The battlefield was a complete paradox of existence—two impending catastrophes, one in the form of the Eternal Frostheart's backlash, an unrelenting force of ice that had once frozen half an omniverse, and the other, something even beyond comprehension: Pandora.
Arfrotian, standing at the center of it all, was the embodiment of unshackled monstrosity. The red ice, once forming as mere droplets like blood on frozen ground, had now begun to spread, rupture, and consume. His left eye, a brilliant blood-red, emanated an ominous aura, as his entire being radiated something that sent shivers down the spine of everyone who bore witness. This was no longer the usual calculating, cool-headed Arfrotian—this was something far beyond.
Zenian, already reeling from the sheer shock of what he was witnessing, found himself staring into the abyss itself. The presence before him wasn't something he could classify under any known power. He had fought countless shadow elves before and was well aware of their Black Ice, an eerie, near-indestructible force of frozen darkness. He had also seen his own kind wield White Ice, the sacred ice of angels. But Red Ice?
That was an anomaly beyond anomalies.
"What... is this?" Zenian muttered under his breath, his voice faltering under the immense pressure. He could feel it—the suffocating, terrifying essence emanating from Arfrotian.
And then, just as his thoughts tried to piece together this unfathomable force, Arfrotian, clad in his overwhelming red aura, smiled. It wasn't a reassuring smile. It wasn't a mocking smile. It was the smile of an absolute monster.
"Oh, my dear rat," Arfrotian spoke, his voice unwavering yet carrying a twisted amusement. "You see, this red ice around me... well, you could say it's my specialty. The sleeping monster within me. Pandora."
Zenian felt a deep dread sink into his bones. The way Arfrotian had so casually called this absolute abomination his sleeping monster made his already shaken state even worse.
Arfrotian continued, stepping forward, the ground beneath him literally cracking apart as the Red Ice spread outward, erasing everything it touched.
"And you know what the most amazing thing about it is?"
Zenian's breathing hitched. He already felt like he had lost control over his own body, and yet, Arfrotian was still speaking, as if dropping one final bombshell onto his very existence.
"I don't even know what the hell this power of mine is."
The sheer insanity of that statement sent an indescribable shockwave through Zenian's mind. His expression turned blank, his thoughts spiraling into absolute numbness.
—
The Ice Phoenix's Turmoil
Meanwhile, away from the direct confrontation, someone else was also staggering under the sheer absurdity of what was happening.
The Ice Phoenix.
She had heard everything. Every single word between Arfrotian and Zenian. And she was in an absolute daze.
At first, she had been emotionally shaken when Arfrotian outright declared to Zenian that he was the rat, and she was the cheese. That had hit her harder than she expected. She wasn't naive—she understood manipulation, deception, and the art of playing the long game. And yet, coming from him, it had pierced her deeply.
She had wanted to believe there was more to it than just manipulation. And then, just as she had begun spiraling into uncertainty, he had dropped yet another contradictory remark.
"It doesn't seem what it seems to be."
That statement had left her completely lost.
If Arfrotian had really just wanted the Eternal Frostheart, why would he set up this entire scenario? Why not just take it when he had already defeated her? What was he planning?
And now—now, with everything unfolding before her eyes, her very being was trembling.
Because this—this was something even she had never seen before.
At first, when the Red Ice had begun manifesting, it had seemed like mere droplets. But as it grew, as its texture became pristine and crystalline, she felt something deeply unsettling about it.
"What... is this...?" she whispered.
Even she, the guardian of the Eternal Frostheart, the wielder of ice flames, had never heard or seen anything like this.
She knew of the Black Ice that the shadow elves wielded. She knew of the White Ice that angels held as sacred. But Red Ice?
That was beyond anything she could comprehend.
And then, a memory resurfaced.
A memory from a time when Arfrotian stood beside her, guarding the Eternal Frostheart together. A moment when she had confided in him, speaking of her past, of the pain and devastation she had witnessed. And in return, he had shared something of his own.
"Well, Ice Phoenix, you see, I came to this icy omniverse to train the sleeping monster within me."
She had almost forgotten those words.
"Surprising enough, it's not anything you have ever seen or heard of. And it's something that I fear... if not controlled, might destroy everything that means something to me."
Her heart skipped a beat.
"Could... could this Red Ice be... the sleeping monster Arfrotian spoke of?"
She had never been more certain of anything.
And as she continued to watch, everything clicked into place.
The way Arfrotian spoke to Zenian, the way he referred to Red Ice as his monster, the way he said that to defeat a monster, one must use another monster...
And then the final realization hit her like a storm.
"Could Arfrotian... be using the Eternal Frostheart's backlash to TRAIN or SUBDUE this monster of his!?"
It was a wild thought. A thought so insane that she almost dismissed it.
But the more she pieced it together—the more she considered his words, his actions, his intentional choices—the more she believed it.
And that realization brought her something unexpected.
A strange, inexplicable relief.
Despite all the chaos, despite the fact that two disasters were about to collide in the most catastrophic way possible, she felt... relieved.
And she didn't even know why.
She should be terrified. She should be panicking. But instead, she found herself smiling.
Even if it was just a wild, reckless idea...
Even if it didn't make sense...
"Arfrotian, you sure are truly absurd, aren't you?"
Her cheeks flushed. Her face heated up despite the freezing temperatures around her.
And in that moment, she could no longer deny what she had been feeling all along.
She liked him.
She had always liked him.
And deep down, she had never truly believed he had betrayed her.
Even amidst the chaos, even as two disasters clashed, the only thing she could think of was—
"I knew you wouldn't betray me."