Nausea, vertigo, and an unbearable feeling of intrusion stirred her from her slumber.

“Ah, she’s waking up!”

“About damn time,” came another unfamiliar voice. “Just look at her. We hit it big, alright. She’s gon’ be worth a ton!”

“We’re not selling her!” the first voice cracked across the room like a whip. “We had a deal.”

Thirteen-year-old Tanya blearily opened her eyes, the ominous words piercing through the haze of fatigue that fogged her mind, only to be replaced by an even more horrifying realization. She didn’t know where she was. She didn’t know who she was with. She couldn’t see anything.

What was going on?

She tried to move, but only chafed her own wrists in the process. Forcefully calming herself, Tanya reanalyzed her situation. She was immobilized by chains, and blindfolded to take away her most precious sense.

Despite all her training, it took all her might simply to not break down into sobs. Tales of thugs kidnapping nobles only to do heinous things to them flitted through her mind, each scenario more gruesome than the last. While Tanya had been warned of the cruelty of the outside world, she had never expected something like this to happen to her.

Her manacles clinked.

Still, she wasn’t completely helpless. They had taken her sight and limited her touch, but Tanya was more than that.

She was the Shimizu heir. She was the future wielder of the mighty Ezzeron.

She had lifeforce. Far more than any of these thugs could ever imagine in their miserable lives.

Composing herself, she dug deep into the power she’d been born with, and the familiar feeling flooded through her veins. She did not have a kami. Not because she was weak, but because she didn’t need one.

Lifeforce flowed through her like a tide—

And then…died.

The manacles clinked.

Tanya tried again, only to suffer the same results. Then again, and again, and again and again and again. Every time she tried using lifeforce, something snatched away her control and returned the wave of power to the well from where it came. It was almost as if—

“Look ’ere, lads! The lass seems like she’s figured it out!”

“What have you done to me?” Tanya asked, unable to mask her anxiety, if the wobble in her voice was any indication.

“It won’t work,” the first voice interrupted amusedly. “Those manacles are specially made. They won’t let you use lifeforce, little Shimizu princess. But don’t just take my word for it.”

Furious and filled with disbelief, Tanya focused even harder and tried again—

But nothing answered her call. Just like the man had said.

“Silly little girl.” The man cruelly laughed. “Did you really think we weren’t prepared for something so simple? Even if you had a kami to summon, it still wouldn’t work.”

“Just—” She grunted, struggling against her binds. “Let me go!”

“No can do, lass,” the second voice replied. “Ye’r a princess. Ye’ll fetch us a good deal when I send ye all wrapped up to our customers. Those desert-dwellers know their shit, I suppose—”

Tanya stilled. Desert-dwellers? No one lived in the desert. You couldn’t. It was anathema, and the source of endless horror tales.

“Shut your mouth!” the first cried out in alarm, attracting her attention. “You’ll rat us out!”

“Bah!” the second sneered. “As if this lil’ lass can do anything ’cept cry!”

Tanya gritted her teeth, her helplessness only amplified by the man’s callous words. She tried ripping the chains apart again, but to no avail. What was happening? Why couldn’t she just tear through the bindings?

She made a third attempt, but still nothing. It was like her connection to her own lifeforce had been muted. But how? The growing pit of despair in her stomach lurched as cold, heartless laughter reverberated throughout the chamber.

“What? Ya done already? Don’tcha have some fight left in ya? Man, givin’ up so easy…what’re they even feedin’ nobles these days?”

“Please,” Tanya finally sobbed. “Just let me go.”

It hurt. Shimizu didn’t beg—her father had taught her that. And yet here she was, a proud princess begging her captors. Begging these vile dogs for mercy. To be simply left alone.

The sound of footsteps grew louder, followed by another vile laugh. Tanya moved back instinctively, as much as her bonds would allow. “Don’t—don’t touch me!”

“Are ya scared, lil’ lass? Frightened?”

A cold, sticky palm caressed her face, before a sudden burst of light caused her to blink rapidly. A moment later, the blurry face of a middle-aged man swam into focus, a thin black strip of cloth held in his right hand.

“That’s the best part, ya know.” He grinned cruelly. “The fear, I mean.”

Tears began to track down her cheeks as she cried. Loudly.

“Oi, Tauren! Make her shut up!”

The man in front of her—Tauren—snickered. Gripping her arm tightly, he pulled her up until she was at eye-level and—

SLAP!

Tanya was sent tumbling to the floor, reeling in pain as warm, sticky blood filled her mouth.

“Not so great, are ya now, huh? Ya nobles think ye’r so fuckin’ great? That e’ryone else exists to be ye’r fuckin’ dogs? Do ya even see us as people?”

Tanya felt a sharp pain in her stomach as the man casually rammed his boot into it.

“Well, do ya?” he asked, raising his voice. “Answer me!”

But she didn’t answer. Overcome by fear and pain, all she could do was curl up into a ball and cry harder. The man continued kicking her—not hard enough to cause permanent damage, but enough to cause pain and, more importantly, humiliation.

But then, something deep within her stirred.

The pain began to fade. Sensation began to fade. And something cold began to rise.

With that cold came the numbness. The fear, the anxiety, the anger…it all simply vanished. All that remained was ice-cold logic. The absolute knowledge that the garbage in front of her was nothing more than—

Food.

“Oi, what in the hell’s happenin’? Her mana levels, her eyes! I thought ye sealed—”

CRUNCH!

A long, jagged spear of ice tore through his body like wet paper. Tanya watched in fascination as the ice slowly covered his body, the glimmer in his eyes slowly transitioning from surprise to fear to resignation, to nothing.

Killing him had been…surprisingly easy.

Distantly, she could make out the sound of something metallic shattering.

But Tanya didn’t care. Rubbing her arms, she turned toward the rest of the men as their remaining companions all rushed into the room at once.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“You—you killed him!”

Her lips spread into a gentle smile.

“Yes. I did.”

She raised her hand and called it forth. It needed no training, nor any additional knowledge on how to be used. The ice responded to her like a memory, like something she had always known how to use, simply waiting to be called upon once more.

Before the men in front of her could so much as twitch, ice spears tore through their stomachs and out their backs. But she was more careful this time. Instead of freezing them all at once, she held herself back. This time, it would be slower…more painful…

“No—wait—you don’t—”

“Shhhh…” Tanya softly chuckled, her palm caressing the closest man’s cheek. A moment later, he became immobilized as frost danced across her palm and onto his face. He was unable to do anything but suffer from torturous cold as his very life essence was drained to feed her hunger.

Feed her Frost.

“M—monster,” another gasped, drawing her attention.

Once more, she gently smiled.

“Yes. I am.”

Alluring white eyes snapped open in the darkness. The cold soon followed.

Tanya did not try to force it. She might as well try forcing a river into submission. No, she had to surrender to its current, and use its inherent motion to one’s advantage.

Plus, it wasn’t just any power. It was Frost. A bitter chill so frigid, so cold that it would trickle away all life that came under its domain. It was the embodiment of the absence of heat. This was her power, and she had used it time and time before. It had answered when nothing else had.

But this time, it was different.

Before, she’d kept it suppressed to the best of her ability in the depths of her mind, ignoring its cries of impotent fury. The presence of Eternal Light kept it weak, which was why she had never deserted the Empire despite her utter contempt for the Asukan gods and society.

But not anymore.

For the Eternal Light was not present in the Namzuuhuu Desert.

And in the skies above, the Black Moon rose, ascending to the Central Sky.

“Oh, I’ve missed this!” Tanya exclaimed, stretching her hands and body. “Life feels best in the flesh!”

She shrugged off the jacket and undid the top button of her sleeveless shirt, tossing the former away. Stretching and yawning, she felt her limbs. Felt her own supple skin. Felt the bones and the muscles stretching as she twisted her body in near-impossible ways.

Power filled her mind, and her inhibitions slowly washed away. It was a power she hated using, yet paradoxically, she loved the loss of control it brought forth.

How could she have ever hated something that felt so good?

The grayish spirit from before had merged with the water below to forge a temporary physical shell. Beside her, the vanir crouched low as she prepared for attack.

“Oh right! The possessed vanir. I nearly forgot about you.” Tanya chuckled mirthfully, completely indifferent to the creatures in her presence. “Let’s see now… Yes, I think I remember. Honestly, being stuck in that uppity regular mindset is so boring. Why do I even do that?”

A furious voice filled the air, shaking the cavern walls as the spirit thrust a watery arm, thick as a trunk, right at her face and—

The arm froze.

Into frost.

And fell down to the floor. Shattering into a thousand fragments.

“Naughty! Naughty!” Tanya wiggled a finger at it.

The vanir dashed toward her in a burst of power, throwing a lifeforce-enhanced punch at her face. It had enough power to destroy half a dozen walls. But Tanya simply caught it with her palms, and her fingers gripped it tightly. “Try something other than lifeforce when you strike me,” she said, her eyes glinting.

And then, she drained the lifeforce from her arm.

Lifeforce Absorbed: 729

“That won’t do!” She frowned. “I need more. More. Real food. What was I thinking? Staying without real food for all this time?” She cupped her chin with her hand. “No matter. Surely in this vast anomaly there must be—QUIT SQUIRMING FOR A MOMENT! I’M THINKING HERE!”

With a casual twist, she broke the vanir’s wrist before letting it go. The soft sound of the bones fracturing sounded like music to her ears. Whimpering, the vanir retracted her steps until she was standing behind the kami.

“Who—what are you?” she asked.

“You don’t recognize me?” Tanya asked back, feigning hurt. “I’m Tanya, of course. Who else would I be?”

“Tanya is not—not this—”

That made her smile. “So…you do know me, don’t you? Is that you, Maude? I’d have thought it was the other. How very interesting!”

The vanir took a step back.

“You feel it, don’t you? The power? The cold? Does your vanir instinct tell you to flee? What is that little parasite whispering in your ears? But don’t you worry!” Tanya waved it off. “It wouldn’t matter. We’re in an anomaly! Away from the accursed Light! And I can sense the Black Moon too. Plus, so much food. What a wonderful time to be liberated!”

Her hands moved up. Inviting. Welcoming. The dark feeling inundated her, permeating her with its very presence. Every bit of ice, every bit of chill, every shard of it was an extension of herself.

Her lips quivered, and words came out.

“Ice is my soul.”

The floor beneath her feet suddenly turned white as jagged lines began to appear, giving the appearance that all the world was made of glass that had suddenly shattered. The lines didn’t stop, and instead raced away from her stationary form in every direction, spreading up and around the intersection itself in three dimensions. The air around her grew thick, replacing dust with icy mist.

“Everfrost.”

Frost exploded out of the floor, changing them from mere white lines to sheets of ice. It extended, stretching between each of the previous lines and thickening, coating everything in nearly inch-thick sheets of frozen shelling. The ice erupted in spots, forming enormous stalagmites and stalactites, teeth-like daggers of the element swelling and erupting with violent force. It only lasted a handful of moments, but in those seconds the world changed from a cavernous sprawl to a scene straight out of an ice age.

The walls of the cavern shook violently, and a thin fracture began to develop on the walls from three sides. Tanya tilted her head, casually watching as the walls moved apart, allowing monsters, dozens of them, to spill forth. Spiders, rats, giant lizards, serpentine creatures that could gobble a human whole, sludge-like goo slowly trickling down the walls—

They were coming.

They were coming for her.

“How flattering!” Tanya squealed. “Now that’s what I call a good feast!”

She flicked both wrists, and twin swords of frost erupted out of the floor, snugly fitting into her hands.

She looked back ahead but found the little kami missing. As was the vanir. Tanya reminded herself that she had to catch the little water-type. Not for herself though. It held power, but it wasn’t compatible. Besides…Ezzeron would mind.

But she had promised the others. She’d find it. And maybe, if she was in the mood, save the vanir and not kill it.

But only after she had had some quality food. Wiggling two fingers, she gestured toward the horde of monsters surrounding her.

“Come.”

And everything attacked.

The skirmishes happened as rapidly as they ended. With a swoosh here and a splat there, tentacles continued to fall off. Heads began to roll. Body organs were pierced. A foot-thick endoskeleton fared no better than formless ghol as her frost blades hacked into the enemy, cutting through everything with nigh-impossible ease.

“HAAA!” Tanya yelled as her blades cut deep, slashing one of the creatures’ abdomens in half. Another blade dug into its spine. Thick shafts of jagged ice erupted from the floor, impaling half a dozen monsters from the bottom.

It was a rain of falling limbs.

A shower of blood.

Tanya did not care. She simply exhaled and moved to her next prey.

Pinpoint precision. Hammer blows. Frost that tore through metal and muscle with equal dexterity. Wind that decapitated creatures before they knew it.

+3670 Experience Gathered

You have reached Level 18

Useless, Tanya thought. As if such paltry things were worth her time.

Lifeforce Absorbed: 6277

That brought her to a pause.

Not bad, she mused. Not bad at all.

A cold, hungry laugh escaped her throat as every remaining monster in her vicinity hesitated.

That was when she felt…it.

A presence. Not her own. But powerful. Intriguing. Stalking its way through thishis nest full of prey. Something that she wanted to subdue and claim for herself. The cold rhythm of battle logic clamped down any wayward hint of emotion. She scanned, analyzed, and everything else was shunted aside.

Compartmentalization was key.

And the decision was made. She’d get through his pointless rabble first. She’d kill them all. Then she’d find this new presence. She’d make it hers.

The rabble charged altogether in some blind hope. As if they could even dream of overpowering her.

She flipped her golden curls.

The massacre continued.