chapter 02
“I haven’t seen all the endings yet.”
I still have to see my daughter’s hidden ending…
That was my last thought.
And then—I woke up in this place.
‘Where… am I?’
The first thing I saw was a ceiling—very tall and high above.
It looked old, like it had been standing for many years, yet beautiful—like something you’d see in a painting at an art museum.
‘But this looks kind of familiar…’
That shape—I feel like I’ve seen it before…
“L-Lady Godel… Lady Godel…”
Then, I heard a trembling child’s voice from somewhere.
At first, I thought it was a ghost crying, but no—it was definitely a human voice.
Suddenly, I snapped back to full awareness. I sat up quickly—only to be hit with a sharp pain and a loud ringing in my head.
“Ah…!”
I grabbed my head and looked down at where it hurt.
My ankle was swollen, as if I’d fallen and twisted it.
‘Huh?’
But something felt strange. The cloth wrapped around my ankle wasn’t a regular bandage you’d use for injuries.
And then, I heard a voice right by my ear.
“L-Lady Godel, are you alright…?”
I looked up—and saw a child with beautiful golden hair. Her fair face and big, green eyes were full of tears.
“I’m so sorry! If I hadn’t made a mess, you wouldn’t have tripped and fallen…”
The girl kept rambling nervously, clearly blaming herself. Her face showed fear—fear of me.
But I couldn’t say anything to comfort her. Why?
Because of the name she used.
She called me Godel.
Could it be? No way…
With a dry swallow, I asked her:
“You… are you Echo?”
Her tear-filled eyes went wide in shock.
“H-How do you know my name?! Oh no, you really must have hit your head! I’ll go get a doctor right away…!”
The girl panicked, rushing around in a flurry. Normally, I would’ve told her to calm down—it was too noisy—but I couldn’t say a word.
Echo.
And she called me Godel.
At that moment, I couldn’t even feel the pain in my ankle anymore.
Because—those two names?
I had just picked them myself, as character names for the game.
Here’s the basic background of the game:
In the founding myth of the empire, there were two great beings—a goddess and a demon king. The one who helped the goddess defeat the demon king was called the Hero.
Heroes appeared every generation, no matter if they were born noble or commoner. Once awakened, a Hero had to travel the continent and defeat monsters—because they inherited the power of the goddess.
And those who followed the Hero were none other than the nobles from each tribe or family.
As a price for starting a conquest war, the noble houses had vowed to send their heirs to join the Hero on this journey.
But as time passed, vows became meaningless. Some of the more selfish nobles—who valued their lives too much—decided to adopt someone to take their child’s place in the war.
One of those nobles?
Was none other than Count Hildegarde.
Her father, Count Hildegard, adopted an orphan named Gilbert so he could join the required monster-hunting expedition.
Gilbert was kind, hardworking, and handsome—almost perfect.
But if there was one problem…
It was his younger sister, Godel.
Godel, who was also adopted, fell in love with her older brother, Gilbert.
But Gilbert awakened as a Hero and left on the expedition.
And Godel waited for his return, never marrying anyone else.
“B-Brother, this child is…?”
“She’s my daughter.”
But when Gilbert finally returned from his journey, he brought back a young girl.
That girl was Echo—the daughter that the player would eventually raise.
She wasn’t his biological daughter—just a war orphan he took in after losing her parents during battle.
But blinded by jealousy, Godel couldn’t see the truth.
She bullied and mistreated Echo for no reason.
Only Gilbert ever protected Echo.
This was Echo’s first trial.
So, what was the second one?
‘It was Gilbert’s death…’
Maybe due to injuries from fighting monsters, Gilbert fell ill and died.
Though Gilbert was a Hero, he wasn’t the player’s character.
He only existed to give Echo a tragic backstory.
After his death, Godel completely lost her mind.
And right now… is the moment in the game when her madness peaks.
‘…Wait.’
As that thought hit me, I suddenly jumped up from my seat.
Ignoring the pain in my ankle, I threw the door open.
But what greeted me?
Only the cold wind blowing in.
“L-Lady Godel…?”
Echo’s worried voice came from behind me, surprised by my sudden movement.
Still holding the doorknob, I asked her in a trembling voice:
“Hey, Echo.”
“Y-Yes…?”
“While I was unconscious… did anyone come looking for me?”
At my cautious question, Echo blinked.
“No, no one came.”
“Really? You’re sure no one knocked or anything?”
“U-Um… I’m not sure. You looked like you might wake up soon, so I went to find medicine. I didn’t see if anyone came by….”
“……”
“L-Lady Godel?”
Echo hesitantly answered, watching me nervously.
But I couldn’t say a word.
In the original story, Godel collapses from her own rage at the beginning of the episode.
While Echo is panicking and doesn’t know what to do, someone visits the house.
“Master, are you home? It’s been a while. I came to see you.”
“P-Please help! Lady Godel… she collapsed…!”
Echo runs outside to get help—and that’s when she meets the true Hero of the current age.
The real player.
But now, “Godel” woke up before that could happen.
And Echo… hadn’t heard anything.
Which means—the main character missed meeting his daughter.
In a quiet corner of the town square…
“Log out!”
I shouted at the top of my lungs.
But… nothing happened. No changes around me at all.
“Log out!”
I shouted again. And again.
Because in this game, that was the only way I knew how to leave—by logging out.
I heard some people whispering behind me:
“Tsk, tsk… What a shame. Such a young girl too…”
“Must be going through something hard…”
But I didn’t care. I didn’t hear or see anything.
My only focus was getting out of the game.
“It’s cold, isn’t it? Here, take this.”
A kind-looking lady came up to me and gently placed a blanket over my shoulders.
Only then did I realize how pitiful I must have looked.
I hadn’t even had the energy to fix my messy hair.
With a weak voice, I replied:
“…Thank you….”
“Stay strong. Life still has good things in store.”
“Yes… Someday, something good will happen… right?”
She gave me a sad smile. After patting my shoulder a few times and whispering a small “be strong,” she walked away.
I pulled the blanket tight against the sudden cold wind and sighed deeply.
After realizing I missed the chance to meet the Hero, I ran outside to find him.
But I didn’t even know what the Hero looked like.
He was just a nameless presence controlling things from outside the screen.
Even if I did find him, he wouldn’t awaken as a Hero yet—not until he saw that Echo had been mistreated by the villain.
In other words—I would have to act like a villain to make Echo suffer.
Only then would the Hero awaken.
‘But this isn’t a stage play. How am I supposed to suddenly start bullying someone?’
That’s why I tried yelling “log out” over and over, hoping I could reset the situation.
But it didn’t work. And now, my head hurt even more.
It wasn’t just in my mind—this was a real, pounding headache. Maybe I hit my head when I fell… or maybe it was the cold wind blowing through me now.
“Whatever. Standing out here won’t solve anything. Let’s go back for now…”
Dragging my feet, I headed back home.
Even as I walked, I kept thinking.
The condition for the game to start is for Echo to meet the Hero.
‘So… even if I can’t be really cruel, maybe I could try yelling at Echo?’
It seemed like a good idea. Whatever happened, Echo had to meet the Hero no matter what.
