LAST PRESAGE

Here am I again, in this world full of ice.

For some reason, the realm of the Frozen Soul is no longer having any blizzards. The skies revealed its true form: a clear blue twilight. Sun is now peeking on the horizon. The ice rocks are now in the merge of melting, and the normally frozen floor is now a lake in which I can walk on without getting soaked.

I slowly approached the Frozen Soul.

I gazed in front and noticed a singularity. The ice crystal, which kept the Frozen Soul frozen is now much thinner. Water droplets started to race downwards. It's on the verge of melting. Climate change is real.

"I'm sorry for calling you."

When I turned around, I saw a silver-haired man with red eyes. There's no malicious intent on him even though he is a Cursed Guardian, for he was the Outsider.

"Why did you send me here?" I asked.

"I have to warn you. This is an urgent matter." The Outsider's face is giving of wariness. It's rare for him to give that expression. "The Frozen Soul is on the verge of awakening. That ice crystal is estimated to melt in one year."

"What happens if the Frozen Soul wakes?"

"See for yourself." The Outsider welcomed me to approach the frozen crystal which contains the woman who is endlessly singing for all eternity.

Soft ripples echoed as I take a step forward. The moment I was just a half meter away from the Frozen Soul, I saw a faint glow on her heart.

It was a dark Quintessence…

No…

It was a God Core far more powerful than anything in existence.

My God Core glowed, and information went through my brain.

The Frozen Soul….

She wields the power of the strongest god.

OUTER GOD CORE: AZATHOTH

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Reality shattered.

<<<>>>

It was pure pitch black. I couldn't see, hear, feel, touch, smell, or taste anything. Not even my magical senses work in this place. Everything is so quiet and empty.

<<<>>>

When I blinked, I was already back in the realm of the Frozen Soul. I glanced at the Outsider with the most confused face I can ever give.

"You saw it, didn't you?" The Outsider smiled.

"I saw nothing."

"Precisely… It must be clear to you now. The Frozen Soul have the power of the . She is singing a lullaby for herself, just to keep her from waking up."

"What's the deal with her waking up?" Now we're having this infinite loop of conversation.

His crimson glare at me, together with his words, gave a chill down on my spine.

"It's what your saw. Once the Frozen Soul stops singing, everything will blink out of existence. Good and evil, sins and justice, hope and despair, dreams and reality. Everything will be gone. What will be left after, is an infinite void of darkness."

"That's…" My whole body trembled. My hands and feet are shaky. To make my fear worse, the Outsider continued talking.

"If the Frozen Soul wakes up, we don't."

"What should we do? How can we prevent her from waking up?"

"There is only one way. An omnipotent wish." The Outsider said. "There is one more person who can sing the ."

Hearing those words already made me conclude one thing...

All those event setups…

All those interference by this one man…

I know who is he pertaining to.

"...Tiara…" I muttered.

He suddenly jumped to another topic as he talked about his vague philosophy of his.

"Regrets and wishes. They are complete opposites. Regrets are the things that you avoid that already happened in the past, while wishes are the things that you wanted to happen in the future. The two songs are the same thing. The Brightmore Witch's gives you a chance to see your regret once more, while the Fragment of the Frozen Soul's makes your wishes come true. Now that the Brightmore Witch and the Fragment of the Frozen Soul are now one and the same person, who knows what Tiara Hikari's powers can do?"

I clenched my fist. "I… I don't want to sacrifice a dear person… Not anymore. I won't let her use the if it means erasing her own existence."

"Don't be so sad, my dear 'Rikkun'..." The Outsider mimicked Tiara's accent that made me a lot more annoyed. "There is a safe way where Tiara can stay alive after singing the ."

"Love?" I said. Well, he's always talking about love so love is definitely the answer.

"Love…" The Outsider nodded. It looks like I won the million dollar question until he added more. "...And the power of twelve God Cores, to be precise. You already have the God Core of Freyr, and you can just borrow the God Core of Neptune from your Legionmaster. But still, you have 10 God Cores to go. My Fake God Cores won't do, only the original powerful ones. One year is not that much of a time, so best of luck, Prophet-King."

I clenched my fist as I gathered my determination. "I must hurry…" I said. I ran away from the Outsider and the Frozen Soul, looking for the exit.

But as I rush towards the edge of white nothingness, I heard the Outsider mutter these words.

"Rejoice, Alaric Eisenhower. This is just the start of your love story."