Edgar 2

For four days, we scoured every inch of the Sia Kalt Mountain Range.

We checked every ice cave and rock crevice, but the legendary flower was nowhere to be seen.

The knights’ faces clearly showed signs of exhaustion.

‘Where on earth…’

I led the way, cutting through the wind.

Using the Hind Family’s swordsmanship to endure the cold, we continued our search, but it was futile.

The flower we had only heard rumors of left no trace whatsoever.

“This doesn’t make sense.”

Rowen gritted his teeth.

His crimson aura grew increasingly fierce.

It was due to his pride that refused to admit failure.

“To think that the Saintess and the Hero obtained something here… was it all an illusion!”

His angry shout echoed through the mountain range.

The knights could only look at each other.

We had braved this extreme cold, but now faced freezing to death without any results.

‘Brother… what would he have found here?’

The thought suddenly occurred to me.

Seven years ago, did my brother face such a moment of despair?

No… if he had, he would have found another way.

I remembered his words: frontal assault isn’t always the solution.

Then, Rowen’s gaze turned toward the massive ice wall visible in the distance.

The entrance to the Sia Kalt Great Labyrinth.

“That’s it.”

His voice rang out coldly.

‘As expected…’

I swallowed a sigh.

I had sensed that we would eventually head there someday.

But I didn’t know that moment would come so soon.

“The knight order will proceed to the Great Labyrinth.”

At Rowen’s declaration, the knights’ faces turned pale.

The survivors had already experienced the terror of the Solhan Pass.

The Great Labyrinth would hold even greater dangers.

“Captain, please wait a moment.”

Summoning his courage, one knight spoke up.

He suggested gathering information from the village at the foot of the mountains.

But Rowen’s response was cold.

“What could those commoners possibly know? Where is your pride as nobles…”

I bowed my head at his words.

Noble pride.

Wasn’t that what had driven us here?

My brother abandoned that pride and left.

And I… am here to uphold that pride.

“Advance.”

Rowen’s command fell.

No one could object.

We all knew.

This was our last chance.

Our steps toward the Great Labyrinth were heavy.

The massive ice entrance seemed ready to swallow us whole.

There were no decorations, no doors-just a giant hole gaping open.

‘This is… the Sia Kalt Great Labyrinth.’

As we stepped inside, the chill grew even more intense.

But something was strange.

This cold wasn’t just ordinary freezing temperatures.

It felt like… someone was watching.

A wind blew through.

Within the cold currents, there was a peculiar resonance.

A warning, or perhaps a welcome?

I tightened my grip on my sword.

There was no turning back now.

We… had to find the truth.

And so we.

Walked into the ice labyrinth.

The night in the upper layer passed in uneasy peace.

Frost flowers forming on the ice walls emitted a faint glow, and ice crystals on the ceiling scattered moonlight.

“Isn’t this strange?”

A knight on night watch said.

He was examining the ice walls.

“What do you mean?”

“Traces. There are too few monster traces. It’s as if…”

“As if?”

“As if someone cleaned it thoroughly.”

He was right.

This place was too clean.

It felt more like an ice palace than a Great Labyrinth.

Even if this was the upper layer, it was still the Sia Kalt Great Labyrinth.

There should have been at least some monsters.

The next day, we headed to the middle layer.

The narrowed passages wound like a maze, and the icicles on the walls grew sharper.

“It’s the same here too.”

Rowen examined the ice floor.

There were traces of monsters, but no sign of the creatures themselves.

‘Someone is maintaining this place.’

I could sense it intuitively.

This wasn’t just coincidence.

‘Someone is…’

My spine tingled.

An invisible gaze was following us.

No matter where I looked, no matter how I searched the shadows, I saw nothing.

But they were definitely there.

That night, we camped in a wide space in the middle layer.

This area, discovered after passing through narrow passages, resembled a circular plaza.

“To think such a place existed…”

The knights marveled, but I felt uneasy.

The ceiling was so high its end couldn’t be seen, and unknown patterns were carved into the walls.

And the unknown gaze continued to be felt…

On the third day, it took time to find the path leading down to the lower layer.

The maze-like passages grew more complex, and the patterns on the walls became increasingly bizarre.

“Do you see that?”

A knight pointed at the wall.

Faces seemingly trapped in the ice.

Their expressions looked as if they were screaming.

“Don’t pay attention to it.”

Rowen spoke firmly, but his voice trembled.

The night in the lower layer was even more unsettling.

Shadows flickered between ice pillars emitting a blue glow.

The invisible gaze grew more persistent.

“Who’s there!”

Every night knights would shout, but there was no response.

Just the feeling of countless eyes watching us from the darkness.

On the fourth day, we finally found the entrance leading to the deepest layer.

A place where the dark blue ice deepened like the abyssal sea.

Only a faint blue light pushed back the darkness.

“Let’s rest here for a moment.”

At Rowen’s words, everyone sat down wearily.

Four days of journey.

Though there were no battles with monsters, the endless tension had exhausted us.

‘Why is it so quiet…’

The answer was clear.

Someone was maintaining this place.

And that being…

Knew of our intrusion.

“Let’s go.”

Rowen’s voice shook.

No one pointed out his nervousness.

Because we all felt the same anxiety.

The passage descending to the deepest layer continued endlessly.

The ice walls gradually turned dark blue, and the icicles on the ceiling grew sharper.

Only our footsteps echoed through the empty space.

‘There’s nothing here either.’

There should have been powerful monsters in the deepest layer.

But all we saw were traces embedded in the ice.

As if someone had already cleared everything away.

“Halt.”

Rowen suddenly raised his hand.

The passage ahead split into multiple branches.

Each path led into different darkness.

“Which way…”

Before someone could finish speaking, I felt it.

A fragrance blowing from one passage.

Sweet yet mysterious.

As if calling to us.

“This… this is…”

The knights’ eyes wavered.

The thing we were searching for.

That legendary flower might be ahead.

But why?

This fragrance carried a strange danger.

As if… a predator was luring its prey.

Then it happened.

Something flashed through the darkness.

Too fast to see clearly, but…

Small things, countless small things were watching us.

My spine tingled.

This place… we shouldn’t be here.

Such intuition wrapped around my entire body.

“Advance.”

Rowen’s command fell.

He was already stepping toward the direction of the fragrance.

But I… couldn’t lift my feet.

Every cell in my body seemed to scream.

Suddenly, my brother’s voice echoed in my ears.

“Edgar, fear is a signal from your body.”

Memories from childhood, when my brother would hold my hand whenever I was scared.

Even now, that warm touch felt vivid.

‘Brother… am I wrong?’

In the darkness, invisible gazes watched our final moments.

***

My chest felt strangely sore.

Leaning against the inn window, I let out a sigh.

It felt as if someone was calling me.

And then I suddenly remembered.

The image of my younger brother who had followed me around since he was five years old.

‘Edgar…’

When we were young, he always wanted to hold my hand.

Whenever he was scared, whenever he felt anxious.

Now he was probably walking his own path.

The path of a noble.

“Brian, you don’t look well.”

Kevin spoke with worried eyes.

Normally his voice would be full of playfulness, but today it was strangely serious.

“Indeed. You’re not feeling unwell, are you?”

Marianne asked worriedly from beside me.

“No, it’s nothing.”

I answered with a light laugh.

There had been too many events recently.

The mysterious flower encountered in the mountains, Lycoris and her astonishing power.

The meeting with the Silver Hero and the Saintess.

And… Her.

I shuddered involuntarily.

The true ruler of Sia Kalt, Frostia.

The being who appeared in the form of a massive ice dragon, then transformed into a silver-haired woman.

The overwhelming pressure from that moment was still vivid.

As a human, no, as a living being, it was the greatest terror one could experience.

It felt miraculous that we had survived encountering such a being.

‘Have I been swept up in something too big…’

These events were too much for us C-rank adventurers.

We barely managed to fend off troll and goblin attacks, and now we’re staying in this village as if we’ve become guardians of some sacred flower.

Moreover, we witnessed a legendary being with our own eyes.

“I’m fine…”

I muttered to myself, but Edgar’s face kept coming to mind.

That look in his eyes the last time I saw him.

Full of anger and contempt.

The Sia Kalt Mountain Range visible through the window was faintly obscured by clouds.

Seven years ago, I walked toward those mountains.

Abandoning the path of nobility, searching for the true path of a knight.

‘The path you’re walking now…’

A ominous premonition suddenly arrived, tightening my chest.

This was the first time I’d felt such anxiety.

Not when fighting trolls, not when meeting Lycoris, not even when facing Frostia.

“Brian?”

Kevin’s voice brought me back to my senses.

“Are you really okay? You’ve just been sighing… hasn’t there been too much happening lately?”

“Don’t worry. It’s just… I was thinking about the past.”

But a corner of my heart kept calling for Edgar.

As if somewhere far away, my brother was looking for me.

And with desperate urgency.