The moment hung in the air, an eerie mixture of lighthearted mischief and underlying depth, as Arfrotian turned Eterna’s logic against her with a smirk. She had tried to corner him, to pry out his secrets, but he had effortlessly flipped the situation on its head—his reasoning so smooth, so flawless, that even she had to acknowledge his genius.

  Eterna let out a soft chuckle, shaking her head in amazement. “So, at the least, can you tell me what this Red Ice even is? That could actually counter a backlash from the Eternal Frostheart?”

  Arfrotian leaned back slightly, tapping his fingers rhythmically against the chair’s armrest, considering his response. Then, as if struck by a sudden thought, he smirked. “At first, you don’t mind me asking this question, okay, Honey?” His voice carried a playful edge, his piercing gaze locked onto Eterna’s.

  Seeing his playful yet observant demeanor, Eterna mirrored his tone. “Yes, Darling, ask away. After all—” She paused and narrowed her glowing liquid-blue eyes at him, her lips curling into a mischievous smile. “I’m not like someone who hides secrets from their partner, am I now?”

  That one hit Arfrotian. A direct strike. He chuckled under his breath, shaking his head slightly, both impressed and amused at how sharp she was. But it didn’t faze him. If anything, he enjoyed the challenge.

  He exhaled softly, eyes gleaming with intrigue as he leaned in. “When you said the backlash, you said it came from the Eternal Frostheart.” He paused, tilting his head slightly. “Rather, you could’ve just said it came from you, knowing that you’re not only the divine consciousness of this omniverse but also the spirit of the Eternal Frostheart itself.”

  The words sent a subtle shift through Eterna’s expression. He saw it—the faintest hesitation. She had expected him to be smart, but this? This level of sharpness, of perceptiveness, of complete dissection of words and meanings—this was something else.

  A shadow of sadness flickered across her expression, her voice slightly softer now. “It’s true that I am… but not completely.”

  Before she could continue, Arfrotian smirked again and finished for her, his tone laced with confidence.

  “You’re not the real consciousness, but a fragment conjured up within the Eternal Frostheart. That’s it, isn’t it?”

  That stopped her. Completely.

  Eterna’s breath hitched for a fraction of a second, her glowing eyes widening in stunned disbelief. She stared at him, at a loss for words.

  “How… How did you know…?”

  Arfrotian exhaled through his nose, his smirk deepening. “Hmm. I wouldn’t say I knew exactly… but let’s call it a hypothetical assumption.” He waved his hand in the air casually. “Based on how you reacted, the way you spoke, and everything else leading up to this moment, it wasn’t hard to piece together.”

  He leaned forward, eyes sharp and knowing. “And next, you were probably about to say that your real body is locked or imprisoned somewhere within this icy omniverse, while only a fragment of your consciousness is attached to the Eternal Frostheart.”

  Eterna could not believe it.

  She hadn’t even finished explaining, and he had already figured out everything.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  A small shudder ran through her. This man… was terrifying.

  “…Are you a mind reader or what?” she whispered, half-joking, half-incredulous.

  Arfrotian smiled—no, it was more than that. It was the smile of someone who knew exactly how much he was affecting her.

  “Mind reader, you say?” He leaned in slightly, lowering his voice to a teasing whisper. “Hmm, not really. I don’t need to be when I can see through you just fine with my own two eyes…”

  He paused.

  “…BARE, right, Honey?”

  That word—BARE.

  It hit Eterna in a way she never expected.

  The moment she processed it, her entire face exploded into a deep, intense blush. A shade of red so vibrant, it could put the most radiant sunset to shame.

  She instinctively brought her hands up, trying to cover her face, but there was no hiding from him. Not from him.

  And he wasn’t going to let this moment slip away.

  “Oh, Honey,” Arfrotian continued, his smirk widening. “Did something happen? You are my wife, aren’t you? Words like these shouldn’t shake you so easily.” He leaned in just a little more. “Just imagine what would happen if we were to… make a baby.”

  That. Was. It.

  Eterna’s entire soul left her body.

  Her mind went blank. Completely blank. She had never—never—even thought about something like that before, and this man just casually dropped it in conversation like it was nothing?!

  Her blush deepened to an unfathomable level, so much so that she could no longer show her face. She turned away, desperately trying to regain her composure, but it was useless.

  And Arfrotian?

  He was savoring every. Single. Moment.

  Laughing, he teased further. “Huh? Honey, are you alright? You didn’t just get pregnant from hearing that, did you now?”

  Eterna lost it.

  “DARLING! IT’S NOT FAIR!! YOU CAN’T TAKE ADVANTAGE OF MY—”

  She stopped herself, realizing she was about to expose her own feelings, and Arfrotian immediately pounced on that.

  “‘…MY’ what, Honey?” he grinned. “If you don’t come out and say it, I might just as well try to enjoy you.”

  Eterna froze.

  That phrase—“Enjoy you”—

  That was too much.

  Her entire body felt weak from embarrassment, and she just wanted to disappear.

  Meanwhile, Arfrotian laughed heartily at her reaction. But just as the air between them was growing overwhelmingly flustered, he finally said—

  “Alright. Enough with the jokes.”

  The moment his tone shifted, Eterna’s embarrassment faded slightly, but her face was still flushed red. She absentmindedly twiddled her fingers, muttering under her breath, “You’re so rough…”

  But then, Arfrotian spoke in a more serious tone.

  “So that explains it all.”

  Eterna blinked, momentarily confused. “Explains what?”

  Arfrotian exhaled, his expression calm yet knowing.

  “You are the divine consciousness of this omniverse, right? Then all the countless lives within it are your duty right? Then even if someone failed to wield the Eternal Frostheart, or wasn’t suitable, a backlash—no matter how devastating—shouldn’t have been powerful enough to destroy an entire omniverse when it was actually joined with or contained by the divine consciousness of the omniverse itself, that means YOU, so in a way…...”

  Arfrotian paused a little before he said,

  “…. In a way I understand, you have been helpless to protect your own people….. so the backlash even if you were kind of the spirit contained within the Eternal Frostheart were and shouldn’t be considered responsible for that…..”

  Eterna’s previous embarrassment vanished.

  Instead, grief and regret took its place.

  Tears welled up in her eyes, rolling down her cheeks as she whispered, “…Thank you… for understanding… I…”

  She didn’t even get to finish.

  Because before she could say another word—

  Arfrotian stood up.

  He walked over to her.

  And then, without hesitation—

  He embraced her.

  Eterna stiffened at first, her mind momentarily shutting down from the unexpected warmth.

  Then, Arfrotian spoke.

  “Your husband’s here,” he said gently. “Cry out everything you’ve been suffering through. I will be here for you.”

  And that was it.

  That was all it took for Eterna to break.

  The dam she had been holding back shattered, and she clung onto him, weeping into his chest, her arms wrapping tightly around him.

  In this moment, for the first time in an eternity—

  She wasn’t alone.