The Citadel of Bingyeon (Ice Smoke)

Episode 7: Crown

A soft, steady strand of violet light, perfectly linking my fingertips to the star’s glass shard, gradually grew dazzlingly bright, then soon pulsed in a calm rhythm in perfect harmony with my heartbeat. As heavenly magical energy settled deep within the crystal and was absorbed, deep grooves across the entire uneven surface began to hum with faint vibrations. In an instant, the shard split the light in all directions and projected a huge three-dimensional map, blindingly brilliant, into the air right above the oak-barrel desk.

We all leaned forward at once, and the map of the kingdom rippling in all our eyes left behind a beautiful afterimage.

"This is the celestial topographic map of the entire kingdom."

Hyunjin whispered low. The usual impatient, lively bickering was gone without a trace, replaced by an awe so deep it was almost hard to breathe. He raised a finger and pointed to a spot on the map, then followed the path of three distinct violet cosmic-dust signal beacons flashing sharply across the entire territory.

"Look at this! There are three more pieces of the star’s glass shard out there. If we gather all of them, we’ll complete a single, perfectly joined crown."

That joyful news instantly filled the room’s drifting atmosphere with excited warmth. But as the map began transparently writing out the surrounding terrain and landscape in fine detail, the cruel weight of the reality before us came surging back into the surrounding silence with terrifying force.

The coordinates of the first signal were fixed deep inside the underground royal mausoleum within this very fortress where we stood, in a place swarming with and tightly monitored by the sentinels of the Supreme Council. The second shard was hidden across the outer lands of the Smoke Court, throughout a land dry and scorching hot as if flesh itself were being torn apart. And the final third was faintly pulsing behind the heavily fortified border of the Statue Wasteland, the most terrifying place of all, a place that just thinking about gave me chills — the enemy front currently locked in a merciless all-out war with our kingdom.

"It’s been completely torn to pieces and scattered across the whole kingdom."

Jiseok’s low murmur had grown even more grave, carrying a firm, stubborn tone meant to protect me. He took one more step toward me. The proud, huge smile that had filled his face vanished without a trace, replaced by a rough, resolute expression as he stared at the hostile territories marked on the map. He reached down and gently took my hand, softly tracing a reassuring circle over the backs of my finger joints, steadily supporting me at my core.

"One of them is literally stuck right in the middle of enemy territory. Seoha, this is going to be an unimaginably dangerous journey."

"Just getting the first shard right away means we’d have to sneak in without the Supreme Council guards noticing."

Hyunjin brushed the back of his neck and burst out in a flustered stream of words. As if his usual restless, puppy-like worry had rushed all the way to the top of his head, his cheeks were already dyed a deep, embarrassed crimson under the violet magical light.

"And we have to go all the way to that awful wasteland too? The moment we cross the border, we’ll be hunted down like prey across the entire kingdom. This is seriously insane."

Chan-yeon hyung didn’t speak right away. He pressed one large, warm hand firmly behind my waist, steadily supporting the weight of my body, and pulled me tight against his chest, staring at the map with dark eyes. The transparent light of the map reflected sharply across his delicate silver cochlear implant. His shy, reserved appearance had completely vanished, replaced by the full dignity of a rough, unwavering supreme commander.

"No matter how dangerous it is, none of that matters."

Chan-yeon hyung murmured softly. His voice dropped an octave, radiating a terrifying, intense gravity that sent a cool shiver up my spine. It felt like that tremor was squeezing hard at the very depths of my chest. He lowered his head to look down at me, and in his dark eyes there was a deep attachment, saturated with care, that made my chest tighten mercilessly. Then, once more, a small but firm, unmistakably sunlit smile spread across his face.

"We found you in the snow, and we swore we would give all our warmth and become guardians for you alone. If your crown is scattered beyond the enemy border, then the certain path the four of us must walk is there as well."

He lightly added supportive, gentle strength to the hand bracing my waist, and his thumb slowly drew a reassuring line along the edge of my waist.

"The safeguards are finished now. Starting tonight, we begin our first manual override plan to escape this fortress perfectly."