I Reincarnated As The Villainess's Best Friend

A large pulse of dark energy beamed upwards, originating from the Shadow Queen. In the moments that followed, all was still.

Mustering every strength I had left, I rose up and turned to Daevalia.

"What was that? What did you do?"

Her body was sprawled out motionless on the floor, but her eyes twitched as a faint smile appeared on her face.

She had used all her remaining powers to cast a spell, and I could feel the mana draining from her.

"What did you do?!"

Then, I heard her whisper.

"Eternal rule... or eternal destruction. Either way, I win."

In her eyes, I saw a faint glimmer of joy. Although her strength was waning, she let out another horrible laugh.

That was the moment it began.

At first, I could not see exactly what it was, but deep down, I could sense it.

The sky looked... wrong.

The eclipse was no longer in sight, hidden behind what looked like a dark circular cloud. The visible stars all looked twisted and jumbled until they finally vanished from the night sky.

All that was left was darkness.

Then, I felt its power – A twisting spiral void, far above the clouds, emitting a force of attraction greater than anything I had ever witnessed before.

A force strong enough to defy the gravity of the Earth.

The ground folded upwards, like Earth's gravity had suddenly retired. Large mountains broke off from the earth like ice cream cones, pulling rocks and dirt along with it.

Tall trees were ripped out with their roots and tossed into the sky while the oceans in the distant horizon spun and twisted upward.

Everything began to rise towards the black cloud.

All disappeared into the looming void.

I felt the wind pull at my body, tugging my clothes away from my skin as my bones ached from the inside out. I quickly cast a gravity spell, keeping me from flying off.

The chaos intensified, and once again, I turned to the Shadow Queen.

"Look at what you've done! " I yelled, hoping my voice would be louder than the raging winds.

The Shadow Queen got back on her feet, her eyes fully locked on the thing she'd created, her laughter long faded.

"Stop this!" I yelled again.

She remained silent.

Well, it was all up to me now.

Standing on what was left of the central plains, my fractured legs sore and swollen, I began to brainstorm ideas to end the impending apocalypse.

I had lost every feeling in my left arm, and my right was barely functional. But despite my pathetic state, I could only think about one thing.

Saving the world.

So I tried.

"Nature Release: Planetary Invasion!"

Burying my right hand in the earth, I summoned millions of trees all over the planet, binding their roots together in a tight cellular formation.

Simultaneously, I began to whisper a dozen more spells to hold the world together until I could figure out how to destroy the immense gravity well in the sky.

But no matter what I did, the force in the sky only seemed to be growing stronger, and stronger.

I was merely delaying the inevitable.

Soon I reached my limit, and the effects of my spells faded. Immediately, I felt the earth beneath me crack like an egg.

The planet slowly broke into a million pieces, and all I could do – all the Grand Mage could do – was watch.

This was really the end of everything.

Of all the ways I imagined the world to end, this was one I expected the least.

Burdened by the pain of regret, I collapsed to my knees. My soul was plunged into a dark despair, and my eyes grew blurry and wet.

I sighed out loud and turned to the Shadow Queen

"Is this what you really wanted?"

I wasn't sure she had heard me. But eventually, she turned around and her eyes slowly met mine.

In that terrible moment, I saw something I never expected.

I saw fear written all over her face.

I saw her for who she really was.

Not the Shadow Queen.

Not the Crimson Catastrophe.

Not the Terror of the Realm.

Just another girl unable to control her own spell.

I wish she would give me an answer. I wish she could explain what had driven her on a path to destroy everyone and everything.

But all I heard was the sound of my own waning breath and the strong winds that threatened to rip me apart.

The Shadow Queen began to float, pulled upward by the dark force above.

She panicked and yelled out different spells, trying to quell the monster she'd created.

But it was no use.

As I watched her disappear into the looming darkness, I finally realised the deep truth.

It was all my fault.

If I had acted earlier, when the tales of her evil atrocities first reached my ears, I could have stopped her before she ever became a world-ending threat.

But my desire for neutrality clouded my judgment.

I refused to fight when I should have, and now the entire world has to pay for my mistake.

If I had the chance to change this fate... If I knew a spell that could reverse time, I'd use it in a heartbeat.

But right now, it was all too late.

My self-gravity spell faded, and my feet lost contact with the ground. I became weightless, and the strong, blazing winds lifted me upward, tossing me toward the dark void in the sky

Eventually, I was pulled into the darkness, along with the massive red boulders that once comprised what we knew as our World.

Bracing for the afterlife, I closed my eyes and let out one last whimper.

"All I need is one more chance..."

"One more chance to do this right..."

"One more chance..."

The darkness swallowed me whole, and everything grew silent.

But as I prepared myself for the eternal sleep, I heard a faint voice, calling out to me.

"Wake up, Master Rin."