The Silver Hand gazed at the snow piled three fingers deep on the ground, his expression indescribable for a moment. "What a heavy snowfall," he remarked, turning to the silent man behind him. Dressed in a dark red robe, the man's chiseled face was expressionless, save for the occasional glimmer in his dark red eyes, a color not of this world.
The man in the dark red cloak remained silent, catching a crystal-clear snowflake in his left hand. As it touched his palm, it turned into a blood-red crystal, melting away with a flow of dark red energy before solidifying into a diamond-shaped crystal. The man, cold and detached, glanced at The Silver Hand and then crushed the crystal into powder.
"Twenty years ago, there was a similar snowstorm. But the only survivors were you and me," The Silver Hand said, touching the scar on his face with a heavy sigh. Only those who have been to war understand the deep bond of brotherhood, a sentiment that surpasses love. He would never forget the faces of the knights who shielded him with their bodies.
"I have a premonition that we're both going to die," the man in the cloak said in a raspy, metallic voice, looking at the vast snowscape.
"Die?" The Silver Hand gave a self-mocking smile, gripping the hilt of his Crusher sword. "We have no wives, no children. Dying on the battlefield is our true destiny."
The cloaked man fell silent, closing his eyes in a wordless trance.
The Silver Hand was familiar with his companion's habits. Looking at the snow-covered mountains, he said, "The snow blocks the roads. At least until next spring, the Saturn Empire's army can't cross the border."
Two months – enough time for The Silver Hand's Knights and the Royal Shadow Mages to settle the capital's conflicts. But he wondered how Princess Helen would face the enraged nobles, the imprisoned Queen Angelina, and Lady Elizabeth, accused of treason.
Lady Elizabeth, the "Bloody Rose," admired for avenging her husband on the battlefield. He knew well the strength of her guardian knights. That mysterious woman who, like a meteor across the sky, had slain one of the few remaining Sacred Coffin Knights of the Saturn Empire!
Few knew that the battle which defined Lady Elizabeth was a one-woman show, a woman from hell fighting alone against the continent's strongest knight order - the Shield of Saturn!
Thinking this, The Silver Hand turned to the man in the cloak. "Can you defeat her?"
"No," the cloaked man replied in his metallic, raspy voice. "But she can't kill me either. Our powers both come from hell."
The Silver Hand fell silent.
Snowflakes fell, burying the faces deep in memory...
...
In a private residence.
"Your hair," Aurelia said, looking at Felix's head full of shiny white hair, her face uncontrollably sad as she gently caressed his delicate face.
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Felix bowed his head, hiding his eyes and expression. He took out a letter marked with magical runes from the Blue Crystal and handed it to Aurelia. "I'm in trouble. I need you to deliver this letter to a half-elf named 'Ivica' in Maple Town, Oaklandia."
Aurelia looked at Felix, took the envelope, and walked towards the door.
"Wait," Felix suddenly said, taking out a deep purple potion from the Blue Crystal. "Apply this to a wound, and within a day, it will heal without a scar."
Aurelia glanced at the alchemical elixir but didn't take it. She picked up Felix's dark gray cloak, draped it over her shoulders, and left without looking back.
It wasn't until her figure vanished into the snowstorm that two words reached Felix's ears: "Wait for me."
Felix stood silently at the door, watching Aurelia disappear. Long after, as the snow covered his white hair, he let out a deep sigh.
There was no Maple Town in Oaklandia, nor a half-elf named 'Ivica.'
The magical seal on the envelope would fade in seven days, by which time everything would become clear, and the answer would reveal itself.
Felix walked slowly into the room, quietly observing the surprised mother and daughter before him. He pulled out the Ecclesiastes, given to him by the Light Ranger, from the Blue Crystal and handed it to them.
"Take this to Saint Erde Cathedral. The woman who met you once will take care of you," he said, ignoring the complex looks from the mother and daughter. "I can send you away, even hire a team of adventurers for your escort. But your beauty is the root of all evil. I think you understand what your end would be."
Felix gazed calmly at Beatrice Tinia, looking at this mother trying her best to protect her daughter. "Saint Erde Cathedral will offer you sanctuary. There, you will also have the chance to gain strength."
Beatrice Tinia, with mixed emotions in her eyes towards Felix and his head full of white hair, which filled her with unease, hesitated before finally reaching out trembling hands to accept the Ecclesiastes. "Thank you, master."
Felix said nothing, turned, and walked towards the door. As he reached it, he paused and said indifferently, "One doesn't want their own vase to be broken by others. So, you don't need to thank me."
As the snow gradually covered Felix's departing figure, the mother and daughter, now without Felix's protection, were left with their confusion and fear of the unpredictable future.
Felix's return to Felendia with the third batch of ogre materials meant a temporary respite from the Saturn Empire's threat on the Titans' border.
If he were Princess Helen, he would take this opportunity to eliminate all obstacles in the capital. The heavy snow sealed the mountains, giving almost two months from now until spring. Enough time for many things, like making the capital's troublemakers vanish from the prime material plane.
Lady Elizabeth stood too high and too conspicuous - the court's chief financial advisor, the guide of the military's new nobility, and one of the most influential members of the council. Any of these roles made her the first enemy Princess Helen would target.
He felt uneasy, haunted by a dreadful intuition that everything was drawing near.
The Shadow Queen had granted him immense magical power, but this gift wasn't eternal. This borrowed power, though lending him strength, was fleeting.
For spellcasters on the path to eternity, only the power they acquire themselves is real.
Felix had little time; he had to prepare his trump cards to influence the situation before everything happened.
The capital was already under curfew. This sense of unease was palpable even to the lowest of the poor. Felix couldn't guess when Princess Helen would strike, as even today could be the day. To this mysterious woman, perhaps no opportunity was needed.
The only one she might fear was Catherine, Lady Elizabeth's guardian knight, a mighty being from hell!
In the Felendia laboratory, Felix picked up a scalpel and began working on the last batch of ogre battle servants.
The demonized ogre battle servants had been transformed. This powerful demonized being, though short-lived, would suffice when Felix needed its strength.
One demonized ogre, eight ogre battle servants infused with a trace of demonic blood, and another being crafted from the body of a higher demon – a flesh golem.
This was Felix's entire arsenal.