The Citadel of Bingyeon (Ice Smoke)

Episode 6: Embers

Training a power vast enough to perfectly defy the laws of time and space of this entire world was not as easy as it sounded. Especially when my training base was strictly confined to the walls of only Chan-yeon oppa's private stone room, it was even more so.

The thick velvet blanket had already been neatly folded back on the bed, and the furniture had all been pushed toward the walls to make as much space as possible. Park Hyunjin's dark clumps of smoke hung thickly and swirling along the room's boundaries, serving as the perfect soundproofing and anti-magic barrier, thoroughly preventing even a single whisper of my magic from escaping into the fortress's corridors.

"Okay, let's try again. But this time, don't try to force the power in too hard."

He was usually the team's mood maker, but he took his role as a magic coach quite seriously, though his trademark puppy-like, restless overflowing energy still filled every nerve. The moment he stood right in front of me, the silver twilight glow gently spilling from my hand flashed sharply as it reflected off the hearing assist device on his right ear and the cochlear implant on his left.

"You're trying to command this magic by force, as if it were a hostile enemy."

"But your magic is the celestial cosmos itself, Seoha. It's already a part of your body. Just... think of it like taking a deep, gentle breath. Like the way you casually talk to us when you're teasing us, and let it spill out as naturally as possible. Just like that."

I quietly closed my eyes and took a deep breath, focusing all my attention on the warm pulse beating deep in my chest. I stretched both hands forward and gently aimed a strand of celestial void magic at the jagged shard of star glass on the center table. But the moment I pushed that energy forward, the spell burst into searing white heat so blinding it was almost impossible to look at. In an instant, a purple shockwave made of cosmic dust violently shook the room, rippling in all directions, and the force sent a silver goblet on the display cabinet crashing to the floor with a loud clatter.

The magical flare that suddenly exploded short-circuited Hyunjin's thought process in an instant. He froze dead in the middle of a sentence, and as the tiny sparks that flew off at random lightly brushed past the leather cuffs of his sleeves without harm, his eyes shot wide open in complete shock. A deep, dark blush flooded over his cheeks, and he awkwardly tried to compose himself, letting out a breathy, embarrassed laugh.

"Ah, seriously...."

Hyunjin quietly swept a hand across the back of his neck and muttered under his breath. The tips of his ears were already bright red.

"You always do this. You wait right until the exact center-stage moment when I'm giving a serious speech, then you shatter my composure without mercy."

"I didn't do it on purpose."

I burst out laughing. As the tension that had been pulling my body taut melted away into the air, my shoulders also dropped in relaxed relief.

"You did great, Seoha. Just ignore that guy."

Jiseok's deep, warm voice cut cleanly through the silence in the room.

He slowly walked away from the frost-patterned window, and his trademark proud, huge smile bloomed brightly across his face. Jiseok radiated a steady, grounded sense of trust that felt calm yet reassuringly solid, and just his presence instantly filled the surroundings with even more safety. He neatly moved all the way around the table and came right up to me, then gently and warmly took my hand in both of his.

His fingers were astonishingly hot, a stark contrast to the cruel mountain wind howling outside from the snowy peaks, and they soothed my pulse with relief. His eyes, looking straight down at me, were impossibly deep and sweet, filled with stubborn resolve.

"Hyunjin-hyung talks way too much normally."

Jiseok muttered softly, then playfully tossed a quick wink toward the hyung beside him, who was grumbling and pouting his lips.

"Magic isn't something you have to overthink in your head. Look at me. Feel how steady and unshakable the grip of my hand holding yours is."

With extreme, unhurried precision, Jiseok moved his thumb and slowly traced a pretty heart shape over the center of my palm, as if reassuring me. The gentle pulse of that simple, intuitive touch flowed straight into my chest in an instant, calming the celestial void flames that had been roiling like rough waves.

"There's no need to force power into the star glass until it obeys your voice."

Jiseok's whisper was a comforting, certain silent promise, soothing me.

"You already know with absolute certainty that you are their queen. So just quietly sync its frequency to the rhythm of your heartbeat."
I looked up at him and smiled, and at last my ragged breathing found calm equilibrium, perfectly matching the steady rhythm he was releasing.

At the edge of the room, Chan-yeon oppa was watching us quietly, his face full of a deep expression that was both proud and overflowing with affection. The fortress's supreme commander strode forward, and his sturdy, broad shoulders shielded me in front as if blocking every other visual in this chaotic room at once. His shy, introverted facade as commander had completely melted away the very instant he erased the distance between us, replaced by a giant sunlike smile that seemed ready to swallow his whole face.

He didn't bother asking whether I needed help. His instincts were always smooth without the slightest friction. He slid one large, warm hand behind my waist, supporting the weight of my body with effortless firmness, and with the other, he gently covered the back of the hand where Jiseok and my fingers were tightly interlocked.

"Jiseok is absolutely right."

Chan-yeon oppa muttered softly. His voice dropped an octave, exuding a heavy gravity that sweetly soaked into my chest. The moment that vibration reached me, it felt like the deep part of my chest was gently tightening. He leaned his upper body even closer to my cheek, and his breath brushed my skin, scattering into a white puff of mist.

"The absolute momentum of the throne isn't something you obtain by fighting to the bitter end against the power flowing within you. Only when you fully trust and rely on the pulse of the people standing right beside you to protect you can it be perfectly tamed at your fingertips."

"Let's try one more time, Seoha. We've got you completely supported."

With Chan-yeon oppa firmly anchoring the center of my body, Jiseok giving unwavering grounding to the feel of my fingertips, and Hyunjin shielding us with his big, gentle eyes, I fixed my gaze once more on the shard of star glass atop the main table. This time, the moment I reached out my hand, the purple cosmic glow rising from beneath my skin never burst sharply or wavered. It became a gentle, dazzling flame that was entirely under our control and obedient to us, beautifully embroidering the display before us.