Shadow

 Chapter 18

Split of the Crown (9)
The Great Agartha War

After a week-long journey, the supply train finally arrived at Fristov…

Pitch‑black darkness covered the civilized, snow‑buried city. The cold was brutal, and the train was flanked on both sides by frozen lakes as it advanced…

The queen stood tall, dressed in her heavy royal garments engraved with the Norton crest, her hair cover pulled over her head.

The train finally stopped at Graive Station. Asma heard the roar of massive crowds gathering around the train, only interrupted by the conductor’s assistant calling loudly:
“Graaaaaaive…!”

Asma knew they had finally arrived.

The door was knocked, and she stepped forward to open it, her glove tightly covering her hand.

— “Your Majesty! We’ve finally arrived!” Ivan announced with a bright smile.
— “Let’s go,” Asma replied, stepping toward the door of the compartment.

A servant opened the door, and the queen stepped onto the short staircase leading down to the station platform—only to be taken aback by the cheering crowds.

They were a civilized people despite their frailty and weakness due to food scarcity. Famine had struck a city that was originally advanced and prosperous!

Asma bowed respectfully to the people, then continued on her way to the residence of Count Fristov, who welcomed the queen and the prince with utmost respect and generosity.

— “The Fristov family is honored to receive Her Majesty, Queen of Norton, and the great Prince Ivan von Falcon!”
— “Thank you, Count Fristov!... In fact, I have a few questions.”
— “Of course, Your Majesty!”
— “How did famine strike such an advanced city?”
— “… In truth… this is due to several reasons, Your Majesty. Fristov has been frozen since ancient times, of course. But Agartha of Darkness used to provide us with renewable energy as a substitute for Norton’s weak sun! Now… things are different…”

— “Agartha… what? What’s the matter with this thing? I heard His Majesty… the King mention it before!” Asma turned to Ivan, while Count Fristov froze in shock at her uninformed question.

How could the King speak of such matters publicly while the Queen herself knew nothing about the Agartha Sphere of Darkness or what happened to it?

Ivan nodded patiently. “We’ll talk about it later, Your Majesty.”

Asma grew irritated, feeling a sting of embarrassment…

…

After the servants settled the queen and prince into their rooms, Asma could no longer resist. She stormed into Ivan’s room and knocked violently.

— “Ivan! You idiot! How could you not tell me about this?!”

Ivan opened the door in a hurry. “Your Majesty!”
Asma grabbed him by the earlobe and dragged him into the corridor.

— “Shadow himself mentioned the Agartha Sphere! It’s no longer a secret! Tell me! You won’t die, don’t worry!”
— “Ow—ow—ow! My ear! Leave my poor ear alone! It hurts!”
— “Fine, here you go.”
— “Hoooof! Alright, Your Majesty…” Ivan took a deep breath, then sighed.

“I can’t tell you. I’m sorry.”
— “What?! Why?!”
— “Agartha is… somewhat… our national security. Our first line of defense, Your Majesty.”
— “And so what? I am the queen! Norton’s welfare is my top priority now! What’s the problem?”
— “…Fine…” Ivan averted his gaze, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

 “The thing is… we…”
— “Speak, Ivan! What’s wrong? You what…?”
— “…Fine—oh God! Haha! I’ll say it quickly… We don’t trust you.”

Asma stared at him in disbelief. “Huh? You don’t trust me?! Why? Did I do something wrong? What kind of mockery is this?”
— “Perhaps you did nothing wrong, my lady. But it would be foolish to tell you about Agartha of Darkness, so I won’t. Forgive me…” He bowed and turned to head back to his room.

Asma was hurt. Bitterly, she asked,
“…Does this have something to do with my grandfather? Duchess Elinor once said I was an enemy. Is that true, Ivan?”

Ivan sighed, still refusing to face her, then turned abruptly.
“…Fine, Asma. Perhaps you are not—literally—an enemy. I trust you… but your origins? I don’t. I cannot trust your origins. Suppose your lineage was once our greatest foe—what would you do? Would you help us as you do now?”

Asma looked at him with a lost, processing stare, then stepped back.
“…So what you’re saying is that I’m nothing but a fool and an idiot, is that it?” Her gaze sharpened.

 “If you’re asking where I would stand—would I betray you? Hate you? Become your enemy like my origins? That depends on who exactly was wrong, Ivan.”

Ivan’s expression darkened—colder than she had ever seen.
“…You mean, if you discovered your past, you would choose which side you belong to?”
— “Of course! I won’t promise you anything. But I can’t keep supporting Norton now! Even though nothing has started yet… I can no longer trust this place, nor anywhere else—nor even my grandfather. If I am to choose, you must tell me, Ivan.”

…A heavy silence filled the freezing corridor of Count Fristov’s estate.
The silence shattered when Ivan finally replied:

— “The Great Agartha War.”

Asma’s eyes widened. Ivan continued:

“There were two of the strongest nymphs Kingdoms out of the six:
The first was Norton, the Nymphs of Darkness.
The second was Gytophos, the Nymphs of Light.

Fifteen hundred years ago, the two kingdoms clashed fiercely over energy. Agartha is the hidden name for the world’s core energy—unknown to humans in your world. All modern energy sources come from Agartha itself.”

— “You mean our kings and the emperor hide this truth?”
— “Of course! It is the root of an ancient and catastrophic conflict. Ordinary humans could never survive such battles—they’d be wiped out instantly.

Fifteen centuries ago, as I said, the Gytophos Kingdom exterminated another nymphs kingdom —Aurelius, the nymphs kingdom of Gold and Sand. They absorbed the Agartha‑Sand Sphere into their Light Sphere. Then they wanted Agartha of Darkness as well.

So, they formed an alliance with a human kingdom—Valoris, the kingdom of Isolde. Together, they launched a brutal war on Falcon Kingdom. Falcon was wiped out entirely through treachery. After that, they slaughtered Falcon’s elite unit—the Royal Guard sworn to protect the royal family—composed of Norton’s strongest nymphs at the time.

My father, King Asrahan, was the leader of that unit. He was killed by his own minister’s betrayal, and my mother died with him.

And when that happened, Deputy Shadow retaliated immediately. He gathered all of Norton’s power and attacked Gytophos in their capital—annihilated them entirely, then annihilated Valoris as well.

It was a humanitarian catastrophe… Over one million humans were wiped out. And three million nymphs of light.”

Asma’s eyes filled with frozen tears, horrified. Ivan continued:

— “No one survived.
Except your grandfather—Felix.”

— “Was he like them? Was my grandfather like the Gytophos?” she asked through tears.
— “Your grandfather… I cannot answer you, Asma. Not unless you want me to die right here.”

Asma trembled with grief. “Ivan… I’m sorry! I can’t bear the thought that my grandfather may have caused your parents’ deaths!”

Ivan was stunned by her reaction.
“…Wait—does that mean you’ve chosen a side? I swear I didn’t lie about anything I said!”

— “Of course, you idiot!... Forgive me, please.” She hid her face as tears flowed. “I’m so deeply sorry! I know none of this changes anything. I apologize on behalf of Gytophos! I owe you and Norton my life! I will help you to my last breath! That’s a promise! Especially… if my grandfather was involved…”

Ivan smiled—a smile hinting that her assumption about her grandfather might be wrong. Asma froze, clinging to that faint hope, praying her grandfather was not a monster or butcher who slaughtered an innocent people…

…

The next morning rose over sunless Fristov.
It was a dark morning.

At eight a.m., the sky remained pitch‑black.

The queen prepared herself, her mind overwhelmed; she hadn’t slept a moment, replaying everything Ivan told her the night before.

She dressed in her field uniform—similar to an engineer’s outfit: practical and functional. Loose, comfortable trousers tucked into tall leather boots that reached her knees, and a cloth wrap similar to a turban over her head. Then she headed toward the anaerobic tank storage facility to inspect the current methane reserves.

A moment later, Ivan arrived—his respect for the queen having multiplied overnight.

“…Good morning, Your Majesty!”
— “Good morning, Ivan. Has the second supply train arrived? We need the drills; the methane level is high enough now to distribute the first batch to the homes to ease the cold.”
— “It’s on its way! But, my lady, I have a surprise.”

He opened his hand, revealing a glowing bottle filled with purple liquid.

— “The king sent me this this morning through our secret courier network. He told me: ‘Use this.’ It must be a portion of Agartha of Darkness that His Majesty activated using his own abilities. The king is supporting your renewable‑energy mission!”

 Ivan beamed.

— “Alright… How do we use this thing? Is it hot?”
— “Of course, Your Majesty! But the bottle is heat‑insulated. You’re basically holding a fragment of a sun in your hands—except millions of times stronger.”

— “This seems important enough that I’m shocked you’re showing it to me in a storage room. It must be extremely classified! You’re not careful enough!”
— “I’ll kill anyone who tries to take it, Your Majesty! Don’t underestimate my strength. But allow me to explain something—Norton’s land is full of volcanic ash and silicon.”

— “…Oh! You mean we can create hydrasteel pipes?”
— “Exactly! And this bottle will help us. We’re initiating the Agartha Core Project. There must be an Agartha crystal beneath these ice fields…”

— “An Agartha crystal?”
— “Yes. They’re scattered fragments of the Agartha Sphere, frozen and turned into violet crystal in ancient caves. And this bottle is the activation extract—it will help us activate the crystal.”
— “And how will that help us, Ivan?”
— “Once activated, the crystal will act as a reactor that melts volcanic ash and silicon, forming hydrasteel. Then we can install hydrasteel pipes that retain and distribute methane for as long as possible into the homes.”
— “That’s a brilliant idea! Once the drills arrive, we’ll dig main and secondary tunnels across all districts, install hydrasteel pipes resistant to heat, then distribute methane which we’ll burn to generate warmth!”
— “Exactly!... Now let’s go find that Agartha crystal, my lady!”
— “Let’s go!”

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