As Glacialix's mind was short-circuiting from the absurd words her shameless master was muttering in his sleep, her body trembled with embarrassment. The way Arfrotian twisted and turned so comfortably on her back—as if she were a luxurious, high-class ice bed instead of a divine Ice Phoenix—only added to her frustration.

  She was doing all the hard work, flying tirelessly over Rodentia’s vast, icy wastelands, while Arfrotian was sleeping soundly deep within her feathers, enjoying the warmth of her being. How was this fair!?

  She clenched her beak shut, her glowing icy blue eyes twitching as she tried to keep her emotions in check. But no—she couldn't hold it in any longer.

  "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

  A deep, ear-splitting screech erupted from Glacialix, echoing across the entire megaverse of Rodentia. The sheer power of her cry shook the icy wastelands, causing glaciers to crack, frozen storms to swirl, and even the air itself to tremble under the force of her voice.

  Even the angels and shadow elves who had paused mid-battle—watching as Zenian’s faction of angels were busy celebrating their so-called "victory"—felt the impact.

  At first, there was silence. Then, murmurs spread among Zenian’s faction of angels.

  "LOOK! OUR LORD'S BACK!" one of the angels shouted.

  Another of Zenian’s faction pointed upward at the sky where Glacialix’s radiant form blazed against the blizzard-filled heavens. "Yeah! Look! He’s returning on the legendary Ice Phoenix!"

  A third angel, filled with triumphant confidence, declared, "Now that our master has conquered the Eternal Frostheart and returned with the Ice Phoenix under his command, our rule over the Icy Omniverse is undisputed! The battle is over! We have won!"

  The opposing forces—the shadow elves and the angels of Asura’s faction—were not faring well in the face of this supposed “victory.”

  Luvania, Queen of the Shadow Elves, clenched her fists, her glowing icy blue eyes narrowing. "No… this can’t be happening."

  Her forces—already battered from the battle—were now falling into complete disarray.

  One shadow elf muttered in panic, "Did Zenian really trick us? Did he make us fight his faction while he went to conquer the Eternal Frostheart!?"

  Another shadow elf, trembling, whispered, "We're doomed… If he controls the Eternal Frostheart AND the Ice Phoenix, then we’re finished! We either face extinction… or…"

  A third shadow elf, even more terrified, couldn't finish his sentence. The reality was too grim to comprehend.

  Luvania, despite her usually calculating nature, found herself trembling. She tried to calm herself, but the thoughts running through her mind made her breath hitch. "Will we really go extinct? Or… will we become Zenian’s slaves?"

  She clenched her teeth at the thought. She refused to accept such a fate.

  But how?

  How could she fight against a ruler wielding the Eternal Frostheart? Against the guardian of the entire Icy Omniverse itself?

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

  At that moment, Azuraelis—the Goddess of Infinite Tides, who had been fighting alongside Luvania’s faction—stepped forward and placed a reassuring hand on Luvania’s trembling shoulder.

  "Didn’t I tell you not to worry?" Azuraelis said, her voice calm yet firm. "Even if Zenian truly became the new ruler, we still have Arfrotian."

  Luvania’s mind flashed to that one person.

  Yes… Arfrotian.

  The man whom she had accidentally chanced upon when his people had captured him as a captive thinking initially that he was an enemy spy but later having conversation with him and sensing his power, she knew he was the trump card they all really needed now but……..

  But even then, Luvania couldn't suppress her doubts. "Even so, what could he do?" she murmured, her voice filled with uncertainty.

  She turned to Azuraelis, frustration laced in her voice. "This is the Ice Phoenix we’re talking about! She’s the guardian of the entire Omniverse! Meaning she’s an omniversal-level entity! And now, even Zenian has reached that level with the Eternal Frostheart! How could we hope to fight that?! Even if Arfrotian is powerful… how much can he really handle?"

  Azuraelis faltered. Even she couldn't say for sure whether Arfrotian could turn the tides of this battle.

  Luvania gritted her teeth. "But first of all… where is Arfrotian? He was supposed to go to Dementia after I told him about the Ice Phoenix… Could it be…"

  A horrifying thought crossed her mind.

  "No… I refuse to believe it… But… could something have happened to him?"

  She bit her lip, not wanting to imagine the possibility.

  Azuraelis, sensing her worry, whispered a prayer. "Arfrotian… wherever you are… please come quickly. If you don’t, the shadow elves will either be wiped out or become slaves to Zenian’s forces. You are our last hope."

  Meanwhile…

  The loud screech from Glacialix finally woke up the one person everyone was worried about.

  Arfrotian yawned, stretching his arms as he lazily sat up on Glacialix’s back. He rubbed his eyes, still groggy.

  "Huh? Glacialix… have we reached Rodentia?" he mumbled sleepily.

  Glacialix, however, was still in a state of absolute fluster from everything that had just happened.

  If she were in her human form, she would have been pouting and glaring at him like a child who had been wronged.

  Instead, in her phoenix form, she simply avoided his gaze entirely, flapping her wings with slightly more force than necessary.

  Arfrotian, being as sharp as ever, quickly picked up on her frustration. He sighed, realizing what was wrong.

  He leaned forward, his voice filled with genuine remorse. "Yeah… it was actually mean of me, wasn’t it?"

  Glacialix flinched slightly but didn’t respond.

  Arfrotian continued, "You’ve never really had the experience of giving someone a ride before… and I just went ahead and not only rode on your back in your phoenix form, but even in your human form too. And then, to top it all off… I literally fell asleep on you."

  He sighed. "That wasn’t very sensible of me… I’m sorry, Glacialix. If you don’t ever want me to ride on your back again, I understand. And please… if there’s any way I can make it up to you, just tell me, and I’ll—"

  Before he could even finish, Glacialix cut him off.

  "MASTER, STOP! STOP BEING SO EMPATHETIC ALL OF A SUDDEN!"

  Arfrotian blinked.

  Glacialix, still flustered beyond belief, snapped at him.

  "I LIKE YOU AS YOU ARE! AND I DON’T MIND YOU RIDING ON MY BACK! OR EVEN SLEEPING ON IT! BE IT IN MY PHOENIX FORM OR MY HUMAN FORM!"

  There was a moment of silence.

  Then, Arfrotian smirked.

  "Huh? Glacialix… you don’t mind me riding on your human form too?" he teased. "Does that mean… you actually like it?"

  Glacialix froze.

  Her entire mind short-circuited as she realized what she had just blurted out in the heat of the moment.

  "OH—NO—NOTHING, MASTER! YOU JUST MISHEARD! I DIDN’T—"

  But Arfrotian’s smirk only deepened. "It’s okay, my Ice Queen… I understand."

  He gently caressed her feathers, his voice soft yet firm as he spoke:

  "I just wanted you to know one thing. And I truly mean this, Glacialix…

  You are one of the most important things I have ever had."

  Glacialix's entire world collapsed in that moment.

  She couldn't handle it.

  Her heart raced, her face burned, and her mind shut down.

  As Arfrotian whispered, "I am truly grateful to have you in my life…"

  Her soul malfunctioned.

  "MASTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"