The fortress was warmer inside. Not by much—but enough that I could feel my face again.
A young soldier—maybe nineteen or twenty—waited by the entrance. He saluted Theron.
"Sir."
"Take them to the east wing. Guest rooms." Theron muttered.
The soldier nodded and turned to me. "This way, sir."
I glanced at Theron. He was already walking away, but he paused for half a second. "Dinner's at seven. Don't be late." He whispered it, like he didn't want anyone to think he actually cared.
Then he was gone.
I followed the soldier through stone corridors lined with torches and mana-lamps. Other soldiers passed us, nodding at my guide, glancing at me with quiet curiosity.
Maybe they were whispering about me—the failure from the Celestial family showing up in the north. I didn't care. I kept my head down and kept moving.
Lyra walked beside me, calm as always.
We continued down the long corridor until the young soldier stopped in front of a pair of heavy oak doors in the East Wing.
"Your quarters, Young Master."
I nodded at him. "Understood."
The room was simple but clean. A bed. A desk. A window overlooking the training yard—floodlights illuminating soldiers still practicing despite the cold. A small bathroom attached. A closet.
The soldier pointed to a panel on the wall. "Comms panel. You can call the front desk if you need anything. Dinner hall is on the second floor, east wing. Someone will come get you at seven."
"Thanks," I said.
He nodded and left, leaving me and Lyra behind.
Lyra set my bag down near the bed.
"I'll unpack later, Young Master," she said.
"You don't have to—"
She gave me that look. The one that said I'm doing it anyway.
I sighed. "Fine."
She smiled slightly and left.
I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes for a moment. The system spoke in my head.
[Host, is something wrong? Are you nervous?]
"...maybe."
The system spoke again, his voice low and somehow assuring. [You don't have to worry, Host. I am here to help you. Nothing is going to happen to you.]
A smile appeared on my face. "You keep talking like that, but you're still useless."
[W-what? You ungrateful bastard!]
The system continued cursing me, but I chose to ignore his rambling. A smile never left my face though.
I pushed myself up and walked to the window. Below, soldiers were still training. Swinging swords. Shouting. Pushing themselves. Someone—probably their leader—yelled at a group of recruits doing push-ups in the snow.
This is where I'll be in a few days, huh.
I watched the soldiers for a while longer, then sat down on the bed and crossed my legs. Might as well use the time.
I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing. Foundation Breathing Art. Inhale. Pull mana from the air. Hold. Let it compress. Exhale. Release through my vessels.
The rhythm came naturally now. The warmth spread through my chest. My core pulsed.
Time faded away.
I don't know how long I sat there cultivating. The world had disappeared—just me and the mana flowing through me.
A knock pulled me back.
I opened my eyes. The room was the same. The window still showed snow. The mana-lamps still glowed softly.
"Come in."
The door opened. The same young soldier stood there.
"Dinner's ready, Young Master. Please follow me."
I nodded and stood up, stretching my stiff legs.
_
Lyra was already in the hallway, waiting. I greeted her and she greeted me back. We followed the soldier through more corridors, past a common room with a large screen showing news from the capital, and into a smaller dining hall.
It was cozy. A long wooden table. Fire crackling in the hearth. Warm light from mana-lamps.
Uncle Theron sat at the head of the table. Beside him was Aunt Seraphina—a woman with sharp, elegant features and hair like spun silver. And then there were the twins, Roran and Eira.
I sat down. Lyra stood by the wall, but Aunt Seraphina waved her over.
"Please, Lyra. You've traveled far. Sit down and eat with us."
Lyra hesitated. Looked at me.
I simply shrugged. "Sit."
She nodded and quietly sat down.
Dinner was... surprisingly normal.
Aunt Seraphina asked about the flight. About Mom. About Mia. About Sylvia, which I said I didn't know about and I really didn't want to meet her right now. Just thinking about what she would do to me gave me chills. Her voice was warm and genuine. It reminded me of home.
Uncle Theron was quiet. Eating. Listening. Every now and then, he'd glance at me—quick, like he didn't want me to notice.
The twins stared at me for the first ten minutes. Then the boy—Roran—leaned forward.
"Are you really a failure?" he asked.
Silence.
The girl—Eira—kicked him under the table.
"Ow! What?"
"You can't just ask that!"
"Why not? That's what everyone says! He's a failure!"
I looked at Roran. Silver hair. Blue eyes. Staring at me with the unfiltered honesty of an eight-year-old.
Damn these kids. That was brutal.
[Pffft—but Host, kids always speak the truth.] the system spoke.
Are you laughing at me, bastard?
[No, ho—pfft...]
This damn bastard. I'll deal with him later.
"Roran," Theron said quietly.
I shook my head and looked at the kid.
"People call me that. Usually because my core is a B-rank in a family of S-ranks."
"But everyone says you're a failure," Roran persisted. "They say you just drink and break things."
"I did," I said, my voice steady. "I was a bastard. I wasted a lot of time being angry that I wasn't born a monster like my father."
Roran stared at me for a long moment, like he was processing something heavy for an eight-year-old. Then he nodded slowly, as if he understood something—or maybe he didn't. I couldn't tell.
We went back to eating.
Eira looked at me with wide eyes. "Does Mia really have a frog?"
I almost laughed. "Yeah. Sir Hops-a-Lot."
"Is he really distinguished?"
"Very. The most distinguished frog I've ever met."
She beamed.
Theron's lip twitched. Just barely. But I caught it.
After we finished dinner, Uncle Theron spoke.
"Leo, you are here to train from me, right?"
I nodded at him. "Yes. I am."
He didn't say anything else, just stared at me for a moment and then turned to leave. "Tomorrow, after breakfast. We will discuss your training."
"Understood," I said.
_
Back in my room, I lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Through the window, the training yard was still lit. A few soldiers running late-night drills.
My pocket buzzed.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out my Mana-Link.
It was a sleek, obsidian-glass slab, polished to a mirror finish. To someone from Earth, it looked exactly like a high-end smartphone, but the weight was different—heavier, more solid, like holding a piece of compressed reality. There were no charging ports or speakers. It didn't need them.
I pressed my thumb against the dark glass. A faint pulse of blue light rippled out from my contact point as the device scanned my Mana Signature.
This world is something else, I thought, staring at the screen.
On Earth, we used silicon and satellites. Here, communication was literal magic. The Mana-Link worked by connecting to the global Astra-net—a web of ambient mana that covered the civilized domains.
Every person had a unique Signature ID. If you had the ID, you could reach anyone, anywhere, as long as there was mana in the air.
I swiped through the interface. Instead of apps, glowing runes flickered to life, floating slightly above the glass.
I remembered from the game that the students at Aegis Academy used an even more advanced version—a Wrist-Band Mana-Link.
It was a sleek metallic cuff that projected holographic screens directly into the air or onto the user's retina. All this time, I had only seen them in the game, and now I had my own personal Mana-Link too.
[Host, you have several unread messages,] Nova's voice spoke in my head.
I swiped a rune, and a series of messages from the family group chat scrolled by. Most were from Mia. She'd sent dozens of messages.
"Leo! Is it snowing?! Send a video! Sir Hops-a-Lot wants to see!"
I almost laughed.
I stared at the messages from Mia for a few seconds. The small dancing frog stickers were still bouncing on the screen of my Mana-Link.
Might as well call her or she'll start crying, I thought.
I tapped the Signature ID labeled [Home - Mom]. Instead of a ringing tone, the Mana-Link emitted a soft, rhythmic hum as it searched for a resonance with the Celestial estate's mana-relay.
A moment later, the obsidian glass glowed. A burst of light erupted from the device, projecting a palm-sized hologram into the air above the bed.
"LEO!"
The shout was so loud I almost dropped the Link. Mia's face appeared in the projection, her nose practically pressed against her own device on the other side. Behind her, I could see the familiar warm gold tones of the Celestial living room.
"Hey, kiddo," I said, a small smile tugging at my lips.
"Is it white?! Show me the white!" she demanded, jumping up and down.
I stood up and walked to the window, turning the Mana-Link so the projection-sensor could capture the view outside. The floodlights of the fortress illuminated the swirling blizzard, making the snowflakes look like falling diamonds against the dark stone walls.
"Whoa..." I heard Mia gasp. "It looks like... like the inside of a sugar bowl."
"It's not sugar, Mia. It's ice. And it's cold enough to turn your toes into popsicles."
"Leo?" Another voice entered the call. The projection shifted as Mom took the device from Mia. She looked tired but relieved. "You made it. You look... tired, honey."
"I'm fine, Mom. Aunt Seraphina gave us a warm room. Dinner was actually pretty good, even if Uncle Theron tried to stare a hole through my head the whole time."
Mom let out a soft, melodic laugh. "That's just Theron. He used to do the same thing to your father when they were younger. He's just... protective. In his own very terrifying way."
Her expression turned serious. "Are you really sure about this, Leo? You don't have to push yourself this hard."
I looked out at the training yard again. A recruit had just been knocked into the snow, only to scramble back up and swing his sword again with a roar.
"I have to, Mom. I'm tired of being the one who gets protected. Next time there's an Incursion, or next time Mia is in danger... I want to be the one standing in front."
Mom went quiet. I saw her eyes shimmer slightly in the blue light of the hologram. "You've grown up so much in just a few weeks. Your father... he won't say it, but he's been checking his own Link every ten minutes waiting for your update."
"Tell him I'm not dead yet," I laughed.
"LEO! WAIT!" Mia's voice squeaked as she shoved her way back into the frame. She was holding a very confused-looking Sir Hops-a-Lot. The frog was wearing a tiny, hand-knitted green sweater. "Sir Hops says you better come back with a cool sword! Or a pet penguin!"
"I'll see what I can do about the sword. No promises on the penguin."
"Love you, Leo," Mom whispered, her hand reaching out as if to touch my face through the projection.
"Love you too, Mom."
Then she said, "It's night, Leo. You should sleep now. Goodnight."
I nodded. "Goodnight, Mom. Goodnight, Mia. Tell Dad I say hi."
Mia chimed in, "Wait, wait, Leo! Will you call me tomorrow? I want Roran and Eira to see Sir Hops-a-Lot!"
"Alright, brat. I will call you tomorrow, but only if you behave good and finish your food."
She nodded energetically. "Yes, yes! I will! You promise you'll call?"
A smile appeared on my face. "I promise I will. Now goodnight."
"Goodnight, Leo."
I tapped to end the call. The hologram collapsed back into the glass slab, leaving the room feeling much darker and quieter than before.
[You really missed them, Host,] Nova remarked. [I didn't expect you to call this time.]
...Yeah. I missed them.
After a moment, Nova said quietly, [You really have changed, Leo.]
Maybe I guess. I have.
I set the device on the nightstand. The obsidian surface was dark, but the faint blue glow of the status rune remained, like a small spark of home in the middle of a frozen fortress.
I sighed and lay down on the bed, closing my eyes. The sound of the wind outside howled like a beast at the gates.
"Goodnight, Nova."
[Goodnight, Leo.]