NoveLight ™
“Disappear.”
The Crown Prince, carried aloft on [Elder Guardian]’s wings, infused the sacred sword with the essence of [Knight Ren] and unleashed a powerful strike.
BOOM!
A massive slash of divine energy swept through the horde of monsters, obliterating them in an instant.
“Well done, Hero.”
As the battle ended, Saintess Cartecia approached, handing him a towel.
“Ah, thank you.”
The Crown Prince accepted the towel and wiped the sweat from his brow.
‘...Too easy.’
The combination of the Hero's naturally gifted physique and the sacred sword was overwhelming. With the additional ability to absorb and wield the powers of monsters he defeated—an ability gained from the last episode—there was no opponent capable of standing in his way.
It was a stark contrast to the struggles of Episode 0, where he had to overcome challenges with nothing but a mundane spear and the body of an ordinary soldier.
“At this rate, the surface will be restored in no time, Hero!”
Cartecia cheered him on with an enthusiastic “Go, go!” as they used teleportation magic to return to the sanctuary.
‘Now that I think about it, wasn’t there mention of an Abyss servant infiltrating this story? Why haven’t they shown up yet?’
With 60% of the monsters on the surface already eradicated, reclaiming the entirety of the land seemed within reach.
Scratching his head, the Crown Prince stepped into the sanctuary. The thought that this story could end uneventfully and predictably didn’t sit right with him.
That wouldn’t happen. Not with the Abyss involved. Something big was coming; he was certain of it.
A piercing scream shattered the air as they entered the sanctuary.
“KYAAAAAH!”
-Screeeeech! -Keeerrrk!
“Monsters!”
“Save us!”
“Paladins! Where are the paladins?”
“When will the Hero return?!”
Despite being humanity’s last bastion and the safest haven against monsters, the sanctuary was now swarming with them.
“This makes no sense! The sanctuary has a barrier built personally by the Constellation! Monsters shouldn’t be able to enter!”
The Saintess froze, horrified by the scene before her.
The Crown Prince, however, stayed calm, assessing the situation. The sanctuary’s corridors were overrun by roughly seventy monsters, with only one being at the level of an Elder Guardian.
Nothing too formidable.
‘To think the Abyss would bypass me and directly invade the sanctuary instead.’
The monsters seemed to have emerged from the edges of the sanctuary—from the magitech division, to be exact.
‘The Abyss servant must be there.’
A knowing smile spread across the Crown Prince’s face. There was no way this story would end uneventfully. Tightening his grip on the sacred sword, he leapt toward the monsters.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Fighting alongside the Saintess, the Crown Prince eradicated the horde and delivered the final blow to the Elder Guardian. Then, he shoved open the doors to the magitech division.
The room greeted them with the metallic tang of blood and a horrifying sight of carnage. The floor was soaked red, and the mangled remains of what were once humans lay scattered.
Even the Saintess, hardened by countless battles, could only stifle a gasp and cover her mouth in shock.
“You arrived sooner than expected.”
At the center of the magitech division stood a man with slicked-back white hair, wearing a mask. He held Ian Carlyuga by the collar.
“Greetings, Hero… No, the new Curator of the Archive. I am Orpheus, servant of the Abyss.”
‘Orpheus...’
This was the first time he had encountered an intelligent adversary from the Abyss. Was this man a key player in the Abyss and a future major antagonist of [Akashic Archive]?
“How about putting him down? He’s not even part of the fight.”
Feigning composure, the Crown Prince addressed Orpheus, his gaze sharp.
‘Now I see why they targeted this place. Losing the magitech division entirely would be a critical blow. I can’t let him kill Ian.’
The magitech division had been responsible for repairing and enhancing weapons and armor. With Ian Carlyuga—their head—being the sole survivor, his death would cripple the army’s sustainability in future battles.
“Amusing suggestion.”
Orpheus sneered and, with one hand, grasped Ian’s head.
“No, don’t—!”
CRACK!
Before the Crown Prince could act, Ian’s skull shattered like a watermelon, blood and brain matter splattering everywhere.
“But I couldn’t let this sinner live.”
Ian’s body slumped lifelessly to the ground, a crumpled candy wrapper falling from his pocket.
“Ian! No!”
“...So, there’s no room for negotiation, is there?”
“You jest, Curator. Negotiating with the Abyss? Preposterous.”
Orpheus chuckled darkly.
“If you’re so eager to drink the Abyss’s poison, I’ll gladly oblige.”
The Crown Prince infused his sword with divine energy, preparing for battle.
Losing the magitech division was a severe setback.
But the Abyss had overlooked one critical fact.
‘If I eliminate him here, this ends.’
The Crown Prince’s adversary was clear: Orpheus, the Abyss’s servant within this narrative. Eliminating him would leave no other major threats from the Abyss in this arc.
‘Judging by his reliance on indirect methods, like unleashing monsters as a diversion, his strength isn’t overwhelming. A direct confrontation should work.’
“Curator, let me teach you something.”
Orpheus’s voice dripped with mockery as his body began to blur.
“Teleportation! He’s escaping!”
The Crown Prince lunged, slashing his sword, but it passed through nothing but an illusion.
“You’ll need more than that to stand against the Abyss. Remember that well.”
Otherwise, the Abyss will consume you whole.
With those final words, Orpheus’s form dissipated entirely.
“Orpheus!”
Only the Crown Prince’s shout echoed in the blood-drenched chamber.
***
As the Crown Prince watched the efforts to clean up the unprecedented disaster of the sanctuary’s invasion by the Abyss, his thoughts wandered.
Would it even be possible to clear this story now that repairs and upgrades to their equipment were no longer feasible?
Judging by the strength of the monsters he had faced on the surface, it didn’t seem entirely impossible.
‘But the real problem is that bastard, Orpheus.’
He had been right in front of him, yet he failed to land a single proper hit. If someone like Orpheus resorted to guerrilla tactics to disrupt the battles, it would become exceedingly difficult to maintain their combat capabilities in their current state.
“If this were the usual me, I’d have charged in, thinking even this adversity was part of the fun…”
But there was no room to delay clearing this story.
The Crown Prince had a compelling reason to finish the narrative quickly.
[Do you wish to exit the game?]
[Unsaved progress will be lost.]
“It doesn’t matter. That’s the whole point.”
Beep.
With the forced-exit button, the Crown Prince disconnected from the [Akashic Archive]. As the virtual reality faded, the familiar ceiling of his bedroom came into view.
Reconnect.
Upon booting up [Akashic Archive] again, his vision was swallowed by darkness.
[Would you like to start Story Mode?]
“Yes. Let’s begin.”
By forcibly exiting without saving, the Crown Prince wiped all progress, retaining only the information he had gathered. This strategy allowed him to essentially "pseudo-rewind" and replay the game more effectively.
Though not a widely recognized tactic in the Reiphania continent—unlike on Earth—a few sharp players, like the Crown Prince, had discovered how to exploit this feature to make the game easier.
In his previous playthrough, he hadn’t used the save function at all, just in case. Now, he had reset to the starting point of the story.
“Hero! You’re awake!”
[Hero Summoned to Repel the Abyssal Invasion]
Thanks to the last autosave being at the very beginning of the story, the Crown Prince had returned to the point where he first began.
Orpheus, servant of the Abyss.
“This time will be different.”
With a confident grin, the Crown Prince strode forward, his steps brimming with determination.
He mirrored the actions he had taken in the previous playthrough, down to the smallest detail. This was to avoid any potential butterfly effects that could alter Orpheus’s behavior patterns.
‘This should be around the right moment.’
He reached the point where Orpheus had previously attacked the magitech division. This time, however, the Crown Prince gathered all the sanctuary’s forces and stationed them at the boundary Orpheus had infiltrated in the last cycle, blocking every potential path.
And so, they waited.
And waited.
“…Why isn’t he coming?”
Despite waiting for a long time, Orpheus did not appear.
Eventually, the Crown Prince had no choice but to withdraw the forces. With many tasks needing attention, it wasn’t feasible to keep everyone stationed idly in one place.
Under the judgmental gazes of his subordinates—What kind of Hero is this?—he scratched the back of his head in frustration.
‘I followed the exact same steps as the previous playthrough. Was there something I did that could have influenced Orpheus’s actions?’
With no other leads, the Crown Prince decided to disband the gathered troops and inspect the magitech division himself.
What he found upon arriving was:
Drip. Drip.
“Oh, you’re finally here, Curator.”
The magitech division had already been reduced to rubble, completely annihilated by Orpheus.
***
“What the hell, Orpheus? How does this crazy bastard still remember everything even after I reset?”
“High-ranking Abyss servants like Orpheus aren’t bound to [the story]. They can remember unsaved progress.”
“Wait, is this not a game? Is [Akashic Archive] reality?”
“This is so broken! How are we supposed to win against that?”
I chuckled as I scrolled through Aperaio, the online community, reading the players’ reactions.
This was the debut of the Seven Sins of Destruction. They are the highest-ranking officers of the Abyss and function as the main villains in the Archive Saga. Unlike other characters tied to the narrative, they exist as autonomous entities. This means they can bypass the save-and-load mechanic that players rely on for their pseudo-rewinds. They retain memories of unsaved progress—a feature designed to emphasize their overwhelming presence.
This design choice was inspired by a brutal visual novel I’d played in my past life. I adapted the concept to give Orpheus a striking impact upon his introduction.
That said, Orpheus doesn’t perfectly follow the player’s resets. Instead, the mechanic works like this:
This is all possible because the world was crafted using the Constellation [Dreamteller]’s power.
A villain who shatters the fourth wall.
Of course, this doesn’t break the game itself—it’s limited to interactions within the narrative framework of the Archive. Still, for players, it’s a shocking twist.
The entire first act focuses on the villain’s narrative, which could risk making the story feel chaotic. But this layer of tension was necessary to set the stage.
From the players’ perspective, Orpheus might seem like an insurmountable obstacle. But in reality, clearing the game is simpler than it looks.
In fact, the final difficulty, purely in gameplay terms, is easier than the tutorial.
Why?
Because what Orpheus desires most is his own death.