NoveLight ™
One Week After the Launch of [Akashic Archive]
Central Temple of the Church of Sacrifice
“Haa…”
Melissa, the First Apostle of the Church of Sacrifice, let out a deep sigh, her long elven ears twitching slightly in frustration.
Her Constellation had changed drastically.
Once known as the Constellation of Slothful Sacrifice, her deity had always been synonymous with inactivity. Despite her immense power, the goddess had spent centuries holed up, lazing about like a younger sibling needing constant care, leaving Melissa to tirelessly manage things on her behalf.
Melissa had wished for her goddess to leave her sanctuary one day—but not like this.
Now, her deity had issued an overwhelming request:
To erect monuments and statues to honor the Ten Warriors in every temple dedicated to her across the continent.
Did she even realize how many temples that entailed?
The story of her goddess’s sacrifice for humanity was a legendary tale, passed down across races and regions to teach the virtue of selflessness.
Thanks to this tale, her temples were scattered all over the continent.
As the First Apostle, Melissa oversaw all these temples, and now she had to commission monuments in every single one to honor the Ten Warriors.
Who even were these “Ten Warriors”?
Melissa had served her Constellation for over two centuries, and she had never heard of them.
There was no mention of them in any record of her deity’s saga.
Thump.
Melissa flopped onto her bed, grabbing her Magitech Device.
“Well, she’s still my goddess,” she muttered.
For her beloved Constellation, Melissa would do anything.
No matter how difficult the request.
Buzz.
As she operated the device, the game [Akashic Archive] booted up.
Melissa, who normally paid no attention to games, had made an exception for this one.
After all, it was a fully immersive virtual reality game that allowed players to interact with and even control characters modeled after her Constellation.
“Ehehe… come here, my knight!”
Melissa’s lips curled into a sly grin as she hugged her in-game character, [Knight Ren].
The chance to see her goddess’s form during her human life was more than Melissa, her lifelong fan, could handle.
Full Breakthrough
“Full Breakthrough” referred to maxing out a character’s potential by repeatedly obtaining duplicates of them.
Melissa had achieved this ultimate milestone for [Knight Ren], spending all her in-game currency, [Sage Stones], and even some real money to do so. But it was worth it.
Hugging and snuggling her goddess’s character, Melissa spent a blissful moment of indulgence before opening Knight Ren’s status screen.
As her goddess’s apostle, Melissa felt compelled to create the most perfect version of [Knight Ren], surpassing any other player.
She worked tirelessly to max out every skill level—but one thing held her back.
“This material… where do I even get it?”
She had collected every necessary item except one: [Heart of the Monster Queen].
No matter how much she searched, she couldn’t figure out what it was or where to find it.
“I need to strengthen her quickly.”
Leaving her goddess’s character in a weakened state felt like sacrilege, a betrayal of her devotion.
Ding!
A system notification suddenly popped up:
[New Content: Weekly Boss Released.]
[Available once a week. Clearing it rewards character growth materials and Sage Stones.]
[Experience the untainted past, free from the Abyss’s corruption.]
“...Weekly Boss?”
The announcement marked the game’s first update and the release of its first new content.
The Challenge Begins
Flash!
Curious, Melissa tapped the newly added button in midair. Suddenly, a book materialized and swallowed her whole.
Kieeek!
Kiiik!
When Melissa opened her eyes again, she found herself standing in the depths of the underground cave—the same Monster Queen’s lair she had encountered during the story mode tutorial.
“Leader! What are you doing, standing there? We need to break through!”
Surrounding her were nine comrades, fighting valiantly to pierce the monsters’ defenses.
And then—
“I’m… the Constellation?”
Melissa realized she had become [Knight Ren].
“Leader! We don’t have time to waste!”
Pulled forward by her allies, Melissa descended toward the heart of the cave.
Wave after wave of monsters threw themselves at the group, attempting to halt their advance. Together, Melissa and her comrades cut through the horde, inching closer to their goal.
She had already cleared the Monster Queen’s lair in the story mode before.
But without the protagonist’s essence absorption ability and struggling to fully control Knight Ren’s body, the difficulty felt far greater than in the tutorial.
The group was eventually surrounded, monsters pressing in from all sides.
“Damn it! Looks like this is it for me. Don’t try to stop me—it’s my turn first.”
A rugged mercenary wielding a massive axe stepped forward.
“Leader, it’s been an honor fighting with you. Please… take down their queen.”
Letting out a war cry, he unleashed a surge of mana and charged into the monsters, buying time for the others to advance.
“Damn it, Hans. Show-off till the end.”
“We can’t waste the time he bought for us! Let’s go, leader!”
Swallowing their sorrow, the others pushed forward.
Melissa, overwhelmed, followed silently.
Sacrifice.
The Ten Warriors.
The scattered puzzle pieces began to fit together.
Could the Ten Warriors her Constellation had ordered to be honored… be these people?
Melissa recalled the system message about the “true past.”
What she had experienced in story mode was a corrupted past, twisted by the Abyss.
This was the real past.
These were the true comrades who had fought alongside her goddess.
One by one, her allies sacrificed themselves.
Each gave their life to send Melissa, now inhabiting Knight Ren’s body, forward to face the queen.
Kirrk.
Before the queen’s chamber stood three Elder Guardians.
“Ugh…!”
The blade of one Guardian pierced the chest of the last remaining warrior.
The Guardian’s gaze seemed to sneer as the warrior’s life flickered out.
But instead of despair, a smile spread across his face.
“You’re going to die to our leader, you filthy beast…”
Pulling a small mana orb from his pocket, he unleashed a torrent of power.
“Our leader… is the strongest there is…”
Kirrk!
The Elder Guardian tried to retreat, realizing too late what was about to happen.
BOOM!
The warrior’s self-destruction obliterated the Guardian, leaving only fragments behind.
Melissa, in Knight Ren’s body, cut down the remaining two Guardians, clearing the way.
“…Collins.”
The Ten Warriors had chosen sacrifice without hesitation to bring Ren to the queen.
Now, it was her turn to honor them.
Creeeak.
Moving Knight Ren’s body, Melissa pushed open the door to the queen’s chamber.
***
Title: Is This Real?
Post Content:
(Video of the weekly boss fight from [Akashic Archive])
(Credits roll after the boss battle, listing the names of the ten warriors)
[In honor of the ten heroes who saved the world and were forgotten.]
Comments:
“Will this be alright?”
I glanced at the community reactions, then turned to ask the goddess beside me.
[Sacrifice Who Overcame Sloth]
[Thank you for shedding light on their sacrifices. I wish I could take your hands and shake them in gratitude, but alas, we are not in the same space.]
[Because of your efforts, the world now knows of their sacrifices.]
[I will grant you any wish in return. Speak, and it shall be yours.]
“It was the least I could do,” I replied.
To think there were heroes who gave their lives for humanity, only for their names to be forgotten and their deeds unacknowledged.
I understood that sorrow. Even in the world I came from, there were nameless heroes whose sacrifices went unnoticed.
Even if the goddess hadn’t asked me, I would have included their story in the game.
“No need for a reward. Just being allowed to use your story was enough of a gift.”
With the astronomical revenue from the game’s success, both the goddess and I had been freed from the need to work.
She had already given me more than enough. There was nothing more I could want.
[Sacrifice Who Overcame Sloth]
[I am deeply moved.]
[Would you consider becoming my Apostle?]
[I promise to treat you well.]
[Dreamteller is shocked!]
[Dreamteller clings to Sacrifice Who Overcame Sloth’s leg, crying and hitting them, shouting, “Don’t steal my Apostle!”]
“Haha… While I appreciate the offer, I am my Constellation’s Apostle. I could never betray the grace I’ve received.”
The Church of Sacrifice was one of the ten major religions on the continent.
Even though it was ranked at the bottom of the ten, it was still one of the most powerful institutions. Becoming an Apostle of such a religion would grant privileges akin to those of a high-ranking noble.
[Dreamteller wrings her hands nervously, fidgeting with her fingers.]
But there was no way I could leave my Constellation after everything she had done for me.
Don’t worry, Dreamteller—I will always remain your Apostle.
…Besides, without your powers, I wouldn’t be able to develop new games. Life would be unbearably dull.
[Sacrifice Who Overcame Sloth sighs, calling you an irreplaceable talent.]
Sensing the need to change the subject, I spoke up.
“More importantly, are you alright with all of this?”
I gestured toward the community comments I had been reading:
The initial public sentiment had been overwhelmingly positive toward Goddess Ren. But now, detractors were emerging, accusing her of selfish motives.
They didn’t realize that without her confession, the Ten Warriors’ story would’ve remained unknown.
[Sacrifice Who Overcame Sloth laments that those who commit wrongs will face karmic consequences.]
[Sacrifice Who Overcame Sloth admits that failing to honor her comrades for centuries is a burden she must bear.]
Burden…
Indeed, it was strange. For centuries, she had been a god of a prominent religion, yet she hadn’t shared her comrades’ story.
For someone as selfless as her, this inconsistency felt… off.
As I continued scrolling through the comments, my finger froze on some… questionable posts:
…I decided it was better not to mention these.
Buzzzz.
“?”
Suddenly, the Magitech Artifact beside me began vibrating.
I picked it up.
The device was connected to an advertising network in the divine realm, installed with Dreamteller’s help to recruit a second Constellation for the game’s next major update.
The system allowed direct communication with interested Constellations.
Dreamteller had insisted on concealing my identity, fearing that revealing it might lead to another Constellation trying to "steal" me.
A Constellation had responded.
Who could it be?
Feeling both nervous and excited, I activated the Artifact.
But when I saw the name of the Constellation on the other end, I was stunned.
[Magitech Engineer Consumed by Wrath]
A major figure—and one I never thought would be interested—had reached out.