The city of Camelon, birthplace of magic.
Though its time as the epicenter of magic had passed centuries ago, its majesty and influence remained undiminished.
Why? Because of one particularly special assembly—
The Mage Elders' Council.
This venerable assembly of ancient mages, so deeply bound to the art of magic that they could scarcely separate themselves from it, rarely convened. Full gatherings were so infrequent that decades could pass without one… yet, in recent months, such meetings had become alarmingly frequent.
Though the elders had long receded from worldly matters, the unsettling rise of dark mages and the mysterious maneuvers of the Twelve Divine Moons had forced their hands.
Among them, Sael Ri, the Chairman of the Council and a Class 9 mage, was renowned for rarely showing himself. Yet, over the past few days, he had been firmly stationed at the council chambers, refusing to leave.
"You should rest a bit."
"Haha, I've had my share of rest already. Are the others growing uneasy?"
"At least you're aware of it."
"Of course."
Unlike most Class 9 mages, who cloaked themselves in youthful appearances, Sael Ri bore his age with pride. His long beard flowed to his chest, and his wizened frame carried the gravitas of centuries of wisdom.
Adjusting his pointed hat, he turned his keen gaze toward the figure seated across from him.
"Well, it's been a while since we've spoken like this, hasn't it, Aryumon Brushun?"
"About twelve years or so. Not that long."
"You really do have an unusual sense of time."
"I've lived longer than you, after all."
Their banter might have seemed incongruous - like a conversation between a young man in his twenties and an elder nearing a century - but Aryumon Brushun had indeed lived longer.
Precisely one day longer, having been born just before Sael Ri.
"… Let's not dwell on age. So, did you find anything?"
Sael Ri's expression turned serious, and his voice dropped into a commanding tone. Aryumon let out a heavy sigh.
"Haah… The dark mages have been in total chaos lately. No rules, no morals… and yet they're so obsessed with their ridiculous battle for the throne."
"In that place, the king is the law. They're probably fighting to become the law itself."
"If it were just infighting, I wouldn't care… But it's starting to bleed into our world."
"Has the Dark Tower made a move?"
"See for yourself."
With a snap of Aryumon's fingers, a holographic image appeared in the air.
The image showed a village drenched in heavy rain, but suddenly, the air twisted, and the space itself seemed to shift. The rain stopped abruptly, replaced by a blizzard.
"That's… The Wuren region, isn't it?"
"Yes. The place known for its unending rains more than half the year. But since that day, everything has changed."
"... Was it engulfed by a Persona Gate?"
"Exactly. That village is now trapped in a perpetual winter, an unnatural land of snow where it should never fall."
"Reality has been contaminated… What has the Mage Association been doing all this time?"
When a Persona Gate is detected, the Central Mage Association is supposed to immediately dispatch mages to eliminate it.
While multiple institutions share this responsibility, the Magic Towers traditionally handles the lion's share of the work.
"Unfortunately, we knew nothing about it. The contamination occurred right before the Persona Gate distorted reality, and we didn't even detect it."
"… You're telling me you couldn't sense the spatial distortion at all?"
At that moment, Sael Ri's expression darkened.
Persona Gates were among the most perilous phenomena known to mages. If left unresolved, they could corrupt reality itself, twisting it into a reflection of the alternate world they created.
A case like Wuren, where only the season changed, might not seem too alarming.
But if the environment were to transform into something hostile to life, affecting the terrain and ecosystem, it could lead to a catastrophic disaster.
"I don't want to see another continental rupture happen. Can't we be a little more cautious this time?"
The mention of 'continental rupture' made Aryumon recall some troubling memories. He rubbed his deep dark circles with a sigh.
Already plagued by illness, he had been forcing himself to continue working, relying on medicine to push through. Sael Ri, caught up in his own concerns, seemed oblivious to the toll it was taking.
"I don't want another continental rupture either. Who would be happy about cutting away and abandoning parts of our homeland?"
Years ago, a Persona Gate had corrupted a peninsula on the central continent, transforming it into a lifeless wasteland.
The toxic mana lingering in that area had the power to halt all life within its reach. With no available technology to purify it, the mages had been left with no choice but to take drastic action—
They severed the peninsula entirely, sacrificing the land to save the rest of the continent.
While it may have seemed like a solution at the time, it was unsustainable in the long run.
If mages continued surrendering corrupted land each time a Persona Gate appeared, the continent itself would eventually erode, leaving nothing but ocean in its place.
Fortunately, after that incident, technology capable of detecting Persona Gates with 99% accuracy had been developed.
But now…
"The dark mages have advanced their techniques as well."
"Exactly. Ever since that Dark Mage Cult Leader showed up, their technology has been advancing at an alarming rate."
The emergence of the Dark Mage Cult Leader had shaken the magical world to its core.
He had pioneered methods to mask dark magic, allowing his followers to infiltrate the ranks of legitimate mages unnoticed.
He even invented techniques to open Persona Gates at any location, in any size, at will.
And now, they had gone one step further—
They could disguise their presence and fool the eyes and ears of the mages, and open gates undetected.
"The more we learn, the more terrifying he seems."
"What's even scarier is that we know absolutely nothing about him."
No one knew the true identity of the Dark Mage Cult Leader—not his name, not his face, not even what kind of magic he wielded or where he conducted his research.
Nothing.
As the weighty conversation between Sael Ri and Aryumon continued, a faint ripple of energy stirred outside the council chamber.
Aryumon snapped his fingers, causing the holographic projection of the corrupted village to dissolve and shift. A new image appeared… a young mage's anxious face, peering through the connection.
"What is it?"
— Oh! Uh, Chairman!
The mage looked startled by the sudden holographic connection but quickly composed himself to deliver his report.
And after hearing what he had to say—
Both Sael Ri and Aryumon froze. Their expressions turned as cold and unyielding as stone.
"A massive Persona Gate… Has started interfering with reality?"
— Yes… That's correct.
"Damn it! Where?"
— At the northernmost edge… The Arctic Iceberg Mountain.
"The Arctic Iceberg Mountain?"
That area was guarded by Grand Duke Selphram, one of the strongest knights in the world.
Since Selphram had taken command of the mountain fortress, not a single alarm had ever reached the Central Mage Association. The area was regarded as impenetrable, an implacable stronghold.
Yet now, without warning, catastrophe loomed.
Aryumon dragged a hand through his hair, exasperation etched into his features.
"Damn those dark mages! What the hell are they trying to accomplish?"
Why did they keep creating Persona Gates? What was the point of these repeated incidents?
"… Sael, this is bad…"
Before Aryumon could finish, Sael Ri was already in motion. The elder mage had launched himself skyward, his robes whipping dramatically in the air.
Whoosh…!
The chamber's sealed ceiling dissolved in an instant, leaving no trace of its prior existence. No incantations had been uttered, no flicker of mana could be felt… just the awe-inspiring presence of a spell beyond comprehension.
"That old man… For someone who brags about his health, he's way too energetic. We'll take the airship. Open a warp hole immediately."
— Understood!
Aryumon quickly threw on his outer cloak and rose from his seat.
A massive Persona Gate, so large and unstable that its risk level couldn't even be measured, was syncing with reality.
'We have to stop it. No matter what.'
Aryumon rushed out of the council chamber, his path intercepted by a team of mages trailing behind him, their faces tight with urgency.
"Chairman! This might be irrelevant, but…"
"There's no such thing as irrelevant news. Tell me everything."
"Y-Yes, sir. It's highly confidential, but we've received confirmed reports from Elthman Elwin, the principal of Stella Academy. Florin, the Elf King, and Baek Yu-Seol, a Stella student, have already headed to the Arctic Iceberg Mountain."
"Those two? What's their business there?"
"They were reportedly going to meet Grand Duke Selphram in secret, away from public attention."
"… Then why did they inform us about it if it's supposed to be a secret?"
"We're… Not sure."
"Hmm…"
Even as he hurried toward the airship, Aryumon's mind was racing at full speed.
'Dark Mage Conflict… Persona Gate… the North… Grand Duke Selphram… Florin… the Twelve Divine Moons… Elthman… Baek Yu-Seol…'
The words swirled in his thoughts, rearranging themselves, linking disparate threads into a tapestry of tens of thousands of scenarios—
Some were outlandish and improbable, while others carried unsettling plausibility.
Narrowing down the possibilities, Aryumon began to piece together a reasonable conclusion.
"A massive Persona Gate suddenly syncing with reality… and Baek Yu-Seol just happens to be there…"
"Why? What's wrong?"
"No, it's nothing."
He smirked.
"It's just… Things might actually turn out easier than expected."
***
Northwest of the continent, Barangka Cliffs.
High above the jagged coastline, thousands of meters above sea level, three figures soared through the skies.
Three girls soared through the sky, each with wings of red, blue, and white.
Unlike traditional flight magic, which left users battling winds and gravity, their hair remained eerily still, as if the very laws of nature bent around them.
"…Do we really have to go all the way up there?"
Hong Bi-Yeon asked.
Flame nodded.
"Probably."
Rising in the distance, a colossal golden pillar pierced the heavens, its sheer size almost incomprehensible. It stood in the center of the ocean, shimmering like a beacon.
How had something so enormous gone undiscovered until now?
Had it been hidden by perception-reduction magic?
No. Even perception magic had its limits… it couldn't conceal an object this large.
More likely… The space and time around it had been isolated, making it impossible for people to find.
"Still… Flying all the way above the clouds like this…"
Any ordinary mage wouldn't even dare to attempt this. With conventional flight magic, reaching such altitudes would mean being swept away by violent winds or crashing outright.
"Yeah. And it's not just about flying. There's a subtle barrier in place too."
"Ah… You're right."
Whoosh.
As they finally pierced through the clouds and entered the upper sky, the girls felt the faint traces of a barrier that seemed ready to reject them but ultimately allowed them to pass.
Had they been unworthy, the barrier would have repelled them immediately.
"Why did it let us through?"
"… Not sure. Probably because of you."
"Me?"
Surprised, Eisel asked again, her voice filled with confusion.
Flame smiled faintly.
'You were once the protagonist.'
… Though that might no longer be the case.
"The view's impressive, at least."
Despite the meaningful conversation, Hong Bi-Yeon didn't seem interested. She gave a dry observation instead.
"Yeah, it really is."
And she wasn't wrong. The sight was breathtaking.
At the top of the golden pillar, there stood a massive palace.
But upon closer inspection, it wasn't actually gold.
It was a white palace made of mirrors, reflecting the sunlight, giving it a golden glow.
"That's…"
"A temple that once served the Twelve Divine Moons of Time. It was built by the Silver Moon Church using the power of time—the most mystical temple in the world, the Constellation of Time."
"The power of time?"
Eisel's disbelief was evident as she stared at the temple, her eyes filled with wonder.
"Well, to be honest, as grand as it sounds, they never really mastered the power of time. Even though they inherited part of Silver Autumn Moon's abilities, very few could wield it properly."
"And yet… They were able to create such an incredible spell?"
"That's the mystery of time."
"Enough with the pointless chatter."
Hong Bi-Yeon frowned, as if another headache was coming on, and spread her wings, flying straight toward the Constellation of Time.
"W-Wait! Let's go together!"
Eisel quickly unfolded her blue wings and flew after Hong Bi-Yeon, but Flame remained where she was, unable to move for a long moment.
'Is this really the right choice?'
In the novel, 'Do Not Love the Unfortunate Princess,' Eisel had made a catastrophic mistake during this time-travel journey.
While Flame was confident that her presence could prevent Eisel from repeating that mistake, she wasn't worried about Eisel.
What truly troubled her was something else entirely—
Herself.
Specifically, the unknown consequences of her own presence in that place.
'Is it really okay… For me to travel through time?'
She shut her eyes tightly and tried to think it through.
But after coming all this way, she couldn't just turn back now.
'No, I already made up my mind.'
She had vowed to see it for herself—to uncover her destiny with her own eyes.
'… So I'm going.'
In the past.