?After the Ice Lord shattered the Covenant Beast into a million glinting shards, the battle did not end. In a horrific display of regeneration, the fragments coalesced, and the Beast struck back with a thunderous lash of its tentacles. Hurled backward, the Ice Lord fought to find his footing, his breath ragged as he barely stabilized himself. The Beast, relentless and predatory, lunged again without a second's reprieve.

  ?Invoking his freezing essence, the Ice Lord summoned a legion of crystalline clones to shroud the battlefield in a mirage of frost. As the Beast tore through the decoys, the Ice Lord descended from above, landing firmly atop the creature’s massive head.

  ?"I know I cannot slay you," he whispered, his voice cutting through the arctic wind. "But I will fulfill my second vow to Alexander: I will tame you."

  ?With a swift motion, he cut his palm. Crimson droplets trickled onto the Beast’s hide, and as he activated his power, he did not strike. Instead, he forced his consciousness deep into the Beast’s primal mind.

  ?He awoke in a void of stifling white mist. For agonizing seconds, there was only silence, until the haze dissolved to reveal the Ice Lord floating in a boundless sky. Before him stood a colossal, enigmatic figure with the head of an octopus.

  ?"O traveler who comes to etch his name upon the Covenant Document," the figure spoke, its voice vibrating through the ether. "Your wish shall be written in the final place of existence. What is it you seek?"

  ?The Ice Lord met the guardian’s gaze. "So, you are the Covenant Beast—the sentinel of the Document. My wish is simple: Do not awaken until the Chosen One arrives."

  ?"The Chosen One?" the entity scoffed. "I know not what madness drives you humans to rush toward your own extinction. The Chosen One shall beat the drums of the Great War, a symphony of annihilation for you and all you hold dear. Do you long for the grave?"

  ?"No," the Ice Lord countered. "But until he comes, your slumber must remain unbroken."

  ?"Listen, mortal," the Beast rumbled. "You, I, and all that breathe are trapped in a pre-ordained loop. The events are already written; do not hasten them. We are the safety locks preventing the final disaster. By your words, you seek to grant that person the first step. When the Chosen One shatters the Seven Covenants and the Fourteen Shields, chaos will erupt. The world will endure horrors the mind cannot fathom. Therefore... I refuse."

  ?"You refuse? Are you afraid of death?"

  ?"Not I alone; all shall tremble. Even you shiver in your soul at the mention of him. He is the Shield Breaker, and you know the weight of that name. Time flows like a torrent, and one shall come to dismantle the laws of this world and forge a new one from the ashes. It will be a world of prosperity, or a world drowned in blood. Ask for something else, human."

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  ?The Ice Lord fell into a deep silence. "Then I must change my request," he finally said. "Your covenant is meant to protect both sides, yet you have shielded only them—and a young girl paid the price for your bias. I do not promise the lives of everyone; both sides are my burden. If I am a killer for taking that girl's life, what of them? They slaughtered five hundred, while we lost but one. Do the lives of those demons outweigh the soul of that child?"

  ?The Beast’s eyes flashed with a grim amusement. "You call them demons? So be it. I shall protect both parties as I see fit. Now, what is your true wish?"

  ?The Ice Lord spoke his final request. The Beast placed the wish upon a spectral scale. "It is recorded. But now comes the trial. If you desire this pact to hold, you must best me. Fail, and you die with your wish unwritten. Your physical vessel has but ten minutes before it withers. Shall we begin?"

  ?The Beast conjured a staff of solid black ice. The Ice Lord gripped his hilt, and in a flash of silver, they collided. The Beast hurled volleys of frozen blades; the Ice Lord wove through the lethal rain, his eyes fixed on his target. Just as he closed the distance, the Beast’s staff extended with supernatural speed, thrusting him back.

  ?Seeing the Beast descending for a crushing blow, the Ice Lord manipulated the frost beneath him to lurch aside. He slammed his palms against the ground, activating a pre-set trap that encased the Beast in a jagged cage of ice.

  ?The Beast shattered the cage with a roar, only to find the Ice Lord inches from his face. A brutal kick landed, followed by a blur of steel as the Ice Lord released a cloud of crystalline dust. The Beast stood frozen in the haze, realizing a shallow wound had appeared on his hand. Before he could react, he saw the Ice Lord calmly sheathing his blade.

  ?"Have you surrendered?" the Beast demanded.

  ?"The power of the Ice Blades," the Ice Lord replied softly.

  ?Internal agony seized the Beast. Hidden shards of ice, planted during the flurry, erupted from within his body, tearing through his spiritual form.

  ?The Beast smiled through the pain. "You win, Ice Lord. Your request shall be etched into the Covenant Document."

  ?As the Ice Lord’s spirit began to evaporate, he asked one final question: "How much of your true power did you use against me?"

  ?The Beast’s grin widened. "That power is already reserved for another."

  ?The Ice Lord smiled back. "So... you are just like us."

  ?The Ice Lord’s eyes snapped open in the crushing darkness of the ocean floor. Gasping for air he couldn't find, he surged toward the surface. He shattered the thick ice sheet covering the water and hauled himself out, his lungs burning as he inhaled the freezing air.

  ?In the nearby villages, the Ice Knights stood in the aftermath.

  "Thank the gods you are safe," Volak sighed.

  "It’s all thanks to Rose," Julian added. "She is the true hero of this day."

  ?Iris looked toward the horizon, her voice trembling. "But... wasn't that last surge of power far more terrifying than the first?"

  ?"Yes," Volak whispered, his face darkening with dread. "Harold felt it too."

  ?Fear for the girl gripped them all. Volak urged the knights forward, and the villagers followed in a silent, anxious procession, their hearts heavy with the mystery of what Rose had truly endured.