Looking around the garden, Amir frowned. The luxurious mansion, shrouded in violet mist, made it clear where they were.

Is this the day my family was annihilated by the Dream Demon?

He was a child who knew nothing back then. And because of that—because he mistook the Dream Demon for a welcome guest and guided her inside—everyone in the mansion had been tragically slaughtered all at once.

His memories of that day caused him pain even now, even after getting his revenge by killing the Dream Demon. After all, no matter how complete his vengeance had been, his dead family and servants would never return.

“Amir...” Sensing Amir’s pain, Zayed’s voice sagged with regret. “I’ve told you countless times, but what happened that day wasn’t—”

“My fault. I know that, so don’t worry.”

That day, even if Amir hadn’t guided her inside, the Dream Demon would have entered regardless: an unavoidable catastrophe. Digging into those memories would only wound him further.

“Let’s head inside first.”

Having steeled his heart, Amir headed toward the mansion and entered through the back door.

Step. Step.

Just like outside, the corridors inside were thick with mist and dreamlike butterflies fluttering through the air. Scattered across the floor were abandoned belongings and scraps of clothing—relics left behind by those who had dissipated at the Dream Demon’s hands.

“...”

It felt like a nightmare that perfectly recreated that day’s massacre. Experiencing the grotesqueness of it all, Amir’s expression hardened—

“What an unbearably tiresome sight.”

The Frost Dog revealed himself beyond the glass windows lining the corridor.

“Decades have passed. You’d think the memory would’ve faded by now... yet I still remember clearly who disappeared and where,” the Frost Dog muttered to himself as he walked down the corridor beyond the glass.

Amir paused, hesitating as he looked at the Frost Dog, who looked like a strange reflection, like staring at a mirror image of himself. Soon enough, though, Amir began walking alongside him.

“...Did you still have nightmares even after your revenge?”

“They’d come back now and then, just when I thought I’d forgotten about it all. What about you?”

“I... haven’t had a single one.”

“Is that so? That’s good.”

Hearing the Frost Dog’s answer, Amir couldn’t help but wonder. They had both experienced the same tragedy and achieved revenge, so why had he escaped the nightmares while the Frost Dog had not?

“At first, I thought it was the Dream Demon’s curse,” the Frost Dog calmly began, as if reading Amir’s thoughts. “Her specialty was drying people out through nightmares.”

“...”

“But no matter how many times I checked, there was no trace of a curse. That’s when I realized—the source of the nightmares was me.”

Unlike Amir, who had received Se-Hoon’s help, the Frost Dog had endured decades alone to achieve his revenge. Before becoming an executive in the Pleasure District, he had taken on every filthy task imaginable. Then, upon becoming one, the Mark of Dreams engraved across his body tormented him with dozens of nightmares a day.

The Frost Dog’s life had been so hellish that losing his sanity at any moment wouldn’t have been strange. If it hadn’t been for his unique skill, Winter Sky Eyes, he wouldn’t have been able to endure all that suffering.

“Whenever my synesthetic mindscape was about to collapse, I would freeze parts of it to hold on. That was the source. Synesthetic Mindscape Freezing can prevent collapse, but it never eliminates the inner demon that caused it.”

Because the Frost Dog had never realized that, his inner demon had been left unattended for decades—all the way until his synesthetic mindscape had already been warped beyond repair.

“...But if the synesthetic mindscape becomes corrupted, then...”

“You’ve stepped into the boundary of becoming a demon.”

Amir stopped walking; the Frost Dog didn’t.

“In the past, I hated and denied everything about the Dream Demon. But unlike then... I’ve now accepted parts of her.”

“...”

“All those vile acts I committed for revenge, all the humans I killed as a Pleasure District executive—I justified them all as ‘necessary sacrifices.’”

The realization that he was becoming the same monster he had despised had driven the Frost Dog utterly mad.

“Despair, liberation, ecstasy, misery... when all those emotions burst out at once, freezing parts of myself no longer sufficed.”

Standing on the brink of total collapse—or full corruption—the Frost Dog had clung to his fading sanity and made a decision.

“So I froze my entire synesthetic mindscape.”

After doing that, the Frost Dog had attempted to restore it through Frost Alchemy. Doing such a thing was no different to splitting open his own head and performing surgery, yet the Frost Dog had forced himself through it while barely conscious.

Thankfully, however, he narrowly prevented total collapse and returned to a state just shy of madness.

“But I never restored it perfectly. Even though, through my eyes, I looked normal.”

His Winter Sky Eyes varied the structure of a synesthetic mindscape observed through them drastically, depending on the observer’s values. In other words, his values—his synesthetic mindscape, which was warped—meant the Frost Dog could never return to what he once was. He was frozen as a gray existence that was neither human nor demon.

“By now, you should have understood what I’m trying to say.”

Stopping as well now, the Frost Dog slowly turned to look behind him at Amir through the glass.

“You’re nearly my equal now. Put kindly, you’ve caught up well. Put bluntly, you’ve stopped growing.”

“...”

“You might’ve successfully pulled your weight so far, but once you fight Perfect Ones or Harbingers of Destruction, you’ll hit a wall.”

Even if the Winter Sky Eyes could pierce through others’ synesthetic mindscapes, failing to fully read and understand them meant you couldn’t properly counter or do anything else. At that time, Amir would be defeated in a single blow just like that moment against Aria during Babel’s tournament.

“That’s why, from now on, you need to find a new path.”

Crackle-

The Frost Dog stepped through the ice door he formed on the glass to face Amir directly.

“Find something I don’t have—that you do. A new clue that leads to the future.”

Crackle-!

Two daggers formed in Frost Dog’s hands and his arms frosted over, white markings blooming across his skin: the Mark of Dreams that had once been engraved by the Dream Demon. Though removed with Se-Hoon’s help, the resonance between Zayed and Sakin had caused his corrupted synesthetic mindscape to revive that nightmarish trace.

Crack!

The Frost Dog’s frozen synesthetic mindscape released a surge of frigid air, freezing everything in the mist-filled corridor pure white. The cold was so extreme that it felt far warmer than it did cold.

Naturally, that included Amir.

This... is dangerous.

Gripping his fist until blood seeped out, Amir forced himself to stay conscious. Losing consciousness even briefly would freeze his mind, body, and synesthetic mindscape alike. In the face of power on an entirely different level, Amir stiffened.

“Can you see it?” the Frost Dog asked, gazing at Amir.

Could he overcome this trial—and his past regrets—with his own strength? Meeting the Frost Dog’s expectant gaze, Amir forged two ice daggers of his own with Frost Alchemy.

“I have to. If I don’t want to fall behind those two.”

Although stagnation was already unacceptable, falling behind those two was utterly intolerable.

Blinking in surprise at that unexpected answer, the Frost Dog just stared at Amir for a bit before letting out a laugh.

“That’s true. Falling behind those two is unforgivable. They’d never let you hear the end of it.”

Wiping away tears at the corners of his eyes, the Frost Dog looked at Amir with a softened expression.

“Alright then... let’s avoid that by starting.”

“I look forward to it.”

Crackle!

The air, which had relaxed slightly, was immediately frozen over once more before the two slowly started approaching each other.

Crunch- Crunch- Crunch-

The thin layer of ice shattered beneath their feet with each step as their strides widened, speed steadily increasing. Then, at the instant their final step closed the distance between them to nothing...!

Clang!

Four daggers clashed, and two shadows burst into motion across the mansion.

Blades narrowly grazing past one another shredded the corridor; the cold they released froze shattered walls back into place. Every one of their exchanges of relentless blows left a layer of frost, like sweeping a brush to repaint the world white. Soon, a frozen mansion became their battlefield.

Crash!

Bursting into the vast central hall, the Frost Dog’s daggers cleaved Amir’s ice daggers cleanly in half.

“Agh!”

With the balance broken, the Frost Dog’s follow-up kick struck Amir square in the abdomen, sending him skidding across the floor before he could recover his stance.

The difference in their equipment had led to just a tiny opening. Additionally, Amir had corrected the mistake in under a second.

And yet, the price was still so heavy.

Frost Alchemy: Snow Sin Reversal Dance

Rumble-

He had been caught in a violent blizzard that engulfed the central hall and then surrounded by dozens of ice statues that emerged from it.

Seeing the massive fists and palms raining down from all sides, Amir urgently created dozens of ice clones.

“Brother!”

“Got it!”

The ice clones imbued with Zayed’s soul formed a defensive formation around Amir, each swinging ice daggers that released violet sword aura in all directions.

Crack!

One blade split into three, then nine trajectories filled the air—together, a sword aura barrier born from Zayed’s sword technique.

However, even though the clones perfectly executed the technique and protected Amir, its limits were clear.

Whoosh!

The blizzard intensified, the very snowflakes turning into blades that gradually ground down the barrier. Frost Alchemy’s initiative had been completely lost. Worse still... the Frost Dog was able to prepare his next attack without interference.

Woong-

A pale white glow glimmered through the storm. The Frost Dog’s daggers had merged into a mirror-like shard of ice and were forming geometric patterns within.

That’s...

An ice kaleidoscopic that reflected not only Amir’s synesthetic mindscape but even the mansion, no, the Tower’s trial itself. The Frost Dog’s attack, a synesthetic mindscape skill honed to even defeat Perfect Ones, had reached the extreme of sealing even the laws of the world.

“Ice Blossom Myriad Mirrors.”

Crack!

Combining with the Winter Sky Eyes, the synesthetic mindscape skill embedded in Zayed and Sakin reflected the Frost Dog’s incomplete synesthetic mindscape onto the synesthetic mindscape of the opponent, freezing it in place though the chill.

I need to... do something...

Against the desperate technique meant to bind the opponent at the cost of everything, Amir desperately clung to his fading consciousness. He instinctively began analyzing the synesthetic mindscape structure with his Winter Sky Eyes, then forging a counter with Frost Alchemy—he stopped, realizing such actions were meaningless.

To reach the opponent before him on that same path, he would need decades of effort and suffering. Trying to catch up? That was not just naivety but also utter arrogance.

Still...

If neither his Winter Sky Eyes nor Frost Alchemy would work, how was he supposed to overcome the trial? No matter how much Amir’s mind raced, no answer ever came.

Completely lost, Amir’s synesthetic mindscape wavered. And that was when the Ice Blossom Myriad Mirrors seeped in with a gentle warmth.

“...”

All of his sensations dulled; his vision faded. He slowly sank into a comfortable darkness as his synesthetic mindscape embraced the cold—

Squech!

“?!”

A burning pain forced his eyes open. Confused, Amir looked around until he looked downward... and found an ice dagger embedded in his abdomen?

“Huh...?”

“Feeling clearer now?”

“...Brother?”

Looking up at Zayed’s voice, Amir saw battered ice clones blocking the blizzard with what remained of their bodies.

“Back when I couldn’t wake up in that dream, you stabbed me awake, remember? So I figured I’d try it too.”

The memories of rescuing Zayed in the dreamscape rushed back. Back then, the blade had been a special dagger crafted by Se-Hoon. The one in his abdomen, though, was pure ice.

“That and now are—”

“Different, sure! But it worked, didn’t it?!” Zayed shouted, cutting Amir off while frantically moving the remaining clones. “I don’t know what pre-regression you wants from us, but you’re overthinking it! Didn’t he say it first? Find the clue!”

“The clue...”

“You don’t need to be perfect from the start. Just take one step forward. We’ll help with the rest. S—”

Crack!

The last ice clone was shattered by a flying spike.

What I didn’t have before... but have now.

The last remaining family he couldn’t save before—but had now, thanks to his brother. The sight of Zayed, who always tried to protect him, Amir realized something.

Clink!

The ice kaleidoscope sealed the Trial of the Tower.

“...”

In the silent, frozen world, the Frost Dog just looked at Amir bitterly.

“So it really won’t work after all...”

To think Amir wouldn’t come to an outcome after all.... Staring for a long while, the Frost Dog eventually gave up and forged a single ice dagger. Then, closing his eyes, he slowly raised it toward his own neck to end the trial himself.

Tap.

“?!”

Feeling the hand that suddenly grabbed his wrist, the Frost Dog’s eyes flew open. There, right before his eyes, Amir was... moving within the frozen world?

“How...?”

Amir’s synesthetic mindscape should have been sealed along with the trial. Even the Perfect Ones couldn’t easily escape such a thing. How had he done it?

Attempting to uncover the secret with Winter Sky Eyes, the Frost Dog stared at Amir’s synesthetic mindscape... and froze in disbelief.

“You... you’re moving while your synesthetic mindscape is completely frozen...?!”

Contrary to expectations, Amir hadn’t escaped the ice kaleidoscope. He was frozen more perfectly than anyone—yet still moving freely by his own will.

This should be impossible...

It was akin to a machine running without a power source. Just so utterly unreal that the Frost Dog struggled to even speak.

“No matter how I think about it, I realize I can’t find the answer on my own.” Amir slowly began.

“...”

“I acted calm and rational in front of everyone... but in truth, I’m still just a child stuck in the past.”

The shameful truth he couldn’t tell others was finally revealed by himself—because, after all, that flaw was also part of him, of his synesthetic mindscape’s foundation. Denying such things and instead merely imitating others would only make him repeat his past mistakes.

“That’s why I simply accepted it. Instead of fighting alone... I’ve decided to fight together.”

Woong-

His Winter Sky Eyes gleamed with a silver light as a violet ring appeared within them. At that moment, Amir’s frozen synesthetic mindscape began to stir. Static yet dynamic, asleep yet awake.

Observing the paradox, like overlapping synesthetic mindscapes, the Frost Dog realized the truth.

“Dual Observation...”

Synesthetic Mindscape Freezing relied on the structure observed through the Frost Dog’s Winter Sky Eyes. As such, when the observation was denied or interfered with by another observer, the foundation would twist.

That was Amir’s answer: a new method using Zayed as a third observer.

“When you walk the vast fields of the future alone, you’re bound to lose your way someday. Alone, you might realize the mistake too late—or never.”

“...”

“In that case, I’ll ask everyone. Watch over me so I don’t lose my way. Help me move toward the correct future.”

Amir’s grip on the Frost Dog’s hand tightened.

“That is the future I seek.” An answer straight from the heart.

“...”

The Frost Dog silently met his gaze, then lowered the dagger meant for his neck.

“I see...”

It was a tiny realization—albeit one he had never had. Although only a single step forward, it was enough to break the Ice Blossom Myriad Mirrors and start on a new path.

It was a conclusion that satisfied the Frost Dog.

“Then let’s finish this.”

Thump.

He shoved Amir back. They each took a step away, eyes reflecting the other’s synesthetic mindscape as they examined the structure.

A winter sky unfolded, a sight both saw. However, that was all the Frost Dog could see.

Swish-

A dreamlike landscape layered atop it. With Zayed’s observation overlapping, white patterns emerged through the violet mist.

The intersection of both views—the root of the synesthetic mindscape—had revealed itself.

Woong!

With the observation completed on both sides, both forged ice daggers that contained their answers.

Frost Alchemy: Winter Heaven Reflection 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Frost Alchemy: Snow Shadow Bloom

Two daggers pierced straight through the solar plexus of the one before them.

Thud!

They stood unmoving, blades embedded—until the Frost Dog slowly released his grip.

Crack-

His blade had shattered, unable to pierce through.

“It seems I’ve lost.”

Crack!

Ice spread from the Frost Dog’s chest. Unlike his broken dagger, Amir’s dagger had pierced the heart and had successfully frozen the Frost Dog’s synesthetic mindscape.

“I never thought you’d succeed...so I’m actually really glad.”

Everything he could do was finally done. Relieved, the Frost Dog gently removed Amir’s trembling hand from the dagger.

“When you leave, you’ll have a lot to do. As you’ve seen...Se-Hoon is a problematic man.”

“...”

“It won’t be easy, but with those two helping you, you can support him. So do your best.”

Speaking without regret, the Frost Dog looked both refreshed and lonely.

The sight of him made Amir want to say something... yet, unfortunately, no words came. Because of that, Amir entrusted the farewell to someone better suited.

“Then I’ll be going—”

“Amir.”

The Frost Dog’s eyes widened at the voice. It... was a voice he’d heard endlessly in nightmares for decades: his regret, his family, Zayed.

Even the Frost Dog hesitated, barely replying, “Yes.”

“I heard from Se-Hoon. That when I was dying after being demonized, you saved me with Synesthetic Mindscape Freezing.”

“...”

“That’s why, when we met again, I wanted to—”

“No.”

Avoiding his gaze, the Frost Dog’s voice was calm.

“I did it purely for my own satisfaction.”

He didn’t want past regrets to repeat. He... just didn’t want Amir to suffer like he had.

“I don’t deserve thanks. I... couldn’t save anyone.”

Another Amir, one who had achieved revenge but saved no one, destroyed by guilt and regret. What could he say to such a wounded younger brother?

Sensing the Frost Dog’s time was short, Zayed moved without thinking.

Swoosh-

A rough yet gentle hand ruffled the Frost Dog’s hair. Feeling a nostalgic sensation after such a long, long time, the Frost Dog’s eyes widened.

“It was hard, wasn’t it?”

“...”

“You did well. You’ve worked hard. You... can finally rest now.”

The same teasing comfort he used to give Amir before the family’s fall. Just like those days long ago, for a long while, Zayed kept stroking the Frost Dog’s hair.

And when the Frost Dog’s body was on the verge of disappearing, the Frost Dog wiped his eyes and smiled as brightly as he had when he was a child.

“Thank you... Brother.”

Whoosh-

A blizzard swept between them, making Zayed close his eyes.

When he opened them again, the Frost Dog was gone. Still... to Amir and Zayed, it felt like he was resting somewhere in the mansion.

Lingering due to that feeling, the two family members stayed before quietly turning and leaving the estate together.