NoveLight ™
"A morning routine of waking up, heading to work, coming home to enjoy a hobby in the evening, and then going to bed.
Rinse and repeat, day after day.
Though everyone’s daily routine may differ slightly—some may work night shifts, others may go to school instead of work—people all have their own lives and routines.
Some might describe this repetitive cycle as a monotonous, wheel-spinning life, where every day is the same.
But often, the same people who complain about monotony are the ones who feel uneasy when their routine is disrupted.
Repetition brings familiarity and stability.
Breaking away from it introduces unfamiliarity and insecurity.
Da-eun was one such person, caught in the wheel.
Wake up, wash up, eat breakfast, lie down in the capsule VR device, start her stream, and connect to Silia Online. Her recent routine also included getting frustrated at the sight of Kana buried under her blanket.
But today was different.
"Hooaahm..."
As Da-eun woke up in Silia Online and stretched, someone approached her with hurried steps.
"...?"
"Oh, Kana!"
Yawning and stretching her stiff body, Da-eun turned at the sound and smiled brightly.
"Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah."
Normally, Kana wouldn’t even acknowledge her unless Da-eun spoke first. But today, Kana came to her on her own.
It was surprising enough to notice, but this could still be passed off as 'Kana must be in a good mood today.'
What really shocked everyone came right after.
Kana, fiddling with her fingers, hesitated for a moment before shyly opening her mouth.
"...Did you sleep well, Journey?"
"Thanks to you, I slept great! ...Hmm? Kana, come here for a sec?"
"Okay."
"Your hair is all messy... There! Fixed it!"
"...Thanks."
"I should be the one thanking you. Getting to touch such soft hair is a privilege."
Kana smiled faintly as Da-eun tousled her hair, even leaning her head slightly as if wanting more attention.
The viewers, watching from beyond their monitors, collectively froze in shock, their chat flooded with question marks.
Kana, the normally stoic girl, not only initiated a morning greeting, but calmly approached Da-eun and allowed her to touch her hair?
And when Kana smiled while snuggling up for more head pats, the audience clutched their hearts.
The power of Kana's rare smile and affectionate gesture was overwhelming.
The chat turned into chaos as fans speculated wildly.
Da-eun, still patting Kana's head, glanced at the chat and grinned mischievously.
"Curious? Want to know what happened?"
"Hmm, you don’t seem all that desperate..."
"Alright, alright, you seem desperate enough. If you really want to know..."
Da-eun flashed a satisfied smile.
Lowering her voice as if about to share a secret, she whispered:
"...But, I’m not going to tell you."
Of course, the chat exploded into a fiery storm right after.
"So, have you made up your mind?"
Edel greeted me as soon as I entered the prayer room, seated cross-legged on the mat where people would normally kneel to offer prayers to her.
It was ironic. If the person who placed that mat there saw Edel sitting on it, they might burst into tears.
"I figured as much," I said.
"...Stop reading my thoughts."
"How can I help it when they’re so easy to read? If you don’t like it, you should try harder not to let me."
"...”
Edel, who had greeted me in the typical prayer posture, relaxed and sat more comfortably.
"It’s time to continue our unfinished conversation."
"As long as you don’t run away like last time."
"...I didn’t run away. I told you, I just didn’t have enough time. If I had more energy, it wouldn’t have happened."
"You weakling god."
"What?! How dare you?! You’ve said enough, haven’t you?!"
Edel, flustered and fuming at my words, quickly composed herself, her expression returning to its serene state, though her earlier outburst still lingered awkwardly.
"...Anyway, you seem to have sorted out your thoughts."
"Who knows."
Did Edel see me as more at ease than I felt?
Because truthfully, I still hadn’t figured out what she meant by ‘what I truly want.’
...But even so.
"I have thought things over."
I did feel lighter than before.
As I walked forward, the bracelet on my wrist jingled softly.
I passed by Edel, who remained seated on the mat, and leaned against the statue like she had done a few days earlier.
Looking up at the serene smile of the statue, I asked her,
"You said I was a sword, right?"
"Yes."
"Did you bring me to this world?"
"No, I didn’t."
Edel shook her head.
"I didn’t bring you here. I didn’t have a hand in where you were born, or in how your father died from his wounds."
"...He wasn’t just my benefactor, he was my dad."
Edel briefly looked surprised by my correction but quickly regained her composure.
"Alright. Including how your father passed away, none of those events were orchestrated by me."
"Then—"
"Ah, wait, before we go on, there's something you need to know first."
Ignoring my annoyed glare at being interrupted, Edel continued.
"Didn’t you find it strange? How fast your growth has been... Oh, not your height, of course. That’s more like... delayed to the point of being stopped altogether."
"...”
Of course, it had seemed strange.
While others struggled just to sense mana, I handled it as easily as breathing.
I reached the rank of master, something most people wouldn’t achieve until their forties, when I was just a teenager.
Even if I was a once-in-a-lifetime genius, wasn’t this too fast?
That was one reason I suspected Edel had brought me here.
If she had taken me from Earth and artificially accelerated my growth, it would explain why I had advanced so quickly.
"You wouldn’t know this, but when gods create a world, there’s one thing they always do."
Edel explained that gods place limits on the souls in their world.
"Limits...?"
"On how fast they can grow, how strong they can become, and more. There are many factors, but that’s the gist of it."
"Why would they do that?"
To stop them from becoming too powerful and challenging the gods' authority?
"Some gods might think that way. But the primary reason is to protect the souls themselves."
Edel used a machine as an analogy.
Overwork an engine, and it might deliver more power in the short term, but it’ll break down quickly.
"It’s the same for souls. If they grow too fast or attain power beyond their capacity, the soul will shatter. What god would want a soul they carefully created to break so soon?"
"So, what about those who do grow faster than others?"
The so-called geniuses.
"Their souls are stronger than most, so the limits are different for them."
"What about those who survive life-threatening situations and come back stronger?"
"In surviving such trials, their soul has become resilient enough to partially bypass its limits."
"...So, what you’re saying is that I have a strong soul?"
"No. While it’s true your soul is strong, the reason you’ve grown so fast is different."
Edel promptly corrected me.
She opened her fist, revealing her palm.
"Your soul doesn’t have any limits."
"Because I’m from another world?"
But then I thought of something.
"Shouldn’t there still be limits imposed by that world’s overseer?"
Considering the scale of strength, the restrictions from Earth’s overseer should be just as binding, if not more so.
"Good observation. You’re right—your soul currently has no restrictions from me, nor from that world’s overseer."
Edel clapped her hands together before her expression grew serious, her usual warm demeanor fading.
"Remember how I told you about the Dimensional Beasts a few days ago? The creatures that invade other dimensions and drain their energy? And how I’ve fought them for centuries?"
"Yeah."
"Dimensional Beasts destabilize any dimension they inhabit. So you can imagine the state of my dimension after hundreds of years of battle. One day, during one of those battles, I felt the walls of my dimension shake violently."
Though Edel had felt the dimension tremble many times before, that tremor was unlike anything she had ever encountered.
And in that moment, both she and the Dimensional Beast she was fighting sensed it.
"Our dimension had briefly connected with another one."
Though the connection lasted only for a moment, it left a small rift.
"Amidst the chaos of battle, neither the Dimensional Beast nor I noticed a single soul slip through the rift. I never would’ve imagined it possible."
How could she have?
A fragile soul crossing the boundaries of dimensions.
Surviving the vortex between worlds.
Crossing another dimension’s wall and entering a new world.
Even a god like Edel would hesitate to attempt such a dangerous feat.
But this fragile soul overcame all of it and performed a miracle.
Just like forging a sturdy blade by heating it and hammering it over and over.
The countless trials had strengthened that soul.
"You must have forgotten a lot. And many things, including the restrictions placed on your soul by Earth’s overseer, were erased along the way."
"...”
"And that soul—"
I interrupted her before she could finish.
"That soul is me."
"Correct."
Edel nodded.
So that’s the story behind the birth of Canaria Grasis.
"Do you have any idea how shocked I was when I found you? A soul I’d never seen before, here in my world, with no limits on its growth, and unbelievably resilient... But that shock also gave me a chance to fight back."
She muttered in a low voice.
And now that I knew everything—
"I see."
I simply nodded.
My calm reaction took Edel by surprise, her earlier composure slipping away.
"W-wait, that’s it?"
"What kind of reaction were you expecting?"
Sure, it was interesting to learn about the journey my soul had taken, but it wasn’t something I remembered. It didn’t exactly stir any deep emotions.
Besides, since Edel wasn’t the one who brought me here, what more could I say?
If she had talked about what I went through after arriving in this world, then I’d have had more to say.
I shrugged.
"Is that why you’re working with Earth’s overseer?"
"...Yes. Once we realized your presence, we knew that if this world fell, Earth would be the next target. It was inevitable."
Silia had become the perfect outpost for the Dimensional Beasts, and the path to Earth was now open.
There was no way the Beasts, driven by hunger, wouldn’t invade.
"That’s why we made a decision. We would deliberately destabilize this dimension and use the Beasts’ power against them. I may have been losing, but I had figured out how to tap into their strength."
That was why the world had been turned into a game.
By having players defeat the Dimensional Beasts, they could weaken their power.
And even if Silia fell and the Beasts reached Earth, players would have grown strong enough here to resist them.
This was the grand plan devised by Earth’s overseer and Edel—the true purpose behind Silia Online.