The royal banquet had finally come to an end.
One by one, the nobles, knights, ministers, and distinguished guests departed from the Imperial Palace. The grand hall, which had been filled with music, laughter, and lively conversations only moments ago, gradually fell silent. The echoes of the celebration faded into the distance, leaving behind the familiar stillness of the imperial residence.
Outside, the night stretched endlessly across the heavens.
A brilliant full moon hung high above the palace, its gentle silver light spilling over the snow-covered rooftops and frozen gardens. A cold breeze drifted through the courtyards, carrying the crisp scent of Eternal Winter as it whispered through the ancient trees.
Sleep refused to come.
Theon slowly climbed out of bed, careful not to make a sound. He crossed the room at an unhurried pace before stepping onto the balcony attached to his chamber. Resting both hands on the smooth stone railing, he gazed across the vast palace grounds.
Everything was quiet.
Too quiet.
His icy-blue eyes drifted toward the countless stars scattered across the night sky. They shimmered like tiny crystals against the darkness, beautiful yet distant.
"So much has happened in just a few days..." he murmured to himself.
His thoughts wandered without direction.
First came Aetherion.
Then the mysterious Tome of eternal frost And finally...
The beautiful elf he had encountered earlier that evening.
A faint smile touched his lips.
"I wonder if we’ll meet again..."
Just then....
A quiet voice broke the silence.
"...Fireball."
Theon’s eyes narrowed.
He leaned slightly over the balcony and looked down toward the palace gardens.
In a small clearing illuminated by the moonlight stood a tiny figure wrapped in a thick white cloak.
It was Lyra.
The Eighth Princess.
She stretched out one small hand, her face filled with concentration.
"Fireball."
A tiny spark appeared above her palm.
It trembled weakly for a brief moment...
Before disappearing into the cold night air.
Lyra lowered her hand, a disappointed frown spreading across her face.
"...Again."
She inhaled deeply, gathering herself before trying once more.
"Fireball!"
This time, a small flame flickered into existence.
It glowed no larger than a candle before vanishing just as quickly.
"...Why won’t it work?" she whispered, frustration creeping into her voice.
She stood there silently for a few seconds, catching her breath.
Then she tried again.
"Fireball!"
Another spark.
Gone.
Again.
"Fireball!"
A tiny flame.
Gone.
Again.
And again.
Every attempt ended exactly the same.
The spell would form for only a heartbeat before fading away as though something invisible was snuffing it out.
Watching from above, Theon couldn’t help feeling a pang of sympathy.
"She’s still practicing..."
"...even at this hour."
Most children her age would have been asleep hours ago. Yet Lyra remained alone in the freezing garden, stubbornly refusing to give up despite one failed attempt after another.
She dusted the snow from her boots, clenched her tiny fist, and raised her hand once more.
"I can do this..."
There wasn’t a trace of self-pity in her voice.
Only quiet determination.
Theon continued watching in silence, his respect for his younger sister growing with every failed spell she stubbornly refused to let defeat her.
Then...
Something changed.
As Lyra gathered her mana for another attempt, strange black markings suddenly spread across her right arm.
They resembled dark veins crawling beneath her pale skin, pulsing with a faint, unsettling glow.
The markings lasted for only a split second..
Then they vanished completely.
Theon’s expression hardened.
"...What was that?"
Theon didn’t move.
His gaze remained locked on Lyra’s arm, his mind replaying what he had just seen.
The strange markings had disappeared so quickly that anyone else might have dismissed them as a trick of the moonlight.
But he knew what he had seen.
"...That wasn’t normal."
Down below, Lyra seemed completely unaware of it. She brushed a loose strand of silver hair behind her ear, took a deep breath, and gathered her mana once again.
"Fireball."
A tiny flame flickered above her palm before dissolving into countless glowing embers.
She sighed softly, disappointment flashing across her face for only a moment before she straightened her back.
"I’ll get it right..."
She tried again.
Theon frowned.
There was no hesitation in her movements, no sign that she had felt anything unusual. It was as if those black markings had never appeared at all.
Yet the uneasy feeling in his chest refused to disappear.
Something about Lyra was wrong.
Not her determination.
Not her talent.
Something hidden.
Something buried so deeply that even she didn’t know it existed.
Without taking his eyes off her, Theon called out inwardly.
"...World Archive."
A faint blue light shimmered before him.
Moments later, a translucent screen unfolded in the air, visible only to him.
WORLD ARCHIVE
Target Selected...
Beginning Analysis...
Scanning Mana Pathways...
Analyzing...
The words slowly scrolled across the screen.
Theon waited in silence, his expression calm despite the growing tension in his heart.
Below, Lyra continued practicing beneath the moonlight, completely unaware that an ancient power was examining every strand of mana flowing through her body.
Several seconds passed.
Then another line appeared.
Unknown curse detected.
Continuing analysis...
Theon’s eyes narrowed.
"...A curse?"
His fingers tightened around the cold stone railing.
Who would curse a child?
More importantly...
Who could hide it so perfectly that no one had noticed?
The World Archive continued its work.
Analyzing...
Analyzing...
Analysis Complete.
Another window slowly materialized.
Seal Identified
Classification: Ancient Divine Seal
Origin: Unknown
Theon’s breathing caught.
"...An Ancient Divine Seal?"
His gaze instinctively shifted back to Lyra.
She stood alone beneath the pale moon, still trying to cast the same basic spell with unwavering determination.
She had no idea.
No idea that an incomprehensibly powerful seal had been hidden within her body.
"...Someone sealed her power."
The realization sent a chill through him that had nothing to do with the winter air.
Questions flooded his mind one after another.
Who had done this?
When?
And for what purpose?
An ordinary seal couldn’t remain hidden from the Imperial Court Mages.
Yet this one had escaped everyone.
Even his father...
The Emperor.
If not for the World Archive, Theon doubted anyone would have discovered it.
His grip on the railing slowly loosened.
Forcing himself to stay calm, he watched Lyra one last time.
She smiled faintly after another failed attempt, refusing to let frustration overcome her before preparing to cast again.
"...Not yet."
The words escaped him in a quiet whisper.
"I’m still too weak."
Interfering with something described as an Ancient Divine Seal without understanding it would be reckless.
For now...
The safest choice was silence.
With one final glance at his little sister, Theon quietly closed the balcony doors behind him, shutting out the icy wind that swept through the palace grounds. carrying with him a secret that could shake the entire empire.
The room fell silent.
Only the soft glow of a single crystal lamp illuminated the chamber, casting long shadows across the wooden floor.
He walked to the door and turned the lock with a quiet click before making his way to the side of his bed.
Kneeling down, he slipped his fingers beneath one of the loose floorboards and carefully lifted it aside.
Hidden beneath was an ancient book wrapped in a faded cloth.
The Tome of Eternal Frost.
Theon held it with both hands, brushing away a thin layer of dust before placing it gently on the floor.
"If that truly was an Ancient Divine Seal..."
"...then maybe this book knows something."
He slowly opened the tome.
The old pages gave off a faint scent of age, and intricate ice-blue runes glowed softly under the crystal lamp.
He turned the first page.
Ancient records.
Forgotten kingdoms.
Long-lost magic circles.
The next page.
Ice enchantments capable of freezing entire battlefields.
Mana formations that had disappeared from history centuries ago. Another page.
Descriptions of extinct magical beasts.
Ancient relics.
Forbidden spells.
Theon read carefully, refusing to overlook even the smallest detail.
Minutes slipped by unnoticed.
Page after page.
Chapter after Chapter.
His concentration never wavered.
Yet...
Nothing.
No mention of divine seals.
No explanation of mysterious curses.
Nothing that resembled the strange markings he had witnessed on Lyra’s arm.
"There has to be something..."
He frowned and flipped through the pages again, this time searching even more carefully.
Every symbol.
Every illustration.
Every handwritten note hidden in the margins.
Still...
Nothing.
After nearly half an hour, Theon exhaled slowly and closed the tome.
"...No results."
Disappointment settled over him.
The book contained knowledge that should have been lost to history, yet even it offered no answers.
Just as he reached down to wrap the tome and return it beneath the floorboards...
A familiar blue light suddenly appeared before him.
The translucent screen of the World Archive materialized once more.
WORLD ARCHIVE
Searching: Hidden Records...
Searching...
Searching...
Theon stared at the floating words.
"...Hidden records?"
He hadn’t issued another command.
The World Archive had begun searching on its own.
His heartbeat quickened.
Several tense seconds passed before new words appeared.
Hidden Records Unlocked.
No Compatible Record Found.
Theon’s brows knitted together.
"No compatible record...?"
Before he could think further, the screen shifted once more.
A final line slowly revealed itself.
The Primordial Flame
Access Restricted
Silence filled the room.
Theon’s pupils contracted.
"...The Primordial Flame?"
The words lingered before him like an unanswered riddle.
The World Archive had acknowledged its existence...
Yet denied him access.
Which could only mean one thing.
Whatever the Primordial Flame was, it wasn’t beyond the reach of the World Archive.
It was simply beyond his reach.
Theon slowly closed his eyes.
"An Ancient Divine Seal..."
"...and now a Primordial Flame."
The mysteries surrounding Lyra had grown even deeper.
For the first time since arriving in this world, he realized there were secrets hidden within the empire that even the World Archive refused to reveal.
Opening his eyes once more, he looked at the glowing screen.
"I’ll find the truth."
His voice was calm, but the resolve behind it was unmistakable.
"No matter how long it takes."
The blue screen flickered once...
Then disappeared, leaving the room shrouded in silence once again.
Outside, beyond the palace walls, the cold wind continued to sweep across the snow-covered land.
And somewhere in the darkness... An old buried secret begun to unfold.