Elsa stared at him.
Her mind blanked for a split second, her thoughts crashing to a halt before spiraling into chaos.
She almost laughed. Almost.
"You refined it?" Her voice was quiet, but there was something sharp beneath it. "By yourself?"
Grey hummed lightly, stretching his arms.
"Mm."
Elsa felt her nails dig into her palm.
A sharp breath left her lips, and she took another step forward, this time slower, more deliberate.
"You refined a high-rank rune... All by yourself" Her tone was no longer a question. It was a statement. A confirmation. A demand for an explanation.
Grey didn't even blink.
"Yeah."
Elsa's fingers twitched.
A second passed. Then another.
Her mind tried—desperately—to piece together the logic, to find some explanation that made sense.
It couldn't be true.
Even with the best resources, even with S-rank hunters guiding the process, refining a high-rank rune was an ordeal.
A single mistake, a single misalignment, and—death.
The backlash should have torn him apart.
Elsa's thoughts scattered like shattered glass as the scene before her sank in.
The sheer absurdity of it left her breathless. He had refined a high-rank rune.
That, on its own, was no small feat. In fact, it was extraordinary—but still, not entirely impossible.
but What had her heart pounding, though, was the realm where he'd done it: the Mirror Realm. Her mind screamed in disbelief, for no guide, no scroll, no whisper from the elders ever dared suggest it was possible.
To attempt refining any rune in that cursed place was tantamount to suicide.
Even the weakest of runes, left unchecked, would break the mind, warp the soul, sending the bravest of souls spiraling into madness.
Her pulse quickened at the thought. And yet, here he stood, unscathed. His expression—composed, unaffected, almost serene—was a stark contrast to the chaos that should have been gnawing at him.
The Mirror Realm's twisted nature should have left him trembling, babbling incoherently, his very sanity slipping away.
But he wasn't. No sign of madness. No crack in his flawless facade. Just him, as calm as ever, like he had taken a walk through a tranquil meadow.
How is that possible?
A cold shiver slid down Elsa's spine.
Impossible.
She felt the ground beneath her feet tremble, and it wasn't from the force of his power—it was her own mind, rattling, struggling to grasp the enormity of what she was witnessing.
A bead of sweat trailed down her temple as she studied him—his golden eyes, piercing, unwavering—like the world's very laws had bent in his presence.
It was as if he was staring down the universe, daring it to defy him.
This doesn't make sense...
Then,
like a sudden jolt of lightning, a flicker of clarity pierced through the fog of her thoughts.
An artifact.
Her breath caught in her throat as the pieces clicked together.
Of course. It made sense now.
How could she have been so blind?
No one—no matter how skilled—could endure the Mirror Realm's corrosive pull without something to shield them.
An artifact—a rare, ancient relic, forged to ward off the madness, to protect the mind. Elsa's fingers clenched into fists as the realization hit her.
He's using an artifact. The thought seemed to breathe life into the shock that had paralyzed her.
she didn't consider it because she never thought a weakling like him can posses such high rank artifact.
but in the midst she forget one thing.
she looked at his golden eyes.
golden eye and golden hair are the sign of the only one family in this world.
thinking about that her eyes narrowed,
he's a Ravenwood. Of course he would have one artifact with him.
The weight of the realization hit her with a dull thud in her chest.
That's it. The only way he could have pulled off something so insane, so audacious, was with that kind of protection.
But the power behind it—this was the reason he stood so calmly, unshaken, in a place that would have destroyed anyone else.
And yet, as she watched him, she felt the shiver of unease creep up her spine once more.
There was something about him, something behind those cold eyes that gnawed at her. ever since she saw him she had this feeling of equality
for some reason she don't know she was trying to make him her equal...
someone who will stand beside not against her.
she don't know why she didn't like the idea of going against this weak mana less man
Elsa shifted her weight, as she let out a sigh.
But her gaze never left him. She had to admit, she was awestruck.
But at the same time, suspicion simmered within her, like the beginning of a storm.
She knew this was the only possible explanation.
And yet...
Was it really?
Even as her mind rationalized it, there was a piece of the puzzle, a truth just out of reach.
Something she couldn't quite place. Something deeper, darker, hidden behind the surface.
And that, more than anything, terrified her.