Amid the roaring flames, it felt not the agony of being burned, but the satisfaction of vengeance fulfilled.
Before its consciousness completely faded, it wondered: if it could be reborn, would it meet her again in the cycle of reincarnation?
Not knowing if it could see her again was its only regret now.
Opening its eyes, it was greeted by a frozen, snow-white world. Staring into the void, it questioned whether this was a dream or if it had already arrived in hell. Then, an aged voice echoed, "You're awake!"
The voice startled it fully awake. It instinctively leaped up, only to realize something was terribly wrong—its body was different!
Looking down, it stared in disbelief at the changes before it.
This was…
"This is what you look like after transforming into a human," the aged voice spoke again.
"This is…" It raised its head, gazing at the blurry figure sealed in ice before it. It wanted to scream, to roar, but what came out was a human voice. "I… I can speak?"
Shocked again, it reached to touch its throat. It—no, he—couldn't comprehend why he had become like this!
As if reading his thoughts, the aged voice calmly addressed his questions one by one. "I am the one who transformed you into this form. Since you've become human, it's only natural you can speak."
"Who are you? Why did you turn me into this… this thing?" Clothed in human garments, he was now entirely human—damnable humans, the creatures he despised most.
His furious voice had no effect on the old man sealed in the ice pillar. The aged voice continued, unhurried, "Turning into a human is the most basic spell for becoming the Fox King. If you wish to return to your fox form, it's simple—just think it, and you'll change back."
"What are you talking about? What Fox King?" He was utterly confused, overwhelmed with disbelief. Unable to hold back, he lunged forward, only to be stopped by an invisible force. "What are you?"
No human could wield such control over invisible forces. The old man sealed in the ice pillar, capable of restraining his movements with unseen power, was no ordinary human!
"I am the current Fox King!" the aged voice declared with resounding authority. "The Fox King, as the name suggests, is the ruler who commands all fox clans under heaven! And you—you are the next Fox King!"
"Hah! There's a limit to jokes!" He didn't believe a word of it. With a surge of fury, he threw all his strength into breaking the seemingly fragile心地
System: fragile ice wall, only to be violently repelled by it.
As he crashed against another ice wall, he realized the entire cave was made of ice—walls of pure ice with no exit. Yet, in this frozen cavern, he felt no trace of cold.
"You've only just gained this body, and your power is far inferior to mine, who has lived for thousands of years," the aged voice said, unshaken by his struggles, calm and steady.
"This isn't a dream." The pain in his body confirmed that everything he saw and heard was no illusion. "Why? Why me?"
He wanted nothing. He only wished to die—living was too painful.
"You were destined for this before you were even born, child! You cannot die now. You bear the responsibility of carrying on and glorifying the fox clan!"
"I cannot die?" He sneered at the figure in the ice pillar. "Hmph, whether I live or die isn't up to you. That should be my decision, shouldn't it?"
"Indeed, even with my extraordinary abilities, I cannot guarantee I can save you every time. But… but what if…" The aged voice paused for a moment. "What if this way, you could see that woman again?"
"What did you say?" His heart skipped a beat, and he stared in disbelief at the figure in the ice pillar.
"The Fox King's life is practically eternal, unless you choose death yourself. The woman killed by the hunter was merely a fleeting mortal human, so she will be reborn after some years. As long as you don't die, you might see her again—and even be with her!"
"How… how do you know this?" He cautiously approached the figure in the ice pillar, stopping just short of the point where he'd been repelled before, his eyes filled with suspicion.
"There is nothing in this snowy mountain that I do not know."
"You saved me?" he pressed further.
"Yes."
"How? By freezing me and sealing me in ice? Or…?"
"I didn't need to leave this place—nor could I, trapped in this ice cave. I merely used magic to turn snow into rain, extinguishing the flames on your body. Then I sealed you in ice, cast a spell to bring you here, and… after transforming you into a human, you were revived."
"Then you…!" His eyes turned icy as he glared at the figure in the ice pillar. "Why didn't you save her? Why did you let that arrow pierce her heart?"
"…That human, I couldn't save."
"Why—?!" He roared, his voice a guttural howl, and the once-still ice walls began to tremble under his fury.
"Because her time had come! Because I currently cannot contend with the demons of hell!" The figure in the ice pillar, abandoning his monotonous tone, answered swiftly. "That's why you must become stronger—and quickly. Once you're strong enough, you can alter human lives as you please. At that point, even the gods will fear you!"
"Is that so?" His voice was cold as ice.
"Yes!"
"Then why are you trapped here, unable to leave?"
"…I sealed myself here."
"Why?"
"Because of loneliness! Endless, unbearable loneliness! It drove me, someone who sought death, to hasten my own aging in this place, to let myself die sooner!"
Loneliness—the word blurred his vision.
"Choose," the aged voice returned to its emotionless tone. "Do you wish to abandon this body, die now, turn to dust, and be reborn, forgetting everything from your past life? Or do you want to become the Fox King, the great ruler of the fox clan, wielding immense power, bringing glory to your people, and achieving what you desire?"
In an instant, he made his decision.
"Tell me, how can I become the Fox King?"
"Kill me."
At those words, his eyes narrowed, and a sword of light materialized in his hand. With a single swing, he sliced through the invisible force that had repelled him earlier.
"What?!" The voice from the ice pillar trembled in shock.
Before the echo of his words faded, the man wielding the light sword charged forward. With a powerful swing of his arms, he shattered the thick ice pillar.
The pillar collapsed, and an old man with waist-length white hair, long brows, a flowing beard, and clad in a white robe stumbled, falling onto the ice due to the sudden loss of support. The blade of light, conjured by will, was now pressed tightly against the old man's throat.
"Haha!" The old man didn't rage but laughed instead. "As expected of the Fox King I chose! To break through all my barriers in such a short time—dying by the hand of such a powerful Fox King is my honor!"
His cold gaze remained unchanged as he asked icily, "Tell me how to find her."
The smile on the old man's face faded, replaced by regret and sorrow. "You've given your heart to another. That may be your only weakness. But it's precisely because you have something to hold onto that you won't be defeated by loneliness and despair as I was, living in unbearable pain!"
"Enough nonsense! I just want to know how to find her." The light sword in his hand pierced the skin of the old man's throat, drawing a trickle of bright red blood.
The old man shook his head. "I don't know. Seek out Satan in hell. It controls the causality of human death. As for the art of reincarnation, I'm powerless." He must know something about that human's situation, but his temperament is fickle. If he doesn't want to tell you, you'll never get a single word out of him. Whether you can get answers from him depends on luck.
Looking down at the godlike old man, he slowly raised the light sword. "One last thing—tell me, what is your final wish? I can fulfill it for you."
"For ten thousand years, I've lived far too long. If it weren't for that human's fate igniting your desire for vengeance, giving rise to the immense power that allowed me to catalyze you, I might have had to wait another hundred years to fulfill this wish. My wish is death. My final request is to die by your sword!"
The old man closed his eyes. "Great Fox King, kill me with your sword!"