The northern winds howled with a fury unseen in generations. Snowfall turned to blades of ice, slicing through the sky like a thousand arrows. The once-dormant lands of Frosthollow were now awakened by war.
Oscar stood atop the ramparts of the Abyssal Outpost: Tharnus Spire.
It was one of the abyss's forward strongholds, a dark citadel embedded into a frozen cliffside—long ago abandoned by men and gods alike.
Now, it was the last line before the Ice Queen's army reached the heart of the abyss.
Beside Oscar, Darius adjusted his gauntlets, his breath visible in the cold.
"They're coming fast," he muttered. "And they brought everything."
Below them, the valley trembled with the thunder of war drums.
Thousands of frost revenants marched in unison—undead soldiers preserved by cold, enchanted with wrath. Behind them strode colossal ice giants, armored in glacier plates, bearing rune-covered axes larger than siege towers.
And at the rear?
A woman on a chariot of frostwolves.
The Ice Queen herself.
---
A Calculated Gamble
Oscar closed his eyes for a moment, connecting with the abyss.
Tendrils of power reached out across the land, whispering to him, feeding him visions—flickers of fate, glimpses of outcomes.
"We can't hold Tharnus," Selene said quietly, joining them.
Oscar didn't argue.
He saw it too.
Not with the Queen leading the charge. Not here.
"Then we let it fall," he said.
Darius blinked. "You're abandoning the Spire?"
Oscar shook his head. "We're baiting her in. This place is too exposed… too easy. She'll think she's forcing our retreat. But we'll bleed her army dry in the next valley—where we've laid the real trap."
Selene smiled slowly. "You always did enjoy a good ambush."
Oscar's eyes glowed faintly, abyss pulsing beneath his skin.
"I enjoy winning more."
---
Retreat and Sabotage
Under cover of night and snow, the abyssal forces pulled back from the Spire.
But not before setting explosive traps—veins of volatile void crystal were hidden beneath the foundations, primed to collapse the entire fortress once triggered.
Velka, her loyalty still unproven in many eyes, volunteered to stay behind and oversee the final detonations.
"I owe you this," she told Oscar.
He nodded once, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Then make sure the Queen remembers this day."
As the last abyssal soldiers vanished into the frozen woods, Velka lit the final rune, her hand trembling—but steady.
The snow muffled everything.
Until it didn't.
---
The Queen's Advance
The Ice Queen entered the Spire like a conqueror. Her blade shimmered with divine frost, her breath fogging with every word.
"Burn this filth. Cleanse it. Make the land pure again."
Frost revenants swarmed the halls. Ice giants smashed through abyssal statues. The Queen stood atop the highest tower, declaring victory.
And then—
A faint click.
Runes glowed beneath her feet.
From deep beneath the Spire, a ripple of dark light pulsed out like a shockwave.
Velka, watching from afar, whispered, "Now."
The explosion was silent at first.
Then a roar split the mountain.
The Spire crumbled inward like a dying beast. Shards of abyssal crystal detonated, sending shockwaves across the valley. Entire units of the Ice Queen's army were crushed or consumed.
---
No Rest for the Wicked
But the Queen survived.
From the wreckage, she emerged—fury freezing the very air around her. Ice armor cracked, her crown askew, blood leaking from one eye.
"I underestimated him," she hissed. "I won't again."
She raised her staff, and a storm began to form—twisting, massive, unnatural.
The Winter God within her answered.
A new phase of war had begun.
---
Oscar's Next Move
Back at the Abyssal Citadel, Oscar watched the horizon turn white with stormlight.
"She's angry," Selene said, grinning.
"Good," Oscar replied. "Now we hit her where it hurts."
He turned to a map marked with abyssal sigils.
"Our next target… is her sanctuary. The Frost-Heart Temple."
Darius grinned.
"You're planning to end this early?"
Oscar's eyes gleamed.
"I'm planning to remind her… why the abyss always devours the light."
---
The Temple of Frozen Faith
The winds screamed as Oscar stood before the great gates of the Frost-Heart Temple.
Hidden deep within the Hollow Glaciers of the north, the temple was an ancient sanctuary, untouched by time or war—until now. It was once a place of worship for the Winter God, long before the Ice Queen claimed its power as her own.
Now it pulsed with divine frost and holy silence.
Selene stood beside him, her cloak whipping violently in the wind. Darius approached from behind, brushing ice from his armor, eyes narrowed.
"There's no path forward that doesn't reek of a trap," Darius muttered.
Oscar smirked. "That's because this is a trap. But not theirs—ours."
He stepped forward, pressing a hand to the frozen door.
Dark tendrils of the abyss spread from his palm, crawling across the divine ice. The clash of abyss and frost sent tremors through the land as the gate slowly, reluctantly opened—groaning like the final breath of a dying god.
Inside lay silence.
Not the peaceful kind.
But the silence that comes before a scream.
---
Echoes of the Forgotten
The Frost-Heart Temple was massive—its halls carved from enchanted ice that shimmered with ghostly blue light. Statues of forgotten deities lined the corridors, their features cracked and weeping frozen tears.
As they moved deeper into the temple, they felt it.
The pressure.
A holy presence, barely contained.
"The Winter God slumbers here," Selene whispered.
"No," Oscar corrected, eyes scanning the glowing runes on the walls. "It waits here."
Darius suddenly drew his blade. "Movement. Shadows ahead."
From the ice-covered alcoves, guardians emerged—knights encased in crystalline armor, their faces long since devoured by frost. They didn't speak. They didn't breathe. They simply charged.
Oscar raised his hand, and the abyss answered.
---
Battle in the Sacred Cold
The clash was deafening.
Abyssal corruption met divine ice. Darius fought like a storm unleashed, cleaving through knights with darkened steel. Selene danced between them, her blades flashing like falling stars.
But they just kept coming.
Each time one fell, another rose from the ice.
"They're being reborn," Selene growled. "The temple feeds them!"
Oscar narrowed his eyes. "Then it's time we starve it."
He raised both hands and drove his abyssal essence into the walls. The cold screamed. Ice shattered. The ceiling above cracked, sending frozen debris crashing to the ground.
And at the heart of the temple, the altar began to glow.
---
The Heart of Frost
The altar pulsed with divine energy—an ancient seal holding something within.
A voice echoed through the chamber, ethereal and commanding.
"You trespass where gods tread."
Oscar stepped forward, ignoring the voice.
"You've already lost your war," he said coldly. "You gave your power to the Ice Queen. And she's wasting it."
"You seek to replace light with shadow," the voice replied. "The abyss will devour even you."
Oscar raised his blade, letting it rest against the altar.
"Then I'll devour it first."
He plunged the blade into the altar.
---
Rebirth or Ruin
The temple exploded with light.
A blinding surge of cold and divine power tore through the chamber—followed by a scream not of pain, but freedom.
And from the light stepped a figure.
A man—not the Winter God, but his last vessel. Bound to the altar for centuries. Frozen in time.
Now awakened.
His eyes glowed with frostfire, but something else pulsed beneath his skin.
The abyss had touched him too.
Selene drew back. "What… is he?"
Oscar watched the man carefully.
"A mistake," he said softly. "Or a weapon."
---
The Abyss Awakens Again
The vessel looked around slowly, breathing for the first time in centuries.
"I remember snow," he said. "But this… this is different."
Oscar approached.
"You were a god's vessel once. You can be something more now."
The man's eyes flickered between blue and black.
"I remember… pain. And worship. And silence."
He looked at Oscar.
"And I remember… hatred."
Oscar smiled.
"Then you're ready."