FROST
Chapter 80: We Were Written

Chapter 80: We Were Written

Silvermist, Levi, and Cullen waited in silence inside the chamber where they had been summoned earlier.

Though the three figures of authority—Cloud, East, and Sun—had already departed, the residual echo of their presence still clung to the air like a phantom mist.

The chamber is vast and cavernous, filled with an ethereal stillness that never quite settled.

The floating orbs overhead pulsed gently with blue-white light, casting shadows that danced along the floor like spirits of knowledge long past.

The architecture was reminiscent of the ancient inner sanctums of the Academy: circular in structure, with domed ceilings and walls entirely lined with towering bookshelves that climbed to impossible heights.

Each shelf brimmed with scrolls, leather-bound tomes, and magical ledgers that hummed with dormant power. Occasionally, a page would flip on its own, stirred not by wind but by enchantment—as though the chamber were memorizing what was written on them.

Silvermist, however, paid none of it any mind.

She sat quietly on a low cushioned seat beside one of the chamber’s arched windows. For some reason, today is a lot dimmer than usual. Only fireflies and golden dusts hovering in the air.

Today... felt a lot heavier.

Her fingers tapped an erratic rhythm on the chair’s armrest. Her thoughts refused to settle. All she could think about was the Lira Protocol.

What did they mean by similar mana sources? Was it possible that whatever was dormant in her wasn’t unique... but shared?

She clenched her jaw. What will happen if they truly confirm it? Will they be exiled from the Academy? Silenced? Scrubbed from the records?

No, she thought bitterly, they wouldn’t do that. Not to Guardian apprentices... right?

But another voice inside her whispered something different. More paranoid. Unless this is bigger than Guardianship. Unless it’s something even they fear.

She turned her head slightly, watching Levi and Cullen at the center of the chamber. They were hunched over a circular obsidian table, where several aged manuscripts were spread out.

Both of them seemed immersed in a spell diagram etched onto one of the parchments, its runes faintly glowing gold as they traced over it with their fingers.

"Are they trying to verify something?" She asked to herself.

Cullen spoke in a low voice, just enough for her to hear clearly, his brows furrowed. "This rune—it’s in High Arcane, but it’s been rewritten. The original glyph for ’containment’ was replaced by the one for ’resonance.’"

Levi nodded. "It’s no ordinary containment seal then. This one was made to awaken something, not suppress it. Could it be that we were taken into this Academy for this sole reason?"

Cullen shrugged. "I can’t tell at all. The Guardians might not have any concrete idea what was going on as well, that’s why they aren’t saying anything yet."

Silvermist exhaled through her nose. She didn’t care. Or at least she pretended not to.

They could decipher all the magical puzzles they wanted. But none of them were addressing the question that truly gnawed at her: Why the three of them?

Was it coincidence? Or was the Lira Protocol crafted with them in mind from the very beginning?

She glanced down at her hands and noticed her knuckles were white from how tightly she was gripping the chair. She loosened them, shaking her fingers out.

"This is a trap," she whispered to herself, but the two had quite heard her that they looked up.

"You say something?" Cullen raised a brow.

Silvermist didn’t answer. She only gave him a cold glance before staring back out at the firefly-lit abyss beyond the window.

Silvermist let her mind slip back to the moment inside the simulation, to the heartbeat Levi felt... the pulse in the air... the eerie synchronization of their magic. It didn’t feel like coincidence... and for some reason, her mind flew back to when West fought Xavier.

She’s already aware West has been suppressing something like she does, and when she thinks about his fight, about the violet glow in his eyes, she felt as though that was the reason she was able to use the spear, like the mana West had emitted back there resonated on hers.

She wanted to ask East, maybe it would help, but at the same time, she’s worried West might get dragged on this mess either. So, she remained silent.

Then suddenly, the air shifted.

Not by wind or magic, but by presence. The orbs floating above flickered and dimmed slightly.

Silvermist stood up instantly, her body tense. Levi and Cullen did the same, backing away from the table, their eyes darting to the shadows pooling at the far end of the chamber.

Then, a hum. Faint but growing. Almost like... a second heartbeat. Echoing against the walls.

But no one appeared.

Only a book fell—one massive tome from the topmost shelf, slamming into the floor with a thunderous thud that echoed through the vast chamber like a war drum.

Dust and silence followed in its wake, thick and eerie. The shelves trembled faintly from the impact, and the glowing orbs suspended in the air flickered as though momentarily startled.

Without warning, the book stirred. Its leather cover creaked as if breathing, and then—flip—it opened on its own.

Pages fluttered rapidly, as though possessed, until they halted midway, the parchment glowing with ethereal golden light. Runes began to rise from the page, curling and reforming into a language none of them recognized at first... until Levi gasped sharply, breath catching in his throat.

"It’s... our names."

Silvermist’s heart seized. Her boots echoed softly against the stone floor as she approached, drawn by a force she didn’t understand and didn’t trust.

"What?" she whispered, barely audible, leaning over the tome.

There it was. In neat, glowing script, blazing like a sacred brand etched in burning ink:

Silvermist Evermore.Levi Ashenfall.Cullen Callaghan.

...And just beneath that, as if the parchment itself hesitated before surrendering the final name:

West Crystalvein.

Silvermist’s jaw clenched. Her breath grew sharp, shallow.

"I knew it," she muttered, barely above a growl.

Before anyone could respond, the light within the book flared—then extinguished. The tome slammed shut with a heavy snap, sealing the names away. At the same time, the flickering chamber lights steadied, glowing steadily once more as though nothing had happened.

Levi staggered back a step. "Y-You mean to say," he stammered, looking at both of them, "the Spring Apprentice... West... he has the same mana source as the three of us?"

Cullen blinked, scratching the back of his head with an awkward, crooked smile. "Well, I’ll be damned," he muttered, sounding almost impressed. Then he turned toward Silvermist, eyes lighting up with mischief. "Now I definitely get it. The first time I saw you in the human realm—I felt something strange. Drawn in, like gravity. Couldn’t explain it. But now?"

Silvermist grimaced and took a half step away, eyes narrowing. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

Cullen chuckled, unfazed, raising his hands as if to say don’t shoot the messenger. "Relax. I’m just saying—I think the reason Levi here can’t move on from you is because you’ve literally shared mana. You’re... connected like me connected to you."

Levi made a strangled noise, face flushing with horror. His eyes widened, giving Cullen a silent but very obvious shut up right now look.

Cullen simply shrugged, his grin widening. "I mean, c’mon, Levi. Be honest—every time you see her, your mana flares like a bonfire. If only our magics had already woken up back in the human realm, I’d definitely sense you burning from a far."

Levi choked. Silvermist grimaced and yet Cullen was far from done.

"And as for West?" He turned back to Silvermist, raising an eyebrow. "Let’s not pretend we didn’t notice. That boy’s been sneaking glances at you like he’s trying not to drown."

Silvermist’s eyes darkened. "We’re not going there."

"Oh, we already went there," Cullen said, laughing. "Look, I’m not trying to make things weird. But it makes sense. You’re the common link, Sil. Maybe you’re not just connected to our mana sources—maybe you are the source. After all, you are the one who had been making few scenes among all of us."

"Funny," Silvermist took a long, cold breath and turned away, staring out the tall, arched window.

The fireflies beyond drifted lazily in a sea of twilight. Something in her chest twisted—not pain, not exactly—but something she couldn’t name. A pressure. A weight.

She clenched her hands into fists. "If I really am the link," Silvermist said slowly, her voice a low tremor wrapped in restraint, "then what does that mean for me? Am I bound to destroy the three of you, then?"

The words hung in the air like frost on glass—brittle, sharp, and dangerous.

Cullen’s teasing grin faltered, vanishing entirely. The laughter in his eyes drained like color from a dying flame. Even Levi turned toward him and gave a sharp elbow to his ribs—silent, but scolding. Cullen winced, drawing back.

His throat bobbed with a hard swallow. "Look, we don’t know anything yet," he muttered, hands lifted as if to prove his innocence. "I was just being hypothetical, okay? Trying to... lighten things up a bit. I didn’t mean—"

But the words trailed off into silence as the massive chamber door creaked open.

All three of them turned at once.

Another messenger stepped through, robed in the typical Academy white, but with an urgency in his stride that made Silvermist’s chest tighten.

And behind him—West. West Crystalvein followed, slow and heavy-footed, his head lowered. Blood streaked across his face, smeared down from his temple like war paint. But it wasn’t his.

Silvermist’s breath caught. Cullen straightened without realizing. Levi took a step forward, frozen mid-motion. West looked up—and for the briefest of moments, Silvermist met his eyes.

Something flickered there. Not pain. Not fear. Something more human than she’d ever seen from him.

Regret.

But just as quickly, he lowered his gaze, the emotion vanishing behind the practiced stoicism of a trained apprentice. He followed the messenger without a word, walking toward the door on the right side of the chamber—a door none of them had dared approach since they arrived.

The heavy wood creaked open. Then silence.

They watched him disappear through the threshold, swallowed by the shadows beyond.

Levi was the first to speak, barely above a whisper. "W-What was that..."

No one answered.

Cullen stood unusually quiet, lips pressed into a thin, unreadable line. Even his usual offhanded bravado had drained from his posture.

Silvermist stared at the door long after it had shut, her arms folded tightly over her chest like a shield.

Her voice, when it came, was raw. Fragile.

"...West."