Meanwhile, as Arfrotian was piecing together the final clues to uncover where Eterna had been sealed, Glacialix, his Ice Queen, soared through the vast icy space of the Omniverse, her wings spread wide, flapping against the cold void as she searched for her menace of a Master.

  —Master is truly, just here to tease me, and nothing else.—

  She thought to herself, her breathtakingly beautiful face framed by icy winds, irritation mixed with a strange warmth in her heart.

  Couldn’t he have just told me where he was?

  Instead, he had simply told her to "search for him," leaving her to scour the infinite expanse like a lost girl chasing a fleeting shadow.

  Her glowing icy-blue eyes narrowed as she remembered the moment he had fallen.

  Had he dropped somewhere down below?

  Logically, that would have made sense. Yet, even after searching in that direction, he was nowhere to be found.

  —It’s truly a painstaking job...— she muttered under her breath, though she knew deep down that she didn’t mind it as much as she pretended to.

  With a strong flap of her wings, Glacialix propelled herself forward, the currents of freezing cosmic winds brushing against her form, her long icy-white and pale blue hair fluttering in mesmerizing waves. As her mind ran through possibilities, she suddenly remembered—

  —Huh? Master did say something about the Ice Palace... so I guess I should check over there…—

  She turned her direction toward the northern part of Rodentia Megaverse, where the Ice Palace stood in its ancient, frozen majesty.

  But even as she flew, her face was burning red-crimson at the thought of the damn menace she called her Master.

  —Like, what the hell?! First, he tells me to look for him after falling off my back when I was flying in my phoenix form—for some reason I COMPLETELY DON'T KNOW—making me worried sick as hell…

  THEN, instead of properly explaining anything, he just telepathically apologizes to me so damn sincerely that it MELTS my heart? Like…—

  Glacialix clenched her fists for a moment before sighing in exasperation.

  —I HATE MY MASTER FOR BEING SO UNDERSTANDING AND STILL BEING A COMPLETE BADASS MONSTER.—

  — Like........ what could I even say............my Master is just so, so, so of a menace, that he even NAMED MY DAMN BACK, WHILE RIDING BEHIND ME IN MY PHOENIX FORM, Like, I don’t even know what to say, but then........ .—

  Her glowing icy-blue eyes softened, her heart pounding so hard she could literally hear it echoing in her ears.

  Memories surfaced—

  Memories of the first time she met Arfrotian in Dementia Megaverse.

  —Back then, I was just the guardian of the Eternal Frostheart, the sole protector of this Icy Omniverse. I was a being of absolute duty, bound to my sacred role, and when he arrived, I did what I was supposed to do.

  I tried to kill him, as an intruder, so as not to repeat what had led to the catastrophe eons ago causing this Omniverse, to be named as Icy Omniverse.

  Yet—

  He overpowered me. Easily.

  He should have ended me right then. I had attacked him, after all. But instead of delivering death, he…

  He let me live.

  And after that, he didn't just ignore me. He tried to understand me.

  His mind, so sharp it cut deeper than any blade, uncovered truths about my existence that I myself had never even known.

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  And then, that day…

  That day when he played with his own life just to keep a promise he made to me.

  That was when I—

  —I lost.—

  I lost to him, not in strength, but in something deeper.

  And now, after everything… after he had stopped a catastrophe from happening for the second time, after he had risen as the ruler of the Icy Omniverse, here she was—

  His Ice Queen.

  The title had once just been words to me. A role given by another. But now, it was different.

  Because it came from him.

  Because—

  —Because he trusts me.—

  She even muttered, “"My Master, is truly something, I an Ice Phoenix formerly who thought my role would to serve my life to the ruler of this Icy Omniverse,

  only to find the man whom I first tried to kill as an intruder, would become so much to me, he even gave me such a name,

  and......... made me his right hand and said I was his Ice Queen, and the warmth in his words and gestures and the sincerity in it, even when he was literally sleeping on my back.............. he really trusts me a lot.........."

  Glacialix’s glowing eyes glistened softly as she recalled what he had told her about her past.

  How her so-called "sacred role" had been nothing more than a betrayal.

  A way for the mortals to keep her in check, to imprison her in an eternity of isolation and slavery, in fear of her abnormal power among the powerless mortals, whom she without a question served her life until her master had opened her eyes..

  She had lost all hope.

  She had lost all sense of purpose.

  Everything she had devoted her existence to was a lie.

  —I was a fool. I wasted eons guarding the Eternal Frostheart, trapped in that barren, frozen land, without ever knowing the truth.

  Had it not been for Master…

  She blushed deeply, biting her lower lip as her heart thumped in her chest.

  Had it not been for Master, I would have been completely broken by the betrayal, even now.

  —He is the only reason…—

  The only reason she had not shattered into nothingness.

  The only one who reached out to her, pulled her out of that abyss, and gave her something new.

  A new purpose.

  And that purpose was him.

  —Master told me… that my new purpose was only him.—

  Glacialix felt her body heat up despite the absolute-zero temperatures around her. She wasn’t sure if it was anger, frustration, or something else.

  —I didn’t even try to refuse it.—

  Because deep down, she had always wanted it.

  She had always wanted to serve him, to be his.

  At some point, she had stopped being a guardian of the Icy Omniverse and had become…

  —My Master’s personal guardian.—

  At some point…

  At some unknown moment…

  —I fell in love with him.—

  Her heart pounded violently, her cheeks burning as she muttered,

  —I never knew when…—

  She closed her eyes, exhaling softly.

  —Master… He’s terrifying. He’s ruthless to his enemies, a manipulative, absolute monster of a ruler… but—

  Her fingers touched her chest, feeling the wild rhythm of her heart.

  —But to me… He’s always been so kind.—

  To her, he had always been a man of his word.

  To her, he had always been warm, kind, understanding, sensible and gentle……….

  Even though he teased her so damn much, she…

  —I like him.—

  She bit her lip, trembling slightly as her memories continued.

  He had seen everything she had done for him. Even when she had saved him purely on instinct, without thinking, without reason, before going unconscious—

  He had valued it.

  He had made her his Ice Queen.

  He had given her a place at his side.

  —Master… He’s so terrifying, yet still so charming and… handsome.—

  She clenched her fists.

  —He was always there for me.—

  And maybe… maybe that was why.

  Why she screamed so desperately back then.

  When he had fallen from her back without warning—

  That fear, that soul-wrenching scream—

  It wasn’t just worry.

  It was terror.

  —Terror of losing the only person who means everything to me now.—

  Glacialix snapped out of her thoughts, shaking her head rapidly.

  —Ahhh!! What was I muttering?!—

  Her face burned hot, frustration boiling within her as she clenched her teeth.

  —IT’S ALL MASTER’S FAULT!—

  If he hadn’t come into her life—

  If he hadn’t done everything he did—

  She wouldn’t have become, from a cold hearted, responsible and serious girl to this lovesick, warm, and crazy girl.

  —It’s all his fault… but…—

  She exhaled softly.

  —But I still can’t think of living without him.—

  Because—

  HE IS MY MASTER.

  AND HE IS MY WORLD.

  With that final thought, Glacialix flew at full speed toward the Ice Palace of Rodentia, where her search for her Master—her entire world—would finally be unraveled.