"I need to tell you something," Zei whispered.
"..What is it?" I asked.
"Rayne," she said quietly, her gaze wavering, "Do you ever feel like your power…is strange? Like it's consuming yourself from within?"
I frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Whenever I unleash my attribute," She murmured, eyes lowering to her hands, "It feels like it's devouring me from inside."
"Zei' I placed my hand gently over hers. "We'll figure it out, don't worry."
She smiled faintly, "I know, I'm just afraid…that if something happens to me"
"Nothing will happen," I interrupted, "I won't let anything happen to you."
Her fingers tightened around mine. "I know," she whispered.
The rest of the evening went by peacefully. We shared a dessert and a light conversation, yet her words still kept echoing in my head.
When we finally stepped out of the restaurant, the night air felt cool, accompanied by the voices of the crowd. That's when I saw him again.
A figure stood amidst the crowd— tall, motionless, his face veiled with a crimson mask staring at me from a distance. My breath hitched. He was exactly like the one I'd seen before.
"Is something wrong?" Zei asked softly, following my gaze.
I didn't reply, my gaze locked onto the masked figure as he lifted his hand, pointing towards a strange locket hanging around his neck, which started gleaming in a dim golden light, which seemed to attract me towards it, an invisible force tugging at my chest.
However, a second later the figure vanished from the crowd as if he was never there.
"Rayne!!?" Zei's voice snapped me back.
"What's wrong?" I frowned,
"You're bleeding, she said.
It was then I realised, blood was dripping from my eyes. Something felt very wrong.
A wave of unease washed over me. "... We have to leave," I urged, grabbing her hand as we left the crowd hastily and headed towards Asher's house. The murmurs of people fade behind us.
Zei seemed anxious and worried, but she followed without questioning.
Once we left the town behind, I asked her, "Did you see him too?
"What are you talking about?" She asked, seemingly having no clue as to what I was talking about.
"... Didn't you see him? The person veiled behind the crimson mask?"
"I didn't see anyone," She replied, confusion etched onto her face. "I only saw you staring somewhere in the crowd, and then all of a sudden you started bleeding."
"....I see," I muttered.
"Are you okay?" she asked with concern.
"Yeah, sorry for worrying you," I replied, though I wasn't sure I believed my own words.
Although she seemed unconvinced, she didn't press further. We walked the rest of the way in silence.
When we reached home, she turned towards me. "Take care, and get some rest," She said as I headed for my room.
"You too," I replied.
I lay on my bed, as the winds from the slightly opened window drifted me into the world of dreams.
"You look disoriented. Is something wrong?" Azier's voice echoed through the vast expanse of the white garden.
"...Yeah," I admitted, "There has been a lot on my mind, especially today." I stared at him
"But I have something more important than that to ask you for"
"What is it?", I explained what happened earlier this morning to him, as he listened patiently.
"Why can't I unleash my attributes?" I asked, "Is it because I haven't awakened my Aetherian blood yet?"
He folded his arms thoughtfully. "Hmm, well, it's not like the fault lies completely in you,"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, one of the reasons for the hindrance could be due to your Aetherian blood," Azier said, "but I think there is a more likely reason for this strange occurrence."
"And that is?"
He brought his hand forward, runes flared to life on his body "The first time you unleashed your power was by using my soul as a medium. Since you still haven't truly embraced the power of eternal snow, you can't unleash it." He explained.
"Your attribute might still be sealed within the eternal snow, unless you break that seal, you won't be able to call upon its power." Azier theorised.
"So then what should I do?" I asked, stepping closer, "How do I break this seal?"
His gaze settled onto me for a couple of moments before he sighed. "Come with me," Azier said as we started walking towards the Eternal Snow.
" You'll have to enter the heart of the Eternal Snow to harmonize with its essence. Only then will your attribute truly awaken. I will help you make a connection, but the rest is upon you."
"I…see," I replied quietly.
"Don't worry, it won't be dangerous, at least for the most part."
"For the most part?" I asked, concerned.
He didn't reply, placing his hand over my heart, he unleashed my attribute, silver runes came alive on my skin, a surge of energy enveloped my body.
"You just have to offer it your blood to form a connection with it," He muttered. "Call out to the one who guards it, the emperor of the Ragnarok, the keeper of the Archivum."
"The emperor of Ragnarok? Keeper of Archivum? Who are they?"
Azier's gaze shifted towards the runes etched on the tree, his expression unreadable " A being older than this world itself, Archivum is said to hold all the knowledge in the universe from the most complex spells to the secrets which are better left beyond human comprehension, he is its eternal warden."
""Then why would it answer me?" I asked.
"Because it already has" He murmured, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
"Place your hand over the rune etched on the trunk,"
As my fingers touched the rune carved on the icy surface, the world around me shifted violently, and in a blink, I was surrounded by only darkness.
"Azier?" I called out, but no response came from the other side.
Then a single snowflake landed in my hand, gleaming faintly. Then another. And another.
In the distance, something massive started to manifest itself into reality.
An enormous and divine tree emerged in the distance, its branches stretched beyond sight, its roots spreading like veins across the frozen ground, its leaves glowing in crystal like luminescence. It was so vast that I seemed like a speck of dust in front of it.
At its center was a colossal, magnificent crystal carved with countless runes that pulsed softly, its radiance almost blinding.
It felt like it was alive, ancient. As if it was calling out to me.
"So this…is the Eternal Snow," I whispered in awe. What I had in my domain was merely a sapling in front of its true form in all its glory.
Each step I took forward more snowflakes emerged, illuminating the path forward. After walking for quite a while, I managed to reach the bottom of the divine tree. I took a deep breath.
"Alright… let's do this"
I slit my wrist, letting the blood stream down.
"I don't know why you chose me, or what you want from me," I murmured, my voice trembling in the silence "I am but merely a cowardly human who is afraid of being powerless to protect people I cherish".
The words caught in my throat. "So please.....grant me your strength," I whispered.
"I offer this blood to the Emperor of frost, the keeper of the Archivum." With my bloodstained hand, I evoked the ancient name, my voice echoing through the frozen air, "Heed my sacrifice and bestow upon me a fragment of your power."
As the words left my mouth, the silver runes flared to life once again, and a searing pain surged through my body. Several white particles surrounded me, each one being absorbed by the runes carved onto my skin.
The pain searing through my body was agonizing, but I persisted for as long as I could. Every nerve screamed, every breath felt like shards of ice filling my lungs. My trembling hand reached out towards the crystal embedded in the heart of the tree. Perhaps someday I will be able to reach there, and see what lies within.
Then something stirred within me, blue runes flared to life on my wrists, glowing softly, pulsing in a rhythm. My eyes widened as a surge of energy coursed through me, the light wrapping around me like a veil. I lifted my gaze towards the heart of the Eternal Snow, and for a single heartbeat, I saw.
Beyond the crystal's light, within the heart of the Eternal Snow, a figure stood, a being a blinding radiance. I couldn't comprehend its form, only its presence, vast, eternal, and unbearably cold. The weight of its gaze made me tremble, as if the gods themselves had turned its eyes upon me.
Then the vision shattered, as agony swallowed me whole. The last thing I felt was the faint hum of the crystal, as if it had seen me too.