Chapter 43: The Weight of Souls

At the heart of the battle, the girl’s voice rose with unwavering confidence.

“Do you really believe that a single person can change the tide of this battle?”

“Then you are… Frostia.”

A calm voice cut in from behind her.

She turned sharply.

Y stood there,

with Daniel and Scarlet behind him.

Frostia’s eyes widened slightly.

“How did you know?”

Phoenix laughed bitterly.

“My very first mission with you… and it ends with you being sealed.”

Y spoke calmly.

“I apologize for this.”

Solar turned sharply toward him.

“That person…

it’s him. From that time.”

Y glanced quickly around.

“Is Zeral all right?”

Leona answered,

“He’s fine. Just a few scratches.

He blocked a massive magical attack.”

Frostia clenched her fist.

Magic gathered around her—denser than ever before.

“I’ll defeat all of you at once.”

“Watch out!” Solar shouted.

Leona said quickly,

“It’s the same attack Zeral blocked earlier.”

Y studied the forming mass.

“It must be powerful.”

Frostia smiled mockingly.

“Let’s see what you’ll do now.”

She unleashed a colossal sphere of snow,

many times larger than the one before.

Y stepped forward—just one step.

“This attack…

won’t work on me.”

He burst forward in a flash,

cutting the snow sphere cleanly in half

as if it were nothing more than an illusion.

Frostia staggered back in shock.

“I didn’t expect you to handle that.”

Without looking at her, Y said,

“Let’s move to the palace.”

Frostia landed directly in front of him.

“Do you think I’ll just stand by and watch?”

“You rely on the magic of others

to maintain your form,” Y said coldly.

“And what of it?”

“I advise you to stay away from me.”

She smiled with contempt.

“Make me.”

Y snapped his fingers.

Suddenly—

Everything changed.

The ground.

The air.

Even the sense of existence itself—

They had all entered Y’s personal domain.

Frostia said confidently,

“Sorry to ruin your plan,

but no matter what you do…

your attacks won’t affect me.”

Then—

Her body began to fade, slowly.

Her composure shattered into terror.

She retreated out of the domain, screaming,

“How did you do this?!”

Solar gasped.

“Parts of her body… they disappeared.”

Leona said quickly,

“Y’s domain is her greatest threat.

It absorbs the magic of anything inside it.”

Frostia screamed in rage,

“You deceiver!”

She unleashed a barrage of magical attacks toward Y.

But other attacks intercepted them midair.

It was Solar.

Y looked at her.

“I didn’t expect to see you here.”

Solar smiled.

“Neither did I.”

Leona asked in surprise,

“Do you two know each other?”

“We met in a village,” Y replied,

“during our journey to the Magic University.”

Frostia shrieked madly,

“I’ll take my revenge on you!”

She dashed toward the palace at full speed.

Scarlet asked,

“Is everyone all right?”

“Yes,” Phoenix replied.

Y said firmly,

“Let’s move.

Now—straight to the palace.”

———

Inside the Palace

Frostia arrived at the palace garden, exhausted.

The ice around her was unnaturally still, as if it were watching her.

A calm voice reached her.

“This is the first time I’ve seen you like this.”

She turned.

A young woman was seated on an old wooden chair,

a canvas resting before her as she painted with careful focus,

as though the storm outside had nothing to do with her.

“You’re still painting, as always… Shinbi.”

Shinbi slowly lifted her gaze.

She was a young woman with hair that blended brown and black,

her clothes simple yet refined—

neither that of a princess nor a servant.

Her presence in the palace felt natural,

as if she belonged there—neither guest nor tool.

“There isn’t much for us to do,” she said calmly.

“If I go outside, the ice beasts will attack me.”

Frostia stepped closer.

“I need some magic… from your body.”

Shinbi did not object.

She simply closed her eyes.

And Frostia entered her body.

Shinbi’s breathing shifted slightly.

“Who did this to you?” she asked, worried.

Frostia’s voice echoed from within her.

“Five newcomers… I was fighting them.”

“I’ve seen you fight greater numbers,” Shinbi replied.

“What was different this time?”

A brief silence followed.

“One of them can kill me.

A young man… silver hair, average height, wielding two short blades.”

Shinbi stopped breathing for a moment.

“That description…

sounds strangely familiar.”

“They’ll arrive any moment,” Frostia said.

“I want you to use your magic on them.”

Shinbi slowly opened her eyes

and looked back at the painting before her.

A heavy silence settled over the garden.

———

Phoenix said,

“So… our objective is to free her sister from the crystal?”

Y replied,

“That’s the plan.”

Solar looked ahead and said,

“We’ve arrived.”

⸻

The palace stood at the heart of the frozen land,

silent… and heavy with presence.

It was built of pale stone tinged with blue,

so thoroughly covered in ice that it looked as though it were part of the storm itself—

not a structure within it.

Its towers were tall and razor-sharp,

its windows narrow and dark,

and its massive gate—weathered and ancient—

was carved with old engravings that time had nearly erased.

The surrounding garden was completely frozen:

trees locked in stillness,

statues stripped of their features beneath layers of snow.

The palace was not ruined…

It was preserved.

As if time itself had stopped at a single moment,

and was never allowed to move again.

———

Scarlet gazed at the palace and said,

“What a beautiful castle…”

Leona nodded.

“Yes.”

Y said calmly,

“Let’s enter together.”

Solar warned,

“Don’t forget… the illusions will begin the moment we step inside.”

Y turned to her.

“Illusions?”

Daniel answered,

“We don’t know their exact source.

But the last time I entered this place…

I could hear Jean’s voice.”

Y asked,

“Someone’s magic?”

That’s what we believe, Solar replied.

Leona took a deep breath.

“This is going to be exhausting.”

Y said quietly,

“No mission with us has ever been easy.”

Solar lifted slightly off the ground and said,

“I’ll keep watch from the sky.”

Phoenix said,

“Then… let’s move.”

⸻

Inside the Palace Garden

They stepped into the palace garden.

Immediately, the fog thickened,

until everything became distorted—

shapes without definition.

Phoenix turned around and said,

“This fog is incredibly dense…

Zeral, can you absorb it with your shield?”

No answer.

Zeral was standing still, frozen in place,

his eyes wide in an unnatural way.

“Zeral?” Phoenix said anxiously.

“Are you alright?”

Suddenly—

Zeral threw his shield aside

and sprinted straight into the fog.

“What happened to him?!” Phoenix shouted.

At that very moment…

A voice came from behind him.

“I haven’t seen you in a long time… Phoenix.”

He froze.

That voice…

Impossible.

He turned slowly.

A small child stood there,

smiling at him.

“You’ve grown so much.”

Phoenix whispered hoarsely,

“This… is an illusion, right?”

The child smiled.

“Yes.

It was supposed to become reality…”

Then he added, with quiet cruelty:

“But I died because of you.”

“No…” Phoenix whispered.

“I was trying to save you…”

“That day,” the child said mercilessly,

“when you disappeared,

those people showed up.

They beat me to death.”

“I didn’t disappear…” Phoenix said, his voice shaking.

The child stepped closer.

“Weren’t we friends?

Didn’t we protect each other?”

Then he whispered:

“So why did you leave me to fight alone?

To suffer alone?

To die… alone?”

Phoenix couldn’t answer.

⸻

Elsewhere…

Zeral was running,

his breath ragged,

the cold burning his chest.

“I’m sure…

I saw her…”

He stopped suddenly.

In front of him,

a woman sat on a chair.

Long golden hair.

Lifeless white eyes.

A blue dress.

She smiled gently.

“My dear brother…

I missed you.”

Zeral approached slowly

and collapsed at her feet.

“I missed you too…”

⸻

And Leona…

She found herself inside a dark prison cell.

Across from her,

her father was hanging,

his body covered in blood.

She trembled.

A single tear fell.

“This is just an illusion…

Nothing more…”

But the sound of the chains…

Felt far too real.

———

In the palace courtyard,

Solar was watching from the sky.

“Why… did everyone stop?” she murmured.

A voice came from behind her:

“Because they’re seeing the worst things they never wished to see.”

It was Frostia.

“They’ll need a long time before they regain their senses.”

Solar asked,

“What about that person?”

“Which person?” Frostia replied.

They both looked down.

Y was walking calmly across the courtyard.

Unshaken.

Unhurried.

Frostia’s eyes widened.

“What…?”

Y raised his hand.

His domain spread across the entire area.

The illusions shattered.

The fog dissolved.

Everyone dropped to their knees.

Y walked up to Leona.

“Are you alright?”

She wiped her tears.

“Yes…

It was just an illusion.”

Frostia screamed,

“Why weren’t you affected by the magic?!”

Y looked at her.

“Who said I wasn’t?”

Then he added calmly,

“This magic…

only made me stronger.”

Frostia stepped back.

“That… shouldn’t be possible!”

Y said,

“I suggest you don’t use this method again.

It’s… annoying.”

Solar landed beside them.

“Is everyone okay?”

Phoenix answered in a broken voice,

“Physically… yes. Just that.”

Daniel said,

“I kept hearing Jean screaming…

I was on the verge of losing my mind.”

Leona said quietly,

“I saw my family being tortured right in front of me.”

Phoenix whispered,

“A dead friend.”

Zeral said,

“My older sister.”

Frostia shouted in fury,

“Someone like you!

Who lived a comfortable life!

You’ll never understand what real pain is!”

Y smiled.

And walked toward the inside of the palace.

Phoenix spoke softly—

deadly calm:

“If Y doesn’t understand pain… then who possibly does?”

Frostia looked at him.

And suddenly—

Countless spirits appeared,

clinging to Y.

Each soul screamed:

“You’re the reason!”

“You killed us!”

“We curse you!”

“We wish you death!”

Among them…

was Elishel.

Frostia staggered back in terror and collapsed to the ground.

“What is this…?!

Why are there so many spirits?!”

Leona whispered, her voice heavy:

“Is this…

Y’s burden?”

———

Y entered the palace and said calmly:

“You can stop your magic.”

As he expected, Frostia had been speaking about him.

Y continued,

“Are you Shinbi? What are you doing here?”

She answered,

“It’s a long story…

What matters is that I ended up in this place and became Frostia’s battery.

Whenever her magic ran out, she came to me.

I had no choice… except to wait for someone to save me.”

Y asked,

“Where is the magic crystal?”

“Follow me,” Shinbi said.

She walked ahead, Y following behind her. Then she spoke quietly:

“I never expected that you would be the one to save me.”

“Were you expecting someone in particular?” Y asked.

“Not exactly…

The moment we arrived in this world was completely random.

And in that very first moment, a massive war broke out between us.”

Y said,

“I heard that guilds were formed after that.”

“That’s right,” she replied.

“But suddenly, the guilds ended up under the control of the Hunters’ Organization.”

“And did they impose conditions on you?”

“Yes.

Because of agreements that restricted the guilds’ freedom, we decided to separate from them.”

Y said calmly,

“I would have done the same.”

They descended through the palace corridors

until they reached a vast hall beneath the palace.

At its center stood

a massive crystal—

with a girl sealed inside.

Shinbi asked,

“What are you going to do?”

Y answered without hesitation,

“I’m going to take her out.”

Frostia screamed,

“Stay away from my sister!”

“I’m going to save her,” Y said.

“I don’t trust you,” Frostia replied.

Y stepped forward once.

“I expected that.”

Frostia said sharply,

“I have no other choice… I’ll enter your body.”

And she did.

“I’ll stop you myself now.”

Another voice echoed:

“Thank you, Y.”

Frostia froze.

“That voice…

Nevara?”

“Yes,” Nevara replied.

“I asked Y to let me enter his body.

He expected this would be the only way to stop you.

But don’t worry… let him finish.”

Frostia screamed,

“Why are you doing this?!”

“To free you.”

“Free me?!

I spent my entire life protecting you!

Can’t you see he’s trying to kill you?!”

Y said calmly,

“Sorry to interrupt, but I don’t have time.

I’ll give you a few minutes—only.”

“A few minutes?!” Frostia shouted.

“We’re the ones controlling the body now!”

Nevara replied,

“He’s allowing us to.”

“What do you mean?!”

“His weapon can absorb magic.

And this man… doesn’t possess magic to begin with.

Which means he absorbs our magic—not the other way around.”

Frostia stepped back in horror.

“This is madness! We have to get out immediately!”

“I won’t leave,” Nevara said,

“until you step aside.”

“Have you lost your mind?!

You’ll die either way!”

Nevara answered softly, painfully,

“Death…

is better than watching you suffer like this.”

Y said,

“Time’s up.”

He stepped toward the crystal,

and his weapon began to glow.

Frostia screamed,

“Stop! Please, stop!

She’s my only sister!”

Y delivered a precise strike.

The crystal shattered.

Nevara’s body emerged unharmed.

Her spirit returned to it—

and at last,

the impossible dream came true.

Nevara awoke from her long slumber.

Frostia left Y’s body

and approached her sister, unable to believe her eyes.

Nevara said in a trembling voice,

“I’m back… sister…”

And she burst into tears.

Frostia tried to wipe her tears,

but her hands betrayed her.

Shinbi stepped closer and said gently,

“Use my body.”

Frostia entered Shinbi’s body,

wiped her sister’s tears, and held her tightly.

Frostia said in a broken voice:

“Welcome back…”

———

After Several Minutes – Palace Garden

Shinbi apologized for using her magic against them.

Leona said,

“You had no other choice. We understand.”

Nevara stepped forward and said,

“We apologize for what my sister and I caused.

Come on, Frostia—apologize.”

Frostia stepped out and said shyly,

“…I’m sorry.”

Leona asked,

“What will you do after leaving this place?”

Nevara replied,

“We don’t know yet. But as a start… we want to help people.”

Solar said,

“That won’t be easy.

Many people know us as the Cursed Family.”

Leona smiled.

“Then why don’t you come with us to Mond?”

Solar replied,

“I’ve always wanted to visit it.”

Phoenix asked,

“And you, Shinbi?”

She answered with a smile,

“Anywhere with good food.”

Leona said,

“Then it’s settled.”

Frostia added,

“First, we need to find a way out of this place.”

Zeral said,

“It looks like Y already has an idea.”

Everyone turned.

Y was sitting on the ice, his swords embedded into it, completely still.

Scarlet said,

“He said he only needs one week.”

Daniel added,

“We can rest inside the palace.”

Frostia asked,

“His name is Y, right?

He seems to have a solution for everything…

How did he escape the seal in the first place?”

Nevara replied,

“I’ll explain inside.”

⸻

After Several Hours

Frostia said,

“He entered the seal by himself… and waited to be rescued?

You can never predict this person.”

Phoenix replied,

“You’ll get used to it.”

Zeral asked,

“Where’s Scarlet?”

Leona answered,

“She said she’d stay with Y for a while.”

Nevara asked,

“By the way… which branch are you from, Solar?”

Solar replied,

“Alpern.”

Frostia said,

“That explains your strength.”

Solar continued,

“I heard my origins trace back to that kingdom,

but something prevented them from returning.”

Nevara nodded.

“I expected that.

There was a group from the Alpern branch on a campaign for the kingdom…

but after that, our land was completely isolated from the world.”

⸻

Somewhere Else

Phoenix asked,

“How are you doing, Shinbi?”

“Fine. And you?” she replied.

“As you can see… alive.

How long have you been trapped here?”

“Not long… just two years.”

“Two years?

What do you think about joining us?”

“I’ll think about it…

especially since Mond is famous for good food.”

“The best part is that they make ice cream too.”

“Then I’ll give it a chance.”

Phoenix said,

“If you’re interested in food, tell Y.

As far as I know, he’s the only one who eats for free.”

Shinbi smiled.

“Don’t you know?

Food tastes better when you pay for it.”

Phoenix laughed.

“No—drinks taste better when someone else pays.”

Zeral interrupted,

“You owe me a drink. I saved you.”

“You saved everyone, not just me,” Phoenix replied.

“Are you making excuses?”

“…Alright, alright.”

⸻

At the Palace Entrance

Daniel stood quietly, watching Y and Scarlet talking in the distance.

Leona asked,

“Are you alright?”

Daniel replied,

“Yes…

I’m happy that my long search for my daughter will finally end.”

⸻

One Week Later

Early in the morning, everyone gathered outside the palace.

Scarlet said,

“It’s time to leave.”

Y stood up, drew his weapon, and stepped forward.

Phoenix asked,

“What’s the plan?”

Scarlet replied,

“We know the ice here is made of magic.

So Y spent an entire week collecting that magic into his weapon.”

Y said calmly,

“I prepared everything in advance.”

And vanished.

Zeral exclaimed,

“Where did he go?”

Leona answered,

“To the center of the kingdom.”

⸻

Y appeared at the heart of the land and spoke firmly:

“Domain: Mirror of the Soul.”

His domain spread in all directions,

devouring the ice piece by piece.

Nevara said in shock,

“The storms… they’ve stopped.”

Frostia looked around in disbelief.

“I can see nature beyond the kingdom’s borders…

The curse… it’s gone.”

Y said,

“Only the ice remains.”

Suddenly, a massive warm ring of fire appeared,

and the ice began to melt slowly.

Buried houses reemerged,

and the mountain that was once beautiful… returned to its former state.

The moment they had waited centuries for—

the kingdom was free of snow once more.

⸻

Nevara said in a trembling voice,

“Do you see this, Frostia?”

“Yes…” Frostia replied.

“Our kingdom is beautiful again.”

Phoenix sighed.

“He really doesn’t hold back…

You used that technique just one week ago.”

Y replied calmly,

“That’s because you showed it to me.”

Nevara and Frostia approached together.

“Thank you… for helping us,” they said.

“I only kept my promise,” Y replied.

Zeral smiled.

“Looks like you enjoyed yourself here.”

Y nodded.

“Yes.

This place was like a miniature version of the Abyss.

A very important reference for me.”

Leona said,

“Let’s return to Mond.”

Phoenix added,

“By the way… where exactly are we now?”

Nevara answered,

“The Far East.”

Y suddenly stopped.

“The Far East?”

Frostia nodded.

“Yes.

This is where our kingdom is located.”

Leona asked,

“Is there a problem?”

Y replied,

“I’ve heard some information about this region…

and I want to investigate it myself.”

Phoenix sighed.

“Do it alone.

Our mission is already complete.”

Y looked at them.

“Do you have a way to return to Mond quickly?”

Solar and Frostia answered together,

“Yes.”

Their spells intertwined,

forming a massive magical falcon—

its wings made of light and ice.

Solar said,

“This will take you directly to Mond.”

Y said calmly,

“I’ll see you in Mond.”

Scarlet smiled.

“I’m coming with you.”

And so, Y and Scarlet departed together,

heading east.

Zeral watched them disappear and said,

“Those two… they really never get tired.”

Daniel replied quietly,

“He’s always been like that.”

Everyone climbed onto the ice falcon,

which soared high into the sky—

carrying them back to Mond.