Ci made a cup of hot tea appear in her hand and sipped it as the other two sipped their hot chocolate, waiting for her to tell her stories.

Ci: When we were created, there were indeed thirteen of us. There was I, The Ice Witch, alongside the Sand Witch, The Twilight Witch, The Sky Witch, The Ash Witch, The Death Witch, The Sea Witch, The Venom Witch, The Mystic Witch, The Voodoo Witch, The Techno Witch, The Zero Witch, and The Beast Witch. Though I nor the others hardly remember the man who created us…only that our goal was to keep the world in check. We all had assigned areas to do to keep up this task. This, as you know…did not last long.

Akeru: The Beast Witch, I’m assuming?

Ci: She did not want to share ruling the world with the rest of us. She summoned her beasts to fight us, but we twelve disposed of them… That’s when it started; the rest of my siblings began to get their own ideas of the ruling. Aurora and the Zero Witch were the only two who wished to keep the plan alive. Since then, we all have fought against one another, showing our true colors thanks to the Beast Witch.

Itsuki: So is she why you wanted to know what Witches we met?

Ci: Indeed, she hasn’t shown her face in years. She must be plotting something…unless she has also passed. Speaking of her, she is also the reason I freeze this island.

Akeru: Because of her? I don’t understand…

Ci: She created thirteen creatures she calls the Ancient Beasts, strong enough to defeat a Witch. She poured all of her magic into making them…each one made specifically for one of us. The good part of this…is that they were all sealed away upon creation, all having a unique key to unlock their prison. We refer to these as a Beast Key and an Ancient Shackle. So, for example, mine would be the Ice Beast Key and the Ancient Ice Shackle.

Itsuki: A creature that can defeat a Witch?

Akeru: Why haven’t I heard of this? It’s not in any books at all…

Ci: Because that’s how we want it to be. It’s bad enough the Federation knows about them-

Itsuki: They what!?

Ci: I’m not sure how they found out…but they seek to free all thirteen of them to kill us all.

Akeru: Let’s say one breaks loose…what happens?

Ci: What happens when you release a wild animal out of its cage after years of captivity? It will run wild, searching for the one thing they require the most. In simpler terms, It will destroy and cause chaos trying to find its respective Witch. After they kill it, in theory, they will continue going on a rampage until put down.

Itsuki: That’s horrible…

Akeru: And I’m assuming this country holds your Shackle?

Ci: Underneath the island, my Ancient Beast lies.

Itsuki: Is there a way to tell? What even is a Shackle?

Ci: It can be many things…for example, mine is a sculpture with a missing piece.

Akeru: So the missing piece would be the Key?

Ci: Correct…not only this, but it has her mark somewhere on it as well. It looks like this.

Ci created a piece of paper and purple colored pen and wrote the symbol down. It was an upside-down purple triangle with a bloody eye in its middle with teeth attached to the sides of the triangle.

Itsuki: So anything with that mark is a Shackle?

Ci: Correct, and the Key has the same mark on the point that connects to the Shackle.

Akeru: So even a fool could figure it out…

Ci: Precisely…so that is why I keep it frozen; that way, the fools that try to uncover it don’t unleash a plague upon the world.

Itsuki: Do you know where the Key is?

Ci: I do not; as long as I can keep one of the two from being obtained, that is all that is needed.

Akeru: What if they find a way through the ice?

Ci: Impossible…my ice is-

Itsuki: Anything is possible! Just because I couldn’t thaw your ice doesn’t mean a more powerful Mage couldn’t!

Ci: You…are correct. But this is the only thing I can do as of now.

Akeru: You can fight them! They couldn’t kill a Witch, right?

Ci: We are not immortal, girl. Just because we are seen as gods does not mean that we are.

Itsuki: This all has been eye-opening…maybe we should-

The igloo was suddenly pelted by fire magic. Ci snapped her teacup as she dispelled it, trying to see what was happening. It was a small army with a logo on their uniform of a witch hat with an X on it. These people were part of the Anti-Witch Federation: The AWF.