Sultan was not permitted to bid Baghdad farewell; he was torn from its heart. Before his neighbors could grasp the secret behind the sudden silver of his hair, he was confined within the silent belly of a warship, soaring through the clouds far from the minarets and palm trees of his city. He sat in a shadowed corner, touching his silver strands in bewilderment, feeling the fading scent of his home's incense being replaced by the dry, metallic air crawling from the vents.
After hours of exhausting flight, the earth beneath them transformed. The golden sands vanished, replaced by an endless white—towering mountains shrouded in snow like the shroud of an Eternal giant. There, in the heart of this desolate void, rose a jagged peak into which "The United Academy" was carved. A black Gothic fortress, piercing the sky like a dagger plunged into the heart of the ice, surrounded by a cold blue aura that barred even the finest dust from entering.
When the ship's bay opened, a ferocious wind struck Sultan's face—a gale he had never known. It wasn't just wind; it was a "sting" that awakened every cell in his body. His steps faltered as he trod upon snow for the first time in his life; it felt strange, cold as death, and fragile as false promises.
Sultan was led to the Ice Throne Hall, where the silence was so profound he could hear his own frantic heartbeat. At the far end of the hall stood Emperor Caesar.
Caesar appeared like a statue of silver. His hair was ashen, and his gaze held neither anger nor mercy, but a terrifying "precision." He did not look at Sultan as a human being, but as a "breach" in the wall of his continental security.
> "So, you are the 'Balance' they speak of?" Caesar spoke, his voice emerging like cold mist filling the chamber. "In Europe, we do not believe in coincidences. We believe in fixed laws. And you, boy, appear to me as walking chaos."
> Sultan tried to speak, but his tongue felt frozen. "I... I did not choose this, Your Excellence. I am only..."
> "Excuses do not melt the ice here," Caesar interrupted coldly, gesturing toward a testing platform in the center of the hall. "Show me what you possess, before I decide whether you are a guest or a prisoner."
A youth stepped forward from the shadows, named Leo. His physique was athletic, and his eyes reflected the icy blue of their surroundings. He was the "Blade of Frost" that Caesar took pride in. By the Emperor's command, a confrontation began for which Sultan was utterly unprepared.
Leo constructed a shield of solid crystalline ice, challenging Sultan to attack. Wanting to prove his worth, Sultan summoned fire—but it was not the gentle flame he once knew. The power erupted from him like a suppressed earthquake. Fire intertwined with lightning, and the scene exploded in a brilliant purple light. Not only did Leo's shield shatter, but the very walls of the frozen hall cracked, and shards scattered everywhere.
Sultan fell to his knees, gasping, with ash coating his cloak.
Caesar bowed his head in feigned disappointment. "As I suspected. Power without a bridle. You are a danger to yourself and everyone around you."
He then turned to a girl standing in the corner, watching the scene in absolute silence. It was Eliana. Her red hair glowed like a lone ember amidst the snow.
> "Eliana.. take him," Caesar said in a tone that brooked no argument. "Place him in the 'Unit of Sorrow.' Strip him of this Arabian pride, and teach him that Balance does not mean possessing everything, but controlling everything. And if he fails... the snow is vast enough to hide his corpse."
> Eliana approached Sultan. She did not reach out to help him up; instead, she looked at him with a sharp, emotionless gaze. Yet, deep within her golden eyes, Sultan glimpsed a "pain" that mirrored his own. It was the look of someone who knew exactly what it meant to be a stranger, to be uprooted from one's origins and placed in a pot of ice.
> "Stand up," Eliana said curtly. "Sorrow here freezes and turns to stone, so do not waste it on tears. Follow me... Storm Boy."
Sultan walked behind her, leaving the throne hall behind and heading toward the dark training cells. In 그 moment, as the winds howled outside the walls, Sultan realized his greatest battle would not be against demons alone, but against this cold beginning to seep into his soul, and against this girl who appeared in his life like an inescapable fate.