The ice-chilled winds of Dementia howled across the frozen temple, the once-solemn and unshaken sanctuary now marred by the recent battle. Amidst the shattered frost-covered ground, the ominous silence was only broken by the soft, rhythmic beats of a still-surviving heart.

  Ice Phoenix, the guardian of the icy omniverse, let out a deep sigh of relief, her glowing icy-blue eyes trembling with emotion as she gently caressed the face of the unconscious man resting on her lap. His pale complexion bore the toll of absorbing two cataclysmic forces—the backlash of the Eternal Frostheart and the unleashed chaos of Pandora. Yet, despite all odds, he had survived.

  Her voice, tender and shaken, barely a whisper, escaped her lips, “You're alive... you're still here...”

  She could still feel the steady yet faint rhythm of his heartbeat. Even in his unconscious state, he had not let go of existence, and that was all that mattered to her at this moment.

  For the first time in eons, Ice Phoenix felt something beyond duty, beyond responsibility, beyond the chains of her existence. She felt warmth—an emotion foreign to the guardian of an icy wasteland. Arfrotian had endured the impossible, had risked his very life, not just to fulfill a promise but to shield her. He had proven, time and time again, that she was not just a guardian to him.

  That realization settled deep in her soul, as her wings instinctively folded around him in a protective embrace, as if she could shield him even from the cold that defined her existence.

  But not everyone could share this quiet, heart-wrenching moment.

  Zenian: Witnessing the Unthinkable

  Standing nearby, half-frozen, locked in place, was Zenian.

  The fallen archangel, the one who had sought to claim the Eternal Frostheart, the one who had played countless mind games and orchestrated countless battles, now stood in absolute disbelief.

  His eyes, wide with horror, fixated on Ice Phoenix. Not because of her power—no, he had long known that she was a being of unimaginable strength. Not because she had devastated everything in her path mere moments ago.

  No, what truly terrified him was what had just transpired before his eyes.

  His voice trembled as he muttered under his breath, “What… what magic has this man played on Ice Phoenix?”

  The words felt foreign on his tongue, absurd even. But as he recalled the sheer devastation Ice Phoenix had nearly unleashed upon this entire omniverse, the weight of the reality struck him harder than any battle he had fought.

  He could still see the remnants of her power flickering in the air, the embers of her unhinged destruction.

  Just moments ago, she had been on the verge of unleashing an attack so powerful it could have erased most of this omniverse from existence.

  A guardian… who was supposed to protect this land… was ready to destroy it all.

  And all for him.

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  Zenian took a deep breath, forcing himself to still his thoughts, but a shiver ran through his spine as a realization crept into his mind.

  "COULD THIS MAN… HAVE BEEN DOING ALL OF THIS… EVEN RISKING HIS LIFE… JUST TO HAVE ICE PHOENIX?"

  The thought sent an unexplainable dread into his soul. It was an absurd idea, an impossible notion. But—could he truly deny it?

  His golden eyes flickered toward Ice Phoenix once again.

  There she was, the being who had once refused to show emotion, now cradling this man in her arms with a possessive devotion he had never seen before.

  Zenian recalled their first encounter in the Ice Temple, how Ice Phoenix had blushed and outright rejected the idea of Arfrotian being her consort.

  And yet—look at her now.

  Ice Phoenix, the guardian of Dementia, the sovereign protector of the icy omniverse, was now a woman who did not even care about her duty, her homeland, or her past burdens.

  She only cared about Arfrotian.

  Zenian could only shudder, overwhelmed by the sheer, terrifying influence this man had.

  “This man… Arfrotian…” he whispered to himself.

  “Just what in the name of the gods is he?”

  Ice Phoenix's Vow

  Meanwhile, Ice Phoenix herself was unaware of Zenian’s terrified thoughts.

  Her world, her thoughts, her entire existence now revolved around only one thing—Arfrotian.

  She caressed his forehead gently, brushing his silver-blue strands away from his face. His features, despite being in pain, remained composed—even in unconsciousness, he held an air of unwavering confidence.

  Her voice trembled, yet carried an unshaken resolve.

  “Arfrotian, I'm just glad you are alright.”

  She held him closer, whispering against his skin.

  "I never met someone who would value me this much... to the point of risking their life.”

  A soft smile graced her lips as she continued, her voice gentle but filled with devotion.

  "Thank you for everything you were to me. Now… I'm not going to leave you behind. Even if it were the end of the world for me, I would stay by your side and fulfill the kindness you showed to me.”

  This was no fleeting attachment.

  This was absolute.

  She was his.

  Arfrotian’s Awakening in the Abyss

  But while Ice Phoenix and Zenian remained in the physical world, something else was happening.

  Deep within the unconsciousness of Arfrotian.

  Slowly, his eyes opened. But he was no longer in the frozen temple.

  Instead, he found himself standing amidst an endless icy wasteland.

  A frozen desert, stretching as far as the eye could see.

  Above him, a blood-red sun loomed, yet instead of radiating heat, it bathed the world in an even deeper coldness.

  The very air felt frozen.

  Arfrotian's sharp eyes scanned his surroundings, his mind immediately processing the situation.

  “So… is this my consciousness?” he mused. “I guess so. I can only see an endless icy desert… and that red sun above me, radiating coldness instead of heat.”

  He exhaled, his breath instantly freezing into mist.

  “Am I meant to be awake in my consciousness… or is there something else keeping me here?”

  For a man like Arfrotian, even in unconsciousness, his thoughts were sharp. He never dismissed even the smallest of details.

  "I absorbed two cataclysmic forces. Pandora… and the backlash of the Eternal Frostheart. Is this some kind of dream forged by their clash?"

  Arfrotian narrowed his eyes.

  He needed to test something.

  Raising his hand, he uttered his first command.

  "PERMAFROST."

  Nothing happened.

  A flicker of amusement crossed his face.

  "So, my ice-type abilities don’t work here?"

  Curious, he tried again.

  "AQUAMARINE TIDAL."

  A single droplet of water appeared, rippling into a small pond.

  Arfrotian frowned.

  “A megaversal-level water tide… and all I got was a puddle. Interesting.”

  His mind clicked through possibilities.

  “If ice and water abilities are restricted… then what about…”

  A slow smirk played on his lips.

  He was a man who never hesitated to take risks.

  "Well, if there are no risks, you can’t evolve. And if you can’t evolve, then you might as well be dead."

  He lifted his hand once more.

  His next words would shake this realm.

  “PANDORA.”