“Heath.”

It was just as they were nearing Nopthal. The sky was painted red with the setting sun.

Heath furrowed his brow at Rohana’s low, wary voice. She was gesturing toward the sky. It was Caladrius. The bird was circling them, flying fairly close.

Rohana had been concerned that Caladrius might draw too much attention, and she had commanded him to fly higher into the sky.

Yet now, Caladrius had suddenly appeared, having been out of sight for a while. And Rohana’s expression conveyed only one thing.

Danger.

At that moment, something whizzed past their ears, too fast to process. They could feel the air shifting.

“Rohana!”

With a sharp whooshing sound, an arrow flew toward them. Its feathers were tinged red. It was an attack by the imperial forces.

Just as they were about to reach Nopthal, the sudden *ssault came. In shock, Heath called out to her by name, not by title. Rohana narrowly dodged the arrow and drew her bowstring taut.

‘D*mn.’

Things were worse than expected. Queen Isla’s warning about a faction defecting to the imperial forces from Shatonwell seemed to be more serious than they had anticipated.

“Heath!”

Rohana’s voice rang out as Heath loosed an arrow wrapped in blinding white light. It was so loud and chaotic that she had to shout his name.

“Just hold out for a little while longer!”

“Of course!”

“Caladrius will help!”

Of course, he will, won’t he? Heath frowned, yet couldn’t help but smile as he nodded. As he wondered why she was stating the obvious, another thought flashed through his mind.

‘No way.’

His ominous premonition was rarely wrong. But the problem was that he couldn’t understand. Where was she trying to go by herself?

Rohana looked a little uneasy, then turned her horse around. Her long, flowing hair swung as she moved, and soon, amidst the chaos, she disappeared from view.

“Rohana!”

He knew it was pointless, but he tried to follow her anyway.

Boom!

It was the same sound from the attack on the west coast. Caladrius was unleashing an aerial bombardment on the imperial forces.

“Captain, we need to strike now.”

Franz rode up close to Heath, his face splattered with sharp streaks of blood.

Heath clenched his eyes shut for a moment and then opened them again. He recalled her calm face, as if she had anticipated this chaos. Whatever was going on, it had been her decision.

Kaiden’s words came to mind when Heath had opposed her learning magic.

“It’s her choice. We have no say in it.”

Back then, Heath had thought Kaiden was indifferent to her. But now, the exact opposite possibility crossed his mind.

“Reform the ranks. With Caladrius on our side, there’s no need to worry.”

“I’m not worried at all.”

Franz answered, spurring his horse forward, and Heath followed suit, increasing his speed.

Boom!

Another deafening explosion sounded. Soon, they passed through the forest, and Nopthal came into view over the ridge. Smoke was rising from the walls of Nopthal.

‘Please come back safely.’

As Heath cut down an imperial soldier at breakneck speed, blood sprayed, yet his expression didn’t change.

‘We’ll make sure there’s a place for you to return to.’

Nightfall was approaching fast.

***

The moonlight was bright. The ground was so hard that the sound of hooves echoed clearly. In the middle of summer, the ground was frozen solid.

Kaiden had described it before, but she hadn’t expected it to be this bad.

Though Kaiden had been straightforward, she had held back some things herself, which made her feel a bit guilty now. But it couldn’t be helped.

‘Kaiden, you tricked me once in a big way, too.’

She wasn’t in the mood for jokes, but the thought brought a slight smile to her face, and Rohana unconsciously tried to ease the tension in her body.

‘So this time, it’s okay if I act impulsively on my own just once.’

This place where Lazar always “existed,” the place where it was always winter—Kaiden and Heath had both said they had met him here.

Even if he “existed,” whether he would meet her was uncertain. He usually appeared as a boy. Kaiden had explained that during the Jody incident, they had needed to meet Lazar, which was why they had to leave Rohana behind, something he had apologized for profusely.

But for now, all was quiet. The moonlight reflecting off the ice and snow prevented the surroundings from being too dark.

Having left strict orders for Caladrius to protect Nopthal, Rohana was completely alone for the first time in a while.

It was a strange feeling. The stillness was almost eerie, as if time had stopped.

‘Maybe I should use magic to light a small fire.’

What should she do next?

“What should you do next?”

Suddenly, a boy’s voice she hadn’t heard in a long time startled her so much she nearly jumped. But fortunately, she maintained her composure on the surface.

“You were thinking that, weren’t you?”

The clear voice echoed through the stillness.

“It’s been a while.”

It was Lazar. Though he appeared as a boy, his red eyes were that of an adult, sending a chill down her spine.

“What do you mean, a while? Didn’t you just meet Heath not too long ago?”

“Not really. It’s been a while since you’ve heard this voice, hasn’t it?”

The tiresome sound made Rohana sigh automatically. She then awakened every nerve in her body. It was time to stay alert.

“Why are you here?”

“Well, it seems like what you’re doing is pretty strange.”

Rohana spoke honestly. After all, she suspected he already knew exactly what she was thinking.

In this world, he was something akin to a “god.” He had even possessed Rohana’s body before.

“I’ll give you one more chance to explain.”

“Give me a chance?”

The boy, Lazar, repeated Rohana’s words as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Are you giving me a chance?”

“Yeah.”

“What are you talking about? You’ve really changed. Who would even recognize you as that office worker from back then?”

For a moment, Rohana furrowed her brow. Lazar seemed to enjoy the sight of her troubled expression, as a faint smile spread across his face.

“Why do you interfere in people’s lives?”

At her question, Lazar tilted his head slightly, as if deep in thought.

“What do you mean?”

“Why don’t you just let people live their own lives? You’re not human, so why are you getting involved in our affairs?”

Lazar’s expression changed as if he finally understood her point.

“Ah…”

A brief silence followed.

“I see. So, that’s what bothered you. Well, I suppose.”

Lazar crossed his arms.

“I’ve shown you too much, haven’t I?”

“Saying you’d help the Kark tribe win the battle—that was a lie, wasn’t it?”

At Rohana’s words, Lazar’s face stiffened for a moment. His briefly shocked expression slowly softened into a chilling smile.

“No, how could you say that?”

“You’ve been so good at spinning your stories, making it seem like you care about the Kark tribe.”

Rohana continued, slowly stepping toward him, carefully hiding her cold, trembling hands behind her back.

“In what way was it a lie?”

“If you truly cared about the Kark tribe, would you really need to go through all this trouble?”

Rohana asked again. Now she was the one in control. Lazar didn’t seem nervous or flustered, but it was clear he had been caught off guard.

“This is how you get your kicks, isn’t it? Siding with different factions and playing them against each other?”

“Who knows?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Now just a step or two away, Rohana whispered softly.

“You said you needed me, right?”

Lazar leaned in to hear her near-silent voice.

“Well, I don’t need you anymore.”

“Then why don’t you kill me?”

Lazar’s eyes darkened.

“You exploit people’s emotions. You always prey on their weaknesses to bend them to your will, whether they live or die.”

Rohana spoke as she recalled all the people affected by him.

“And why shouldn’t I? It’s for the greater good.”

“People will find the right path on their own, without someone like you.”

“I don’t think so,” Lazar scoffed.

“Take you, for example. You couldn’t even take care of yourself.”

Now standing so close she could almost touch him, Rohana looked down at Lazar. But at that moment, she had to lift her gaze as his violet eyes rose to meet hers. He had transformed into an exact replica of her, staring at her from the same height.

“I’ve given someone as ordinary as you a life this extraordinary. Shouldn’t that be enough?”

Rohana’s former self stood before her.

“Really?”

She asked, incredulous. Lazar reverted to his adult form and looked down at her again.

“Did you really think I’d be shaken by something like that?”

In an instant, before Lazar could even react, a dagger flew toward him.

It glowed with a brilliant blue light.

“It’s over,” Rohana exclaimed with joy. But just as quickly, something black began to flow over the dagger.

“You… of all people,” Lazar said with a grin.

“Did you really think I’d die from a simple attack like this?”

The dagger clattered softly as it fell onto the frozen ground.