Freed from the Seal

Reed stared at the beautiful face peering down at him.

The girl's round emerald eyes that mirrored the depths of a lush forest reminded him of the countryside he used to visit with his mom during the summer. But the vibrant green hue had an intensity to it, a certain sharpness that sent a chill down his spine.

Her straight brown hair was a shoulder-length bob, parted at the center, which perfectly suited her heart-shaped face. Her skin, like porcelain, appeared flawless and smooth. Her face, adorned with soft contours, displayed a graceful symmetry that enhanced her features. Her slender nose and rose-tinted lips, though seemingly serene, couldn't quite disguise the underlying hint of coldness her presence exuded.

She looked really young, as if she was barely eighteen.

"Do you need help, master?" she asked once again, her eyes never leaving him.

It was only then it dawned on Reed how the girl kept on addressing him.

Master?

Why was she calling him that? Was she a sort of attendant in the afterlife who leads souls to their destination and it was customary to address him that way?

Reed's gaze went down to her clothes.

Weren't angels supposed to be dressed in all white? But how the girl was dressed in all-black attire seemed like she just came from a funeral.

Maybe she wasn't an angel but a grim reaper?

Without answering the girl's question, Reed pulled himself up from the blanket of snow on which he lay.

He was relieved that he could move his limbs now, unlike when he was trapped in the ice.

Darting his eyes around, Reed soon realized he was in the heart of an expansive, snow-covered mountain range, where towering peaks loomed majestically against the gray sky. The mist swirled and twirled above, veiling the surrounding landscape in a mystical haze.

Frost-covered trees, their branches twisted and contorted, stood as silent sentinels in the distance, appearing as skeletal figures that bore witness to the mountain's unforgiving nature.

Reed's gaze shifted to the remnants of the shattered iceberg a few meters away, a reminder of the icy trap from which he had escaped.

As he continued to assess his surroundings, the girl spoke, stealing his attention.

"I'm glad you have finally regained control over your body, master. I wouldn't be able to break the mountain's seal if you had not awakened." Standing next to Reed in a stiff posture, the girl's voice remained cold, yet her tone was respectful as if she was talking to someone superior to her.

Reed noticed her sword wasn't in her hands now. He couldn't help but feel a sense of relief upon realizing that the weapon was now safely tucked behind her. Back on the ice, he was wondering if the girl was trying to attack him. It turned out that she was trying to free him.

However, the girl's words brought confusion to Reed. His brows knitted as he stared at her, trying to make sense of her words.

She was glad he had finally regained control over his body? What did that mean?

And what's that mountain seal thing?

"Why do you keep calling me 'master'? Is that how you are supposed to address the souls in the afterlife?" inquired Reed, raw curiosity beaming in his eyes.

When the girl blinked once but didn't answer, he continued his train of questions.

"What part of the afterlife are we in? Are you a sort of grim reaper who will guide me to where I am destined to be?"

In the first moments when he saw the girl's face, Reed was convinced that she was the angel who would guide him to the realms of heaven, but after he stared at her longer, he realized that aside from her soft features, there was nothing else angelic about her. So he went to his second guess—that she was a grim reaper.

His judgment could be wrong, though. Humans might be wrong about their beliefs. Their concept of angels might be different from the truth.

"What are you talking about, master?" The girl's calm voice reminded Reed of the ominous serenity before the storm.

She looked too beautiful, too calm, and too frigid that he was beginning to feel uneasy under the scrutiny of her empty eyes.

"Don't you have any recollection of why you were imprisoned in this mountain?" The girl's face, with the absence of a single mar, remained hard and devoid of any discernible emotion as she added, "Don't you remember me, master?"

Reed swallowed hard. It was like talking to someone with a different language where both of them couldn't understand each other.

"Am I… supposed to remember you?" Reed asked quietly against the stillness surrounding them.

How the girl flew up three meters above the ground with her long mystical sword was still very clear in his mind, and the fact that she could easily inflict harm on him with her capabilities didn't put him at ease.

What were the odds that this girl mistook him for someone else? Would he end up like the shattered iceberg once she realized she had the wrong person?

He was positive he was already dead and was in the realm of the afterlife, but although his mortal existence had ceased, he discovered that the sensations he experienced remained vivid and tangible.

It became evident that souls, like himself, retained the ability to perceive the world in a manner akin to their human counterparts.

As this understanding settled within him, Reed's instincts kicked in, urging him to exercise caution in his interactions with the girl. While he couldn't deny a certain sense of gratitude toward her for rescuing him from the icy prison, he acknowledged the potential danger that lurked beneath her seemingly innocent facade.