Driven by an iron resolve to conclude the serious narrative arc as swiftly as possible, the entire sequence was condensed into a single account.
Two months had passed in the blink of an eye since Alicia and Machina first met. Alicia had virtually moved onto the artificial island, and the two spent every day in blissful company.
Some days were spent traveling abroad under Alicia’s lead, just as they had when they visited the amusement park. Other days were passed in simple, endless conversation, or playing games Alicia had brought back from the mainland.
In just two months, the interior of Machina’s house had been transformed. Previously, it had been so barren it was questionable if the girl possessed even the barest essentials; now, it felt like a home.
Though they were almost always together, Alicia did occasionally act on her own. She frequently slipped out in the middle of the night while Machina slept, returning by morning with various souvenirs.
Machina assumed her friend was simply looking for the items she had mentioned before, but the reality was far different. Since the day they met, Alicia had been conducting a clandestine investigation, and her solitary excursions were almost entirely dedicated to that research.
Late one night, as the clock neared midnight, Alicia stood atop the roof of a skyscraper. She stared intently at her mobile terminal, resting her chin in her hand as she processed her findings.
"Machina’s situation is strange," she murmured. "It isn't just that they’re afraid of her power and keeping her at a distance. It feels more like they’re trying to prevent someone else from taking her. I had a hunch there was more to it, but..."
Alicia scanned the numerous documents on her screen, her exceptional intellect organizing the data into a coherent picture. She sought the motive behind Machina’s isolation on that artificial island—a place so heavily fortified with traps that it seemed designed to repel an army.
"The real surprise is her father... a genius scientist said to have advanced global technology by a century. He vanished from the public eye over a decade ago. According to these logs, his recent movements are highly irregular. He’s been buying up land in the most remote frontiers of the world and spending fortunes on antiques that seem utterly useless."
Alicia looked at the mapped coordinates of the land Machina’s father had purchased. Her expression grew grim.
"The land itself has no real value. But there’s something nagging at me... his purchasing pattern is too chaotic. Why buy all these tiny, scattered plots? No, wait. Could it be...?"
To a casual observer, the acquisitions appeared random. To Alicia, a terrifying possibility emerged.
"This plot, and this one too... I knew it. These are lands where Seven Star Magic Beasts once lived."
The Seven Star Magic Beasts were monsters of unfathomable power, born from the massive concentrations of Magic Power that accumulated in the world’s magic pools over aeons. They were calamities made flesh.
However, they were creatures of the past. Alicia herself had hunted down every last one of them and treated the land to ensure no new beasts would ever rise.
"I killed them all myself, and I didn't leave behind a single scrap of their corpses. But... if someone searched deep enough underground, it’s possible they might find a magic-infused ore or two. And while most of the items he’s buying are just junk, several of those 'antiques' definitely pulse with residual Magic Power."
Finally, a common thread appeared. Alicia followed the lead, her thoughts racing through the data.
"He’s gathering magic-infused materials. If that’s his goal, then what is he after? Does he actually have it? A Fragment of the Great Evil God's Core...?"
Alicia moved her finger through the air, shifting into a pocket dimension created by her Space-Time Magic. There, amidst the graves of those she had once held dear, lay a shattered object resembling a cracked crystal ball.
This was the core of the Great Evil God, the very thing Alicia—the Hero of Hope—had shattered when she defeated the Great Evil God of Despair. The fragments had scattered across the world during the impact of the god’s annihilation. Throughout her long journey to honor her promise to Iris, Alicia had been quietly recovering those fragments.
"I’ve recovered about eighty percent of the core. It’s possible he found the remaining twenty percent. In fact, it’s safer to assume he has. But even so, what could he possibly do with them? On their own, they’re just shards of glass with a trace of divine Magic Power."
Alicia hadn't been in a rush to find the rest because the Great Evil God was dead. The shards were harmless curiosities unless a very specific set of factors aligned.
"This isn't a game. You can't just collect fragments to resurrect the Great Evil God. Even if you fused them, you’d just get a fancy crystal ball. Since I hold the majority of the fragments, the core can never be truly restored. So what is Machina’s father doing? Is he just deluded? Is that why he’s collecting magic items? No... something still doesn't fit."
The pieces didn't align with Machina’s current status.
"If he wanted to resurrect the Great Evil God or the Seven Star Magic Beasts, Machina’s power would be vital during the searching phase. But he isn't using her to find these items. I don't see the link. Is it possible I’m overthinking this? Are the magic items and Machina entirely unrelated?"
Alicia shook her head to clear her mind and returned to the skyscraper's roof.
"I’ll keep investigating. But for now... it’s already tomorrow. I wonder what souvenir I should bring back for Machina. She always loves things she’s never seen before... things... she... doesn't... know..."
Suddenly, the puzzle pieces snapped together. Alicia’s expression sharpened.
"A blind spot. I grew up with Magic Power and Magic, but to the rest of the world, those are fairy tales. The technology of magic was lost long ago. It’s entirely possible her father doesn't even know what Magic Power is. If I change my perspective... what if he doesn't know these items are magic-infused, but he has realized they possess some kind of 'mysterious energy'? What if he mistakes Magic Power for some other force?"
Alicia operated her terminal with blinding speed, utilizing the ultra-high-level hacking skills she had refined over decades of travel.
"Among the items he’s bought, the ones he spent the most on are labeled as 'Relics.' Relics, divine power... the possibilities are the usual: resurrection, eternal life, world domination, superhuman evolution. All tropes, but none of them feel right. Still, my skin is crawling. I can't ignore this feeling. I need more on Machina’s father... Wait, what’s this?"
She stopped her frantic typing and stared at the screen. It was a proposal submitted to a wealthy sponsor shortly before the scientist vanished from public life. It had been rejected immediately as the ravings of a madman, but the digital record remained.
"The Artificial God Creation Project... what a farce. It’s no wonder he was laughed out of the room. The content is incoherent—occult nonsense that shouldn't have come from a man of his stature. But this one line... 'A God of Salvation with the power to see through the world.' If that 'power' is Clairvoyance... then I have a very bad feeling about this."
Alicia closed her terminal and looked up. Dark, heavy clouds mirrored the growing unease in her heart.
Inside the quiet house on the artificial island, Machina was engrossed in a book Alicia had brought her. It was so captivating that she had lost track of time, reading well past midnight. Finally, she closed the cover and looked around the room, a small smile playing on her lips.
This island was empty. This house was empty. She was a girl who had nothing and was merely waiting to die. Yet, in just two months, her entire world had changed.
Before Alicia, there were no books or games. Before Alicia, she had never left the island. And before Alicia... she had never realized how lonely a night could be.
She found herself eager for the dawn, looking forward to welcoming Alicia home as she returned with a bright smile and a new souvenir.
Just as she prepared for bed, the sound of rotors reached her ears.
Machina activated her Clairvoyance. Several large transport helicopters were descending toward the island, heading straight for her front door.
Confused, Machina stepped outside. Massive containers were lowered to the ground a short distance away, followed by the helicopters landing in a neat formation. A dozen figures in white lab coats stepped out. Only the man at the front looked familiar.
"Finally, the time has come!" the man shouted with a crazed grin. "Tonight, the God is completed!"
Machina watched him with detached eyes. She didn't understand his words or the purpose of the containers, but the way he looked at her was revolting. He didn't see Machina. He saw a component. A spare part for a machine.
As the happiness in her heart turned to ash, she realized with total clarity: Yes, the word 'father' doesn't fit him. 'Father-like' is more than enough.
She was almost glad the clouds hid the stars. She didn't want the sky she had shared with Alicia to be stained by the presence of a man like this.
The men ignored her and went straight to work. To them, Machina was merely a part to be installed, and they had no interest in her house.
The Artificial God was hauled out of the containers—a fifteen-meter-tall mechanical angel with a massive Black Sphere at its center. Machina was led toward the sphere, and knowing resistance was futile, she stepped inside the God’s Core.
It was a pitch-black, empty void. Machina could move freely, and there was nothing but darkness. It was almost disappointing.
But then her father declared the activation. The core flashed with light, and Machina screamed in pure agony.
It was a torrent of raw emotion. An endless stream of information surged into her mind—the collected feelings of the entire world. Suffering, hatred, sorrow, and rage crashed over her in a massive wave.
The God’s core purpose was the salvation of the world—the erasure of sorrow and pain. To achieve this, it used Machina’s power to gather every negative emotion in existence.
The sheer volume was incomprehensible. Billions of humans, past and present, plus the collective suffering of every living creature on the planet. It was a weight no human mind was meant to carry. The core flooded her with Magic Power to protect her physical form from being incinerated, but it did nothing for the pain.
Machina thrashed on the floor of the core, her brain feeling as though it were being melted from within. Her thoughts and her heart were being painted over by the world’s darkness. As she felt herself disappearing into the deluge, she called out to her only friend.
Help me... Alicia...
On a rooftop miles away, Alicia’s heart throbbed.
"Hecatoncheir is reacting," she gasped. "Something happened to Machina!"
The Heart Tool specialized in bonds was screaming at her. Machina was in danger.
"Damn it! Machina!"
Alicia leaped into the air, kicking off the atmosphere to accelerate. In a single stride, she tore through the sound barrier; in two, she left sound itself far behind, hurtling toward the island in a straight line.
The Artificial God’s eyes flared with light. It was complete. Machina’s father spread his arms, weeping with joy.
"Finally... the God is finished! The world is saved!"
His comrades cheered behind him. The man felt a decade of grief finally beginning to lift.
"Now, O God! Save us! Erase the sorrow and suffering from this world!"
Those were his final words. The Artificial God raised a mechanical hand and erased the man with a single flash of light. It swung its arm again, and the remaining scientists and helicopters vanished into ash.
It wasn't a malfunction. The Artificial God had descended as a god, and it had listened to its creator’s wish. The project was a total success. The only miscalculation was that the God was too perfect. It possessed no human empathy, no nuance to interpret a wish.
To erase suffering and sorrow... it was a simple task.
Erase every emotional being in existence.
If there were no hearts to feel, there would be no pain. The God concluded that this was the only logical way to achieve the peace its creator desired. It was a form of salvation, perhaps, but certainly not what the man had intended.
The God spread its mechanical wings, preparing to scour the planet of all life. It paused as it sensed an approach. A meteor tore through the clouds.
"Weave the Bonds! Hecatoncheir!"
The Artificial God had the power to save the world in its own twisted way. It likely would have succeeded, were it not for the fact that this world contained Alicia—the Hero of Hope.
Alicia landed before the machine, her face twisted in a mask of fury. She brandished two knives—one black, one white.
"A scrap heap of patched-together junk, absorbing my friend and playing god... don't get ahead of yourself, you piece of junk. I'm taking Machina back!"
The God immediately attacked. Its movements were impossibly fast, fueled by the fragments of the Great Evil God and the Seven Star Magic Beasts. Even without a mind, the Magic Power within it recognized that Alicia was a predator from a higher dimension.
The flashes of light that had vaporized the scientists were easily parried. Alicia stepped in, moving faster than the machine could track, and sliced off both its arms.
But the machine didn't stop. Its arms regenerated instantly like liquid metal, and it took to the sky. Alicia pursued, slicing through the rain of light that poured down from its wings.
The regeneration is from the Mercury Beast, Alicia thought. But it’s still weak. It’s somewhere between an ancient dragon and a Seven Star Magic Beast.
She circled the machine, parrying its beams while she analyzed the situation. She could end this in a second if she wanted to kill it, but she couldn't.
Machina is in that central sphere. She’s being held there by a raw surge of Magic Power. If I destroy the core, the feedback will kill her.
Alicia was trapped. She could dodge these attacks for a century, but every second she waited was another second Machina spent in agony.
I can't untangle that magic bind without hurting her... not with my current skill.
Alicia suddenly smiled.
So what if I can't do it now? I’ve never been invincible. I’ve never been all-powerful. I’ve just always found a way.
Her eyes blazed with resolve.
"If 'my current self' can't do it, I’ll just become 'the version of me that can'!"
Alicia kicked off the air, ascending toward the stars. The light she wore began to flow into her body.
"This is the moment! The Peak of my Heart! Surpass the limits and weave the world! Hecatoncheir!"
Her body reached a critical point of brilliance, and a Sun of Hope descended, pushing back the night. Alicia tore through the sky, a streak of shimmering light heading straight for the Artificial God.
Inside the dark core, Machina’s heart was a flickering candle in a hurricane. She was numb to the pain, her mind dissolving into the cold darkness of the world’s grief. She felt ready to let go, to kill her own heart and find peace in the void.
But a fragment of hope remained—the memory of Alicia.
Suddenly, a light touched her.
It’s so warm... hope...
The light breathed life back into her soul. She realized the world wasn't just suffering; it was also the warmth Alicia had shown her. She reached out toward the light.
"Alicia..."
A hand grabbed hers—firm, warm, and familiar.
"Machina!"
Alicia pulled her from the core.
"Sorry I kept you waiting."
"No... I’m just glad you’re here."
Machina looked at her friend, who was cloaked in a radiance so beautiful it brought tears to her eyes. It was a warm, reassuring glow.
Alicia pulled Machina into a princess carry and looked at the falling mechanical angel. It was still trying to fire a beam of destruction, but Alicia simply raised her white knife.
"Pierce Hope!"
A bolt of brilliant light tore through the machine, vaporizing the nameless mechanical god and its core.
Alicia drifted down toward the island, holding Machina close. She smiled brightly.
"You really live an aggressive life, don't you?"
"Fufu... yes. It really is like a fairy tale."
"Does it hurt anywhere?"
"No, I’m okay. Just tired."
Machina leaned into Alicia, her heart overflowing with joy.
"I’m so happy you came for me."
"Of course I did. I’d travel to the end of the world for you. You’re my best friend."
"Alicia... you’re my Hero."
"Hey, can't you say 'Heroine'? I’m supposed to be a maiden, you know. I demand a change!"
"No. 'Hero' fits you better. You’re so cool, Alicia. Request denied."
"Unbelievable..."
They laughed together high above the clouds, savoring the simple joy of being alive. Alicia looked toward the horizon.
"Look, Machina. It’s dawn."
"It’s beautiful..."
The sun rose over the sea of clouds, blessing their new beginning. Alicia prepared to head back, but Machina called her name. Alicia turned, and Machina leaned in, pressing a light kiss to her cheek.
"Whoa! Hey! Careful!" Alicia nearly lost her balance in mid-air, flustered and blushing. "What was that for!?"
Machina smiled, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Now it's a 'Happy End,' right?"
Alicia blinked, then laughed heartily. "Yeah. You’re right. It’s a perfect Happy End!"