Wen Zhi and Zhen felt the pressure of time. Jian's sickness felt like a ticking clock they couldn't see. They had his secret notes about the vaults, but the archivist's people were still hiding. However, Zhen noticed something strange about these enemies that made them different from everyone else in the palace.
"It's not just that they are scary," Zhen told Wen Zhi and General Klen in their secret meeting room. The old paper was found on the table.
"Most people in the palace feel things like worry or anger. But the people from the archives and the person who attacked Jian feel... empty."
She tried to explain the strange feeling.
"It's like a cold hole. They have no warmth or feelings at all. They aren't even mean or angry. They are just blank, like a statue with no soul."
General Klen listened closely. He knew about being brave or angry, but this "emptiness" was new to him. He trusted Zhen's special amber sight, though. He knew her feelings were usually right.
"A trail of cold," Wen Zhi said. He thought about his own silver visions of the future. He had seen cold, robotic figures before but thought they were just symbols. Now he knew they were real people.
"If you can feel this coldness, maybe you can find them."
Zhen nodded. The feeling was scary, but it was a way to track them.
"I can try. I felt a little bit of that cold today in some parts of the palace. It's like a tiny breath of ice in a warm room. They leave a trace behind them."
So, they started. Zhen used her amber power to "listen" for the cold feeling. It was hard because the palace was full of loud emotions. But when she looked for the "empty" feeling, she began to find small trails.
She felt it near the Grand Chancellor's office, coming from a helper nearby. She felt it in the halls near the doctors' rooms. She even felt a tiny bit of it near Jian's room, like someone was watching him.
"There," Zhen whispered one afternoon in a quiet hallway.
"I feel it. Someone was just here. They were moving very carefully and quietly."
Wen Zhi used his power to see where the trail went. He saw shadows of people moving in secret. He realized these people weren't just watching. They were part of the archivist's big plan.
"They are checking on Jian," Wen Zhi said.
"They want to make sure he stays sick and doesn't talk. And they are watching us, too." He also saw them touching the old records to change history.
General Klen understood.
"If they are watching Jian, they know he is a threat. If they are watching us, they want to stop us from finding proof." He used what he knew about the palace to help.
"The places you feel them show they are stealing secrets and protecting the Archivist."
They began to see the truth. It wasn't just one bad person. It was a whole team. These cold agents were like tools for the archivist. They didn't have their own goals or feelings. They just did exactly what the archivist told them to do.
Zhen felt a cold feeling very strongly near an old storage room by the armory. This room was full of old weapons and tools.
"It is very strong here," Zhen said quietly.
"More than one of them was just here."
Wen Zhi used his power to see the future. He saw the agents looking at a chest. Then he saw General Klen walking toward them. Klen didn't know they were there, and he was about to walk into a trap!
"Klen!" Wen Zhi cried.
"He is heading to that room right now. He will run into them!"
Zhen was scared for their friend.
"We have to stop him!"
"We can't get to him without being seen," Wen Zhi said quickly.
"But we can make a loud noise to distract the agents. That will give Klen a chance to hide."
They moved quickly. Wen Zhi told Zhen to go to a pile of old metal shields.
"Make as much noise as you can!" he said.
Zhen felt the cold danger from the agents while she worked. At the same time, Wen Zhi watched Klen with his mind. He saw Klen stop and look toward the loud banging of the shields. The agents in the room also stopped to listen.
It worked! Klen heard the noise and sensed danger, so he stayed back in the shadows. He didn't walk into the room.
From their hiding spot, Wen Zhi and Zhen saw two agents step out of the room. They looked around with cold eyes but didn't see anyone. Then they disappeared back into the palace.
"Klen is safe," Wen Zhi said, finally breathing again.
"They didn't find him."
Zhen nodded, but she still felt the cold.
"They were looking at something important in that room. Something they didn't want Klen to see."
They realized the archivist wasn't just changing old books. He was using these cold, heartless people to control everything happening right now. These agents were like parts of a machine, working in the dark to keep the Archivist's secrets safe.