The moment the realization struck the angels of Zenian’s faction, a chilling dread settled upon them. Their minds refused to comprehend the horrifying possibility that their revered lord, Zenian, had been reduced to nothing more than a frozen statue. Yet, Glacialix was not done. The Ice Phoenix had barely begun weaving the masterful deception her true master had meticulously planned.

  With a dramatic pause, she narrowed her piercing icy-blue eyes and flared her wings slightly, sending ripples of cold wind sweeping across the battlefield. Her glacial flames flickered ominously at the edges of her pristine white feathers, accentuating the tension in the air. Then, she spoke once more:

  “And about your previous question… yes, there is a ruler of this Omniverse now. But you see……”

  She deliberately allowed the words to hang in the air, letting anticipation build in the already shaken ranks of Zenian’s faction. The angels eagerly leaned forward, desperate for confirmation of their belief—that Zenian had indeed ascended as ruler.

  Then, with a smirk that carried an icy amusement, Glacialix tilted her majestic head and added:

  “…Well, isn’t he in frozen now?”

  The silence that followed was deafening. It was as if the entire icy Omniverse itself had held its breath. The angels of Zenian’s faction blinked in confusion. Their minds scrambled to piece together the words she had uttered, but instead, all they could truly grasp was the stark contradiction—their ruler was frozen? How could that be?

  Their thoughts spiraled into chaos.

  “What? What does she mean? Zenian is frozen?”

  “That can’t be right! The Eternal Frostheart was meant to make him invincible!”

  “Wait… She did say there is a ruler, right? So does that mean Zenian became the ruler, but the Eternal Frostheart betrayed him?”

  Glacialix kept her majestic composure, her icy flames flickering ever so elegantly as she observed the conflicting emotions playing across their faces. Oh, how amusing it was to watch them struggle, and deep inside, she couldn’t help but recall exactly what her master, Arfrotian, had whispered to her just moments ago.

  In the moments before their arrival, as Glacialix soared through the skies, Arfrotian had leaned close, whispering into her ear with a smirk:

  "Look, Glacialix, there may be infiltrators among Zenian’s faction. There could be spies—agents from the Outside Omniversal Ruler hiding within their ranks. Since Zenian is using their help, that means we can’t risk exposing the full truth just yet. So instead of giving them a direct truth or an outright lie… we will feed them twisted truths."

  Glacialix, puzzled, tilted her head slightly. “Twisted truths, Master?”

  Arfrotian smirked.

  “When you go down Glacialix, say those, Zenian's faction angels will surely be asking who the ruler is, if you say that Zenian is frozen right?

  It will arouse suspicions, so who could be another ruler and this will risk my identity which I don't want to reveal yet to the outside Omniversal ruler and not to his people who might be infiltrated within Zenian's angels rankings, so, you will add that,

  'Well there is a ruler, but you see.......' give a pause and then say, '.....well but isn't he frozen......' say this. So instead, you’ll give them a fragmented truth."

  Glacialix still didn’t fully understand.

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  “Master, but well Zenian's frozen but he isn't the ruler its you so isn't this a lie?”

  Arfrotian chuckled.

  “Not quite. Think about it, my dear Ice Queen—I am the true ruler of this Icy Omniverse, correct? And where am I right now?”

  Glacialix blinked. “…Behind my feathers, and to be exact, actually sitting on my feathery back I guess…?”

  Arfrotian grinned.

  “Exactly. Behind your icy feathers, where the temperature is freezing, in a way since, you are Ice Phoenix right?

  Meaning I am, in a way, in frozen place.

  So when you say ‘there is a ruler, but isn’t he in frozen?’ you aren’t technically lying. You’re just making them assume what they want to believe.”

  Glacialix thought for somewhile and said,

  "Well Master, perhaps you could say in a way, my icy feathers do give off a chilling cold sensation so in a way you are in frozen?"

  and Arfrotian smirked saying,

  "That's what you said, the things I said for you to tell was half of truths of both statements,

  'There is a ruler' and that 'He is frozen', its true I am the ruler, but I'm behind your icy back meaning I'm frozen, but it could even imply to those foolish Zenian's angels that their Lord Zenian is frozen and the ruler as well, see..... the pause that's necessary......"

  Glacialix mused to that, but her mind was still not satisfied, as she enquired.

  “But Master, why go to such lengths and complicate things? Wouldn’t it be easier to just lie outright?”

  Arfrotian’s gaze turned sharp, as if he had anticipated this very question.

  "Look my dear Ice Queen, lies, are lies, even if you say them, they don't make much sense, means these are lies only what's the big deal in saying that, but you are forgetting something, its about the inevitability,

  Sometimes lies are easily caught because they are not facts that can be easily said, you have to make up your mind and then say it, there's no conviction in your eyes, they feel nervous stressed, sometimes even your heart rate increases from just trying to tell such a sensible lie about the ruler right?

  Means, see, my Ice Queen, tell me honestly would you ever even if it was a false accusation, would you ever acknowledge Zenian as a ruler?"

  Glacialix thought deep and said with her open heart,

  "Nope Master! Never."

  Arfrotian smirked saying,

  “See, its not always about logics, sometimes its just about consent, and being content, whenever you tell a lie, it may be something you don’t even care about, but whenever try to remember it always haunts you,

  You get nervous and more over you just sometimes slip out of truth which could expose the lie quickly, or sometimes eve a slight of uneasiness could expose suspicion and this is why, it’s better to tell a half baked truth rather than an outright lie.

  A well-crafted half-truth is far more dangerous than a full lie—because it leaves room for doubt. And in war, doubt is a weapon just as powerful as a blade.”

  Hearing this Glacialix just couldn’t help but feel like her Master was some damn almighty, how the hell was he so just precise in deducing the hesitations, nervousness and your choices of a being, its like her Master, could foresee the deconstruct the sub consciousness, the fears and logic of beings. His mind was a labyrinth of calculated chaos, always ten steps ahead, it was TRULY TERRIFYING, as Glacialix said,

  “Master, I just think, you could never get any more dangerous, when I just have to tell you are TERRFYING THROUGH AND THROUGH…..”

  Arfrotian said nonchalantly,

  “Nah, Glacialix, it was just me putting 1 + 1 = 2 not much, I wouldn’t even say that it was terrifying, this was just a miniscule problem.”

  And Inside, Glacialix was screaming.

  "BASIC STRATEGY!? YOU JUST RESTRUCTURED THE VERY CONCEPT OF DECEPTION ITSELF, AND YOU CALL THIS BASIC!?"

  Returning to the present, Glacialix snapped out of her thoughts as she watched the angels of Zenian’s faction struggle to process her words. Their faces twisted in confusion, fear, and disbelief. Some looked at each other, silently questioning if they had misunderstood something.

  And then, she delivered the final blow.

  "See, I have not received any orders to assist you. And quite frankly… I don’t care. My allegiance lies solely with my Master. Unless he commands it, I will not move on behalf of anyone else. That should clear things up, yes?"

  The smirk on Glacialix’s beak was subtle, but the impact of her words was catastrophic.

  Zenian’s faction still believed she was talking about Zenian. To them, her words reinforced their assumption that Zenian was still their lord, despite being temporarily frozen.

  Meanwhile, deep within her feathery embrace, Arfrotian smirked.

  His plan had worked flawlessly.

  By weaponizing Zenian’s faction’s own assumptions, he had successfully manipulated them into believing a false truth—without ever telling a single direct lie.