If only that d*mn Julius hadn’t kept laughing at me for looking like a corpse, I could’ve pretended not to know how it felt to be lying down like one. Righteous little bastard! That bastard didn’t seem to get cold. I hate looking at Munchkins*.

*Munchkins is Korean slang for characters that look weak/short but are actually strong.

“It’s because I get cold easily. Please stop teasing me,” I said.

Although the Kaichen scolded Julius for guffawing, he didn’t seem to realise that it pushed me to an unbearable world of shame.

Oh, I’d like to forget everything, even for just a moment. It would be nice to reach Hoiore once I opened my eyes…

After a week of walking, we were finally able to reach Hoiore. Sadly, I still remembered everything. I had an unnecessarily healthy brain.

As soon as I got close to Hoiore, the snowstorm that was covering my eyes disappeared as if it was an illusion. Ba-dump. As I blankly stared up at the grey sky, my heart pounded strangely. It was an unfamiliar yet overly familiar sensation. Suddenly, I remembered the conversation I had with Kaichen on the way here.

“It’s not like there isn’t any obstruction magic that stops communication magic and telekinesis at the same time.”

“Huh? Something like Master’s barrier exists?” I asked.

“Yes.”

“What is it, then?”

“Forbidden magic.”

Ba-dump. Ba-dump.

My body that had been sliding steadily came to a halt. Kaichen must’ve stopped walking.

I felt my stomach twist. This sensation, this energy, this feeling – I couldn’t forget it even if I wanted to.

‘In time magic, those types of magic couldn’t be used.’

That was true. No matter how hard anyone tried, it was impossible to contact the outside if you were on the inside. I wasn’t locked up for a hundred years to not know that. My eyes fluttered shut. I could feel Kaichen’s gaze on me.

He probably also realised this was something he had seen before.

Hoiore was under the influence of time magic, a forbidden magic. It was suffocatingly silent, without a trace of snowstorm. It was as if time had stopped. Hoiore, surrounded by a ranging snowstorm, was still.

*

The time magic that took place in Acrab was the work of Momalhaut. When I found out that Princess Exchetra was behind it, I wasn’t surprised. It was even unsurprising that someone would still use this forbidden time magic. What if it was a beginning instead of an end? And someone was just testing out the possibilities?

I shuddered at this horrifying thought, but when Kaichen and I studied time magic at the Willow House, he had said,

‘So, time magic is going to be easier to use now?’

‘It won’t be easy. Those who manifest the magic will inevitably run out of mana. It’s not normal, and if you let the medium be, they will definitely die.’

‘Momalhaut… wouldn’t care about that.’

‘Yes, that makes it easier. If you don’t mind the medium dying, then you just need to find someone with a moderately strong mind.’

‘Then… Master said that time magic requires the desperate desire of the medium for the predicament to change. Is it possible that there’s another time loop out there somewhere that repeats a full day, like the one I’ve experienced?’

‘… I can’t say it isn’t possible. If there is someone who has the same desires as you, it could happen again.’

‘I wish… something like that wouldn’t happen.’

‘Don’t worry. Time magic is a complex, and even stealthy magic but some people can notice it. It was from His Highness Julius that I heard that time magic had manifested in Acrab.’

At that time, Kaichen said that it was beyond his ability to identify the manifestation of magic. Just like how I couldn’t use telekinesis, Kaichen didn’t work well with time magic. Not working well with magic was a different story from destroying magic itself.

Kaichen was just not sensitive to the movement and waves of magic. Because of that, he didn’t notice the huge amount of time magic that controlled the area. Acrab’s time magic was also discovered by another wizard specialising in sensing magic. The wizard had been the one who had first noticed it before reporting it to Julius.

“Dalia.” Before I knew it, Kaichen appeared in front of me, on one knee. “Are you alright?”

I got up slowly with his help. When the snowstorm that hindered my vision disappeared, the cold that made my bones ache disappeared as well. Without the biting wind, it felt like I was alive again. I nodded lightly as he supported me.

“Master, you didn’t know, did you?” I said.

I waited for an answer, as I beckoned him to help loosen the scarf that was wrapped around my neck. Kaichen skilfully loosened my scarf and took off my thick coat to make it easier to move around. I couldn’t take it off myself because my tight clothes made it difficult to move my arms. Even after almost a month of getting dressed and undressed by him, a traitorous blush still crept to my cheeks.

“Yes.”

It was not until my body became lighter that I heard an answer. He seemed quite upset that he wasn’t able to notice it.

“I also didn’t know,” I gently said.

“It’s probably because of the snowstorm,” he answered.

Kaichen told me that I worked well with time magic. If I used it, I’d be better at it than anybody else. And yet, I still didn’t notice.