The icy winds howled faintly around the grand Ice Temple, its towering structure gleaming ominously under the dim light of the frozen megaverse. Zenian, along with his scholarly angels, stood stunned. His shadow veil disguise had failed, and before him stood the Ice Phoenix, radiating her legendary, terrifying presence. Beside her was a man whose calm demeanor and enigmatic smile sent shivers down Zenian's spine.
It didn't take long for Zenian to piece things together. This man must have been the one responsible for setting up the trap. The smile he wore was not one of amusement, but one that conveyed complete control—a silent proclamation of superiority. A monster, Zenian thought bitterly.
But before he could dwell on this any longer, the Ice Phoenix's voice rang out, laced with fury.
"Zenian! You dare show your shameless face here again?" she thundered. Her icy blue eyes glowed with raw power, and her entire form seemed to pulse with righteous rage. "Have you not learned your lesson from eons ago? Betraying my trust, wielding the Eternal Frostheart without consent, and causing devastation! Because of you, the lively megaverses of Dementia and Rodentia were reduced to icy, barren wastelands!"
Her voice was like the rumble of a gathering storm, and Zenian winced, but not out of guilt or remorse. Instead, as she scolded him, he found himself admiring how utterly captivating she looked. In her human form, her fury only made her more alluring. Her long, icy hair flowed like frozen silk, and her sharp features, accentuated by her rage, made her beauty almost surreal.
But Zenian's admiration was anything but pure. In his heart, the desire for the Eternal Frostheart was equal to the desire to make the Ice Phoenix his. She would serve him, fulfill his desires—all of them. A twisted grin spread across his face as he thought of the power and dominance he would wield once she was under his control.
"Well, Ice Phoenix," Zenian said with mock amusement, his voice dripping with condescension. "You may have caught onto us this time, but that doesn't mean we're giving up so easily." He glanced toward the man standing beside her, his eyes narrowing. "Though, I must admit, I didn't expect to see this. When did the mighty Ice Phoenix, strongest in this icy omniverse, start keeping a man by her side?"
He smirked, leaning forward slightly as if savoring his next words. "Tell me, Ice Phoenix, is this man your consort?"
Those words were enough to bring the Ice Phoenix's fiery anger to a halt. Her face, previously flushed with rage, turned a deeper shade of red—not from anger, but from pure embarrassment. Her cheeks burned so brightly that one could easily mistake her for a tomato.
Her consort? The thought was so absurd, so utterly ridiculous, that for a moment, she couldn't even find the words to refute it. She opened her mouth to speak but found herself caught in a whirlwind of emotions. Her consort? This terrifying monster standing beside her? How did Zenian even come up with such nonsense?
Before she could gather herself, the man in question—Arfrotian—spoke up, his voice calm yet laced with a playful edge.
"Perhaps," he began, his tone measured and deliberate, "we could be in relation. Even very close. What has that to do with you, fallen angel of the Luminia Megaverse, leading the other faction, Zenian?"
Zenian's eyes widened in disbelief. Relation? Close? He glanced at the Ice Phoenix, whose face was now so red it was a wonder she hadn't combusted on the spot. She wasn't denying it! Her flustered expression only added fuel to the fire raging in Zenian's heart.
This man, this stranger, was claiming a relationship with the Ice Phoenix—the very being Zenian had long coveted for himself.
Boiling with rage, Zenian clenched his fists. His voice shook as he spat his response. "Very well, stranger. So what business do you have here? And to think, the mighty Ice Phoenix would choose someone as frail-looking as you as her consort. It's laughable! Truly, I am ashamed for her!"
His words were intended to provoke, to draw out some reaction from the man who had dared to challenge him. But Arfrotian, ever composed, simply smiled.
"Frail-looking?" Arfrotian mused, his tone light, almost amused. "Perhaps. But at least I'm a frail-looking man. You, on the other hand, Zenian…" He paused for dramatic effect, his icy blue eyes meeting Zenian's with piercing intensity. "What can I even say about you? You're nothing more than a dog's tail—crooked and unstraightened, no matter how much effort is wasted on you."
The insult hung in the air like a sharp blade, slicing through Zenian's composure. A dog's tail? The comparison was infuriating, demeaning. He was a fallen angel, one of the leaders of the Luminia Megaverse's factions, and this stranger dared to compare him to something so lowly?
"You…!" Zenian growled, his wings flaring slightly in his rage.
Arfrotian's calm demeanor didn't falter. If anything, the slight smile on his face seemed to deepen, as if he were enjoying this exchange.
Meanwhile, the Ice Phoenix was having an internal crisis of her own. She hadn't even gotten the chance to deny Zenian's absurd assumption about her relationship with Arfrotian, and now Arfrotian himself had gone and claimed they were "close."
Her thoughts raced as she replayed the scene in her mind. What did he mean by that? Was he just trying to provoke Zenian? Or did he actually… mean it? Her cheeks burned brighter, and she felt utterly dazed. She was the Ice Phoenix—the guardian of the Eternal Frostheart, the strongest being in the icy omniverse. How had things escalated from confronting Zenian about his past betrayals to… this?
And yet, despite her embarrassment and confusion, she couldn't deny one thing. She was glad Arfrotian was on her side. His terrifying intellect, his ability to control the situation so effortlessly, and even his audacity to toy with Zenian—it all left her both unsettled and strangely reassured.
As Zenian fumed and Arfrotian remained unshaken, the tension in the air grew thicker. The Ice Phoenix could feel it—the storm was brewing, and the battle was inevitable.
For now, though, one thing was clear: Zenian had underestimated the monster standing before him, and it was a mistake that would cost him dearly.