Magic.
It was rare for an individual to wield zaen in a way that combined both sword and magic.
Rare is an understatement.
This exact scenario had not been seen on the continent for at least five centuries.
For instance, the Havin household. Known for their mastery of magic, the head of the family was always a renowned archmage, and the descendants were always capable of using zaen in the magic category.
Same goes for the household of Hart.
The Archduke Hart, the family renowned for their exceptional swordsmanship.
Yet, the very descendant of that Hart lineage, Eden Hart, the second greatest talent in the continent, the first in swordsmanship, and a woman who had never before shown any sign of using magic now held a glowing magic circle in her hand as her sword only hung loosely at her waist.
Seven glanced at her wrist.
"Two stars..."
He mumbled under his breath.
Two white stars were now emblazoned on her wrist, placed in the center of five white bracelets.
His mind raced.
'Wasn't it just four black bracelets like a week ago?'
He thought.
But now… she was different. Those five white bracelets meant she had surpassed the fourth gate, the peak of what many could never reach in their lifetimes.
That achievement alone solidifies her title.
Prodigy among prodigies.
Genius among geniuses.
Yet, as if that was not enough, she had also formed two white stars in such a short time which was a feat that took normal mages years to achieve.
He looked and examined a well-detailed staircase before him leading downwards.
Eden only looked at him, but he knew the meaning behind those gaze:
'Come.'
And so, he did.
Step.
He took a first hesitant step towards the staircase.
But then, a system interface appeared, one again, before his eyes.
|| House of Fate has detected discrepancies ||
|| House of Fate found the existing informations regarding the existence of Seven Hart as an anomaly ||
|| Updating… ||
|| T-Tik T-Tak T-Tik T-Tak ||
|| T-Tik T-Tak T-Tik ||
|| Seven Hart existence has been updated ||
|| Beginning Synchronization ||
All of a sudden he clutched his temple and groaned as a sharp pain stabbed through his skull.
Urhkh-kh…
Memories.
His mind recoiled from the sudden influx of memories. He saw flashes of the original Seven Hart's life before he transmigrated. Though it was not the entirety, but only the most recent details he needed to understand.
The real reason for his death.
The real meaning of those magic circle inscripted parchements.
The moment where he first met Iria and became his maid.
The—
Yrkkh…
He groaned once again.
After all, just as the memories were entering him, a few memories were also being taken away: some of his own memories as Seven Hartsome began to fade away like the mist from the ice.
Step. Step.
The pace in which the memories came and went became faster and faster, that he staggered and almost fell out of the staircase.
His legs wobbled, but the sharp crunch of ice forced him to take another step.
Step.
The cold bit through his boots.
|| Synchronization Complete: 1% ||
|| House of Fate has finally stabilized the discrepancies ||
|| Reader #??? has now been stabilized ||
And finally, the pain dissapated and he steadied his footing.
"Fudge."
He ran a hand through his hair, only for him to stop midway.
'Why… what does 'fudge' even mean?'
He thought.
For a second, he paused and thought about why he was saying fudge, a word that felt foreign as if it did not belong to him, but he could not understand why. It was as if his mind was grasping at things, only to have them slip through his fingers.
But before he could dwell on it any longer, Eden's presence before him snapped him back to reality.
Hff…
With a deep breath to ground himself, he ran a hand through his hair and continued climbing down.
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 at the foot of the stairs, her figure framed by the shimmering frost. The remnants of magic flickered around her wrist like a lingering afterimage.
"...Sister."
His voice trembled, unsure whether from the cold of the sheer presence of his sister before him.
"What are you—"
Crackle! Cra—
A barrier of frost expanded around them, encasing them in a circular dome of ice.
Outside, there was nothing wrong to be seen. After all, it was just but a normal soundproof space one above the fourth gate could be cast.
"Tell me, Seven."
Eden said.
She did not call him her younger brother nor as her precious sibling. It was only "Seven" now with a distant and cold intonation.
"If the world wants someone precious to you dead, and the only way to protect them is to kill them yourself… would you do it?"
Seven blinked. His mouth parted but no sound came out.
Instead, a snowflake landed on his cheek. He did not even bother to wipe it away.
"I'm asking you."
Eden took a step forward.
"If mercy becomes a weapon… would you raise it against the one person you cannot afford to lose?"
Gulp.
Seven swallowed his saliva. He could now see the gleam in her eyes, the weight of her responsibility, the immense power she held in her hands.
The ice beneath her feet and the snow falling from above seemed to mirror the coldness in her gaze.
He realized that she was not just asking him. She was asking him to understand her choice.
"I stood above your cradle once and thought: if the world turns on him, I'll freeze it down before it lays a hand on him."
She looked down.
"But I cannot freeze the whole world."
Her gaze lifted. It was steady now, as if it was either the calm before the storm or the silence after one.
"I need to know, my dearest little brother."
She smiled then, but it was not the kind of smile that reassured him. It was not the kind of smile mentioned in the novel that earned a favorite spot in his heart.
It was not a kind of smile she had seen during the time he spent with her as Seven Hart.
"If the only way to save what's precious is to destroy it first… will you hate me for doing it?"
Seven frowned in response as it only meant one thing:
Death.
He did not hate the idea of death given that even back on Earth, he was just waiting for the grim reaper's scythe.
But death in this world means something different. After all, he had finally been given the chance to, again, the shitty and cliche novel he followed for seven years.
He finally got a life way more different than his previous one.
If he wanted death, then he should not have survived nor tried to during his first fated and written death against the assassin. If he wanted it then, he should have just given up sooner.
If only he would end up dying here, maybe… he should not have tried to survive.
'No.'
He thought.
'I will live.'
Step.
Looking down, a steel glinted right under his foot: Zach's sword. And thus he picked it up without any hesitation and assumed a stance.
He pivoted on his heel in an awkward manner. He raised the sword to his chest with both hands gripping the hilt too tightly, elbows stiff, and shoulders that were slightly hunched. His feet were shoulder-width apart, one foot angled forward like he had seen in anime with the other planted behind for balance.
In response, Eden canceled the soundproofing magic space that covered them, making any spectators— if there happen to be any— hear them now.
She just waited as her hand remained pointed at Seven's chest, and looked like she had no intention of drawing her sword.
Seven focused and channelled his zaen unto the sword carefully.
He had made up his mind.
'Dying here is pointless.'
He thought.
There was only one option now: forward. Even if she was the second greatest talent as she was praised over and over again, it might still be a hard time for her to kill the person she treasures the most.
"Die!"
He screamed as he lunged forward.
In that instant, his sword closed in as its edge now was just a mere seven inches from her neck. The air hissed as his zaen from the first gate wrapped around the sword that carved a sharp path toward her.
Nonetheless, Eden still remained still.
Then out of nowhere, a cyan-energy formed at the tip of her fingertips pointing at Seven's heart and blasted off like an arrow.
Puff!
A shockwave rippled outward, carrying a gust of icy wind.
Cold bit into his skin as the force slammed into him. The bricked wall behind him groaned under the pressure, and fractures spread outward like spiderwebs.
Thud.
He dropped to his knees.
Even with the Præscentia's ability of constantly seeing a second into the future, he had not seen his heart carved clean from his chest.
Thump!
Thump! Thump!
He could still hear his heartbeat though. But the difference was that the beat was not coming from his chest, but from his heart that was pinned by an arrow made of ice to the wall of the mansion behind him.
Thump!
He bit his lips.
'Turns out it's not an all-seeing eye, after all…'