Location: Ziveria, Ragnarok Empire
"Can't you think of a normal place to meet up?"
Merlin's voice rose over the wind as she trudged through knee-deep snow, her boots crunching softly with each step. The cold bit through her gloves, and her breath spilled out in a pale mist beneath the clear sky.
Even on a clear day, it seemed like the snowy forest was holding its breath.
She brushed away the frost from her winter jacket and pushed past a curtain of snow-laden branches as she traversed this winter wonderland situated in the far north of the Ragnarok Empire.
Her multicolored eyes fell on the lone figure sitting on a boulder ahead, humming a tune Merlin hadn't heard in a long while.
Of course.
There were certain individuals born into this world who were loved by ardor, granting them access to all its intricate layers and even control over the many strands that it is composed of.
And then there was her.
The one loved by ardor so much that she wasn't allowed to die.
The one who was protected from death by ardor.
Her deep violet hair swayed in the wind, fluttering like the long, flowing dress she wore.
"You finally found me," the woman said in an amused tone.
Her voice was serene and mature, like a kindly mother playing hide and seek with her daughter.
"You didn't tell me the location," Merlin complained, stopping a few steps back. "It was like searching for a fugitive."
"And your message was utterly unhelpful." She reached into her pocket and took out a folded piece of paper.
Two words were written on it.
SEEK ME
Merlin stared at it, unimpressed.
"A bloody letter," she muttered. "A text would've been appreciated."
"I don't have a phone," the woman replied.
"Two years out of the cave and you never bothered to get a phone," Merlin said flatly.
"Should I gift you one, Vaselisa?" She offered in a mocking tone.
The woman named Vaselisa chuckled. "I am still adjusting to this modern world. One step at a time."
She rose from the boulder and turned to face Merlin.
Her eyes were like a midnight starry sky trapped behind glass. A deep blue filled with tiny stars that constantly shifted.
Her ethereal eyes were just a part of her serene beauty. Coupled with her long, flowing dress and arcane tattoos of runes intertwined with forest vines and flowers, she looked like a spirit of the snowy forest.
"How did you find me?" Vaselisa asked.
"I followed the stories…" Merlin said with a sly smile, raising an arm dramatically.
"Tales spoken by children about a wicked witch who snatches naughty brats in the middle of the night and eats them."
Merlin paused for dramatic effect with a mischievous smile. "The people of Ragnarok have a name for this wicked witch."
"Baba Yaga."
Vaselisa sighed, her expression turned faintly troubled, as if she was offended by her depiction in the stories.
"When I asked Nero to discourage people from seeking me out," she said. "I did not expect him to turn me into a wicked cannibal."
Her gaze drifted toward the trees. She looked disappointed.
"That child lacks imagination."
Merlin smirked. "Speaking of Nero… you didn't join us for the banquet at his place."
"The invitation was given to all the Crowns," she gave Vaselisa a knowing look. "And to the others as well."
Vaselisa's smile didn't change.
"Tell me, Merlin," she said softly, "did the one called the Dragon Slayer attend?"
Merlin shook her head. "No."
"And the Incarnus Slayer?"
"No," Merlin's mouth twisted. "He couldn't enter Ragnarok even if he wanted to. He's still a wanted man."
Vaselisa hummed as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"See?" she said. "They have their reasons. Their circumstances."
Merlin remained silent, and her gaze sharpened.
"And you?" she asked. "What's yours?"
Her eyes met Vaselisa's calm, unblinking gaze.
"You are an X-ranker, a being on par with the gods."
Merlin stepped closer.
"So why are you still hiding in the forests like some folktale? What is stopping you from revealing yourself to the world, from taking on the title of a Crown?"
For a moment, Vaselisa stayed silent.
The wind shifted, just enough for snow-laden branches above them to bow slightly.
It was as if the trees listened when she spoke.
"You already know the answer to that, my dear friend," Vaselisa said at last, her tone gentle. "The world is already walking on eggshells with Arthur, Joan, and Nero around."
Her gaze drifted toward the pale horizon beyond the trees.
"If three more X-rankers step out of the shadows," she continued, "one of whom has even slain an Incarnus…"
Her eyes flicked back to Merlin. "What do you think happens next?"
Merlin's expression darkened.
"The balance of power will shift," she admitted. "However, people are aware of the existence of more X-rankers out there."
"But they are uncertain, Merlin," Vaselisa replied, almost kindly.
She lifted her hand slightly, palm up, and the branch of the nearest tree bowed low, as if to touch her palm.
"They don't know whether we are that powerful."
Her eyes gleamed. "That uncertainty is a leash."
As she spoke, the wind picked up, and the snow-covered trees swayed violently.
"The moment my status as an X-ranker becomes official," Vaselisa said, "the moment I step into the spotlight, the leash snaps and the delicate balance that the three Crowns worked hard to maintain will shift."
Merlin's jaw tightened as she listened.
Vaselisa gestured to herself with a slow, almost amused motion.
"Baba Yaga. Dragon Slayer. Incarnus Slayer." Her voice softened. "We are stories. Legends. Shadows of the truth."
She lowered her hand. "And if the truth comes to light, the world will not know what to do."
Vaselisa smiled. "And if the world is unsure, it becomes vulnerable to ruin."
She turned, her dress trailing over the snow as she began walking deeper into the woods.
"Let's take a walk, shall we?"
Merlin rolled her eyes and followed. "You really do love the sound of your own voice, do you?"
Vaselisa chuckled. "I do. It's quite a beautiful voice, my friend."
She hummed the familiar tune again as they continued.
As they walked, the snow slowly crept away in slow, unnatural spirals, forming a clear path that led deeper into the forest.
Branches creaked overhead, bending slightly towards Vaselisa as she passed by, as if drawn to her ethereal voice.
Tiny birds fluttered around, their musical chirps adding to the melody that she wove.
Merlin found herself slowing down without meaning to, enchanted by the melody and the sight of nature bending to Vaselisa's will.
She watched it all with quiet, aching envy.
"You really are loved," she murmured wistfully.
Vaselisa glanced back. "And what about you?"
A cool breeze brushed Merlin's face as the tall witch came closer.
"I can see them," Vaselisa said softly. "Ardor particles gathering around you."
Her star-filled eyes gazed into something beyond visible reality.
"They appear like stars refusing to drift away from the center of a galaxy."
Merlin scoffed, refusing to believe those words.
"In this world of Crowns and Incarni," Vaselisa said with a faint smile, "you are perhaps the biggest variable, old friend."
Merlin arched an eyebrow. "A variable, you say?"
Vaselisa nodded. "Indeed. A true mystery, even to me."
Her smile warmed. "You are aware I feel a sort of kinship with you, right?"
"I noticed," Merlin said drily.
"We have both lived for centuries," Vaselisa continued. "And you are far older."
Vaselisa winked, mischief briefly flickering through her serene expression.
"We had the same teacher," she said, "and we both have ways of knowing the future."
Her gaze softened. "We're the same. Two undying beings with the power of prophecy."
"We're not the same."
Merlin's words cut through the stillness of the forest like a blade.
Vaselisa stopped.
She looked at Merlin's eyes and immediately understood what was coming.
Merlin stepped forward, snow crunching under her boots.
"You," she said in a low voice, "are loved by the world and ardor."
The colors of her eyes shifted, sliding like shards of broken glass.
"So loved that they can't bear to have you draw your last breath."
Vaselisa didn't interrupt as Merlin paused, swallowing. Her words flowed bitterly, her voice soft.
"Your gift of seeing the future is far better than mine." She said. "Your prophecies give hope even in the greatest tragedies."
Merlin laughed, a broken sound, a reflection of her inner loathing.
"But me?"
She pointed an accusatory finger at herself.
"I am an abomination, a mistake." Her voice tightened, fading into a whisper. "My immortality is a consequence."
"The consequence of my life that mocks the sanctity of the world."
She exhaled slowly.
"And my eyes…" Her voice broke, eyes burning. "My eyes only witness disaster and tragedy. The worst outcome."
Merlin's hands clenched at her sides. "And even if that future never comes," she continued. "I will never know."
"And with the knowledge of that terrible future, I try to change it." Her mouth twisted into a smile of self-mockery. "And my actions always seem to lead right back to it."
Merlin's empty gaze pierced into Vaselisa.
"My old friend," she said, her voice soft and vulnerable. "You and I are different."
Her words hung in the air as the entire forest became silent.
Vaselisa stepped closer, her expression filled with understanding.
"Isn't that why you come to me?" Vaselisa asked quietly. "Every time you receive a vision that upsets you. You come to me to know whether what you see will be the future that will happen."
She sighed, amused despite herself.
"You are far older than I am," Vaselisa said, "and yet I keep finding myself trying to play the elder sister."
She lifted a hand and gently brushed a snowflake from Merlin's hair
"So what if you are an abomination?" Vaselisa said with a smile. "In my eyes, you are still loved."
"Just… not as much as me," she added with a smirk.
Merlin's mouth finally twitched.
"I thought your time in the cave would've mellowed your narcissism," she muttered.
Just then, Merlin's phone vibrated, and the sound of a notification broke the natural stillness of the forest.
"Ah," Vaselisa said, amused. "Looks like the reason for my message to you has arrived."
Merlin frowned as she pulled out her phone. "What do you mean-"
Her words died down when she read the message.
Her fingers tightened around the device until her knuckles whitened. For a moment, she simply stared at the phone screen.
Then her expression shifted from shock to disbelief, to dread.
"What is it?" Vaselisa asked in a calm voice.
"A message from Minerva. Mordred…" Merlin, her voice trembling. "He's alive."
Her eyes met Vaselisa's.
"Then the future I saw-" she started, panic rising in her voice. "The destruction of the Kingdom by Mordred's hands-"
"Will not happen," Vaselisa said gently and stepped forward. "The future you witnessed… has changed."
Her midnight starry eyes softened. "That is one reason why I reached out to you."
Merlin was still in a daze.
"But then…" her voice cracked. "That would mean…"
Looking down at her hands with a haunted expression.
"I ruined that child's life for nothing."
Vaselisa studied her for a moment.
"You have ruined the lives of many, Merlin," she said quietly. "Yet you only express remorse with Mordred?"
There was no accusation in her voice. It was simple curiosity.
Merlin was at a loss for words.
"But… how?" She finally managed.
"How did the future change?" Vaselisa echoed her question.
She placed a hand on her chin as she thought.
"You told me you received the revelation at the same time Mordred was born," Vaselisa said. "And you arrived at the room thirty minutes later."
Merlin nodded, puzzlement and shock still written on her face.
"Morgause," Vaselisa continued, "had passed away a minute before you reached the door."
Her brow knitted as she thought. "It is a theory… But something happened in that time frame."
"In the gap between Mordred's birth and Morgause's death…" her gaze lifted to Merlin. "Something happened that changed the future you saw."
"And the only person who would know what really happened…" Vaselisa finished softly. "Is Arthur Pendragon."
Merlin froze, looking back at Vaselisa when she heard the name.
"Arthur," she repeated.
Vaselisa didn't press but simply watched her.
For a moment, they walked in silence.
Then Vaselisa spoke again.
"But perhaps…" she murmured, as she had another thought.
"Perhaps he can give an answer."
Merlin blinked. "Who?"
Vaselisa turned, and a soft, strangely nostalgic smile touched her lips.
"The second reason I wanted to see you."
"Our teacher." Her starry eyes glittered with excitement. "He has returned."
Merlin stopped walking, her multicolored eyes wide.
"...Is this a joke?" she asked.
There was no way.
Him? Returning to this world?
That thought was far more shocking than Mordred's return from the dead.
"Nope," Vaselisa shook her head.
Gesturing forward, she added.
"How about we go meet him?"