Frosty Steps

Now alone, Seven traced the edge of the necklace he wore, his gaze fixed on the crow—the arrow piercing it shimmered in icy blue.

Slowly, the arrow began to melt, and the water caused the window to slide open.

Thud.

The lifeless crow fell to the floor. 

Seven walked towards the open window and stared at the training ground below. 

Sprawled on the ground lay the twins, unconscious. But now, beside them, stood a figure that Seven immediately recognized.

Eden Hart.

As if sensing his gaze, Eden looked up, and their eyes met.

Then, she raised her left hand, and a magic circle, the same color as her eyes, crackled around her wrist. 

Oceanic blue.

Muttering an inaudible word, the windowpane shattered—or rather, it melted. Then the walls of Seven's room crumbled, transforming into ice that formed a downward staircase.

Step by step.

A total of seventy-seven steps.

It grew from frost, stretching downward from him to the training grounds where Eden stood.

'Sister…?'

Oozing from the frost staircase, cold air seeped into the room as the necklace trembled slightly—the pendant seemed to react from Eden's presence. 

'What… is she doing here?'

Not that he expected the timeline to be the same, but her return was way too soon. Even the journey back alone should've taken a week. 

But it wasn't just her sudden return that surprised him.

Her magic. 

The flawless staircase. The way frost melted into her will. Just the sheer mastery required for it was—

'Two… stars?'

Seven paused, after noticing the two yellow glowing stars on Eden's wrist, along with five brown bracelets.

Prodigy among prodigies.

Genius among geniuses. 

Not only did she break through the first gate, but she also awakened the second star—the ring of focus. 

Eden gestured from him to take a step. 

Step. 

But just as he took the first step, the system window flashed.

Ding! 

[Anomaly Detected.]

[The Crowned Sovereign's reincarnation in the body of Ciae Arventis as another soul already possessed it. A revision is required.]

[Revising…]

[Replacing the original storyline…]

[Revision complete.]

[You have obtained 777777 Narrative Points.]

"What the fud— hell?!"

Seven halted his steps in surprise as the system did not display seven thousand, but seven hundred thousand points.

But before he could process it, another system window appeared. 

[Anomaly Detected.]

[Anomaly Detected.]

[Anomaly Detected.]

[Anomaly Detected.]

[Anomaly Dete—]

The notifications came faster and faster, overlapping in a flood of messages. 

[Err… Errrrr0oo— Error.]

Seven staggered, nearly losing his balance.

"Hah… Hah…"

[Total Narrative Points: 909, 986]

The numbers were flashed in bold. 

Again, his legs wobbled, but the sharp crunch of ice forced him to take another step. 

Step.

The cold bit through his boots. 

Then the system window disappeared, leaving him alone with Eden. 

"Hah…"

Step.

With every step down, the air seemed to thicken. 

Step.

By the time he reached down, the air was dense with frost and his breath curled like smoke.

Eden stood straight before him, the remnants of magic still flickered around her wrist. 

"What are you doing here?"

Seven's voice trembled, unsure whether from the cold of the sheer presence of his sister before him.

"Aren't you supposed to stay in the North?"

"Who decided that?"

"Decided… what?"

Eden tilted her head. 

"Who decided when I should return? Father? You? Or…"

She paused, looking at the horizon. 

Seven's heart skipped a beat. He understood what she meant through the way she spoke and the way she looked at him.

The King.

But given that the Archduke was probably in the discussion and investigation along with the King, he dismissed the option.

Ciae Arventis. 

The second option. The real protagonist. Aside from the Kings of each Kingdom, he was the only one who could manipulate even those so-called prodigies—Eden included.

'But didn't the reincarnation of the Crowned Sovereign fail?'

Eden raised her sword. 

"Tell me Seven, what do you think this world is?"

"What…?"

Seven froze. 

This world, the 'Sevenfold' world, wasn't it just the product of a novel? A product of a newbie author who wrote a troll final chapter? A product of a person's imagination? 

…Or was it real? Seeing how he possessed a body, doesn't it mean that this world was real?

Seven opened his mouth to reply, but no words came out. 

"Seven."

Eden said, as frost around her clustered and formed into a shape of hand, then picked up Zach's sword and tossed it towards Seven.

Clank.

The sword rolled before his feet. 

"If you want to know the answer, prove yourself."

"I don't get it. What are you—"

Slash.

Eden swung her sword against the air, and the shockwave alone grazed Seven's cheeks. 

"Prove. Yourself."

"But—"

"Pick it up."

Trembling, Seven picked up the sword before him. And almost right after, Eden swung her sword in a clean downward arc. 

Seven raised his sword to block, but the force of her strike buckled his arms, and his knees hit the ice.

Without giving him a moment to rest, Eden slashed at his legs. He jumped back but lost his footing on the slick ice, crashing hard onto his side.

Before he could scramble up, Eden's sword was already descending. 

He raised his weapon to block, but the impact tore it from his hands, sending it clattering across the frozen ground.

Eden paused, tilting her head slightly, as though expecting him to retrieve it.

He crawled toward the sword, desperate, but frost crept along the ground, encasing the blade in shimmering ice before he could reach it

"Enough running."

Eden's voice cut through the cold as she stepped closer, thrusting her sword toward his shoulder. 

Seven rolled aside, narrowly avoiding the strike, though the blade's edge grazed his arm, leaving a thin line of blood.

"Hah..."

He clutched the wound, his breath ragged.

Eden didn't let up. She drove her boot into his chest, knocking him flat on his back.

Seven tried to sit up, but she was already there, the tip of her sword pressing firmly against his throat.

"Pathetic. I thought you'd improved by now." 

Eden's tone was colder than the ice surrounding them.

She glanced over her shoulder and raised her free hand. Frost swirled at her fingertips, coiling and stretching like serpents. 

The ice raced across the ground, engulfing his discarded sword.

It lifted, suspended in a cocoon of frost, then drifted back to him. With a flick of her wrist, the ice shattered, and the weapon landed at his feet.

"Pick it up."

Seven stared at the sword.

"I won't ask again. Pick. It. Up.

Reluctantly, he reached out, gripping the hilt. The cold bit into his palm, but he didn't let go. His fingers trembled as he rose to his knees.

"Good."

Eden raised her blade again.

"Now, fight. Properly."