Glacialix’s soul malfunctioned at the sincerity of the words she just couldn't believe or even recover from. Her heart was pounding at the speed of light. On one hand, her mind was thinking and screaming—

  “MASTER SAID I WAS IMPORTANT TO HIM—AHHHHHHH!!”

  On the other hand, her mind was protesting with frustration—

  “MASTER IS SO NOT FAIR!! WHY DOES HE HAVE TO BE SO SENSIBLE!? WHY WASN’T HE DUMB IN EMOTIONS AT LEAST!?”

  She just couldn’t believe it. Her mind and heart were racing so fast that even her phoenix body, high above the skies of Rodentia, was warming up at an alarming pace. Her divine icy flames, normally cool and composed, flickered erratically, betraying her chaotic emotions. And that caress. That one, simple yet overwhelming touch that her Master had given her while expressing his gratitude…

  She just couldn't handle all of it at once.

  She desperately wanted to cover her face, to hide her absolute mess of emotions, but then she remembered—she was still in her phoenix form. If she tried to fold her wings over her face in embarrassment, both she and Arfrotian would actually fall from the sky.

  And then… that damn smirk.

  Arfrotian smirked ever so slightly.

  Glacialix’s already spiraling mind nearly exploded.

  “MASTER!!! DO YOU THINK ALL OF THIS IS A PLAYTHING!?” she mentally screamed, her phoenix heart nearly combusting from a mix of indignation, embarrassment, and something she did not want to acknowledge.

  Arfrotian, ever the sensible and composed strategist, immediately sensed what she was thinking. His deep, intelligent eyes flickered with amusement as he spoke in that calm, confident, and devastatingly smooth voice of his—

  “Yeah, I know I smirked. But how could I help it, my dear Ice Queen? Even if my previous emotions were genuine, the way you react… I just can’t help but feel that you are too adorable.”

  And with that final attack, Glacialix crashed completely.

  She was gone.

  Absolutely, completely, irreversibly gone.

  Her mind screamed and shut down at the same time.

  “HE SAID I WAS… TOO ADORABLE!?”

  She was unable to process it. She secretly liked it, but she couldn’t handle all of it.

  First, her Master’s heartfelt confession.

  Then, he said she was adorable.

  What the hell was he doing to her!?

  Meanwhile, Arfrotian simply sat on her back, still enjoying himself, knowing full well the effect his words had on his Ice Queen.

  But then, his expression shifted.

  His smirk faded as his sharp eyes fell upon the icy battlefield below.

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  Amidst the angels and shadow elves, something—no, someone—caught his attention.

  Azuraelis.

  His eyes narrowed. “Azuraelis… Why is she here?”

  The moment he saw her, his mind began working at lightning speed. Analyzing. Calculating. Considering every possibility.

  And the one possibility that seemed to fit the most was—

  “It couldn’t be… she came for me?”

  Arfrotian’s normally unshakable composure wavered slightly.

  He understood.

  To be exact, Arfrotian came from the Omniverse of Order. His true homeland.

  Within that Omniverse was the Megaverse of Primavius Azureonic—the Realm of Water.

  And within that Megaverse was its divine consciousness, its goddess—Azuraelis.

  The one who had once acknowledged him as the rightful ruler of that Megaverse.

  The one whose offer… he had declined.

  Arfrotian had refused to become the king of that Megaverse because he knew—without mastering Pandora, he was a danger to his own people.

  So he had left.

  He had come to this Icy Omniverse to practice his control over Pandora.

  But now, as he stared down at Azuraelis…

  “Could it be… Azuraelis came here looking for me?”

  A flicker of conflict crossed his normally calculated gaze.

  “But… I still haven’t fully mastered Pandora.”

  His hand moved to the center of his forehead. His fingers lightly touched the icy crown’s mark that now rested there—the symbol of his absolute rule over the Icy Omniverse.

  And then it hit him.

  He was no longer just a wandering strategist.

  He was no longer simply a nomadic ruler without a throne.

  He had already become the Sovereign of the Icy Omniverse.

  An Omniversal Ruler.

  Arfrotian’s gaze darkened slightly as he thought to himself—

  “Here I haven’t even become a proper Megaversal ruler… but I’ve already been promoted to the status of an Omniversal being. An Omniversal Ruler, nonetheless.”

  The irony wasn’t lost on him.

  Azuraelis had offered him a Megaversal throne.

  He had denied it.

  And now?

  He had unknowingly been given something even greater.

  A small chuckle escaped him. “Quite hilarious indeed.”

  But deep down…

  Was this a betrayal of Azuraelis’s goodwill?

  He knew.

  If he told Azuraelis that he had become the ruler of an entire Omniverse, she would be happy.

  But… he thought,

  "Even if I disclosed that I became the ruler of this Omniverse to Azuraelis, she will be extremely happy nonetheless for me,

  For someone who normally remains kind of aloof if not necessary, she will be happy but....... still it will hurt her quite a lot,

  I denied her and accepted someone's else's request to rule an omniverse I'm even not much acquainted enough even, truly........"

  Arfrotian sighed. “Not that I had accepted it myself… Eterna accepted me.”

  He had not chosen this throne.

  Eterna had chosen him.

  But that didn’t change the outcome.

  “….though not I can blame Eterna, faults on me......"

  As he had made deep connections with most powerful beings within this Omniverse, and that he couldn’t help it, it just went, he did what he thought was right, even then……

  Arfrotian knew—one day, he would have to return.

  Return to his homeland.

  Return to the Omniverse of Order.

  Return to Primavius Azureonic.

  But…

  He could not abandon this Icy Omniverse either.

  Arfrotian remembered his moments with Eterna, and then he was riding on Glacialix, his moments with her and then even with Luvania, their misunderstanding but quite the friendship with her, as Arfrotian contemplated even more so…..

  He had been marked as its ruler.

  And once a ruler was designated, they could not be changed

  Not unless the previous ruler… died, and Arfrotian even knew the consequences that there's no guarantee that this Omniverse, will be stable after it loses its ruler it was a hard choice....

  A wry smirk crossed his lips. “I suppose I’ll just have to carry both burdens, in the future then…..”

  His gaze sharpened as he looked down at the battlefield below.

  Zenian’s faction was… celebrating?

  Something wasn’t right.

  Arfrotian turned to Glacialix, ready to ask her about the situation—

  But she was still lost in her own delusions.

  He sighed.

  And then, with a deadly smooth voice—

  “MY ICE QUEEN…”

  He caressed her feathery back, where he sat.

  Glacialix’s entire body froze.

  “.....YOUR KING NEEDS YOU.”

  The shockwave of his words hit her soul like a divine calamity.

  And in that instant…

  Glacialix snapped back to reality.