The ground beneath Exrite felt smoother than before and shone a gentle blue. No longer was there a lingering fog obscuring the ground. The beauty of the floor was a welcome surprise – they were almost at the God’s lair. He growled and looked at his stomach, seeing no wound other than a clean hole in his black shirt.

A single glance made him nauseous, quickly prompting him to look elsewhere. Frosty weakly stared at the light ahead. The barren land they traversed was infinite. The floor was transparent and seemed to be made of crystal or ice.

She touched her fingers to check her temperature and felt that nothing had changed. It couldn’t possibly be ice then. And if it were crystals – then why did they glow? She could only growl in bewilderment. Nothing they knew from the outside world could be used as a reference to whatever this place was. She looked up into the sky and saw nothing again.

Exrite felt like he should be able to walk again but failed to muster any courage to speak. He detested the idea of having another arm squirm in his body cavities. He looked up at the child, meeting her eyes. His eyes trembled under the might hers and found themselves trapped in an inescapable trance. Within the depths of her eyes, he felt like she was… well, at least somewhat genuine.

The child was right about one thing earlier – had they not hid or attacked her first, nothing would have gone awry. However, she couldn’t possibly believe that people travelling in such pitch blackness wouldn’t at least be terrified by a floating, disembodied face.

His eyes narrowed to the thought as the girl curiously tilted her head.

“Why didn’t you approach us in that body?” The words fell almost too naturally and bypassed every filter.

He tensed up to the major slip up prepared himself for the worse, only to be met with a curious remark.

“Eh? But I can’t smile as big as the facipod. Do outsiders still hate it when things smile?”

Exrite was baffled by her words and unable to decipher what she meant. He failed to recall a time when a smile was something hated or even illegal. Something was uncannily strange about this child.

“Of course not. We love it when things smile.”

“Then why did you hide?”

“Heads don’t normally float and smile, you know?” Exrite tired to keep himself reasonably sound without becoming haughty.

Admittedly, her way of talking kind of rubbed him the wrong way.

“But I remember lots of people doing that. Everyone was happy when they tore each other’s heads and limbs.”

Frosty grit her teeth upon hearing those words as Exrite found himself futher los. The mind of a child was difficult for him to grasp, but combined with her insanity, and it became impossible to read into anything.

“Exrite. Stop talking to her like she’s a child. That’s a spirit.” Frosty warned in a loud groan.

A shot of realisation hit him all of a sudden. His eyes trembled to the reality of what the child was as he could only utter one thing.

“H- how long have you been in here for?”

The girl thought hard about it, showing a light frown as she looked up into the darkness of the sky. Then, once satisfied, she returned her gaze and answered.

“Four thousand years. Oh, but I spent a bit outside too! I couldn’t have taken over the body of a facipod if I didn’t go to the Hallowed Gardens!”

How absurd. She was left inside of nothing but darkness for the last few thousand years, yet still retained so much of her memories and most of her sanity. Exrite couldn’t bite deeply into the bait set so clearly in front of him. This girl, no – this spirit was obviously smarter than she seemed.

“Ahh~! And we were just getting to the good part.” She howled, slightly annoyed before releasing a loud sigh. “Stop, young Khaos.”

They both made abrupt stops. She placed Exrite onto the ground and snapped her fingers. Instantly, the brainwashed Khaos jolted as he regained control over his body.

Exrite heaved his body up as he quickly checked on Khaos.

“Hey, you feel alright?” He placed a hand onto his shoulder and studied his face.

“… I think so. I can move my body again.”

“Thank goodness… “ Frosty whispered, a hand sliding over one of his just by her shoulder.

A sigh of relief vented from Exrite. No one moved from their well-lit place. The group’s eyes fell back onto the child-like spirit who approached the source of the light. Her shadow flickered and engulfed them many times as she reached for the pale orb.

As it entered her grasp, the space around them suddenly exploded with blinding light. They winced to the light and protected their eyes with whatever means they had, except for Khaos who relied only on the thickness of his eyelids. But their efforts were laid to waste as the light pierced through every fabric and flesh. When it finally subsided after some time, footsteps began to echo away from them.

“You may awaken, the three of you.” It was the spirit’s voice. But this voice held a powerful sternness compared to her previous voice. This wasn’t an offer – it was a command.

And obey they did. When they came to, they quickly realised that they had been transported to a different location. The ground they stood on was stained with marvellous cracks and glimmered a gentle light blue. Liquid flowed rapidly through the cracked labyrinth towards the front, where a beautiful staircase led up to two enormous orbs.

One was jet black and sucked in all light that was foolish enough to touch it. It was like there was a hole torn in space. The other was a pale orb where no shadows dared to tread. They floated meters from the stairs, high above the platform. Beyond this plane, was nothing but a background of a single black and white spiral. It moved with a will of its own in a hypnotising manner.

Amazement filled their very beings at the sight of the unknown world. They were left speechless and explored every corner of the landscape with their eyes.

Atop the staircase, a faint giggle could be heard.

Exrite shifted his gaze immediately to the response, and when they finally landed –

He held his breath.

“A human and two Frostbitten. How wonderful. This is definitely the work of fate.” A feminine voice proclaimed, extending her arms out like wings.

“Oh? Fate, huh? Really now sis, you know how to make me laugh.” Another voice hummed from the podium.

Their eyes trembled. Not a single word was uttered. An intense surge of pressure held them down like invisible chains. Even if one had the courage to move they couldn’t. They could only bathe in the indomptable presence of the superior beings – the Gods.

Their journey had finally beared fruit.

“Human and Frostbitten, we welcome you to our reside.” The girl wrapped in a gracefully pale cloak announced with an alluring voice.

“We are the Children of Balance, the rulers of this region, Colight.” The other girl beside wore an identical cloak, only was it far darker than the supermassive orb high above her.

The girl in white had every inch of her being dosed in the holy colour. From her hair to her finger nails. Only her eyes remained an infinitely deep sky-blue colour. She was the epitome of holiness and purity.

However, where light exists, there will always be an equal darkness.

The other God was ebony in colour, and the rest of her bodily features followed the same trend. Like the white God, only her eyes were strangely left a demonic red.

And as their titles described – these Gods resembled children.

“Travellers remember this name well – I am Hope, the Child of Balance.” The holy God proclaimed with a voice that resonated within the hearts of the three adventurers.

“Likewise, ensure you etch this name into your hearts, for I am Despair, the Child of Balance.” The corrupt God announced with a sadistic smile.

No one budged. They were so swept away that everything felt almost unreal to them. Their lack of reaction other than their bewildered gazes was taken as an offense by Despair.

She clicked her tongue. “Where’s your manners?”

Not a second later – the group fell face first into the cracked ground beneath them with only their hands to prevent them from being crushed by the unknown force that had stuck. Khaos held back his cries of pain as his broken hand grinded against the glowing floor.

“Now that you’re in a more fitting position, you may state your names.”

“Khaos!”

“Frosty!”

“Frost!”

They cried all simultaneously as their endurance was beginning to wear thin.

Despair seemed dissatisfied by their effort, however. “One at a time, and the entirety of your names. Starting from the left.”

The order was immediately carried out.

“K-Khaos Eccent!” He groaned and was instantly released from his bindings.

“Frosty Eccent.” A meek mutter could only form from her mouth as she was nearing the edges of her strength. She limply toppled to the side near Khaos when the effects wore off.

“Frost Extrial.” He announced with clenched teeth before the influence wore away.

Despair nodded at their efforts and grinned in satisfaction. “And now, which of you three were summoned by us?”

The time had finally arrived. Exrite maintained a footing as he stood up and gladly offered himself to the God’s call.

“I’m the one who received your message.” He proudly stated.

“Then for those two – they won’t be necessary. Phase, if you don’t mind.”

At the command of Despair, the spirit standing at the bottom of the staircase began a slow march for the two. Death awaited them, they were certain of it. The Gods had no use for anyone but Exrite.

“Wait! Please leave them out of this!” He begged and ran in front of the two who tried to cuddle in the protection of another. “Please, just leave them and do whatever you want to me! You want the fragment, right!? Just take it already and we’ll leave!”

It was hopeless. The spirit that grew closer ignored their pitiful existence and would soon end it for good. He became restless now, tears welling behind his eyes as he reached for his crossbow and declared the spirit as an enemy.

However –

His hand never reached the wooden handle. In fact, he couldn’t feel his hand any longer. An inaudible scream left him as he clutched the stub and squirmed in pain. He didn’t want this to be the end for them. Not so soon. Not after they had reached this after all the cruelty they had faced.

Why?

He repeated endlessly in silence, as the final sands of hope began to fade away.

Hope clapped her hands together and sighed. “Despair, you’ve gone far enough. The Frostbitten are quiet an asset to our plans, wouldn’t you agree?”

The spirit, Phase, stopped in her tracks and immediately turned to her masters.

“Hmm. Don’t know about that~. Hey, Frostbitten. I’m going to give you a chance to live, so I want you to answer with everything you have.” The corrupt God descended the flight of stairs with a sadistic smile.

Exrite lit up and glanced back at his closest friends with a face filled with hope. They nodded weakly and prepared for whatever would come their way. Despair stopped beside Exrite and stared down at the two Frostbitten. He could only hope for the better outcome as he watched helplessly.

She extended a hand to the Frostbitten and asked a simple question.

“What is it that you seek in this world? Is it power? Is it salvation? Or… Is it death?”

Frosty nudged Khaos and nodded. From the very beginning, even before meeting with Exrite, they knew deep down what they were truly after. After this, no matter the result, they were going to take Exrite with them on their long journey.

At the memory of his promise, Khaos swallowed his fear and spoke with an iron tongue.

“We wish to meet with the Maiden of Wisdom.”

It was their most humble desire. As Frostbitten, little was known about them in the world. If there was a place where they would find the forgotten secrets of their race, then it’d be there, at the Domain of the Maiden of Wisdom.

Despair began laughing at their wish, quickly becoming hysteric. The two stared in uncertainty for a while, and when her laughter came to halt, she spoke.

“You’re insane. However, your goal is much like ours. Sis, you were right. These Frostbitten will be quite the asset indeed.”

Exrite dropped to his knees as all the tension left his body. A smile of relief formed across his face as he heard Frosty’s muffled weeps from behind. She had her face snugly dug into her brother’s plated chest. The warmth of their spared life was like the sun in comparison to the cold steel of the armour.

Now, Hope had descended. Amongst the weeps of Frosty, the God spoke.

“How fortunate of you to find their true value, dear sister. Frosty, Khaos, please stay still.” Her voice was like that of an angel’s.

With a single snap of her fingers, a pale magic circle formed beneath the siblings. Its complexity was incomparable to anything they had ever seen before. The circle consisted of thousands upon thousands of symbols and words, and these circles formed around them as well. A warm healing light gently washed over their bodies as their wounds began to heal.

Khaos watched as his hand was repaired by the magical light faster than Exrite’s regeneration. It was truly a sight to behold. This was power that no mortal could ever even dream of possessing. Frosty still kept herself close to Khaos, suffering from the mental shock of their close encounter with the true grim reaper.

“Now – Frost, please answer accordingly.” Hope stopped her magic with the snap of a finger and focused her attention to the man beneath her. “How long ago were you given the fragment of time?”

“Ten years ago.” He answered truthfully with a clear, profound voice.

“Hmm… “ Despair trailed and wondered about something as she looked to the side at Hope. “What do you think sis – are we even going to be able to harvest it?”

“We have to find out ourselves.” She too seemed doubtful, but she wanted to make sure of it. “This is going to be a problem for us.”

“Yes. What was moth- no, the Maiden of Time thinking?” Despair sounded annoyed by the Maiden’s lack of responsibility. “Frost, lie down.”

Like a loyal dog, he obeyed their command and laid flat against the cold ground. They two stood on either side of him and raised a hand each. The crystal-like stone beneath him cracked and scooped him upwards. He remained suspended at the waists of the Gods.

“Sorry young one. This procedure is going to hurt, but I promise you it will be quick.” Hope mourned for him as a sadistic smile formed across Despair’s encroaching face.

“Savour the pain and continue to feed me your despair, Fr-o-st~”

He had a hunch for what was about to happen, and as much as he abhorred it, there was little he could do. Only a prayer for this to quickly end would suffice. With teeth grit like vices and broadened eyes, he watched as the hands plunged into his body with lightning speed.

He didn’t budge. An invisible force restrained every inch of his body as only a gruelling howl escaped. Their hands swam in his body, feeling the warmth of his innards.

“It’s already closing up. Phase, grab the shard from one of the Frostbitten.” Despair sounded intrigued as she looked into Exrite’s lazy eyes. “How remarkable that you haven’t fallen unconscious from the pain yet. You must be used to this kind of thing.”

She was right. As Phase asked the other two for the shard, Exrite was brought back to a time when it all began – a time when he had first met the lonely woman at the balcony of his family’s estate.

Phase, with the shard in hand, offered it to the Gods with grace. Hope formed a magic circle beneath him and a smaller one above his face. His wound began to close more rapidly, which soon trapped the hands of the Gods inside his stomach.

“Please, dear Frost, I beg that you do not die on us, for one of your friends will have to take your place. We will make this as painless as possible.” Hope announced soothingly as she gave him a gentle smile. A nod to Despair followed. “Despair, please do it.”

“You better not die~ If we lose you then my mercy on the two will be quite short-lived.” She playfully warned as she held the palm-sized shard in her free hand and hovered it beside his wound. “Now, please show me a good face.”

Exrite was torn between reality and his delusional world as the shard plunged deeply into his stomach with a horrifying thud. Whether it was the sound of his bones or the shard breaking – it made no difference to him. His endless cries of pain were never heard as only his pained face could be seen from behind the magical circle. All noise that escaped his mouth were being nullified by magic. But in the eyes of the closely cuddled siblings – they could hear it. The phantom cries were surely real and not just their imagination.

Frosty growled under her breath and cursed the Gods in silence.

“Is there… really nothing we can do?” Khaos’ eyes trembled at torturous procedure the Gods had messily conducted on his closest friend.

Not an ounce of care was given to compensate for his pain – much less the healing circle which only made it worse for him. If it wasn’t his body that was going to break, then surely it would be his mind. But Exrite was prepared for that. After all, it wasn’t the pain that was his biggest gripe.

His wound hadn’t been healing at a rate he was accustomed to. The shard’s reaction with his body had temporarily nullified his regeneration. Not even Hope’s miraculous healing magic could properly combat it without there being a noticeable decay. He was on a clock – the gears of his life span uncontrollably as he was left to the mercy of the Gods.

“Gently, gently. The shard’s beginning to shine. The fragment seems to be closer to his chest.” Hope was compassionate in her voice, but the coarse rummaging of his insides proved otherwise.

As their hands ventured deeper and deeper into his chest cavity, Exrite grew tired of yelling and could only lazily gaze into the background of the forsaken realm. He remembered the woman’s face from that time – a woman with black, elegant hair and beautiful clothing that resembled gears of the altar.

Undoubtedly, she was the Maiden of Time – he was now sure of it. He vividly remembered asking her name, and the words that left her mouth sounding like distorted static.

All but a single word.

“Exrenity.”

It was the only thing he remembered before she had plunged her hand into his chest within the blink of an eye. A strange object in her hand was placed onto his head, followed with an incoherent explosion before all faded to darkness.

And when he awoke, he found his family beside him. Some wept while others stared baffled by his recovery. He had a younger sister he cared for, and an older sister who looked after them in the absence of their parents. All he knew of his father was that he was the king of their land, and his mother was someone he rarely ever saw. Not a queen, but someone of a different power from monarchy. When they learnt of his recovery, strange things began to happen to him. His sisters grew distant, the people he once called friends strayed from his side and all he had left was himself. He seemingly disappeared from the world around him, and from there, his curse drew the worst from those within his eternal prison.

Exrite saw the memory as nothing but the past. But the inner thoughts meddled with him as he questioned whether he could just run away from his problems. Never before had he delved so deeply into his past – the pain and his likely death solicitated a fleeting moment where he could delve into the past.

Why was I given something like this?

Why was I betrayed?

Why was I forsaken for the last ten years?”

Tears swelled again. His moistened eyes glistened in the magnificent light of the magic circle as he continued to stare off into the distance.

Nothing made sense to him. No matter how much he studied alone or read, he could never figure out why things had changed so suddenly. It bothered him, yet he tried to refuse it did. Because in the depths of his memories, he remembered the crying faces of the two he cared the most in the world – his sisters.

If they truly betrayed him, then why did they weep before leaving him forever?

He was biased. His memory of their faces and that exact moment was hazy, but he still clung to it with everything he had. While the hands finally reached his heart, he couldn’t help but to utter something with a gentle smile.

“And I thought I had nothing left to lose.” While it was silent, it held enough power to sway even a king.

Hope smiled at his determination, as if she could hear those words as she grasped his tender, yet firm heart.

His smile immediately shifted into a grimace of pain as he felt his chest snap to the leverage of her tug.

“It’s here, Despair. His heart has the fragment embedded into it.”

She pulled it straight from his chest cavity and hovered it lightly above his body. Despair leaned in with a look of wonder.

“Looks like we were too late. The fragment has already fused with the muscle.” She didn’t sound dissatisfied, despite the contents of their findings.

“This is a problem, isn’t it?” Hope inspected the heart containing a large, light blue crystal embedded within. It glowed in accordance with the shard Despair held closely by, pulsating with the rhythm of his heart.

“If we pull it out now, this one will die. How fickle we are, promising to remove this from him. Sis, remove the sound barrier.”

With a nod, the magic circle in front of his face disappeared into thousands of tiny particles before his eyes. Loud growling erupted from his mouth as he panted with every fleeting breath he could muster. His gaze grew hazy to the handling of his heart.

The Gods found themselves in an odd situation. It seemed like they had been played with by the Maiden of Time. The thought infuriated Despair as, Hope forced out a gentle giggle.

The Maiden of Time purposely planted this fragment long before her disappearance in order to ensure his body would be preserved until this very moment. What exactly for was a mystery to them, but even so – they could not complain. What had happened could not be reversed. It was ‘fate’.

Just how far had that woman planned this? There’s obviously no way that we’ll be able to remove that fragment from him without him dying. Unless…

Despair arrived at an epiphany as her eyes broadened a tenfold. Her teeth grit audibly as she growled in frustration.

Impossible. She couldn’t have thought all of this through! The only possible way fulfil our promise now is to directly counter the regenerative nature of the fragment!

Hope, unlike Despair, found this to be a quite wonderful turn of events. Everyone here had fallen victim to the cunning Maiden’s schemes. The call for Exrite was perfectly timed with the fusion of the fragment, and his desire to remove the curse matched perfectly with what they could only offer as an alternative to removing it without killing him.

Well played my dear. You’ve learnt more than we could ever have in these past few eons. Although… Why did you leave it to this man?

She turned her eyes to the pitiful man who was desperately trying to reject death’s embrace. There must’ve been something she knew about him that no one did. Something that perhaps he didn’t know as well. Not a power – she could tell by his weak magic presence – but something else.

Defeated, Despair could only reluctantly speak.

“Frost, you have but two options. We can remove your heart from your body and grant you a mortal death, or… “ She paused and forced a sadistic smile. “Become our Exrenity. You’ll live, and your curse will dwindle over time. However, you’ll be under our direct orders – You will live for us, and us only.”

There was only one clear answer. An answer he may find to regret in the future, but at the very least he’d allowed to continue living. It was the only reason why he resisted the cold talons of death with so much resolve.

He gathered whatever he had left of his voice and spoke.

“I-I will do it. I will become your Exrenity.”

A satisfied smile formed on Hope’s face as she brushed a thumb against the smooth surface of the fragment in his heart. It bled a glorious blue light, one that reminded her of the Maiden of Time’s eyes.

“As you wish, Frost Extrial.” She humbly uttered before Despair shoved the shard against the fragment. “By our will, an Exrenity shall be born!”

An immediate numbing pain surged throughout his body as the crystals began to emit an intense light. The ground beneath them shook as the fluid travelling through the cracks ceased abruptly.

Frosty had left the realm of fear as she stared in awe at their surroundings with sore eyes. The supermassive, black orb high above tremored with a loud, echoing howl as the white orb began to quiver.

Exrite couldn’t breathe any longer. Death began to rattle his broken ribs as he watched the shard morph and infect his heart. When it had disappeared into him, his veins dilatated and glowed a sky blue. It pulsated with the rapid beats of his heart as black spots were beginning to invade his vision.

Khaos prayed for his survival as he clenched his fists with enough power to shatter steel. His gauntlets groaned at his strength and became his only outlet.

When he felt like he would succumb to the impeding darkness, the light in his veins ceased entirely. A heave of air collapsed into his lungs as his heart stabilised itself, the magic circle working wonders to his wounds. Hope allowed his heart to return to his body with a gentle smile.

Despair, despite being unpleased earlier, couldn’t help but to also smile as she began to understand the logic behind Time’s plans. An uncontained laughter sounded from her as she reclaimed her hand from Exrite’s body. Hope too giggled as she imagined the prospects of their investment. After all, it wasn’t just Exrite they had under their command now – they also had the two Frostbitten.

“We only fed that lonely fragment with its missing half.” Despair hummed from above and tapped her eye playfully.

“Our promise had yet to be fulfilled, dear Frost. Despair, please proceed. Don’t worry, it won’t hurt like before.” Hope’s promise seemed unlikely as he watched a hand reach for his left eye.

Despair then sunk her fingers into her own eye and scooped it from the socket with clean elegance before quickly being replaced by another one. Now, it was his turn. He felt her cold fingers slide to the back of his eye before yanking it from position with an excessive amount of blood pooling out. A deep hole was left on the side of his face as he groaned through his clamped teeth.

Indeed, it was nowhere near as painful as the previous procedure. But this one felt more nauseating, as he clearly felt every inch of her fingers that caressed his eye. The cold air sept through the hole before her deep, blood-red eye was immediately plunged into his empty socket.

An intense chill electrified his entire body. Layers of red magic circles formed above his eye and spun like gears, each one toppling another before finally disappearing altogether in a fine black mist. It felt like someone had seared his eye with a poker, but at the same time, felt like ice was running throughout his body. He couldn’t tell what was happening, but at the very least it wasn’t unpleasant – the eye twisted and turned to his will, like it was his own.

Allowed to now move, he quickly sat up and began to pat the left side of his face, feeling the eye that was now his own with quivering hands.

“Please stay still Frost. We have not yet finished.” Hope reached for his left eye and touched the very centre of it. Like before, magic circles appeared in front of the eye and spun before they collapsed onto each other and disappeared into white particles.

Exrite couldn’t describe what he felt in his body. It was normal, yet it wasn’t. A warmth mixed with a touch of ice seemed to circulate around his very being. He looked up at the Gods who had cast morbid spell on him and slowly asked:

“T… This eye, what is it?”

Hope removed her finger and hummed. “It’s the mark of the Exrenity.” She stared deeply into the wonderfully blood-red eye. “You, for better or worse, belong to us now. You will be our window to the world beyond our region – our eyes, sword and shield.”

“Exrenity?” He still sounded slow, mostly suffering from lingering phantom pain and his encounter with death.

“Hmm. Frostbitten – what does Exrenity mean in your tongue?” Despair turned to the two, who were tensely seated on their knees.

“B-balance. The guardian of balance.” Khaos tried not to mutter, not wanting to offend the Gods in any way.

“Does that answer your question, our little Exrenity?” She playfully teased with a sadistic smile.

He nodded. “Guardian of Balance, huh.” A small smile formed on his face. He was happy that he didn’t end up dying. The shallow river that fled his left eye reflected that. “Wait, no- I just-, shit- “ Incoherent words left his mouth as he desperately tried to wipe the tears from his eyes.

Why was he crying? He fought through the pain and suffering, and yet the aftermath was what left him emotional. He tried to laugh it out, but the tears could only fall harder.

“How bizarre. I was expecting a person like yourself to be brimming with courage after what you went through. Oh well, I guess you’re still only human.” Despair sounded somewhat annoyed, as Hope giggled in relief.

“The eye is the embodiment of hope and despair – and also the consumer of it. Dear Frost, please lift your head.”

He removed his arms and looked up with tears streaming by his cheeks.

Not once had the group seen a single tear leave him before. They knew him as someone light-hearted, but tough when he needed to be. To see him in such a state was bafflingly strange, but at the same time, it was heart-warming. Those weren’t tears of sadness – it was of happiness.

His tears were concentrated with the surging memories that invaded his mind from seemingly nowhere. All his despair was coming to light, and at the end of it, was a glimmer of hope.

Perhaps this curse was a blessing, he couldn’t help but to imagine as he began to smile with tears continuing to drizzle down his face. It was liberating. The chains of his past, despite still being heavy, felt like they couldn’t stop him anymore.

Maybe now, he could find a path other than running away – a path with his friends.

Despair held a wry smile as she watched her sister bathe in the hope their pawn was brimming with. She sighed and looked at the two Frostbitten who were dazzled by the heartfelt moment.

Well, I guess I had my fill of despair earlier. I hope she doesn’t overeat.

She could only hum in her mind as their positivity began to rub onto her.

Now then, where were we?

Exrite’s tears subsided after a while. He had rejoined the others and left the Gods staring at them from close by.

“Was that really alright?” Phase was sceptical about the entire thing and wanted her concern to be heard. “You do know what will happen in the future. I hope you understand that not everything may go your way.”

Despair clicked her tongue at the talkative spirit. “We know. Things can go awry once they leave Colight. But I’m betting on them to pull through – and if not, then at least I can bathe in the despair of the Maiden of Time, if she’s still around that is.”

“That’s not what I mean!” Phase blurted out, almost in an angered tone.

“Silence, please.” Hope’s voice failed to harmonise with her words as she stared at the spirit with narrowed eyes. “The world already treads on thin ice. We do not want to end up like Western Six Point.”

Despite Phase’s efforts to retort, she had to bite the bitter taste of reality and kept her mouth shut. She knew well of what resided on the other side of the continent – it was the embodiment of hell. No Maiden could ever dream of holding order in such a place. Not anymore.

A silent gaze was held on the group of three, who mindlessly conversed, with the girl crying in their Exrenity’s arms. Phase couldn’t help but to doubt their ability to even lend a helping hand in their grand scheme. But what did she know? Afterall, she was only a spirit who had been trapped within this place for the past few thousand years.

“Frostbitten and Exrenity.” A loud voice from Despair called out, gathering their attention. “What you seek is the Maiden of Wisdom, correct?”

“That’s right.” Khaos answered unwaveringly as he steeled himself.

A charming smile formed across her face. “Then our goals align quite nicely. But at the moment, you cannot reach your goal as you are. Quite frankly, you’re all too weak. You will die trying to reach the Maidens.” She explained the bitter truth to them which caused his fists to tighten.

He knew this, but he didn’t want to admit it. After witnessing their strength in person, it was already clear. Even the Maidens would be stronger than the spirit that had defeated him with only her voice.

“Which is why the kingdoms of Truebirth and Pathfist will aid you in both our goals – The knowledge of the Maiden of Wisdom that you seek, and the liberation of all the Maidens of Six Point.”

Exrite’s eyes nearly fell from their sockets as Frosty grit her teeth with tremendous vigour. It was impossible after all – no amount of power would allow them to successfully defeat a Maiden, let alone safely travel to them. Exrite wondered how Khaos thought it would be even remotely possibly for them to meet with the Maiden of Wisdom, who’s whereabouts were entirely unknown.

“Wait-! T-that’s still impossible!” Frosty blurted without any restraint. “Even with the help of two kingdoms, it’d be impossible!”

Hope smiled. “Then you’re saying that meeting with Wisdom is possible?”

She shut her mouth and choked on her logic, her eyes becoming narrow in frustration.

“I imagine you will keep your end of this bargain, Frosty?” Despair touched her lips and smiled sinisterly at the girl.

“Frosty, let it go.” Her brother grasped her shoulder and took a firm stance. “We’ll do it. We’ll do whatever it takes to accomplish our goals.”

Despair seemed satisfied with his response.

“Frost, please take care of yourself and the Frostbitten. This one’s hope will forever remain strong with you all.” She tilted her head forwards to the group, sparking a shocked response.

“P-please don’t lower your head. We’re thankful for what you’ve done.” He instead lowered his head in respect to the God, the others following in immediate suit.

No God should ever lower themselves below a mortal, but Hope felt like she was indifferent to them. There was an odd respect that Frosty managed to garner for her and only her.

“We struggle, no matter where we are in life. And that’s because we can hope. Please, grow strong, no matter how long it takes – we will patiently wait here in our little world.”

“Certainly. We’ll be waiting here. Just don’t die. Especially you, Frost – you may be immortal for a little while more but expect to see that change. Our eyes can only nullify the ‘curse’ so quickly without killing you outright.” Despair warned with a scolding tone, smiling shortly after.

A nod came from the trio as Phase quietly sighed. She didn’t see much potential in them at all, but she believed that the Gods saw something more in them. And most of all – the Maiden of Time’s decision to give the human the fragment of time. She blamed her twisted perception, as she had spent many years lumbering in the darkness of this realm and thought her intuition was becoming rusty.

A ball of bright light suddenly appeared before them. It quickly expanded and consumed them entirely. When it shrunk moments later, the three had disappeared safely without a sound. Silence returned to them at last. But was short-lived due to the hysterical laughter coming from Despair.

“What is it now?” Phase calmly asked as she folded her arms in annoyance.

She continued for a little longer before letting loose of a hefty sigh.

“I just recalled the previous Exrenity. Oh! – how he broke after we gave him our eyes! His despair was truly delicious~!”

“I’m glad I got my fill. We’re lucky to have someone survive it and not shrivel into a pool of flesh.” Hope responded nonchalantly and touched her lips, licking them moist to the flavour Exrite had given her. “Such a delicacy. It truly was worth the wait.”

Phase couldn’t understand her masters at all and paced away from them, hoping to return to her dark sanctuary without having to think too deeply about the strange thing called ‘food’.

Their path still remained unclear and uncertain to them, but now they had a goal in mind. While still keeping his promise with his companions, they would also have to find the other Maidens along the way. It seemed impossible – but so did removing his curse in the beginning, and so was his escape from the kingdom with two unlikely people. If it was up to fate, like Hope had said, then perhaps they could walk further towards their new goal – The liberation of the Maidens of Six Point.

A soft smile formed on the sleeping Exrite as a hand gently pulled a sheet over him.