A day of winters… breezing airs icing every single thing coming in its touch.
A man moving his swords like a butter knife through the toughest rocks,
'Hey! Ryu, are you still training there? It's so cold here, and Junji told me to give you this envelope. A young soldier approaches Ryu and hands him the envelope—a cream-colored one with a red wax seal bearing a queen's face on it.
…
Seals open.
A burned thick sheet, and Ryu reads it aloud: 'Every single fighter, magician, knight, swordsman, or any other person who can help our nation fight this threat on the reviving land of Hamel.'
There is a recruitment for crews to defeat the magic beast at the ceremony hall …
…
The summon of shadows.'
Ryu reached the Castle, where Junji was waiting for Ryu in his room. As Ryu enters the room, breathing heavily. 'Cool down, Ryu, our nation can't lose a Swordsman like you, Junji says, patting his cat.
'Junji, are you sure that fighters or other people can fight a threat this big?' Ryu asks Junji.
Junji lets her cat leave the room 'Ryu Ryu Ryu, it's been over a year, but you still don't understand that I am not that stupid. I obviously know that no one in our nation is as capable as you, but a battle doesn't just need a swordsman, it also needs a healer, a navigator, a cook and a lot more elements. This ceremony is for you to pick these combinations for yourself. If you defeated the beast hidden in the mountains, it would become so easy for me to rule in Hamel.'
He told Ryu.
Junji's words echoed in the chamber, but Ryu's thoughts drifted elsewhere. The ring on his finger trembled faintly, light rippling across its surface like water under moonlight. He clenched his fist, steadying his breath, unaware that the glow had reached far beyond the castle walls.
…
Across the valley, in Komi's quiet cottage, the pendant resting against Shin's chest pulsed in response. She gasped softly, pressing her hand over it. For days, she had sensed the jewel was no ordinary ornament—its power answered only to her, as though it had chosen her alone.
This morning Shin is helping the Komi with farming, sowing multiple seeds at a time with her powers she is helping her. Everything was going so happily and peacefully.
But peace rarely lasted. A low growl rose from the tree line, sharp and close. Before Shin could stand, a wolf lunged from the shadows, fangs bared, knocking Komi to the ground.
"Komii!" Shin cried. Her body moved before her mind could. The pendant flared with silver light, burning against her chest. A wave of force burst from her hand, striking the wolf back into the dirt with a yelp.
Komi stumbled, blood streaking her arm where the claws had torn. Shin dropped beside her, panic flooding through her veins. Her hands trembled over the wound, and the pendant's warmth surged into her palms. A faint glow spread across Komi's skin—closing nothing, but softening the pain, easing the throbbing until Komi's breath steadied.
Komi touched her arm in disbelief. The cut was still there, but the ache had vanished as if it had been lifted away. She looked at Shin, breathless. "Shin… you're not just blessed. You're chosen."
She grasped Shin's shoulders, eyes wide with urgency. "The Ceremony of Hamel is calling warriors.
With power like yours, even if it's untrained, you can't stay hidden here any longer. You must go, and if you are scared that you don't know how to control your powers, I will teach you. You know that I am a mage too. I will teach you how to use your true potential."
Shin was filled with confusion. 'Do you really think that I have that much potential, and even if I have it?'
'How will I survive there without you?'
Komi rushed into the house and brought out an old box, her lips trembling as tears streamed down her face.
Shin, unable to meet her eyes, took the box and slowly opened it. She stared at its contents, then shook her head, handing it back to Komi.
"I… I can't take this," she said softly. "This is your family's legacy. I shouldn't—"
Komi's tears fell faster, her voice breaking. "Shin… you're part of my family. But if you really join the crew… I may not see you for a very long time." She smiled through her sobs, clutching the box tightly. "Still… you have to go."
Shin lowered her gaze to the pendant around her neck, the weight of the decision pressing on her chest. She knew Komi was right—but the ache of leaving her friend behind made her heart twist.
That night was cold and long 'Komi, can I sleep with you tonight?'
Komi let her in, and when she rested beside her, she hugged her tightly, not letting her go 'I never thought I would cry this for a girl I met just a year ago' she said, sobbing.
…
The next morning, Shin quietly packed her belongings, the pendant resting heavily against her chest. Komi moved around the room, helping where she could, slipping small things into Shin's bag.
When she added a bundle of rice cakes, her hands trembled. She tried to smile, but tears welled in her eyes. "Here… take these," she whispered, unable to let go.
Shin turned to leave, but Komi ran forward and hugged her tightly. For a long moment, neither could speak—both knowing that this farewell might last far longer than they wanted. Finally, Shin pulled away gently, brushing a tear from Komi's cheek. "I'll return," she promised softly, though the words felt small against the weight of leaving.
As she stepped out into the morning light, a soft shimmer flickered along the edge of her pendant. It pulsed faintly, as if nudging her forward, whispering that her place among the chosen awaited.
Shin climbed into a horse-drawn cart waiting at the edge of the village. The rhythmic clatter of hooves carried her across the rolling hills, each turn bringing her closer to the unknown.
At last, the palace came into view, grand and imposing, its gates wide open to welcome the chosen warriors. Shin's heart beat faster—this was the path that would lead her to the ceremony… and to Ryu.
As she approached, a lone flag atop the palace fluttered in the wind. Her gaze lingered on it for a moment, and a strange warmth coursed through her chest—an unspoken certainty whispered that she was meant to be among those chosen.
The moment Shin entered the great capital palace of Hamel, she was surrounded by a sea of people—magicians in robes, swordsmen with shining blades, and mages whispering spells. The noise and movement pressed around her, and she quickly lost her sense of direction.
Pushed from one side to another, she struggled to find a way out. Suddenly, someone's hand brushed hard against her shoulder, and she almost fell—until another girl caught her just in time.
"Hey, careful," the girl said.
After a while, everyone sorted according to their categories, and Shin was grouped with magicians.
'With some physical tests and intelligence tests, some people were selected and promoted for round two,' Shin said while
Reading a note given to every participant.
Shin feels a presence; the pendant on her chest begins to glow and grows colder. Shin quickly covers it with her hand, looking around with unease, and she sees a Ryu walking by in the auditorium.
She didn't recognize him due to his changed face and her lost memories, but the pendant in her neck did.
She took a step forward and stopped him with inquiring eyes. She approached her and asked him his name.
"What's your name? Sir," Shin asks respectfully.
The ring in Ryu's hand starts to get chilly, too.
'Huh? Oh, you might be the spellcaster from the valley, right? Myself Ryu…'
The words fall in Shin's ears, but the statement melts in her mind. The pendant in her neck cracks, and she falls to the ground.
Ryu panics, he picks her up and takes her to her reserved room according to her application form number. Ryu immediately called the healer from her crew.
A lady enters the room in a purple cloak. She casts a healing spell, 'Healing spell grade one', she hovers her hand on Shin's chest, and she begins to rise.
'Oh, you don't have to sit, just rest, this might have happened due to so much magical energy in this place, as there are too many spellcasters in this hall.'
Shin nods at her response to her gesture of sitting and lies back again. Ryu introduces him and her crewmate to Shin.
'Hello, meet Maria, my magician crewmate. She is the best healer in the kingdom, and I am Ryu. I am a swordsman and the leader of our crew. Nice to meet you.'
Someone knocks at the door.
'Come in.' Ryu replies.
A man in armor enters and greets the Ryu and tells him that Junji has called him for the preparation for the test of all magicians and magic potion makers.
Ryu told Maria to stay with Shin and left the room. Maria asks Shin about her, keeping a smile on her face as a gesture of care.
Shin begins to reply, but feels something very unusual in her pendant. Her pendant begins to get colder and colder. Maria notices her uneasiness 'Hey, Shin, is your pendant the magic source you use to cast spells?'
'Yeah,' Shin said, holding her pendant with both hands at a distance.
'Shin, we use mediums like staff and pendants like yours to let mana flow through our body to cast spells, but when we have less or too much mana to cast spells, our mediums break and because of too much spiritual pressure of this place your pendant is breaking I think I need to seal it' Maria explains to Shin and Shin agrees for sealing it.
Maria raised her wand and slowly moved it around Shin's pendant. A strange, dark light flickered out from the gem, pulsing like a heartbeat.
"Shin! Your pendant's spirit—it's resisting me! My spell can't pass through!" Maria said, tightening her grip on the wand. "You have to lower your spiritual pressure. Let it in."
Shin nodded, closing her eyes. She took a deep breath and began to focus, her heartbeat syncing with the faint hum of the pendant.
Suddenly, the world around her dissolved into darkness. The noise of the hall vanished. She found herself standing in a vast, cold and silent place.
She walked forward cautiously. In the center of what looked like an ancient chamber, a glowing orb of energy floated, swirling with light and shadow. Its power felt… familiar, almost alive.
Shin took a few cautious steps toward the glowing orb. The air around her shimmered, heavy and alive, its hum tugging at her senses. The moment her fingertips brushed its surface, white light exploded before her eyes—and suddenly, she was somewhere else, inside a memory she didn't know she had.
She saw herself dressed for combat: She's dressed in a sleek black outfit with tactical straps, gloves, thigh-high leggings, and combat boots. Her movements are precise and controlled, her breath calm. Next to her stands a warm, laughing figure teaching her. A face she couldn't fully see—but her heart remembered.
Fragments followed like shattered glass: cold, metallic halls, whispered orders, assassination drills. A masked mentor guiding her. Then the strike that killed Someone in a mansion. The blinding fall. And Ryu—his hand reaching out, his voice barely a whisper in the darkness.
"Ryu…" she murmured, tears sliding down into the void.
The orb pulsed violently, twisting until it became a black cat with piercing violet eyes. Its tail curled, and a smirk tugged at its shadowy mouth.
"Well, well… Miss Shin," it purred, voice silk and steel. "You were an assassin in your past life. And now… reborn as a mage. How poetic."
Whereas,
Shin, in her memories, binds herself from going back to the world she is in, as if she wanted to live in the memories she is watching herself in.
The voice teaching her assassination, telling her stories about magic from a fairy tale – 'then the magician used fire magic,' that figure said
Shin's eyes sparkled in the memory.
"How cool will that be," she said softly, "being able to cast magic like this…"
The cat opens her wide jaw as if she is going to eat shin in a single bite, the moment the cat snapped her jaw together to eat shin...…
In the fraction of a second, all the memories of her past spent with Komi learning those spells, and her experiences fighting wolves to save the person she loved, piled up. Time froze. She saw that a shield had appeared around her, and it was under her control — without the pendant.
"Am I doing it? I thought I would never be able to cast the spell without the pendant," she said, looking into the eyes of the cat, who seemed shocked by the strength of the spell.
"How did you do this?… Agh! No matter what, you are going to die here!" the cat snarled as she attacked Shin with her razor-sharp claw, slicing through the shield.
But Shin jumped back. "I can't win against her without attacking… but am I even able to do it?" The moment Shin paused to think, the cat's claw hit her, throwing her away, and she crashed onto the ground.
Her hand almost felt broken. She sobbed in pain, but she still managed to get up. "Even if I can't do it… I don't have a choice."
She put her hands together, forming a sphere between them, focusing, and aiming at the cat.
The cat ran toward her and opened its mouth, thinking she was an easy target — but Shin cast the most difficult spell.
"I only have one chance… 'Inferno S-Grade'… Aaaaaah!"
Fire surrounded the cat, burning every ounce of her body. Still, the cat didn't lose her pace. Shin used every single source of strength she had, even as her skin burned and melted. Every old wound felt like it was breaking open again, trying to stop her, but Shin pushed through as if she had made a promise to herself not to stop… not to die here.
The cat's body burned and finally fell to the ground. Shin dropped to her knees, smoke curling around her. She saw that the cat's body had completely burned away, and at the centre, there was a gem — the same type as the one they had been inside. Shin picked it up and wore it.
The gem at her chest flickered.
Once… twice… and then a gentle light seeped out of it. A tiny cat stepped from the glow, no longer feral. No longer a monster. Its eyes held centuries of memory, and something else — remorse.
It lowered its head to Shin.
It surrendered its power.
Its existence.
Its loyalty.
Not as a prisoner, but as a partner.
The void finally disappeared, and Shin found herself back in the room with Maria. She saw Maria still holding the pendant in her hand, casting different spells to pull them out. Shin tried to go to her and explain everything, but a sharp noise pierced through her ears, and she collapsed unconscious.
She woke up in bed, thinking all of it had been a dream. But the moment she saw Maria holding a pendant identical to the one Shin was wearing — and noticed her own burnt clothes and the wounds on her skin — she realised everything was real.
"Maybe this world has its wounds… but I'll rise, same as Hamel did," Shin whispered. "I still want to leave… but for now, I'll go with the flow."
She glanced at Maria sleeping in the corner, still clutching the pendant.
"Maria… hey," Shin called softly.
Maria blinked awake.
Shin lifted the new gem on her chest.
"You know what happened… right? There was a cat. A dangerous one. It almost killed me. And that's how I got this new pendant. I… also have a partner now. A cat spirit. I can call him anytime."
The pendant flickered gently.
Maria straightened, eyes widening. "Wait… I've studied something like this before."
Shin nodded, exhausted but calm, and the room settled into quiet — the kind that comes right after surviving something impossible.