The frozen domain remained silent.
Within the endless ice, two figures stood before an ice statue.
Kaine Sano and Glass Sano had finally reached Yossi Sano, who was frozen.
Kaine stared at the frozen figure for a moment before speaking.
"You said… his name is Yossi, correct?"
"Yes."
"So, to obtain the Sano family's heritage…"
Kaine touched the ice statue.
"You must break him."
"What?"
Glass looked at him in confusion.
But Kaine calmly explained.
"The heir of an art can only be one individual."
He continued with a knowing look.
"If there are two, the heritage will become incomplete."
Glass wanted to ask but Kaine didn't care.
"The heritage can become incomplete if it is divided among multiple people…
Or if the original founder failed to complete his art."
He turned toward Glass.
"Although your unique physique prevented you from using this art…
Because of Yossi's attempt to take your body, you can now use the heritage through him."
Glass widened his eyes.
"You mean…
I can use him as a mediator?"
"Yes."
Kaine touched the statue with his fingers.
"When you break the statue…
You will obtain his memories.
And through his soul, you will be able to use his art."
Glass looked confused.
"Using his soul?
What exactly do you mean?"
"…"
Kaine stared at his descendant as if saying:
Are you joking?
But after noticing Glass's serious expression, he sighed.
"What did you learn at the academy?"
Glass answered after being surprised by the question.
"The history of the kingdom, aura, magic, chemistry…"
"Enough."
Kaine interrupted.
"Didn't you learn anything about heritage?"
"No."
Glass explained.
"A heritage is a family matter. No one would spread their secrets."
"Ah…"
Kaine placed his hand over his face in disappointment.
Then he asked,
"What is the basic information you know about inheritance?"
Glass answered,
"It uses your spirit to unleash its power.
But it consumes your spirit, so we learn the heritage in order to use it ourselves."
Kaine became silent.
Then he said,
"That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard."
Kaine continued,
"A heritage is connected to the spirit.
When you receive it, it connects with you through the guardian spirit of the heritage."
He walked around Glass.
"The guardian spirit has its own purpose in the heritage.
Either training you until you can control the heritage yourself…"
His gaze changed seriously.
"Or consuming you, taking your body, and reincarnating through you."
"..."
Glass knew that better than anyone.
Kaine taught him.
"In ancient times, we created precautions to avoid these consequences.
One of them…"
He pointed toward Glass.
"Was possessing a unique physique.
The Eternal Ice Statue Body is connected to your spirit.
If something happens to your spirit…
Your body itself will freeze."
Then he pointed toward Yossi.
"When he attempted to take your body, he understood the consequences.
So he tried to suppress your spirit…
Until you willingly handed everything over to him."
Kaine clapped his hands.
"However…
If we reverse the process…
We can use the heritage through the spirit."
Glass remained silent for a while.
Then he asked,
"As I understand…
Yossi couldn't take my body because of my physique.
But I want to ask…
Are there other methods?"
Kaine looked at him.
"Why do you care?"
Glass explained,
"My friend had a guardian spirit that tried to take his body.
Although it succeeded for a short time…
My friend defeated it and used the inheritance."
"Hmm…"
Kaine thought for a moment.
"It can happen.
But if the heir is stronger than the guardian spirit…
Why would the guardian spirit need to take over?"
Glass replied with irritation,
"The guardian spirit was never weak!
It fought against a ninth-level existence!
It caused chaos between the heads of two Great Families and two eighth-level guardian spirits!
It took the seventh level so easily!
And yet…"
Glass was nervous.
"It was only at the seventh level!"
"!!!"
Kaine was shocked.
"Really?"
He looked at Glass seriously.
"So you are saying there was an heir who defeated him and used his heritage?"
Glass nodded.
"Who was he?"
Glass answered,
"Shion Lan."
Kaine remembered the boy who attacked him earlier.
"Is he the boy who defeated you?"
Glass immediately raised his head.
"He defeated Yossi.
Not me."
"…"
Kaine remained silent.
Then he smiled.
"I will tell you something.
That boy is too powerful.
You must make him belong to the Sano family.
Otherwise, no one will allow him to remain free."
Glass smiled.
"He is already a family head."
"What?!"
Kaine was genuinely shocked.
Then he immediately said,
"Then a marriage! He must be connected to us—"
"He is already in a relationship."
Glass interrupted quickly.
He did not want his ancestor to continue.
Glass looked at the frozen statue of Yossi.
"How can I suppress him?"
Kaine, who was still trying to find another way to obtain Shion for the Sano family, answered,
"As I told you before…
Break him."
Glass frowned.
"I will break him but what should I do first?!"
"Break him. Literally."
"What will happen after breaking him?"
Kaine replied,
"You will be immersed in his memories.
His life.
His experiences."
Glass immediately stepped backward.
"Are you trying to kill me?!"
His voice rose as he continued,
"He was at the eighth level and was close to reaching the ninth!"
You are telling me to enter his memories?!
He will kill me instantly!"
Kaine looked at him as if he was the most foolish person in the world.
"Did you forget?
I am here.
No one can harm you as long as I am with you."
The contract appeared between them.
It clearly showed Kaine Sano's duties.
He was obligated to protect and save Glass.
Despite seeing the contract, Glass still hesitated.
He could not easily surpass Yossi.
Especially when that spirit was breaking him daily.
Kaine noticed his hesitation.
"I know what you fear.
So let me tell you something."
He approached Yossi's frozen statue.
"I could simply kill him.
I do not care about his heritage."
Glass felt relaxed but Yossi continued.
"But…
The heritage does not belong to him alone.
It belongs to the Sano family.
If I kill him, the heritage will return to the family…
And wait for its next successor."
He pointed at Glass.
"But you are here.
The inheritance has already acknowledged you.
It would be a waste to abandon it."
With a sharp gaze he continued.
"Sano Family doesn't want coward. We want conquerors, tyrants and kings."
Glass remained silent.
He thought for a moment.
Then—
"I'm in."
He placed his hand on the ice statue.
For a moment, he saw Yossi's expression.
A face filled with despair.
A face that seemed to beg him not to continue.
But Glass no longer cared.
He broke the statue.
The ice statue cracked.
CRACK!
The snow exploded around him.
The fragments surrounded Glass and carried him away.
To another place.
Another world.
Another time.
The space around Glass became tense.
A white vision covered everything.
He could not see.
The air refused to enter his lungs for a moment.
Then—
He opened his eyes.
Taking a relieved breath, he looked around.
He found himself inside a poor house.
The floor was cracked.
The wooden roof allowed rainwater to pass through.
The furniture was so old that it barely deserved to be called furniture.
"This place…
It is too poor to be lived in."
Suddenly—
"Cough…
Cough…
Yo…ssi…"
Glass's vision shifted.
From the poor room to a narrow corridor.
He thought,
"I am inside Yossi's memories.
I will learn about his past.
This should be the first century of the kingdom."
He stepped forward.
The wooden floor made a creaking sound beneath his feet.
He approached the door.
Before opening it, he looked at his hand.
It was thin.
Pale.
Like someone who had not eaten for days.
He opened the door.
And saw a heartbreaking scene.
The room was not pitiful because of its age.
It was pitiful because of the person inside.
A man lay there.
His body was nothing more than a skeleton holding onto life.
His eyes were too heavy to open.
His hair had become grayish-white, with areas of baldness.
His skin was pale, covered with dark spots.
"Yo…ssi…"
The old man called weakly.
Yossi approached him.
The old man whispered,
"Son…
Forgive…
Me…"
"…"
Yossi remained silent.
His expression was emotionless.
The old man stretched out his arm, trying to reach him.
But Yossi spoke.
"Have you had enough?
Father…
You mistreated me because I was untalented.
You took away my dignity.
You raised an ungrateful fox…
Someone who sold your daughter…
Killed your wife…
And filled us with debts we could never carry!"
The old man could not say anything.
But Yossi continued.
"Cony…
He turned our lives into misery.
You gave him everything because…
Because he was more talented than me!
He had the Ice and Water attributes!
More than me!
And now…
You seek forgiveness?!"
Yossi shook his head.
"No.
I will never forgive you."
He stood up.
Then began walking around the room.
His voice carried years of pain.
"That adopted a bastard!
You made him a student of Karath Academy!
You abandoned me…
My mother…
My sister…
You destroyed our lives!
You…"
His words continued.
But the old man remained silent.
That silence only fueled Yossi's rage.
"Why don't you talk?!"
"…"
Yossi stopped.
He took a deep breath.
Then looked at his father.
The answer was silence.
Forever.
Yossi finally realized.
His father had died.
...
In the graveyard, Yossi stood before his father's grave.
There was no one around him.
Only himself.
Alone.
The wind carried the scent of the past.
He had stood in this place once before…
When he buried his mother.
Cony, the one his father had brought into the family, had turned her funeral into a humiliation.
Even his father had not come to fulfill his duty as a husband.
His mother had been accused of betraying her husband.
Without any investigation, his father had wanted to kill her.
But before he could do so…
She had taken her own life.
Yossi no longer cared.
He turned away from the grave.
Leaving behind his poor wooden house, which could barely be called a residence, he carried his bag and headed toward the Sano family's educational institution.
...
The next day.
Yossi stood before a mirror.
He saw black hair and blue eyes.
The main features of the Water Branch of the Sano Family.
But Glass, watching the memory, realized something important.
"If I had a water version of myself…
It would be Yossi."
Yossi continued staring at his reflection.
His eyes were empty.
There were no emotions moving within them.
No waves inside those blue eyes that once represented the sea.
He lowered his gaze.
His uniform was different from Karath Academy's.
Black and blue colors were mixed together.
The colors representing the Water Branch.
The Sano family symbol was carefully embroidered on his chest.
He left the dormitory.
Then stood in line with the other trainees.
Silent.
Their leader appeared.
"Today, we will welcome the new talent of the Sano family.
I want to tell you one thing."
The leader lowered his gaze.
For a brief moment, his eyes met Yossi's.
Then he said,
"Do not try to approach him."
With those few words, he led them toward their classroom.
But Yossi already knew who the new talent was.
Everyone did.
Cony.
...
In the training yard…
A one-sided battle was taking place.
All the trainees had gathered.
They watched the cruelty of the dominant fighter.
A young man wielding the power of the Sano family's art.
His sword turned blue.
"Sano Family Art: Blue Blade!"
He swung his sword.
The defeated opponent was sent flying.
He crashed onto the ground, covered in blood.
The victor looked down at him.
"Yossi…
Yossi…
Yossi…
I thought you would give a better performance than that."
He sneered.
"You are truly pathetic."
"…"
Yossi, who was lying on the ground, slowly stood up.
He raised his sword.
His hand was trembling.
His opponent smiled with disdain.
"Well, well, well…
I guess I have to cut your throat."
"But…"
Someone tried to interfere.
"He is—"
A slap interrupted him.
The sound echoed through the yard.
The young man glared at him.
"A trash like you has no right to speak!"
He looked toward the others.
But all the trainees lowered their gazes.
Except one.
"Co…
Cony…
I will—"
Before Yossi could finish—
A kick struck his abdomen.
His body fell again.
His consciousness faded.
...
The days passed but the places exchanged.
"Yossi!!
I will kill you!!"
Cony shouted.
But they were far away from civilization.
Cony had chosen Yossi to join him on a mission because he wanted to humiliate him.
However…
He never expected that Yossi would poison him.
"You think you will be safe?!
I swear I will—"
SLAP!
Five red marks appeared on Cony's face.
Cony turned around.
He froze.
Because Yossi was standing there.
The blue eyes that once trembled in fear…
Had become completely frozen.
"…"
Yossi looked at him.
And at that moment…
He realized the ice.
The ice that had frozen his explosive rage.