Episode 178
──Long ago, there was a “Second Empire” that ruled over the ancient continent, with its strongholds in the icy tundras and scorching deserts.
This was the realm of the ancient elves, a civilization so distant in the past that only its name remains in human history.
“The ancestors of the Empire believed, without a doubt, that they could control and manipulate the forces of nature.”
The Crystal Queen spoke, finally revealing her shadow before the “Shadow Lord.”
“They understood the workings of the universe beyond this planet, the movements of the stars, and the ultimate fate they would bring.”
”……!”
“This universe is freezing even now, and in the end, the frost of doom will consume the entire cosmos and world.”
Information flowed into Dale’s mind through the eyes of truth.
“Some say the world will end in fire, others in ice.”
The Crystal Queen continued softly.
“Knowing what I do about hatred, I would say ice can destroy the world just as effectively as fire.”
”…….”
The Big Freeze, a hypothesis that the universe will continue to expand and approach absolute zero according to the second law of thermodynamics.
The truth, more profound than a hundred words, etched a pain in Dale’s mind that felt like it would melt his brain.
“And in their foolishness to become ‘masters of providence,’ they left irreversible scars and ruins on this land.”
The Crystal Queen smiled bitterly.
“The ancestors sought to become rulers of providence to prevent the ultimate end of the universe… and thus, the Second Empire fell.”
Afterward, the so-called “Age of Humans,” or the Third Empire, began, which was nothing more than a breeding ground dominated by beings that could hardly be called human.
The lands of ice and crystal, scarred and barren, trampled the elves’ homeland. Those who remained finally realized how foolish it was to resist providence.
“And so… to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, we chose eternal stagnation.”
The Crystal Queen explained.
“To fulfill that divine mandate, two organizations were established, composed of the elves of crystal and desert.”
One, the Assassins of the Mountain, a group that executed the outcasts of elven society.
“Did you ask why the Assassins of the Mountain show such cruel mercy to the Lords of Sand and Desert?”
“Yes.”
“There was never any mercy to begin with. It was merely a facade to deceive your eyes.”
”……!”
“The true purpose of the Assassins of the Mountain is to purge the imperialist elves who, under the guise of mercy, seek the revival of the old empire and collaborate with the ‘Third Empire.’”
“Imperialist elves…?”
“You know them well. The Blood Elf Lord who claims to be the Lord of Fire and Blood, and his sister. Or perhaps you’re more familiar with this title.”
“──The Vampire, the Yuris Clan.”
The pinnacle of the Red Tower, the Blood Duke and Lady Scarlet, who pursued ultimate power.
Dale murmured softly, and the Crystal Queen nodded silently.
“Even now, those who cannot forget the old glory bow before the Golden Lord, becoming rulers of the Third Empire, who cannot be called human. They are the true targets the Assassins of the Mountain aim to eliminate.”
Finally, the true nature of the shadow that ruled this empire began to make sense.
“Additionally, there is another organization tasked with watching over and protecting the legacy left in the ruins of the old empire.”
Simultaneously, the shadow of the Crystal Queen revealed the image of their organization.
The Sentinels of Frost.
“A group of Snow Elves who, alongside the Assassins of the Mountain, fulfill the divine mandate to guard the indelible legacy of the Second Empire.”
“Then, could it be that Lady Sepia…?”
“She held a crucial role in leading the Sentinels of Frost and broke their code.”
Once, she touched the forbidden power that the ancestors of the Elven Empire had obtained. But why?
There was no need to say more.
The truth of that day was reflected in the shadow of the Crystal Queen.
The Blood Elves of the Red Tower attacked the place the Sentinels of Frost were meant to protect, and they barely managed to repel them.
Lady Scarlet and the formidable members of the Red Tower, smiling cruelly. Opposing them, Sepia of the past, fulfilling the duty of a Sentinel of Frost.
But it was a victory that came at a cost.
“Ser!”
“Sis…!”
Beside her was a wounded Snow Elf.
“After defeating the Blood Elves, her brother, my son, suffered an irreparable wound.”
”…….”
“A wound that could not be healed by the power of providence.”
Finally, a sensation like blood freezing overwhelmed him. Unintentionally, he recalled the conversation when he first met Sepia.
“Do you not find the necromancy of the Black Tower unsettling, teacher?”
“Why do you think so?”
“Because resurrecting the dead goes against the natural order…”
“Do you think bringing the dead back to life defies the natural order?”
“Isn’t it?”
“Then is the divine act of priests reviving patients destined to die of terminal illness the will of nature?”
How could he forget the bitter smile Sepia wore as she said that?
“She abandoned her duty as a Sentinel of Frost and broke her obligation to protect her brother, reaching for the forbidden.”
The Crystal Queen spoke.
“By trapping the heart of her brother, who should have died, in the ‘world of absolute zero,’ she saved his life.”
To do so, she took the forbidden magical tome that defied providence, the legacy of the Second Empire… the ‘Book of Absolute Zero.’
Sepia must have known the significance of that act and the repercussions it would bring.
Thus, Sepia was exiled from the land of crystal. As a traitor to her kin, who abandoned her duty to protect her brother.
“That is her truth.”
The Crystal Queen said, and Dale remained silent. An indescribable feeling tightened around his heart.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
After a moment of silence, Dale bowed his head. At the same time, the world of the white and dark winter night he had unfolded vanished.
“As I mentioned, I will fulfill my contract. Nothing will change.”
A flicker of maternal concern crossed the Crystal Queen’s face, but it was fleeting.
The scene of the Fairy Council finally came into Dale’s view. At the same time, Dale also released the avatar of the Shadow Lord.
A stillness descended.
A stillness that felt like it could freeze.
Meanwhile, in a chamber of the Red Tower.
In the darkness, Marquis Yuris rose. Beside him lay a naive noble lady, blissfully unaware of her fate as his prey, lost in her inflated dreams.
”…It’s so cold.”
Marquis Yuris turned his head and murmured softly.
“Why is it so cold?”
As a ruler who remembered the glory of the old empire and one of the ancient elves, when the empire sought to become ‘masters of providence’ and glimpsed the future of the universe…
He remembered the ‘frost of doom’ that raged beyond the veil of the future. How could he forget?
No flame or heat in this world could melt it. Even the fire he possessed as the Lord of the Red Tower was but a candle in a storm before it.
That chilling cold, the frost of doom, still enveloped his existence. It was a cold that tormented him over the eons. No matter how he struggled, he could not escape the end of absolute zero, the death of the universe.
This world will end in ice.
But that is a future too distant to fathom. Yet, for elves who live eternally, that seemingly unreachable future was never someone else’s problem.
Thus, fire was needed. A fire fierce enough to melt even the frost of doom.
“I feel like I’m going to freeze to death.”
The noble lady, murmuring as if in a dream, turned and buried her head against Marquis Yuris.
“Are you warm now, my lord?”
She asked coyly, and Marquis Yuris smiled coldly, savoring the warmth flowing through her body.
“Ah, it’s very warm.”
He hid his sharp fangs, blue as ice, behind his blood-red lips.
The Fairy Council was not yet over. However, with a brief recess, Dale was finally able to step outside.
“Oh, my. Is it over already?”
A man who couldn’t enter the council but waited for Dale outside was there.
“No, it’s far from over.”
Dale replied, and Master Baro shrugged. Seeing this, Dale asked.
“The Mountain Crone vouched for you personally and allowed you entry. Was there a reason you declined?”
Master Baro was by no means an outsider. Just as Dale was not. Yet, he chose not to participate in the council.
“Haha, what difference would it make if I were there?”
“You’d be of help to me.”
At that, Master Baro laughed heartily once more.
“While it’s true I bow my head to you, I’m afraid my loyalty is another matter entirely.”
“Well, I figured as much long ago.”
Dale shrugged, unfazed.
“I’ve seen your truth.”
“Ah, is that so.”
Master Baro replied without a change in expression. Nothing would change; he had never lied to Dale.
“It’s rare to find someone whose words and actions align as perfectly as yours.”
“Well, damn. I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Yes, it’s a compliment.”
Master Baro confirmed, and Dale nodded, rising to his feet. Just then, a chill swept through the air, sending a shiver down his spine. Dale turned his head.
“So, you’re the infamous ‘Black Prince,’ are you?”
An elf with hair like crystal stood there, flanked by the silent ‘Frost Watchers.’
”…”
Though it was a face he’d never seen before, Dale knew who he was.
The younger brother whom Sepia had saved by breaking the rules of their kin, and the son of the Crystal Queen.
“The heir of Saxon, rumored to be consorting with a traitor of the clan, turns out to be just a mere whelp.”
Dale remained silent, but the snow elf before him made no effort to hide his hostility.
“The meeting has begun.”
Ignoring the elf’s words, Dale turned away.
“Let’s continue this conversation there, shall we?”