Lucy blinked.
That was a complete change…
And the warmth swelling in her chest—
That's not mine. That's hers.
Lena waved discreetly, severing the connection slightly.
"I don't know how to— you didn't teach me," Lucy muttered. "I'll just wait."
She looked around the training room.
Small. Functional. White walls streaked with red marks and deep scratches—signs of countless battles.
"Three hundred years ago… three days before the last battle," Lucy realized.
Damian's voice rose.
"But really, what is wrong with ■■■■? How could she actually ■■■■ just because ■■■■—!"
Lucy flinched. "Wait—she's filtering what I hear?"
That alone was terrifying.
"How's your training?" Damian asked.
"I improved," Lena replied. "But learning took too long. I can't do anything else. I want the people in the future to be different—to learn something more destructive. Killing one by one will wear me down."
"You're fine the way you are," Damian said softly. "You don't need to be anything else."
"Thanks," Lena replied.
Lucy stared in disbelief.
"What was that line? That was insanely cheesy," she muttered. "You're not even dating. How does that make you so happy?"
She knew they weren't dating.
The synchronization confirmed it.
Then—
Why were they looking at each other like that?
And why did her chest ache?
No—this isn't mine. It's hers.
—
Back in the facility—
"She's been like that for two hours," the boy opposite Lucy's containment whispered.
"I'm worried," the girl beside him said.
"Look," another boy gasped.
The energy around Lucy settled, thick and luminous.
"It's… pretty," the girl whispered.
"Her hair— it's changing color," the boy said.
Purple.
Her hair turned fully purple.
So did her eyes.
"She looks… invincible," someone murmured.
"…But is it just me," the boy added, squinting, "or is her face really red?"
—
Lucy lowered her head.
What the hell is wrong with them? In a training room—seriously?
"And that bitch Lena— we're synchronized! How could she—"
She stopped herself.
Later.
"Hey," Lucy asked aloud. "How long was I out?"
"Two hours," the boy replied.
Lucy stood.
"I've got one hour left," she said calmly. "I came up with a new technique."
She smiled—quiet, resolute.
"Don't worry. Today… I'll make sure we all escape."