35th of Trian Month, Trian Ruins.
Far from Ruler's Abode was one of many cold regions.
In that region, snow filled every inch of the land the eye could see.
Be it a mountain, a tree, or even a rock, everything was covered by snow.
The world was painted white.
On top of a frozen lake, a figure in black moved like an ink brush on paper.
The figure's movements were erratic, yet calculated.
Because not even one of the hundreds of ice spikes shot at her touched her.
"You aren't even a princess!"
"And you want to snatch our treasure?"
A man and woman appeared on the snowfield. They were standing between her and the center of the lake.
Their eyes were full of hostility as they looked at the woman in black.
Except for her brown hair and golden eyes, they couldn't see anything about her face.
They could understand her preferring disguise. So, they asked her to just prove herself to be a princess.
It could be done without revealing her identity.
She didn't.
That made them, bitter competitors to team up.
As prince and princess, they knew their role in the federation.
Grow strong as fast as possible and become a pillar of humanity.
Every prince must be at least a level 7, but not all level 7s are princes. The same went with level 8 and level 9.
Thus, when questions arose on how rare items must be distributed, priority was given to princes and princesses.
Because they had the talent and would be more helpful to the federation in the long run!
That's why even though there were infightings among the princes, they were united against non-princes.
The same thing happened now.
"We are all fighting the abyssals, I don't want to hurt you too much. Leave." The princess said with a stern face.
Despite being a high level 8, she didn't try too hard. She preferred fighting abyssals over humans.
So, all her attacks until now were with the intention to lightly injure the woman and scare her off.
But.
"For your attitude, I won't kill you." The brown-haired woman said lightly.
"…"
"…"
A strange silence filled the ice lake.
The woman whose face was covered didn't care about the silence and looked past the two to the center of the lake.
An icy-blue orb floated at the center of the lake.
Scattered around the orb were the corpses of a dozen snowy white wolves. Even the blood that formed a puddle under them and froze was white.
By the time she came here, the wolves were already hunted.
But that didn't make the treasure theirs.
"Looks like I have to teach you a lesson." The princess raised her hand and a huge ice dragon materialized above her.
The prince beside her followed and an ice wheel with spikes manifested.
The woman looked into their eyes.
Her golden eyes shone.
Then—
"Huh?!"
"Where did she go?"
The prince and princess panicked as they looked around.
"As I said, I won't kill you."
Hearing the voice from behind, a chill shot down their spines and their body stiffened.
"B-But I really need, it for a secret mission." The princess gritted her teeth.
She wasn't lying. To maximize her success rate for a dangerous mission next month, she needed the treasure.
The same went for the prince who was fighting her. He too had a dangerous mission.
Since the woman was stronger than they thought, they hoped she took the big picture into consideration.
"I understand."
Their eyes lit up.
"Thank y—"
"Good luck to you both."
Whoosh!
The sound of wind breaking resounded in the ice plains as the prince and princess stood dumbfounded.
When they turned around, she was gone!
… … …
As she jumped from one snow mountain to another, Sia checked her storage ring.
"He awakened in water path too…" She shook her head like it was a headache, but the way her eyes shone brightly showed that she was actually happy.
"Now the next item is…" Sia recalled the paths Varian awakened in and decided her destination.
As she exited the ice fields, she was reminded of the princess' words.
"Dangerous mission, huh." She shook her head.
These princes and princesses did experience a lot of dangers.
But.
'Nothing as much as Shadow Guardians.'
A recent, but distant memory flashed through her mind.
… … …
… … …
I wish Roxanna was tortured to death than the simple death she got.
But it wasn't in my hands.
After Roxanna, I was lost.
I wanted to see Varian, but Enigma stopped me.
'Your mental state isn't fine.'
Haha.
I am feeling perfectly fine, except that I wished I could've tortured Roxanna worse than she tortured me.
To wish to inflict that torture onto another person…I am clearly not fine.
I am using my mind power to control myself, but I keep getting nightmares about the torture.
So, instead of going to Varian right away, I followed Enigma's advice and joined the Shadow Guardians.
It was my reciprocity while I regain my sanity.
ᴡ ᴏᴠʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛʀs ᴀʀ ᴘᴜʙʟsʜᴅ ᴏ ᴀʟʟᴏᴠʟ ꜰᴜʟʟ.
Since I had to take care of myself, I decided to avoid everything else. But one thing I couldn't avoid was seeing Enigma.
It was my first time watching her.
It felt weird. I didn't know much about her, but she knew a lot about me.
The misgivings I had towards her weren't completely resolved, but in those days under Roxanna, I think I was able to empathize with Enigma more.
The loneliness, the pain, the dejection…knowing that someone lived through what I experienced strengthened our bond.
She was pitiful too.
So, when she finally got the chance to take life under control, I watched from the sidelines.
After sleeping for five hundred years, she woke up. I wondered what she'd do.
My expectations were she'd try to use the hybrid memories and try returning to the place she was born. Of course, that was impossible, but still.
But her answer surprised me.
'Save the world'
She wanted to save this world.
…This world?
This cynical, inhumane, and brutal world?
The same world in which Roxanna was born in?
I hate this world!
The first thing I wanted to tell Varian after meeting him was that the world he trained so hard to train was full of filth.
That it wasn't worth saving.
…Perhaps that's why she stopped me from meeting him.
For a short time, I strongly disagreed with Enigma's views.
But everyone here, practically every single person agreed with Enigma's views.
In fact, they all wanted the same thing.
'Save the world'.
When I joined the academy, I too was the same.
But now…
Rationally, I know that the world isn't all evil or good.
But I don't think the scar Roxanna left on me would ever go away. The fact that I'd carry this trauma into my life scared me more than the trauma itself.
I didn't know then, but I was lucky.
I was lucky that Enigma knew me more than I knew myself.
What happened later was nothing short of a miracle.
Enigma started taking missions.
She saved the people from terrorist attacks, killed the order members, and hunted the traitors.
Naturally, I watched everything she did. I had to. She didn't even let me sleep.
I saw the sufferings of innocent humans. I saw the vileness of humans—people who were as evil as Roxanna.
Then I also saw heroes.
Heros who worked in the shadows.
They got no recognition, money, or benefits for their actions. Instead, all they got was the risk of being killed during one of the missions.
Even if they died, the world wouldn't acknowledge their sacrifice.
But they threw themselves into the danger with a smile on their faces.
…It was unbelievable.
When I think of heroes, it was always the ones that are known throughout the world for their deeds.
The articles Varian pasted in his room were all materials of such famous heroes.
But heroes like these…
After seeing them, I can longer call this world full of filth.
Indeed, the world has many bad people.
But it also had many good people.
I only saw the vile darkness in this world ignoring the noble light.
The more time Enigma spent with them, the more I learned about a side of this world I never knew.
It was the same for Enigma.
In fact, with each mission, Enigma kept going above and beyond.
It was almost like she was competing with her yesterday's self.
It was good sometimes, but in others, it ended in serious injuries.
I asked her why she was so persistent.
This isn't her war in the first place. While she lived here, she didn't wake up until recently.
So, I wondered why did she go so far for a place and people she had no relations to?
…I think I know why.
For him.
Since he gave up on his dream of saving the world, she'd do it in his stead.
...Or that's what I thought.
As the sun rays painted the sky orange, Enigma muttered under her breath.
'Beautiful.'
Aha!
I was wrong.
No, I was half right.
While Varian was a major part of her reason, the biggest reason was herself.
Enigma genuinely wanted to save this world.
It was ironic.
Having lived almost all my life believing that I'd help Varian achieve his dream, my opinion took an opposite turn after Roxanna.
But Enigma.
She lived a life worse than mine. Yet, she held a positive view of this world.
I can't understand her.
But I can feel her.
Even though her eyes seem to remain indifferent, she grows happy watching something as common as sunset and sunrise.
…No.
Sunrise and Sunset…they aren't very common.
Under Roxanna, I couldn't see sunset and sunrise for a long, long time.
It was so long that I forgot the beauty of such a normal, but spectacular scene.
So, I watched the sunrise with Enigma.
'Beautiful.' I gasped.
…I see, so this is how Enigma felt. After all, she couldn't see it for five hundred years.