In the world, there is a saying that there exists one more person with the exact same face as you.
Doppelgänger.
It’s said that the moment you encounter one, immense misfortune befalls you, leading to death or madness.
Pina Grancia stared at the women with the same face as hers, beads of cold sweat forming on her forehead.
‘Are they enemies..? Or just fakes mimicking my appearance..?’
Unlike typical doppelgängers, there were three people present here.
What happens when three people with identical faces come together?
Tremble, tremble.
Pina Grancia pulled out her glass sword, pointing it at the doppelgängers, but—
“Looks like you really don’t remember.”
“This isn’t looking good…”
They looked so much like her that you’d believe they were twins, but instead of panicking, they all let out synchronized long sighs of concern.
“Put the sword down. We’re not here to fight.”
“…?!”
The woman with black hair adorned with a red rose.
At her gesture, Pina’s glass sword returned to its sheath as if it had never been drawn in the first place.
“Big sister, you shouldn’t be so forceful..! The past me was scared!”
“After all, we’re all the same me, right..?”
A space divided in half with black and white.
In this place were sculptures representing the God of Light and the God of Darkness.
“That’s the problem, Black Rose. We’ve been affected by the powers… you understand, right?”
“No. If I had been a bit stronger in the Grand Route, I wouldn’t have lost my memories like this.”
Before the white serpent and black world tree, two women dressed in opposite attire faced each other.
“Sorry. We’re not doppelgängers or clones, you know?”
Pina, clad in pure white saintess robes like a blank sheet of music, said.
“Maybe you’re a future version of me… or just another possibility that could have been realized.”
And in revealingly excessive clothing, the one who looked like Pina Grancia from head to toe.
No matter how much she stared, that face was undeniably her own.
Even without using glass magic to create a clone, if a stranger saw them, they’d think they were twins.
What kind of event would lead to such an appearance?
Her eyes darted around, trying to grasp what was happening.
Eyes capable of discerning lies from the truth.
“Is it true..? You’re really me?”
Pina couldn’t believe the sight in front of her.
The words from those two held no trace of deception.
They were either her future selves or versions from parallel worlds.
Despite her confusion, the answer seemed clear.
Except for the fact that their chests appeared fuller than her current self, their voices were identical, so she thought.
“Indeed. I am the Nameless Saintess… no, I’m Pina Grancia, the Third Saintess!”
“I am the Empress of the Empire, who has risen to the position of Demon God, Pina Grancia. Nice to meet you.”
One Pina greeted joyfully to the one in glass armor while another Pina gently raised her lips.
They introduced themselves as the Saintess and the Demon God, and Pina felt a strange sense of kinship watching them.
Though they looked different on the outside, the essence within felt the same.
If they swapped outfits, it’d be impossible to tell them apart.
“I’m Pina Grancia, the princess attending the Grand Harts Academy…”
Realizing they were all named Pina, she awkwardly removed her helmet and introduced herself.
“Eh heh, meeting you all this way must be the gods’ arrangement.”
“…I didn’t expect there to be three of us either.”
The Nameless Saintess remarked that this place was the shrine of the Starter and Resetter.
A shrine dedicated to both the God of Light and the God of Darkness.
What could the dark one’s intentions be in bringing her here?
“Hey… do you know anything about this ring?”
Gathering her courage, Pina extended her hand toward her counterparts from a different world line.
The ring on her left hand’s ring finger.
Like ripples spreading across a calm surface.
The moment she saw it, memories once forgotten surged back.
“Oh? That’s… definitely the one that was on the knight’s hand…”
“A cautious cat climbs onto the stove first; I’m afraid we got the jump on you.”
The eyes of the two widened as though they knew something when they saw the ring.
The Nameless Saintess gasped in surprise, while the Demon God Pina bit her lower lip in jealousy.
“I have to know about this ring…”
She had an overwhelming desire for information.
What of the blue rose accessory in her hair?
Where did the sparkling glass sword and armor come from?
Surely there was someone she couldn’t afford to forget, yet her mind came up blank, no matter how much she thought.
“What kind of relationship did I have with the Nameless Knight?”
A surge of emotion bubbled up, almost overwhelming her with heartache.
No matter how much she thought about it, it seemed strange.
Had all memories associated with him truly been erased by the Demon Kings?
“Tell me.. please..”
Questions rushed in like waves and transformed into tears.
Seeing this, the other two exchanged glances and nodded.
“There’s something important you must see, big sister.”
“You need to see something first, the past me.”
They led her deeper into the shrine, where she was clad in glass armor.
*
Tap, tap.
Where were the stairs leading down taking her?
The three Pina Grancias continued to descend into endless darkness.
What could be hidden away so tightly down there?
“Hey… how long are we going to keep going?”
The one in glass armor could not hide her anxiety and said to the others.
The Dark Rose dispelled the thorny vines guarding the surroundings, while the Saintess illuminated the area with light.
It seemed that without these incredibly powerful beings, it would be impossible to even enter this space.
“‘The one we love the most.’”
The Nameless Saintess and the Demon God spoke in unison, as if they had rehearsed it.
The person they mentioned and the person she anticipated must be the same.
Pina swallowed hard, worried she might encounter someone sealed away.
Clink.
At that moment, the seemingly endless footsteps came to a halt.
A massive, thick door appeared before them.
Defensive barriers akin to those surrounding the royal treasury were palpable.
Protective magic or divine power magic circles, along with a perfect cover of black rose vines.
Could that person really be in here?
Clunk, clunk. The sound of lock tumblers echoed as it was opened.
“Here we are, big sister.”
The Saintess began to deactivate the surrounding magic barriers.
Shimmering beams of light from her hands shattered the thick layers of magic circles.
“When we first saw this, it shocked us immensely… is it really okay to show it?”
The Demon God around the door nervously bit her lip while working to remove the rose vines.
“Everyone in here is the same Pina.”
“I worry that like me, they might fall into darkness…”
Familiar words echoed in her ears.
The reason why heroes fall and the existence of Demon Gods.
“I’m here, the Saintess, so it’ll be fine.”
Not strangers but old acquaintances.
The other Pina, dressed in white, felt a sense of déjà vu.
‘It shouldn’t have been nice meeting for the first time, but rather “long time no see”.’
Where had they met before?
Just as a faint thread began forming,
Creaaaak.
An ominous sound echoed as the door slowly opened.
What lay beyond, however, was shockingly mundane.
A cozy room with a crackling fireplace and a comfy bed.
It could easily be mistaken for any regular home by anyone else.
“Do you remember this person?”
As they ventured a few steps further inside, they spotted a knight clad in gray armor.
The shining glass armor and helmet he wore had faded in color.
It resembled more the hue of marble now.
“……”
Pina definitely recognized that person.
His hazy brown eyes and limp body suggested he was lost to consciousness.
Even if powers had utterly obliterated his memory, something inside her heart pulsed.
When had she known this person?
“Uh, uh…”
Her words failed to form, feeling as though they were caught like a thorn.
It was too bitter; her mouth felt sour.
Pina slowly moved towards the gray knight perched on a chair.
How could she forget someone who was so precious to her?
“Licht..”
It began as mere coincidence.
She had merely approached him, feeling sorry for him standing in the rain.
A peculiar man with the black knight’s helmet was her first impression of Lee Soo-hyun.
“Why… has it come to this..?”
As their time together increased, her assessment of him evolved.
From an odd person to a strong one.
From a strong person to a deceitful liar.
Thump, thump.
Like a small ember igniting a blaze.
Her heart started beating in layers.
“Soo-hyun.. why..?”
He had sacrificed himself to save her and others when attacked by the Demon King.
Only now did the memories begin to resurface.
“……”
Pina’s eyes began to well up with warmth.
She’d thought he was a good person, someone precious to her.
‘Why?’
Why had she forgotten him all this time?
The reason she wore the Mana Rose as an accessory was that it was the first flower he had given her.
A little greed had grown and morphed into a daring fantasy of wanting to monopolize him.
‘She had even worn a choker around her neck.’
She had gone to the hot springs together or invited him as a partner to the ball.
Pina anxiously fiddled with the choker around her neck and bit her lower lip.
The glass armor she was currently wearing had the same history.
The oversized gloves that didn’t fit were meant to remind her of him.
To remember the man who came back to save her through time.
Her first love and her current love.
Even if everything turned to dust, she still loved the same person.
Be it as a Demon God or chosen as a Saintess, her position might have changed, but—
“I’ve still been loving… the person I love.”
Pina had continued to love just one person.
Even after repeating 24 failures.
The evidence being the three Pina Grancias gathered here together.
“It’s really me. I knew I’d regain my memories when I saw Soo-hyun.”
“Stay focused. Past me. The knight isn’t dead yet.”
The two encouraged Pina while she wept beside Lee Soo-hyun.
“Soo-hyun… why has it come to this…?”
The once sparkling glass knight now donned gray armor.
Pina asked them questions to find out what had happened to Lee Soo-hyun that led to this transformation.
How could a man whose memories were erased turn out to be alive here?
And why was he in such a state of unconsciousness?
“Demon King of Innocence.”
“Your knight has turned into that existence.”
From having erased all valuable things like his name, memory, and existence.
“That’s why there can’t be a Black Knight within the Academy anymore.”
He had transformed into this anomalous being in a bid to survive in this world.
“What do you mean?”
“Literally. There’s no place for your knight in the Grand Route.”
A death sentence.
It meant he could no longer be seen in the Grand Route.
“No. That can’t be true. It can’t…!”
Looking at the rings on their left ring fingers.
With all memories returned, Pina let out a voice filled with anger.
“There must be a way to wake Soo-hyun…!”
Surely, there would be some method.
Just as the Black Knight had always come to her rescue, it was her turn to save him this time.
“Yes, there’s actually one way.”
The Black Rose observing silently raised a finger slowly.
“By utilizing the wolf meaning day and night, we create a new world line.”
The Demon God Pina already knew how to heal Lee Soo-hyun through her omniscience.
With her black hair swaying, she circled around him.
“The wolf representing day and night..?”
“The wolf representing the day and night refers to both the Saintess and me.”
She revealed a shocking truth.
“That time and space intertwine like a wedding ring… forming a single loop.”
To save him, she and the Saintess would have to make a sacrifice.
“The glass knight, I— no, what choice will you make, Pina?”
