Arfrotian and Glacialix were plummeting through the sky, the frigid wind howling around them as they spiraled downward. Glacialix had already given up, her body limp, her spirit shattered. But Arfrotian? He was determined.

  Giving up was never an option for him.

  He stretched his arms, controlling the energy around him to stabilize himself mid-air. He could fly. The only reason he had been clinging onto Glacialix before was because her flight speed was far superior to his. But now? She was no longer soaring through the skies—she was falling.

  And she was falling fast.

  Arfrotian's eyes sharpened as he tucked his body in, shifting his position to increase his speed. He chased after her, pushing his limits, breaking past the wind resistance as he dived toward her like a piercing arrow.

  Closer…

  Closer…

  SNATCH.

  Just before she could hit the frozen wasteland below, Arfrotian caught her in his arms, flipping his body and summoning his icy energy to soften their landing. His feet touched the ground first, sending a ripple through the ice, his sheer power preventing the impact from causing destruction.

  He carefully lowered Glacialix, but she collapsed onto her knees, her body trembling. She pressed her hands against the icy ground, her shoulders shaking as she whispered,

  "My life… had been a joke all along…"

  Arfrotian sighed, running a hand through his hair. He had expected this.

  “How much could she even handle?”

  She had just learned that her entire existence had been orchestrated by others. That she had dedicated herself to a cause built on lies. That everything she had sacrificed for, every moment of suffering she endured—it had all been for nothing.

  Arfrotian tried to imagine himself in her position, but the thought alone made his mind halt.

  No.

  That scenario was impossible. He would never have followed orders blindly. He had always carved his own path, determined his own fate. That was just who he was.

  "Hmmm, it's problematic, even if I were her place, I wouldn't like blindly follow anyone just because the sake of others, like I have my own things to do right, I have my own purpose right?"

  And then, an idea clicked in his mind.

  ‘Purpose.’

  That was it as Arfrotian thought to himself,

  "Hmm, Glacialix is broken because, she lost her purpose to her life, when she knew a gruesome truth, the only thing, that can recover her now, is..... giving her a purpose"

  Arfrotian knelt beside her, watching as silent tears dripped onto the frozen ground beneath her. Her voice was nothing more than a whisper,

  "Those pathetic mortals… ruined my life… I was just a pawn… to be controlled…"

  He felt the raw pain in her words—the sheer frustration, the betrayal, the anger. He didn’t speak immediately. Instead, he reached out, wrapping his arms tightly around her trembling body and pulling her into his chest.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  She didn’t resist.

  She just shook in his embrace.

  Arfrotian sat there with her in silence, holding her tightly.

  He knew there was nothing he could say that would erase what she had just learned. No words could make up for eons of being used. No reassurance could undo the pain.

  So he let her cry.

  Time passed, even if Arfrotian knew a danger was brewing, and he had to go to Rodentia megaverse as fast as possible, Glacialix still mattered here with the first and foremost priority

  Hours slipped away in the stillness of the barren, icy land.

  Finally, Glacialix shifted in his arms. Her voice was hoarse, barely above a whisper.

  "Why are you here?"

  Arfrotian exhaled, stroking her hair gently.

  "Does that matter?" he murmured. "I’m here to comfort my Ice Queen, so nothing else should concern you right?"

  Glacialix let out a hollow chuckle, shaking her head.

  "You never change… always comforting me…" she muttered bitterly. "But I'm pathetic. I couldn't even fulfill my promise to my queen. I couldn’t even protect you when you absorbed two catastrophic forces… all because of a promise to me… and now I find out my entire life was a joke…"

  Her voice cracked. "I wish I didn’t exist."

  Arfrotian’s grip on her tightened.

  "Well, in a way… you're right. You are pathetic, Glacialix."

  She flinched.

  She had expected comfort, not brutal honesty.

  She clenched her fists, ready to accept that truth—but then…

  "But that doesn’t matter."

  Her breath hitched.

  Arfrotian leaned closer, his voice steady, unwavering.

  "Being pathetic is fine as long as you have the fire to do something. Even if you're pathetic, you are still my Ice Queen… right?"

  Glacialix's hollow, distant eyes widened in shock. She stared at him, unable to process what he had just said.

  "It doesn’t concern you anymore," she snapped. "I know you're the ruler, but my purpose was to serve the wielder of the Eternal Frostheart… and now I realize that was nothing more than a way to use me. That doesn’t concern you anymore!"

  Tears rolled down her face again.

  Arfrotian pulled her even closer, his arms locked around her like an unbreakable shield.

  "So what?"

  His words cut through her like a blade.

  "Tell me, Glacialix… when you tried to break through that barrier to reach me, when you desperately tried to help me while I was in pain, when you risked everything to destroy the very thing holding me back… was that because I was the ruler?"

  Glacialix froze.

  "Was I the wielder of the Eternal Frostheart then?"

  She trembled.

  "Was our meeting… not anything to you?"

  Memories flooded her mind. The day she met him. The days that followed. The way her life had changed—not because of duty, but because of him.

  She loved him.

  She had fallen so deeply for him that she was willing to tear apart reality itself just to reach him.

  Her lips parted. "But that…"

  Arfrotian cut her off.

  "It doesn’t matter to me whether you were a pawn or a sacrifice."

  His voice carried genuine conviction.

  "To me, you are my Ice Queen. You tried to do so much for me… and that’s all that matters."

  Something shifted in Glacialix's heart.

  The heavy weight of despair, the unbearable pain… it didn’t vanish. But it lessened.

  Arfrotian leaned in, staring directly into her eyes.

  "You need a purpose, don’t you?"

  She gasped.

  Her eyes widened. "Arfrotian…"

  He held her gaze, his voice unwavering.

  "From now on, you have only one purpose. And that is…

  ME."

  Glacialix’s heart raced.

  "As long as I live, you—my Ice Queen—shall always be by my side. That is your one and only purpose now."

  His grip on her tightened.

  "Not to guard a lifeless spear. Not to dedicate yourself to a mass of people who never cared about you. No. From now on, your purpose is solely ME."

  The words resonated within her.

  Glacialix’s body trembled as she processed everything.

  Arfrotian continued, his voice firm. "That is… if you choose to accept it. I won’t force you. The choice is yours, Ice Phoenix."

  Silence.

  Glacialix lowered her head. Her heart was pounding violently.

  For the first time in eons, something felt right.

  She let out a soft, shaky chuckle.

  And then…

  She raised her head, her icy blue eyes burning with newfound purpose.

  "Okay, my King."

  A smirk played on her lips as she whispered,

  "Your Ice Queen will always be beside you—and you only."