A Cold wind enveloped Selena. However, instead of shivering, her body seemed to calm down instead. Her thoughts became clearer as if a mist had been removed.

Selena slowly opened her eyes. But what she saw wasn't the world she was used to living in. The Floor was made up of pure ice. The Sky was pitch black and a light snowfall continued down on the world. The world also had huge and long ice pillars. They didn't have much design but they had a diameter of 50 meters each and seemed to stretch all the way to heavens as their tops could not be seen.

Selena felt a bit shocked by the scenery. 'Is this a dream?' she thought. Otherwise, there was no explanation that came to mind which explained the unworldly phenomenon in front of her.

However, for a dream, the world felt too real. In fact, it felt so familiar to her, that she was beginning to doubt whether this place was the real world and the previous world she lived in was fake instead.

Thinking that these thoughts could drive her mad, she pushed them away and slowly got on her feet.

Her feet were bare, but the ice floor didn't feel cold to her at all. As if the floor removed its coldness to make sure she was comfortable. After looking around, she realized that she had no idea which direction she should go to. Everything looked the same and there were no signs which could tell her how to proceed.

"This way..." making up her mind, she decided to try her luck and chose a direction at random. She didn't know how long she walked for as time didn't seem to matter in this world. She was beginning to feel a bit tired and soon she realized that the annoying voice which helped her was nowhere to be heard.

"Soul..." she muttered these words with her head down, and suddenly, she felt her environment shift. She raised her head to realize she was still in the Ice World, but something had changed within it.

A flight of stairs appeared before her. Raising her head, she saw the stairs leading to a chair... no, not a chair, a throne...!!

The throne, like the stairs, was made up of ice but there was a slight green glow coming from the throne. It had brilliant intricate designs on it and exuded an aura of superiority and authority. It also felt as if the throne was beckoning Selena to take her rightful place on it.

But Selena's eyes went behind the throne after gazing it for a moment. There was a floating orb of ice behind the throne. It was as big as the throne and was floating behind it as if it was guarding it. There was something inside the orb, but Selena couldn't see it clearly because of the distance and the frost on its outer cover.

She slowly walked up the stairs, as if ascending into heaven. She reached the throne but did not even spare a glance at it. She went straight to the orb behind it.

She wasn't sure how long she stared at the Orb, but eventually, she placed her hand on the orb and wiped some of the frosts off it revealing what was inside.

Selena took a step back in shock after seeing inside the orb. There was a... man inside?

The man was sitting inside it hugging his knees and his head was down with his eyes closed. He had unkempt black wavy hair and he looked like he was in his late 20s. He wore glasses with a thick frame. His face was so-so, not ugly, not so handsome either. He wore clothes that were similar to Selena's world but had curious deviations. He wore a black jacket with what looks like a hood attached to it. His shirt didn't have buttons and had some wavy designs on it. His pants were blue but seem to be made of rough material, unlike leather. His shoes had an otherworldly design and looked as if they were made for running. He wore a bracelet on his left hand but the bracelet had a spherical design with numbers on it with tiny needles pointing at two of those numbers.

After recovering from the shock, Selena observed the man closely. Somehow, looking at him, she kept thinking about the annoying voice.

"Soul... is this you?" Selena asked.

But contrary to what she expected, there was no response from him. He seemed to be in a deep sleep, unaware of his surroundings. Selena tried talking to him some more, but the results were the same nevertheless.

After trying for a couple of minutes, Selena felt a bit tired from all the walking and talking. She closed her eyes and rubbed them as the tiredness surfaced. She sighed and was thinking of what to do next, when suddenly...

HOOOonnngg....!!!

A loud explosion sounded around her. She opened her eyes quickly and surveyed her surroundings only to realize that she had inadvertently sat on the throne. The loud noise came from the throne as if it was happy. the area began to rumble as the snowfall began to grow eventually turning into a snowstorm. The Pillars started growing too as if they weren't big enough yet and seemed to want to put a hole on the roof of heaven itself.

"W-What is happening...?" However, it was not Selena who spoke those words. The voice seemed to come from somewhere far away.

"This... is this... an awakening...?" Another voice spoke again. But unlike before, this was the voice of a man, it was full of worry and distress.

"Mage Aldrin, seal the area with your formation, and make sure no one knows of this." A Stern voice seemed to be talking to someone.

However, before Selena could make heads or tails of what is happening, a sudden sharp pain assaulted her.

'Burning...!! It's burning me...!!' Selena screamed internally. She looked at her hands and saw some designs which resembled runes. They were glowing a fiery shade of burning hot red and were scalding her very soul.

"Th-This... Are these runes?" The female spoke again.

"Mage Aldrin...!!" The soft but strong voice of the man was heard again.

"Th-This... This is a clash of elements...!!" A new voice spoke, possibly the person called Aldrin. "H-How could the Church have made such an elementary mistake?! Didn't they know this lady was----"

"How do we solve this...?" The Stern voice spoke again, seemingly nonchalant.

"W-Well..." The Mage coughed a couple of times...

'Well what...?!' Selena screamed internally in agony. She really wanted to punch this Aldrin fellow for his dramatic pause.

"I-I am afraid, this problem can only be temporarily solved by me... and only... only you can solve this." Aldrin spoke to someone, hinting at something.

"Are you talking about----" The Stern voice asked, but was interrupted by Aldrin, "Y-Yes... only you have learned the art so far in the family."

"What are you guys talking about...?" The female asked.

"I-It can't be... are you going to...?" The Soft voice spoke in panic.

"What's the big deal...? Move aside." The Stern voice spoke.

Selena was alarmed by that sentence. What's not a big deal to him. But others were anxious about it. Should I worry? Selena thought.

"Y-You can't brother...!! S-She is an unmarried girl who---" The gentle yet panicky voice spoke but was interrupted by the female voice.

"Do it...!! Do it...!! Do it...!! Do it...!!" The Female voice kept chanting excitedly.

"S-Sister...!! Do you even know what is going on?"

"W-We need to hurry...!!" Aldrin spoke again, "She can't hold on much longer...!!"

"Br-Brother...!!"

"Do you rather see her die...?" The Stern voice replied.

"I-I..."

"Don't worry, if it comes to it, I will take full responsibility, no matter the result..." The Stern voice spoke resolutely.

There was a huge pause after those words.

Selena thought that they had left, but suddenly, something happened that frightened her.

Even though there was no one in front of her, she felt a hand on her face. Before she could realize what was happening, there was a sensation on her lips. She had never experienced this phenomenon before but she did read about it. This was... a kiss.

'I am being kissed?' Selena thought alarmed by it. 'How dare he...?! If I die, I will slap his ancestors for raising such a lustful guy.'

However, her anger did not last long, the runes, as if sensing the danger, glowed more ferociously.. which made Selena scream out loud. She convulsed on the throne but did not get off it as she subconsciously knew it was the throne that kept her alive.

Soon, the snow turned into rain and it disappeared completely as a giant fireball came down from the sky. The Fireball, instead of crashing on the ground, turned direction and stopped in mid air near Selena. It soon changed shape into a fiery bird, the phoenix.

Judging by its appearance, it threatened to burn down everything in its path.

"C-Crap...!!! Y-Your Majesty...!! Please control your power...!!" Aldrin spoke again, as if he realized something, "You are not in front of an enemy, this much power can do irreversible damage."

"Irreversible Damage...?! Why didn't you warn me before about this?!" The Stern Voice was now very angry.

"I-I forgot..." Aldrin replied sheepishly. He really deserved a kick by a donkey.

Selena wanted to berate but something weird was happening again. The Runes on her body, released flames that were being absorbed by the Phoenix making it larger and fiercer.

Her body finally calmed down as the runes slowly started disappearing from view. But Selena knew it was only temporary and the Runes are still present on her body only going dormant by having their energy drained. She heaved a sigh of relief as sweat was profusely coming down from her forehead threatening to dehydrate her.

However, the peace didn't last long. The Phoenix showed no sign of disappearing and was flying majestically around Selena's domain. The Phoenix's presence was harming the domain with its intolerable heat. If the Phoenix does not go away in a couple of hours, Selena's Ice Domain will be destroyed.

"The Flame I sent inside... it absorbed the rune's magic but it is not listening to my command anymore after that." The Stern voice spoke, sounding a bit distressed for the first time.

"Th-This is why I said you needed to control your power. She can't use her powers yet which is why she cannot oppose your Flame." Aldrin replied hurriedly.

"We need to find an Ice Mage, fast... only by sending Ice energy inside... can we neutralize the flame."

"By sending Ice Energy inside... do you mean, by the same method as I did." The Stern voice replied coldly.

"I-I..." before Aldrin can answer, an annoying voice was heard by Selena from behind.

"Oh Hell no..." The Voice replied. Selena jolted and stood up as she recognized the voice. Before she could turn around, she felt arms wrapping around her from behind and the annoying voice spoke in her ear.

"That guy already kissed you while I wasn't watching and now they are going to send another guy to do it too." Soul spoke, in a lazy but stern tone.

Selena turned her neck to see the face of her annoying friend. He had only half of his eyes opened and spoke as if he was sleepwalking.

"Soul, you..." Selena wanted to ask him something but was interrupted.

"That asshole bird, flying like he owns the place. I hate uninvited guests like them. You already came unannounced, ate food, and are refusing to leave." Soul spoke in an indignant tone.

He pointed at the bird with his right hand and spoke to Selena, "Even if you can't use your power outside, you can still use it here as this place is your domain. Lift your hand... and command your domain to catch him."

"H-How...?" Selena asked not looking away from Soul. She feared that he will go quiet again and sleep. As much as she hated his voice, it was the same voice that saved her, and guided her, making her feel safer and gave her a chance to stood up for herself. Something that no one had done for her before. Without knowing, she started relying on this voice and even feared that the voice would disappear one day if she didn't pay attention.

"Simple... the power in this domain is commanded by your imagination. Let me impart some ice attacks from videogames I played." Soul replied looking at her.

He then leaned towards her and their foreheads touched each other. Immediately, information rushed in her head. She saw various fantasy characters using various ice attacks and defenses on their enemies. She never knew Ice could be such a formidable weapon.

"Try it out..." Soul chuckled, as he released his grip and stood behind her.

Selena looked down and closed her eyes as she internalized the information.

"Phew..." Selena exhaled as if all the stress left her body, and the domain immediately dropped down a few degrees in temperature.

The Phoenix was alarmed as it realized the drop in temperature and looked at Selena's direction. Selena also looked up straight at the Phoenix and a chill ran down the latter's spine.

As if driven by instinct, the Phoenix rushed at Selena with alarming speed. It knew, that in order to survive, it needed to destroy that woman.

"Don't panic, take your time..." Soul comforted her from behind.

Selena was a bit alarmed, but Soul's reassurance calmed her down again. She raised her hand and pointed at the approaching Phoenix and commanded in a cold voice.

"Stop..."

Immediately, as if driven by the chance to impress her, several ice chains appeared out of nowhere and caught the Phoenix. The Chains were so fast that the Phoenix couldn't react in time despite its impressive speed.

"What did it think would happen to come into your domain which is the complete opposite of its element." Soul chuckled darkly.

"Now then... my dear Ice Cold Maiden..." Soul approached Selena again and whispered in her ear. "How are you going to punish it?"

Selena stared coldly at the struggling pitiful Phoenix. It looked at her, seemingly begging for its life.

"Answer me one question honestly, and I will let you leave." Selena talked to the Phoenix, in her cold voice.

"Croaawwkkk...!!" The Phoenix replied, seemingly happy, seeing a ray of hope.

"If I didn't catch you... If, I had let you roam around this place... would you have left before destroying my domain and killing me with it?" Selena asked.

"Craowk?" The Phoenix sweated, which was weird considering it was a fire beast. But the question was just that intense.

Would it leave? Of course not. It was enjoying itself seeing the flames melt the ice. It didn't care for Selena until she retaliated. The strong prey on the weak, that is the reality of the world. Having the tables turned, did it have any right to demand mercy from the other party?

Seeing the bird grow quiet, Selena chuckled darkly and spoke, "I thought so..."

She turned her pointed finger into a palm and then a fist which immediately tightened the chains around the Phoenix making it scream in agony and the mighty flames on it began to dissipate slowly. Frost started accumulating on its body as it shivered uncontrollably. Soon, the agonizing screams came to a stop as the Phoenix was turned completely in an Ice Statue.

She released her fist and the chains loosened around the Phoenix. The bird dropped down from the sky and shattered into a million pieces as soon as it crashed onto the ground.

"This... what?" Aldrin's voice sounded again.

"What's wrong?" The Stern voice asked.

"This... The Flame you sent... is neutralized? How can that be?" Aldrin responded.

Selena was overjoyed and turned around to face Soul. But the latter was floating behind the throne as the orb around him began to form again.

"Soul...!!" She called loudly.

But he had already returned to his original pose and closed his eyes.

She tried to touch him before the orb formed but her sight suddenly darkened and she lost all feeling in her body. She collapsed on the floor again.

"Soul... don't go..." she muttered under her breath, as her eyes closed.

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