Ficorpio
Chapter 1
“Ugh… where am I? Heaven?”
Adrian Winter opened his eyes groggily. The first thing he saw was a wall of ice. His reflection shimmered across its surface—and the sight snapped him fully awake.
He sprang to his feet and moved closer, staring at himself.
“What happened? I… How did I end up looking like this?”
The boy reflected in the ice wore white from head to toe. His long white hair fell to his waist, and the delicate Snowflake Head Chain around his head gave him an ethereal appearance. His skin was pale as freshly fallen snow, impossible to overlook. At the center of his forehead, a Snowflake Brow Mark glowed faintly.
“Brother, you’re awake.”
The cool, clear voice came from behind him.
Adrian jumped and instinctively looked up. A streak of blue light flashed, and a beautiful figure appeared before him.
The moment he saw her, he froze.
The girl wore the Frost Crown that marked her status. Long silver hair spilled all the way to the floor, while the diamond-shaped mark between her brows added an otherworldly accent to her flawless features. Her blue-and-white gown left her shoulders bare and only enhanced her cold, elegant presence.
Wait… wasn’t this the Ice Princess from The Enchanted Guardians? Why was she standing in front of him?
Had he somehow crossed into another world?
Adrian was completely stunned.
The Ice Princess spoke softly. “Brother, you’ve been asleep since the day you were born. It’s been tens of thousands of years. I was beginning to think you would never wake.”
“Who… who am I?” Adrian asked, staring at her in confusion.
Evelyn Winter paused. Then understanding dawned in her eyes.
“You’ve been asleep all this time. It’s only natural that you have no memories. You are the ruler of snow—or rather, you are snow itself. Like me, you were born tens of thousands of years ago. You are Adrian Winter, the Snow Prince of the Spirit Realm.”
She rested a hand lightly against her gown.
“And I am Evelyn Winter, the Ice Princess—your sister. You also have an older brother, Julian Winter, the Water Prince. He is in the human world at the moment and cannot come to see you. I imagine he has already sensed that you’ve awakened.”
All right. It seemed he really had crossed into another world.
How did someone manage to choke to death on instant noodles and end up transmigrating?
Adrian slowly looked around. Everything here had been built from ice. This must be the Ice Crystal Palace, he realized—the Ice Princess’s home.
Seeing him examine his surroundings, Evelyn patiently explained, “This is my Ice Crystal Palace. After you fell asleep, you were unable to create a palace of your own, so I brought you here.”
Then, as if she had suddenly remembered something, Evelyn pressed her lips together.
Chapter 2
“Adrian, take some time to familiarize yourself with the place. I have something to attend to, so I’ll be leaving now.”
Before he could respond, she vanished.
Adrian watched her come and go in such a hurry and helplessly shook his head.
Judging from everything he had seen, he really had crossed into the world of The Enchanted Guardians. Still, there was no point panicking. Since he was here, he might as well enjoy the live version of the story.
The only question was—how far had the plot progressed?
When he was little, his cousin had always beaten him to the remote, leaving him no choice but to watch the children’s cartoon with her. He remembered the story more or less.
Adrian left the Ice Crystal Palace at a leisurely pace. Perhaps it was because of the body’s original owner, but he could feel the snow and ice around him welcoming him with unusual warmth.
After thinking for a while, he headed in a particular direction.
He needed to build himself a home first. He couldn’t stay at Evelyn’s palace forever.
“This should do.”
Adrian looked over the area and decided it was perfect. Few living creatures came here, the ground was covered in thick, gleaming snow, and the terrain was flat.
Ideal for building.
He closed his eyes and felt the snowflakes gathering around him. A line of magic rose into his mind as naturally as breathing.
“Enchanted magic—lantern light reflected on snow, blessed snow falling from the skies. Build!”
One enormous palace after another rose from the ground. The surge of power made the earth tremble violently.
At the Bamboo Pavilion, a man lowered the teacup in his hand and looked toward the source of the disturbance.
“Hmm? An unfamiliar magical presence. Has another Saint-tier fairy been born in the Spirit Realm?”
At the Flower Sea, Seraphina Hartwell moved through the endless fields of blossoms. She, too, looked toward the distant tremors, her expression puzzled.
“Is that… a new life? Such a powerful surge of energy.”
At the same time, fairies throughout the Spirit Realm sensed the disturbance and turned toward its source in confusion.
Inside the Mirror Palace, a woman in a golden cheongsam embroidered with dragons reclined across a throne. Her violet eyes looked down coldly at the reflection of the human world within the mirror.
“Humans,” Morgana Vale said. “You refused to heed the warnings. You’re bringing your own destruction upon yourselves.”
Footsteps sounded behind her.
Morgana smiled faintly. Without turning around, she called out, “Ice Princess, I knew you would come to me.”
It was Evelyn.
Her expression was complicated. Only after a long pause did she speak.
“Morgana… I shouldn’t have helped the humans before.”
Morgana blurred from her place and appeared behind Evelyn in the next instant.
Chapter 3
“Is that so? Give me your hand.”
She seized Evelyn’s wrist before the princess could agree or refuse.
Evelyn struggled once, then finally gave in and opened her hand.
Her palm had already become transparent. Her fingers were slowly fading away.
Morgana’s expression changed. She had guessed the situation was serious, but she hadn’t expected it to have progressed this far.
“It’s already this bad? You’ve begun to disappear?”
Evelyn wrenched her hand free and walked slowly toward the mirror.
“Perhaps the others haven’t shown any signs yet, but you were right. I’ve already begun to vanish.”
“The climate grows more unstable every day. Temperatures rise. Glaciers disappear across vast areas year after year. The ancient glaciers of the Arctic will be completely gone within a few decades. Before long, a quarter of the glaciers in the human world will disappear as well.” Morgana’s voice grew heavy. “And when that happens… the destruction of every glacier on earth will only be a matter of time.”
Evelyn stared at the hand that was fading before her eyes. Sorrow clouded her face.
“Yes. Soon, I will cease to exist.”
“Other forces of nature may not have deteriorated as visibly yet, but the earth is drying out, water sources are becoming polluted, forests are vanishing, and species are going extinct. It is only a matter of time for them, too.”
Evelyn looked at Morgana. “There’s nothing we can do to stop it?”
Morgana gave a quiet laugh.
“Of course there is. If the world has grown too warm, then make it cold again. Return it to the Ice Age. Freeze the humans where they stand.”
“Make it cold again? Is that even possible?” Evelyn asked, uncertainty filling her eyes.
“You still don’t believe me?”
Morgana swept both hands outward. A swirling vortex appeared before them, twisting with blue and silver light.
“Go. The Spirit Council left behind a Spirit Gate, and I know someone who can open it for you. I’ll send you to her.”
Morgana’s gaze sharpened.
“Trust me. I failed and need time to restore my magical power. While you still have strength, go save yourself—and save the fate of the Spirit Realm. Correct the humans’ mistakes.”
Evelyn flew toward the vortex. Just before entering, she stopped and looked back at Morgana, hesitation and compassion in her eyes.
“Morgana… if I want to end all this, do I have to hurt them? Couldn’t there be another way?”
Morgana snorted.
“Either you die, or I fall. There is no way for everyone to survive.”
Her voice turned cold.
“Kind-hearted Ice Princess, when have they ever considered your fate? When have they cared whether we fairies live or die?”
Evelyn’s entire body shuddered.
Then she turned resolutely and entered the vortex.
Morgana watched her disappear and smiled with quiet satisfaction.
“Bring down the snow. Freeze this world.”
In a corner of the palace, a single snowflake flickered once before vanishing.
“So that’s where the story has reached…”