"Did Fenrix not see this?"

Cassia was befuddled. He likely had opened it before he gave it to her, so why still hand it to her if the contents were a mythical sword?

It didn't make sense; he could have found it himself... other than that, or he probably didn't open the scroll before handing it to her.

But that wouldn't make sense for Fenrix; a spymaster like him would never miss a detail like that, unless... the contents were hidden?

That was the only explanation Cassia had; she didn't believe he could be kind enough to let another person have an opportunity to get a sword like that.

"What if this is just some sort of elaborate joke?"

Cassia rolled up the scroll, unsure of what to do.

But as far as she's concerned, Fenrix's voice was as serious and honest as they could get, which wasn't saying much considering his occupation.

"I guess I'll take a look at it... not much to do in the dead of night anyway."

She clenched her fists. She couldn't just go to sleep feeling useless, even if the scroll led to nothing; at least she did something that could help the duchy, even if it was just investigating a random, undocumented scroll.

Cassia exhaled, the cold night air stinging her lungs as she lowered the scroll.

The courtyard felt different now, still, expectant. As if the snow itself was watching.

With hesitant steps, she made her way toward the outer gate just behind the city. The moonlight painted the palace grounds in silver, guiding her path as though urging her forward.

Every crunch of snow beneath her boots echoed louder than usual.

Her thoughts wouldn't quiet.

'The scroll pointed to the abandoned ruin just behind the city...'

The abandoned ruin was once a bastion of an old civilization, an empire that predated the Thirell duchy and the kingdom itself, a civilization that was destroyed through hubris and civil war.

A civil war that led to the current kingdoms of the continent.

'That place was already searched extensively... there's no way I'll be able to find something new.'

The moment Cassia reached the gates, the soldiers patrolling them bowed, curious as to why she was there; all of them were used to her staying by Justinian's side at this time of the night.

"Hail, Vesuvian."

The two guards praised.

"At ease," Cassia replied.

"Do you have any concern, my lady?"

"No, I just need to look into something."

Cassia replied bluntly, using the alternate entrance just beside the gate to exit the city, leaving the two soldiers befuddled.

They were currently at war; what could she possibly try to find outside?

"The flower's face seemed to be deep in thought." One soldier remarked.

"Maybe it was a lover's quarrel." The other one replied.

Both now theorizing on why Cassia looked so saddened and burdened.

Cassia walked deeper into the snow-covered path, the city's warm torchlight fading behind her. Ahead lay only darkness and the faint outline of shattered stone rising from the earth like broken ribs.

The ruin.

A place scholars picked clean centuries ago. A place children dared each other to approach. A place no soldier liked guarding because the shadows felt too… aware.

Her grip tightened around the scroll.

'It's as if meeting an old friend... father... You used to bring me here before, didn't you?'

The wind answered with a low howl, curling around her cloak as if urging her faster.

When the first archway of the ruin came into view, Cassia paused.

The structure was exactly how she remembered it, cracked pillars, half-collapsed domes, ancient runes scarred by time and war. Nothing about it should have been remarkable.

And yet…

Tonight, something was different.

The ruin breathed.

A faint mist pulsed out from between the stones, shimmering with pale blue light before fading. It was gentle, almost rhythmic, like the exhale of something long asleep.

Cassia felt her pulse quicken.

"…Am I imagining things? All traces of magic should have disappeared a few centuries ago."

She stepped forward.

The snow thinned with each step she took, replaced by frost-touched ground that almost seemed intentionally cleared. The air grew colder, not the natural winter cold, but a sharp, ancient chill that gnawed at bone and memory.

"What now...? This place is as barren as it can get..."

She turned, trying to see if she had missed anything, but there was nothing.

It was exactly as she remembered it.

GROAN!

Other than that.

"What...?"

Cassia unsheathed her sword; despite the ruin having no light source, it was unnaturally bright, as if the moonlight itself had lit up the place despite having no holes to enter.

Everything felt strange.

And it got even stranger the moment the source of the groan had entered her sight.

Draugr.

An ancient undead creature from the myths of the northern territories of the kingdom, rumoured to have been cursed due to their sins and overall terrible reputation while they were still alive.

With some interpretations even having them as legends and warriors of the past, whose will was too strong to be laid to rest.

'What...!?'

Cassia's eyes widened; it was like seeing a fairy tale come to life, stories that her father used to tell, but now... present in reality.

Necrotic dark skin that could only be described as death itself, added with a hint of pale blue hues, with small lights that glowed unnaturally behind an empty void that acted as eyes, and equipment that was Nordic in nature, covering its fully fleshed body.

And what was even worse was its stench, in reeked horribly, but unlike a rotten corpse... Its terrible smell could only be described as something unnatural.

'Why would a northern myth be located in the south...?'

The South may have the same climate as the North, but its culture and beliefs were different. Cassia never even heard of similar creatures in southern myth.

But she didn't have time to think about its origin.

It was beginning to attack.

"Moon... born... snow... kin..."

The draugr talked.

Then lunged, its techniques surprisingly precise and efficient, it retained all its skills from when it was alive.

But...

BOOM!

Cassia took a step back, evading its sword strike, but that revealed something much worse.

The moment its sword touched the ground, a spiderweb of cracks formed. It had unbelievable strength.

"What...? How was this thing not found before?"

Cassia bit her tongue; unlike soldiers, she was fighting myth.

And she was terrified.

'Moon... born... snow... kin!"

The draugr lunged once more.

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