Why is life so painful?
Why must people struggle through long years, from birth to death, laden with suffering? No matter how many times I raised my gaze to the heavens, asking tens, hundreds of times, no answer ever came.
As if it was only natural.
When the wind blows, grass bends, and fallen apples nestle into the ground’s embrace. Perhaps the shape of life is inherently such that we must endure it. That silence seemed to carry this message.
If so—if life is a hell designed to relish pain—
Then, even if I act a bit worse, even if I make others miserable, it wouldn’t be a grave sin. Like a wall stained so dark it cannot show any new smudges.
“You damn thief!”
“Well, maybe you shouldn’t walk around with a loose purse, idiot!”
And so, Alice lived a life of stealing from others.
Pickpocketing—a noble profession with a long history. She targeted easy marks in back alleys, brushing against them and slipping their wallets away. That’s how she lived, earning just enough each day to survive the next.
To be honest, she failed more often than she succeeded. When caught running away with a stolen purse, a mercenary would often grab her by the hair. The beatings that followed left stars dancing before her eyes.
“Consider yourself lucky your hand wasn’t chopped off, thief.”
“... ... ...”
Her face swollen from punches, spit dripping thickly down her forehead—yet even then, Alice smiled.
“Uh... heh heh...”
It wasn’t happiness that made her laugh. It was sheer disbelief.
Just a few steps away from the shadowed alley, out on the sunlit main street, she could hear voices like these:
“Dad, I want to be a wizard! I want to join the Red Tower!”
“Well, the entrance exam fees for the Magic Tower aren’t cheap... but yes, think of it as an investment. Next year, we’ll take the test.”
“You promise, Dad? You promised!”
How could she not laugh?
While someone else was paying sums Alice couldn’t even fathom to become a respected wizard, she was busy scheming how to make up for today’s failure.
“A wizard, huh...?”
Curled up tightly, Alice thought. They say the goddess doesn’t abandon the pitiful. If she had a conscience, wouldn’t she have given someone like Alice at least a speck of talent?
Wizard. Wizard...
The word kept swirling in her mind. For the first time, Alice, who had never dreamed of anything, felt drawn to something.
A wizard affiliated with the Magic Tower held the legal status of a baron. If by some stroke of luck she had the talent and passed the entrance test, it would mean saying goodbye to her miserable commoner life.
If only it were possible.
Yes, somehow, she’d scrape together enough money to enter the Magic Tower and become a wizard. Alice repeated this thought like a mantra.
From that day forward, she began saving every coin she could. She ate just enough to stave off death. Even if the gang boss beat her senseless, she refused to pay protection money, pocketing it instead. Bit by bit, over the course of a year.
Eventually, she had three silver coins in her hands.
Alice set off, wandering aimlessly, until she arrived at the Violet Tower—the Magic Tower reputed to be the weakest. Surely, the entrance fees there would be the lowest.
Standing before the tower guard, she held out her three silver coins.
“I want to become a wizard.”
“Get lost. We’re not weak enough to entertain beggars or vagrants.”
“I said, I want to become a wizard!”
“Scram, vagrant! Now! Immediately!”
The tower guard was stubborn, but Alice was even more so. The scuffle escalated outside the Violet Tower.
In hindsight, that guard... may have been a kind person. After all, he didn’t steal her coins or strike her. Perhaps he knew about the inhumane experiments carried out in the Violet Tower.
Maybe that’s why he was so desperate to drive Alice away.
But the heavens are cruel.
“□, □□, sir...”
“Ah, you have talent. So, you wish to become a wizard? Come inside. We have the perfect place for you.”
“Finally, someone reasonable!”
And so, Alice entered the Violet Tower. She went in—and never came out again.
...
Life was full of suffering.
Her first dream was trampled into the mud. In the end, she met a miserable death. She regretted being born. Her life had been utterly meaningless.
Perhaps she had been born under such a cursed star—a fate doomed to endless suffering before departing this world.
It had been so hard. Nothing ever went right. Tortured to death by those lunatic wizards. Yet, the reason she clung to life so desperately, the reason she wanted to survive—
Was the faint hope that, at least once, sunlight might pierce her dreary existence.
“You seem to know much about our god. Then, for the material of the Evil God’s Statue, we’ll choose you, Alice.”
Even as the indifferent heavens continued to mock her.
Inside the Evil God’s Statue, teetering between dreams and reality before slipping into a long slumber, Alice thought.
A filthy life. A wretched life.
Cursed, contemptible heavens.
If the heavens had any conscience, then—just this once—grant me this. I’ll accept my miserable life without complaint. I won’t curse this world, even if it feels unjust.
Just this one thing.
“Please, make Yuna the happiest person in the world.”
Let my final wish come true.
Blurred. Muffled.
It felt like waking from an exceptionally long sleep, caught in a haze where dreams and reality intertwined. And then, suddenly...
“...Huh?”
Awakening.
Alice was bewildered by the sensation of being alive. Hadn’t she died? If so, was this the afterlife? Her body refused to move properly...
As she flailed weakly in the fog of her senses, a man’s voice came from nearby.
“Oh my, your friend is awake! Your body’s in terrible shape right now, so we’ll need to rest and modify it before you can move freely. Just relax for ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ now.”
“Ugh...”
“Once the second round of modifications is complete, you should be able to live freely again. Stay calm and rest. I’ll call for the Tower Master.”
“Urgh...”
Alice groaned incoherently, her tongue sluggish, and forced her unbearably heavy eyelids to lift. Before her stood a man with black hair and red eyes, smiling warmly.
He left the room, saying he would fetch someone. Alone in the stillness, Alice’s mind raced. I should be dead. And that man just now...
He was wearing a robe of the Violet Tower.
A delicate face, the word “modifications,” a body that wouldn’t move, and that suspiciously cheerful smile...
□□... I can’t recall his name, but he looked like that lunatic wizard with the goat mask—the one who led the project.
Those bastards of the Violet Tower.
Are they now resurrecting the dead to continue their experiments? Hadn’t she suffered enough? What the hell were they planning now?
This couldn’t be happening. Being their victim once was enough; enduring it twice was unthinkable. Fueled by indignation, Alice resolved to escape.
She didn’t fully understand how she had been brought back to life, but...
No one would expect someone who had just woken up to move. Now was her chance. Whether she escaped or died trying, she had to act.
With superhuman determination, Alice dragged her frail body upright. Wobbling like a newborn fawn, she opened the infirmary door and began her daring escape.
She crept down the hall, moving cautiously. The building’s interior was disturbingly familiar.
...This was indeed the Violet Tower. Of course. Experiment season two. The décor had changed, now cushier, with giant stuffed rabbits and girlish ornaments scattered about, but...
After a brief search, Alice found a staircase and descended.
“...”
As she reached the lower floor, she sensed people nearby and quickly ducked into a corner. Peeking out, she observed the situation.
Two women in Violet Tower robes were chatting. Alice didn’t recognize their faces, but they were undoubtedly wicked villains. She had to be careful. If they spotted her, it was over.
Quietly, she plotted her next move...
“Senior Lorei, uh... Since Senior Charlie was possessed and retired, what should we do with his research materials? It’s such a shame about his panty modeling collection.”
“Junior Luce, don’t shred them. I’ll make use of them myself.”
“Oh, this panty design is good. I’ll have it tailored into clothing at the workshop. Gotta show it to my darling.”
“...Junior Luce, your darling is a hologram... Never mind, forget I said anything.”
...
Alice was utterly baffled. The wizards were floating various suggestive panties in the air, discussing them intensely. She couldn’t fathom what they were doing.
Evil...?
How could designing women’s underwear form part of an evil scheme?
No, this had to be a ploy to confuse her. Seizing the moment as the two wizards entered a fitting room, Alice slipped down another flight of stairs.
More voices awaited her on the next floor.
A horned girl and a pink-haired woman in a suit were conversing.
“Where’s Mima? I looked around but couldn’t find her.”
“She’s waking Yuna’s friend.”
“You mean the one left behind at the last door? The Tower Master’s going to be emotional today.”
“Perhaps we should prepare a celebration. Sad moods are best countered with festive cheer.”
...
Yuna? Mom? Dad?
Yuna... That had to be Yuna Yurensto, her friend. But “Mom”? Was the horned girl Yuna’s daughter? Then how many years had passed?
Unpleasant thoughts swirled. Yuna must not have escaped the Violet Tower either... and now she even had a child. Seeing the horns on the girl’s head, this was no ordinary child.
Surely, more inhuman experiments had taken place. Alice clenched her fists, trembling. The damn heavens had ignored her final wish with disdain.
Fine. She’d trust herself rather than the heavens. She needed to find Yuna and escape together.
Alice descended further. She stumbled down a staircase at one point and nearly got caught by a clueless wizard but managed to press on.
Finally, she reached the second floor. Only one last obstacle remained. Alice caught her breath.
If she could just get past the lobby, she’d be outside the Violet Tower. Yet, the fact she hadn’t seen Yuna during her descent gave her pause.
No. She couldn’t leave alone. Once was enough to make such a choice. She resolved to retrace her steps and search for her friend. As she steeled herself—
“The Tower Master has returned!”
“Welcome back, Tower Master!”
The voices of the wizards in the lobby rang out. The Violet Tower’s master had returned! No wonder she hadn’t seen him—he’d been outside.
She needed to hide. Alice slipped into a cabinet on the second floor.
The sound of commotion grew louder outside.
Talk of someone missing and a search filled the air. Damn it, they’d noticed. The wizards would tear the tower apart to find her. Alice bit her nails anxiously.
Time dragged on in a tense silence. Then—
Creeeak—
The cabinet door opened. Alice squeezed her eyes shut. She’d been caught. She would become a test subject once more.
But the rough hands she expected didn’t come. Instead, a familiar, damp voice called out.
“...Alice?”
“Y-Yuna?”
Tentatively, she opened her eyes. Yuna, looking slightly older than Alice remembered, stood before her wearing a pointed wizard’s hat.
But those large, innocent eyes, sparkling with surprise and joy, were unchanged.
“You’re awake...? I... I waited for so long. But why are you in a cabinet...?!”
“No time to explain, Yuna. They’ve discovered my escape. The Tower Master’s back, too. Luckily, we’re on the second floor. Hide with me and wait for the right moment to make a run for it. Then we can escape!”
“E-Escape?”
“Yes. We’ll get out and ask for help. The guards might not act quickly, but if we report black magic, it should be fine. Then you can grab your daughter and—”
Before she could finish, the door burst open, and the black-haired, red-eyed wizard entered, panting.
“Tower Master, your friend escaped for a moment while you were distracted... She avoided the magic scans, so we have to search manually. She couldn’t have left the tower yet—oh, you found her!”
Alice tilted her head. Did he just call Yuna the Tower Master?
“...Tower Master?”
“Uh, yes. I’m the Tower Master... for now.”
“What?!”
“I... I killed them all. The bad people, the ones who killed my friends. Almost all of them. And now... sniff... you’re alive, too. Finally, we’re together...!”
Yuna threw her arms around Alice, her eyes brimming with tears. It was incomprehensible. Yuna, the Violet Tower Master? And she killed... everyone?
Though Alice couldn’t fully grasp it, though it still felt unreal—
“Ha...”
The warmth of Yuna’s embrace softened her heart.
Yuna looked healthy. Her complexion was bright, and she wasn’t frail.
Alice’s lips curled into a natural smile. While she had slept, much had happened. And Yuna... had become someone truly incredible.
Practical thoughts floated in her mind—If my friend is the Tower Master, I’ll never have to work again. No more pickpocketing.
But she pushed those aside for now. At this moment—
She simply wanted to enjoy their reunion in this newfound, happier world.
The Mad Wizard watched the tearful reunion of long-lost friends with a satisfied expression. Despite her frailty, Alice’s spirit and consciousness had been preserved within the Evil God’s Statue. Using this as a foundation, he had managed to bring her back to life.
This was why he hadn’t been able to complete the Lamb project properly. The energy released during the collapse of the Tower of Illusions had been prioritized for Alice’s resurrection.
The Mad Wizard spoke lazily to the empty air.
“Heartwarming, isn’t it?”
From the void came a voice—not Yuna’s, but the voice of Mirror Yuna, her reflection.
“Yuna thinks so too. This is the moment Yuna always dreamed of, and now Yuna has made it come true.”
“I made it happen, you brat.”
“No matter how it was achieved, if it’s done, then Yuna has accomplished it.”
“Born of illusions, and your thinking is pure fantasy too.”
Since the Mad Wizard had cast Illusory Realm: Gate Opening , a faint channel had formed, allowing him to communicate with Mirror Yuna. Their exchanges were sporadic but possible.
“So, what will you do now?” he asked.
“Yuna will live protecting Yuna. That is the happiness I pursue. My Tower of Illusions may have fallen to you, but my spirit hasn’t. If you stray, Yuna will step in.”
“So, you’re planning to stay as a guardian angel. In that case, you’ll never need to act.”
“Then Yuna will become a calculator instead of a guardian angel.”
“Right.”
If that’s what she decided, he had no reason to argue. Their conversation concluded. The Mad Wizard turned away, confident that as long as he fulfilled his responsibilities, Mirror Yuna wouldn’t interfere.
His mind buzzed with plans.
He still needed to assist in Irid’s battle for the throne, eliminate the remnants of the dark magicians, and—most importantly—get rid of the unwelcome tenant in his head.
But for now...
“How about we prepare a full buffet? Let’s show my wife’s friend, who once survived as a pickpocket, a level of culinary delight she could never imagine.”
“Yuna likes meat. Alice does too.”
“I know, you idiot.”
He resolved to decorate the day in vibrant hues, ensuring the friends reunited after so much tragedy could properly commemorate the occasion. It was time to make this day unforgettable.