Early, at dawn, the female soldier positioned herself in front of the cabin where Slady and Ferinish were. Gripping her spear firmly, she knocked on the door with force.
"In the name of Fraizen, open this door!"
…
Silence was the only answer. Irritated, she struck the door again, even harder.
"If you don't open, I'll break it down!"
…
No response. The soldier, impatient, kicked. The door, made of brittle wood, splintered into pieces as it crashed against the wall.
Entering the cabin, she walked toward the bedroom, which had no door. But as she stepped through the entrance...
There was no one there.
A sound behind her shattered the silence. The soldier spun immediately, readying a strike with her ice spear.
The attack, however, was interrupted by the metallic chime of Ferinish's sword, which met the blade with absolute cold.
"..."
Ferinish stared at her with an icy look. In a swift move, she delivered a kick to the redhead's stomach, which had no effect: Ferinish remained motionless, unshaken.
Before the soldier could react, Ferinish grabbed her by the throat and slammed her against the wall.
"Who are you?"
"Ahhh...!"
The woman gasped, struggling to breathe.
Ferinish loosened the grip slightly, just enough not to choke her outright. Her eyes gleamed, intense, like blades of fire piercing the soldier's soul.
"I'll ask one last time. Who are you?"
Even under suffocating pressure, the soldier kept her pride.
"I am... the guardian... of Your Majesty..."
Ferinish released her. The woman fell to the floor, panting, recovering her breath. But soon her own spear was pressed against the woman's neck.
"Don't move."
Ferinish left the weapon planted in the ground, turned, and left the cabin.
Outside, she walked through the forest. The nearby branches were coated with shards of ice, and her breath fogged in the frigid air. Before long, she found Slady, sitting on a log and roasting fish over the fire.
"May I join you?"
"Yes."
He made room. Ferinish sat beside him, took a piece of fish, and put it to her mouth.
"It's been a long time since I ate something like this... delicious."
Unthinkingly, she leaned and ended up resting her head on Slady's lap.
"Sorry."
She tried to pull away, but Slady gently held her head against his legs.
"Your body is less tense like this. Allow yourself a little."
He offered another piece of fish, placing it at her lips. Ferinish accepted, chewing slowly, trying to relax.
"It's still difficult for me..."
Then she remembered:
"Slady, there's a woman in our cabin."
"Hmmm..."
He just kept eating.
***
In the cabin, the soldier's arms were tied above her head, bound by a rope. Vulnerable.
"We won't hurt you. I only want your name and to understand why you're here."
Slady said.
"Carolina Silver. I was sent by Fraizen, Your Majesty, to take you to our kingdom."
Despite the awkward position, her clothing hiked up, revealing the chill against her skin, Carolina spoke with authority.
"Kingdom? Which one?"
"The Kingdom of Ice Storm, ruled by our queen."
Slady exchanged a look with Ferinish. The warrior stepped forward:
"We might go... but I want a guarantee of lodging. Even if it's rented."
Slady thought: 'She's good at this.'
"You'll have a few free days at a local tavern. After that, you'll have to pay."
The two agreed with a nod.
***
As they walked through the kingdom, Slady and Ferinish watched carefully. The wooden houses seemed to absorb the cold, making the homes warmer. Commercial buildings followed the same pattern. Despite the beauty and order, many inhabitants were thin, not from genetics, but from the hunger that plagued the place.
Carolina, despite the cold, was received with respect by the community. Some looks conveyed fear, others admiration. Slady and Ferinish, on the other hand, were observed with curiosity and, at times, a measure of prejudice, but no one dared act hostile in the guardian's presence.
When they entered a local tavern, they were greeted by patrons drinking hot beverages. The manager, a man of about forty-five, looked at Carolina with respect and at the two with distrust.
"Welcome, guardian. Who have you brought with you?"
"They're people I found lost nearby. They need a place to stay; they can't afford rent yet. Can you offer them a room?"
The manager assessed Slady and Ferinish. Receiving Carolina's silent approval, he nodded:
"Of course. But they'll have to pay later."
"They agreed."
"Great. You'll be in room fifteen."
He jotted it down in a small notebook beside him.
In the room, the pair found a simple, clean space: a double bed, a wardrobe with basic male and female clothing, and a bathroom with a sign reading: "Save the water."
They sighed at the same time and lay down together, not caring about sharing the bed.
"We need a bath."
Ferinish commented.
"Yes."
Slady replied.
"You go first?"
"No, you."
"Slady, let's not start that argument again."
If overheard, people might think they were a couple... but certainly calmer than most couples. The result was obvious: Ferinish decided to go first. She took feminine clothes and headed to the bathroom, throwing a deadly glance back:
"Don't look at me in the bathroom, Slady."
"I won't."
Slady lay there, lost in thoughts about his adopted daughters, friends, work...
'... Shaphira... Elisa... are they okay?'
Shortly after, Ferinish came out of the bath, dressed in the tavern's simple clothes.
"Your turn."
"Sure, rest."
"I'll try."
She lay down. When Slady entered the bathroom, he noticed the pallor of her body from the cold, the stubble starting on his face, and, of course, the scars across her exposed skin. He also noticed that Ferinish wasn't wearing underwear beneath her kimono.
'Do I need to help her with proper clothes? It must be hard to live in society after so long in simulation.'
After washing and changing, Slady returned to the room. Ferinish was curled up, trembling. Without saying a word, he covered her with the blanket and wrapped his arms around her body, offering warmth.
"Thank you."
She curled into herself, accepting the warmth more as protection than as an embrace, and fell asleep. Slady, lost in thought, eventually slept beside her.
In the early hours, he woke. The stars shone in the sky, the streets lay blanketed in snow, and in the distance, the ice castle of the Kingdom of Ice Storm rose majestically. He rose, remembering something he needed to finish.
***
In the laboratory, among wreckage and intact areas, Slady stood before four scientists responsible for Raizer's death. Using a stolen badge, he opened the containment room where the scientists were held: in a basement.
"I almost forgot about you..."
He said, adjusting his coat and preparing equipment.
"Stop this!"
One of the scientists shouted.
"We only wanted to advance science! Nothing personal!"
"We regret everything, especially abandoning him."
One of the women begged.
Slady sat down, cold and relentless.
"Over two hundred years ago, five years before you created Ferinish, you tried to make a weapon against the Inférius. Many suffered from your failed experiments. And when you created me... you didn't even give me a name."
His bionic eye scanned every detail of a document.
"The consciousness didn't awaken? You discarded me. You used the same techniques to create Ferinish. She lived over a century in simulation, terrorized by everything, trusting no one. You destroyed her."
"But it was for the good of humani—"
"SHUT UP!"
Slady slammed his bionic hand on the table, breaking it.
"You treated her like an object! Ferinish was used, and my daughter, Shaphira, could have been the next victim! And Raizer... you killed him cowardly, unable to defend himself because of his illness, leaving a young orphan traumatized!"
He filled a syringe with Renkai Energy and other substances.
"I want you to feel what you did. I want to see if your methods for reversing age will be as effective on you so that this night... becomes a hell."
"Please, Slady, forgive us!"
They begged.
"We can give anything, money, power, equipment!"
Nothing mattered. Their fate was sealed.
***
Hours later, Slady spread gasoline around the laboratory, mixed with explosive compounds.
He held a lit cigarette, along with a document detailing the scientists' experiment results.
"Perhaps I'm as cruel as you, but this past will be erased."
The fire spread. Slady stepped back, watching the sunrise through the red-dark glow of his mechanical eye.
"No one will be anyone's weapon. You will hurt no more, my brothers..."
The laboratory exploded, destroying evidence, experiments, and lives created for malicious purposes. The end of centuries of terror.
"Goodbye, my creators."