Niveus sighed and looked at the horizon dividing the white land and the blue sky.
'I still can't believe how I ended up here.'
Then he glanced at his fellow apprentice knights, their appearances so out of this world—former world—that it seemed impossible to have their striking looks unless they were cosplaying.
That was an unforgettable illustration and description of his own 'children' when Niveus wasn't Niveus yet but Rey.
The very characters he created with his hands—the characters that only exist in a fictional game world he had made for his final test during college.
The Heir Sought For The Thorny Crown.
It was a raising sims game in which a player played as an invisible character and had to help a princess or prince fight against 6 other successors to claim her throne.
While Rey's project only earned him an okay score in the professors' eyes, it unexpectedly became a fan favorite in an indie game developer contest a year later after some tweaking.
Eliana and Alphonso were two of the many characters in that game. In fact, they were potential romance candidates for a prince or princess, depending on who the player chose as their future ruler.
Unfortunately for Rey, after an incident that took his life, he became a character who was never mentioned in the game or maybe was an unnamed character who only got mentioned as an 'old friend who died' in either Eliana's or Alphonso's routes.
But it seemed Niveus was a non-existent character in the game, as meeting Eliana and Alphonso was purely a coincidence.
After his death, Rey was reincarnated as Niveus, a child of a tribe deep in the snowy forest of Salhju County. It was a unique tribe that never existed in his game's lore but did exist elsewhere.
Rey made a comic that blew up in the community as if he hadn't quenched his thirst to innovate after developing a fan favorite's game.
Saving The World Once Again.
It was a story about a regressor desperately fighting against unknown threats that emerged from otherworldly objects, also known as a 'monolith,' that invaded his world.
The unique tribe from which Niveus originated was from that comic's lore.
Rey reincarnated as a baby Niveus, growing up in a small and mysterious tribe who always hid their faces and whole appearances. Because of that, he never knew what his parents, brother, and everyone else in the tribe looked like.
Reborn as Niveus and accustomed to his tribe's way of life, he felt a deep, unrelenting pain every time he recalled the tragedy that befell them.
With knowledge of his comic's lore, Niveus survived. But it was just that. Although armed with that knowledge, he couldn't save his people.
Everything went according to the script except Niveus himself and maybe his brother if an avalanche hadn't occurred back then.
"Huft..."
Niveus shook his head, still grappling with the mystery that had brought his two distinct works into a single, intertwined universe.
'I never write about my two different works being in the same universe or even coexisting together like this...'
The Heir Sought For The Thorny Crown and Saving The World Once Again were two different stories set in a different universe; that much was evident when discussing their settings.
The former was set in a fantasy world referencing the medieval age, while the latter was set in a modern earth with a fantasy element.
'I still don't know what world this is... at first, I thought it was a world within a comic book, but then I met Eliana and Alphonso.'
'And before meeting Alphonso and Eliana was another unexpected encounter with my mascot character, Nono...'
===
A month had passed since the Ittey subjugation.
It was the last month before the adjutant needed to replace the calendar with a new one.
Salhju County was always snowing and cold. But at this time of year, those conditions worsened, especially in the northernmost region, where a single fortress stood, a testament to the unforgiving nature of the land.
That fortress had become a shield for the knights, helping them endure the harsh weather since the war against Pandemonium—one of the game's lore—broke out.
Thus, for its durability in resisting the weather and the invaders, the fortress was called Glacier's End, shortened to Glacend.
Niveus, despite the extreme weather, stayed outside the fortress' protection. He wore a mask with intricate design that covered his whole face. And despite the armor's protection over his body, he still needed another layer of thick robe to reduce the coldness.
He stood under the leafless tree without company, gazing upon the mound with a sign atop it.
Niveus reminisced about his past, not knowing someone was approaching from behind.
"Niveus? Finally, I found you!"
He broke free from his memory. Turning around, Niveus spotted a vibrant crimson resonating its presence among the white and gray world.
"What's the matter, Eli?"
Eli. It was Eliana's nickname, given by her parents and only her closest friends or family, who she allowed to call her that.
'But it was all in the past. Now, I don't care about such things,' Eliana thought.
Shaking herself from her thoughts, she glanced at the mound behind Niveus. Whatever it was, she kept her expression neutral.
"The commander is looking for you."
"Mmm. I understand."
Eliana played with her fingers, hesitant to spur the words held in her mouth.
"Umm, do you want to go together? I can warm you up."
Then, everything went silent. Even the fierce wind surrounding the winter air seemed like it stopped blowing.
Only after a few ticks of silence did Eliana realize her mistake.
"I-I-I mean!!" She suddenly stuttered. "I can cast my magic to protect you from the cold winter air!"
"Thank you. That sounds convenient," Niveus said casually.
Eliana sighed. She looked at Niveus' face—helmet, wondering what expression the man before her had right now.
Shaking curiosity off her mind, Eliana made a little gesture with her index finger as she cast a magic spell.
"Veil of Flame."
Veil of Flame was a tier 9 utility-type magic. A simple and cheap spell. It could repel projectile attacks such as arrows three times before returning the same projectiles to the attackers. It also warmed up the target's body.
The Veil of Flame enveloped them, protecting them from the chilly wind of the Salhju's extreme winter.
"Let's go."
Niveus walked away from the leafless tree while Eliana stared at his back. Then, her gaze lingered on the sign on the mound, trying to read the words carved on it.
'Here lies Nix, the bravest man in Actlane.' she recited. 'Who's Nix?'
"Eli? Are you going?"
Snapped out of her thoughts, Eliana turned around and immediately ran toward Niveus, who was already walking again.
They walked together back to the fortress. Eliana tried to converse with Niveus along the way. But she only got a short answer from him for every question and topic.
'It's okay... I can feel we're closer than a month ago.'