A Dragon Idol's Reincarnation Tale

“Mhmm … I still have some threads. I can fix it up a bit, but it’s mostly melted,” I said as I stared at Vifi’s fur coat and pants, discolored black and smelling like volcanic gasses with melted patches here and there. I still had some mana thread yarn available in our backpacks, but her winter-protection gear with the enchantments needed to ward off the cold were destroyed.

“Fuck it,” Vifi replied, groaning as she my own fur clothes. “At this point, it’s not worth salvaging this. Look at the amount of holes; even if you manage to fix them, the enchantments probably won’t work as before.”

Our losses caused by that worm swallowing us included our fur clothes, belts, and pouches, although luckily it didn’t completely strip us from our items and belongings. Our backpacks were still in good conditions, and anything made from mana threads could be repaired using mana.

This included my wardress and Vifi’s armor, of course. The latter was created with materials from Lady Hestia’s and Madam Saori’s monster body, so they were naturally more resistant, especially since the worm who swallowed us was a mere rank C. Despite its massive size, maybe that was why it was so easy for us to break through its stomach in such a timely manner.

Still, that mere rank C was enough to sabotage us. Vifi’s manatech arm was slowed down by the worm’s freezing fluids and her tools were lost in the worm’s stomach, including the potions and ingredients I had brought along. Hope wasn’t lost though, as she could perform some minor maintenance spare tools in her backpack while my alembic and other alchemical tools survived the ordeal without a scratch. It was the correct decision to use some of our party’s funds to acquire quality tools from the Kargryxian alchemists.

Still, while our main equipment weren’t gone, we still felt the sting of loss. Unlike with me, Vifi was already starting to shiver.

“I’ll try to mend as much as I can. Even if the enchantments won’t work, the layers will still help,” I said before spreading my mana around the area.

Then, using my catalyst, I robbed the air around from as much ice mana as possible while using my own to increase the temperature, performing thermal manipulation as Empress Melloxtressa had taught me. Furthermore, by casting [Air Shield] afterwards, I created an insulating layer to ward off the outside cold from altering my manipulation attempt. It was still cold, since we needed a skilled pyromancer to bring it to room temperature, but it was now as warm as it could be.

Vifi let out a satisfied sigh as if she had just entered a hot spring, looking relieve as she stretched her limps. Her [Ice Resistance] was good enough to endure this much. “Thanks. Yeah, you do that. Once we get out of here, let’s try to find something as woolly as those mammoths down south. We don’t have the equipment to tan properly, but with water, heat, and [Dismantle]. We’ll at least get the fur dry.”

“Were there no tanners or hunters you met in the army who knows how to properly tan hide?” I asked, but she shrugged.“You’re the adventurer here, Tasianna, not me. Well, you know what I mean. Anyways, and yes, I did know quite a few—remember how the whole conscription part was heavily encouraged for us wrathies? You’ll earn more food in the army as a new conscript than working as an apprentice, when the whole process is already hard enough ‘cause people don’t want to risk a wrathie going mad from a bad day. So, yeah, I knew a few, but most of them were apprentices. A wrathie who is established won’t just let their success go, right?” she answered, prompting me to nod and reflect on another snippet of how Bole’Taria worked. “I only got some tips on how to dry the hide better, but you need proper stuff for the tanning process.”

“Those can be made with alchemy. If you can name them, I can probably figure out the components needed.”

“Don’t remember them.”

I went silent, looking at Vifi’s indifferent face with slight annoyance. I shook it away. “You could have at least given it a moment.”

“Do you really think I would properly remember some random trivia I heard while eating with a buncha stinking soldiers after a day of marching? All while my most pressing problem is to gain weight? Would like to remind ya that being a stealing rat means I didn’t get much to eat, and that means my natural growths are lower than others. I’m not like our little princess who has a second voice in her head who can peruse their memory like a library for an answer in a matter of seconds!”

“Right… Apologies.”

Vifi shrugged as I felt slightly guilty for bringing up a back memory for her. “You know I don’t really care about it that much. Didn’t mean to sound prickly there, but the fact is that I only really started listening to others when I got adopted. Damn lightning mana flowing into my organs was such a high, it made me jump right out of the cloud and into Istari’s table, I tell ya. Let’s leave it at that. We’ll do it the good ol fashion way, but first, let’s deal with this voice howling inside our heads.”

I nodded, sighing as I felt this annoying zapping next to my right temple. A mana link was trying to enter my head, but I was cutting it right off from connecting with my brain. After I let it in, now that Vifi and I were ready to move, I quickly raised my voice to silence it before it could speak.

[“Lord Elemental, we are now ready to move. I apologize for our dally, but we needed the time,”] I replied to the “Ice Elemental King,” before turning to the only entrance in this room. There, I saw a few blue sparks of light flying around. [“I see your nymphs. We will follow you.”]

[“Yes. Thank you,”] it replied.

“… Why does hearing that feel so good?” Vifi said with genuine bafflement. “Somebody being nice to us? Waaah, and here I thought all people can only act like some bastard!”

“By ‘people,’ do you also include our lady?” I smiled at her, causing her to jerk back.

Waving her hands, she smiled awkwardly. “Sheesh, who’s the real prickly one here, huh? I’m talking about the lizard above! Marsven’s shadow, you would think he would do something right now, but considering how long we’ve been here, he had enough time to send those tracking hornet-like scales to catch up to us. Treated us like dirt, and now he’s leaving us to dry. What else is he but a bastard?”

“Well… sure, but I personally do not like this outcome. He flew us away from our goal, and if he were to leave us here, how are we supposed to get back to the peaks? We have no map; dragonewts do not fly over here often, and most true dragonkin can just fly up to know where to go. I can’t fly that far up, and unless you want to risk us both getting buffeted by a sudden blizzard, I suggest we try to get back to that ‘bastard.’”

“Urgh, just ruin my mood even further. Haargh, just get going with your fairy speaking stuff or whatever. Can’t believe we’re even getting involved with some random thing we find in the middle of this ice wasteland!” Vifi waved her arms in the air as if she had given up, moving forward with a disgruntled expression. “The moment I met Aurora, everything about my life just spiraled into disaster! Marsven, I stole, but I just did it to survive! I don’t deserve this crap!”

Thieving is still thieving, friend. I smiled awkwardly as I heard that, but I didn’t judge Vifi for it. Our own party understood well when you had to do something for the sake of surviving, and I’ve seen enough time how soldiers and people would act more savage due to need. As the [Battle Frenzy] mantra would say, “Gluttony has to be first fulfilled before one can wish for more.”

Being raised in poverty… I couldn’t determine the right or wrong in such a situation. I grew up with everything I could ever wish for as a normal fairy. Plenty of food and free time to celebrate and cheer was more a right than a luxury to us; a culture built upon the whimsical nature of the mischievous and always-jolly fae was the norm. Ahhh, I could even remember a few stories our elders would tell of adventurous fairies stealing stuff for the sake of “doing good.”

My first experience with impoverishment was when I arrived in Firwood and had to go to the slums to meet Gael. My opinion was further exacerbated when our party had to enter Shaturein and the criminally-dense neighbourhoods of Gleisvale. How could I, a royal and imperial maid, ever judge somebody for having to do something for the sake of survival? Morality was a difficult topic.

To steal was to take from others. For survival or simple greed, it mattered not to the former owner. Even if the latter had an abundance of items, was it right to take away what they lawfully acquired with effort?

… This was a question I could not answer. Goddess Plesia forgive me, for I couldn’t help but compare these thoughts to the desperate nature of the grimgarians attacking human settlements out of revenge and to acquire land for themselves. To survive in a world with over half of the population despising them. Inside the war-torn battlefield of Port Annencia and Elyonda, I cut them down with impunity, without thinking of their motivation.

“Tasianna,” Vifi called, stopping my train of thoughts. “Are you talking to those fae, or why are you standing still like a statue?”

“Sorry.” I walked forward, treating everything as if it hadn’t happened. Since Vifi couldn’t see the nymphs, she didn’t expect I was just thinking of some difficult thoughts.

“Here! Here! Hiehiehie!”

“Come, come! To us, to us, fairy!”

“The king awaits, oh, king of ice! Do not dally, do not be late, or be frozen in ice for all your life!”

The speaking pattern of every lesser fae was different, but they were all quite simple in comparison to how nobles talk. Their intentions, though, were usually very easy to decipher from their words.

This ice elemental king might be a bit more powerful than it seems to convey with how it spoke, I concluded. That “frozen in ice for all your life” sounded like a real threat, veiled by haughty and naive laughter coming from these childish lesser fae.

Fae could lie and withhold information if they didn’t like it. They could just ignore you and try to annoy you for the sake of their amusement, so when they start saying something serious or threatening, I personally believed it was important to accept it as such.

“Lead the way,” I replied as the nymphs began to howl with joy, dancing around, sending water droplets flying around them like a sprinkler. As they flew forward, Vifi followed after me. “We need to move fast. They aren’t waiting for us.”

“Got it, let’s go!”

The tunnels of this cave system were, unsurprisingly, in disorder and lacked any source of light, to the point my [Night Vision] was barely keeping things visible for me.. They weren’t just narrow to the point Vifi and I had an issue fitting through, but they were filled with icicles turning it into a death trap if we were careless. The walls, ceiling, and floor was riddled with enough spikes that it got to the point where only fae could probably fit through them. I would have to transform back into my fairy form to even proceed.

The nymphs, naturally, didn’t care one bit for our issues. This place was some abandoned tunnel system, suggesting it probably once served as another river pathway. The pond we saw at the foot of this mountain was probably once another destination for this tunnel, though maybe due to a change in the terrain and geography, it had stopped. The river pathway dried up and it ended up as this spiky trap. Or, maybe this “elemental king” and these nymphs had something to do with it. Ha, the existence of these nymphs in this area where there wasn’t any water probably confirmed my theory.

Yet, regardless of the truth, this was inconvenient.

“Ready,” I said as I placed my hand on the wall with my catalyst shining a bright blue. “Don’t accidentally kill the nymphs.”

“Just send their locations through [Telepathy] then.” Vifi stretched her biological arm as red lightning formed on it. She then pulled out her crossbow and aimed it at the tunnel. “Precision is easy, buuuut… not like I can see those brats.”

“Hieeee! Faemancer!” the nymphs shrieked as they felt Vifi’s mana explode around her, spreading through the area with the help of her [Tyrant’s Aura]. The lightning coming from her eyes as the dark hue of her irises turned red like blood felt like the Death Goddess’s arrival to the mortal plane. “Yaarrrrghh!”

[“Petrified in place. Go for it,”] I informed Vifi as I sent the location of the three nymphs, prompting her to roar in a wild laughter, similar to her berserker form.

Yet, every lightning bolt she shot out lacked that reckless, all-destroying nature she once brandished as a last resort. The wanton destruction she now caused was like a fine edge helped from the fact her emotions couldn’t randomly spiral into a desire for carnage and excitement. The icicles blocking our path were quickly cleared up while I performed something similar to a [Fluid Cast] [Terra Wall], fortifying the entire tunnel with [Glacial Protection].

The sound of Vifi putting her crossbow pack into his holster signaled the end of this destruction. With the tunnel now safe for us to proceed, we did just that, even passing the nymphs as they cowered before us.

“Forget them, my [Detection Sensor] picked up a signal in the distance,” Vifi said, and I followed.

After a while, we managed to push ourselves through a tight entrance, free falling into a chamber large enough to house a dragon like Yothmlak. Dampening our fall with [Air Walk], we landed into the room, shivering slightly as felt the cold rising to the point I was having trouble controlling it.

The mana inside was so thick, it felt like I was breathing in quality Macula water—mana-dense water. It felt like I was drowning on the mana like being exposed to a dragon’s pure, suffocating [True Draconic Aura]. This disturbance was enough to completely break my control over my thermal manipulation, forcing me to stop it all together. Instead, I cast [Air Shield] around Vifi with my catalyst’s help and then layered two [Glacial Protections] over it.

It completely blocked Vifi’s view of everything, but at least it managed to protect her from getting frozen by all this ice-aligned mana. For myself, I had to activate my wardress’s enchantment, [Glacial Witch’s Protection] to turn the mana around me into true ice, preventing myself from getting frozen.

I fell onto my knees as I felt my strength leave my body, yet at the same time, the mana density was so thick, my mana regeneration was so quick, any mana I had expended was quickly replaced. Truly, maybe I was drowning inside a lake of ice mana almost like Empress Melloxtressa’s nest at her mountain.

[“You doing okay, Tasianna?”] Vifi asked.

[“I’m enduring. It is certainly not as terrible as back at home. I’m still a mana being, so this won’t affect me as much as one with flesh and blood like you. At least, it isn’t filled with arcane corruption,”] I replied, regulating my internal temperature now instead of the air around me. My wardress could handle it.

[“Welcome,”] that same serene voice from before spoke to us, although with all the mana around, it felt like somebody had pierced my head with a icicle needle. [“I apologize for the mana. I have dwelled here for too long. My mana had spread inside this room, morphing it. A river once used to move through here, but with me trapped here, my mana could do nothing but protect me inside this demesne of eternal silence. I haven’t had a visitor in… so long. Please, allow me to have you witness me. Etch my figure and form into your minds, young ones; do not forget the king of the ice elementals! King of the glaciers!”]

Like the light of an ice spell’s magic circle, a cyan-colored hue flared in the distance, making me fully realize how humongous it truly was. The spark was small at first, but grew quickly like a burning flame, banishing this darkness away with the power of pure mana. The energy of this world kept exploding like an alchemical reaction, brightening everything up to the point [Night Vision] deactivated.

I jerked back as I witnessed the chamber in its full glory. Unlike the chaotic tunnels leading here, suggesting something was trying to keep us away, this cavern was like a refined ice palace similar to a dragon’s lair. Pillars as beautifully crafted as dwarven fairnite constructs decorated the four corners of this square room, while statues of various animals we’ve met in these glaciers riddled the ground, making it seem like a crowd, with us being part of it.

The light itself originated from a singular spot in this room, and it was where I saw a large being, a giant even more humongous than a rank B dragon. A titan similar to the size of a rank A. Yet, this humanoid wasn’t actually made from flesh or blood, no, it was like a golem. A natural golem with a core in the middle of its body, emitting this light that graced my eyes.

Its hollow, iceborn body was transparent, like the clearest crystals you could find, while parts of cyan-colored dirt gave this body some nuance and details, but having them imitate muscles and a humanoid’s skeleton. Meaning, it was made from three layers—pure crystalline ice as skin, molded cyan dirt as flesh, and a combination of the two as the hardened skeleton. Each there to protect the core stuck in the middle of its chest.

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Yet, this mighty being sat on the ground, chained to the wall by being frozen against it. I could not move, looking like it was petrified.

H-huge! I thought as I gazed at the creature, sending these same images to Vifi, as she couldn’t see any of this.

[“I am the Ice Elemental King. Welcome to my prison, and the only solace left in this world which has left me behind. I thank you for accepting my invitation,”] it stated with warmth. I could feel its elation. [“Once I ruled these glaciers as the elementals’ ruler, leading them with the ice burrowers to keep our home together, while the roaming dragonkin continued the work of nature. The words’ call through mana; the eternal cycle of life. A builder—a title I have lost—and the destroyers and changers—the dragonkin created from mana, but born with flesh and blood. Yet, here, behold my fall from grace, ye travelers of the ice. A prisoner in this realm of waste; naught but lesser fae listen to my whims and laughter.”]

An elemental… it spoke the truth. Naturally, this wouldn’t be the form most would associate with an elemental, but just like all elementals aside from lesser ones, they were able to shape their body to appear as anything they wanted. They were, after all, just bundles of elementally-aligned mana. The greater elementals we saw wandering the glaciers were prime examples of this.

It was different from the Earth Elemental Emperor we met in Inkoran-Tazul, though. Mostly due to the latter being imprisoned inside a catalyst after its defeat by Goddess Crustacia. The former demi-god was banished into a diminutive form that made it impossible to think it was once a near godlike being, until you felt the power it could command over the earth. This ice elemental king would be what you should expect from a powerful elemental—imposing stature and a maelstrom of incredible amounts of mana.

“I—” I struggled to get my words through with the icy mana stinging my lungs. [“My name is Tasianna Mariana Silverpond. I am a fairy of the Saelariel forest on Altrust, royal maid of the princess of Frozen Nest, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor! I hear you, oh, great king of the ice elementals.”]

[“Vifi’Yok. Royal guard of Princess Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor,”] my companion stated, following along.

[“I beseech thee, Ice Elemental King; we come in peace and wish to escape this home of yours. We were attacked by a worm, swallowed and brought down here, forced to slay it from within to escape. We did not mean to invade your sanctuary.”]

Stay diplomatic, right now. Good work catching on, Vifi.

[“You need not apologize, young fae. I felt your presence, for my mana spreads throughout this realm. I must say, though, how lucky our meeting is. The ‘worm,’ you speak off, is included in the ice burrowers I once mentioned, but with my authority lost, I am unable to command them. They are instinctual beings, only able to be commanded by the ice elementals I have lost command of. I could not feel one of my brethren within that deceased, yet, I must still apologize to you.”] The king’s head began to twitch, causing the ice wall holding it to crack. It bowed its head for a moment, but in the next, icy mist exuded from the cracks, creating ice that tethered the elemental’s head back to the wall. [“You may leave. I am… unable to actually keep you here.”]

[“Why so, lord?”] Vifi asked, her suspicion clear in her voice to hear.

[“Mana, of course… demonkin.”]

[“You can tell what I am?”]

[“I am an elemental. I can sense draconic energy, other elements, and even ‘distortion’ in mana caused by the influence of the other world. I have lived for centuries, young one. I have witnessed the descent of the Origin Gods. I know what you are. Unwelcomed as you are, I do see you are not like those beings who invaded our home and killed our emperors!”] he snapped. [“We elementals… we ruled over everything! Our primarchs; the six primarchs! The Origin Gods slew them, banished some into a body barely comparable to their former strength. Our elemental emperors are gone, and we elementals are all that truly remain of their legacy. A tragedy for all we’ve accomplished…”]

Somberness invaded my mind. Although an elemental, it was still a fae, prone to emotions and influenced by the environment it was born or dwelled in. The onnikai have taught me often enough that no matter how much our race was supposed to be “carefree,” trauma could quickly turn that on its head. We were emotional beings; sometimes even irrational.

[“All mana is part of this world, no matter how clouded and blemished it has become. You are still part of this world, demonkin, so I wish you no ill. I only wish for you to begone,”] the elemental stated firmly. [“As I said, my mana is rooted into this place. The wall behind me is just that—the actual place of all my mana. My title as king of the glaciers was taken, and my only solution to survive my aggressor was to anchor my mana into this place. If I were to attack you, I would have to expend that very mana I am trying to store and safekeep, nor can I pursue you as I cannot abandon it either. Too deeply rooted is it to this mountain that this is my prison now.”]

[“I see… then how are we to leave?”] I asked.

[“The simplest way, naturally—dig through the walls.”]

Vifi and I stared at the nearby walls, all covered in thick ice that exuded enough ice mana that I was afraid of touching them, less I get my arm frozen on it. This prison was a fortified palace, breaking through required more than some digging tools.

[“Do not worry, I am able to control the mana streaming through my prison. Although weakened, I am still an elemental king,”] it stated as it did just that, causing the ice around a spot on the wall to crack. [“Dig through as far as possible until you touch stone and gravel. From then, you may rest and continue the dig whenever, although I would suggest you not waste too much time. As an elemental, I do not need air to breath, but with the two of you here, the air density must have decreased. All that lightning mana I felt when you appeared probably worsened it, as well.”]

[“Quickest way to make way…”] Vifi replied, shrugging to me as if she didn’t care about the consequences. [“In any case, you’re right. We better hurry and get the heck out of here. Thanks, Lord Elemental. We’ll be—”]

[“If you are so thankfully for my magnanimous action, then you may show it through action.”]

[“Oh, great, here we go.”]

[“I must ask of you for a favor, travelers of the glaciers. As I have said, my core self is rooted in this prison. I am too weak to free myself willingly, but I still have a duty to my fellow ice elementals. Our place in this world is to manage the frozen wasteland here and also the ice burrowers, leading them to preserve the glaciers. I have only been gone for a few years, but the consequences for the absences of a king will be felt in the future,”] he stated. [“There must always be an ice elemental king. To lead the whimsical nature of our race. You must understand this. Am I not right? Fairy who acts against her nature?”]

[“Well, what do you wish me to say, Lord Elemental?”] I frowned a bit. [“Yes, there must be a leader if the local fae are supposed to be united. It happens in my village with the royal family leading us. Instead of being born from mana, they are birthed like those made from flesh and blood. That is how we know the Iggdrasil family are our rulers. If the same concept applies to you, then your leader needs intelligence and the willingness to take on responsibility. You cannot simply make another elemental a leader, Lord Elemental.”]

[“I agree… Fairy—No, Tasianna. Have you done your research on the glaciers’ peak? The highest point of our home and where my fellow elementals gather.”]

[“I have. The highest peak is where the most potent ice mana resides, and as such, is where your fellow elementals gather to drain the mana in hopes of becoming the ice elemental emperor. Yet, most fail, sadly, and the drained mana melts into pure mana water which flows through the glaciers. The river absorbs the surrounding mana until it expels it into the ocean, the domain of Goddess Plesia.”]

[“Ha, certainly regulating everything as you said, but those elementals have been more of a thorn in our sides since we first arrived here. They’re causing random blizzards, attacking us, and have even aligned themselves with a damn dragonslayer lately!”] Vifi complained.

[“I know,”] the elemental admitted. [“Or, to be precise, I had expected something like this. Without a leader, my kin will seek joy and excitement, and that can happen through other ‘leaders.’ Some may attach to monsters roaming the glaciers, some may continue ‘playing’ with the ice burrowers to attack and disrupt others, and many more issues. Which is why I am calling this an issue for the future. Without a leader, these elementals will continue to act as such, especially the newly born! As long as there is ice mana in this land, ice elementals will always be born, no matter how many are extinguished.”]

He growled those two last sentences as if he was in pain. His thoughts started to get chaotic, and that affected how understandable the telepathic message was.

[“Yet, I know! My fellow kin will always seek to become the first ice elemental emperor, for we have lost our gods! The wind and water elemental emperors are gone, and without them, we elementals must take their place! Even if this instinct has been with us since the dawn of this world, that responsibility has only intensified! We cannot abandon our nature!”] it roared as its body struggled, resisting the ice wall with cracking success. Its humanoid body tore its arms off the wall before it dug its hand into its chest, pulling out that core emitting this brilliant cyan light. [“Yet, all of them do not truly understand that becoming an emperor is impossible! They needed something else, and I have been waiting. Waiting for so long until a worthy elemental is born for me to cede my position. To become an emperor, one must first become a king! This is the crown!”]

The wall shot out icicle lances, piercing the elemental’s arms, pulling them back to the wall for the wall to freeze them together. Ice started to form around the hand holding the core.

[“However, I have been betrayed! Betrayed by a friend! Yothmlak! Yothmlak! Why?”] it screamed, causing the mana inside the cavern to cause miniature tornados. [“I trusted you with our secrets, yet you would betray us like Thalaxarus once did. You promised us, Thalaxarus, that you would nurture our lands! Nurture it with ice colder than even the volcanoes of the fire dragon flight! To birth an elemental emperor for us to serve! Oh, Thalaxarus, how could you have died without passing on your duty! Woe to your lineage, woe to all ice dragons! Yothmlak! Woe and damnation to your life!”]

[“Shit!”] Vifi shouted as the layer of ice started to crack. I was forced to cast [Fimbulvetr Wall] in front of us to protect us from this maelstrom of chaotic mana.

[“Urgh, Lord Elemental! Please, calm down!”] I pleaded.

[“No! Tasianna, no! My will shall not be drowned by the stagnant waters the dragons have left behind! No, my kin requires a king, but I am a fool! They deserve one who can lead them!”] With a resounding crack, the elemental pried its hand off the wall and threw the core at us. The humongous, house-sized core smashed into the ground, creating a crater as it was stuck there. [“By my authority as ice elemental king of the Frozen Nest elementals, I deem you worthy to carry my core, Tasianna Marina Silverpond. Fairy and fellow fae! Become our next king!”]

“H-huh? What!” My head snapped up, flabbergasted at what I just heard. [“N-no! I must refuse!”]

[“Then seek the true king for us, Tasianna! Somebody that is worthy to be the one to control the elementals. Somebody must control them, for the sake of our home!”] The wall’s ice lances shot out again, hooking into the elemental’s arm and pulling it back. However, unlike before, new lances were forming around the wall, all aiming at the core. [“Do be modest, Fairy! I can feel the true ice mana in you. You are worthy to carry my legacy! I can see it in your eyes and the state of your mind. You are no coward like many fairies, nor are you prone to become a slave of your nature like many other fae. You are your own person, having accepted the way of the humanoid. Our meeting has been a coincidence, but maybe this chance encounter was destined, somehow. You are my last chance, Tasianna. I cannot allow the crown of ice elemental king to be forgotten here with me. Please, accept my words! Find my successor, or become the one to bear my core! The power of an ice elemental king resides in it; it shall be yours!”]

The elemental’s arms suddenly broke apart, allowing the elemental to move its body forward where its arms regrew. It then slammed them against the wall, causing it to crack that sent everything on it to tremble. The lances aiming at us exploded into snow, while icy wind leaked out from the cracks.

[“I shall hold my mana back!”] it stated. [“So, please! Flee from here, beyond where my mana can retrieve my core. Let me become part of history, while you lead the future. Find the rivers and reach the peaks. With the core in your control, absorb the mana there and ascend, oh, young fairy. May your mana obtain a part of the glaciers to become something more than what you are now! You may not reach the status of emperor, but a king is not beyond your grasp!”]

[“Tasianna!”] Vifi shouted as my protective ice ball was shattered by her thunder warhammer. The ice mana began to sting her skin, causing her already malfunctioning arm to sing an ear-piercing, metallic sound before its cogs stopped moving all together. [“Stop it! Decide on what you want to do! We have to get out of here, now!”]

[“I-I—I don’t know—”]

Vifi rushed over me and grabbed my shoulder with her only functioning arm, starting at me in pain as frostbite started to ruin her skin.

[“Then you will decide it now! You are given no choice, do you understand?”]

Time slowed down as Vifi said those words, reminding me what I had to do during the grimgarian war and the expedition I was forced to lead during the Event Quest. A leader? Me? I couldn’t have fathomed such a choice when I first joined with Lady Hestia, yet I was forced to act in an authoritative position just like Madam Saori. I thought, at best, I would lead other maids like Lorena and Haati to serve my lady, but… I guess, at the end of the day, to be able to take some leadership burdens from my lady was also a way to serve as her shield.

Everything I did was for Lady Hestia’s safety and to help her fulfill her dream to become an idol. To help her bring smiles and laughter to the people with her songs. Gaining strength and to become one with true ice was also just part of the progress.

However… this was different. The power was enticing, but it was just as the ice elemental king mentioned, to take on this power would also mean obtaining responsibilities. More than any other I have ever accepted. I wasn’t just responsible for keeping my allies alive or pursuing the ambitions to Aurora, to become something akin to an ice elemental king was to become their ruler.

The rampaging ice elementals required somebody to rule them, and if I were to become that person, then… could I truly remain at my lady’s side? Always? I’ve agonized enough how often she got herself in danger without me around her. I’ve always been with her since we first met. Every path she chose was also my destination!

What would happen if I were to take on this power? Could I remain Her Highness’s maid? The simple fairy maid responsible for her daily needs?

Princess Schuri… I cannot allow Princess Hestia to end like her!

I had to return to Princess Hestia’s side! Why was I here, when she was so far away? I-I need to—

“Tasianna!” Vifi shouted before her palm smacked me right on my cheeks. The shrill sound of a slap woke me up from my inner turmoil, bringing me back to this icy hell where I saw ice crystals forming around Vifi’s body. “Make the jump!”

“Huh?”

“Make the jump! Consequences be damned, sometimes! If you don’t take it, constantly trying to skitter away like a rat, you will never know what can be achieved.” Her hand tightened on my shoulder, crushing it slightly. “Being scared of change is normal, Tasianna. Fearing a change in how you live, in your morals and values, and abandoning it all to accept something better. It is normal, however, sometimes you just have to take the jump! Betraying your values and ideals you’ve built up until now can be the catalyst for you to grow and become free of it all!”

“I-I-I want to continue being with Lady Hestia.”

“Then you shall! Marsven’s shadow—Arrgh!” Vifi winced as she stared at her flesh arm. Cracks were forming on her skin, causing it to bleed. “Marsven’s shadow, sometimes—SOMETIMES, you really resemble Donut! Stop overthinking things and take the plunge, and work with the consequences! Standing still will change nothing if you’re too scared to choose something! Remain on the damn path, or look around you to see that there is more than one path towards your goal!”

My eyes widened as memories of my past flashed by me. Princess Schuri’s death; my rage against humankind and my own self as a fairy; my detest for Reajaen when I found out she was responsible for Princess Schuri’s death, only to give it up and weep as I gave up on my revenge—my decisions were coming back to me. Did I stand still? Or did I move forwards and sometimes turn back?

I didn’t understand what I was supposed to do… but, I knew that I was standing right now, unwilling to look left or right.

Correct. She was correct. A decision had to be made… and in Aurora fashion, any path that would lead us from our goal had to be abandoned.

[“I accept!”] I shouted to the elemental as it bellowed out a wild laughter.

[“May the elementals bless you, Tasianna! Rawwwr!”] he shouted as the ice around a portion of the wall broke away, exposing the softer rock underneath it. [“Beware of Yothmlak! He does not know I have exiled myself here to escape his grasp. Do not allow him to know you possess my core! I know it will be hard, but journey to the peaks and allow my core to once again touch those beautiful glaciers. I… This will be the last time we shall speak, Tasianna. The moment you leave this place, you will be the one to choose the next king of the elementals. Please, choose wisely.”]

Using my catalyst, I conjured up a large platform to carry the core while I helped Vifi reach the wall. Although her body was barely able to endure the damn cold, she still had enough strength to warm herself up with her lightning. Still, this was all she could do, leaving me to do the digging.

Imitating the obsidian drill Lady Hestia would create with [Unheiliger Engel], I molded the ice slime from my catalyst into a giant drill and used it to dig through the wall. Although the room was trying to stop us with icicle lances and tornados pulling us in, the elemental king did its best to stop its rampaging mana from stopping us.

Eventually, the sound of all the chaos began to go silent, as our hole continued deeper into the mountain. The path to the elemental was closed by solid ice—a last farewell to us.

[“My gods… I shall go…”]

And with that, his voice vanished. Our mana connection was cut as if it had never existed. The cold from inside the room felt like a nightmare as we returned to warmer soils.

“Hahaha… my damn resistance leveled up,” Vifi chuckled but immediately fell on the ground with the threat on our lives gone.

I did not wake here, instead, I made a floating bed for her to rest on while I brought out my alchemical tools and some ingredients. Seeing as we needed to make some progress, I did the same for myself.

Using my catalyst to control three ice constructs, I continued digging into the mountain while connecting a health and ice potion for Vifi. I didn’t know how long it took since staying focused on one task was difficult, but I eventually manage to make something. Feeding it to an unconscious Vifi, her body started to heal, ridding itself from the frostbite.

At the same time, I fell asleep myself as the exhaustion caught up to me. I did not know how long I slept, but when I woke up, I realized that we weren’t inside the ice tunnel any longer. In fact, I was sleeping on a cozy bed now. Did Vifi bring us into the subspace?

When I left the room, which I confirmed was mine, I noticed the living room was empty, with only Vifi sitting on the sofa was snacking on some food. When she noticed me, she waved at me and told me to come over.

“Five days?” My eyes widened as I learned how long we’ve been asleep.

“Yeah. When I brought us into the subspace, I had a talk with Svena, and she told me it had been ten days since we last spoke. Considering we were stuck with Yothmlak for five days, it made sense that the remaining five days was after we got into trouble with that elemental king,” she answered. “I got ourselves updated. Hestia and the others are doing fine. Even got to meet her.”

“You did!” I jumped up, Vifi told me to sit back down.

After I did just that, she sighed. “That also meant I updated them on our situation, and they on ours. Seems like they got caught by an avalanche and were attacked by a rank A ice burrower. Damn ice elemental, from what I guessed, but she told me she wasn’t so sure where she actually was. Donut said she was ‘preparing’ something for both Yothmlak and that mandril, and that she agreed with our decision.”

“What? You mean we should go to the peaks?”

“By ourselves, yes. They managed to dig themselves out of where they got trapped, but Donut’s core got broken during our escape from the mandril, and she needs time to recover. Joining up, in her opinion, would be a waste, when we have a mystery on our hands. ‘What is Yothmlak planning, and why was he the only dragon who wasn’t attacked by the mandril, and what did this have to do with the ice elemental king.’”

“… Lady Hestia wishes to confront Yothmlak.”

“No, Rhekkraxus and his brother, Siegragxus wishes to do so, but before then, we need to find and confront him. The best way to do so without putting ourselves in danger, seeing how the majority of the older dragonkin are still fighting with the leviathans, is to put out a trap. Siegragxus had to join his father in the fight, so we have to work with what we have, and that is why Donut needs to prepare. We, on the other hand, have to start moving as you have the core,” Vifi explaining, telling me she left the core outside the subspace. “Also, one last message since Donut is pretty busy getting things finished. Ahem, ‘Tasianna, you will always be one of my best friends.’ She told me to tell you.”

My eyes widened as I felt my chest warm up. I felt my heart beat like a drum as surge of purpose filled my body with energy. I stood up, this time in a controlled manner, and picked some of the sandwiches on Vifi’s plates. Taking a large bite, I turned to one of the doors.

“Got it, then let’s get going! By my lady’s will!”

The truth of behind the four dragons’ death and what had happened in the glaciers would be unraveled. Aurora’s luck had opened up a new Quest, and we would fulfill it like we always would!

“… It is still alive, I see.”

“Mine as well, Plesia.”

“Let us continue watching then, Zephira. It seems Tasianna’s role in this might be larger than Hestia’s for once.”

In the divine realm of the Origin Gods, the Goddess of Water and Wind had their attention stolen by a recent revelation.