Yulia stared at the silk canopy above her, the throbbing in her head refusing to subside.

Something was definitely off.

"Princess Yulia." A maid stood by the bedside, her fingers white as she twisted her apron. "His Majesty has summoned you."

Princess Yulia?

His Majesty?

Yulia's brain felt like sludge, but the strange, melodic language translated itself in her mind with jarring clarity.

The maids swarmed. They yanked Yulia out of her lace nightgown and shoved her into a heavy, rose-colored silk gown before she could protest.

"Miss Daisy isn't a commoner anymore," the maid whispered, her voice trembling as she tightened the corset. "She's the King's blood. Your sister."

The maid's hands shook as she adjusted the collar. "The people are furious. Please, keep your temper today, or you'll be lucky if they only exile you".

Daisy.

The God of Radiance.

High Priests.

The words clicked into place like a trap.

This was the world of The Saintess's Prayer, an otome game Yulia had wasted hundreds of hours on.

The protagonist, Daisy Vale, was a commoner orphan who discovered she was a rare light-element user—and the secret daughter of the King.

Daisy was the ultimate Heroine, sweeping up every powerful man in the Empire while becoming the one true Holy Saintess.

Yulia looked in the mirror. A girl with sand-gold curls and sapphire-blue eyes stared back.

She was the villainess. The sister who had everything—the title, the Saintess candidacy, and the handsome Knight Commander fiancé—until Daisy appeared.

To get rid of her rival, the original Yulia had released a dark creature from the Forbidden Forest. It failed to kill Daisy, and the Knight Commander traced the beast right back to Yulia.

The villainess was officially screwed.

"His Majesty, Princess Yulia has arrived".

The Golden Hall was a sea of judgmental faces. King Austin sat on his throne, flanked by Daisy and the Knight Commander, Loren Eir.

Yulia recognized the scene immediately. The Church Trial. The moment Yulia gets cast out.

It wasn't just the attempted murder. The dark creature had smashed the arm off the central Divine Statue of the God of Radiance.

In this world, the God of Radiance was the only faith. Breaking his statue was worse than murder; it was a death sentence for one's soul.

"Yulia." King Austin looked down at her, his face a mask of cold grief. "Kneel and listen to your punishment."

Daisy watched her from the shadows. Even now, she looked at Yulia with a mix of awe and pity, as if seeing a fallen angel.

High Priest Valen stepped forward, his robes rustling against the marble floor. "By the authority of the gods given, I command you answer—do you repent for your unforgivable crimes?"

Yulia remained standing. She noticed Loren Eir's jaw tighten, his eyes searching hers for the usual arrogance.

She simply blinked. "No".

The hall erupted in hushed, horrified whispers. Daisy's hand flew to her mouth in a sharp gasp.

"Yulia Farislan!" Valen's voice thundered, his face flushing a deep purple. "In the presence of the God of Radiance, your words are blasphemy! I ask you again—"

Yulia smiled. It was a sweet, vacant smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"Actually," she said, her voice clear in the silence. "I don't believe in God".

The silence that followed was heavy enough to crush.

Yulia's survival instinct was zero. She had seen all 101 bad endings of this game; she knew how this worked.

Whether she begged or screamed, the result was the same: exile and a slow death at the hands of angry believers. She might as well enjoy the view on the way down.

If I'm going down, I might as well sprint for the "Bad Ending." Maybe death is the only way back home.

"Heretic! She's a heretic!"

"By the God of Radiance, we almost let this demon serve the Temple!"

"She must die!"

The Imperial Princess stood at the center of the storm. No screaming. No begging.

Daisy's brow twitched. This wasn't how the scene was supposed to go.

The High Priests were already shouting for the stake.

King Austin gripped the arms of his throne. "She is still a Princess of Farislan..."

Daisy tugged his sleeve. Her brown eyes were wide and watery.

"Father... if the God hears her, will he punish the Empire?"

The King's mouth thinned. He didn't speak for her again.

Daisy's chest swelled with a secret triumph. Then she looked up.

Yulia's sapphire eyes were locked on her. Cold. Seeing everything.

"I... I'm not trying to hurt you," Daisy whispered, her lip trembling. "As your sister, I forgive you for trying to kill me. But as a believer, I can't..."

"You're confused." Yulia's voice was a needle.

"I don't have a sister. You don't have a name. You don't even belong in this room, do you?"

Daisy's face went ghost-white.

Under the law, a bastard had no right to a surname. She was a stain on the holy floor.

Loren Eir stepped in front of Daisy, blocking the priests' judgmental glares.

"Every believer has the right to witness the judgment of a blasphemer," he barked.

The priests nodded. The target shifted back to Yulia.

Yulia looked at her ex-fiancé. The Knight Commander's eyes were blocks of ice.

He wanted her gone. He wanted his engagement to this "villainess" erased so he could be with Daisy.

"Actually," Yulia said. "You're the one who shouldn't be here."

Loren's hand tightened on his sword hilt. "I am a Knight Commander. A Duke's son. A loyal believer..."

"And the man who swore before the God to protect my life."

Loren froze.

"You're unfaithful. You let them trample my dignity. You broke a holy vow."

Yulia tilted her head. A jagged, dark smile touched her lips.

"If I'm a heretic, shouldn't you follow me to the gallows? Atone for your lies by my side."

The hall went dead silent.

Loren stared at her. This wasn't the brainless, temperamental girl he knew.

But she was right. He had sworn to protect her in the God's name.

He couldn't let her be executed. Not in front of him.

Loren leaned in and whispered to King Austin. The King's eyes widened, then he nodded slowly.

"Who said anything about the gallows?" Loren turned back to Yulia.

"Yulia Farislan. For your crimes against the faith, the Empire and the Temple strip you of your crown and your glory."

"Before dawn, you leave for the Temple of Abyss in Catharsis. You will be the Dragon's Bride—a sacrifice to save the faithful."

Yulia's heart skipped a beat. Wait!

The Dragon?

Caerus?

Yulia's nails dug into her palms until her knuckles turned white. She had wanted a quick death, but the "Temple of Abyss" was a slaughterhouse.

In her memories of The Saintess's Prayer, the "Game Over" screen flashed red fifty times over, always ending with the same obsidian claws. Caerus, the Black Dragon, was the ultimate gatekeeper.

The God of Radiance was the star of every promotional poster, the elusive prize at the end of the game's hardest route. To reach him, players had to survive the nightmare at Catharsis.

Annoy him, and you were ash; please him, you were still ash; if the weather turned, you were definitely ash.

Below his talons lay a graveyard of "heroines"—every love-struck girl who had ever tried to sneak past him for a piece of the God.