Standing there amidst the snow-blanketed aftermath, my heart weighed heavily with the scenes of destruction around me. Jon lay motionless in the snow. His stillness was so different to the lively, spirited centaur I had known. It was a sobering and guilt-inducing sight.

Beside him knelt Brandosyeus. Always smiling, always jestful, now he was a picture of despair.

My gaze shifted to Ike, lying nearby, his body trembling from the cold and his injuries. Whatever debuff he was suffering, it was a deadly one. He needed attention now. I approached Brandosyeus, putting a clawed hand on his shoulder.

“Brandosyeus,” I said, my voice softer than I intended, but loud enough to be heard. “We need your help. Ike is hurt.”

Jeldorian shifted inside of me. Not my fault, he muttered. I was right. They were in thrall.

I simply stayed silent. What Schustak had said could be examined later. For now, one member of our group was dead and another was dying. Brandosyeus looked up, his eyes a window to the turmoil within. It took him a moment to register my words, and another moment for him to understand. Getting off the ground, he walked to the kobold woodenly, as if his true self were somewhere else.

As Brandosyeus began to sing, his voice was a shadow of its usual self, pregnant with grief. The melody was haunting, and sad.

“O healer’s hands, mend flesh and bone,

Yet what can cure a heart of stone?

For every life we strive to save,

Another is taken by the grave.

In this dance with death, we sway,

Healing now, for another day.

But in the end, what does it mend,

When all roads lead to the same end?”

Yet, as he channeled his healing magic, the warmth that radiated from his words was as vibrant as ever. It flowed into my body, soothing my guilt and giving me strength. In the corner of our shared mind Jeldorain sighed, taking in the magical bliss and simply giving himself over to it. A light glow enveloped Ike, and I watched, relieved, as the shivers subsided and his wounds began to heal.

Once the song ended, Brandosyeus faced me, his eyes now robotic and empty. “It is done,” he said, before turning and walking away through the churned and broken battlefield. I let him go, keeping watch over Ike near the bodies of the fallen. He needed his time, and Jeldorain and I needed ours as well.

It’s time to level up, I suggested to my infernal colleague. He nodded assent, joining me in looking over our character sheet.

We had gained 5 levels since the start of the fight down below to now. We could raise one ability point and 5 skill levels. We had 220 hit points, 154 mana points, and 160 exertion points. And while I didn’t understand the system thoroughly yet, I expected that with the two of us working together, the character sheet was going to have some other surprises as well.

Jeldorain nodded, reading my thoughts as they floated past him. Improve your Intelligence to give you a mana pool of 165. Then improve the spell casting by 1 to C level and use 1 to attain the clerical magic skill, then use 3 to improve it to B level. My infernal nature provides access to the domain of Thrymheimr, oh great champion.

I followed his commands, improving the skills as he suggested. A notification let me know that I could now cast Shadowmeld Invocation. I peered at the accompanying window, reading through its description:

Shadowmeld Invocation: wrap yourself in shadows, enhancing stealth capabilities in low-light conditions. On activation, you are rendered nearly invisible when stationary. The spell's effectiveness diminishes with movement or in bright light. The invisibility effect persists as long as you remain still in shadows. This spell consumes 10 mana upon casting and is instant, affecting only the caster.

Why does the system choose for me? I asked.

Only the gods know, Jeldorain answered. Clerical blessings are chosen, but with wizard spells you can purchase more spells at the market and attempt to learn them. Spell attainment, though, is random. And sometimes unique.

I nodded within our mental space, cocking my translucent head as questions of divinity suddenly intruded upon my thoughts.

What am I going to have to do as a priest of this Thrymheimr? Who even is he? I asked.

Jeldorain latched onto my soul and we were in another world. His world, the hell of ice and snow. Here I stood in front of the king of the realm, Lord Thrynheimr, as he stood atop the peak of a mountain and contemplated his realm.

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His skin, a pale blue hue, resembled the eerie beauty of a glacier under a full moon. It was marked by darker veins, like cracks in ancient ice, crisscrossing his formidable physique. His eyes, devoid of any warmth, were bottomless black pools that absorbed the light around them, promising a final rest after the hopeless drudgery of heatless winter.

Above his head, icicles formed a crown, each one sharp and pristine, glinting with a deadly allure. They framed his face, itself an embodiment of the merciless nature of his realm. His armor, crafted from the densest ice of the Abyss, shone with a ghostly light. Intricate runes etched across its surface whispered of ancient powers and long-forgotten spells of frost and wind.

Standing before him, in the heart of his kingdom, I felt the full force of his dominion. The frozen wastelands stretched out endlessly, mountains of jagged ice and swirling blizzards encapsulating his realm. The air was thick with the howl of the icy winds, a storm battering this frozen hellscape. He was winter’s darkest moments personified—indifferent, unyielding, and all-consuming.

One approached who is not infernal? And yet is? What strangeness the north winds blow on this day of days? Penitent and useful, I grant you four blessings, Ryan.

Startled, I stuttered, suddenly aware that this was no mere vision but an actual astral projection of myself to this realm of the infernal god I suddenly owed loyalty to. He stared unendingly, forever patient as the winds of the storm whipped over his body.

“Uh, how do I address you?” I asked. It was a strange sensation, talking face to face with a god. I felt awkward not knowing what mannerisms were required.

None of it matters. Choose your blessings quickly and make ritual every dawn to gain their access. I will call upon you someday for a favor, but for now, I simply wish you to leave me be.

The idea that this might have been a trick of Jeldorain’s passed briefly through my mind, but I could sense him there with me, sense his thoughts, and he felt genuine. Still, I wondered what such a favor would entail. That thought, however, here in the presence of Thrymheimr, felt paltry and unimportant. This god over Jeldorain and his ilk was staring and waiting, and I felt decisions rising before me, choices to be deliberated on carefully.

There were a myriad of them, and Jeldorain rolled through them with me, discussing their import, until we had together weeded them down to just ten:

Blessing of Winter Gale: This blessing grants the ability to sweep a column of enemies with frosty breath to a distance of 50 feet, dealing 5 – 30 points of damage and a 10% chance of freezing enemies caught in the attack for 20 seconds. It costs 10 mana.

Blessing of Frostbound Resilience: With this blessing, you exude an aura of extraordinary resistance to cold and environmental hazards to all allies within 30 feet. This resilience would extend to extreme conditions, enabling survival and even comfort in environments that would be lethal to others. It costs 15 mana.

Blessing of Icy Barrage: This blessing endows you with the power to unleash a volley of ice shards at your foes. Each shard inflicts 3-15 points of piercing and frost damage, with a 5% chance of embedding in the target, causing additional 2-5 frost damage over 10 seconds. The attack can target multiple enemies within a 40-foot cone and consumes 12 mana.

Blessing of the Glacial Shield: This blessing grants the ability to conjure a protective barrier of ice around yourself or an ally. The shield absorbs up to 50 points of damage from physical or magical attacks and lasts for 30 seconds or until shattered. Casting this protective shield consumes 8 mana.

Blessing of Frostweave Healing: With this blessing, you gain the capability to envelop a figure in a cocoon of healing frost. The cocoon gradually restores 20-40 health points over 10 seconds and provides a temporary increase in cold resistance. This healing magic uses 10 mana per cast.

Blessing of the Snowstrider: This blessing bestows upon you the ability to glide over snow and ice without hindrance. Your movement speed increases by 20% in such terrains, and you leave no tracks, making it ideal for stealthy travel in wintry landscapes. Activating this blessing costs 5 mana.

Blessing of the Avalanche’s Might: This blessing empowers you to summon a small avalanche to a targeted area within 60 feet. The avalanche deals 10-35 points of impact damage and has a 15% chance to knock down enemies for 5 seconds. The manifestation of this natural force consumes 20 mana.

Blessing of the Winter's Embrace: With this blessing, you can temporarily encase an enemy in ice, immobilizing them for up to 15 seconds. While encased, the target is invulnerable to damage but cannot take any action. This powerful stasis spell requires 18 mana to cast.

Blessing of Frostfire Infusion: This unique blessing allows you to imbue your weapons with a frostfire enchantment. For 30 seconds, your attacks gain an additional 5-10 frost and fire damage, with a 10% chance to ignite or chill the target. Activating this dual-element enchantment costs 10 mana.

Blessing of the Arctic Sentinel: With this blessing, once a day you may call forth a spectral wolf made of ice to aid you in battle. The wolf has its own health pool and deals 8-16 frost damage with its attacks. It remains by your side for the duration of battle or until defeated and requires 15 mana to summon.

They were certainly the best options available, and it quickly became apparent that choosing the best combination of four blessings from the list would largely depend on my role in the team. Which, considering all that had just happened, might well just be me, myself, and I. Rolling through the options, I decided on a versatile approach that balanced offense, defense, support, and adaptability, so as to cover any eventuality.

I chose Frostweave Healing, reasoning that the ability to heal allies quickly would be invaluable in prolonged battles, and that the added cold resistance might be useful in cold mountain bound places like where we were now. I followed with Glacial Shield. It would provide essential defensive capabilities, allowing me to protect myself or a key allies from significant damage.

The attack focus of Winter Gale also appealed to me. It reminded me of our Soul Sync attack, but much more controlled in its capacity. Frostfire Infusion would also enhance my offensive capabilities significantly, since the added frost and fire damage would increase my overall damage output, and the chance to ignite or chill enemies added extra utility to the attack.

I made my choices within the system, and the menu closed. Thrymheimr nodded, his eyes flashing like the sun glancing off a glacier.

“So be it. Use these blessings with the wisdom and strength befitting a priest of my realm.” His voice echoed as if we were inside a sparkling ice-laden cavern, both terrifying and awe-inspiring. I nodded, feeling a surge of power coursing through me as the blessings took hold, along with a cold so profound it transcended mere temperature, becoming a part of my very essence.

Jeldorain howled in bliss as he fed on the essence of his birthplace, and then all at once we were back in my world, standing over the bodies of the fallen friend and foes.