Home/The Ice Age Came? And I Just Got Married?!/ch 38

Chapter 38.

"It's Annie's sparkly thing."

The girl, who introduced herself as Annie, looked at me warily—as if afraid I'd take her Winterstone.

I stared at her, at a loss.

Just then, the boy beside her, around ten years old, spoke up.

"Annie likes sparkly things."

Hmm—in that case, I could just give her something else sparkly.

I immediately removed the brooch from my inner vest and offered it to her.

It was a snowflake-shaped brooch, set with a diamond that sparkled brilliantly in the sunlight.

Annie's eyes went wide.

"Wow."

"Want to trade with your aunt? This is prettier, isn't it?"

The intricately crafted brooch was far more beautiful than the rough Winterstone.

Annie looked up at me in surprise.

"Can I?"

"Of course—it's called bartering. If we trade, your aunt can keep you safer."

"Ooooh..."

Annie pulled out a small pouch with her tiny leaf-like hand and rummaged inside.

What she brought out was a Winterstone bigger than her own hand—a silver-glowing Silverstone.

The child hesitated, clutching the Silverstone.

CRASH—!

At that moment, a chunk of ice fell into the distant harbor.

"Oh my!"

Startled, the children's mother rushed over, scooped them up, and loaded them onto the cart.

Only then did Annie reach out toward me.

"Ah—ah! My sparkly! Annie's sparkly!"

As I reached toward the child, the mother blocked me.

"What are you doing?"

Instead of answering the mother, I looked at Annie.

"Annie—what should we do? It seems your mother doesn't want us to trade."

At that, the child burst into tears.

"Annie wants to trade! Sob—! Mommy's mean! Why are you being mean to the pretty lady? Sob!"

The mother, flustered, looked back at the child.

"Hannah—what are you doing? We need to move!"

Joseph shouted at the mother, Hannah. Hannah looked back and forth between me and the child, panicked.

"Annie's not going! Annie promised to trade with the lady!"

She must have heard "bartering" as "barbarin'."

Hannah tried to calm the child, visibly flustered, but Annie jumped off the cart and clung to me.

"Hannah—what are you doing! Just give Annie what she wants and let's go!"

Joseph shouted at Hannah.

Marcus, Charlotte, and Brian, watching, glanced up at the sky and urged me anxiously.

"Junior—we should evacuate too!"

"Eve, just come on."

Calmly, I reached out to Annie.

"Here—the snowflake."

Annie's eyes sparkled as she took the snowflake, then happily handed me the Silverstone.

"Thank you. Your aunt will protect you, I promise."

I took the Silverstone and moved immediately—toward the tidal wave, to a place away from people.

Once there, I clenched the Silverstone in my palm.

It was cold—like holding a handful of dry snow.

But the cold didn't last. The Silverstone began to vibrate faintly.

Hmm—

A silver glow rose from within the stone.

At first, it was as small as a candle flame, but it grew stronger, seeping through my fingers.

It was like liquid moonlight.

Silver particles flowed down the back of my hand, slowly burrowing into my skin like living things.

Each stone seemed to absorb differently—depending on size and the power within.

FLASH—

In an instant, a blinding light burst forth.

The Silverstone crumbled into light and entered my body.

My heart gave one great throb.

Like dry earth absorbing rain, my empty body greedily drank in the power.

A shiver ran up my spine, and I closed my eyes without thinking.

When I opened them again, the Silverstone was gone—only a few silver specks sparkled on my palm.

I turned around. Logan, Marcus, and Charlotte had followed.

Brian arrived last, looking bewildered—he must not have seen me absorb the stone.

"Senior, Charlotte—I'm going to move that wave somewhere else now. If I happen to get moved along with it... don't wait for me—head to Acorn Village."

At my words, Marcus and Charlotte nodded a beat late, having taken a moment to understand.

Before they fully processed it, I approached the ice wall.

Rumble—

CRASH—

CRACK—

Ice chunks began falling in earnest.

In an instant, the area became chaotic.

Someone approached me as I stood before the ice wall—Logan, as expected.

He took my hand.

"Do it with your hands together—you can still use your power with one hand, right?"

That was true, but... why the hand?

"In case you get transported with this wave—I'll go with you."

"I might be the only one moved."

"Or we might both be moved."

That was true—there was no way to know, so holding hands couldn't hurt. And as Logan said, one hand was enough to use the power.

Life was a series of choices, and no one could know the outcome. So I had to be honest and true to my feelings in each moment.

In this damned world where death could come at any time, I didn't want to leave regrets.

Right now, my honest feeling was that I wanted to hold Logan's hand.

"I'll make sure you don't regret taking my hand."

I had my own conviction, but to others, it might look reckless.

Even so, Logan took my hand—without a moment's hesitation.

For his sake, I would protect him. We would survive.

"I won't regret it."

Logan answered. In my peripheral vision, I saw him faintly smile.

"Right now, I have a feeling you'll pull this off."

There was so much I wanted to say—

CRASH—!

But the sound of ice falling behind us snapped me back to reality.

I placed my hand on the cold ice.

I felt like I could do it. I really felt that way.

My target destination: the middle of the sea, far from land.

I kept that image in mind, focusing the power in my hand. I had a strong sense that this was what I needed to do.

Squeak— Squeak—

Pipi, who had been circling us, slipped into my jacket pocket.

"Eve! Logan!"

Just then, Charlotte, Marcus, and Brian called out to us.

But before I could answer, the ice beneath my palm began to glow with a faint silver light.

Hmm—

The Silverstone's power was responding.

Silver ripples spread across the ice surface in all directions—like a drop of water falling onto a vast lake.

"Eve."

Logan called my name softly.

It sounded like reassurance, as if to say "don't worry." And coming from Logan, it probably was.

My heart pounded fiercely.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

The Silverstone absorbed into my body vibrated hotly. More precisely, it felt like the power itself was teaching me how to use it.

Picture the target location.

It was as if someone was speaking in my mind.

I immediately pictured it—the middle of the sea, dozens of kilometers from land, where no one was.

And I focused all my power into my hand.

FLASH—!

In an instant, a dazzling silver light exploded—as if it would swallow the entire coastline.

RUMBLE—

The earth shook. The entire massive ice tidal wave began to vibrate.

The tens-of-meters-high ice cliff, the ships trapped within, the debris—all were enveloped in a brilliant silver glow.

"Junior?!"

"Eve!"

"W-Wait—Marcus, Charlotte—step back!"

With Brian's final shout, all sound faded away.

In that moment, Logan gripped my hand even tighter—our fingers intertwining naturally.

I will never let go.

He didn't say it, but his fingertips said it all.

A sensation like space being torn apart.

My body was thrown into the air, and the world turned upside down.

The scenery before me warped.

Splash.

Then came the sound of waves.

I slowly opened my eyes.

Before me stretched an endless horizon—sea in every direction, no land in sight. Only the dark blue ocean and the grey sky.

Back   Next