If Wolf Castle was the stone heart of the Far North, then the western tower—the place that endured the fiercest winds and sank deepest into darkness—was home to an existence both noble and lonely.
That was where Bailey Dermott lived.
At fifteen—the age when the other teenagers of the family were donning elegant formal wear in preparation for the Awakening Ceremony—Bailey still stood alone on the balcony, letting the season's first snow settle on his hair.
His hair was pure white, like the first snow of the season. His deep-red eyes, like blood frozen beneath ice, made anyone who happened to meet them look away at once. Not because they were ugly, but because there was always something in that red silence that made people uneasy.
Bailey's face was a cold masterpiece of nature. His features were so delicate they were almost unreal, yet his beauty offered no warmth. He resembled a flower blooming on an icy plain: perfect, rare, and something no one dared reach out to touch.
The cold surrounding Bailey came not only from his Ice-element bloodline, but also from the bitter circumstances weighing on his shoulders.
Bailey was the only son of the fourth son of the main branch of House Dermott. Three years earlier, a terrifying Beast Tide had erupted along the border of the kingdom of Elantra. His parents—two of the most outstanding Mages in House Dermott and House Pruvost—had plunged into that brutal battlefield and never returned.
Missing.
No bodies. Not a single word of news.
His parents' disappearance left Bailey utterly alone. He still carried the name of the main branch, but his only support had collapsed. The eyes that had once looked upon his parents with worship now turned toward the white-haired child with pity mixed with malicious curiosity.
He had grown used to those eyes.
Used to servants lowering their voices as they passed the western tower.
Used to the elders mentioning his parents in words half regretful, half probing.
But today, for the first time in three years, the entire family would have an official reason to pass judgment on him.
That night, when the bell announcing the Awakening Ceremony rang out from the main hall, Bailey slowly tightened his black leather belt. He looked at himself in the mirror, forcing the flickering red in the depths of his eyes back into calm.
To him, tonight wasn't a celebration.
It was a trial.
The Awakening Hall was built from jet-black obsidian. Six pillars of eternal ice stood around the center, constantly releasing trails of cold mist. In the middle of the hall, atop an ancient stone pedestal, the Awakening Crystal Orb silently reflected the pale-blue firelight.
Five children of the main branch stood waiting before it in turn.
Richard Dermott stood closest to the center. He was the Head of House's youngest grandson, as well as one of the children striving to rise among the bearers of the main bloodline. His white hair was slicked neatly against his scalp, emphasizing his sharp face and narrow brown eyes that were forever calculating.
Richard hated Bailey.
In his eyes, the enormous shadow cast by Bailey's parents was an invisible wall pressing down on every effort he made to claim his own glory. As long as Bailey was still spoken of as the son of two geniuses, Richard would forever be placed on the scales beside him.
Standing beside Richard was Audrey Dermott, a girl with long white hair falling to her waist like a ribbon of snow. Her haughty bearing and perfectly straight posture made her stand out from the crowd.
Sarah Dermott stood behind Audrey. She was a petite girl with shoulder-length white hair, a freckled face, and hands that were always tightly clasped in anxiety.
Finally, there was Kevin Dermott—a fifteen-year-old boy with the powerful build of a grown warrior. His dark complexion contrasted with his neatly trimmed white hair. He said nothing, merely standing there with his arms crossed, his eyes occasionally sweeping toward the ice pillars covered in frost.
A long bell pealed.
The officiating elder stepped forward in front of the stone pedestal. His voice rang throughout the hall:
“Audrey Dermott.”
Audrey stepped forward and placed her hand on the crystal's surface.
A golden halo immediately spilled forth, winding around the ice crystals forming inside the orb. The brilliant light shone across her face, plunging the entire hall into a moment of awed silence.
“Ice and Light!”
Praise surged through the hall like a rising tide. Audrey withdrew her hand, the corners of her lips curving faintly upward. She didn't need to say a word; the eyes around her had already declared her position for her.
“Kevin Dermott.”
Kevin stepped forward. When his hand touched the crystal, the white of Ice quickly merged with a deep brown glow, heavy as the earth itself.
“Ice and Earth!”
The guards immediately looked at Kevin with newfound respect. A Mage capable of both defense and the crushing power of Earth was always a reliable force on the battlefield.
Kevin merely nodded and quietly stepped back.
“Sarah Dermott.”
Sarah stepped forward amid the sound of her own tense breathing. When she placed her hand on the orb, frost surged forth, combining with a gentler earthen-brown halo than before.
“Ice and Earth.”
Applause rang out, but it was weaker than when Kevin awakened. Sarah lowered her head, both hands clutching the hem of her clothes. She had awakened two elements, yet she could still feel a vague disappointment seeping into the surrounding whispers.
Three dual-element results in a row made the atmosphere in the hall heat up. At last, every eye turned toward Richard.
Richard stepped forward with a smile he had prepared in advance.
When he placed his hand on the orb, emerald-green bands of Wood energy immediately erupted within the razor-sharp ice. They reached out like magical vines, winding around the ice crystals before tightening their grip.
“Ice and Wood!”
This time, the cheers truly exploded.
“Control, support, growth—it’s a perfect combination!”
“Richard really is the most talented person of his generation!”
Richard withdrew his hand amid the praise. He lifted his chin, letting arrogance spread across his face. Then his sly brown eyes slowly shifted toward Bailey.
His smile was no longer aimed at the crowd.
It was aimed straight at him.
“Finally, Bailey Dermott.”
The elder's voice rang out.
The hall suddenly fell silent.
Bailey walked forward at an unhurried pace. He could feel dozens of eyes following his every step—pity, anticipation, scrutiny, and poorly concealed malice.
No one said it aloud, but they were all waiting for the same result.
He would carry on his parents' legacy.
Or prove that their bloodline ended with him.
Bailey stopped before the stone pedestal. His slender hand rose slowly. In that instant, a broken memory suddenly crossed his mind: his father's hand resting against his chest, his deep voice echoing through a white, snowy night.
It will awaken.
Bailey lightly tightened his fingers, then placed his hand on the Awakening Crystal Orb.
SLASH!
There was nothing gentle or gradual about it.
The instant his skin touched the crystal, a wild and savage storm of Ice erupted from deep within his body.
Cold.
A bone-deep chill spread throughout the hall. Frost formed in thick patches across the obsidian floor, crawled up the six pillars, and froze the wine in the elders' hands. A sharp crack rang out. The officiating elder's glass shattered.
The crystal orb was completely covered by layers of condensed ice, transforming into a dazzling block of pure-white crystal.
But amid the Ice storm, Bailey sensed something else.
Not cold.
Silence.
Deep within the mana-space in his chest, the Snowflake Magic Sigil, which had been radiating a sky-swallowing mist of Ice, suddenly trembled. Right beside it, the empty space that had always been vacant suddenly caved inward, as though twisted by an invisible hand.
A hexagonal outline appeared.
Transparent.
No color. No light. No mana fluctuation.
It existed like a hollow carved out of the world.
CRACK...
BOOM!
The overloaded mana exploded, sweeping across the entire hall. Shards of ice flew in every direction. Cold mist billowed upward, swallowing everyone's view.
When the fog slowly cleared, the Crystal Orb reappeared atop the stone pedestal.
There was no second halo.
No green of Wood, brown of Earth, or gold of Light.
Only the single, cold white of Ice.
A heavy silence descended over the hall.
Then whispers began leaking from every row of seats.
“Single element...”
“It only awakened one element!”
“So in the end, the genius of the fourth branch is only this much?”
Richard lowered his head, but not quickly enough to hide his gleeful smile. He had waited far too long for this moment.
The entire hall believed that Bailey Dermott had just fallen to the worst possible fate.
Bailey slowly withdrew his hand. He lowered his lashes, letting every whisper slide over him like meaningless snow. Only the hand hidden inside his sleeve was clenched so tightly that his fingernails sank into his flesh.
No one knew.
Not a single person in that hall knew what had just happened inside his body.
Deep within the mana-space, beside the Snowflake Magic Sigil roiling with cold mist, the second Magic Sigil continued to exist in silence.
A perfect hexagon, sharp-edged and completely transparent.
So transparent that even House Dermott's Awakening Crystal Orb could neither detect it nor recognize what it represented.
Bailey raised his eyes to Richard.
For the first time that night, the corner of his mouth lifted faintly.
Barely.
But it was enough to freeze Richard's smile on his lips.