“Afterwards… Afterwards, let’s go get my pet together. And we could celebrate when the quest is done, maybe in my uncle’s restaurant again?”

Hearing Ice offer another meeting in reality, the beastman perked up. “Yes! Let’s do that! Now, hurry on out. I’ll try to keep it a secret that you’ve gone off on your own.”

“Thank you”, Ice said honestly.

The mage hurried to the city gates. Too worried about being seen, he ended up using his wings only after running another while.

The air turned colder when he approached the mountain. For one second, he hesitated, then decided to keep flying - over the border where mounts couldn’t move anymore. If he was right, this cheat wouldn’t end up being a problem at all.

Avoiding the NPCs and any flying monsters, he circled around the mountain like a spiral. The cold seeped into his bones, causing his teeth to chatter, but he ignored the temperature. Slowly, slowly, he descended down the abyss until he landed where the stairs would have ended.

Little white clouds appeared with his every breath.

He was cold, but this was his best shot at not only finding out if what he thought about was true… but also at ending the quest in one go.

The demon butler he had met before appeared out of nowhere. He stood in front of Ice, the winds whipping his clothes around. The player shuddered under the demon’s emotionless gaze.

“What are you doing here?”

“Can I come in?”

Long seconds passed. The demon sighed, then turned on his heel. Hands folded behind his back, he began to walk.

“Follow me.”

The butler led Ice into the castle.

A number of servants were scurrying around, glancing at Ice but not bothering with him. The castle was lively.

Against all rules of courtesy, the butler stopped in a simple corner. “So? What is it that you want?”

“I wanted to ask, do you have a library around here? May I visit it? Something like… a private library?”

The demon grimaced. “I don’t understand you people. Who lets strangers into their study? And who would randomly wish to visit someone’s study? But… I was told that if one of you people comes and asks, I have to let them in.”

The butler muttered something under his breath, complaining about the ridiculous situation.

It was an unusually classic game sequence. The player asks the right question and gets access to something that, by common logic, shouldn’t be acquirable.

But that was what the hint had been about.

That there was a notebook with the information they needed. Something private, like Thea’s diary. A book about the truth of the dragon.

So, where would you keep such a book? Nearby, in a suitable place. Given that players still had to be able to think of it and not go on a wild goose chase… A study was the most likely place.

The origin story of this world was in the last standing remnant of that time. How very fitting.

Although unwilling, the demon did not go against his master’s order. He took Ice through half the castle, past all the staff that minded their own business.

The private quarters of the king were near the door to the abyss.

The room was small and simple. The bookcases were neatly filled up, a quick glance revealing titles that appeared to be linked to the game’s lore. There were numerous history books, as well as books about geography, biology, local flora and fauna.

Ice brushed a finger over a book’s back. They were well-kept, not a hint of dust on them.

“Don’t damage anything”, the demon warned, standing next to the door.

Ice nodded, then began checking.

He wanted to hope that his guesses were wrong, but it didn’t look like it.

Walking through the room, he immediately went to a certain spot.

Due to his height, he always kept his favourite books on a certain shelf, on the outermost right. Always the same position, no matter how many bookcases he had, and when there were several, it would always be the bookcase the furthest into the room, to the left.

Ice breathed slowly through his open mouth and raised his eyes.

A simple notebook with a cross-hatched cover. The type you’d get in a convenience store, not one you’d find in a historical castle.

He pulled it out, rubbing a finger over the lock that kept it.

A magic lock. There was no place for a key, there was only an engraved word - a spell word that would react as long as the person holding the lock could invoke the magic.

A familiar shudder returned to Ice’s body.

How very uncomfortable it all was.

How everything was working out too well. Like a plan someone made, just for him. The illusion of freedom while in truth following a linear path.

Ice broke the lock on the notebook by softly chanting the word for snow. That it needed ice magic, which was rare, was another piece that fell into the puzzle too neatly. This whole quest… it didn’t seem like it could have been completed without him. Truly a quest made only for him.

Ice opened the first page. The handwriting could hardly be called as such - the letters were so perfectly written that they looked like printed, and yet there were tiny differences in how single letters were linked that told Ice it had been written by hand.

He stroked the yellowed page and began to read.

My father, it began. He didn’t know why he could almost hear a soft, wistful voice whisper it into his ear.

My father always said that we can forge our own future. A path not taken will always be a dead end, but an attempt at clearing it might reveal a way further in.

Magic, he said-

There was a pause when a couple of letters were crossed out. The sentence began anew.

What he wielded, I’d come to call magic. I loved watching him use it. The way he coaxed the world to do his bidding with his songs, asking for its aid.

You don’t demand the world to change, he’d say. You may state your wishes, but whether the world fulfills it is not for you to decide. All you can do is give it your best to attract its intention and goodwill.

Magic, as I understood, was nothing but a formal and polite request. No one likes someone rudely demanding something. If you do, the response might be just as rude.