A snowflake brushed up against my nose as we walked through the snow. Without it, the sneeze wouldn’t have come.

Am I getting sick at a time like this?

The day came for Velma and I to leave for Kosmos Valley and I couldn’t stop my nose from running. The mountain’s crevasse felt more chilly that morning compared to the previous weeks despite nearing the end of the winter season. For Velma, however, it didn’t seem to bother her as she had continued to pack her burlap sack without shivering to the breeze that snuck in.

Velma decided it would be best to take a different route to shorten the trip’s duration due to this being the longest distance we’d have to cover. This ‘Kosmos Valley’ lies on the tail end of Sozuraka, the part of the region untouched by mankind for over a hundred years. Or so her over-the-top explanations say.

The trek through the mountain pass didn’t force me to strain myself to keep up with Velma’s pace this time around. Having a moment of relief, seeing the snow now that I’ve seen many fields of grass felt bittersweet in a sense. The crystals of snow that cascaded down from the sky drifted along with the breeze, a sight I never thought to stop and appreciate.

This will be the last time I’ll see this in a while.

After sniffling my nose, I thought back to what had been displayed in the Atlas. Two simple pictures of a silver horn and a map. To connect the stories between two of two eras. So to figure out what that horn is about? Gjallarhorn, it said.

I sneezed again. I was about to complain about my runny nose until I saw the massive formations of ice that I didn’t notice spread out before us until now. “Woah…” I knew what these were from the books. Alpine glaciers. Dense packets of ice that had formed from cycles of snowfall and travel downward from thanks to gravity.

And these are those glaciers!

To think that the combination of being prohibited out and taking a different path every time prevented me from seeing ice of this size… in my own backyard.

“We’ll rest in here.”

An open gap in a glacier, almost like the crevasse that Velma had found herself a home in. The hint of light passed through the walls of the ice as well as the main gap, giving off a serene ambience in the interior, and a spacious interior it was. Much of the mill’s operations could’ve been done inside here including the kitchen. Splotches of earth surprisingly covered most of the ground instead of the usual layer of snow, which meant that even the vicious winters of Scandia couldn’t penetrate here.

“I know what you’re gonna ask, Junior. Why didn’t I set up camp here? Well it's too damn cold here! Did at least manage to shovel this place down any chance I did though.”

Guess it was also thanks to her. Well, I was wondering more about how she even found this spot in the first place but that works too.

Velma plopped her burlap sack near the wall and immediately began examining the contents. “Food supply looks good. Anticipating the boars would carry us until the end when the stock ends.”

“Checking already?” It had been only a few hours since we left and we’ve yet to touch our supplies once.

“Any hope of the two of us succeeding in this trip and not dying in some ditch will require extreme care. We’re lucky that we decided to go at a perfect time since winter’s ending.”

“But to check now?”

“Anyways, we’ll leave in ten. Rest up before hand.”

I considered scavenging my own seeing how she was so focused on hers but decided against it. As I watched her, I wondered how Velma became such an expert at exploration. How did she go so far as to travel to a place like my home?

“Miss, you never told me how you wounded up in that little cave.”

Pausing her search, she looked up at the icy ceiling. “I never did, huh? To be frank, it’s pretty complicated. Doubt you want to hear the whole story.”

“I do.”

“I really doubt it.”

“Maybe just a part of it.”

She sighed, closing the sack and rested it by the wall. “Have you ever felt anxious?” Her sudden question made me tilt my head. She continued, looking up at the ceiling again. “Every person fears something in their lives. As a child, getting lost, breaking your toy, some questionable stranger walking up to you. As an adult, alienated by your peers, losing the ability to support your loved ones, losing your own identity and place in the world. Even if you no longer care for anything, the fear of failure always presents itself. You’d believe the life you were given was not made the most of and thus, the regret you feel is scarier than any other beast that might want you for dinner. Fear is an intrinsic part of the human condition. It will always be there, and will teach you the cruelties of this world.”

She squinted at me. “...Also wipe that snot off your face. I’m scared you’re gonna wipe that on me when I’m not looking. Hahaha!”

Her laugh felt completely inappropriate when following what she had said. Another over-the-top explanation. How was that related to anything in her life? I sniffled before chuckling at the absurdity of it all.

—The sound of what seemed to be an engine roared its way into the glaciers, ending our laughter. From what it sounds, it appeared to be closing the distance between here and it at an incredibly fast pace.

A vehicle in a place like this?

I looked back at Velma who seemingly froze.

“What is that?” I asked.

She said nothing, only readying her blade in a fashion unlike her. For that matter, why was she bringing her weapon out to begin with? The sound stopped, which was then followed by snow crunching.

“...Our position’s been discovered.”

I didn’t know what she meant until it all happened in a single instant.

First, it was the strands of hair that stood up on the back of my head. And next, came the strings of light—electric arcs that rippled through the air. They shot right past me before I could even register the lack of hearing in my ear, a moment later, Velma’s scream had pierced my ears to the left of me. Bands of electricity wrapped around Velma’s torso and arms, leaving her to slam her shoulder on the ground, unable to move. Her blade clattered onto the floor.

“...M—Miss?!”

“—And that confirms it.” In the opposite direction of the electric arc, a shadow poured into the glacier. The voice came from a foreigner. Much in the same way as Velma, he appeared to be of similar ethnicity to her. His jet black hair spiked back and a dull scarlet thickening of skin across his eye brow made his presence known. Two others joined his side, one with electricity bouncing around his right hand before subsiding.

“That’s the one, Colonel?” they said: a young man, flexing and curling his fingers through his glove. Silvery grey hair, liked the arcs around his hand.

“Indeed. Matches the descriptions and everything.”

Voices and looks that matched the same as Velma’s and yet their clothing told completely different stories. Who are they? They wore proper blue uniforms under thick coats in contrast to the informality of Sappora and the fashion sense of Velma’s. The three guarded the entryway, blocking off our means of escape.

“I-It’s… Azure…” Velma mustered out which brought my overwhelmed attention back to her. I rushed to her side, but the moment I did, she jerked her body backwards and shot a desperate glare at me. “Don’t come closer—!”

“—!” A rush of pain shot up through my arm the moment I set my hand inches from her arm. The shock was intense enough that it knocked me off my feet and left me unable to move a muscle for a couple of seconds.

“Woah, woah! Stay away from those electrical binds, little girl.” It’s quite shocking to see such power, but you must know what danger is when you see it.” Said a gentler yet just as threatening voice. A woman with blonde hair tied to a bun. In her hand held a rectangular device she rested on her forearm to which she tapped with her finger. “I gotta admit though... this whole region is a danger in itself. Just how many sharp turns we had to do with the Träger in order to get here…”

I climbed slowly to my feet, still feeling the effects of the shock in my legs. These people were not here for a little talk. The older man’s seering eyes were proof of that.

“I see you’re as valiant as ever given the circumstances as is, and here I thought I’d find you with a knife against the child’s throat.”

“Lieutenant Colonels… I believe... Nishimura and Fukuda? I see some kid was also brought along for the ride.” Velma mustered up between groans.

“That’s rich coming from you considering one is standing by you right now. I’m surprised you still remember our names.”

“Junior. You need to get away from here. Now. You can still make it home and forget about this mess.”

“Huh?” Home? She completely dropped the idea of Kosmos Valley and instead, chose to name home like we hadn’t just prepared for our longest trip thus far. “I can’t just…”

“Tch. I expected this…”

The man cleared his throat. “Lieutenant Colonel Nishimura and Fukuda, Second Lieutenant Luke of Azure. Entrusted with the responsibility of protection. Not that it should matter to you. We, in short, have an assignment to fulfill and I should thank you for making it easy for us—”

“—NAGI!” Before the man had time to finish, a fourth shadow poured into the glacier alongside a familiar voice. One that was the last I wanted to hear. Chloe. She bursted into the entryway, one arm on the edge and breathing heavily as if she sprinted the entirety of the way from town to this glacier. Of all other people... This had to be some kind of nightmare.

“Wha—?! The hell are you doing here?! Do you not remember anything we said last night? It’s too dangerous for citizens to get involved!”

“Nagi, listen!” Chloe shouted, ignoring the man’s warning. “The… The woman right next to you… she’s… a cold blooded murderer.”

“...Huh?” Chloe’s words completely went over my head. What did she say? A...

There, the blonde woman spoke up, “Nishi, I’ll look after her. If you want to do the honors.”

“Dumping the talking on me…” he groaned as if this was some pointless task to check off. That demeanor, however, quickly changed into something much more serious. “If you want to stay human then I’d advise you to listen. This woman, Velma, is someone we’ve been tracking down for quite some time now—for over the entire region, nay, for over all the four regions. She comes from a certain group of killers who operate in the shadows: Alkai’s division of hitmen. Assassins, if you will.”

“A—Assassin...?”

“So she is unaware…” The man sighed. “In a sector of Northern Alkai lives itinerant killers of mankind. A secret sect of people raised in the art of killing. Thanks to them, a fuck-ton of people all over the regions died without ever seeing their dreams realized or their loves ones again, whether evil or not. It’s a feat and thought so terrifying that the general public’s knowledge of them is restricted. How do we have this piece of knowledge ourselves? Most if not all victims share similar stab wounds, but little to no blood is ever shed from their wounds despite apparent locations of arteries. That woman next to you is capable of such inflictions.

“And you could’ve guessed our reactions when we saw her right in the act, almost anyways. You know what’s funny? You know what’s really tragic? We all thought we were gonna go out in some spectacular show and give ourselves to the greater good of Humanity. Lying dead on some land completely foreign to us, that’s what we expected from the start when we first signed up for this job. To instead lay bloodied right in our very home is a cruel joke that only a demon can find humor in. Like she chose to have him bloodied instead of sparing the need to not disgrace his body. He gave his life, but not for the reason he wished for. Tell me, what was the purpose of his death? What meaning did his death serve on that night?”

Not one word came from Velma, a sight in which he gritted his teeth to.”

“To top it all off, their leader is supposedly one of the most powerful people in the world. No one has ever laid eyes on ‘em, their identity is completely hidden like some kind of evil villain. And yet they managed to orchestrate an entire society of killers that resulted in the largest spike of crimes the three regions has ever seen in recent years. Whether it’s by them directly or not... If Velma right here knows a couple of things about ‘em, then some good ol’ fashion interrogation would put the case to rest.”

Interrogation.

“No… This is all wrong. There has to be some sort of misunderstanding…”

“It’s not!” Chloe, again. She tried to get closer, but the blonde woman put her arm in front of her. “Tch! Nagi, what we’re saying is all true! Please get away from that killer!”

Velma continued to writhe in pain from the electric binds while I stood there at a complete loss of what to do. This couldn’t be right. Velma, an expert in killing? Never once had she tried to kill another living person before in the entire time I’ve traveled with her. Without exception. Exception…?

That night I first met her.

No, that was a one time occurrence. That had to be some sort of coincidence. It must be.

“Sh-she promised to explore the world together. As much as possible... To experience everything the world has to offer…”

“I haven’t told Mom about all this yet! We can still go home together and you won’t get punished for going out of Sappora, heck, I’m standing here with you right now!”

I couldn’t hear her.

“A-And she told me that if I found any bad guys, she would beat them to a pulp. That not even a single drop of blood could even have the chance to hit the ground...”

Cold, thin smiles play over their lips. Something told me that what I had said was what they already knew. As for myself, I had taken her word to be that of protection, yet giving a bit of thought, my words contradicted everything I came to know about her. Velma… is it true? Everything that they are saying? I looked back to her for an answer in those averted eyes.

・・・・・

This is why I didn’t want to be associated with them anymore. I was tired of it all. Everyday. Every damn forsaken day. The sights of those dying at my hands burned into my retinas. The relentless imagery of death. No end to the slaughter.

Everytime the blade ran its way through flesh, the sensation through the grip felt sickening. But it was a feeling they eventually learned to stomach whether it takes a couple of hours or years. That was why the indifference she had entering the theatre was no different from any other person forced by their peers to attend the performance.

A task assigned to her to silence an influential musician in fear of spreading propaganda and idealistic behaviors of its region’s citizens. Chordia, while not as developed in the musical arts as Alkai, still has their own culture of music. A task like this can have devastating consequences solely by the nature of the butterfly effect. She took it without question, not that she had any choice in the matter.

The Grand Theatre of the Arts in Chordia’s capital houses the region’s best performers. The reputation the theatre has built up over the centuries made it the ideal location to watch plays, ensembles, and more. But to throw that notion all away, within the air system of the building was where she crawled. Through the enclosed space of the air vent, the sounds of sweetness held her breath. It was an experience completely foreign to her while simultaneously the single most beautiful thing she has ever heard.

Practicing before a performance was commonplace. Even though the violinist will be the main attraction, the piano provides the backbone to the piece. And so the pianist must not get distracted else the foundation of the performance will be lost.

“Hm?” The sound stopped. The man looked over his shoulder at the sound of another he heard behind him, thinking that a rat had gone and snuck into his dwelling. But all he saw was a girl completely entranced at him. She stood unmoving in the middle of the room as if she were a lost child witnessing an emotional street performance.

“What is that?” she asked.

“Erm… little girl, how did you get inside here? Where are your parents—”

“Answer my question.”

He frowned. “Thought I locked the door when I came in… For that matter, didn’t I hear bodyguards were supposed to be stationed at the lobby? Just how did a kid manage to waltz in here—”

“Answer my question.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t have the temperament to call security on a trespasser, but rather he felt pity that this child has no knowledge of the most iconic instrument there is. He sighed and scratched his head. What kind of environment was she raised in to not have her even see a piano? Before getting lost child services, he may as well lend her in on the secret.

“This is the ‘piano’.” The pianist gestured to the black and white keys. “You press these slabs in like so.”

She took one look at the keys and back to him. “Teach me how to play the piano like you were doing it. Pushing them with your hands.”

His frown worsened. No one could ‘learn’ a musical instrument in a single night. Usually people want to perform arpeggios like it’s nothing even without knowing what arpeggios are, but that is not feasible for someone who didn’t even know what pianos are. But I can’t just ignore a child’s wishes.

The simplest, yet most iconic song in the book. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

“Wow…”

Her form was off and the cadence was jarring to the ears, but learning more and more of the piece was one of the few moments where she could forget the misfortune of her birth and the responsibilities she had to bear. ‘Dance in the night, sneak in the shadows.’ has never been more appropriate.

“Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’s original composer is unknown. No one knows where the original tune came from. It was only later composers turned the tune into melody and added lyrics, but the identity of the one who crafted it first is lost to history. However, that shouldn’t detract people from enjoying what it has become today, let alone the countless creations that we the people have made over the years.”

That was the first time I ever experienced the true beauty of this world.

In short, the task was a failure. The nation gladly enjoyed the violin sonata without interruption. The spirits of Chordia rose higher. And thus, her reputation among her peers took a hit, as well as her ‘superiors’. Ever since, her performance grew worse. Riskier kills, bloodier messes, military police began to take notice—until it accumulated on a single night.

“Ah…”

Surprised by the sound of paper scattering, she turned to find two officers staring blankly at her in a base’s hallway lit by the moon’s reflection. Blood spread across the floor and seeped through her feet. Caught red-handed with a bloodied blade in her hand, she didn’t even think to be bothered much less care about the consequence of this blunder. Was it on purpose? To have a reason to flee? She didn’t know. All that she knew was that there would be no returning home.

At 15 years old, I escaped.

“Right there!”

A wanted fugitive, both to the outside world and to her very own comrades. The only choice for her was to defect where people wouldn’t chase her, north. Because of the sheer barrier that was the terrain of Scandia, no one would dare set foot in its land to chase a singular criminal. It would be seen as bat-shit insane and the equivalent to suicide. They’d expect her to succumb to the cold within a few days and thus, left it to that. That was until she found that gap in the mountain…

Living in that one crevasse became her safe haven as the years went on. The sheer brutality of her situation instilled skills needed for survival, but the combination of the forest and the mountain provided support needed for her to adjust to the lifestyle. No other spot in the snowy region houses such a convenient location. She frequented the forest outside the mountain crevasse for food, overgrown vegetables, and to check on the countless snares she had set up. Some cases, going out of that forest would be necessary in times where the yield proved to be too low.

On one such night, that was the case.

“Wait… who is she?”

A trampel in the snow. The middle of the night was the worst possible time to hear such sounds as it could mean certain death by predators. Predators in the northern climates were few and far between, however. For the nine travelers whose goal was to collect data on the surrounding lands, it was a sound unlikely to be considered a threat and passed it off to be a deer.

The tinkerer of the group had other plans. With the pinhole camera he refurbished from parts of a clock, he took a picture in the direction the trample came from. He held the paper, completely baffled. A humanoid figure in the frame. Because of the long exposure time, it was blurry but there was no doubt the subject was not merely a passing animal.

No doubt she wasn’t a beast.

“...?!” Caught while foraging for food, she froze at the sight of the nine travelers.

Their hair color is completely white. They’re the locals here? But it didn’t matter. They saw her and there was no turning back. I can’t let them escape and risk my presence. She placed a hand on the grip of her blade and winced from another new emotion that washed over her for the first time in her life. Remorse.

—The command’s execution was instantaneous. The girl jumped like a cat onto the nearest man, slashing his throat as cleanly as a knife through soft butter. Using the first victim as a stepping stone, she leaped to the nearest with red still coated on the blade. Every time she changed trajectories, fresh blood dyed the white snow followed by cries of agony.

Why am I still fighting? For what purpose?

The remaining travelers, realizing the weight of their situation, screamed and lunged at her with axes and hunting knives in hand. But their speed hardly matched to do them any good.

With no hesitation between kills, she was blinded by pure survival. It could’ve been considered the amalgamation of all the blood she allowed to shed in one single night. By the very end, there was no indication of white in the forest. All red.

“Please stop…” Backed up to a tree, the last cornered man begged for his life. He had completely lost the will to fight back and pleaded with trembling lips, “S-spare me…”

Why am I still going on like this? With an underhand clasp of the grip, she raised the blade. Why did I carve out a little corner of the world for the sake of my people?

And the red finally stopped.

・・・・・

“Dragging a kid into your business. That’s awfully bold of you to do so, ain’t it Velma? Is that a common tactic used in your clan?” the man said, an impartial expression casted on his face. I knew it was for good intentions, were they to understand our situation, he wouldn’t have offered the comment and maybe even suggest some proposal and let her go. That’s wishful thinking. But was it only because I didn’t understand her situation—refusing to accept reality?

I shook my head. “N—No! That was my choice! I chose to follow her! She isn’t a bad person!”

But they didn’t listen. They simply casted a gaze on me with a look of pity on their faces.

“Never have been good with kids. But even then I know enough that the books they read don’t have this much of a profound impact on them. Almost like mind control.”

“Mind control doesn’t exist, Nishi. You know that.”

The younger man scoffed. “Perhaps Stockholm syndrome can be playing a role here.”

“She reminds me of those cunning foxes that show up in morality tales.”

“—If you three won’t end your arguing and get my friend back, then I’ll just do it myself.”

Chloe’s statement broke the three’s bickering. The blonde woman caught her by the shoulder before she had time to go any further in. “Rgh, why are you stopping me from going in?!”

“It’s still far too dangerous. There may as well be boobytraps that’ll blow your legs off at any moment—”

“NO!” I couldn’t take it anymore, the pain in my stomach, the yelling in my head. It was all too much.

“...Let’s finish this up. Fukuda, do it.”

“Got it.” The blonde woman pulled Chloe back and marched forward, snow shifted underneath her boots, completely disregarded the warning she had given. “I hate to say it, but this is the first time I’m using my Aoi to hurt another being. Even if you are our enemy... forgive my transgression.” She raised her hand in preparation for an attack.

“S-sto..p…. Please, listen to me…” I don’t want you to leave. It’s too early. Not now. Not like this.

—Just then, Velma planted her foot onto the ground, propelling herself to the air.

“Ghh!” With a twist of her body, the electric bands contorted against themselves, their elasticity played with. On the way down, gravity combined with her momentum created an opening through the binds and allowing her to slip through. The electric bands dispersed as a result as she landed in front of me. This wasn’t done without risk however, much of her lower body became scorched in the process. Any skin exposed inflamed, red, and scarred.

The younger man who created the binds wore a surprised look until his superior’s whistle brought his attention.

“As I expected, huh…”

“Sir?”

“Take this as a lesson, Second lieutenant. Relying on your Aoi can only get you so far. Assume the enemy has every means of countering whatever is you throw at them. Choosing to lower your guard creates openings your opponent can take advantage of, and in this case, she created the opening herself. Be sure to have other means necessary to close the gap. Like numbers.”

The younger man closed his eyes in response. “Apologies for being careless. I will surely take better measures in future missions.”

“Let’s take care of this first.” With that the older one returned to the battlefield. “Fukuda! Now!”

“Already on it.” The blonde woman snapped her fingers. Out of thin air emerged blobs of turquoise liquid that gathered together into numerous spheres, all floated around her. Each then morphed into a slew of weaponry: daggers, maces, glaives, halberds, rapiers, they stood perfectly aligned with each other like a selection in a historical armory. And then it started. The weapons hurled themselves toward her. But it wasn’t merely a projectile throw, they arced in a fashion akin to a homing target, and as Velma dodged, the weapons realigned and honed in on her once more. It was a full-on continuous bombardment.

“Ngh—!”

Every single dodge, she held on by the thread. The layers of dirt and sleet kneaded together at every leap off the ground. I wanted to help so badly, I really did, but no such ice came from my hands. Why? What was stopping me? Reluctance? No. I know.

So that Velma can focus on finding it.

An opportunity. A gap in the arcs. She swiped the blade from the ground and curved it towards her neck in one single motion. Her blade almost reached its target until—a column of ice emerged outwards below her blade, encasing it along with her forearm entirely.

Chloe.

All at once, the arsenal of weapons charged at her. With a grit of her teeth, Velma shattered the ice blocking her arm with a kick and responded with the same maneuver in return. She launched upwards, without her blade, a second too slow. A curt yelp came from the frenzy of fragments, weapons and the beads of light. When everything came to a standstill, Velma’s back faced towards me once again, but along with an extra wound. That same scent that gave me a headache all that time ago, one that I never had gotten used to, overwhelmed my sense of smell. That’s...

Blood…?

I covered the bottom half of my face. It was one part due to the smell, but also to prevent myself from losing my breakfast. In front of me, Velma’s arm was a mixture of red and pink with hardly a semblance of tan. Droplets of red spattered onto the ground, dirt, snow and all.

I was scared. I didn’t know what to do. Her blade still being in the ice meant that she had no other means of fighting back. Not only that but her forced, heavy breaths meant the pain was excruciating. I... don’t want anyone to experience that level of pain. But… just what the heck am I supposed to do?!

Why can’t I do anything? Why can’t I move a muscle? Please… this isn’t like you to lose like this, Velma! Use… your Aoi!

“Tch. A minor shouldn’t have to see the color of blood. But at this point...” After clicking his tongue, the man brought two fingers of his hand up in the air. A globule of his own formed in the air. He commanded the same Aoi, but used in one concentrated formation. A massive lance, the size of my own height, constructed itself by his shoulder with its tip pointed towards Velma.

The blonde woman took a step forward, trepidation over her face. Her own weapons dematerialized. “W-Wait Nishi! Isn’t that overdoing it?! Didn’t Admiral Enma say to take her alive?”

“Securing the target is our top priority. Knowing them, this won’t be enough to kill but this should still be effective to subdue her regardless.”

The lance began to take on a silvery glow. At the same time, a pressure pulled my whole body down as if the weapon commanded the very fabric of space—and the blonde woman’s scowl grew worse.

“There’s a civilian standing right next to her! NISHI!”

“If she so wishes to protect that Scandian, then we don’t need to worry about civilians. But as for our dear target...” He cleared his throat. “An assassin of black ops has already lost when driven into a battle of endurance. If you do not wish to attain further injuries, surrender. If you do not comply and leave your blade on the ground, you will be seen as planning to fight back and thus, shall be met with equivalent coercion. Even if that should mean death.”

Death. A word that I only hear of in stories. It was something to describe the completion of one’s purpose as they have done what they set out in their lives. For them to use it here was inappropriate… and utterly cruel. Velma and I, we’ve yet to finish our purpose.

If there is a being called Niebieski out there, they are playing dice with our lives.

—The man stopped in his tracks and reached out a hand to cover his forearm. His lance began to deform, fluctuating in parts throughout the weapon. His own body began to shake comparable to that. Progressively, the tremors grew worse as each and every part of his limbs started to give away against their weight. Bodies... shouldn’t do that. “Wo...ah… T-The hell...?” He raised his hand to find the glove’s surface hazed in white. “I-Ice..? W-What’s going on?”

Crystals of ice congealed on his coat as well as the other’s at a rate comparable to a towel being sapped with water. “E-Eh…? H-Huh?” The other two took notice as well, grabbing the fabric of their coats and shaking vigorously to no avail. No matter how much they swipe the frozen shards away, more emerged in place like a wildfire failing to be doused.

“W-Wait… This is kinda s-serious…” The blonde woman opened her mouth, attempting to draw breath to blow on her hands and warm them up, but she gave a hoarse cough instead. “Th-This can’t be happening.”

“If we don’t fall b-back...” Electric sparks emerged from the younger man’s hands as he rubbed them together. Yet even that barely had an effect. “w-we’re going to lose more than j-just fingers…”

That’s good. Lose them for all I care.

It was one part fear and anger. I despised how little control I had. How my family’s protection felt like a prison, leaving me unable to even set foot outside without being reminded of the cruelty of this world. But it was also fear that prevented me from taking action. To stay and grow old and eventually be buried in the ground was the path of least resistance. Which was why I waited. For something, someone to come and let me out of the cage. One day, I finally found that someone, one who had shown me the true world and made me experience things I’ve never experienced before.

And they are taking that away.

That feeling was back again. As if a wall had divided me from that glacier, everything felt detached. My vision looked lifeless and blurry with every color draining from my eyes. In fact, at this point, do I even have my sense of vision?

Struggling really is pointless. Ah… Who cares anymore... Nothing matters anymore. Not a single thing left I care for is left in this world. Everything can just freeze for all I care. The warmth can drain away from the world. The temperature of my chilly flesh can drop to zero. It’ll freeze and freeze. Until the pain will become so agonizing that it’ll feel like nothing. That would be a nice end.

It was a dream I had to escape from the cold and a dream was all it ever was.

・

“So you want to stay by my side. Despite the facts and truth stacked against me—despite the very people you love keeping you from obtaining knowledge, you still wish to risk it all to touch it with your hands. Would you allow your people to continue this? Everything you have shown me thus far points to the opposite. So then, do you have the resolve to abandon everyone you know and love? To throw your past life away in order to live the one you so desire? From you, I don’t want any excuse saying, ‘there’s gotta be another way’, or ‘there’s a way without conflict’, or better yet, ‘maybe this isn’t the life for me’. Second guessing is for pushovers who let others’ opinions get the better of them. Kick the living shit out of those people.

“You... will have lingering attachments. It’s an inevitability no matter what people say they can avoid. They’re lying out their asses if they say they don’t miss their mothers. But that’s what you’ll need to endure in order to fight against this reality that is the prison of this world. We are all people of the same cloth struggling with the demons we are born with. We’re surrounded by the seas of boundaries, but that also means they are surrounded by us. All of us, whether old or young, whatever shade or blood, the support we give to each other as mankind is a force unparalleled to anything in the world you’ve seen thus far. So... trust me. Like you always had.”

A bright flash of light. Light as white as the snow that falls on these lands enshrouded my vision. And then, there was nothing but ice.

・

When I opened my eyes, I found my vision far too hazed to parse my surroundings. It didn’t help that a sharp pain from my right arm to my head caused a faint sensation leaving me dizzy. As those cleared after some time however, the realization came to me that the excessive haze was not from my vision. Rather, it was from them.

I’ve… I’ve… ki-

“I killed them.”

Each one of their skin and clothing were textured in frost, completely removing all indication of what laid beneath. Even the whites of their eyes were far too bleached. Their horrored faces and gaping mouths stared right back as their fabric still maintained the momentum of the blast, as if time had been completely frozen in that moment. The difference between ice sculpture and living being was erased. My right hand outstretched towards them felt numb to the point that blood may as well not be flowing through it. I backed away slowly, lowering the trembling hand to my side.

His lance earlier, the cold must’ve caused it to collapse and release its energy… along with mine.

When I looked, Chloe too had been struck in ice—her right side caught in the flash, face partially covered in fragments. There was no movement in that arm. There was no movement in the glacier at all except for the white wisps that stirred the air.

“Nagi… You…”

Don’t look at me, please don’t look at me.

This was all thanks to me. This was my fault. A cumulonimbus of ice might as well have emerged from that hand and it would’ve all had the same effect. Cramped, shivering, terrified, my legs gave out at the realization of the implication. I became a monster.

Is this the consequence of curiosity?

I felt a sudden pull of my wrist. Velma had grabbed my arm, pulled me up and immediately rushed towards the glacier’s exit, dragging the soles of my boots along the tarnished ground. Despite the limp in her leg, it was everything in my power to strain my own and keep up with her.

Once the light seeped over us, Chloe and I locked eyes for an instant. In that instant, I could garner the multitude of emotions that she went through despite no color showing through those eyes. One thing was clear however, from spending the time with her ever since I can remember: betrayal.

I did have people. I did have people that I cared for, and cared for me. Even in the face of a cage, there was beauty in it.

From there, the world became a colder place.