Free Web NovelChapter 23: A Princess’ Diary
Lian stared at the notebook for a few seconds. A heavy silence had taken over the frozen hall.
Seris stood next to him, looking at the notebook.
This was a diary. A diary written by one of the residents of this city. A diary that might answer some of their questions.
"Can you read it?"
"Yes." Lian nodded.
He drew his finger across the first page. The writing was in a completely unknown language. Not like the language of their world, and not like any language he had seen before.
But at that moment, a notification appeared.
[The Will’s translation ability activated]
[Language identified]
[Automatic translation started]
Lian’s eyes widened a little. As expected, The Will had shown its strange ability again.
He could read the text without any problem.
He slowly turned the first page.
...
First day of winter.
Today, snow started to fall. Father says this winter will be a little harder, but the people are not worried.
The city of Frostheart has always survived harsh winters.
...
Lian flipped ahead a few pages. The writing had slowly changed.
...
Week three.
The snow is still continuing. Mother says this is not normal. Some of the surrounding farms are completely buried under snow.
...
Month two.
The snow does not stop. The people of the city are slowly becoming worried.
...
Month six.
We can no longer go far from the city walls. Everything is white. No animals remain. No plants can be seen.
...
"This is no normal winter. Could this winter be the reason for the city’s destruction?" Seris said quietly.
Lian said nothing. He just opened the next page. There was no need to answer. Naturally, the further they went, the more answers they would get.
And the further he went, the darker the diary’s atmosphere became.
...
First year.
Today, five people died from the cold. No one laughs anymore. No one is happy because of the snowfall. The snow that once brought life to the city... is now causing death and destruction.
...
Second year.
Many houses have become empty. Some families go to sleep at night and do not wake up in the morning.
...
Third year.
I turned eighteen today. But there is no celebration. No one celebrates anymore.
...
Lian paused for a moment. Three years. Three years of nonstop snow. Even imagining it was hard, especially in such a remote city that had no access to anywhere.
Such snow would cause animals to die or flee. That meant there would be no food or supplies left for the people. They could go to distant places to hunt.
But how far? And who knew if distant places would be safe?
He continued.
...
The city council decided that we should leave Frostheart. If we stay, we will all die.
Our only hope is the Mountain God. The golden mountain. The symbol of our city. Father says it is still sacred there.
Maybe we can start a new life.
...
Lian and Seris looked at each other at the same time. The golden mountain. The same mountain. The same mountain where the village was built at its base, and where the key is located.
Lian’s heart became a little heavy. So the people of this city clearly knew the golden mountain. The place where the key was. The item that could let them leave the ruined realm.
He went to the next page.
...
People left the city in groups. Each group took some of the supplies with them.
Wood, stone, tools, food, everything. They wanted to build a new city. New homes. A new life. New hope.
This group was led by my brother. They headed toward the Mountain God.
...
A few pages later, the princess’s handwriting had become more shaky.
...
Only the last group remains.
Father, me, the servants, the guards, and some of the remaining people. We will leave in another week.
Then...
The text suddenly changed.
Today, the snow stopped! For the first time in three years, I cried. Everyone cried.
We thought we were saved. We thought it was over.
But we were wrong.
They came. From every direction. Through the snow. Through the blizzard.
Monsters. Hundreds of monsters. Strange wolves that did not look like normal wolves at all. Ice giants. Creatures we had never seen before.
But the scariest ones were not them.
That being. That monster. That king.
Even on paper, it seemed the writer was afraid to write its name. The handwriting was messy.
No one knew what it was. No one knew where it came from. But all the monsters were afraid of it. Even the monsters did not look at it.
But it ruled over that army of monsters like a king.
It was huge and terrifying.
...
"That same Fallen one." Seris said quietly.
"Probably." Lian nodded.
He remembered the image of that frozen giant in the center of the city. That massive creature. That monster that was terrifying even while sleeping.
In this entire city, they had not seen any other monster as powerful as that one. A monster that was only one level away from its first evolution.
Just like humans, monsters can evolve every twenty levels.
Then he continued and turned to the next page.
...
The battle began. Father personally took command of the defense. The guards fought.
The knights fought. Everyone fought. But it was useless.
I saw father get killed. I saw my friends get torn apart.
I saw people running. I saw children crying. I saw my city dying.
...
Ink had spread on part of the page, as if drops of tears had fallen on the paper.
...
I just stood there. I could not do anything. I was weak. I was not like my brother. I could not defend anyone.
I wish my brother was here. If he was here, could everything have gone differently?
We retreated to the castle. Only a few remained alive.
Me, some servants, some guards, and some ordinary people along with my father’s chief advisor. We were barely twenty people. More than forty had been killed.
The chief advisor... he was a great mage. The last great mage of this land.
He sacrificed himself. I did not understand what he did. I just saw light. Golden light. And then everything stopped.
The monsters could no longer enter the castle. We were saved.
At least for a while.
...
"So that is why the wolves could not enter." Seris looked around.
Lian nodded and confirmed. That mage had probably performed some kind of defensive magic mechanism by sacrificing himself, protecting the castle and the survivors.
...
Six months passed. freewebnσvel.cøm
We are still alive. Still waiting for my brother to come and save us. He will surely understand that something is wrong. He will surely come to save us.
...
Ten months.
Food has become low. And my brother still has not come... why? Why has he not come? Could something have happened to them too?
...
One year.
The monsters are still outside. But that massive monster is asleep.
I looked at it from the top of the tower.
It was asleep. And that same day, the snow started again. I think its sleep is the reason for the snowfall.
...
Lian’s eyes narrowed. So the reason for that endless snowfall and that this whole area was covered in snow was the sleep of that Fallen monster?
Such power is truly catastrophic. It could destroy entire generations.
"The only way for them to survive was to kill that Fallen monster." Seris added with a frown.
"But that was not possible for them. Aside from the power of that Fallen one itself, an army was also protecting it."
Then Lian reached the last pages. At that moment, he frowned. The princess’s handwriting was no longer neat. It was shaky. Torn. As if the writer was breaking down.
...
Food is gone.
We have not eaten for three days.
Today, one of the servants disappeared. I did not know what happened.
But another week passed, and another servant disappeared.
And again, a week later, another person disappeared... but this time it was one of the ordinary people.
I think I know what happened. But I do not want to believe it.
May God forgive us.
May God forgive us.
May God forgive us.
...
Lian felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Seris also frowned and was not in a better state. She felt nauseous and wanted to vomit.
Both of them knew where the rest of the story was going. But neither wanted to hear it.
"How could they do such a thing?"
"Hunger can drive a person insane." Lian sighed. He slowly opened the last readable page.
And he saw a sentence that made him stay completely silent for a few seconds.
...
I thought monsters were my greatest fear. But they were not. Even the cold was not the greatest fear.
The greatest fear... was hungry humans.
