The Spirit Capital lay behind them now, silent and shrouded in mist. No one had dared to stop them as they left — perhaps out of fear, or perhaps because the spirits could sense what was coming.
Haneul and Miyu walked through the frozen plains, guided only by the faint glow of Miyu's pendant and the soft hum it made whenever they drew closer to the Frost King's domain.
The world here was different — colder, emptier. Trees were frozen mid-bloom, rivers stilled into glass, and the sky itself seemed cracked. Each breath left a shimmer of frost that hung in the air far too long.
"Brother," Miyu whispered, clutching her coat. "It feels like the world itself stopped breathing."
Haneul nodded grimly. "That's what happens wherever he goes. The Frost King doesn't just rule ice… he devours life."
---
They made camp inside the ruins of an old watchtower. As Miyu tried to rest, Haneul stood guard outside, his eyes scanning the horizon. The faint blue veins of his curse pulsed again, stronger than before. He gritted his teeth.
Every time he used his power, it spread further — stealing warmth from his body, stealing time.
When he returned to the fire, Miyu was already awake, watching him with quiet worry. "You're hiding it again," she said softly. "Your arm… it's worse, isn't it?"
He tried to smile, but his lips trembled. "It's fine. I can handle it."
Miyu frowned and took his hand, feeling how cold it had become. "You always say that. But you don't have to protect me alone, Haneul."
He looked at her — truly looked — and saw not the little sister he used to carry through the snow, but someone strong, someone who refused to break.
For the first time, he nodded. "Then we protect each other."
---
By the next dawn, they reached the Frostlands — an expanse of crystal cliffs and blue-white storms. There, on the horizon, stood a massive fortress carved entirely from ice.
"The Frost King's citadel," Haneul murmured.
They approached carefully, but as they neared the gates, the air shimmered — and a figure stepped from the mist. A young woman, cloaked in white feathers, her eyes sharp like winter stars.
"Humans," she said coolly. "No, not humans. A cursed one… and his heart."
Haneul raised his guard. "Who are you?"
"I am Eira, the Frost King's messenger," she replied, tilting her head. "He told me you'd come. He also told me to end your suffering quickly."
Before they could react, shards of ice erupted from the ground. Haneul pulled Miyu behind him and unleashed a burst of blue fire, melting the frost mid-air.
Eira smiled faintly. "Spirit fire. So the curse is true."
"Move!" Haneul shouted, rushing forward — but she was fast, impossibly so. The two clashed in a storm of blue and white, magic crackling across the snow.
Miyu, clutching her pendant, suddenly felt warmth spreading through her chest. The pendant was glowing — no, reacting.
The woman's eyes widened. "That light… the core's twin?"
Miyu's voice trembled but did not break. "You took something from us. Give it back."
Eira hesitated — and in that moment of doubt, Haneul's fire struck, sending her crashing into the ice. But instead of dying, she smiled through the smoke.
"You don't understand," she whispered. "The Frost King didn't curse you, boy. He saved you."
The words hit like thunder.
Haneul froze. "What… did you say?"
But before she could answer, the ice beneath her cracked open — and she vanished into the abyss, carried away by the storm.
---
Silence fell again.
Miyu turned to her brother, her eyes full of confusion and fear. "Saved you? What does she mean?"
Haneul stared into the frozen distance, the mark on his arm burning cold.
"I don't know," he said quietly. "But we're going to find out."
And as the wind howled across the Frostlands, the siblings took their first step toward the citadel — toward the truth buried in the shadow of the Frost King.