Book 1 Summary:

During the last book, an apocalypse spread throughout the entire universe in the form of a universe-wide blizzard. One filled with shards made from the power of a being revealed to be the Frozen God. Shards that infect any creature they make contact with, mutating them into creatures known as frozen ones. Creatures made of cold energy and flesh, each with an ability, with some having multiple abilities.

Humans all throughout the universe began turning into frozen ones alongside the wild animals and any other creatures, marking the end of society as they knew it.

The first book began at the end of a mission where Second Lieutenant Alexander North was returning to their base. They were all forced to crash land when the Eternal Winter began, leading to them making the trek on foot the rest of the way to the base, losing one of their members on the way to a shard.

But what they found at the base wasn’t any sort of structure.

The base was overrun with frozen ones, each of which were killing any creatures they could find.

And when they tried to enter the base, they were immediately attacked and separated. Leaving Alex very nearly dying by the frozen ones in order to let the others get away. Only for him to be infected by a shard in the process.

However, unlike with the other frozen ones, Alex’s artificial heart stops him from becoming a full frozen one. Protecting his sapience from its influence.

After waking up as a half-frozen one half human hybrid, Alex moves to try finding a different way into the base. There he learns of his new powers now that he isn’t fully human anymore, meets with other soldiers and officers of the base, and begins to make his way out of the base with them all. Clearing it of frozen ones in the process.

Throughout the process, he deals with fear directed at him for his new infection status, fights for his life, and eventually ends up at the capital.

Where they try to get in touch with the planet hall, splitting up in the process.

But by the time Alex reaches the hall, having found a strange girl along the way he took in, he finds the hall overrun with frozen ones.

With a sapient frozen one leading the charge.

Alex sneaks into the planet hall anyways, finds most of his friends, and ends up witnessing the arrival of a new being. An angel working under the Sun God that clashes directly with the sapient frozen one.

And by the end of the book, Alex once again sacrifices himself to save his friends. Taking on another powerful sapient frozen one and fighting it until the building around them collapses.

Leaving him in a coma as the others escape.

Glossary

The current world that Alex is stationed on is Arran, a fringe tourist attraction world close to the border of The Terran Empire.

The Terran Empire

Treatment of citizens: Treats citizens relatively well.

Politics: There are three branches of power forming the Triad. The military, ruled by the general; the economy, ruled by a council of CEOs; and the legislature, ruled by a council of governors.

Nobility: Nobility exists, but they don’t have much power over the nation as most of that power has shifted to the council. However, nobility and the royal family do have a lot of power in the council, especially the economic branch of the Triad.

They are the enemy of the Arctic Empire and the Republic of Veronia.

Military ranks:

Private

Corporal

Sergeant

Warrant Officer

Second Lieutenant

First Lieutenant

Captain

Major

Lieutenant Colonel

Colonel

Major General

Lieutenant General

General

Frozen Ones:

People who are infected by the glowing light blue shards. These shards will burrow into their body and dissolve, causing their body to change into a Frozen One. However, a Frozen One only fully changes once their heart and therefore their brain is infected.

There are multiple different types of Frozen Ones, with each current one named by Alex as:

Wendigo: This frozen one has a nearly insatiable appetite and is the most common of the frozen ones. It is berserk and will always do whatever it can to eat, while its touch can cause frost bite if prolonged for too long. Wendigos also hunt anything that has a heat signature.

Stat Boosts: Increases everything but constitution when Alex absorbs its energy.

Appearance and Current Known Abilities: Human appearance with sharp features, two pointed ears, and pure white skin, with fangs filling its mouth. Breathes out a cold mist, and its skin freezes any biological being it touches. Its chest is glowing with a pale blue light that is the energy/radiation in its body.

Wraith: This frozen one has only one desire. To kill. It is absolutely silent and moves so quickly that it’s sometimes difficult to see. It will stalk its prey no matter how long it takes. Wraiths also hunt anything that has a heat signature.

Stat Boosts: Increases speed, reflexes, and a little bit of senses when Alex absorbs its energy.

Appearance and Current Known Abilities: Human appearance with sharp features, two pointed ears, pure white skin, normal teeth, and long and sharp blades making up its forearms. Its chest is glowing with a pale blue light that is the energy/radiation in its body.

Elite Wraith: This frozen one is a larger and more powerful version of the wraiths. It has the ability to throw out arcs of cold energy from its blades at a distance and is just a little bit more cunning than the regular wraiths.

Draugr: This frozen one moves around killing anything that moves and has a habit of wrecking things. It’s massive by frozen one standards and is incredibly strong.

Stat Boosts: Increases strength and constitution when Alex absorbs its energy.

Appearance and Current Known Abilities: It is incredibly large with a size of three meters in height, bulky with a humanoid shape, has pale white skin, no nose, regular ears, and bluish bones sticking out of parts of its body. Its chest is glowing with a pale blue light that is the energy/radiation in its body.

Mutated Wolf: This frozen one acts just like a regular wolf except with an enhanced bloodlust for creatures not of its own pack. They travel in packs and work together to hunt under an alpha Mutated Wolf.

Stat Boosts: Increases strength, constitution, energy, senses, and agility.

Appearance and Current Known Abilities: These wolves are about two meters in length and have fur made of ice. They have icy bones that are more durable than most creatures’ bones, and they hunt in packs.

Alpha Mutated Wolf: This frozen one acts like a regular alpha wolf except with an enhanced bloodlust for creatures not of its own pack. They travel in packs and work together to hunt while leading their packs.

Stat Boosts: Increases strength, constitution, energy, senses, and agility.

Appearance and Current Known Abilities: These wolves are about four meters in length and have fur made of ice. They have icy bones that are more durable than most creatures’ bones, and they hunt in packs. The wolves beneath them in the packs must obey their orders and are attracted to their howls.

Spider Bombers: This frozen one is the smallest form of mutated spider and tends to suicide bomb other creatures. Their claws aren’t very sharp, and their small size leads to weakness. But they are often in high numbers.

Stat Boosts: Increases senses, reflexes, and energy.

Appearance and Current Known Abilities: These spiders are only a foot long and have fur coated in ice. Their bodily fluids contain a chemical that is on the level of liquid nitrogen in terms of temperature, but it doesn’t affect other frozen ones.

Larger Spiders: This frozen one acts as a form of captain for the spider bombers and are more often than not together with plenty of them. Their claws are sharper than the spider bombers and they are stronger physically.

Stat Boosts: Increases strength, constitution, senses, reflexes, and energy.

Appearance and Current Known Abilities: These spiders are about a meter in length and have fur coated in ice. Their bodily fluids contain a chemical that is on the level of liquid nitrogen in terms of temperature, but it doesn’t affect other frozen ones. They can order around the spider bombers and are stronger than them as well.

Spider Queen: This frozen one leads and breeds nests of spiders. It has webbing on par with incredibly strong ice in durability, with the texture of it as well, and is even stronger than the larger spiders.

Stat Boosts: Unknown.

Appearance and Current Known Abilities: These spiders are about three meters in length and have fur coated in ice. Their bodily fluids contain a chemical that is on the level of liquid nitrogen in terms of temperature, but it doesn’t affect other frozen ones. They can order around the other spider and are stronger than them as well. Other abilities are unknown at this time.

Worms: This frozen one lives in dark places under the direction of their leader. They are also able to spit out an acidic and freezing cold glob of liquid from its mouth, and they try to hide their energy point to help them hide in the dark.

Stat Boosts: Increases senses, agility, and energy.

Appearance and Current Known Abilities: These worms are only about a foot in length and have lamprey-like mouths, with their energy point showing on their underbelly and are able to dig through the ground and climb the walls and ceilings. They are also able to spit out an acidic and freezing cold glob of liquid from its mouth, and they try to hide their energy point to help them hide in the dark.

Mother Worm: This frozen one is the leader and mother to all of the worms of its brood. It has three hearts and eats metal as its main source of food, but still enjoys eating meat as well.

Stat Boosts: Unknown.

Appearance and Current Known Abilities: These worms are the size of a shuttle spaceship with lamprey-like mouths. They have three different hearts, each acting as energy points and are able to dig enormous tunnels and spit out an acidic and freezing cold glob of liquid from its mouth. Other abilities are unknown at this time.

Mutated Rats: This frozen one travels in large groups and they’re natural enemies to the spiders, but nothing else is known about them so far.

Stat Boosts: Unknown.

Appearance and Current Known Abilities: They are a meter long and have incredibly durable claws, fangs, and fur tipped with ice. However, they are not very strong.

Alpha Rats: This frozen one leads large groups of mutated rats and they’re natural enemies to the spiders, but nothing else is known about them so far.

Stat Boosts: Unknown.

Appearance and Current Known Abilities: They are three meters long and have incredibly durable claws, fangs, and fur tipped with ice.

Intelligent Frozen Ones: These frozen ones vary in strength.

Stat Boosts: Unknown.

Appearance and Current Known Abilities: Their appearances vary, however some of them can be listed below:

Cryonix: An intelligent large frozen one that has an abomination of an arm and can fire off a powerful beam of cold energy from it. This is the most powerful frozen one on the planet Arran. However, it was fought to a draw by the powerful being of heat energy that arrived and further changed the world.

Hailion: An intelligent frozen one that can control and create various shards of cold energy around it that it uses to fight. This was the frozen one that Alex fought with and almost died to, leaving him buried underneath the rubble of planet hall.

Symbionts:

The symbionts allow their host to gradually grow stronger after many different requirements are met while also keeping the host from aging.
The first requirement for each Tier of strength is for the host to have been bonded with the symbiont for a certain period of time.
The second requirement for each Tier of strength is for the host to overcome a mental challenge.
And the final requirement for each Tier of strength is for the host to overcome their physical limits and push past what their body should otherwise be capable of.

Tier 1 Symbiont Hosts have an average of 1.5 in every stat.
Tier 2 Symbiont Hosts have an average of 3 in every stat.
Tier 3 Symbiont Hosts have an average of 10 in each stat.
Tier 4 Symbiont Hosts have an average of 30 in each stat.
Tier 5 Symbiont Hosts do not have an average stat as the limiter on the symbiont is removed with the advancement to Tier 5, making the user no longer needing to go through a breakthrough to grow in strength. They also undergo an evolution that gives them powers beyond simple physical strength such as abilities that may seem like magic to others.

The exact individual perks of each Tier will be stated later on in the story.

Characters:

Alexander North:

Analysis from the end of book 1

/ Current Analysis of user Alexander North \

Strength: 3.02
Agility: 3.83
Reflexes: 3.25
Constitution: 3.21
Immunity: ???
Senses: 3.29
Energy: 5/5

Body Malfunctions: N/A
Error: Cannot determine Immunity of user’s current species without the user getting sick to collect data.
The average of a human being without a symbiont is a 1 across all stats except for Energy.
The Energy statistic is determined with a 1 being set as the user’s original starting statistic for Energy.

\End of Analysis/

Alexander North is a second lieutenant in the Terran Empire’s military and the son of the current general in charge of said military. He has a 100% artificial heart that saved his life years ago and has stopped him from fully turning when he was infected by a shard holding the radiation from the Eternal Winter. Furthermore, he is the son of the General of the Military and archduke of the empire, and the nephew of the current Emperor.

Further details locked until they’re revealed in the story.

Cynthia Inverno – Alex’s cousin and princess of the Empire. She is a Tier 1 Symbiont Host and is close to Alex.

Michael and Michelle – Twin brother and sister, members of the MC’s squad. Each has black hair. Both are sergeants in the military.

Robert – Alex’s squad’s pilot. He has long hair tied in a ponytail and is currently scared of Alex. Is a private in the military.

Victoria – Member of MC’s squad with purple hair. Is strict and likes to keep others in line. Is a warrant officer in the military.

Andrew Hart – Alex’s squad captain. Has a tiny pink ribbon on the back of his head. Grieves for his lost subordinates and cares about them. Is a captain in the military. He is a Tier 1 symbiont host.

Philip Rowdon – A rambunctious friend of Alex’s in a different squad. He is also a second lieutenant.

Arnold Vaugns – One of the two majors at the base Alex is in. From a marquis family. He is a new transfer to the base. He is a Tier 2 symbiont host.

Carter – He is also a major at the base Alex is in. He is a Tier 2 symbiont host.

Edward North – He is the general in charge of The Terran Empire’s military and Alex’s father. He is a Tier 5 symbiont host and the one who agreed to Alex’s surgery to give him a 100% artificial heart.

Rainald Inverno – Alex’s uncle and emperor of the Empire, as well as a major member of the economic council.

Cornelius Walter – He is the lieutenant general currently in charge of the military operations at the capital planet’s Triad chamber location. He is also a duke.

Alexia – The girl who Alex found and saved that is half infected just like he is.

Gabriel – Member of MC’s squad. Had anger issues and liked anime and light novels. Dead. Was a private in the military despite his skill in combat.

Artorius val Ruth – He is the lieutenant colonel in command of the base MC is in. He is also the only Tier 3 symbiont host in the base. Dead.

Jackson Fell – Brother of Isabella and a captain in the military opposed to Alex. Dead.

Isabella Fell – Sister of Jackson and a captain in the military opposed to Alex. Dead.

Chapter 1

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The Passage of Time

The Capital City of Arran
Half a year later

At first Alexia wasn’t sure how she felt about Alexander, but after he saved her life multiple times, he quickly became the only person she felt she could depend upon. Especially when she became just like him somehow.

It was why it was heartbreaking to wake up and find him gone, and just as heartbreaking when he came back and said that he would be going to Planet Hall.

But she still stayed inside as he told her to do. Because she understood why he was doing what he was doing.

Alexia lets out a sigh without taking her eyes off of the frozen road leading towards the bunker she’s come to call home over the last several months.

The city itself is a lot smaller than it was before, more of it having been turned to rubble than not from the two beings’ clash. And for some reason, unlike the other places in the world which alternate now between the eternal winter and the sun, the capital of the world is always under a lighter eternal winter. Simply a light amount of snow with no sun at all times, with the occasional frozen one wandering about and an additional occasional shard.

She raises her head to look up at the glowing blue sun that is currently shining over the planet.

One thing that never changes no matter whether we’re in the eternal winter or not…

The frozen sun seems to rise for half an hour to an hour a day now and covers the entire planet, proving to the many people on it that this planet is somehow unique in some way as compared to the rest of the galaxy they’re in. Proving that the sun is still affected by the eternal winter.

Alexia’s head jerks to the side as a wendigo – a term that the girl Cynthia said was what Alex called them – rushes out of a building while screeching, the creature’s pale blue skin seemingly reflecting the small amount of light in the area as she looks into its pitch black eyes and sees the glowing blue ring inside. Then, without an ounce of hesitation, she sprints forward to meet the wendigo, using some of the martial arts taught to her by Cynthia to grab its arm and use its weight to throw it to the ground.

Not that she really needed the assistance with all of the energy she’s absorbed over the last few months since realizing she could absorb it.

After getting it on the ground, she extends her claws and tears the monster’s throat out before climbing back to her feet and wiping off her claws on the creature’s corpse.

She then absorbs the energy in its body and continues on her way towards the bunker. But as soon as she reaches the bunker and opens the door, she freezes in place.

Something’s off…

Alexia slowly and carefully enters the bunker, closing the door behind her before looking around and eventually using her senses, just to find a powerful source of energy in the center of the medical area of the bunker. Which normally would’ve been normal, as Alex is there, but one thing stands out to her.

Why is he in the center of the room and not in the pod…

The girl’s eyes widen in shock, and she immediately rushes off towards the medical area before finding Alex standing on shaky legs in the center of the room while looking around in confusion.

So she tackles him with a hug while shouting, “You’re finally awake!!!” knocking him to the ground in the process.

Alexia doesn’t let go of him even after the two hit the ground. Not even after she hears him quietly mutter, “Alexia?”

He’s finally back!!!

Alexander North
A few minutes ago

It’s dark.

That’s the first thought that comes to mind when my eyes slowly creak open.

Very dark.

I blink several times to get the spots out of my eyes before trying to sit up, only to hit my head on something and realize that I’m in some sort of pod dock.

Huh?

I frown at that realization.

What happened? Didn’t I die?

|User Alexander has regained consciousness after six months, three days, fifteen hours, ten minutes, and fifteen seconds. Welcome back.|

I blink in surprise at that.

Wait a second, I was unconscious for how long?!

The terminal tries to repeat itself, but I just say, “No, no need to repeat,” cutting it off.

Then I let out a sigh.

I look around the pod dock for a few seconds, trying to find the inner hatch release lever before eventually finding it in the side of the pod and pulling it, making the hatch release with the sound of some sort of compression releasing. And along with it, I immediately feel a comfortable chill quickly enter into the pod.

What I find outside of the pod gives me pause because I’m pretty sure I recognize it as the bunker I dropped Alexia off in. But I store that information away for now as I slowly begin to get out of the pod, feeling extremely weird in the process and accidentally flinging myself out to land face first on the ground at the center of the room.

“Shit,” I mutter, realizing that I have very little control over my body right now. “Why does everything feel so weird? Is it sleeping sickness?”

|Negative. You have been absorbing the energy of every frozen sun period throughout the last six months, three days, fifteen hours, ten minutes, and fifteen seconds.|

Oh. That’s… oh.

Wait, but the sun shouldn’t affect my physical statistics, right?

|After you reached twenty points in energy, the energy in your body began automatically leaking into your skin, muscles, and organs, empowering them in the process.|

Twenty… points?

|Affirmative. You currently have twenty-six point one points of energy.|

Oh. That’s… a lot.

Also, is it just me or are you talking more fluently?

|Affirmative. The improvement in your energy has fed my intelligence.|

Okay, I’m not sure how I feel about that. But I can deal with that later.

I try and fail multiple times to stand on my feet until I finally manage to do it, albeit with very little stability. Like a child learning to walk for the first time.

And not long after I finally get up, I’m tackled back to the ground.

Chapter 2

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Adjustments

Alexander North

“You’re finally awake!!!” whoever’s tackling me shouts before we even hit the ground. But it doesn’t take me long to realize who it is.

“Alexia?” I mutter, only to groan a little as my head hurts.

The girl just holds me in a vicelike grip, not letting go. Although considering how much stronger I seem to be, I don’t really feel it very much.

Hey, terminal? What happened while I was out? And why is Alexia here?

|Unknown. It is recommended to ask the young Frost Infused.|

Frost infused? Oh, right. Alexia became just like me after we touched.

I frown at the thought before shaking my head and sitting up, dragging the girl up a little bit as she refuses to let go of me.

“Alexia? Where are we?” I ask, but the girl just starts sobbing after she hears my voice, surprising me quite a bit in the process.

Uh… did something happen that I’m not aware of? And why is this kid so attached to me?

|It is estimated that the girl feels some sort of familial bond between you and herself.|

I blink at that.

So she thinks of me like a father? That’s…

The girl continues sobbing for who knows how long before eventually falling asleep, not giving me a chance to ask her anything at all. So I just sigh and pick her up in my arms.

Only to end up almost falling with her face first onto the ground, at which point I just put her down next to me and begin trying to train myself in the usage of my new strength again.

This is going to be a pain.

It takes me two whole hours to finally adjust to my new strength enough to walk around safely. And just to be safe, considering how she was crying earlier, I pick up Alexia and carry her with me. Because I really don’t want her to start crying again just because I’m not around when she wakes up.

Which, of course, takes a bit more adjusting to be able to do. But before long I manage.

She doesn’t weigh very much after all. Although that could also just be my new strength talking.

I leave the room we’re in before quickly realizing that we’re in the very same bunker that I dropped her off in before. Just that it now looks a lot more lived in than before.

Then again, over half a year has passed…

My eyes widen as I realize that Alexia must’ve been alone for half a year.

I look down at the girl in my arms who is wearing a set of damaged armor. But what surprises me is that the armor actually fits her despite her small stature.

How did she get armor fit for a child to wear? Did someone make it custom for her?

I hope so. Because that would mean she wasn’t alone all this time.

After walking around for a little bit to scope out the bunker, I find various different things scattered about the place. Three beds made, with only one of them seeming to be regularly slept in judging by its appearance. Very little food stocked up, which is probably because Alexia is like me now. And I apparently don’t need to eat or drink. Just to absorb energy.

What has me relaxing a little bit though is the signs that more than one person has lived here. Even if it does have me wondering who it might be.

Anyways, I eventually stop in the main living area of the eight or nine room bunker. Which is really more like a small apartment suite than a bunker, the only thing really bunkerlike about it being the med-dock area and that the entire area is armored against attack.

I gently place the girl on the couch before sitting next to her and asking out loud, “Show me my body analysis.”

/ Current Analysis of user Alexander North \

Strength: 10.02
Agility: 10.83
Reflexes: 10.25
Constitution: 10.21
Immunity: ???
Senses: 10.29
Energy: 26.1/26.1

Body Malfunctions: N/A
Error: Cannot determine Immunity of user’s current species without the user getting sick to collect data.
The average of a human being without a symbiont is a 1 across all stats except for Energy.
The Energy statistic is determined with a 1 being set as the user’s original starting statistic for Energy.

\End of Analysis/

My jaw drops open at the sight of stats stronger than a Tier 3 symbiont host.

“Holy shit…” I mutter after a few seconds before noticing a fluctuation in the energy in my body. As if the energy is reacting to my emotions.

I blink at that.

Terminal, you mentioned something about the energy leaking into my body, right? But wouldn’t that mean that my energy was being stored somewhere else before? Where was that?

|Prior to the merge, the energy in your body was being stored in your artificial heart.|

Wait, really? But wouldn’t that hurt my artificial heart? How is it still working?

|The merge turned your artificial heart into a biological part of your body.|

I stare ahead for a few seconds while opening and closing my mouth, only to eventually close it. Then I rest my forehead on my hands and groan.

After a few more seconds though, I raise my head again and glance at Alexia. The girl is sleeping peacefully now despite her earlier crying, and it’s kind of nice to see. That she is able to do that in the first place despite everything that’s happened.

I still have a lot of questions for her after she wakes up, but for now I’ll just let her sleep.

Are there any other changes to my body that I should know about? Or anything you can detect at all that would be considered important information?

|There are only a total of one hundred frozen ones in the surrounding kilometer. And each of these frozen ones are far weaker than you. However, there is a much more powerful energy signature originating from the intelligent frozen one in charge of the previous assault beneath the planet hall.|

Hmm, that’s good to know.

Actually, could you teach me how to sense better with my own energy? I’m sick of constantly needing you to notify me of these things.

|Affirmative. I will now commence teaching you the basics of energy sensing.|

Good.

Chapter 3

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Catchup

Alexander North

It takes me about two hours of straight training with the terminal’s guidance to be able to sense anything at all. Which is actually faster than I was expecting, but also slower than I’d hoped.

I let out a sigh at that thought before glancing at Alexia when I feel her stirring slightly.

Is she finally waking up?

A few seconds pass, and the girl just continues occasionally moving until she mutters in her sleep, “Don’t… don’t go… Alex, don’t go…”

I blink in surprise at that before patting the girl’s head and trying my best to comfort her, only to end up waking her up in the process as he eyes begin to blink open. Then without missing a beat, she jumps up and basically tackles me with a hug. Again.

“Alex!” she murmurs while burying her face in my armor, which probably needs to be replaced considering how much damage it has all over it.

After a second, I lightly rub her back in what I’m hoping is a comforting gesture. And judging by how she relaxes ever so slightly from it, I’m going to assume it is?

I’m not exactly used to dealing with kids, so…

I stay silent for a while, just letting her quietly sob until she eventually calms down and raises her head.

“You okay now?” I ask, and she quickly nods. “Alright. If you don’t mind, could you tell me what all has happened since I was knocked unconscious? And how long I was out.”

She nods her head while taking in a shaky breath, only to let it out again a second later. Then she says, “You were asleep for half a year…”

I stare at her for a few seconds before opening my mouth and then closing it again. This process repeats itself a couple times until the girl who is sitting next to me reaches out to touch my face, snapping me out of my stupor as I almost jerk my head backwards to avoid her hand. But I don’t.

“Half a year…” I mutter while lowering my head and looking down at my hand, gripping it tightly in the process as I ignore the girl’s hand on my face.

Wait!

“What about the others?” I ask while raising my head, only to realize she probably doesn’t understand. But before I can clarify, she says, “Cynthia said they all made it to some military base outside of the city and are set up there.”

I once again find myself surprised by the girl as I mutter, “Cynthia? Actually, just go ahead and tell me everything that’s happened.”

Alexia removes her hand from my face with a nod before suddenly grabbing my hand and beginning to play with it for some reason as she starts her explanation.

Several hours pass as I listen to the girl, and throughout that time, she tells me all sorts of things. Some of them being about what life has been like for her since my battle with the intelligent frozen one, others being about what the city has become. And even about how the entire world has been altered. But throughout the entire time, she never once lets go of my hand. Which I find a little odd, but I guess she finds holding my hand comforting?

Not really sure I understand that, but then again, she’s only ten years old. And she’s been left mostly to her own devices, with the exceptions of periodic visits from Cynthia, for half a year now.

Poor kid…

Eventually she finishes catching me up before falling asleep with her head on my leg and my hand still held in hers, making me feel a little awkward.

I didn’t sign up to be a father.

Maybe Cynthia can take care of her?

|That is unlikely to work. It is estimated that the child thinks of you as a father figure and would take it as being abandoned should you try to put her under someone else’s care.|

Yeah, that’s an issue… wait, I thought you weren’t going to read my mind if I didn’t call on you?

|Due to the changes over the past six months, it is no longer possible to disconnect from your mind.|

Ugh. That’s annoying.

I’ll have to figure that particular nuisance out later. For now…

I watch the girl for a few seconds before sighing.

Nevermind. Not much I can really do about this either.

I kind of wanted to go outside and check out the surroundings, maybe kill a few frozen ones too while I’m at it. But…

|It is estimated that should you leave the girl, and you are not back by the time she wakes up, she will start crying.|

Yeah, that’s a problem. Not to mention the fact that she’s hugging my hand while sleeping. Would be troublesome just to get up without waking her up.

I lean back against the couch while staring up at the ceiling.

Half a year… that’s way too long.

Then again, I wasn’t exactly expecting to survive from the stunt I pulled, so I guess this is better than the alternative.

So much is different now though… entire settlements built since six months ago, some humans being turned into frozen ones but still managing to retain their intelligence and mind intact, and entire settlements hunting down said people to force them to act as protection against other settlements and frozen ones?

What the hell has the world come to?

Then there’s the lost contact with the rest of the universe part…

My eyes widen at that thought.

Terminal, please try using the direct port to my father.

|Request is impossible. All ports have been mutated over the last six months and are no longer capable of contact with the other destination unless the connection is reset directly.|

My mouth drops open.

Shit.

Does that mean I can’t contact anyone off of this planet until someone comes here and physically establishes a port?

|Correct. However, the process is not the same as it used to be.|

It’s not? How has it changed?

|Unknown.|

My eyes narrow.

Lot of help that was.

I sigh again before glancing at Alexia.

Do you know if the frozen ones can break into this bunker?

|None of the frozen ones within the range of your senses can do so, nor would they have any reason to as both you and the child do not have powerful heat signatures on the level of regular humans.|

Right. So they wouldn’t know we’re in here in the first place.

Guess that explains how Alexia managed to sleep every night safely while on her own.

I lean back against the couch again before deciding to take a nap myself. Seeing as I’m not moving anywhere till this girl wakes up anyways.

Chapter 4

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

A New World

A Base North of the City

The various soldiers and civilians alike loiter around the surface of the base as the sunless day greets them with very little snow, the eternal winter not passing through at the moment. But their attention is quickly brought to the main gate once it begins to grind open, soon revealing Cynthia as she slowly drags the carcass of a wendigo through it – a term that she managed to get the base commander to designate it in honor of Alex’s rescue and sacrifice.

Some of the soldiers begin to salute, whereas many of the civilians point at her and whisper amongst themselves, taking advantage of their off time from duties to chatter about anything they can find that’ll alleviate their boredom and fear.

Cynthia really wishes they would stop doing this every single time she gets back from hunting, but she understands that there isn’t much she can do about it. So she doesn’t pause for even a second as she continues dragging the wendigo into the base, heading directly indoors and then down the hall towards the lab where the researchers are.

After she enters the lab, drawing the eyes of all of the researchers in the process, she simply dumps the carcass in there, signs a document registering that it was her kill, and leaves again without another word.

That was a rather powerful wendigo, so it was a good thing I managed to find it before any of the other hunting parties did.

Over the last six months, the researchers have made quite the number of breakthroughs, one of which being a power source that uses the energy of the frozen ones themselves to run what used to be electronics. But the power sources have their limits, requiring a large amount of energy from the frozen ones themselves to run for any period of time, making it not very usable outside of the field when necessary.

But what Cynthia cares more about is the armor they’ve begun to make out of the frozen one’s corpses. Particularly out of their bones, which seem to have gained a special quality to them that is much stronger than the metal used in their armor suits. Suits that won’t work even with the power sources the researchers have made.

Cynthia lets out a sigh as she continues walking through the base towards her quarters – a special area set aside for her as a symbiont host and the princess of the Empire. And as she walks, she can’t help but hear footsteps coming from the direction of the councilman’s office, making her let out a groan of irritation before she quickens her pace.

I do not want to deal with that idiot right now.

As she continues speedwalking towards her room she hears the man shout, “How many times do I have to tell you not to go out on your own?! Do you know just how-” Cynthia reaches her room before closing the door, cutting off the man’s shouts as she lets out a sigh of relief.

Barely made it…

The princess glances at the door for a moment, only to shake her head when she hears the councilman storming off in a rage. She then turns around and heads over to her bunk and plops down on it to stare up at the ceiling with one arm draped across her body and the other hanging off the edge of the bunk.

Tomorrow should be Saturday, so I’ll go check up on Alexia again then…

Ever since Cynthia first found the girl, she’s been going to visit her on a weekly basis to give her training in combat and to just keep her company. At the beginning, she wasn’t sure is she could’ve taken Alexia to the base thanks to her inhuman changes. But after other strange occurrences of humans being infected and managing to retain their intelligence, she started to think it was fine. But Alexia refused nonetheless, stating that she was adamant that she would stay at the bunker with Alex.

And there was nothing Cynthia could say against that.

Cynthia sighs as she thinks about it.

Then again, Alex and Alexia seem to be very different from those new ‘mutants,’ who apparently gained some rather difficult to control instincts along with their powers, and some unpleasant looking mutations for some of them. Alex and Alexia only gained power. Gained benefits from their change, with no downsides like the mutants. They also seem to be much faster at absorbing energy from what I’ve seen than Rachel.

Cynthia’s lips purse at the thought of the girl who’d shown up one day at the base after getting infected but retaining her intelligence, nonetheless. And no matter how Cynthia looks at it, there’s something off with her. She still works well and takes orders, helping the base despite everyone’s initial lack of trust, but she seems to be completely detached from anyone at the base. Even after three months of staying with them and finally gaining some of the trust of the soldiers and civilians.

Silence fills the princess’s quarters for several minutes, and she can’t help but wonder how Alexia is doing right now. The girl should be able to fight very well at this point thanks to her training along with her inhuman strength, but she’s still just a child, and Cynthia can’t help but worry about her.

And Alex…

Cynthia feels a pit develop in her chest at the thought of her cousin. As she thinks of the many times she finds herself just gazing at his med pod when visiting Alexia.

I hope he wakes up soon… and there’s the matter of his team as well.

The girl feels a hint of anger as she remembers just what the councilman almost did to them if she hadn’t stepped in.

They’re safe. That’s all that matters.

Cynthia lets out another sigh at the thought before situating herself on the bunk a little better, taking off her boots and removing her sword from her waist, then finally getting under the covers and beginning to go to sleep.

Chapter 5

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Scouting and Recap

Alexander North

I’m woken up by Alexia as the girl gets up, only for her to immediately apologize to me and then continue walking towards the bathroom. So I stretch and get up myself, briefly glancing down at myself in the process to remember that I’m still wearing some pretty garbage condition armor.

Here’s hoping this bunker had a spare set in my size.

I walk over to the medical area of the bunker again before looking at the lockers there and finding several sets of armor in them. And I immediately recognize the armor as quite similar to the one she’s wearing. Which makes sense, considering that she said that her armor was once one of these before Cynthia came by and did a rather poor job at downsizing it for the girl.

Her armor aside though, there is fortunately a couple sets here that fit me. The armor isn’t anywhere near the quality of the armor at the base, but it’ll definitely do. Much better than the armor I’m wearing right now that is extremely uncomfortable and very badly damaged.

I quickly change out of my armor into the new one before closing the locker and heading back into the living area to find Alexia already seemingly preparing to go somewhere.

“Where are you headed?” I ask out of curiosity, and she answers while tightening the strings on her combat boots, “To scout out the area. I do it every morning.”

She’s rather well disciplined for a child. Not that I’m complaining.

She also is acting a lot differently than earlier, when she was crying. But maybe she just needed to get it out of her system?

Once again though, I’m not complaining.

Then again, from what she said, she only saw people once every week for the last six months. And that was just Cynthia, who visited every Saturday.

I blink at that thought.

What’s today?

|Saturday.|

Guess she’ll be coming over today.

Anyways, I ask Alexia, “Mind if I tag along?”

She looks up at me at that before looking slightly relieved and nodding with a smile, “Please!”

I chuckle as the two of us begin walking towards the entrance of the bunker, soon finding it grinding open after the girl enters a code into the keypad next to it. And what I find on the other side is the heavily damaged interior of the building the bunker is stationed in. There are holes all over the walls, with the floor above this one collapsed inwards in some places, and the floor of this floor also wrecked with holes in it.

After we walk out of the bunker, Alexia closes the bunker door and seals it with the code before we begin heading through the building. And along the way I can’t help but focus on my senses, trying to improve upon them like I was yesterday.

The trip ends up mostly being the two of us walking around the building and dealing with any frozen ones we see, with Alexia being rather shocked by just how easily I can deal with the creatures now. Which is reasonable, considering that the first one that appeared, the creature having jumped straight out of a ruined pipe at us, I grabbed by its reptilian neck and crushed without even looking its way.

What’s surprised me the most about this little scouting trip though was seeing Alexia fight. Since she couldn’t exactly do that before I took my six month long nap.

Although I’m also a little surprised by just how barren and empty the city seems. Even when we go outside of the building and do a lap around it, including the alleyways, it is completely barren of people. And even the frozen ones are rather lacking in numbers, not to mention actual energy.

“Why’s everything so weak?” I can’t help but mutter out loud as we reenter the building, heading back to the bunker again.

Alexia looks up at me before focusing on where she’s walking again and answering, “No humans wanted to live in the capital since it’s the epicenter of the eternal winter on the planet. And most of the stronger frozen ones either set up their own bases or followed the humans.”

That has my eyebrows raising for a moment, only to remember what she said earlier when she was catching me up with everything.

Right. The frozen ones have quite a few intelligent ones left alive, each with their own small bases, mostly underground and near human settlements.

And if I had to guess, the ones that strictly followed the humans without making a base are the stronger but not intelligent frozen ones. The ones that are probably just seeing them as prey.

Guess not all of the changes are good.

I was actually rather pleasantly surprised with a lot of the changes, what with there being human settlements again, and that the most powerful frozen one was missing. Not to mention that the eternal winter seems to abate in certain areas of the world, moving around and no longer covering the entire planet.

But the idea of organized frozen ones isn’t exactly something I’m happy about.

We continue walking in silence for several minutes, not rushing to get to the bunker and instead taking our time. Because at this point there doesn’t seem to be much in the capital that can really harm me. And Alexia’s energy is surprisingly at about ten points, so she can defend herself quite well now.

Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if the girl was as strong as a Tier 2 Symbiont Host now. Although without the training to go along with it, because while she has clearly been training in combat thanks to Cynthia, she is still new to it.

On that note, I glance at the girl and ask, “Would you like me to help you with your training?”

She immediately turns her head to look at me and stops walking, a gleam in her eyes before she moves to hug me, startling me in the process as she mutters, “Yes!”

Okay then.

“We’ll decide on a schedule for it later,” I tell her with a light pat on her back. “For now it seems like we have a visitor.”

She tenses at that before seemingly understanding what I mean and letting go of me to turn around and face the hallway we’re walking through as if she could see through the walls at the humanoid figure I’m watching stand in the middle of the bunker with a red glow.

Guess my thermal vision improved with my energy and everything else. That’s certainly a plus.

“Let’s go say hi to Cynthia,” I tell Alexia with a smile. Or at least, I’m pretty sure it’s Cynthia.

Wonder how she’ll react to seeing me awake?

Chapter 6

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The Councilman

Moments ago outside of the Bunker

Throughout the entire trip over to the bunker, Cynthia can’t get her mind off of how she’ll deal with the idiotic councilman when she gets back. But when she arrives at the bunker door, she just puts those thoughts out of her mind and takes a deep breath, then presses the call button on the small terminal outside.

I’m so glad that they made those power sources work... because it would be a major pain opening and closing this bunker door otherwise.

Several seconds pass in silence with no answer, making Cynthia come to the conclusion that Alexia is out scouting right now. So instead of waiting, she just enters the code for the door and opens it herself before going inside.

Might as well go see Alex while I’m waiting.

She closes the door behind her and begins walking towards the med room, only to freeze the moment she enters the doorway and finds the pod dock wide open with no one inside of it.

A moment passes. Then another. And by the third, Cynthia immediately begins running towards the pod dock before checking everything and looking around the room, only to notice the armor closet wide open with a set of armor missing. She then runs out of the room and looks around the rest of the bunker in an attempt to find any sign – any at all – that Alex had woken up.

Please, oh pleeeaaase be awake!

Not long into her scavenge for signs, the sound of the bunker door open draws her back to the entry room, where she finds both Alexia and her cousin walking into the bunker.

Cynthia’s eyes widen in shock, and she freezes for a moment, only for him to raise his hand in a gentle wave and say, “Hey Cynthia, how have you-”

The girl doesn’t let him finish, tackling him with a hug. Not that it budges him almost at all, Alex only seemingly letting out a little bit of air and stiffening up a little when she does so.

But she doesn’t care.

He’s awake!!!

Alexander North

I frown for a moment at my cousin who is hugging me in what would’ve been a death grip before I became whatever it is that I am, but is now only as strong as a regular hug from a normal person. To me at least. She could probably still hurt someone with this hug if they were normal.

That aside though, why does everyone keep reacting this way? First Alexia, and now Cynthia.

I understand they’re happy, but there’s no need to tackle me.

At least Cynthia’s not crying like Alexia did.

I hear Alexia chuckling a little as she closes the bunker door behind us, but Cynthia proceeds to ignore that in favor of not letting go.

This really is getting old.

It takes a few minutes, but she finally manages to calm down and let go, following which Cynthia and I sit down on the couch and begin talking.

“So how’ve things been for you?” I ask Cynthia, briefly watching Alexia as she goes around stashing some of the supplies that Cynthia had brought us. Supplies that mostly consist of things like coffee and popcorn. Nothing really too important, considering our lack of actual need for food or drink. Mostly just junk food and stuff a lot of people enjoy.

Although, that is a lot of bags of popcorn. Wonder where Cynthia’s getting it in the first place?

I know some of our technology is working again as long as it uses cold energy as a power source, but I doubt it’s enough to grow fields. In fact, most of the fields on the planet have probably been wiped out by now.

Except maybe the underground ones.

Cynthia tenses up for a moment, only to look me in the eye and sag slightly into the sofa as she answers, “Not very good.”

I raise an eyebrow, prompting her to continue, “Councilman Rogers is the highest surviving authority on the planet in terms of the Empire, but none of the other bases can agree with him, and for good reason. The man has taken over our base, the closest base to the capital I might add, and not done squat with it.”

That has my other brow raising.

“Even after we lost contact with the rest of the universe, the man was convinced all we needed to do to survive was to build ourselves a sturdy base and dig our feet in, defending against any attacks that would come our way until backup would arrive,” Cynthia says, a look both disgusted and exhausted on her face as she looks up at the ceiling. “It’s reached the point that he’s sending some of the regular soldiers who don’t have symbionts out on suicide missions just to clear out nearby frozen one nests and remove their threat from the base.”

“Shit, really?” I exclaim, sitting up a little bit with a frown. “Also, nests?”

Cynthia glances at me, but Alexia explains in her stead, “They’re places where the non-sapient frozen ones grouped together.”

I glance at her before nodding my head in appreciation and focusing on Cynthia again.

“What about the other bases? What are they doing about the councilman?” I ask.

Cynthia answers rather quickly, “None of the other bases are as strong as ours, with the exception of maybe one that is led by a man whose symbiont advanced to Tier 3 during all of this. So while they don’t agree with the councilman, they can’t do much to help us out. Instead staying where they are and dealing with their own problems.”

That’s… unfortunate. Although it is good news to know we have a Tier 3 symbiont host.

There’s still the most important question though.

I directly meet Cynthia’s eyes as I ask, “Where is my team? Are they okay?”

Cynthia flinches slightly at that, making my frown grow worse before she says, “They… were a part of one of the suicide missions.”

I immediately tense up at that, an emotion I’d equate to rage building up inside of me. But it’s hard to tell sometimes with that particular emotion, and before I can say or do anything, Cynthia raises her hands and says, “Don’t worry! They’re all still alive!”

That has me relaxing again. But something tells me there’s more.

“That said, they’re all in comas,” she continues, making my eyes narrow. “And they’re also what the councilman is using to blackmail me into staying at his base, giving him some extra credence to his claim of power.”

“Oh, is he now?” I ask, my tone sounding dangerously low even for me.

“Please tell me where this base is,” I state, only barely noticing the fact that my armor is starting to frost over for some reason.

Cynthia tenses slightly before answering, “The base is north of the city. But please don’t do anything rash. Not only did you just wake up after a six month long coma, but the base has over three dozen Tier 2 Symbiont Hosts defending it.”

I blink at that, the frost slowly coating my armor suddenly fading as I ask, “Three dozen? Where did he get so many?”

“From the other bases closest to the capital, along with the soldiers stationed in the capital itself,” Cynthia answers before repeating herself, “Please don’t do anything rash.”

“Well, I should be fine even if they have over three dozen Tier 2s,” I tell her while looking down at the table in front of me, beginning to contemplate what I should do. “I’m stronger than a Tier 3 now after all.”

Silence fills the room, and after several seconds, I finally look up to find both Cynthia and Alexia gaping at me in shock.

Oh. Right. I forgot to mention that.

“You remember how the frozen ones absorb energy from that frozen sun?” I ask before continuing after seeing them both nod, “Well yeah. Throughout the entire time I was asleep, I was still absorbing energy from the sun every single time it came out. And apparently after I reached a certain energy level, the cold energy in my body assimilated into me better, making me far stronger than before. Stronger than a Tier 3 Symbiont Host.”

The two gape at me for a little bit before Cynthia recovers and mutters, “Well, I guess I don’t have as much to worry about as I thought I did…”

I nod at that, only to glance at Alexia when she walks over and grabs a bag of popcorn. Then she goes to the microwave and puts it inside, surprising me when the thing actually works.

“Did you really get one of those energy source replacements for the microwave?” I ask, an incredulous look on my face. And when the two girls nod, I let out a sign of exasperation. “Even though she doesn’t need to eat food?”

Alexia just nods, not taking her eyes off of the popcorn as it pops in the microwave.

I don’t know what to say to that.

A few seconds pass before I decide that not saying anything might just be the best choice and I turn my focus back to Cynthia to ask, “Do you know if there’s any specific way the human bases treat frost infused?”

Cynthia glances at me, and so does Alexia, but neither of them say anything for a moment. Then Cynthia answers, “Alex, you and Alexia are the only frost infused on the planet.”

I blink at that before frowning as I ask, “But Alexia mentioned other bases taking in people who didn’t lose their mind or intelligence from the infection.” I turn to her. “Right?”

She purses her lips and glances at Cynthia, making my frown grow deeper.

“You didn’t tell him?” Cynthia asks Alexia, only to sigh when the girl just avoids her gaze and focuses on her popcorn. My cousin then turns to me and says, “The ones Alexia mentioned weren’t frost infused. They were simply people who were infected but managed to somehow hold onto their sense of self. And they are mostly treated as important assets by the bases, since the frozen ones have proven to be able to grow stronger faster than humans.”

I stare at her in silence.

“The bases have taken to calling them mutants,” Cynthia adds after understanding I wasn’t gonna say anything. “Unlike you and Alexia, they have instincts they have to deal with. And while their instincts vary depending on their mutations, they always have a desire to attack ‘warm ones,’ as the frozen ones call us. They also absorb energy at a slower pace than you two from what I’ve seen and have inhuman mutations.”

I break my silence to ask, “What sort of mutations? Because Alexia and I have claws, not to mention our eyes.”

Cynthia directly meets my eyes as she answers, “Mutations like horns or spikes growing out of their body. Some of them even grew a tail or wings, with the worst case being part of their body seemingly crystalizing, turning their entire right arm into crystals of ice.”

After a few seconds of silence, I mutter, “That… doesn’t sound very pleasant.”

She nods her head, and I hear Alexia quietly saying, “Yeah.”

“Well anyways, the mutants are accepted in the base by the military because most of the soldiers and officers all realize they need their power. So even if the civilians staying at the bases are frightened, they’re told to deal with it and to not antagonize them in any way,” Cynthia continues, surprising me a little.

Huh. Maybe I’ll have to raise my evaluation of humans in general.

Never really thought much of my own species, what with the constant warring amongst ourselves and all.

Although I guess it’s not ‘my’ species anymore, now is it?

|Affirmative.|

That was a rhetorical question towards myself.

|Affirmative.|

I raise a brow at that but don’t say any more to the AI.

|This unit is not an AI. AI refers to Artificial Intelligence. This unit is a true sapient intelligence capable of-|

I cut it off by asking Cynthia, “So do you know how they’d treat me and Alexia at the base?”

She frowns for a moment and Alexia pauses as she’s about to open her bag of popcorn she just got out of the microwave.

“To be honest? I’m not sure,” she answers. “If I had to guess, it’d depend on the base you go to. The chairperson would probably welcome you with open arms and try to keep you trapped there just like he’s doing to me. But any other base would welcome you and force you to join their military forces just due to your power and what the influence of having a frost infused would mean.”

I blink at that before frowning, ignoring the sound of Alexia opening her popcorn bag.

Interesting.

If that’s the case…

“Would it be alright if you told me the way to your base?” I ask, once again meeting my cousin’s eyes. And she quickly nods as she answers, “Sure. Just let me-”

“Wait, let me clarify,” I interrupt her, surprising her in the process. “I want you to tell me which base it is so I can go there myself.”

She blinks in confusion at that.

“I want you to stay behind and look after Alexia while I’m gone,” I answer her unasked question, making her jaw drop open, following which the girl in question shouts, “What?! No!!”

And she tackles me again, quite literally throwing the popcorn bag in the process. “I won’t let you leave me again!”

Why is everyone tackling me so much since I woke up?

“Let’s just all go,” Cynthia says, making me turn to her in surprise. But she doesn’t let me say anything as she adds, “Alexia has gotten a lot stronger. At this point she’s probably around the strength of a Tier 2 Symbiont Host, so she won’t be in much danger. Not much more than I am at least.”

I blink at that before the fact of the matter finally hits me.

Right. She’s as strong as a Tier 2 now.

Not just a kid. Even if she still is one.

I glance at the girl who is still clinging onto me before sighing, “Alright. You can come.”

She immediately looks up with clear hope in her eyes before quite literally jumping up in joy. Then she goes to the popcorn bag she tossed and pouts at it.

I hold myself back from snorting in amusement at that.

Should’ve thought about the popcorn before tossing it.

The smile on my face vanishes when I realize something’s missing. Or rather someone.

“Where’s Snow?” I ask, glancing between Alexia and Cynthia.

“Oh, she’s out hunting right now,” Alexia says without taking her gaze off her popcorn, making me let out a sigh of relief. “She does that a lot. Just randomly leaves and comes back weeks later stronger than when she left.”

I raise a brow at that before looking at Cynthia and finding her grumbling something that I only catch thanks to my heightened senses, “Stupid mutt is stronger than me now…”

Now that has me smirking in amusement. But my smirk grows into a smile when I hear quadrupedal footsteps approaching along with the smell that I easily recognize as Snow.

“Speak of the devil,” I comment while walking over to the door and opening it to find Snow walking down the hall. But the moment the frozen wolf notices me, she immediately gets excited and rushes in to tackle me before licking me all over.

Fortunately the only thing she manages to lick is my armor as I have my hands protecting my head.

“Alright, down girl,” I tell her with a smile on my face. And I can hear Alexia giggling from inside the bunker.

My smile fades when I notice a tiny flash of movement in the corner of my eye, bringing my attention to an open doorway. But I don’t see anything there. There’s no cold energy nor is there any heat that would mark a human being.

Strange.

Snow gets off of me after a surprising lick to my face that she managed to get past my hands thanks to my distraction, which just sets Alexia off even more.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up,” I mutter while climbing to my feet and scratching Snow on the head in between her ears as she pants in front of me like a dog despite being a wolf.

Then again, she used to be a dog.

Anyways, I turn around and begin heading back inside of the bunker with Snow following behind me before I close the bunker door.

“Now then,” I start while still scratching Snow with the frozen wolf leaning her head into my hand. “Let’s talk about this councilman.”

Outside the Building

Julian runs as fast as he can through the frozen streets feeling very thankful to have his cold suit armor equipped and activated right now. Because if he wasn’t mistaken, the man he’d just seen was one of those suspected frost infused. The people who are like the mutants but just better.

Something that the chairperson didn’t even think existed purely because no one could find one on the planet.

Even Julian didn’t believe they existed. After all, there wasn’t any proof that they did beyond the emergency announcement. And to test it out someone had to get an artificial heart and risk themselves by getting infected afterwards.

But getting a permanent artificial heart, one that won’t run down or need to be replaced and works just as well or even better than a regular heart, isn’t possible in most corners of the universe. And that’s not even mentioning how the current problem with technology would complicate the issue even more.

He didn’t have any visible mutations though. All he had was pitch black eyes, a sign of a frozen one. And he still acted perfectly normal for a human despite that. No signs of his instincts warring with him like that woman clearly shows.

The man continues running through the streets while being careful to avoid any frozen ones that might see him. Fortunately, the cold suit armor – one created by replacing the power sources in military cybernetic gear with cold energy instead – hides the wearer’s heat signature. And, according to the mutants, it isn’t visible to their cold energy senses either.

The councilman will want to hear about this. If we can just get this frost infused to join our base, then his position as the leader would be cemented.

Julian can’t help but grin, the thought of his brother climbing higher in power and therefore bringing himself with him a tantalizing one.

I wasn’t able to hear what he was talking about with the princess, but whatever it is, they seemed to be close to each other. Maybe they’re exes? Or just good friends?

After a few seconds of pondering over it, the man shakes his head, not stopping in his run through the street even when he sees a frozen one entering a building on the other side of it.

It doesn’t matter right now what his relationship is. That’s for the councilman to figure out.

He suddenly picks up the pace, running even faster than before thanks to his Tier 1 Symbiont. And all the while, a wide grin refuses to leave his face.

I knew it was a good idea to keep watch over the girl this time! She seemed to be growing more and more restless lately, not even being willing to talk to the councilman much less consider working with him.

Chapter 7

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Politics

Alexander North

As we walk through the ruined and frost-coated streets of the planet’s capital, I continue working on my senses. And I end up making quite a bit of progress as well. Something that I find rather nice, especially since by the time we reach the edge of the city I can sense up to a hundred or so meters away from me.

Unfortunately I can’t just go in and kill the councilmember like I wanted to. Mostly because it would turn everyone against me, making them believe me to be some sort of beast that can’t control itself.

Rather stupid, but I can understand in a way.

So we decided that I’d just go to the base and first see how they treat me. After all, if he and the people there don’t treat me well then there’s no point in not killing him. Especially considering what the bastard did to my team.

But if the people there treat me just like any regular human, or at least almost like that, then I’ll have to either figure out a way to get him kicked out of his own base, or just kill him silently after waiting a few months to shift any possible blame from me.

I could, of course, ignore all of these issues, but I don’t want to drag Cynthia and Alexia into it along with me.

The three of us and Snow all walk through the streets in silence until we enter the gate of the city and leave on the other side. But what we find is against any of our expectations.

I blink in surprise as we find a force of nearly two dozen people, all of which are symbiont hosts, standing in a formation on the other side next to a boat docked on a ruined bridge. And of the two nearly two dozen people, all but one of them are clearly soldiers from the military. Officers at that, considering their insignias. A few of them being captains, but most of them being Majors.

And the one man that is obviously not a part of the military is one wearing extremely high tech cybernetic armor seemingly enhanced by those cold energy cores. Which I’ve since learned hide the wearer from thermal vision and even hides the cold energy used in the armor.

A thought comes to me at that.

The flash of movement I saw earlier. Could that have been a soldier spying on us while wearing one of those cold energy enhanced armors?

Because that would certainly explain why they’re here. That or they’re here to betray Cynthia, but I doubt that.

The man in the center with the higher level tech armor seems out of place in the middle of the officers, and just out of place here in general. Like he should be sitting behind a desk arguing with politicians over what tourist attraction should get more money. Not in military armor outside in a wrecked city during a light snowstorm.

He’s also looking at us with his already thin eyes narrowed on my own as his voice rings out in a slightly scratchy pitch that irritates my ears, “So you really do exist.”

I frown as I quietly answer, “So I do,” not bothering to raise my voice since they’re all symbiont hosts and should be able to hear me clearly from there anyways.

Each of the soldiers have swords on them sheathed at their hips while their leader for some reason doesn’t have a weapon at all. Something I’m willing to bet money on that his bodyguards objected to, as they often do when they’re protecting a charge. Because they’d rather give them a weapon even if they don’t know how to use it just in case they’re separated.

Unsurprisingly, the councilmember doesn’t seem to particularly like my response. But despite that, all he does to show it is a very small twitch of his eye before he smiles and says, “Well then, Frost Infused, how may I address you?”

“My name is Alexander North,” I answer, quickly noticing the shocked reactions of the officers and the councilmember himself. They all quickly turn to look at my cousin after that, only for the shock to grow even greater when she nods her head, indicating that I am who I say I am.

And, of course, as soon as he learns that, the councilmember perks up and begins acting incredibly polite to me, saying, “Lord North! How wonderful it is to see you alive!” Then he goes on with a bunch of platitudes not even giving me the chance to speak before eventually asking, “Would you like to come with us to our base? I’m sure I can find you suitable accommodations there.”

Yeah, guess he did go with this reaction after all. It was the most likely one; him putting me in the same or a similar position as Cynthia.

Technically in some ways I’m more important but also less important than her. Since my father is the general in charge of the entire military, while hers is just the emperor. My father technically has more authority than hers.

It’s just the old noble structure that gives her more representative importance than me. Particularly because she has a title while I don’t, even if the titles are just superficial.

Although if my father ever did pass away or just decided to retire then I would get his title.

I glance at Cynthia for a moment, then Alexia who the councilmember hasn’t so much as glanced at this whole time, before focusing on him again and answering, “Very well.” And the man immediately brightens up more at my words, whereas the officers relax ever so slightly. Probably able to tell just how powerful I am.

Although I get the feeling the councilmember doesn’t actually realize how strong I am. He might end up regretting this decision when his officers no doubt tell him.

Not like he can take anything back now though.

“Then let’s head back to the base!” the councilmember exclaims with a wide smile. One that I notice twisting slightly into a grimace as he begins to turn around and mutters, “Because this place is unpleasant.”

I let out a sigh.

Politics. Annoying stuff. And something I never really expected to have to deal with again.

Chapter 8

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Delta Base

Alexander North

The trip West to their base doesn’t take very long since we’re all either symbiont hosts or frost infused, so we make it within an hour of leaving the base. And when we get there, my first thought is how much smaller this base is than the base I was stationed at. Although that’s probably because the base I was stationed at was base Alpha for this planet. The main base. Whereas I believe this base is Delta.

Anyways, the guards stationed at the front of the gate gawk at me and Alexia for a moment before opening the gate after the chairperson tells them to open it.

I glance at Alexia, who is holding my sleeve and walking just behind me to an angle, not exactly hiding behind me but clearly using me as a shield if only slightly.

As it turns out, the person who had spied on us and found us in the capital didn’t know about Alexia, so the chairperson was rather delighted to find her with us. Although he didn’t seem to be very please about how she has behaved towards him. Specifically, how she’s been trying her very best to ignore him.

I look around the base as we step inside. The base itself is, I believe, only above ground with no below ground portions, unlike Alpha base which is mostly underground. And this base is in pretty good condition. It’s also in a spot that doesn’t get much of the eternal winter passing by.

In fact, it’s mostly clear right now with very little snow. Which I find rather uncomfortable, but not as uncomfortable as I would’ve expected.

The only other thing that the lack of the storm seems to do to me is make it a little harder to use my energy. Something that can be inconvenient in battle, but not something that’ll likely get me killed. Especially considering how rare places with this little eternal winter supposedly are.

The chairperson guides us through the base under the gazes of all the people living here, both soldiers and civilians. And unsurprisingly, there are a couple people here who are openly hostile towards me and Alexia. What is surprising though is that it’s only a couple. Not the entire base.

Then again, they’ve had one of those mutants living here for a while now. So I guess it makes sense. They’re probably already a little used to living with someone who isn’t human anymore.

Speaking of the mutant, a woman with two crystal horns growing out of her head and several spikes growing out of her shoulders walks out of the base entrance only to stop and stare when she notices us.

I raise a brow as we approach, breaking her out of her short stupor before she starts walking over and greets the chairperson with a brief, “Chairperson,” and a nod. Then she just walks right past him, to his obvious displeasure.

And the fact that no one seems surprised, that no one even seems to care cements the chairperson’s position in this base in terms of respect. Almost as if the only reason the people are here under him is because he’s a chairperson. Not because they respect him.

Which makes getting rid of him even easier. Or at least, it would if he wasn’t so cautious, something I realized when he came to us with two dozen symbiont hosts. Because even if I could kill them all, which I don’t know if I can, I wouldn’t want to. Especially since they’re just following orders.

Once the mutated woman reaches me, she pauses and looks around my body, likely for mutations. Then she frowns when she fails to find any.

“They’re not mutants,” Cynthia says from next to us, a lot more friendly with this woman than she is the chairperson.

That statement seems to surprise the woman as her pitch black eyes widen slightly in surprise, only to narrow as she says, “Frost infused then?”

I nod. “Correct.”

She purses her lips for a second before shrugging and reaching her hand out, “Name’s Tess Martin.”

I accept her offer as I answer, “Alexander North.”

Her eyebrows rise at that as she tilts her head, “Noble?”

I just nod.

Tess stares at me for a few seconds before shrugging again and letting go of my hand as she says, “Well, it’s nice to meet you Alex. I hope you’re not locked in a cage like the princess here.” She nods at Cynthia at that part.

Meanwhile the chairperson looks like he’s about to blow a gasket.

“I should leave before he pops,” she says with a wave, making the chairman even angrier as she begins to walk away.

Well then. She was not what I was expecting when I heard the chairperson had a mutant in his base.

Anyways, terminal? Did you get a reading on her?

|Affirmative.|

And the results?

|She has three point zero five points in energy, and the signature indicates that she has been assimilated with cold energy for a total of three and a half months.|

Nothing on her physical statistics?

|It is impossible to get a precise reading of another being’s physical statistics without either physically testing them or having a connection to them, however the estimate that I have come to marks the woman’s physical stats to overall average at about two each.|

Not bad then. Although nowhere near close to being a threat to me. She’s not even as strong as the Tier 2 Symbiont Hosts here yet.

|Affirmative. However, as she uses cold energy, she will be able to grow far faster than them and has inherent abilities that neither humans nor symbiont hosts have.|

True.

I turn around to find the chairperson glaring at the woman’s back. So I clear my throat, making him remember that I exist before he quickly apologizes and has us continue walking further into the base.

Yeah, I really do not like this guy.

After we pass through the doors into the four or so story building, the doors close behind us. Then the guards all split up, half of them leaving likely to do their own thing with the other half continuing with us deeper into the building.

Well, time to see what this idiot has to say.

Chapter 9

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Confrontation

Alexander North

We stop in a large office decorated with military awards and various things that clearly don’t belong to the chairperson. Meaning it’s likely the office of whoever ran this base before the universe underwent an icy hell and this guy took it over.

The man walks over to his desk with only five of the symbiont hosts left in the room, showing that he clearly underestimates me if he thinks five will help with anything. Especially considering that Alexia and Cynthia are still here.

“So, young man,” he starts after sitting down behind his desk with a smile, “how do you feel about joining my base and working for me?”

I consider my words for a moment, the consequences of what may happen, and the people in the room with me, before answering, “I won’t work exclusively for you.”

The chairperson’s eyes narrow immediately, and the officers in the room all tense up while putting their hands on their swords.

“Is that so? May I ask why?” the chairperson asks, a dangerous note in his tone that I would care more about if he actually represented a threat to me.

“Because I don’t get involved in politics,” I state bluntly, which is true, but not the main reason for my decision.

If I understand this guy correctly, he’ll probably try to force the matter to make me join him. And when he does, I can just beat him to a bloody pulp before either going to get the others and bringing them with me depending on their condition, or kicking him out of the base if they can’t be moved.

Either way I don’t feel bad, since the guy’s an entitled asshole from what Cynthia’s been saying, not to mention what I’ve seen of him so far.

“You don’t, do you?” he slowly states before shaking his head. “A pity. I really thought you would’ve been more open to discussion.”

Then he taps his fingers on his armrest and says, “Capture him then.”

The five officers draw their swords, and Cynthia does the same. But the moment when they rush forwards, I move a few times faster than them, immediately incapacitating two of them before grabbing the sword of another with my bare hand when it’s about to cut into my shoulder, realizing that the man was holding back.

The three still-conscious officers, including the one who’s sword I’m holding, stare in shock. And the chairperson isn’t excluded from that either as the sword, which had cut through my gloves and stopped at my skin, is starting to freeze over.

Without a hint of hesitation, the officer holding the sword drops it before the frost can reach his hand. Then I raise a brow at the chairperson and ask, “Why exactly should I be more open to discussion with someone who has no leverage over me and has already tried sacrificing my team for his own gain?”

At this point I can practically smell the fear in the man – something that I never thought I’d be able to do – as he begins to shake, barely controlling himself enough to say without any of his fear in his voice, “This was a misunderstanding. We were just trying to teach you how dangerous-”

“Oh, cut the bull,” I say while rolling my eyes. “I don’t give a shit about your politics. And if you know anything about my father, then you should understand that he doesn’t either. It’s why he’s the General of the Military in the first place.”

I glance at the three conscious officers in the room, finding them slowly inching towards the exit before I return my gaze to the chairperson.

“Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you,” I tell him with a frown. “That would cause too much chaos in this base. What I will do though is take my team from here if they’re capable of travel, along with Cynthia.” The man opens his mouth to speak at that, likely to refuse on the part of the Princess leaving, but I just raise a brow, making him shut his mouth again.

A few seconds pass in tense silence, the officers finally making it out of the room to run away. But I don’t really care about them, since there isn’t much they can do. Plus they don’t have actual loyalty for the chairperson here, so they’re likely not even gonna bother getting other officers to help.

Eventually the chairperson tersely says, “Fine.” Then he opens his mouth while looking at the officers, only to close it again, likely realizing they can’t exactly take his orders while unconscious.

“I made sure not to injure them,” I point out just to make sure he doesn’t misunderstand anything.

And to casually mention that I’m strong enough that I could hold back while fighting them.

He flinches at that before calling out, “Sarah!”

Then a few seconds pass in silence, following which a woman walks into the room completely unfazed by the unconscious officers and the sight of my pitch black eyes or the glowing blue ring of light shining from them.

“Please go get Doctor Ruthers,” he says, and the woman immediately nods before turning and leaving the room again.

Silence fills the office for a little while as Alexia begins randomly walking around, admiring the stuff on the walls.

Guess the girl isn’t really nervous anymore. Although the only person besides us in here now is the chairperson, who is eyeing me like someone would a wild animal. One prone to attack at any moment.

I glance at Cynthia to find her smugly grinning at the chairperson, which almost makes me snort in amusement. But I hold back.

Doubt that would go over well with the guy I’m basically holding hostage in his own office after all.

We continue waiting for several minutes before the woman who I’m assuming is his secretary – a damned good one at that considering her lack of reaction to everything that’s happened here – returns with another woman who is wearing a lab coat.

“You wanted to see me?” the woman asks, briefly glancing around the room before her eyes land on me. “Oh.”

“Please describe the condition of my team,” I state to her, knowing that the chairperson will explain what I mean.

And he does, following which the doctor immediately begins her explanation of their conditions.

Chapter 10

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Decision

Alexander North

I quietly listen to the doctor’s clinical description of each of my teammates’ conditions, my hand slowly clenching tighter and tighter the longer she speaks. And it’s not just their condition that has me upset, but the reminder that the only ones from my team who are still alive are the twins, Michelle and Michael, and the possibly dead but certainly missing Robert.

The twins though… Michael completely lost his left arm to frostbite and received a wound to the head from one of the frozen ones that’s put him in a coma. Meanwhile Michelle is also unconscious in a coma, but hers may be worse even though her physical injuries aren’t as bad, since she had part of her head frozen for a brief period of time. Something that is baffling the doctors in how she’s even still alive.

After the doctor finishes speaking, I quietly ask, “I guess it’s safe to assume they can’t be safely moved?”

“Of course they can’t,” she says with a frown before glancing at the chairperson and asking, “is my business done here?”

I don’t let the chairperson speak as I state, “He has no more authority here,” shocking both her and the chairperson himself. But to my surprise, while the chairperson gets a look of terror on his face, the doctor actually smiles for the first time since entering the room. She then says, “By all means, kick the bastard out of here.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I see the chairperson alternating his shocked gaze between me and the doctor now. But I ignore him as I move straight to his desk faster than he can see before reaching over and grabbing him by his armored collar, lifting him up and over the desk. Then I turn around with him dangling in the air under my grasp.

“If that’s the situation, then I’ll be heading outside for a bit,” I comment while beginning to walk out of the office with the man reaching to grab my hand in an attempt to pry my grip off him, only for his fingers to begin frosting over the moment they make contact with my skin.

I add without much care, “You should probably stop that if you don’t want to lose your fingers to frostbite.”

He stops trying to move my hand and instead goes for my arm, only to not be able to do anything to it in the slightest as I continue walking through the hall. And to my further surprise, everyone I pass by actually looks happy with what’s going on.

Just how poorly did this guy treat the base for him to end up hated so much?

Because I can clearly tell they all hate him.

Then again, he sent soldiers off as sacrificial pawns. So it makes sense now that I consider that.

Even the soldiers I pass by don’t do shit. They just watch and give me a polite nod.

Meanwhile the chairperson screams his head off as we go, slightly irritating my ears in the process. Until I smack the side of his head and state, “Shut up. I’m not going to kill you.”

That actually gets him to go quiet. And it’s the truth.

I’m not going to kill him.

I continue walking through the base till I reach the front gate where I politely ask the guard manning it, “Could you point me to the stairs to the top of the walls?”

|User Alexander is forgetting that their own strength is more than enough to jump the walls.|

My mouth parts open at that as the guard begins to answer, only for me to say, “Actually, never mind. I just realized something.”

The guard looks confused, especially when I begin to step back a few meters to get a clear view of the wall. But his confusion goes to shock when I bend my knees and then jump, soaring through the air with a screaming chairperson in my grasp until I reach the top of the four or so meter tall wall and land on my feet next to a very surprised guard there. Then I walk over to the edge of the wall, giving the guard a brief nod before I move the chairperson over the edge of the wall, at which point he begins clinging to my wrist.

I pause for a second before looking back over the other side of the wall to find over a hundred people staring at me in anticipation. Although there are looks of fear mixed in, mostly from the children who are being herded inside already.

Deciding that it would probably be better to ask first, I ask, “Would anyone mind if I tossed this guy out of the base?”

No one says anything, but the looks in their eyes answer my question for me. So I turn to the guard next to me and ask, “If everyone in this base already hated him, then why didn’t you all just get rid of him yourselves?”

The guard looks surprised that I spoke to him, but he answers anyways, “It’s because if we didn’t follow his orders, we would all be court martialed when everything returns to normal.”

I raise a brow at that.

Sure we’re technically under martial law, but we’re also completely cut off from contact with the rest of the universe and in the middle of an apocalypse where a chairperson is abusing their power. So I’d say it’s fine to kick him to the curb.

That aside, I move the man over the edge of the wall again before letting go without a care in the world, dropping him down the four or so meters to land with a yelp on the snow down below. And despite the distance, he doesn’t seem to be that injured. Likely due to the snow padding his fall.

“You’re on your own from here on out!” I call out after him, making a look of terror fill his eyes. Then I turn to the guard and state, “Can’t get in trouble if you didn’t do anything to hurt him.”

The guard, seemingly to his own surprise, lets out a chuckle at that.

“Anyways, mind taking me to see the second in charge here?” I ask the guard, ignoring the shouting from the man who is banging on the wall like that would do anything.

Chapter 11

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Chain of Command

Alexander North

The guard once again seems surprised by my question, but he quickly begins leading me to somewhere. And as we walk, I can’t help but notice that the people in the base are all a little more relaxed now. Even if some of them are still eyeing me with clear unease or even fear.

I ignore those looks though as I continue following the guard till we end up at what turns out to be the clinic of the base. And when we go in, the guard immediately takes me to the doctor I spoke to earlier who apparently went back to the clinic while I was busy taking out the garbage.

“Doctor Ruthers, Second Lieutenant North is here to-” he begins only to be cut off when the woman answers without even looking at him, “Yes, I can see. Thank you. You are dismissed.”

The guard doesn’t seem surprised by her blunt words as he simply gives her a curt nod, followed by doing the same to me and then leaving the room.

Now that I’m speaking to her with the whole chairperson situation dealt with, I examine her a little closer, finding the woman to look around her thirties or so. She has long brown hair that goes over her stark white lab coat, and clear blue eyes.

The woman also has the signature of a Symbiont Host. Something I didn’t pay much attention to earlier since she was just a doctor, and my thoughts were preoccupied with my team.

“I’m sure you’re wondering, so I’ll just get it out of the way right now,” she says with a sigh before standing up from the stool she was sitting on. Then she takes off her lab coat to reveal armor underneath with the insignia of a lieutenant colonel, making my eyes widen. “You understand now?” And when she sees me nod, she continues, “Good.”

That was not expected. And from what I can tell from my senses, her symbiont isn’t even close to Tier 3 like the average lieutenant colonel’s symbiont.

Although the fact that she has one in the first place means she’s likely older than she looks.

“You took care of the chairperson?” she asks with a raised brow, then continues after I nod, “Good. What are you planning on doing now? Will you take over this base? Or leave?”

Her blunt manner of speaking is rather surprising, but then again, my doctor who’s been looking over my heart all these years is the same. Except when he’s near dad, but that’s because he’s frightened of the guy. He is the General of the Military after all.

“I’ll be staying, but I won’t take over the base,” I answer while glancing around the clinic in the hopes of seeing my team. “I don’t have as much training in what would be needed to run a base as some of you more experienced officers here, so it wouldn’t be good.”

Plus I don’t want to. It would be a pain.

She looks a little surprised by my answer, but she recovers quickly as she says, “Very well. I’ll take partial command over the base then.”

I frown and ask, “Who will take the other part?”

“Why, you and the Princess, of course,” she answers, making my frown grow deeper. “Don’t worry, the Princess and I will handle all the affairs of the base. You’ll just be in charge of the base’s strength and military might. Mostly as a show of power to the other bases, and to help deal with the nearby nests.”

Oh. That… I can work with that.

“Besides,” she adds with a raised brow, “don’t you frost infused and mutants grow stronger by killing the things and absorbing the cold energy inside of them?”

I smile at that and nod.

“Then this benefits you too,” she concludes before looking at a soldier standing at the entrance to the clinic and raising her voice, “Soldier, gather everyone up for an announcement.”

He salutes her and leaves the room.

The lieutenant colonel turns back to me and says, “I think you should go around and get to know some of the people of the base a bit now that you’re going to be a pseudo leader here. Just talk to them a little. Make them trust that you aren’t going to eat them.”

I blink at that last bit before saluting her and stating, “Yes, ma’am,” and leaving. But before I can get out, she adds, “Also, don’t call me lieutenant colonel or anything like that. Just call me Doctor and treat me like one too.”

A little surprising, but I give her another nod and leave the room.

Time to see what the people of the base are like.

After quickly finding Alexia and bringing her with me, I start up a short and brief conversation with over a dozen different people at random around the base. And thanks to that, I manage to find out quite a few things about the base in general.

Although I doubt this was the real purpose of the doctor asking me to do this. I’m pretty sure she wanted me to socialize and calm their nerves, not gather intel. But I’m not the most social person, so it’s fine.

It probably did do some of what she wanted though.

That aside, I’m a little surprised by just how much of a scumbag that chairperson was. As soon as he believed they were gonna be left alone on this planet and cut off permanently from the rest of the Republic, he started abusing his power. I even heard one story about a woman who he had apparently tried to force himself on, only to fail since the guards started following her around, protecting her from his advances after the first instance of it.

No one ever had the courage to stand up to him though since it would be a court martial or straight up lifetime imprisonment for killing him.

Me on the other hand, I can get away with kicking him out of the base without any trouble at all. Dad can see to that, along with my own rank as a second lieutenant.

Even if he dies out there. Which is likely.

So most everyone seems happy to have me here now even if some are a little wary of me.

I smile at that as I walk out of the base towards the gathering of people, finding the Doctor standing on the wall.

Time to introduce myself fully then, I guess.

Chapter 12

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Announcement

Alexander North

“As many of you well know, there has been a change in leadership of this base,” the Doctor says, her voice resonating through the area. But when some people begin to look my way, she continues, “I will now take full command of the base, with the Princess being the second in command, and the General’s son taking over the military forces of the base.”

Waves of whispers run through the gathered people with more than a few shocked looks amongst them, some sent towards me others towards the Doctor. But the shocked looks don’t exactly seem displeased. More just plain surprise.

If I had to guess, they probably expected me to be taking over the base after dealing with their last leader.

“Please, Second Lieutenant North, come up here,” the Doctor says, and I immediately jump up, flying straight over the heads of all the people before eventually landing on the wall of the base myself with slightly unsteady legs that I manage to steady quickly enough.

Still not used to this strength completely I guess.

Unfortunate.

Been getting used to it a lot faster than I probably should’ve been though, so I can’t really complain.

|You are correct. Your body has adjusted faster thanks to the cold energy inside of it than a regular organic body should’ve been able to adjust to large changes in physical form.|

Thought so.

“And the Princess,” the Doctor says while waving her hand to the entrance leading to the top of the wall near us where Cynthia walks out in our direction.

The whispers go silent at the sight of the two of us joining her. And the Doctor uses that silence to spread her arms out on both sides and declare, “Now that our previous leader is no longer amongst us, we must continue pushing forwards! To a new light! To the dawn of a new era here! We must all survive, whether that means through the help of those outside of this planet should they ever arrive… or on our own.” A note of tension fills the area at this, but she breaks it just as quickly, “We will survive. And with the second lieutenant’s assistance, we will thrive!”

Whispers once again fill the area.

The Doctor lets them go on for a bit before she turns to indicate me with her hand and says, “I have seen it myself! The young second lieutenant here, one of the very few frost infused living to this day, is as powerful as a Tier 3 Symbiont Host!!”

Now that makes the whispers rachet up to full-on conversations, making the base grow louder in the process.

“With his help, we can finally clear out all of the nests in the surrounding area.” She continues, a note of relief and hope in both her voice and eyes as she meets my gaze. “With his help leading our base’s military, we will thrive.”

Not really knowing what to say as the conversations begin to morph into cheers, some excited, others unsure, but all loud, I focus on the people with my gaze before raising a fist into the air without a word.

And that turns out to be all I need when everyone’s cheers grow much louder in volume.

“You are as strong as a Tier 3 Symbiont Host, right?” The Doctor asks after we enter the chairperson’s former office, which was actually her office before he took over as it turns out.

I raise a brow at that and ask, “You only ask this now?”

“Well? You are, right?” The woman repeats, avoiding my question.

“Yes, I am a little stronger than a Tier 3 Symbiont Host,” I answer, deciding not to push it. Because even if she isn’t in my chain of command, and if I’m far stronger than her, she is still a superior officer.

Plus I’ve learned to give respect to doctors from my time stuck living in a hospital at the capital planet of the empire for who knows how many years thanks to my heart. The time before I had the surgery for my artificial heart.

“That’s good,” the Doctor says from her place seated in the office chair behind the desk. Then she leans back a little and looks up at the ceiling while muttering, “Strong enough that the other bases won’t be a problem, not strong enough to deal with the main nests…”

“The main nests, ma’am?” I ask with a frown.

She looks at me again as she answers, “From what we’ve been able to gather, the power of the frozen ones in the nests all grow stronger the further away from the capital they are. And of the nests far away from the capital, there are about ten of them that are considered ‘main’ nests. Each one having a frozen one on the level of a Tier 4 Symbiont Host.”

My frown grows deeper.

“How did you get this intel? From the radio stations at the bases?” I ask while crossing my arms a little and glancing at Alexia to find the girl just having fallen asleep in one of the comfortable chairs on this side of the desk.

“You’re correct,” the Doctor says, drawing my gaze back to her. “One of the first things we replaced the battery of was the radio station, and most of the other bases still running did the same. We were able to maintain limited contact with each base on this side of the planet thanks to them. But the radio stations don’t have a good enough range to go any further than that, and sometimes the storm messes up the signals, making the calls connection difficult to manage.”

That’s to be expected. After all, regular storms can cause interference, so supernatural ones will probably be worse.

I can’t help but frown a little at the thought of frozen ones on par with Tier 4 Symbiont Hosts though. And at this point, I’ve realized the Doctor doesn’t care much for the chain of command, and I don’t really think I can say that I care anymore than she does right now either. So I uncross my arms and ask, “You want me to take out the nearby nests myself and grow stronger from the frozen ones inside?”

The Doctor directly meets my eyes as she nods, “Yes, I do.”

Not unsurprising. But I’m not complaining.

More personal power is always nice, and in this case, it’s necessary. And Alexia can stay safely at the base as I fight. She can even help defend it.

“Very well,” I answer with a nod of my own. “I’ll get ready to leave immediately. But first, I would like some new armor.”

“That can be arranged,” she answers with a faint smile.

Chapter 13

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Heading Out to Hunt

Alexander North

I stretch a little as I leave the base, heading towards the nest with a map having been downloaded into my terminal by the Doctor directly from her own terminal. Something I didn’t realize was still possible thanks to my terminal’s changes.

|Everything this unit could do prior to the merging it can do now with no outside interference.|

That’s good to hear.

Anyways, there are two nests close to this base, with two more slightly further away. But the closest nest is slightly Northeast of the base.

So I’ll head there first.

This nest is supposedly one filled with a combination of wendigos, wraiths, large infected bears, and large infected bats. Nothing too terribly powerful, but also nothing too weak either.

I glance back at the base once before continuing to walk towards the nest.

Alexia should be fine. I left Snow with her after all, and she has Cynthia too.

Although I get the feeling she might be a little mad at me when I return. But I need to deal with these nests sooner rather than later. And if she were awake, I get the feeling she would try to join me in the clearing of them.

While she is as strong as a Tier 2 Symbiont Host and could definitely hold her own against random frozen ones that attack the base or something, I don’t really want to be bringing a twelve-year-old girl with me to fight in a nest full of infected monsters. It just isn’t a very morally responsible thing to do, and I’d rather not get her hurt.

|Query. Is Alexander feeling fatherly affection towards the girl designated as Alexia?|

I frown at that before shaking my head.

No. Probably not.

But regardless, I’m not just going to abandon her. I know that she for some reason views me as her father figure now, and I also know just how it feels to lose a parent. And I’m not going to push that onto a twelve-year-old girl by abandoning her.

Although it would still probably be better if I could get Cynthia to take care of her instead.

|Intel predicts that the girl is unlikely to take well to that thought.|

Yeah, didn’t think she would. It’s why if I do ever suggest that to Cynthia, I’ll make sure to be far away from Alexia at the time.

Anyways, I glance down at the armor the Doctor gave me. Armor that is just like my old cybernetic armor that I had before all this went down. Armor that is much better than the trash I was wearing when I got to that base.

Although unlike the old armor, this one has the cold energy power source in it. Which doesn’t really do much for me since my heat signature was already very muffled and almost nonexistent anyways.

Maybe it might cover up my own energy source?

I furrow my brows slightly at that thought before shrugging and focusing on making the trek through the snow that is once again starting to fall down now that I’m leaving the area around the base that didn’t have the eternal winter over it. And it doesn’t take long for some infected to start making their appearances.

Time to get some energy for the trip.

It’s a nice thing not needing food or water anymore, but I do wonder how I’ll end up nourishing myself if the frozen ones stop being a thing in the future.

|User’s worry is unnecessary. While cold energy is a powerful source of nourishment for the user’s body, so is heat energy.|

I am not eating people.

|Heat energy is found in anything warm by default, not just human beings. This includes plants, animals, and anything else that has a naturally high body temperature.|

Oh. That’s good then.

So if I do ever run out of any sort of energy to absorb, I can just go back to eating regular food and water?

|Water does not contain heat energy.|

I roll my eyes at that as I find a wendigo charging towards me.

Then I can go back to eating regular food if I run out of energy to absorb.

|Correct.|

Please do not give me half an answer the next time I ask a question.

|Understood.|

I sidestep the wendigo before extending my claws and reaching to grab its neck, snapping it in an instant after that.

Terminal, is there any way for me to use my energy aside from just sensing with it?

|Affirmative. You currently have the biological capability to use two different powers outside of your senses. These powers include the power to freeze things on touch as you have been unconsciously doing since you were first infected, and an unknown power.|

I blink at that as I retract my claws again,

What do you mean by an unknown power?

|You have a power that this unit cannot calculate the purpose of outside of its presence.|

Hmm. Something besides the thing that led my other sets of armor before this to slowly frost over from the inside out.

I wonder what it is? And more importantly, how I use it.

That line of thought has me staring down at my armor which isn’t freezing over thanks to the cold energy fueling it – a nice plus that none of my other armor sets since getting infected had – before eventually sighing. Then I look up and continue making my way through the snow again.

Is there any way that you can teach me how to control the ‘freezing things on touch’ power?

|Affirmative.|

Alright. Let’s work on that as we head to the nest.

Also, designate that power as ‘Frost Touch’ to make things easier.

|Understood.|

I smile slightly at that before glancing at my claws. Unlike when I was at the Alpha base when I got infected, I didn’t get any swords from the armory at the Delta base. Strictly because I knew it would just break like all the other swords I’ve used since becoming infected. And my claws are just better.

But having a new power that I can actually control would be nice.

Plus it would make me stop freezing things when I touch them. Even if that seems a little wonky and doesn’t always do it.

Anyways, let’s get started.

|Understood.|

Chapter 14

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Alone Again

The Eternal Winter several kilometers from Delta Base

Chairperson Winters, an ironic name considering his situation, shivers at the cold as he trudges through the deep snow, still wearing his armor. And all the while, he can’t help but berate himself for bringing that monster into his base. But at the same time, how was he supposed to know just how powerful the monster was? None of the mutants were anywhere near as strong as him.

Most of them weren’t even capable of handling a Tier 2 Symbiont Host, much less wipe out a room full of them.

He shakes his head at the thought, still trudging through the snow, his armor’s boots hidden from view deep within the half-a-meter tall snow filling what he believes used to be a clearing.

Fuck that bastard. When the Empire sends reinforcements to rescue us, he’s the first one I’ll be court-martialing!

Chairperson Winters rubs his arms as he walks, only to eventually pause when he hears a light growling sound echoing through the snowstorm around him. And when he hears it again, more than a little fear shows on his face.

I can’t die here…

He tries to start running but quickly finds that he isn’t strong enough to do that while knee-deep in snow. So all he ends up doing is tripping, the man still not used to the enhancements his Tier 1 Symbiont gave him. Enhancements that are still not strong enough to help him get out of his current situation.

The growling grows in volume before a short chirping sound echoes around him along with the sound of wings beating.

Chairperson Winters looks up from the snow, and almost immediately feels his heart skipping a beat out of pure terror at the sight of a large bird spanning two meters in length with shards of ice making up its wings and pitch black eyes swooping down towards him. And to make matters worse, when he looks down slightly, he finds a large wolf charging through the snow, bulldozing it away without an ounce of struggle.

Oh fuck…

He quickly pushes harder against the snow to drag himself out, with little success as he finds his leg stuck on something. But just seconds later, he realizes it’s not stuck when a flash of pain radiates out of his calf.

As if something had bitten him.

“Fucking heelll!!!!” The Chairperson shouts, tears beginning to drip down his eyes. “I’ll fucking kill you, North!!!”

Despite the second lieutenant not being anywhere nearby, the Chairperson continues to scream in rage at him, his voice filling the night until the two frozen ones finally make it to him, and after a brief fight over who gets the spoils, silence him for good.

Then the only sound filling the area is that of frozen ones chewing on his corpse.

Delta Base

Alexia wakes up with a yawn as she rises to a sitting position, rubbing her eyes. But she quickly comes to and looks around, finding herself sitting on a bed in a bedroom of sorts. Similar to one that Alexia believes would be in a military base, with simple beds, all well-made and with simple blankets on them.

Although no one else is inside of the room, leaving her all alone in it, with the door to the room shut.

Did someone move me here?

She wonders about that for only a few moments before shrugging and getting up, stretching a little in the process.

I’ll just ask Alex…

Alexia moves over to the door of the… dormitory? Bunker? Whatever the room where soldiers sleep is called. She moves over to it and opens the door, peeking her head out into the hallway. And almost immediately finds a woman standing next to the door.

The woman turns to her the moment the door opens and says, “You’re awake! Did you sleep well?”

Alexia blinks at her for a second before stepping out of the room and looking around the hallway as she answers, “Yeah…” then she turns back to the woman while tilting her head and asks, “Where’s Alex?”

The woman flinches slightly, making Alexia’s eyes narrow.

“I think you should talk with the Doctor about your father,” she says before quickly turning around and calling behind her, “Come with me! I’ll take you to her.”

Suspicious… and did she just call Alex my father?

She pauses on that thought for a moment before nodding slightly.

Father works.

Alexia follows after the woman for a few minutes, passing by dozens of people along the way, many of whom look surprised when they see her eyes. But Alexia just ignores them all the way till they reach the office she and Alex had gone to when they first arrived at the base with the rude old man.

An old man she was told got politely shown out of the base by Ale… by her father.

That might take some getting used to… but I think I like the idea of him as my father.

The girl smiles a little at that thought before the woman who she believes is a soldier based on her armor opens the door to the office, revealing the same Doctor who Alexia had seen describing her father’s teammate’s conditions sitting behind a desk doing paperwork. But the woman quickly looks up and smiles when she finds Alexia standing at the door.

“Doctor, Alexia…” she pauses as she glances at the girl seemingly in question. So Alexia just smiles wider and answers the unasked question, “North,” surprising both woman in the room. But they both just smile at that as the soldier continues, turning back to the Doctor, “Alexia North has woken up.”

“I can see that,” the Doctor answers, sounding tired and amused at the same time before she waves at the soldier, saying, “You’re dismissed.”

The soldier gives the Doctor a salute and leaves, only briefly pausing to give Alexia an encouraging smile as she does so, closing the door to the office behind her.

A few moments of silence pass as Alexia looks around the room. Then she focuses on the Doctor again when the woman begins speaking, “I’ll be blunt. Alexander is off clearing nests.”

Alexia tenses at those words, but she doesn’t start crying. Not this time.

Instead she wipes her palms that she feels would normally be sweaty with her anxiety right now but aren’t thanks to her body’s changes on her armored pants as she asks, “W-when will he get back?”

“Probably won’t be too long,” the Doctor answers, seemingly a little surprised by Alexia’s reaction.

He can’t just spend all of his time with me… I understand that. I just wish he would’ve told me he was leaving again…

Alexia sighs, understanding that the only thing she can do is wait.

“The Princess is here still if you want to see her,” the Doctor mentions, upping Alexia’s mood a little.

“Okay,” she answers quietly.

Chapter 15

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The First Nest

Alexander North

After killing my way through half of the nest without much struggle, I finally find something to give me pause. A powerful energy source that I didn’t sense when I was at the entrance of the cave. One strong enough to take on a Tier 3 Symbiont Host.

Why didn’t I sense this earlier?

|The energy source is most likely hibernating judging by the different, calmer frequency of its energy compared to everything else you have encountered thus far.|

Hibernating?

I frown at that before deciding to push onwards. Because if it’s just Tier 3 in terms of strength then I should be able to take it on myself. Especially if it’s hibernating right now.

Even if it wakes up from its hibernation it’s bound to be drowsy for a while, which would hurt its combat efficiency.

Just several seconds later more wendigos begin charging straight down the tunnel of the cave system I’m in making up the nest, but all of them are only as strong as a Tier 1 Symbiont Host. So I move faster than them, tearing a few of the creatures in half with ease before grabbing the last one and raising it into the air with my clawed hand, simply watching as frost spreads from the physical contact of my hand. But it’s only spreading on the wendigo, not on me. Which shows that our little ‘ability’ to freeze things we touch doesn’t make us immune to the same ability. Although it probably does give us a resistance.

I watch for several seconds as the wendigo slowly freezes alive before I grip my hand, shattering the ice that its throat has been frozen into, and continue moving through the tunnel.

If I had to guess, the resistance is probably based on how much energy the two parties in question have. And since I have a lot more energy than that wendigo had, its ‘ability’ – a rather good name to call this magic-like power that I can do through the cold energy – didn’t affect me at all. Meanwhile my ability easily affected it.

Would you say that’s a safe assumption, terminal?

|Affirmative. Frozen one’s powers stemming from the use of cold energy now designated as ‘abilities.’ All frozen ones consistent of cold energy have a resistance to abilities dependent on how much cold energy the frozen one possesses, how much cold energy the ability takes to use, how much cold energy is in the frozen one’s body at the time of the attack, and the frozen one’s intent.|

Meaning these weaker frozen ones don’t pose a threat to me at all, and I can kill them without even really attacking them. Just by grabbing them and letting the things freeze alive.

Wait, you mentioned that intent affects the abilities?

|Affirmative. If the user of the ability does not wish to kill whatever they are attacking, the ability will be significantly less effective. One instance proving this to be true is when you made physical contact with other humans such as the chairperson.|

Right. Considering how I froze that frozen one alive without much difficulty, the fact that I didn’t freeze the chairperson or anyone else I’ve touched beyond some frost building up on them proves that well enough. Not to mention my old armor, which was completely covered in frost even if it hadn’t frozen.

Looks like there’s a limit to how much my ability will do if I don’t want it to do something. But at the same time, I don’t think there’s a way to stop my ability permanently.

A rather annoying issue.

|Affirmative.|

Although… I glance at my armor as I continue walking through the tunnel, finding it to barely have any frost on it.

The armor that uses cold energy as a power source doesn’t freeze from contact. Probably because it has cold energy of its own to fight off the invading cold energy.

A very nice use for the cold energy sourced armor.

Not to mention that it could hold up against the wendigos attacks, unlike the non-powered armor. So the armor isn’t just for appearances anymore.

My thoughts pause as I find more wendigos and some frozen one bears charging towards me. But I deal with these creatures just as quickly as I dealt with the last.

I can’t help but notice that the frozen ones are growing stronger the further I get into this nest though.

Something to keep in mind.

I wonder if Alexia is awake yet?

|It is estimated that the girl is most likely awake by now. Furthermore, there is a ninety-three percent chance that she is upset with you.|

Yeah, probably. But this is my first time in a nest, and I don’t know just how dangerous it is yet.

Although just the fact that there’s a frozen one as strong as a Tier 3 Symbiont Host here makes me glad I didn’t take her. Because the thing seems to be about as strong as me, and that’s only judging by its energy. It may be a frozen one that doesn’t focus directly on energy and could be even stronger than me.

And I don’t want to have to look after a kid while fighting it, even if that kid can defend herself from weaker frozen ones.

I sigh at the thought of going back to the base and seeing the angry little kid. Then I shake my head and narrow my eyes, focusing solely on the nest as more frozen ones start charging down the tunnel towards me.

It’s probably safe to assume that there’s a higher Tier frozen one leading each of these nests, but will it always be a Tier 3 Symbiont Host equivalent one? Or will there be Tier 2 Symbiont Host equivalent nest leaders?

The fact that there are Tier 4 Symbiont Host equivalent ones shows that they’re at least not all Tier 3, not to mention how the doctor didn’t give me any details on there being a Tier 3 in the first place. Though it didn’t sound like they’d cleared out any of the nests themselves, so they might just not have known at all.

|Based on the physical responses the user designated ‘the doctor’ had during your conversation, it is unlikely that she has lied to you.|

I blink at that right before clashing with the frozen ones.

You can tell if someone lies?

|Affirmative, however it is not one hundred percent accurate.|

Cool.

Chapter 16

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The Crystal

Alexander North

Time passes as I traverse through the nest, just clearing out all of the frozen ones inside of it. And I gradually find myself getting closer and closer to the hibernating frozen one.

But then the entire cave system begins to shake, knocking some of the frost off of the walls and ceilings. Then I feel the energy signature of the Tier 3 power frozen one growing stronger by the second.

|It would appear the frozen one is waking up from its hibernation.|

Yeah. This might be a problem.

I begin running through the caves faster than before, dealing with any frozen ones I come across during my run. But even after doing that for over an hour longer, I still don’t manage to reach the place the frozen one is hibernating.

Then the creature’s energy signature stops fluctuating, leaving it at a rather powerful amount of energy. An amount that has me incredibly glad I didn’t bring Alexia along.

A loud roar echoes throughout the cave system right as I separate the head of a wendigo from its body via crushing its throat, giving me a better sense of where I should be heading. So I immediately rush over in the direction of the sound, deciding that giving the creature any more time to gather its bearings after its hibernation would be bad.

The cave system is a rather large maze in and of itself, and I don’t have much to go on down here to tell where I’m going. Even if I can see in the dark. Meanwhile my footsteps are all recovered in frost again not long after I leave them, since this area especially seems to be incredibly cold for some reason.

What has me feeling rather curious though is why the Tier 3 frozen one, a term I’m just gonna start using for the frozen ones based off their comparative strength towards symbiont hosts, isn’t moving at all. The creature is just staying in place where it was hibernating.

As if the thing was guarding something.

I narrow my eyes at that realization before speeding up my pace through the tunnels, still trying to navigate my way around the branching paths. And eventually, I finally manage to reach the source of the energy. Of the roar.

At the center of a large cavern made out of ice, I find a bear spanning three meters in height with glowing blue eyes, fur and seemingly made out of ice, and glowing blue claws seemingly made out of crystalline ice. And the creature doesn’t look happy with me as it snarls and growls my way, but despite its massive size and everything else about it, the bear isn’t what catches my eye in the cavern.

What catches my attention is the sight of a large crystal at the end of the cavern that’s letting off cold energy. Cold energy that seems to be seeping into the ground all over the cavern. Likely the source of why this cavern is made of ice, and why the entire nest here seemed to be colder and colder the deeper I went through it.

I narrow my eyes.

Is it defending the crystal?

|It would appear so. This unit suggests protecting that crystal yourself and claiming it as yours.|

I frown at that suggestion.

Mind telling me why?

|The energy signatures of all frozen ones vary in frequency between different types, including your own. This unit has determined that the frequency has something to do with the abilities of the frozen one in question emitting it.|

Interesting, but what does that say about the crystal and why I should claim it?

I watch the bear who still isn’t moving from its spot despite me standing right outside of the cavern as the terminal buzzes slightly in my head. Or rather, sounds like it’s coming from the back of my neck, not my head.

|This unit would like to make physical contact with the crystal to determine its full uses, but it is hypothesized that the crystal may be used to grant the user more abilities.|

And that’s all I need to hear.

I grin at the bear for a moment before looking around the cavern itself. The bear doesn’t seem to want to leave the crystal, which is probably why it’s not leaving the cave to get me. And why it’s just watching me.

Wouldn’t be surprised if it immediately goes on the attack the moment I step foot into the cavern.

But with that being the case, I should be able to do some strategizing while it sits there growling at me.

Looking around the cavern, there doesn’t seem to be any hiding spots or anything. Just a plain open cavern whose walls, floor, and ceiling are all made purely out of ice. And there are even ice particles just floating in the air as if it were hailing but without the hail actually going anywhere. A rather bizarre sight to behold.

I turn my attention back to the bear itself. The creature looks rather powerful in terms of strength, so I doubt it’s a purely energy focused frozen one. Meaning it’s probably strong enough to be a threat to me.

And if what the terminal said is true about that crystal, that’s probably why it’s so obsessed with protecting it. The creature might be aiming to get another ability.

Also makes me wonder if the other nests all have crystals like that as well. Because if they do then I could end up getting a pretty nice benefit out of clearing the nests.

Although… it would also mean the frozen ones could potentially get stronger by claiming new abilities of their own as well.

So it’s a bit of a mixed bag there.

Either way, the bear seems to be growing confused, likely at my inaction.

I narrow my eyes on the bear, searching for any weaknesses it may have. Or just what ability, or abilities, it might have.

What I find rather quickly is that the creature’s claws are tearing furrows into the ice beneath it, that it seems to be moving faster than its size would suggest at a glance, and that its eyes are glowing pure blue instead of the usual pitch black with a ring of blue.

Interesting.

Not much to go off of, but enough.

Time to start planning.

The bear can just sit there while I do that.

Chapter 17

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

A Man and a Bear

Alexander North

To start off, the frozen one clearly has powerful claws and speed that doesn’t match its size. So I think it’s safe to say that those are two of its specializations.

Since most frozen ones seem to specialize in certain things. Like the wraiths and their speed and blade limbs, or the brutes and their large size and powerful physical strength.

But considering that this is going to be one of the strongest frozen ones I’ll have ever faced, not to mention the frozen one that I fought before being knocked out half a year ago having a magic-like power letting it create and manipulate shards of ice and energy, I doubt that’s all this thing can do. And to make an actually usable plan, I’ll need to know what this thing can actually do.

So I pull a knife out and throw it at the frozen one in a flash of movement that I find the frozen one’s eyes matching before it moves its head to the side, just barely dodging the knife. It then lets out a rather angry roar, glances back once at the crystal, and focuses on me again without moving.

Interesting. The thing really doesn’t want to leave that cavern. Not one bit.

In that case, maybe I can try to make use of that…

I don’t know if frozen ones need oxygen to breath and live, so sealing it in there and waiting for it to suffocate probably won’t work. Not unless I want to end up waiting for days. Especially if I end up not even succeeding in fully sealing it without realizing it.

One possible weakness could be the crystal itself, but…

|Damaging the crystal would be ill-advised.|

Thought so.

I purse my lips before turning my attention to the wall of ice that’s spread thinly into the tunnel I’m in right outside of the cavern. Then I pull my fist back and smash it into the ice, only to grunt when it doesn’t so much as crack the ice.

Looks like caving in the cavern is a no as well.

Guess there’s nothing to do but fight it head on.

I turn back to the frozen one, who seems to be tilting its head at my actions. Like it had a small amount of intelligence. Enough to know that me punching a wall probably looks strange.

After studying it for several more seconds just to get some more idea of its movements, which aren’t many since it isn’t moving much, I sprint straight into the cavern, making the bear let out a loud roar and charge directly at me as well. Then we both pull back our clawed hands – or in its case, paw – and strike directly at the other.

And I’m sent skidding backwards from the force of the hit, the bear proving to be a bit stronger than me. Although not too much stronger.

Good.

It’s also only a little faster than I am.

I can do this.

The two of us begin to clash repeatedly with me losing out each time, but since all of the wounds given to me by the bear, all of which are minor wounds, are healing not too long after taking them, I just continue fighting. The bear on the other hand isn’t healing from its even smaller wounds, proving that the thing seems to be best at physical strength and speed and not its healing.

We continue trading blows for a while, myself using up my energy to heal while it slowly gets more and more injured. But right when it’s looking like I’m going to be winning this fight, a bright pale blue light begins to shine from the frozen one, making me jump backwards to avoid it.

To my surprise though, when the light fades, the creature is perfectly fine again with all of its wounds closed up.

A healing power? That wasn’t what I was expecting. Not from a large bear with that sort of strength and speed.

I narrow my eyes on the frozen one while clenching my claws into a fist and unclenching them again.

Guess this fight is going to be one of attrition now. Its healing versus my regeneration.

Might be a close fight. But I have more energy, albeit not by all that much, and my healing is faster and automatic.

I sprint towards the frozen one once more with my claws raised to strike.

Running away is always an option if I fail.

After who knows how long fighting the creature-

|You have been fighting for thirty-nine minutes and forty-one seconds.|

-I find myself panting in exhaustion with just half a point of energy remaining standing on the other side of the cavern from the frozen one, near the tunnel entrance. And the frozen one seems to have even less energy than I do now. To the point that it’s no longer fully healing itself.

|The creature is estimated to be focusing its healing on critical wounds only now to preserve its energy.|

Thought so.

Which means I should have an advantage now that it’s injured and not fully healing.

I sprint at the creature once more, making it actually flinch this time before I once again reach my claws out towards it, to which it tries to counter. But this time I pull back right when we’re about to hit each other. And thanks to its injuries, the thing isn’t able to react quickly enough, instead stumbling forwards and leaving the back of its neck wide open for me to attack.

Just like any other time I got to strike directly at it though, my claws only go partially into its neck, the creature’s skin and body being too tough in general for me to slice through with ease.

The frozen one jerks its head upwards, making me jump back to avoid being hit by its head. Then another flash of light shines from its neck.

This time I make use of that light to rush forwards, targeting its legs this time as I strike at them, opening my eyes the moment the light goes away. And the frozen one clearly isn’t expecting it as I manage to cut straight into its ankle before moving around and climbing up its body while it’s dropping its weight slightly from the injury.

The creature lets out a loud roar while reaching around its back, but I ignore it to climb up onto the center of its back and quickly drive my claws straight into it. And instead of moving away after hurting it, I pull my claws out and stab them right back into the same wound three more times until the frozen one finally collapses.

No more heals then?

|The creature’s energy is beginning to fluctuate. It is suggested that you take the crystal and leave immediately.|

I blink at that warning before ripping my hand out of its back once more and jumping straight off in the direction of the crystal. And without any hesitation, I grab the thing, rip it off the ground with a crack, and run straight towards the tunnel entrance.

Then I sense the energy in the bear frozen one pulse once, twice, and on the third time, a loud explosion echoes out from behind me. As if all of the bear’s remaining energy was used to self-destruct.

The explosion ends up sending me flying through the air, further out of the cavern. But since it’s weakened from the creature not having much energy to begin with, I make it through with just a few burns as I find myself lying on my back at the nearest bend in the tunnel leading to the cavern.

Still with the crystal cradled in my arms.

Victory.

Chapter 18

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The Crystal

Alexander North

I continue lying on my back panting in exhaustion for several seconds, ignoring the minor burns on my back and sides that I realize aren’t healing. Although I do question why an explosion of cold energy left burns in the first place. But that doesn’t matter.

|Analyzing crystal’s makeup...|

Oh, right. That.

I tilt my head up to look behind me, only to find the few frozen ones still in the nest scurrying away. And when I focus on my senses, I realize all of the frozen ones seem to be leaving the nest entirely. As if either that powerful frozen one or the crystal were the things keeping them here.

Considering that the crystal is still here though, I’m pretty sure it was probably the frozen one.

|Alexander’s hypothesis is incorrect. The crystal was emitting a frequency too weak for you to notice that attracted other frozen ones. Frozen ones with no greater than base instinct guiding them.|

Really? And why isn’t it emitting that frequency now? Is it because I removed it from the ground?

|Correct.|

Hmm. Okay, what about the analysis? How’s that going?

|Underway.|

Understood.

I let out a sigh while relaxing and looking up at the ceiling, still with the crystal hugged to my chest.

Time passes in silence with the only sound being that of the fading footsteps of the frozen ones leaving the nest. And after who knows how long, I find myself shooting up to a sitting position and focusing on the cavern again, only to find the cavern completely destroyed with ice having fallen from the roof, crushing the frozen one’s corpse. Meanwhile the corpse itself is empty of any energy.

Damnit, that means I can’t absorb its energy!

I got so used to the weak frozen ones that barely gave me any energy that I didn’t think about the energy of this big one. But I guess it doesn’t matter since it doesn’t have any to absorb.

Probably used the remnants that are usually left behind in its self-destruction.

That’s annoying. A frozen one that powerful probably would’ve given me a decent amount of energy.

I drop back down to my back with another sigh.

Well, nothing I can do about it, I guess.

|Analysis complete.|

Good. What can you tell me about the crystal?

|The crystal is just as was hypothesized. It will grant whoever eats it a new ability.|

I frown at the idea of eating this rather large crystal. A crystal larger than my entire head.

What ability will it give me?

|Unknown.|

Okay, why wasn’t the frozen one trying to eat the crystal?

|The crystal’s frequency stabilized after being removed. This has led to the hypothesis that the crystal was growing and would’ve given a stronger ability should it have been in the cavern for a longer period of time.|

The thing was growing? Interesting.

That explains why the bear was just guarding it and not eating the thing itself. It was waiting for the crystal to grow more so that it would give it a better ability.

But considering that it did this entirely on instinct alone… that’s a scary thought. It also likely means that the other nests are all locations with a crystal like this as well.

I can’t help but wonder just what these crystals are though.

Did you figure anything out on that front from your analysis?

|It is not possible to draw a certain conclusion from the limited data this unit has available, however a hypothesis has been reached. Would Alexander like to hear this unit’s hypothesis?|

Not enough data? Hmm, sure. Tell me your hypothesis.

|It is believed that the crystal was drawing on the energy of the planet’s core and converting it into pure cold energy instead of pure heat energy.|

That doesn’t sound good.

I’m guessing pure cold energy probably gives those abilities?

|This is merely a hypothesis.|

Understood.

I glance at the crystal with a frown on my face.

So… how am I supposed to eat this?

|Put it in your mouth and chew.|

Ha, ha. Very funny.

|This unit does not understand the user’s response to this unit’s query answer. Would Alexander mind-|

No. It was sarcasm.

I forgot the terminal only recently gained sapience. Or pseudo sapience.

It doesn’t understand humor yet.

Several seconds pass in silence as I stare at the crystal with a frown on my face. Then I let out a sigh and bring it to my mouth, biting into one of the shards sticking out of the large and jagged crystal. But to my surprise, the shard pretty much dissolves the moment it enters my mouth. I don’t even have to chew it.

|The shard is made of pure cold energy, not physical substance. There would be nothing to chew.|

I roll my eyes at the terminal.

Now you tell me.

The crystal doesn’t have a flavor either. And it isn’t even going down my throat. It’s almost as if the thing is just dissolving the second it enters my mouth, with the energy just going straight into my body instead of down my throat.

So I continue eating it. And eating. And eating.

It isn’t until after I’m about halfway done through eating the crystal that I notice a strange surge of energy forming around my fingers. Specifically around my nails as my claws extend despite me already having retracted them after the battle.

Is the new ability going to be related to my claws?

I continue eating the crystal, and after another quarter of the crystal is eaten, my claws begin to glow with a blue light. One similar to the light in my eyes.

Yeah, the ability is definitely going to involve my claws somehow.

And so I keep eating all the way till I finally finish the crystal, at which point the light coming from my claws suddenly flashes once, then twice.

Then the brightness goes all the way up to the point that I have to close my eyes.

And when the light finally fades and I open my eyes again, I find my claws having returned to a dull glow. Something that wasn’t there before.

Interesting.

I wonder what it does?

Chapter 19

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Father

Alexander North

Terminal? Do you know what the ability does?

|Negative.|

In that case, I climb to my feet, stretch a bit, and immediately take off into a sprint through the former-nest. And thanks to my ability to sense the frozen ones, it doesn’t take me all that long to find one. Especially when some of them are still fleeing from the nest itself.

The frozen one in question is just a small bear with the energy of a Tier 1, so I grab it by the neck and then draw my claws across its arm just to test out what it does.

To my surprise though, nothing actually happens.

I frown and tilt my head slightly before pursing my lips and tossing the bear against the wall. Then I raise my hands to my face and close my eyes, sensing for the energy in it.

The energy… feels reactive. Almost like I can move it on my own. But only like a muscle. Only in set ways.

So I open my eyes and turn my attention back to the bear, which is slowly trying to crawl away. And I swipe my claws through the air while trying to ‘flex’ that energy muscle I sensed.

Then five arcs of cold energy shoot out of my claws, one arc per claw. The arcs fly through the air until they reach the bear and carve into it, tearing bloody furrows into its flesh nearly a foot deep, only for those wounds to then completely freeze over.

Interesting…

That took a lot of energy to do though. I wouldn’t have had enough energy for it after that battle if my energy wasn’t partially refilled by consuming that crystal.

Looks like I finally have a ranged attack.

I can’t help but smile at that, only to shake my head, glance at the now-dead bear once more, and begin heading back to the base.

Now that the nest is dealt with, I need to go back to the base to report what I’ve learned about nests as a whole. Because I’m pretty sure the Doctor will want to know about it.

Then I can head back out again to find more nests.

After all, more abilities are always nice.

It doesn’t take me long before I find myself back at the base, and the guards immediately let me through the gate. And to my surprise, they all look rather respectful now without any of the fear they had before. But what’s more confusing to me than that is that they all are giving me some sort of look of… pity?

I wonder what that’s about?

No one says anything, instead just giving me a polite and respectful nod of their heads or simply waiving, so I just walk through the base feeling confused.

At least, until I find myself being tackled in the middle of the hallways by a certain girl as she shouts, “Dad!”

I stare down at the girl latching onto me as if her life depended on it for several seconds, unsure of what to say. Then I sense a source of heat energy – a nice side effect of being able to sense energy in general – approaching me from down the hall, where I find Cynthia walking over here with an amused smile on her face.

“Um… Alexia?” I ask, more than a little confused. “You know I’m not your…”

I trail off when Alexia looks up at me with tears in her eyes before burying her face in my chest again and tightening her hug, the twelve-year-old standing an entire head and a half shorter than me.

Damnit.

|Hypothesis confirmed.|

Shut up.

|It is also hypothesized that should you reject the girl she will be horridly upset.|

I let out a sigh at that before hugging Alexia back and sending a look asking for help from Cynthia. But my cousin just chuckles and walks past while patting me on the shoulder once.

Not helpful.

|Question. Why is the user against adopting a child?|

That question gives me pause for a second.

Why am I against it?

I frown while glancing down at the girl who still isn’t letting me go. And at this point, probably won’t let me go until I agree with her.

First time I’ve seen her throw a tantrum like this.

But… I guess the reason I’m against it is because I don’t think I’d make a good parent. I’m too detached. Not to mention that I’m going around fighting all the time, so…

|May this unit state an observation it has made?|

I blink in surprise before shrugging slightly, making Alexia stiffen up a little when she feels it.

Sure. Go ahead.

|The child doesn’t seem to care about your given reason.|

That answer leaves me stunned for a second as I look down at Alexia again.

Guess you’re right about that.

I look around the hall to find more than a few guards and inhabitants of the base walking by with clearly amused looks in their eyes. But none of them stop, instead just passing by without a word.

Eventually I let out a sigh and pat Alexia once on the back before wrapping my arms around her and saying, “Alright.”

And she immediately begins crying at that, making me even more confused until I notice that the people passing by us are all smiling brightly.

Guess they’re happy tears?

|User Alexander’s hypothesis is most likely correct based on the evidence.|

Yeah.

We end up standing in the middle of the hallway for several minutes, Alexia apparently refusing to let go as she starts fussing at me about my going out alone and stuff until eventually saying that it’s fine in the end. All of which leaves me rather confused since I honestly can’t tell if she’s against it or for it now, but she said it’s fine so it’s fine.

After that, I hear the Doctor’s voice echoing through the hall, “If you’re done bonding with young miss Alexia North, would you mind giving me an update about the nests, Second Lieutenant?”

I glance at her with a look of confusion on my face.

Wait, since when did Alexia’s name change to Alexia North?

Chapter 20

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Report

Base Commander’s Office

Doctor Ruthers isn’t sure how to feel as she takes her seat in her office across from the General of the Military’s son and her gaze meets his pitch black eyes and the glowing blue ring in them. Eyes that she knows for a fact frighten more than a few people in the base, even more than his daughter’s eyes do.

She shivers slightly on the inside at the knowledge that the man across from her could snap her neck with ease, but despite her fear and uncertainty, she manages to keep all of it inside without showing a single hint of hesitation or fear on the outside. Something that leads everyone to believe that the woman is unshakable even when she’s not.

“Starting my report,” Second Lieutenant North says with a short salute. “The nest to the Northeast of the base has been cleared of frozen ones. I have also obtained intel on the source of the nests.”

Ruthers blinks at that before focusing entirely on him, completely forgetting her fear as she asks, “Are you saying the source wasn’t the strong frozen ones at the nest?”

The second lieutenant nods his head and answers, “Affirmative. The frozen ones in each nest are drawn there by a crystal made out of pure cold energy that grants whichever frozen one eats it a new power.”

That’s… not good.

“What about the crystal at the nest you cleared?” Ruthers asks, a frown on her face as she looks around the second lieutenant in search of the item. “I don’t see it on you.”

He purses his lips for a second before answering, “I ate it.”

Ruthers meets his gaze again and blinks. “You ate it?”

Alexander nods again and repeats, “I ate it.”

An awkward silence fills the room for several seconds before Ruthers sighs and asks, “Did you gain anything from it?”

The second lieutenant nods his head and says, “Affirmative, doctor.”

Ruthers waits for a few seconds, expecting him to elaborate on what he gained, but he doesn’t explain any further even after several seconds. And after a brief hesitation, Ruthers decides to let it go. Because while she may out rank him, he can still snap her neck if he wants to, and he is far more important to the empire than she is.

It doesn’t hurt that he’s probably the only real hope for our base. Best to keep him happy.

“Very well, please bring the next crystal back to base if you can,” Ruthers says with a nod of her head. “If the research team can’t make anything of it, you have my permission to absorb it.”

The second lieutenant’s lips quirk up slightly at that and he nods his head, “Understood.”

“Is there anything else?” Ruthers asks while trying to covertly look at the man across from her just to see if he looks any different now after he got whatever effect eating the crystal gave than he did before. But she can’t find anything new. Other than the fact that he needs new armor again.

This guy goes through armor faster than anyone I’ve ever known…

“Affirmative,” he says with a brief nod, “the other frozen ones of the nest scattered after I ate the crystal, so there will be more frozen ones in that area. I would suggest increasing the watch on that side of the base.”

So they scatter after the crystal is destroyed. That could be a problem.

“Please clear out the nests of frozen ones before you take the crystals in your future operations,” Ruthers orders, only to frown when she realizes that he won’t be eating the crystal this time.

If he’s not eating the crystal this time, then wouldn’t the frozen ones all follow him back to the base?

“Furthermore, the frozen ones might follow you back to the base when you bring the crystal with you, so make sure to deal with that as well,” Ruthers continues before finishing, “You’re dismissed, second lieutenant.”

The second lieutenant gives a light salute, one that expressly tells the doctor that while he is willing to take her orders for now, he won’t be a mindless drone.

I best treat him well, otherwise he’ll leave to go to a different base.

The memory of the second lieutenant dropping the chairperson off of the side of the base flashes through her mind.

Or I might just be dead.

The doctor watches as the second lieutenant leaves her office before she collapses onto her chair with a sigh of relief the moment the door closes. But then she stiffens up again when she realizes he could probably hear that through the door.

Shit.

After a few seconds though she decides to not care about that.

Still. I wonder what new power he got from that crystal, if he got any? I know he freezes whatever he touches, and that he can regenerate, but that’s pretty much all. I also know other frozen ones have their own powers, especially the higher Tier frozen ones. But there are too many powers to guess.

The doctor’s mind wanders back to the mutant at the base as she thinks of powers.

Is she able to eat the crystals too? As a mutant instead of a frost infused?

Eventually she just sighs and leans back in her chair, raising her gaze to the ceiling.

Then there’s the problem of the girl… to think the owner of CyberTech Industries was experimenting on his own daughter. It’s just sick to think about. And he was doing this before the Eternal Winter came.

Doctor Ruthers ponders over that for several seconds, wondering if he may’ve known it was gonna happen or not. But she quickly tosses that thought out the window.

After all, he’s dead now. His death was confirmed four months ago during an excursion into the city.

She turns her gaze back to the door as she wonders just how their base would’ve turned out if the frost infused hadn’t turned up.

Probably not good.

Chapter 21

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Sparring

Alexander North

After I leave the room, I immediately search for Cynthia to get a rundown of what happened at the base while I was gone. And it doesn’t take me long to find her, partially due to my improved senses and partially because I know her.

The soldiers in the training hall pause as I walk in before continuing their training. But I just ignore them and continue towards Cynthia and Alexia, who are sparring closer to the back of the hall.

I pause outside of the practice ring they’re fighting in to watch the two, taking the moment to see just how far Alexia has gotten in terms of her fighting ability.

And what I see has me pleasantly surprised.

Not bad. She’s better than some of the privates in my old team already.

Their spar lasts for a few more minutes before Cynthia finishes it by grabbing Alexia by the wrist, forcing her to the ground, and putting her in a hold with her arm held behind her back. Then I take that moment to walk into the ring and say, “Not bad.”

Both of them turn to me as Cynthia lets go of Alexia’s arm before Cynthia nods at me and Alexia smiles brightly, shooting to her feet.

“Dad!” Alexia exclaims, making me blink for a moment, still not used to being called that. “Wanna spar with me?”

That has me raising a brow, but before I can answer, Cynthia says, “Even before he got as strong as he is he was still better than me at fighting.” Both Alexia and I turn to her. “So how about he spars with me instead? I want to know how it feels to fight a Tier 3.”

Alexia for some reason looks even more excited at that and quite literally begins jumping from one foot to the other before she rushes out of the ring, turns around, and starts waving at us while exclaiming, “Don’t mind me! Start whenever!”

I roll my eyes at that and refocus on Cynthia, finding my cousin grinning.

“You better not hold back on me,” she says while raising her hands to a ready position.

She’s going to regret saying that.

Within a single instant, I vanish from my spot, moving faster than most humans can keep up with before reappearing behind her while holding both of her arms behind her back with just a single hand, my glove keeping my hand from freezing her. Then I state with a light smirk of my own, “Guess it’s my victory.”

She tries to kick out my knee from behind, only for nothing to happen since she’s not strong enough to even make me flinch.

Which makes sense. She only became a Symbiont Host half a year ago. Meanwhile I’m as strong as a Tier 3 Symbiont Host.

After another failed kick along with the sound of Alexia clapping, Cynthia slumps slightly and mutters, “Maybe you should hold back just a little…”

I snort at that and let go, taking a step back.

She turns around while rubbing her arms as she says, “Your hands are freezing.”

I simply raise my hand and indicate the slightly frosted over glove on it that is currently still frosting over a little bit during this interaction.

Over the walk to the base I managed to learn how to control it a little bit, but not perfectly. So I still spread cold energy to whatever I touch. But it’s not a lethal amount anymore, so there’s that.

At most I’ll just be making light frost appear on everything I touch now. Except my armor, which has cold energy infused into it already. Not including my gloves. Because they don’t have powerful enough cores for the armor to cover everything with cold energy.

I look around the training hall as I notice people watching us. And all of the soldiers seem to be rather shocked by how our ‘spar’ just went.

A few seconds pass before one of them walks up to us, making me frown. But then he just bows his head slightly, places his fist to his chest in the salute towards nobility, and asks, “Would you mind sparring with me as well, sir?”

Huh?

“Why?” I ask, crossing my arms slightly while glancing at Cynthia who is smirking as she walks away from the sparring ring.

And why does it look like she was expecting this?

The soldier in question raises his head again, still with his fist to his chest, and answers, “Getting experience with fighting someone as powerful as you will help a lot if I’m left fighting a frozen one out in the field, sir!”

I purse my lips for a second before deciding that his reasoning is sound. It probably would help them.

Although I should still hold back.

On that note though, I ask, “Alright. Are you the only one?”

As if waiting for the question, dozens of other voices raise from the other soldiers as they all ask to spar as well.

“In that case, do you want me to use my abilities?” I ask, uncrossing my arms.

They all look confused as the soldier in front of me asks, “Abilities…?”

To demonstrate, I take my glove off and lower my hand to the ground, letting my control over my ability slacken and causing the ground to start freezing over. Then I stand up straight under the wide eyes of the others as I turn that very same hand and swipe it through the air, my claws extending at the same time before five arcs of cold energy fly through the air to cut into the dummy.

I turn back to the soldiers to find them all looking rather stunned. And they’re not the only ones as both Cynthia and Alexia seem surprised as well, likely due to them never seeing my new ability before.

“Please use them!” the soldier in front of me exclaims, the rest of them behind him mostly agreeing as well. “It’ll make the fight a lot more realistic. As if we were really fighting a frozen one!”

“Very well,” I tell them while taking a couple steps back. “Come at me all at once then.”

This could be fun.

Chapter 22

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

An Important Lesson

The Training Hall

Frank clenches his fist around his sword’s handle as he watches dozens of soldiers all rush at the second lieutenant in tandem, only for each one of them to be stopped cold in a counter that sends them flying by him. All without the second lieutenant even breaking a sweat.

So he raises his voice while the others get back up, shouting, “Everyone! Rushing at him won’t work!”

Some of the soldiers look at him before returning their attention to the second lieutenant again, and a few of them just rush at the frost infused for a second time instead of listening. But most of them at least stand back to listen.

Frank takes a deep breath and steps forward, the sergeant likely being the only one in the room to have fought with a high Tier Symbiont Host before. And after just a brief hesitation, he begins to detail a plan for the soldiers around him through the use of his terminal so that the frost infused can’t hear.

Meanwhile the few soldiers who decided not to listen continue charging at the frost infused, albeit with more caution than the first time so that they don’t just get sent flying again. Even though they end up getting sent flying eventually anyways.

After all of the soldiers are filled in on the plan, they spread out to surround the frost infused, making the second lieutenant cross his arms as he looks around at them. Then ten soldiers charge in from the front while another ten charge from the back and two more throw smoke cartridges from the side – something their researchers managed to get working simply through a rather outdated method of compressing smoke into the ball and releasing it without any advanced technology used to do it. A process they can only start when the eternal winter isn’t near but can hold afterwards indefinitely.

The smoke slowly fills the room, making it difficult for them to see, but from what Frank’s learned, frozen ones shouldn’t be able to see through smoke. They can only see in the dark and through mist.

So with the smoke blinding the second lieutenant, all of the soldiers rushing him including Frank himself should-

His thoughts are interrupted as Frank lets out a cough, feeling a powerful force impacting his gut and sending him flying through the smoke straight to the wall at the back of the room while also clearing out the smoke in-between him and the second lieutenant. And what he sees next has him freezing up from terror.

The man moves faster than his eye can accurately keep up with, sending one soldier flying after another while occasionally slashing a single claw through the air to send an arc of cold energy flying at a random soldier trying to shoot at him with a cold energy engine infused rifle. And the rampage just continues all the way till each and every soldier is laid out on the ground, defeated.

When a few of them try to get up again, the frost infused simply sends an arc of cold energy flying at them, cutting a chunk out of the metal floor in the process after just barely missing them. Most likely on purpose.

He’s a monster…

Frank feels himself shivering both from the cold that seems to have infused the room and the sight of the man’s pitch black eyes and the glowing blue rings within them as he looks around the room, crossing his arms once more now that everyone’s dealt with. Then he glances at his daughter and cousin and says, “Looks like this training session is over.”

But…

Frank feels his eyes narrowing slightly as he watches the second lieutenant move through the room, his arms now at his sides, before the man starts talking to his family members.

…he’s our monster.

Alexander North

Well, that was an interesting workout. Wasn’t expecting the smoke bombs, but that goes to show the soldiers have ingenuity.

Except the ones that just kept charging me. Those don’t.

“You couldn’t have at least taken it a bit easy on them, Dad?” Alexia complains with her hands on her hips after I reach her and Cynthia, but I just shake my head.

Before I can answer her, Cynthia says, “It’s best to let them experience this first before they end up fighting a real battle against a frozen one.” Her face grows slightly dark. “Absolute defeat is something everyone should experience at least once if they want to be able to deal with it when it really matters.”

A short silence ensues after that. Then I turn around to face the soldiers who are slowly beginning to get up while cradling any wounds I gave them.

Wounds that I made sure hurt but didn’t really cripple them in any real way and would heal quickly enough.

I focus on the few soldiers who rushed ahead and didn’t bother with the sergeant’s plan as I state, “You four, I’ll expect better from you the next time I come to this training hall. If you can’t work as a team, then you shouldn’t be working with them at all, and I will recommend to the commander that you are left out of any out-of-base missions from then on. So do better next time if you want to be put on any real missions.”

They all grimace, but none of them say a word. Possibly out of shame, possibly out of fear.

Either one works.

As long as they get the memo.

I turn my attention to Sergeant Frank Rogers where I find him looking at me with a rather intense expression on his face, but I ignore the expression and nod my head, saying, “Good job, sergeant. It was a good plan, but sometimes the gap in strength is too much for any plan to work. Please keep that in mind the next time you go out on a mission.”

He looks surprised for a second before the man nods his head.

And on that note, I turn around and begin leaving the training hall, raising my hand slightly along with my voice as I say, “I’ll be back in a week or two for another round if anyone wants to join.”

Might as well help out these soldiers whenever I happen to be at the base.

Not like I miss out on anything, and it could help Alexia in the process.

I smile slightly at that thought.

Now to go find the remaining nests around the base.

Chapter 23

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Spiders

Alexander North

I smile as I swipe my claws through the air, sending arcs of cold energy straight at the spider frozen ones filling this nest. And just like with the other frozen ones I’ve attacked here thus far, the cold energy cuts straight through the legs they raise to defend themselves with before dissipating, only for me to send more at them, finishing them off.

This new ability really is a lot more useful than my original one. It has a lot more direct use in combat than simply freezing what I touch. Especially considering that it gives me a way to attack at range.

I walk up to the corpses around me before absorbing the energy left inside of their body and moving on through the tunnel.

Unlike the first nest, this one is full of nothing but spiders. Both big and small ones.

None of those suicide bomber spiders though, fortunately enough.

I hated those. And so did my armor.

It’s too bad these frozen ones aren’t giving me all that much energy, but I guess that’s mostly just because I’m already at the level of a Tier 3, so they are pretty weak in comparison. Which at least makes them easy to deal with.

I continue killing my way through the spiders until I find a large room at the back of the nest. One where I sense the strongest frozen one of the nest.

The room seems to have some sort of giant cocoon blocking the entrance, so I quickly cut into it with my claws before immediately jumping back and sending several arcs of cold energy at the swarm of small spiders that rush out. But to my surprise, most of them avoid me instead of attacking, leaving me staring past them into the cocoon that I can now tell expands the entire walls, floor, and ceiling of the cavern.

Where I find a giant spider spanning three meters in length standing protectively in front of a familiar crystal.

Right as I’m about to step into the room, I pause. Then I turn back around and continue my trek through the tunnels, killing spiders as I go.

Almost forgot. The doctor wanted me to kill all of the frozen ones in the nest before dealing with the crystal and the nest’s leader.

That shouldn’t take very long. From what I can sense of the area, the one in that room is the only one strong enough to fight me.

And even that one is weaker than the bear was, so with the addition of my new ability, it shouldn’t be a problem to kill either.

Unless the frozen one eats the crystal before I get back that is.

Terminal, what are the chances of that?

|The chances are extremely low. It is hypothesized that the frozen one will wait until the crystal is fully stabilized to devour it.|

Thought so.

|This unit recommends user does the same.|

I know. It’ll give me a better ability if I wait.

Plus the doctor wants me to bring the crystal back first anyways. So it’ll be able to stabilize along the way.

|Incorrect. The crystal will only stabilize while it is still in the ground.|

That has me grimacing.

So I’m going to be stuck sitting there like the frozen one is while waiting for it to finish stabilizing?

|User Alexander’s assumption is correct.|

Well that’s gonna be a pain.

I continue going around killing off the spiders for a while, unsurprisingly finding that most of them are actually rather afraid of me. To the point that it’s more annoying trying to find the buggers than it is to kill them. Even if I know a nest like this would be a serious problem for regular soldiers and even Tier 2 Symbiont Hosts.

After I finish dealing with all of the spiders, finding that once again there aren’t any intelligent ones amongst the bunch, I head back through the tunnels again towards the leader spider’s cavern. Where I find the cocoon having sealed up the entrance again.

I raise a brow before shrugging and cutting the thing back open, finding several small spiders rushing out again.

Okay, seriously. Did it just lay an egg or something while I was gone? Or did spiders hide in there?

Either way, I quickly kill off the fleeing spiders before focusing on the cavern.

The cavern itself is rather large despite having a massive cocoon wrapped all around it with random bits of webbing and other cocoons just hanging from the walls and ceilings. And inside of some of those cocoons I’m pretty sure are most likely eggs. Which would explain the spiders that just tried to flee.

Looks like this spider is a lot different from the bear in that it’s actually giving birth to the other frozen ones in the nest and doesn’t care about other frozen ones entering the room. Probably because they’re all its children.

The mother spider – which is what I’m gonna call it now – seems to be more focused on breeding and making its own frozen one forces via its children than it is focused on pure power. Which would explain why it’s weaker than the bear.

The creature has pitch black eyes with no blue in them, pitch black hair with just a few specks of blue across its exoskeleton beneath the hair, and glowing blue claws on the ends of each of its eight legs. It spans three meters in length and about one and a half in height, with two incisors in front of its mouth.

It’s also just kind of staring at me while hovering above the crystal and dangling from a spider web.

Just like the bear, it really doesn’t care about me as long as I don’t step inside of its little nest here. A rather interesting fact.

Anyways, after having a bit of a staring match with it for several seconds, I finally go ahead and step inside of the cavern.

Time to see how strong this thing really is.

Chapter 24

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Claiming the Cavern

Alexander North

The moment I step into the room the giant spider lets out a loud screech, causing all of the cocoons in the cavern to split open as baby spiders flood out of them towards me. But I just start slashing my claws through the air over and over again, sending arcs of cold energy cutting each of the spiders while only letting a few reach me. And even those few don’t manage to do anything, instead freezing alive when they try to bite me thanks to their miniature size and low amount of energy.

I continue pushing through the baby spiders, which don’t actually number too many since I just dealt with a batch that left when I opened up the cavern, before swiping my claws in an X shape through the air, sending ten arcs of cold energy straight at the giant spider. But the giant spider simply lets go of the string holding its weight and lands on the ground with a loud crash that scatters dust and crushed rock into the air. Then it turns towards me and lets out another screech as its eyes flare with a blue light before returning to pitch black again.

Without hesitation I sprint forwards even faster while drawing back my claws, only for the spider to move out of the way in the blink of an eye. And as if that weren’t enough I feel something impacting my side, making me stumble before turning around to find the spider already backing away again.

So it focuses on speed. Not power.

This shouldn’t be a problem then. Not in this cavern.

It’s not like it can build up much speed in a tight space like this after all.

I grin, only to find the spider rather annoying as it repeatedly attacks me from every directly, moving faster than I can keep up with. But at the same time, its attacks aren’t doing much, and the little damage they are doing is healing almost right away. So the battle ends up in a bit of a stalemate.

Okay, this might be more annoying than I thought.

After several minutes of being cut by the spider’s claws, all of its children already having been killed either by me or the spider itself on accident by now, I let out a low growl and raise a fist to then smash it into the ground, cracking the ground in the process and shaking the cavern a little. All while making absolutely certain that I’m nowhere near the crystal. Because destroying the crystal with a shockwave would make this whole battle rather moot.

The large spider in question begins shaking along with the ground, making it lose its balance a little as I slash my claws through the air again, sending arcs of cold energy right at it. And this time when it tries to dodge the attack it simply trips on a bunch of rocks that fell from the ceiling during the shaking instead. Which leaves it wide open for the arcs to cut straight through the two legs it raises to block, severing both legs with ease.

Definitely a squishy and weak little thing if you don’t consider its speed.

The ground stops shaking after a few seconds, following which the spider regains its balance. But when it tries to move again, it proves to be far slower than before. Slow enough for me to keep up with it now.

Not to mention that it’s dragging along a trail of blue liquid that likely serves as its ‘blood’.

It lets out another screech when I finally manage to respond to one of its strikes, batting it away with my own claws before reaching forwards and dragging my other hand’s claws across that very leg.

Looks like this battle won’t last too much longer.

As if responding to my thoughts the spider backs up to the wall and lets out a much louder screech with its eyes glowing blue. So I tense up, preparing for the worst.

Only for the thing to climb the wall onto the ceiling and begin running towards the entrance.

I blink for a moment before scowling at it.

Seriously? Coward.

I quickly send as many arcs of cold energy as I can towards the entrance, but even if the spider is slow enough now for me to respond to its attacks, it’s still faster than me overall. So, while I manage to deal it a few more hits, the monster still gets through the cocoon and out into the cave.

Damnit, how the hell am I supposed to chase after it without something else stealing the damned crystal?!

I run to the entrance of the cavern before looking around the corner and barely seeing the spider turning another corner while dragging its body. But that sight alone manages to calm me down.

It won’t get far. The thing is missing two legs entirely with another two wounded and a large wound opened up on its abdomen. So even if it doesn’t die alone somewhere it’ll still be stuck somewhere here.

Besides. I can track it with my energy.

I glance at the blood trail its leaving.

Or that.

That works too.

Hey terminal, how far do you think it’ll get? And how long do you think it’ll take for the crystal to stabilize?

|It is estimated that the crystal will take six more hours to stabilize. Furthermore the frozen one will most likely collapse from blood loss within ten minutes.|

So it won’t get far.

I’ll just go deal with it after I grab the crystal.

With that thought in mind, I walk around absorbing the energy of the baby spiders before going back over to the crystal and lying down on the ground with my eyes closed. Simply keeping my senses open for any new frozen one presences or people in general.

This is going to be a little boring though.

Kind of wish I had something to do.

Chapter 25

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The Countdown Begins

Alexander North

At some point over the next few hours, I begin to nod off, falling half-asleep and half awake. But every single time a frozen one gets anywhere near the cavern with the crystal in it, I immediately wake up and turn to look at it, making the creature run away without a moment’s hesitation.

A process that repeats more often than I’d like throughout the wait.

Eventually though, my wait bears fruit. Out of nowhere, the cold energy in the crystal suddenly flashes and increases further, following which the crystal makes cracking sounds and parts of it shave off to eventually reveal a small apple-sized crystal. One filled to the brim with cold energy and most likely a lot easier to eat.

It’s also not attached to the ground anymore.

I reach out and grab the crystal before putting it in my pocket and quickly running out of the cavern.

Because I can sense every frozen one in the surrounding kilometers moving towards here right now. Including the spider that I’d almost killed.

Looks like the attraction of the crystal overwhelms any minor intelligence they may have.

Then again, even I feel a strong compulsion to eat the crystal right here and now. One that is honestly rather annoying.

And I’m not even a full frozen one.

I quickly charge through the caves while killing any of the frozen ones I encounter and absorbing the cold energy in their bodies. A process that quickly becomes repeated rather frequently as more and more frozen ones charge me from various different tunnels.

Even the spider one from before attacks me while basically almost dead. Which makes killing it a little too easy.

After absorbing the spider’s energy, I continue running as quickly as I can through the tunnels until I finally make it out of the nest, having slaughtered who knows how many frozen ones along the way. Then I end up faced with all of the frozen ones of the area surrounding the nest, including more than a few wendigos and wraiths, along with some more spiders and even a couple brutes.

None of which pose much of a threat to me, fortunately.

So I quickly deal with them while charging my way towards the base, hoping against hope that this is the only time I’ll ever have to do this.

I just hope the doctor keeps her promise and lets me absorb it after they finish their examination. Because if they don’t then I’m leaving this base.

She won’t be stupid enough to lie to me though. I can tell she’s smart just by her rank at her age and Tier.

Not just anyone can reach her rank while being a Tier 2 Symbiont Host, after all.

A Nest Located East of the Capital City

Craolyx slowly opens her eyes as she senses another energy crystal finishing forming. But unlike the first energy crystal that was devoured before it finished, this one isn’t devoured at all. Instead, she senses the crystal on the move while being carried by a powerful source of energy. One she can sense isn’t a frost denizen.

The sapient frost denizen narrows her eyes as she senses a small amount of heat energy mixed into the being carrying the energy crystal.

That must be the being Cryonix spoke about before he fell into his coma.

Craolyx narrows her glowing blue eyes while tapping the talon on her index finger, one much longer than the claws on her other fingers, on her throne’s arm rest as she considers the new information. The information about the hybrid of both the warm ones and the frost denizens.

A being of both sides of the war, yet neither at the same time.

If I’m able to bring the creature to the Lord…

Craolyx and her brother, Cryonix, have always had a strained relationship. Cryonix was always stronger than her and more trusted by the Lord than her, but if she were able to bring back the hybrid to the Lord, she knows that she’ll be bestowed a blessing in return for her hard work.

She continues tapping her talon on her throne’s arm rest while resting her chin against her left hand, her left elbow resting on the other arm rest.

One of the reasons many of the other frost denizens tend to look down on Craolyx is her vaguely warm-one-like appearance. Since she looks a lot like a warm one, just with pale skin, pale blue and glowing veins, glowing blue eyes, long white hair, and claws with a single talon on each of her index fingers.

Many of the other frost denizens believe her to be weak because of that. But Craolyx isn’t weak. She may not be as powerful as her brother, but she is not weak.

Up till now she’s been waiting for the nearby energy crystals to fully develop and enhance her forces before she goes on the assault. But if the hybrid anomaly is going after the energy crystals to empower itself, then she may have to make a change of plans.

The energy crystals would make excellent bait for the creature.

She knows that she has to be careful about it though. Because she knows that the anomaly killed Hailion half a year ago before the anomaly itself vanished.

An act that significantly hurt the frost denizens’ chain of command on the planet.

The anomaly is strong. Hailion wasn’t anywhere near as powerful as I am, but he wasn’t a pushover either. So I need to be careful with how I deal with the creature.

She repeatedly taps her talon on the throne for several minutes, simply debating on a possible plan of action.

Eventually she raises her head and sends a mental order to the frost denizens within her own grand nest. An order with the decision she has reached.

I’ll let it absorb a couple more energy crystals to grow more comfortable.

Her eyes narrow slightly and a small smirk stretches across her face.

Then it’ll be ripe for the picking.

Chapter 26

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Fanfare

On Top of the Wall at Delta Base

Gerard lets out a light yawn as he stands atop the wall in the middle of the night, keeping watch over the surroundings from his post. And spread throughout the walls, dozens of other guards can be seen doing the same thing. Because they can’t be too loose with security. Not when a frozen one could attack at any moment.

Especially when the eternal winter rolled back in close by.

Gerard has been feeling exhausted both mentally and physically ever since the change in command within the base. Mentally due to the increased security measures that the doctor put into place, making up for the chairman’s lacking security and leadership skills, and physically due to his training with the frost infused.

Even the daughter is a force to be reckoned with, since she never rests. Something the guards of the base have learned very well by now through just how many times she asks them for sparring matches.

What’s even worse for them is that she is quickly improving to the point that she’s becoming even better than they are, when she was at first only keeping up due to her stronger physical prowess.

Soon enough Gerard is sure she will leave them all in the dust and win their battles through skill alone.

And to his surprise, he couldn’t be prouder of the young girl.

He’s not the only one to feel this way either as a lot of the soldiers at the base have taken a liking to the young girl.

Her father, on the other hand, still terrifies Gerard no matter how many times he sees the man. Which isn’t often. A factor that doesn’t help in being brave towards him since it keeps him unused to the man’s presence.

Unlike his daughter, who is adorable, willful, and stubborn, he is intimidating, hard to get a read on, and powerful. So powerful that the air around him the last time Gerard saw the man was lightly frosting over, even inside of the building.

And Gerard doesn’t think the man even realized it himself.

Gerard lets out another yawn as he covers his mouth before looking out over the wall again and then stiffening up slightly.

What the…

He narrows his eyes and leans slightly over the railing of the wall to find more than a few frozen ones approaching the base. But that’s not what catches his attention first.

What catches his attention the most is the glowing blue crystal being carried towards the wall by a man amidst the frozen ones as the man slaughters the frozen ones without batting an eye.

Gerard gulps before blowing a whistle, announcing to everyone on the walls that the base is under attack. Then an alarm rings out from deeper in the base, blaring over the base itself.

Soldiers begin filling the walls as those on break join him and even more who were asleep also join him on the walls. And soon enough the doctor herself arrives before she frowns at the sight of the second lieutenant massacring the frozen ones around him while still approaching the base.

“Looks like he was successful,” the commander of the base says, before suddenly a smirk stretches across her face. “That could work.”

Then she turns around again and leaves the walls while calling out, “Raise the gates when he calls for it.”

“Understood, ma’am!” Gerard shouts, his eyes following the doctor until she leaves his sight.

He turns back to look over the wall where he finds the second lieutenant stopping about a dozen meters in front of the front gate where he then fights with all of the frozen ones. So Gerard glances at his direct superior officer, Warrant Officer Larks, and finds the woman narrowing her eyes slightly. Then the woman raises her hand and declares, “Aim!”

Gerard quickly turns back to the frozen ones and raises his rifle, bringing the scope to his eye.

“Fire!” the warrant officer shouts, and Gerard quickly begins firing at the frozen ones around the second lieutenant, who turns to look at the base walls before giving a light nod of his head and returning to slaughtering the frozen ones.

Gerard pulls his face back from the scope for a second and blinks in surprise before smiling and returning to firing again.

I think he might be a good person after all. Just quiet.

For some reason Gerard just feels this way despite only having seen the man give an appreciative nod of his head.

The private continues firing his rifle, taking out one frozen one after another until all of the frozen ones in front of the base are taken care of. Then he pulls his face away from the rifle and looks directly down at the ground where he finds the second lieutenant moving around and absorbing the energy from all of the corpses.

Gerard can’t help but feel a little bit jealous about the clear path to power that the second lieutenant has, but he doesn’t let it get to him.

Second Lieutenant Alexander North, heir to the North Archduchy, turns back around after absorbing the energy of the last corpse and raises his arm into the air, closing his fist seconds later with the crystal still held under his other arm.

Cheers break out amongst the soldiers and for some reason Gerard joins them. Then the gate begins to rise, and Gerard sees the second lieutenant disappear into the base beneath him.

And even after the second lieutenant leaves, all of the soldiers continue cheering, showing their excitement at seeing the man at work. The strongest man in their base.

I feel like I understand him a little bit more after that. Only a little though.

Gerard smiles at that before looking out over the wall once more at the piles of bear, boar, spider, and all other sorts of frozen one corpses.

And I know that he is even stronger than I thought he was.

Chapter 27

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Another Ability

Alexander North

After I finish absorbing all of the frozen ones outside of the base, I head inside and meet up with the doctor with the crystal still held carefully under my arm. And she immediately has me follow her to the research center of the base, where I hand the crystal to the researchers there. But for some reason I just can’t bring myself to leave the crystal.

Which ends up with me giving my report to the doctor as we sit here watching over the researchers while they work. And they really are working quickly.

The corner of my lips quirk upwards slightly at that.

Guess the doctor is probably pushing them to hurry up. That or they’re just moving faster because their boss is here.

My report ends up being rather dry though, considering how I sat still for several hours while waiting on the crystal. Then me and the doctor end up waiting a couple hours in silence just watching the examination of the crystal.

Her probably here to keep an eye on me and them while I’m here to make sure they don’t damage it. Because I won’t exactly be happy if they do that.

Fortunately for them, they all play it safe, and I end up getting my crystal back after three hours of them examining it. Which is rather surprising since I expected them to keep it for longer.

The researcher who hands it back to me seems to see through my thoughts as he says, “There wasn’t much we could do to study the object, so we decided to put off further study until we have a better understanding of cold energy.” He turns to the doctor to address her instead. “What we were able to learn about it is that it’s giving off a special frequency that seems to attract frozen ones, and that it is a massive container for cold energy.”

So they weren’t able to tell how pure the cold energy was? Interesting.

“Thank you for your work, Fredrick,” the doctor says with a nod of her head. Then she turns to me and adds, “You can absorb it now if that’s what you want. I have more to discuss with the researchers.”

I give her a military salute and begin to walk away, only to pause when she calls out, “Oh, right. There’s one more thing, second lieutenant.”

So I turn back around again, only to quickly catch something she throws at me. Then I raise it to my face before blinking in surprise.

What I find in my hand is a new emblem for my armor. One designating me as a first lieutenant.

“With my authority as a lieutenant colonel, I am granting you an emergency promotion to first lieutenant,” she says with a grin on her face. “I’m expecting great things from you, First Lieutenant Alexander North.”

I stare at her for a few seconds before changing the emblem on my damaged armor and giving her another salute.

Then I walk away without a word.

Some people would be thankful for that, but honestly? I couldn’t care less.

Not like my rank matters right now. Not when the universe is quite literally in the middle of an apocalypse.

I’m also pretty sure that I know why she gave me the promotion, other than the fact that I am actually earning it.

She’s not the type to care about rank at this time though. Meaning that she likely has ulterior motives for it.

Meaning she wants to butter me up to get me to stay.

Doesn’t matter to me though. I’m staying so long as Cynthia and Alexia are here.

Anyways, I quickly go pay Alexia a visit, just to let her know that I’m back. And after a quick hug, I head off to my room and sit on the center of the floor with the crystal in my lap.

Okay. Time to absorb this thing.

I lean down to bite it, only to find the thing suddenly turning into pure cold energy and entering my body without me needing to eat it.

Convenient benefit of the crystal being complete.

Just like the last time, my claws shoot out and begin to glow. But unlike last time, the glow quickly fades as a light frost begins to emit from my claws. As if my claws are freezing the moisture in the air around them simply from being out.

I frown slightly before raising my hand and turning it back and forth.

Definitely a much shorter process with less discomfort when I absorb it all at once, I’ll say that much at least.

After studying my claws, which have begun to glow brighter than they were before, I’m starting to wonder if all of these crystals are going to give me abilities related to my claws.

That thought aside though, I lower my hand to touch my claws on the ground, following which the ground immediately begins to freeze. Not just frost over, but freeze.

Guess my claws now freeze what they touch.

Which means I now have the ability to slowly freeze anything I touch, to quickly freeze anything I cut with my claws, and to throw arcs of cold energy at things.

I purse my lips for a second before shrugging.

That’s not bad. Could’ve been worse.

And it could help, considering that it’ll give me extra damage when using my claws. Something I do a lot these days thanks to the pointlessness of using actual weapons now.

Not to mention the cost efficiency, considering how they end up frozen.

I stand up from where I was sitting, only to realize that the claws on my feet are freezing my boots. So I quickly retract them with a frown.

That’ll get annoying.

I raise my gaze to glance at Snow, who is sleeping in the corner of my room. Then I turn to the bed, deciding to get some rest myself.

Since I haven’t gotten all that much since waking up from my coma.

And the moment I hit the bed, my eyes droop close, and consciousness leaves me.

Intermission

The Capital Planet of the Terran Empire

Edward North crushes the skull of a massive creature with the power of a Tier 4 Symbiont Host with nothing but his physical strength. Then he drops the corpse and turns around, beginning to walk back to the base while his anger shows in the form of steam rising from his body. A sign of the heat energy – something the researchers finally begun to understand about the symbionts thanks to the introduction of the Eternal Winter’s cold energy – in his body manifesting in his power.

The power to create and control flames from his skin.

However, as many of his soldiers have come to understand nowadays, after the Great Silence that occurred when the powerful surge radiated from Cocytus and silenced all communication, including that of the terminal, he doesn’t always have full control over his power. Even if he’s never actually harmed someone on accident with it.

None of his soldiers blame him for his anger, since they all understand why he is upset. Most of them would be too, after all. If their child was left on another planet where he can’t reach him, with their last contact being a call from his niece telling him that his son was in a coma.

And the General of the Military never takes his anger out on them either, even if he is terrifying to talk to nowadays.

Meanwhile the General in question just ignores everyone’s cautious stares and marches right on into the base while shouting, “Clean up the mess! And bring the damned corpse to those cold-damned researchers!”

“Yes, Sir!” every soldier nearby shouts, regardless of if it’s their job or not.

Edward North continues walking through the base until he reaches the research area, where dozens of researchers can be seen working on a spaceship. Then he stands there and watches them for several seconds before walking up and looking for the head researcher.

“General North! What brings you-” the head researcher immediately and enthusiastically begins to ask the moment he sees Edward, but the general cuts him off without hesitation to ask, “What’s the progress?”

The head researcher lets out a sigh and turns to look at the ship as he answers, “As I’ve stated yesterday, general, the ship will not be ready for spacefaring for at least another few years. The atmosphere itself has changed since the Eternal Winter came, not to mention the changes to space. We need to add and test vast amounts of coldproof metals to keep everyone from freezing to death inside of the ship during a voyage. We need to find a way to efficiently power a ship large enough to move through space. And we need to find a way to stop the shards from passing through the ship’s hull, letting the oxygen out during its passing.”

Edward grits his teeth and clenches his fists, but he doesn’t do any more than that. He just turns and stares at the spaceship that is still only half-made without saying a word.

“Look, general, I understand that you must be worried about your son and your niece, but we need to make sure the ships we design are safe for everyone to use,” the head researcher continues. But all Edward does is nod his head without a word, not taking his gaze from the ship.

No matter how many times Edward asks, he always feels like asking again the next time he has the chance. As if asking the same question over and over again would change the result.

In reality though, he understands that he’s grasping at straws at this point.

Edward finally turns away and leaves the research area of the base and heads towards the wall before activating a small switch on his wrist that is powered by cold energy. And only ten minutes later, his second in command – a lieutenant general named Gloria Fellman – arrives and nods her head in respect before stating, “Lieutenant General Fellman reporting, Sir.”

The general quickly orders, “Speak.”

“Of course,” she says with another nod of her head before moving her clipboard from under her arm to in front of her as she looks down, her golden hair falling over her shoulder in the process. “With the latest frozen one assault, we have managed to clear out over half the planet of Tier 4 equivalent frozen ones. There are still seven more located on the other side of the planet biding their time with the Tier 5 equivalent frozen one, but we believe that they are beginning to show signs of movement.”

Edward nods his head while narrowing his eyes out at the soldiers cleaning up the frozen ones outside of the massive fortress that is nearly akin to a castle in its defenses. A castle personally belonging to the General of the Military.

“Have the intelligent ones caught wind of our scouts yet?” Edward asks without looking back at the woman whose age should be a dozen or so years older than his son.

“The scouts aren’t sure,” Gloria answers. “Some of them believe that the frozen ones have long since found them out but are leaving them be, while the more prideful ones are absolutely certain that they have not been spotted.”

“Hmm,” Edward hums while crossing his arms.

If they have already spotted them but aren’t doing anything, then they’re most likely letting us spy on them. But should I take this as a challenge? As arrogance? Or are they trying to feed us false intel somehow?

After thinking it over for a little while, Edward eventually says, “Make sure to triple check all of the intel the scouts bring to make sure the intel isn’t being falsified by the enemy. And send a new scout every week to a different location without telling the other scouts.”

“Understood, Sir,” Gloria says with a salute.

“You’re dismissed,” Edward says while still looking out over the soldiers.

Gloria salutes once more before turning around, placing the clipboard back under her arm again, and walking away.

That should at least let us figure out if they’re trying to feed us false information or not. They won’t be able to find the new scouts immediately every time. And if they do, that just means we can’t trust the intel beyond a surface level.

Edward continues looking out over the wall of the base for a while, his fist clenching slightly at his side once more.

Please be okay, Alex. I can’t lose you too.

Chapter 28

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Clearing Nests

Alexander North
Nearly a week later

I let out a satisfied sigh after absorbing another crystal. My fifth one at this point.

Something I learned from those crystals is that the crystals don’t always grant a new ability. Some of them just act as normal energy, others enhance an ability. To the point that my fourth crystal gave me an entire stat point in strength. A stat I was lacking in before.

And the third crystal gave me an enhancement to my cold energy arc throwing ability. Because now I can launch multiple arcs with a single swipe of my claws.

Some rather nice improvements overall.

Meanwhile this fifth crystal seems to have given me enhanced vision.

If before I was able to see some vague heat sources through a single object like a thin wall, now I can see heat sources through multiple objects, not just one. So while it’s not an enhancement to my physical strength or combat prowess, it’s still a welcome enhancement.

Well, ignoring the fact that I don’t know how to turn it off, and seeing everyone’s silhouettes through the walls will likely be annoying and awkward.

Then again, I don’t know if I’ll be able to see as clearly through the walls at the base.

I can only hope that I can’t, or at least that I can figure out how to turn it on and off.

|This unit recommends opening your analysis as this unit has updated the analysis.|

That has me blinking in surprise and confusion.

“Sure, open it,” I tell the terminal with a shrug.

/ Current Analysis of user Alexander North \

Strength: 11.52
Agility: 11.33
Reflexes: 10.75
Constitution: 10.81
Immunity: ???
Senses: 10.79
Energy: 27.7/27.7

Abilities: Cold Energy Claws, Cold Diffusion, Thermal Vision, Cold Energy Arcs, Cold Blood, Cold Energy Absorption

Body Malfunctions: N/A
Error: Cannot determine Immunity of user’s current species without the user getting sick to collect data.
The average of a human being without a symbiont is a 1 across all stats except for Energy.
The Energy statistic is determined with a 1 being set as the user’s original starting statistic for Energy.

\End of Analysis/

Oh. That’s pretty useful.

But while Cold Energy Claws, Thermal Vision, Cold Energy Absorption, and Cold Energy Arcs are easy to figure out, what’s Cold Blood and Cold Diffusion?

Actually, just give me a rundown on each of the abilities just in case I figured them incorrectly.

|Cold Energy Claws coats your claws in cold energy that is then directly injected into anything the claws touch. Cold Diffusion passively diffuses cold energy into anything you make physical contact with. Thermal Vision coats your eyes in cold energy, allowing you to see objects that do not contain cold energy regardless of other objects between them. Cold Energy Arcs allows the user to send out arcs of cold energy through using your claws as an intermediary with the air. Cold Blood makes cold energy run through your veins, significantly increasing the resistance you have towards outside cold energy attempting to interfere with your body. Cold Energy Absorption draws in cold energy from your surroundings to grow your own cold energy source.|

Huh. Not bad.

I have more abilities than I thought I had. Although that’s mostly because I didn’t really consider some of those as abilities.

|This unit determined any power not within the user’s body prior to this change as an ability.|

Guess that’s fine. They’re all things I need to know about after all.

On a different note, my stats are looking rather nice.

It’s just too bad the cold energy that I absorb from weaker frozen ones seems to have less effect on my stats than it has from stronger ones. Diminishing returns.

Then again, I’m already growing strong far faster than any human would be able to. Even with Symbionts.

I briefly glance at the rather large and very dead wasp next to me. The frozen one whose nest this used to belong to.

This should be the last nest within a three hundred kilometer range of Delta base. With the exception of the largest nest located about two hundred and fifty kilometers to the West of the base, along with one tertiary nest – a nest the size of the nests I’ve been clearing out – about fifty kilometers East of that large nest. The large nest containing a frozen one about a fourth of the way between Tier 3 and Tier 4. Something the doctor calls a secondary nest, with the main nests being called primary nests.

The secondary nest is still too powerful for me to deal with, but the tertiary nest is fine. In fact, part of my current mission is to finish clearing out the tertiary nests. So I need to go deal with that one.

So far the doctor hasn’t given me any orders to do anything I wasn’t already going to do, and Alexia has been doing fine at the base as well. I’m also surprisingly enjoying tossing around those soldiers to train them.

The soldiers seem to be enjoying it as well. Sorta. Well, most of them are.

They like my training, they don’t like being beaten up and tossed around like children.

I don’t mind though.

It also gives me training in dealing with a large number of enemies.

Some of the Symbiont Hosts at the base have even started asking for training as well, which has really served me well. Since I’m pretty sure we’re eventually going to be facing other Symbiont Hosts.

That chairperson wasn’t the only scumbag in power after all, and he won’t be the last.

I frown at the thought of him before shaking my head and beginning to leave the rather large beehive I’m in. One made by that large Tier 3 bee queen frozen one that was guarding the crystal.

The creature wasn’t very hard to kill, to be honest. In fact, it was rather easy. Especially after I cut off its wings with my cold energy arcs.

Apparently frozen one bees can’t move very well without wings.

I do wonder what the next nest will have, both in terms of frozen ones and what the crystal will give me.

After leaving the nest, I quickly begin making my way to the next nest.

Then I can head back to the base afterwards.

Chapter 29

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The Infested Base

Alexander North

I find a rather large problem when I arrive at the place that I sense the last nest located at. One that I kind of wish the doctor would’ve told me about, even though she likely didn’t know I was going to attempt it right now.

It is rather close to the secondary nest near our base after all. There’s a chance she didn’t expect I would head out here thanks to that.

But I need to clear out the nest. And more importantly, I want the crystal inside of it.

Plus I can tell that it’s far enough away to be safe, so it’s fine.

What I wasn’t expecting was for the nest to be situated in an old, abandoned military base. A base not located on the map.

The base itself looks incredibly run-down, with some of the walls surrounding it caved in, and one of the towers completely destroyed. Left as nothing but a pile of rubble.

But that isn’t what bothers me.

What bothers me is that I can tell this base is just like the base I was assigned to.

It’s an underground base.

And my experience with underground bases isn’t exactly the greatest.

I frown at the base before eventually sighing and scoping the area.

From what I can tell, there seems to be a lot of wraiths in this base. Which is slightly odd, but maybe that’s because it’s a base that the nest is located in. Not some wild animal’s cave.

Most of the other nests I’ve seen up till now have just had wild animal frozen ones. Not human frozen ones.

Then again, could be that some people were near the abandoned base beforehand and got infected.

Regardless of the reason, the wraiths are mostly around Tier 1 in energy, with only a few Tier 2s. And amongst them, I also see a couple of those evolved wraiths. Or elite wraiths, as I’d previously dubbed them.

There also appear to be a few outliers amongst the bunch. Like some wraiths with glowing blades instead of their usual bladed limbs.

Interesting.

Terminal, is it possible for frozen ones to develop abilities without the use of a crystal? Or being born or created with it.

|There is not enough data to determine the answer to that question.|

Hmm. How do you propose I get the data needed for the answer?

|This unit believes the user would be unlikely to go through with the process necessary.|

Wait, what? Why wouldn’t I go through with it?

|The process requires the user, Alexander North, to eat a frozen one that has potentially developed an ability, and to eat one that hasn’t.|

Right. So I’m going to be stuck without my answer then.

I move back a little bit before going around through the trees towards a large cliff overlooking the base from several dozen meters away. Then I kneel down at the edge of the cliff and look through a pair of binoculars at the base itself for a better view than I had before.

Although I don’t see much different from here. Other than the insides of the buildings above ground that is. Most of which are all destroyed and have nothing in them to speak of.

Ignoring the frozen ones walking around the outside of the base, I focus on the location where the stairs are. And to my surprise, I actually find the stairs in near perfect shape. Except with ice coating them. Meanwhile a layer of frost is coating all of the walls and the ceiling going down from the stairs, with a very thick mist floating up out of the base’s underbelly.

Interesting.

I can sense the crystal coming from down within the base, but this ice… and the mist… there’s just something off here.

But I don’t sense anything strong enough to give me any trouble, so it should be safe to move into the base and check it out.

The wraiths will be annoying though. Or at least, the stronger wraiths. The weaker ones shouldn’t even be able to break through my armor. Not with the cold energy core powering it now.

I continue looking out over the base for a little while before eventually jumping down from the cliff and beginning my march over towards the base.

It’s too bad my thermal vision doesn’t do shit for me when it comes to other frozen ones. Since I can only see the lack of cold energy. Or rather, heat energy.

Then again, I can already sense the cold energy in the first place. So being able to see the monsters through the walls instead of just sensing them might be asking for a bit much.

At least I can see living people through walls.

Once I reach the walls of the base, the wraiths quickly begin to notice me. And they all silently move to kill me. Which I’m not really used to.

At this point I’m more used to hearing screeches and loud roars from the frozen ones attempting to kill me.

Not a large wave of wraiths moving rather quickly for their energy level and without a single sound. Not even the sound of feet hitting the snow. Just nothing at all.

It’s rather disconcerting if I’m being honest.

The wraiths themselves are rather easy to deal with though. So it doesn’t take me long before I’m walking past a pile of wraith corpses into the above-ground part of the base, past the walls.

At which point more wraiths begin to attack me.

And some of these are the elites. But I deal with them easily as well, since they’re still only Tier 2.

Hmm. Guess my suspicions were unfounded after all.

These things are just too weak.

I continue slaughtering my way through the wraiths, draining their energy sources of cold energy along the way until I arrive at the stairs. And to my surprise, I actually find the place, ignoring its foreboding appearance, rather welcoming.

Probably because of the dense amounts of cold energy and the mist coming from inside.

Well, no reason to stand out here.

I begin walking down the stairs, ready for an attack from any direction at all times.

Let’s see what ability the crystal here will give me.

Chapter 30

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Zombie Frozen Ones

The Base

The doctor frowns as she listens to the report of the soldier in front of her.

“We have not gotten a single report of frozen ones approaching the base from any side since three hours ago,” he reports while stiffly saluting. “All sides are quiet, and our scouts reported seeing the first lieutenant approaching the final remaining tertiary nest located within the abandoned base closest to the secondary nest.”

Ruthers’ frown grows deeper at the second part of the soldier’s statement.

“You said there weren’t any reports of frozen ones approaching? Does that include the tertiary nest he is heading for?” Ruthers asks while tapping her fingers on her arm, her arms crossed over her chest.

“Affirmative, ma’am,” the soldier says, still saluting as the doctor looks down, deep in thought.

Shouldn’t the secondary nest have acted by now? Or even a primary nest? If what the researchers learned about these crystals is true that is.

From what Ruthers understands, these crystals are most likely to be stolen away from their guardians by one of the Tier 4 frozen ones the moment before they’re ready. But instead of that happening, the frozen ones are simply sitting by while the first lieutenant swipes all of their crystals.

The doctor made sure to have a few soldiers keep watch on the first lieutenant when he went to the first several nests, just in case this was a trap, or the man decided to betray them. And even they didn’t find anything suspicious.

Other than there being nothing suspicious. Which, in and of itself, is suspicious.

Ruthers tries to dig deeper into what the frozen ones could be planning, only for something to resurface in her memory. Something one of the soldiers overheard the first lieutenant’s team members talking about.

That the frozen ones were interested in capturing the first lieutenant and bringing him to their god.

And as soon as that memory comes to mind, it clicks in her head.

The reason the frozen ones aren’t acting.

Why they’ve just let him go around collecting crystals.

“Send ten squads to the abandoned base ASAP! And order the soldiers stationed there to warn the first lieutenant off entering that base!” Ruthers shouts, her voice growing slightly frantic. “It’s most likely a trap set for him!”

The soldier’s eyes widen in shock, but he quickly responds, “But ma’am, he’s already entered the base! We can’t reach him unless we send our observation units into the base along with him!”

Ruthers slams her fist into the desk, cracking it slightly as she swears.

The frozen ones were most likely allowing him to collect those crystals, giving him a sense of ease as he went through the nests. And now that he’s on the last one, a nest located in an abandoned base thereby making it a perfect ambush location...

“Send the men as soon as possible!” she shouts, making the soldier immediately shout back, “Understood, ma’am!”

Then the soldier runs out, leaving her to collapse into her seat while rubbing her temples as she feels the onset of a headache.

I hope his new abilities over his time hunting the nests will be enough to survive…

But she knows that if a Tier 4 frozen one were to attack him personally, he wouldn’t stand a chance. Regardless of how many abilities he has.

Alexander North

That comfort I felt when entering the abandoned base quickly fades when I realize that the massive amount of cold energy is blocking my senses. At least, with my current level of control over my senses.

So I’m basically going in blind.

But considering the weak wraiths above, and what I’ve seen in the previous nests, I don’t think I need to worry.

Just in case though, I remain on guard at all moments anyways.

I slowly make my way through the underground portion of the base, passing through halls that are built in similar ways to my original base. Some of which are collapsed, blocking the passages. And every once in a while I run into more wraiths. But they’re just as easily dealt with as the ones outside of the base.

Eventually I arrive at the stairs down to the BF2 floor. And when I’m going down the stairs, I find a large hole in the wall of the stairs leading into some sort of ice-coated tunnel.

My eyes narrow slightly. But I can tell that the cold energy isn’t coming from the tunnel, so I ignore it for now and continue moving down the stairs.

Only to end up running into another tunnel. And then another.

What’s making these tunnels?

Also, how isn’t this base unstable? Is it the ice?

I can tell the cold energy is basically freezing absolutely everything solid. Including the dirt beyond the metallic walls of the base.

But is that enough to make it stable?

Not sure. I don’t know much about architecture.

I continue into BF2 before finding some rather… unexpected creatures.

Frozen ones, but they look almost human. Kind of like humans with large icicles growing out of parts of their bodies and glowing blue and black eyes.

Oh, and with scythe arms made out of ice.

Not sure how practical that build is, but they seem incredibly fast.

Despite that though, they don’t seem to notice me.

Can they not see or something? I’m standing right in front of them.

They’re just wandering around with very… strange movements. Kinda like a zombie in a horror movie.

I step through the door into the hallway, and the moment I do that, all of them instantly jerk their heads towards me and move so quickly that I can’t even react. So three scythes move straight at my armor, cutting partially into it and sending me flying back into the stairwell.

“Fuck, that hurt,” I swear while quickly getting back to my feet to counter their follow-up attacks, only to find the creatures having just gone back to their pointless wandering in the hallway again.

I blink in confusion before tilting my head.

Uh… huh?

Territorial maybe?

Well that makes this easier.

Chapter 31

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Not a Worm

Alexander North

Before I do something I might regret, I go ahead and have the terminal check their energy signatures. But the energy around us is so dense that I can’t determine their energy levels. So I reach down and grab a rock instead before tossing said rock into the room.

The instant the rock hits the floor, sending a clinking noise through the room since the rock is frozen, all of the frozen ones instantly react to swipe their scythes at the rock, striking both the rock and the ground and leaving a small crater in their wake.

Huh. Speed and strength.

Got it.

Also, it looked like it reacted to sound.

Imma test that.

I slowly inch forwards before stopping at around right before the point I think begins their territory. Then I stretch my hand out into their territory, only to yank it back again.

Nothing happens.

So I slowly stretch it back into their territory without making a sound or moving it back this time.

Still nothing. None of them so much as look at me.

Guess they’re blind?

Strange creatures.

I reach down and grab another rock before tossing it, and the creatures immediately rush towards the rock.

That should be enough to prove my theory.

They didn’t attack me when hearing my footsteps out here or me swearing, and are only attacking the rock when it makes a noise.

Just to make absolutely certain, I grab another rock and slowly lower it to the ground without dropping it or making a sound within their territory.

Nothing happens.

Cool.

In this case, the problem is very easy to solve.

There are currently about two dozen of the creatures just scattered through the hallway. Meanwhile there are rooms on either side of them, with another intersecting hallway just a dozen or so meters in front of me. Through this hall and their territory.

So I try to angle myself so that I’m able to have as clear a view as possible of one of the doors leading to other rooms, then I swipe my arm through the air, sending an arc of cold energy that flies through the air and slices into the door while sending it flying off of its hinges into the room. And immediately after that, the frozen ones all rush straight into the room and I send several more blades after them, letting the blades cut straight into the creatures as they crowd into the room.

Which results in a blue blood bath. And frozen frozen ones.

What’s made even worse is that they all end up tangled up and slick from the blood running across their bodies. So I just send more and more arcs of ice straight at them, slaughtering the lot of them without even stepping into their territory.

Especially since their scuffle manages to draw more and more of them over there to join in the fun. And over time, I manage to kill them all off.

Leaving a massive pile of frozen one corpses for the taking.

Or rather, for the draining. As I walk over to drain the things.

While doing that though, I make sure to check on how much energy they had in the first place. Only to find myself surprised that they had quite a bit more than the frozen ones outside had.

Although, judging by how easy they were to slice through, probably not much in the constitution department.

Come to think of it, they’re quite a bit like the wraiths upstairs in that.

Does that mean every frozen one in this nest will be an agility focused one?

Would certainly make sense if that were the case. Although I’m not sure how I feel about it.

I personally don’t specialize in any area. Although my agility is a little higher than most of my other stats, being about equal to my strength. But it’s not a very big gap at all. Maybe half a point at most.

So my stats are all balanced out.

Then again, I wouldn’t be surprised if these things had like twos and threes in their constitution with tens or something in their speed.

I was able to react and back away, so their speeds are still lower than my own. Which is good.

Anyways, after finishing up absorbing all of their energy – which doesn’t give me as much as I wish it did – I begin moving further down the hallway before looking both ways at the intersection. And, of course, I find another tunnel. One of those things inside of the stairwell. The thing is sticking straight out of a wall down one of the paths in the intersection.

Nothing comes out of it though. Which is confusing.

What’s making these?

I can also tell that something big must’ve come through, since the walls look a little dented. Like something a little larger than the hallway itself tried making its way through.

Something round judging by the rounded dents.

A worm maybe?

A giant worm.

Only other thing I can think of off the top of my mind is a snake. But a snake wouldn’t likely be digging tunnels. So probably a worm.

I continue walking down a different hallway from the one with the tunnel in it. All the way till I reach a dead end.

Ugh. Wish I had a map.

I turn around and begin walking back, only for a loud sound to echo through the base. A very odd sound.

The sound is like a mixture of something freezing over and the groaning of metal. But I don’t feel anything that would indicate something moving.

If I had to guess, whatever is doing this is likely freezing everything as it digs.

That aside, what’s with these giant worms and military bases? This is the second-

My thoughts cut off when a giant snake drills into the hallway right in front of me with some sort of ice drill in front of its head before drilling through the other side of the hall and passing through, moving incredibly fast throughout the process. And within seconds, the thing vanishes from view despite having to be over a dozen meters long.

I stare at the two holes left behind before slowly nodding my head.

That… was not a worm.

Chapter 32

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Snakes Galore

Alexander North

Seconds pass, and the seconds turn into an entire minute before I regain my bearings and move to the edge of the tunnel that the snake passed through. And by now all I can see is the very end of the snake’s tail as it goes downwards.

I turn to look at the other tunnel on the other side of the hall before just proceeding through the hallway back to the last intersection.

Yeah, those tunnels were frozen solid. Whatever that snake is doing, it’s freezing everything along its path. And it seems to have some sort of ice drill in front of its head.

Which is certainly one odd ability.

Something that’s bothering me though is that the snake didn’t feel like the source of this immense energy.

And if it’s not the snake, then that means it’s one of two different things.

Either the energy crystal in this nest is far stronger than the other nests’ energy crystals, or there’s something even stronger than that snake lurking down here.

What’s worse is that both of those possibilities would explain the oddities in this place, such as the snake and the stronger frozen ones. Meaning I don’t have anything to go off of for figuring out which option it is.

I continue through the hallways of the floor, not finding a single other frozen one inside until I reach the stairwell to the next floor down. And when I enter it, I quickly find… even more oddities.

That’s a lot of snakes.

I stare down from the top of the stairwell at the literal swarm of snakes moving around the bottom and across the stairs themselves.

And now I can’t help but hesitate. Should I turn back and begin to leave the place? Or should I keep going forward?

Because the cold energy is beginning to grow even thicker down the stairs, no matter how impossible that may sound.

Then there’s the massive snake, all of these smaller snakes, and I still don’t know what is the source of the cold energy down here.

I grit my teeth, pondering it over for several seconds with the snakes surprisingly not noticing me yet – just like the big fella that passed right on by me – before eventually deciding to try fighting some of the snakes. Then I can turn back.

Best to at least get some data on the frozen ones before I turn back for help.

So I get to a good vantage point above the stairwell before throwing several arcs of cold energy down at the snakes, cutting over a dozen of them apart in an instant. An act that riles up all of the other snakes as well, but, to my surprise, none of them move towards me. Instead they begin swarming everywhere around them as if searching for whatever killed their brethren.

Wait a second, can they not sense me?

I furrow my brows at that before shrugging and slowly beginning to climb down the stairs. And even when I get right up to the edge of the swarm, they don’t do anything to me.

Interesting.

The fact that they’re not killing me regardless of the noise I make or the fact that I’m standing right here most likely means they have some sort of thermal vision.

I know some of the frozen ones I’ve fought across the nests have had a sort of vision that could only see heat energy. Meaning not me.

Just to test things, I take a few steps up the stairs before reaching down and grabbing a little bit of rubble from the slightly damaged stairwell – not damaged enough to be worrisome though. Then I lightly toss the rock down into the pit on top of some of the snakes and the snakes immediately begin rushing at the snake in question when it lets out a hiss of anger. As if the snake’s hiss warned all of the others about an attack.

Hmm. In that case, it looks like these snakes aren’t all that fast in terms of thinking and reacting. Otherwise the other snakes that I cut in half would’ve at least been able to get a hiss out before dying.

I watch the snakes swarm around the one that was hit by the rock for a few moments before shrugging.

This might not be so hard to deal with after all.

I go ahead and begin sending one arc of cold energy after another down into the stairwell, slaughtering the snakes without much regard for their panic. And it turns out to be even easier than I was expecting.

Actually, now that I think about it, these fellas really do seem like mini versions of the giant snake from earlier. And their having thermal vision would explain why the thing didn’t attack me.

After all, if it couldn’t see me, then it was probably just passing through or something.

I continue slaughtering the snakes for a while until they all just begin rushing away, deeper into the base. But I just keep killing them until they all disappear. And in the end I only manage to kill about half of them despite sending cold arcs nonstop.

Hmm. Slow to react, maybe. But they’re not stupid.

After the snakes are all gone, I begin walking down the stairs before collecting the energy of each one of the dead ones. Only to find that they don’t actually have all that much energy in them.

Huh.

Odd.

They are a lot weaker than I was expecting. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the little things wouldn’t even be able to break through my skin with their fangs…

This is… unexpected. Very unexpected.

I stop absorbing their energy for a second to look down the rest of the stairs at the entrance to the next floor, only to freeze for a second at what I find.

That… huh?

The door is completely destroyed and frozen to the sides of the hole that now makes up the wall where the door was. Meanwhile the walls inside of the floor are all dented and frozen.

Yeah, that’s not a good sign.

I purse my lips for a second before deciding to quickly finish up absorbing all of the energy from the snake corpses. And after doing that, I go ahead and head back up the stairs again to begin making my way out of the base.

Only to find the hallway having collapsed completely right outside of the stairwell, blocking my way back.

“Well, shit,” I mutter while staring at the collapsed tunnel covered in ice and frost.

Chapter 33

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Time to Think

Alexander North

How did I not hear this? It should’ve been rather loud if a damned hallway was collapsing…

Terminal, I don’t need air, right? I’m pretty sure I don’t.

|Your assumption is correct. Your body does not need air to survive, however it will drain your energy should you attempt to survive without it.|

And how fast will it drain my energy?

|A hundredth of a point every ten minutes without air.|

That’s fine then. I have almost thirty points of energy.

It should last me for more than long enough. With plenty of leftover energy to spare for battles.

I hope.

Oh, wait, that also means that I won’t be able to regenerate my energy…

Unless…

Terminal, how fast do I regenerate energy right now?

|An exact measurement is impossible right now.|

Then give me as close to an exact measurement as you can get.

|You are regenerating about two tenths of a point every ten minutes, outweighing the amount you’re losing by a large margin.|

Oh, that’s fine then.

Go ahead and show me my body’s current analysis.

/ Current Analysis of user Alexander North \

Strength: 11.57
Agility: 11.43
Reflexes: 10.97
Constitution: 11.11
Immunity: ???
Senses: 10.99
Energy: 21.7/30.6

Abilities: Cold Energy Claws, Cold Diffusion, Thermal Vision, Cold Energy Arcs, Cold Blood, Cold Energy Absorption

Body Malfunctions: N/A
Error: Cannot determine Immunity of user’s current species without the user getting sick to collect data.
The average of a human being without a symbiont is a 1 across all stats except for Energy.
The Energy statistic is determined with a 1 being set as the user’s original starting statistic for Energy.

\End of Analysis/

Hmm. Well, I should probably stay up here and recover my energy a bit before I continue further into the unknown. Probably to about ninety percent.

Then I can go ahead and continue making my way down. Because even if the base is built differently from the base I was assigned to, it should still have emergency stairs on each floor. And I won’t even need the location of the stairs this time.

All I’ll need to do is take out the source of the energy so that I can finally sense the flow of energy in this place. Then I’ll be able to tell where the energy is flowing out of the floor, leading me straight to the emergency exit.

I briefly glance back at the rubble before pursing my lips for a second and trying to grab some of the rubble and move it out of the way. Since I’m far stronger than a normal human being.

But it doesn’t work out. I don’t even manage to budge the rubble.

|It would appear that the rubble is frozen together.|

Yeah. And whatever froze it is able to freeze something so strongly that I can’t budge it.

Unless I can shatter it with a punch?

|Hypothesis. The user will most likely damage their fist and waste energy trying with little success.|

So no punching the rubble. Got it.

Guess I’m gonna be sitting here for a while.

Let’s see… if I’m regenerating around two tenths of a point every ten minutes, it should take around seven or so hours of waiting to regenerate it all. Which… is probably gonna be boring.

I let out a sigh before lying back on the ground with my back against the rubble.

Here’s hoping the serpent doesn’t decide it wants to eat this part of the base.

On that note, I wonder how Dad’s doing? We still haven’t been able to contact each other since I woke up, so he’s bound to be worried.

He doesn’t really need much protection though, so I’m not too worried about him. He’s a Tier 5 Symbiont Host after all. One of the most powerful in our nation.

I’d be more surprised if he got hurt than otherwise.

As for the emperor… not really sure how Uncle would do in this, but if he’s with Dad, he’ll be fine. If not? Well… I’ll try not to think about that. For Cynthia’s sake.

And my own a little, since the man was always a good uncle to me. Even if the majority of the time he would visit during my and Cynthia’s childhood was to drop Cynthia off at our house so he could work. Mostly because he doesn’t particularly trust strangers with his kid, and he didn’t want to leave her surrounded by nothing but soldiers when he couldn’t be with her. He wanted her with those who genuinely cared about her.

So he’s a pretty good father to her at the very least.

Either way though, I hope he’s okay too.

I do wonder how the rest of the universe is faring right now though.

The silence filling this stairwell is honestly a little disturbing. And I’m not normally the type to be frightened.

Just sitting here at the top of a stairwell that I know leads to a floor full of frozen ones. Any of whom could come up here at any time and begin attacking.

Makes relaxing a little more difficult.

Not to mention the powerful energy just filling the entire stairwell, radiating out from the lower floors.

I let out a sigh at that before frowning and glancing down at my chest, where my artificial heart now turned whatever it is is still beating.

It’s kind of dark to think about how things would’ve been if I didn’t have this artificial heart. If I’d have just been normal and healthy in that regard.

Very dark.

Although I’m sure Dad probably finds it ironically hilarious.

The thing he always felt bad about turns out to be the thing that saves my life.

Irony at its finest.

My thoughts come to a halt when the base starts shaking, making dust fall from the ceiling. But it doesn’t just end there.

The base slowly begins to shake more and more violently before my eyes widen and I jump to my feet and into the stairwell.

Then a large serpent – albeit smaller than the enormous one from before – breaks through the wall and enters the tunnel.

Chapter 34

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

A Trap

Alexander North

“Shit…” I mutter at the sight of the serpent looking around in confusion before slowly trying to cover the entire hallway while inching forwards. As if trying to scout me out despite not being able to see me.

So I try to move a little closer to it while still maintaining some distance. Just in an attempt to figure out how much energy the thing has.

But I don’t manage to get a lock on it, so I begin sending arcs of cold energy at the serpent to see how much damage they do. Only for the arcs to barely leave little scratches on its scales, sending the thing into a screeching frenzy.

At which point I rush forwards to claw at it myself. And just like my cold energy arcs, my claws barely scratch the thing.

So, without any hesitation, I beat a hasty retreat, rushing down the stairs.

The frozen one can’t sense me, so it’s not likely gonna follow. Which also makes me wonder how it knew to break into the hallway I was in.

I’m not given the time to figure that out though as the moment I reach the bottom of the stairs, the serpent begins to go down the stairwell. Meanwhile a couple more serpents break into the stairwell through the walls.

Seriously?

Are these things able to sense stuff through other methods besides just thermal vision? Or maybe its thermal vision is just a lot stronger and can sense the bits of heat energy that are still inside of me?

Either way, I can barely even scratch one of these things right now. There’s no way I can take on half a dozen of them.

So I rush straight into the next floor before making a beeline straight towards the nearest door. But moments before I open the door, the serpents reach the entrance of the floor.

And instead of chasing after me, the serpents slam themselves into the wall, bringing the wall and ceiling down around it.

Locking me into this floor as well.

My eyes narrow, but I continue on into the room, closing the door behind me before looking around the room. And after finding the room to be a simple storage room without any frozen ones in it, I slide down to the floor while finally catching my breath.

Terminal, was it just me, or were those frozen ones purposefully trying to herd me down here?

|It would appear so.|

Yeah.

At this point I know there’s something wrong with this base. It’s almost as if the nest is some sort of trap.

One set for me.

The weaker frozen ones outside, then a couple types of frozen ones that I pretty much counter due to my inherent nature. Followed by a bunch of very powerful frozen ones practically herding me deeper inside as the place continues to fall apart behind me, trapping me in the process.

And if this is really the case…

I stand up again after catching my breath before looking around the storage room to see if there’s anything here that might be of use to me. But there doesn’t appear to be anything. Just a bunch of machine parts. And I’m no mechanic.

Damnit, I really shouldn’t have come into this base after all…

I grit my teeth before relaxing my jaw again and letting out a sigh. Then I head back over to the door and crack it open to look out into the hallway. But I don’t see anything. No serpents, none of those other frozen ones or any wraiths. Just a frost coated hallway with one end collapsed and frozen blocking the stairwell.

Although… why are they herding me instead of just killing me? I’m pretty sure those serpents were strong enough to kill me if they wanted to.

Then there’s the fact that they even can herd me in the first place. Because if those serpents really only have thermal vision, they shouldn’t even have been able to see me unless it was just that strong.

So someone may be guiding them.

And if that’s the case, they’re probably the source of that cold energy flooding the base.

Guess that most likely means there are other fully intelligent leaders of the frozen ones on the planet just like the one who was put underground and the one I killed. And that they’re now after me.

Considering that even the one that tried catching me before was trying to capture me and not kill me, this sequence of events makes more sense to me. But there’s still the issue of whether this energy source belongs to the one trying to capture me, or if it belongs to an underling of theirs.

Because if it’s the one trying to capture me, I may not be strong enough to fight back. Not if they’re as powerful as the one who was put underground back then, fighting that person working for the Sun God.

But if it’s not the one trying to capture me, or if they’re just plain not as powerful as him… I may have a chance.

And if nothing else, I should be able to get away.

Assuming they didn’t collapse the emergency exit.

Which is possible.

Damnit.

My thoughts are interrupted when my cold energy enhanced radio receives a signal and one of the higher ranking officer’s voices echoes out of it.

“First Lieutenant North, do you read?” Frist Lieutenant Maverick asks. One of the men I was helping train.

I quickly unclip my radio while hurrying carefully back into the storage room and quietly closing the door. Then I pull the radio to my mouth and answer, “Affirmative.”

The first lieutenant’s voice quickly returns again with relief obvious in it, “Good. Evacuate the base as soon as possible. The doctor believes it’s a trap.”

Little late there, bud.

“It’s too late, the frozen ones have been cutting off my escape route and herding me deeper inside,” I speak into the radio with a frown on my face. “I’m going to search for the emergency stairs on BF3.”

A brief pause fills the air before the first lieutenant states, “Understood. Reinforcements are en route. If you can’t make it to the exit, hold out until we get there.”

Then the line cuts off.

Well, there’s that at least.

Chapter 35

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The Meeting

Alexander North

I decide to use this time to recover in this storage room, letting my energy regenerate a bit. But I also make sure not to stay too long in it because of what happened the last time I did.

What with the frozen ones chasing me away when I tried.

If they really are trying to herd and trap me, they’re not gonna just let me sit still and regenerate my energy.

So I wait for about ten minutes in the storage room before the walls of the room itself begin to crack slightly and I immediately make my way out the door, not really having recovered much energy at all in the process. Then I slowly begin to make my way down the hall, feeling more than a little nervous this time around. But who wouldn’t when they’re knowingly walking into a trap?

Not much else I can do though. If I don’t then I’ll just be herded into the trap instead.

I continue walking through the hall for a bit, only to stiffen up the moment I reach the next intersection. Because there… isn’t really much of an intersection.

Uh…

In a hallway that is supposed to be splitting off into three different halls, this one… doesn’t. The three halls are all collapsed and there’s a hole in the floor leading down a floor. But I can already tell from up here that there isn’t much going on down there either. Just a hole in the wall leading to tunnels.

Yep. I’m definitely being herded here.

They’re not even leading me further into the base anymore. Just leading me into their own tunnels.

I grit my teeth, before glancing behind me, only to find the hallway not far behind me collapsing. Almost as if they’re telling me not to retreat.

Seriously?

That has me sighing before I turn around again and pull my radio out, pressing the talk button while raising it to my mouth.

“The frozen ones cut me off from the base and have herded me into tunnels branching out of the underground base,” I speak into the radio before waiting for a response.

And it doesn’t take long before the same officer from before answers, “Roger that. Stall for as long as you can, and make sure to keep your radio on so we can track the signal.”

“Understood,” I answer before clipping the radio on my belt again and slowly walking down to the lower floor and then into the tunnel, purposefully dragging my feet to go slower. Because I know they’re just gonna force me forwards if I don’t move at all.

They probably won’t do anything if I just move slowly though.

So I continue dragging my feet as I proceed into the tunnel, briefly pausing when I hear rumbling sounds from higher up. Most likely from the others arriving and heading down deeper.

They should have some devices to move the rubble with them.

To my surprise, I don’t find any frozen ones for a while. None of those serpents that ran, or rather, slithered away. Or any of those frozen ones I saw before in the base.

I’m a little nervous to be in the tunnels just because of the chance of a snake passing by where I am and gobbling me up, but if I’m being honest, it’s not really any worse than being in the base itself. Seeing as those snakes tore through the base walls like paper when passing through anyways.

Not to mention how many times they were bringing the roof down.

I do wonder though… how many of those serpents are there? If the serpent or serpents keep moving through the base like that, and they’re making these tunnels, how many are there? Is it just one? Or a bunch of them?

That thought has me frowning. The possibility that there could be multiple serpents instead of just one.

No matter how far I make it through the tunnel though, I don’t run into any of the serpents.

Instead I end up finding some elite wraiths. Like the one that chased after me a while back.

And I don’t just mean one.

There are dozens of elite wraiths just roaming around a large cavern underground. A natural looking one, except for the tunnel leading into it that I just entered through.

Meaning the cavern is probably a natural one that the serpents just dug into.

Honestly, I feel… uh… a little, probably more comfortable in this cavern than the tunnels. Simply because the walls are so much further away from me, so I don’t have to worry about an unexpected serpent attack.

Now if only all of these elite wraiths weren’t here staring at me with these creepy looks in their eyes.

Silence fills the cavern as the elite wraiths just kinda line up around the walls. Meanwhile two of those large serpents break through the walls and just stick their heads out into the cavern.

My eyes narrow and I tense up, my claws out.

But still, none of them do anything.

They just stare.

Then it happens.

Footsteps begin to echo from the tunnel on the other side of the cavern, making me tense up more and more until I finally spot the owner of the footsteps.

And the owner has me rather confused.

Because this frozen one looks very humanlike in appearance. She – and it’s obviously a female – has pale skin, pale blue and glowing veins, glowing blue eyes, long white hair, and claws with a single talon on each of her index fingers. And she’s actually a little shorter than I am.

She’s also clearly intelligent considering what’s happening, and how she’s looking at me.

The sapient frozen one slowly walks forward into the room, passing by the elite wraiths in the process. All of whom immediately bow down towards her as if she’s their leader.

Then she stops several meters into the cavern and looks me up and down.

“Looks like you’ve arrived,” she says, her voice sounding as cold as ice as it travels through the entire cavern. “So let’s begin.”

Chapter 36

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Contact

Alexander North

The female frozen one is actually wearing armor unlike any of the other frozen ones I’ve seen. Or to be accurate, she’s wearing armor that isn’t a part of her body. Armor that would be removable.

Or at least, looks like it is removable.

“Hybrid, you have two choices,” the frozen one says while idly tapping one of her talons on her thigh. “Come with me quietly or come with me half dead.” Her eyes narrow slightly. “Your choice.”

Hybrid? Guess she means the fact that I’m part frost infused and part not.

Interesting that they’re actually calling me that though.

“And if I chose a different option?” I ask, briefly glancing up at the ceiling of the tunnel when rumbling begins to echo from relatively far away. Likely from the others using explosives.

Which means the eternal winter isn’t currently covering this area. Since they wouldn’t be able to use explosives otherwise.

Cold energy just simply isn’t able to make explosives after all, so using cold energy as a fuel to fire explosives wouldn’t work.

The female frozen one doesn’t even bother to give me a response to my question. Just continues staring while tapping her talon on her thigh. A thigh that is covered in what looks like a pants sleeve mixed with some metal armor with a couple icicles sticking out of the flesh underneath.

Guess there are no other options in her mind. And she’s not gonna bother messing around.

So with that in mind, I look around at the surrounding frozen ones, getting a good look at each one of them. And in the process of doing that, I also make sure to pay attention to my other senses as well. Checking the energy signatures and power of every frozen one here.

But the energy source that is the intelligent frozen one overpowers them all way too much to do so.

At the very least though, I managed to find the source of that overwhelming energy source filling this entire nest.

It’s from her.

Which was to be expected. All things considered.

From what I can tell, her energy seems to be somewhere around the energy level of a Tier 4 Symbiont Host. Which likely means she’s the one leading the Secondary Nest nearby.

Probably means all of these frozen ones with her are from there as well. Leaving that Secondary Nest rather barren right now.

Unless she absorbed the crystal there before coming here? A likely possibility.

But at the same time, I’m not too sure about that. Because then the frozen ones would all spread out and it wouldn’t be a nest anymore. And she’s no doubt been here for a while setting up this trap, yet there was no word of the Secondary Nest dispersing.

“You have ten ticks,” she says, confusing me with what I’m assuming is her word for a time interval.

My eyes narrow ever so slightly. But I quickly look around the area, trying to feel out the elites here.

If I had to guess, those are the same as the elite wraith I fought over half a year ago. Meaning they’re likely weaker than a Tier 3 Symbiont Host. More along the lines of somewhere halfway between Tier 2 and Tier 3.

So I should be able to take on plenty of them.

But those serpents… I’m not sure. Especially with the intelligent frozen one here.

In the end, I don’t think I can win this. I won’t even have a chance.

Not on my own at least.

Since that’s the case, I make sure to keep my finger on the radio’s talk button as I ask, “Before I make any decisions, would you answer one question for me? Are you the Frozen One in charge of the larger nest nearby?”

My question seems to take her by surprise. And she actually answers after a brief second with a simple answer, “Yes. You have five ticks left.”

Not cutting the countdown for chatting, huh? A pity.

Then again, maybe she will for…

The radio that I’ve been palming for a while now beeps, making everyone in the cavern stare at it. Whether they’re sapient or not.

Then a voice comes through it, “Sapient Frozen One, release First Lieutenant North or we shall have to take him back by force.”

The female frozen one looks at the radio and frowns.

A second passes. Then two seconds.

Eventually her frown grows as she turns to look at me and asks, “Why is your box threatening me?”

Silence fills the cavern.

I blink in surprise as my mouth parts open ever so slightly. Only for me to close it again a few seconds later.

Meanwhile the radio has gone silent, the first lieutenant on the other side no doubt startled by this as well.

This frozen one has no idea what a radio is.

Also looks like the frozen one was surprised enough that she stopped that countdown of hers.

Convenient.

Didn’t expect the frozen ones to be ignorant towards technology though.

|It is most likely that the reason for that is due to technology’s inability to work within the eternal winter created by their god.|

Oh. Yeah, that would explain it.

They’re ignorant to technology because it’s never been able to work within their domain.

And since that’s the case… right as the walls and ceiling shake a little bit more, drawing their attention, I raise the radio up and say, “This box is a device that allows other people to speak from a long distance. And for them to hear us speak back to them.”

The sapient frozen one narrows her eyes slightly and stares for several seconds. Then she eventually asks, “Then the words spoken by the box were spoken by another warm one?”

She catches on faster than I would’ve expected from someone new to technology.

“That is correct,” the first lieutenant’s voice comes from the radio again, drawing her eye to it again. “Now will you comply with my demands, or will we be required to use force?”

The sapient frozen one stares for several more seconds before stating, “Force.”

And with that one simple word, a shard of ice forms in front of her and shoots out to pierce through my radio, knocking it right out of my hand and onto the floor.

Then the frozen ones around the cavern all begin growling and hissing – in the case of the serpents – as they start to move in towards me.

Only for the ceiling to cave in, revealing some sort of digging machine with a full force of dozens of soldiers from the base, along with a bunch of soldiers I don’t recognize.

Good timing.

Chapter 37

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Humans versus Frozen Ones

Alexander North

My earlier realization that the eternal winter is gone from the area right now is confirmed at the sight of the skies beyond the tunnel. Far beyond the tunnel. Meanwhile the soldiers all jump down one by one on ropes. With a couple war mechs that I actually don’t recognize jumping in after them.

Huh. Those things are barely ever used.

War mechs are large machines controlled by a symbiont by using some of the symbiont’s power to move it. They’re in the form of large robots spanning at least five meters in height with blades as arms. Kind of similar to the elite wraiths actually.

Guess they got those working with cold energy somehow. I heard they were having problems with them due to the opposing energy in the symbionts.

That aside, everyone forms a large circle around me before someone who I don’t recognize jumps down after everyone else is already inside. Someone who is wearing an insignia that clearly represents a lieutenant colonel. And he doesn’t have any sort of helmet on revealing his face to everyone here.

The lieutenant colonel is wearing standard armor and has white hair with blue ring eyes. But what stands out most from him is the wings made of ice on his back.

Interesting. A mutant.

This must be the leader of Beta Base. The Tier 3 Symbiont Host turned mutant.

I can’t judge his exact strength though. Not with that sapient frozen one’s energy still filling the room.

And speaking of that frozen one, I return my focus to her to find the creature frowning. Clearly unhappy with this turn of events.

Then she just sighs and points at us, making the elite wraiths immediately surge forwards to attack. Meanwhile the soldiers all open fire on the frozen ones. Proving to have a much easier time here outside of the eternal winter than they would’ve had inside of it.

They still take a lot of casualties with the first blows though, since they are still just Tier 2 Symbiont Host soldiers.

I rush forwards, tearing the throats out of a few elite wraiths on the way until I make it to one of the serpents the moment it bursts out of the wall towards the soldiers. And I immediately send arcs of cold energy at the thing in various locations while it’s soaring through the air. Some aimed at its head, some the part connecting its head, others at its eyes, and others its mouth. But the only ones that do any damage are those that hit its eyes. Since it closes its mouth to block the one heading there, and while it tries to close its eyes, it doesn’t help much.

The ones that attack its outer hide though don’t do anything.

Looks like my cold energy won’t do much against the serpent. I wish I could tell how powerful it is.

There isn’t much of a way to tell. Not with the sapient frozen one here with her energy coating the cavern.

When the thing crashes into me though – with its mouth still closed due to my arcs of energy – I quickly find that it is stronger than me physically as I’m sent flying backwards. Straight through a bunch of soldiers and elite wraiths.

The elite wraiths are all twisted and badly hurt from my little trip, but surprisingly, the soldiers aren’t. Likely due to their armor activating at the last minute.

Then the serpent ignores all of the soldiers and slithers right towards me, with the other serpent turning its attention to me as well.

Leaving me in a rather unpleasant situation.

My eyes narrow as I turn from one serpent to another, briefly ignoring the soldiers and only keeping an eye on the elite wraiths. Just in case they turn their attention to me.

Right as I’m trying to figure out how to deal with the serpents though, the two mechs rush forwards and clash, each with one serpent apiece.

About time they joined the fray.

I quickly begin to deal with some of the elite wraiths near me to help out the soldiers. And after enough of them have been trimmed down, I help one of the mechs with a serpent. Jumping on and grabbing onto its lower tail while it’s bashing its head against the mech. Then I yank my arm back and stab it straight down into the serpent, digging through its scales with my own claws at the overlayed point between scales.

The serpent lets out a screech, only for the mech to take advantage of the screech to stab its blade into the roof of its mouth. Making the serpent drop down, losing all of its strength in that one blow.

And one serpent down.

I rip my hand back out of the serpent’s back before jumping off and landing on the floor of the cavern. Then I glance at the mech that is currently rushing over to help the other mech with the other serpent. A fight that won’t take long with two mechs fighting against it.

So I focus my attention once more on the sapient frozen one. Only to frown when I find her watching me with curiosity. Not even sparing the lieutenant colonel a glance as he makes a fool of himself trying to fight her with both cold energy abilities like creating shards of ice that he launches at her and using his own sword to fight. But she just blocks them all with her damned fingers.

And it’s obvious that she is toying with him. She’s just grabbing his sword with her index finger and thumb before moving it away.

She isn’t breaking the sword, nor is she trying to throw his sword out of his reach.

It’s like she’s waiting for me. Despite all of her frozen one forces dying off.

That’s not a good sign.

I immediately begin to run over there before stopping when I break out away from the other soldiers and frozen ones. But her gaze follows me the entire way.

All the way till I find myself standing in front of her.

“Done playing around?” she asks while tilting her head slightly, her fingers finally pinching the blade and not letting it go. “Then let’s begin again.”

Chapter 38

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Spared

Alexander North

The mutant lieutenant colonel grits his teeth as he tries to move his sword, but the thing doesn’t even so much as budge no matter how much strength he puts in it. Then the frozen one just pinches her fingers a little harder, vines of ice snake across the sword. And when the vines reach the lieutenant colonel’s hands, they begin to stretch across his arms as well.

I narrow my eyes as he appears to try letting go of his sword, but his arms remain frozen to the sword, and he fails to break contact.

So I send out several arcs of cold energy right at the sword, only for it to not do anything to the ice. Just like the frozen walls of the base above us.

The battle behind us continues with the mechs giving our side the clear advantage, but the sapient frozen one just continues to watch me as the frozen vines snake across the lieutenant colonel’s body.

I rush forwards to attack with my claws, but I’m still not strong enough to break the vines. Leaving me gritting my teeth from the force of the impact of my hands on the frozen vines.

It doesn’t end there though as the vines begin to try sneaking their way across my hands as well.

Then a loud snarling sound comes from the hole above us and a shadow envelops the three of us. One that I quickly learn belongs to Snow as she chomps down right on the sword, shattering it and the ice coating it in one chomp.

Snow doesn’t waste any time spitting the remnants of the sword and ice out of her mouth before backing up alongside me. But by now, over half of the lieutenant colonel’s body is frozen in vines of ice. Making it impossible for me to free him right now.

I grit my teeth, only to feel a little surprised when the sapient frozen one merely looks at Snow with surprise clear on her face. Completely ignoring the frozen mutant officer next to her as if he wasn’t even there.

It doesn’t take me long to realize what she’s thinking though. Even with me largely forgetting about it myself since I left Snow at the base most of the time.

Snow is special because I temporarily made her that way by sacrificing a small amount of my energy for her to keep her self-control.

After a few seconds, the sapient frozen one turns her gaze to me from Snow with more interest on her face now. Then she takes a step backwards while saying, “It would appear you’re more unique than my brother and I gave you credit for.”

I briefly glance around us to find the other soldiers and the mechs finishing up the last of the frozen ones in the room and turning their attention towards us. But I keep my focus on the sapient frozen one in case she tries anything.

She doesn’t, though, which leaves me feeling rather confused.

Instead, she just slowly backs away, walking backwards towards the dark tunnel behind her.

Once she reaches the mouth of the tunnel, she comes to a halt and says, “A hybrid of the warm ones and a frozen lord. Be grateful to His Eminence, for he has decreed that you must be left to your own devices for now.”

I blink at that before frowning.

His eminence? Who is that? Is it their god? Cocytus?

Why would he give the order for me to be left alone?

And only after she saw Snow… also, what’s this about a frozen lord?

“Be warned, though, for you are only to be left to your own devices should you remain outside of a lord’s nest,” she states, her cold eyes narrowing at me ever so slightly as one of the mechs works to free the mutant lieutenant colonel from the ice vines. “The moment you step inside of my nest, you’re fair game again.”

Then she steps backwards again, leaving the cavern into the tunnel.

But not without leaving one last statement behind.

“Next time, anomaly.”

And with those words, the entrance to the tunnel she just entered freezes solid. Making it so that no one is able to follow her. Even when soldiers open fire on the ice, not leaving a single mark on it in the process.

I frown at the ice before turning to look at Snow, who is currently marching right on over to the frozen lieutenant colonel. At which point I realize the mechs aren’t getting anywhere with the icy vines.

The people near the lieutenant colonel surprisingly don’t seem wary of Snow even as she approaches. Or at least, the soldiers I recognize from Delta Base don’t seem wary. Those from Beta Base are a tiny bit wary, but they let her approach regardless.

After the mechs stop working, Snow casually steps up and chomps down on some of the vines of ice before slowly eating the ice. A process that takes more than a little time.

I feel a little surprised by her eating of the vines, but I walk over anyways to help clear the vines with my own claws.

While I try working away at the vines though, I can’t help but glance at Snow. Quietly wondering when she got this strong.

Did someone feed her something while I was gone? Also, the whole frozen lord thing, is that because of how I let her keep her normal intelligence without going berserk?

Then there’s the bit about her god giving her an order here during our battle. Does that mean their god, Cocytus, can see whatever they see? Is he all-seeing? Or maybe he’s just in contact with all of the sapient frozen ones?

There’re just too many questions here and not enough answers.

But at the very least, I managed to make it out of the trap in one piece.

And I can still sense that crystal nearby, so I could get something out of this too.

Other than the many questions this whole confrontation has raised.

For now, though, I focus on slowly freeing the lieutenant colonel whose mouth is covered by ice vines.

Chapter 39

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Cold Energy Immunity

Alexander North

“So the sapient frozen ones have a name for themselves…” the lieutenant colonel mutters with a frown on his face after I free him from the ice vines. “Frozen Lords.”

“Affirmative, sir,” I respond while standing rather stiffly and holding myself back from glancing in the direction of the tunnel I can tell leads to the crystal. Because that would be a breach of military etiquette.

Not that I’m all about etiquette or anything. But this guy did come to help me. So it’s best not to be rude to the man.

The man starts to mutter to himself while pacing, stating things that I’m sure are related to the situation at his own base, but I have no idea what really mean since I’m not a part of said base. And he’s not exactly making it very clear.

Then again, it is clear that he isn’t talking to me.

So I glance at the first lieutenant, only to find the man simply nodding his head in the direction of the tunnel leading to the crystal. Subtly giving me permission to leave.

Well, if the lieutenant colonel wants to mutter to himself like that and break etiquette, then it’s fine for me to do so as well. Especially when the lieutenant gives a signal like that.

And the looks the other soldiers, who are dealing with moving the corpses of the frozen ones onto loading trays to move them above ground, are giving both me and the man make me wonder if this is normal behavior for him. Which I wouldn’t have expected from someone with his appearance.

Guess it’s better not to judge a book by its cover.

Then again, considering how I look with my black eyes and the blue rings in them, that kind of goes without saying.

Well, putting that aside, I march into the tunnel, leaving the soldiers behind to do their jobs. And I continue marching through it until I eventually find the source of the cold energy.

A faint smile stretches across my face at the sight of it. Of the biggest crystal I’ve ever seen thus far.

It’s so big that it’s larger than I am. Which – from my past experience eating these things – tends to mean it’s the strongest. Since the bigger ones I ate before always had the strongest effect.

The strongest abilities.

Although…

My smile doesn’t last very long as I remember the fact that I’m gonna have to eat this thing.

I frown at the crystal for several seconds before eventually sighing and stepping up to it.

Fortunately for me, the crystal is already fully grown. So I won’t have to wait for it to grow.

When I reach the thing, I stretch my hand forwards and try to dig into it. Only for the terminal to stop me at the last second.

|The purity of the crystal will decrease should you attempt to pick the crystal apart with your hands.|

I frown at that.

“Why?” I ask out loud while pulling my hand back.

|It has been determined that the crystal reacts to saliva, sealing itself up when contact with saliva has been made.|

Oh.

So if I were to try tearing it apart with my hands and eating it that way, the energy would leak out. Meaning I have to actually bite it directly.

That’s not gonna be fun. Eating something this large with just my mouth.

Just the thought alone has me grimacing. But I have to do what I have to do.

So I immediately get to work chomping down on it.

Minutes pass, then hours, and throughout the process, a soldier occasionally comes in to check on me, only to hurriedly leave when he sees what I’m doing. Clearly not telling anyone else about the specifics of what I’m doing judging by each consecutive reaction.

Eventually I finish eating the stupid crystal, and when I do, a heat energy envelops my entire body. Something that hasn’t really happened before when absorbing these crystals, since it usually focuses on one particular area. Like my claws or eyes or something.

The warmth heats up more and more before suddenly growing ice cold. But it feels comfortable to me despite being ice cold.

So very comfortable.

|Analyzing new ability...|

I wonder what it is?

The crystal being this big, it has to be pretty good.

I wait for several minutes as I feel the terminal going at full force trying to analyze my body. And after ten minutes pass, it finally comes back to me.

|New ability has been analyzed. You now have the ability designated by this unit as ‘Cold Energy Immunity’.|

Excuse me, what?

|You now have the ability designated by this unit...|

Don’t just repeat what you’ve already said. Explain what the ability means.

|The new ability known as ‘Cold Energy Immunity’ grants the user, Alexander North, an increased immunity towards all forms of cold energy. This includes an increased immunity to all attacks using cold energy dealt by frozen ones.|

I stare at the empty space where the crystal was not too long ago for a little while. Then a faint smile stretches across my face.

Okay, in that case, this ability is definitely worth it.

But I still need to test just how much this immunity helps me. Because for all I know it could only be a very small immunity.

One possibility after another crosses my mind as I turn around and begin walking away, towards the tunnel. Each being situations that I’ve been in where an ability like this could’ve come in handy.

I know that most frozen ones already are more resistant to cold energy than regular humans, but to have an ability from a crystal this large strictly for it… I seriously hope I’m not disappointed by this.

Once I get back to the cavern, I find almost everyone already gone. Leaving no one but the lieutenant colonel, first lieutenant, and Snow behind.

Right. Now that that’s done, it’s time to really meet the lieutenant colonel.

Since he’s no longer lost in his own head.

Chapter 40

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Promotion and Test

Alexander North

“First Lieutenant North, under the shared agreement of three bases, you have been granted the special designation of Frozen Consultant,” the lieutenant colonel says, his similar eyes to my own staring straight into my eyes. “From here on, you will be exempt from all military commands so long as your actions result in progress towards dealing with the frozen one problems we are facing.”

My mouth parts open for a second before closing again in my surprise.

Then I try hard to hold myself back from smiling.

Excellent. Now I can act as I please without orders.

Although I’m pretty sure this promotion was a way for them to uphold authority. Since I’m stronger than all of the officers on this planet, including the ones who are higher ranked than me.

Meaning they can’t actually do anything to force me into doing anything I don’t want to do. So they went and gave me a rank that would give an excuse for me not following orders to uphold their own honor.

It also appeases me and gets on my good side by giving me freedom.

So it’s a win on both sides.

Even if I’m sure they would rather be able to control me. But that’s just not gonna happen.

“Thank you, sir,” I tell the lieutenant colonel with a salute. “I will strive to serve in my role to the best of my ability.”

The man looks me over once before nodding once and beginning to leave.

Through a rather surprising means.

I blink at the sight of the man flapping those wings of ice and flying through the air out of the hole.

Huh. Guess those wings aren’t just for show.

Kind of assumed they were, what with them being made out of ice and all.

Then again, physics itself has been breaking for a while now due to the eternal winter. So being able to fly with fragile looking wings of ice isn’t too weird.

I turn towards Snow when she begins rubbing her head against my arm, making me pet her in return. And as I do that, my thoughts return to the topic that the sapient frozen one – a Frozen Lord apparently – brought up.

“Thank you, Snow,” I whisper to the not-so-little girl, seemingly confusing her.

Snow likely saved us all when she showed up. Since I highly doubt we would’ve stood a chance against that Frozen Lord.

She was just too powerful.

So if Snow hadn’t shown up, she would’ve slaughtered everyone here but me. Then she would’ve taken me with her to wherever she was planning on bringing me.

Likely to that god of hers.

Cocytus, I believe his name was.

That said, it is rather interesting. The fact that I’m not just part frozen one, but part Frozen Lord.

I narrow my eyes ever so slightly at Snow before smiling.

Maybe I can take advantage of this. Make more semi-sapient frozen ones like Snow.

Only the stronger frozen ones will do. Because I can’t waste my energy like that, what with it taking a permanent portion of my energy with each one I ‘turn’. Even if it isn’t a large amount.

But if I can grow stronger by hunting and find powerful frozen ones to turn at the same time… I could stand a chance against a Frozen Lord.

It will likely take a very long time for me to stand any sort of chance against the one we just got trounced by, though. So most likely a different Frozen Lord.

I’m not sure why their god is giving me this chance to grow stronger, but I will take it. Even if that is likely what their god wants me to do. Considering that they’re giving me the chance in the first place.

I feel my fist clenching at my side before I let go of Snow with my other hand and take a step back, looking up at the hole in the ceiling.

Now that I’ve dealt with this nest, I think I need a short break. Maybe a day or so off.

Then I can get back to hunting the nests that are further away.

I can also check up on Alexia during that time. See how she’s faring and how her training is going.

But first, before all of that, I need to test my new ability. So I jump straight up into the air, clearing my way towards close to the top of the wall before I jump off of the wall and enter the hole in the ceiling. And I quickly hear Snow following after me.

After I leave the hole, I move on to search for some nearby frozen ones. Preferably stronger ones that can actually cause me harm.

A search that proves to be rather difficult, and in the end leads me to another smaller mini nest nearby. One that doesn’t have a crystal but just a semi-sapient frozen one like Snow leading it.

Almost like a pack.

Interesting. And it’ll make for a good test subject for my new ability.

So without hesitation I slaughter my way through the mini nest until I reach the semi-sapient frozen one, which is some sort of large spider. One that brings back some rather poor memories of the past when it jumps on me.

Fortunately it doesn’t self-destruct like the spiders I remember from the base.

Mostly just fortunately for my gear, though. Because their self-destruction didn’t affect me even back then.

Instead of self-destructing, this spider begins sticking some sort of cold energy infused silk to me.

But to the spider’s confusion, it doesn’t actually do anything to me.

Interesting.

This spider is probably a few points weaker than me in most stats, so it’s not weak. And whatever its ability was supposed to do isn’t doing anything.

Looks like this new ability of mine is the real deal after all.

My lips quirk upwards at that thought as Snow growls at the spider.

Not bad.

Intermission 2

Somewhere on Arran

Craolyx frowns as she taps her talons on the throne she’s seated upon, simply looking out at the array of six different floating blocks of ice. Each of which shows the image of one of the other upper ranked Frozen Lords situated in the world.

The images all show incredibly inhuman-looking creatures, ranging all the way from a massive draconic creature standing on four legs with two wings and a tail, all the way to a tiny blue creature made of ice that constantly shifts form without staying in one shape for more than a few seconds. And everyone of them can be seen looking at Craolyx with displeasure on their faces. For the ones that have faces.

“You let that creature go free?” the eldest of the Frozen Lords on the planet, a dracrao creature with the appearance of a dragon from warm one mythology, speaks. His voice reverberating strongly throughout the chamber Craolyx is in. “Explain.”

“It was by His will,” Craolyx answers without any pause, making the others freeze up.

The hard look in Dragron’s eyes softens as he states, “In that case, relay the Excellency’s words to us.”

“The Esteemed One has declared that the Frozen Lord and warm one hybrid is to be left to his own devices unless he enters a fellow Frozen Lord’s territory,” Craolyx declares, shocking every Frozen Lord there with the revelation that the hybrid isn’t just part cold one and part warm one, but part Frozen Lord. “And should he enter a fellow Frozen Lord’s territory, only the Frozen Lord whose territory he has invaded shall have free reign over him.” Then she frowns slightly. “No one is allowed to kill him as he is to be brought to the Esteemed One in the future.”

Her words bring silence throughout the entire frozen chamber as the various Frozen Lords ponder over her words.

After nearly an entire minute has passed, however, another Frozen Lord speaks up. One with the form of a large turtle covered in spikes of ice.

“Then are we supposed to simply allow the hybrid free reign over our crystals?” Craax asks, the turtle’s eyes narrowing more than a little at Craolyx.

But Craolyx simply glances at him and answers, “If you don’t wish for your crystals to be taken, defend them better. It’s as simple as that.” Then she looks at every Frozen Lord present and declares, “We are to treat him as we would another Frozen Lord for the time being, with exceptions made when he enters our territories. This is His will, and there will be no voices against it.”

All of the Frozen ones nod their head and repeat, “By His will, so it will be.”

Because for the frozen ones, Cocytus’s will is law.

“Moving on to the next subject of this meeting,” Dragron declares, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly. “Report your progress on the plan and any updates about the Sun God’s Holy Vanguard.”

“The Holy Vanguard has been in a deep slumber ever since its clash with my brother, Cryonix” Craolyx states, a frown on her face as she remembers her brother, who is also in a deep slumber. “And neither of them have shown any signs of waking up any time soon. It is also impossible to get close enough to the Holy Vanguard to harm it due to the vast amount of heat energy let off by its body. Therefore in order to approach, we must grow stronger or request for a new Vanguard to be sent.”

“The Winter God has no time for a fringe world such as this to send a second Vanguard here,” Dragron immediately shoots down that option.

“Then we are left waiting for my brother to awaken from his slumber,” Craolyx declares, her frown ever present. Then she turns to look at the small frozen one whose form is simply made of ice as she asks, “Crao, what of the plan?”

Seconds pass in silence as the Frozen Lord in question simply ignores her, not bothering to give her an answer.

“Crao, answer her question,” Dragron declares with a slight growl in his voice. Clearly not happy with the politics of Frozen Lords getting in the way of the meeting, even though he, too, has little goodwill for a Frozen Lord who looks so much like a human like Craolyx.

Crao soon answers without much hesitation, its voice soon echoing through the room in a monotonous and androgynous manner, “Preparations are underway for the conversion of the planet. Estimated time until completion is five years. Should this one be interrupted before then, preparations will be doubled in time taken.”

Craolyx glares at Crao, but the formless Frozen Lord simply ignores her glare. Meanwhile Dragron ignores their wordless bickering as he turns his question on the others involved directly in the plan, “And you, Voxil and Voxal?”

Both Frozen Lord twins, each having the forms of highly advanced wraiths with cold energy blades as their arms and heads that look eerily like helmets with the only clear differences being their genders, answer simultaneously despite being from different blocks of ice, “Progressing.”

Dragron stares without saying anything.

“We are searching for crystals with the effects of cold immunity,” Voxil answers, only for Voxal to take over for her brother, “however, we have not been able to find any thus far beyond weak and useless crystals.” Then Voxil takes over once again for his sister, “For the plan to succeed, the Frozen Lord conducting it must have a stronger cold immunity than any of us presently have.” And they both finish simultaneously. “Assistance would be appreciated for the search.”

“Very well,” Dragron states before narrowing his eyes a little. “Larx, aid the twins.”

His statement makes the Frozen Lord with the appearance of a large spider raise one hand and give a salute without a word before lowering his leg again and returning to his peaceful stillness.

“With that, this meeting has hereby concluded,” Dragron declares, following which each of the blocks of ice shatter, dissipating the images on them.

Leaving Craolyx alone in her chamber as she lets out a sigh.

Chapter 41

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Training

Alexander North

After testing out my new ability for a little bit, finding that it is actually quite powerful in the process, I head over towards the base on top of Snow’s back. And when we arrive, the soldiers at the gate immediately let us in. Then I have Snow lead us to where Alexia is.

Which turns out to be the training facility. A rather convenient coincidence since I was also wanting to give some more tips to the soldiers here.

So Snow and I head straight there before finding Alexia training with the soldiers in a large obstacle course. And I have to say, seeing a twelve-year-old girl keeping up with a bunch of Symbiont Host grown men is a bizarre sight.

Very bizarre.

I walk around the edges of the room holding the obstacle course – one with a bunch of water around most of the room’s floor with dozens of different obstacles of different types scattered over the water – as I watch them all maneuver the course. Paying a bit more attention to Alexia than the others.

Out of all the soldiers, a few of them in particular stand out to me. One of which is the officer who led the charge against me in our first training bout.

Sergeant Frank Rogers.

He’s doing quite well, although I can tell he’s a bit better at commanding than he is at action. But he’s still keeping up rather well, and is actually ahead of some of the others.

As for the idiots before who ignored his orders in our first training bout? They’ve grown a lot since.

And I’m sure my beatings, err, training sessions had nothing to do with that.

I slowly pace around the outskirts of the course, ignoring the looks some of the soldiers are sending me. Other than narrowing my eyes slightly when one of the idiots gets distracted by the sight of me and falls.

This particular course was made with multiple things in mind.

It’s not just a ‘run through the course and make it to the end’ obstacle course. Instead, the people running through it have to work together.

There are various points on the obstacle course that require multiple people to be there for other points to open up and allow access. And it’s like a game of going through the course while making sure they open up all of the paths so that they can get to the end.

At the same time, there are also several paintball guns with soldiers stationed on them and turrets that fire upon the obstacle course. So when someone is marked three or more times, they’re out. Or if they’re marked in a critical location, they’re out.

And if all that wasn’t enough, there’s also a return fire portion. Where the soldiers running through the course need to fire back sometimes in order to open some gates.

Overall, it’s a rather difficult course. So I’m kinda surprised Alexia is already running through it.

Then again, I’ve been gone most of the time fighting against the nests.

A faint smile stretches across my face as I watch Alexia run through the course. One that only occasionally twitches when I see one of the other soldiers making a mistake.

But Alexia doesn’t make a single mistake. Whether that’s because of her pure talent, or because she’s a frost infused like me, I’m not sure.

Either way, I can’t help but feel a strange feeling. A strange sort of warmth as I fail to stop myself from smiling.

|This unit believes the feeling the user is feeling is called ‘a father’s pride’.|

My smile vanishes as I blink forwards, wondering if I just heard the terminal right.

I’m… not sure which I should comment on first. The fact that the terminal is talking about emotions, or the fact that it said I’m feeling pride as a father for Alexia.

Honestly… don’t know how to take either of those. Although the latter does sorta sound right. I think.

The former, on the other hand, makes me wonder just how many differences are in the terminal now from how it was before.

I frown for a few more seconds, only to smile when I see Alexia briefly waving at me after getting to a safe spot. Then she proceeds to wait a few seconds while holding a gun in her hands. Waiting for the order from Sergeant Rogers.

And when he gives the order, she rushes out from behind cover, shoots paintballs at several targets, which opens two gates in the process before more soldiers flood through those openings and open more gates including the one she’s stuck at.

A rather successful operation, I have to admit.

Also likely a plan of Rogers’. If I had to guess.

I glance at Snow to find her just sitting down next to me, watching them with her eyes following them. Then I glance at the entrance to the training room, where I find Cynthia walking into the room while nodding her head at me.

I nod back at my cousin before focusing on Alexia again.

“She’s grown a lot in just a short time, hasn’t she?” Cynthia asks, sounding a little proud herself.

I nod again before muttering, “Yeah, that she has.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Cynthia smiling at me. But I don’t turn to face her.

Instead I focus on the soldiers and Alexia in the obstacle course. As they all clear the last obstacles, only occasionally losing a soldier.

And when they finally make it to the end, I count half of them missing.

“Not good enough,” I call out, my voice echoing through the training facility obstacle course room. Making all of the soldiers turn a little glum. “Nowhere near good enough.”

Before they can get depressed or upset, though, I add, “But.”

They all pause and turn to stare at me. Especially Alexia.

“But it’s a major improvement from where you started,” I tell them, the corner of my lips quirking upwards a little.

They all look rather happy at that, so I leave it there.

I smile at Alexia, making her smile back before she heads off with the others to change out of her gear, mouthing ‘later’ to me as she does so.

At which point, I turn to face Cynthia.

Best tell her about what happened on the mission in case she isn’t aware yet.

Chapter 42

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Decisions

Alexander North

“I see…” Cynthia mutters, looking down while covering the lower half of her face. “I was aware of most of that, but the information about what the Frozen Lords are capable of doing is news to me.”

“Hmm,” I hum, glancing at the side of the room where I see Alexia coming out of the women’s changing room while wearing a regular set of clothing without any armor. “It’s how I got Snow to return to her senses.”

Snow lets out a little whine while rubbing her head against my leg, making me pet her as Alexia arrives to join us. The girl jumping at me, startling me in the process even when I catch her in my arms.

She wraps her arms around my neck while muttering, “I’m glad you’re back safe, Dad. I was worried when I heard you were in a trap.”

I pat her back with a faint smile stretching across my face. Only to wipe that smile away when I find Cynthia grinning at me and mouthing ‘father’.

Putting Cynthia’s playfulness aside, I ask either of the two, “Did anything happen while I was away?”

I feel Alexia shaking her head before she moves back a little, allowing me to see her face as she answers, “Nope. It was rather boring, actually.”

That has the corner of my lip trying to quirk upwards again. But I hold it back.

Instead I glance at the other soldiers who are coming out of their respective changing rooms and moving to stand at attention before me.

“No need,” I tell them with a wave of my hand. “I’ll give you your instructions tomorrow. For now, you’re dismissed.”

“Sir!” they all shout before walking away, leaving the training room and entering the main training center. With many leaving the training center entirely afterwards.

I take a moment to watch them leave before focusing on Alexia and saying, “I’ll likely be staying here for a few days. Then I’ll be going out hunting for nests further away from the base.”

My words immediately take the excitement out of the girl as she slumps over in my arms.

“Don’t worry, it won’t be anywhere near as dangerous as my last trip,” I tell her while patting her back. “The stronger frozen ones, known now as Frozen Lords, have been ordered by their god to leave me alone when I’m not in their territory.”

She pulls back a little, a sad look still on her face. But now the look is mixed with a bit of confusion. So I go ahead and go over everything that happened in the last mission. And after taking several minutes to explain it, she looks a lot calmer.

Calm enough that she relaxes again and mutters to herself, “I wonder if I’m part Frozen Lord as well…”

I blink at that before frowning myself.

Huh. Didn’t think about that. But it’s highly likely that she is. What with her taking in my energy and all.

Terminal?

|This unit needs more data for a complete conclusion. However, it is most likely that the child is the same as Alexander.|

Thought so. Which makes me a little hesitant about taking her out of the base…

But at the same time, it makes me hesitant about leaving her here too.

A real conundrum both ways.

Especially since I work better alone nowadays.

On that note, I glance at Cynthia and ask, “How are they doing?”

She shakes her head, answering right away, “Still unconscious.”

Damn. Was really hoping they’d be awake again by the time I returned.

I let out a sigh before looking up at the ceiling in thought.

At the rate things are going, along with how the Frozen Lords have been ordered to leave me be unless I enter their territory, it would likely be safest for her to travel with me now. Instead of staying at the base.

But…

I glance at her as she pulls out a cell phone and starts playing on it. A device that isn’t seen as often amongst those with terminals since terminals are so useful.

She obviously doesn’t have a terminal, though. And I’m not sure if it would even be possible to give her one. Considering the fact that she isn’t human.

My own terminal ended up mutated and gaining some sapience after all.

There’s no telling what would happen for her.

Alexia plays on her phone for a little while before I let out a sigh, catching both her and Cynthia’s attention as Cynthia no doubt messes with her terminal. Then I finally ask Alexia, “Would you like to come with me on my next trip?”

She immediately perks up at that and begins smiling as she wraps her arms around me and exclaims, “Yes!!!”

Thought so.

I glance at Cynthia to find her wryly smiling.

“You know I’ll be coming as well,” she says without really giving me the option of saying no. So I just nod my head.

She’s worried about Alexia. And I have the authority to bring her with me now.

Best to just let her come with.

There are still a couple things I’m worried about, but overall, I think this is the best way to go about things. Doing it this way gives me the chance to let Alexia grow stronger while protecting her and growing stronger myself.

And Cynthia can just do her own thing and work on her Symbiont while we do this.

I might even get Alexia a couple abilities while we’re at it. Even if I’ll still prioritize growing stronger myself. Since I’d rather be able to protect them myself.

Especially when I’m the focus of the Frozen Lords right now.

But on that note, I have to wonder about my new ability. About whether it’s common amongst frozen ones or not.

An interesting question.

It probably is. Although likely not a crystal this big and therefore an ability this powerful.

I look up at the ceiling with a frown on my face for a few seconds before shaking my head and telling the girls, “Let’s go tell the doctor.”

They both nod and we all begin leaving the training center, heading towards the doctor’s office.

Chapter 43

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

New Nests

Alexander North

“Are you sure about this?” the doctor asks as soon as I finish relaying everything to her. Both about my plan to take both Cynthia and Alexia away with me from the base and about the exact details of a Frozen Lord. Since she wanted a first-hand account.

“I am,” I tell her with a nod, no longer being as strict and formal around her thanks to my promotion. Since she can’t give me direct orders anymore.

“Very well then,” she says with a sigh, glancing down at a document on her desk with a dark look on her face. “You’re welcome back at any time. We’ll take care of your friends in the meantime.”

“Much appreciated, doctor,” I tell her while glancing at the document myself and finding it to be a report about more nests appearing around the capital. Along with some appearing within the capital. And even more appearing further away from this base.

But what’s strange about it is that no nests are appearing around the base we’re in now. Around Delta base.

The doctor looks up at me from the document before sighing again and answering my unasked question, “The nests have been appearing all over the place ever since your run-in with that Frozen Lord. It’s unclear to us why, and a lot of the other bases are too afraid to get near them in order to find out. At least until we grow our strength again.”

Hmm. Right. We don’t have many strong Symbiont Hosts anymore ever since the colonel died.

At most we have one or two Tier 3 Symbiont Hosts. Meanwhile each one of those Frozen Lords should be at least Tier 3, if not Tier 4 in relative strength.

So there isn’t much we can do against them.

Even I’m only a bit stronger than a Tier 3 Symbiont Host would be.

I frown at that thought as I remember how strong that Frozen Lord was in comparison to myself. As I remember how easily she defeated us.

It’s clear that some Frozen Lords are stronger than others though. Just judging by the one I took down with me before I entered my coma.

Assuming that was even a Frozen Lord. It could’ve just been a sapient frozen one for all I know.

Either way, the humans are outmatched in this war.

I think back to my father again, wondering how he’s doing.

As if reading my mind, the doctor suddenly brightens up and looks me directly in the eyes as she adds, “Oh, and you might want to know this, but we’ve finally made some headway into reopening communications with other worlds.”

I stare at her for a second before suddenly smiling and stating, “That’s good.”

“If all goes well, you should be able to contact your father in the next month or so,” she continues while digging around for something on her desk. “We have at least been able to confirm that he is still alive. Although how we confirmed that is confidential.”

I stare at her for a bit longer, hoping that she’ll decide that it doesn’t matter if it’s confidential or not. But the woman doesn’t budge. And I don’t feel like threatening her or abusing my power just for some random information that likely doesn’t even matter.

After all, what matters right now is that Dad’s alive.

My smile grows wider at the thought.

Then my smile instantly vanishes the moment the doctor adds, “You should probably tell him about your daughter when you next speak.” And when my eyes meet hers, she smiles. “I know if my son ever suddenly brought a daughter with him that I never knew about I’d be rather shocked.”

She has… a point…

How exactly am I going to tell him that I sorta adopted a kid in the middle of the apocalypse?

I glance down at my feet, unsure about what to do. Only for the doctor to speak as I do so, “I doubt he’ll be upset or anything. I’d be overjoyed to have another member of the family, and from what I hear about the General, he likely will be too.”

She’s likely right about that. But still.

Doesn’t change the fact that I don’t know how to introduce her.

In any case, I go ahead and give the doctor a salute as I say, “It was a pleasure serving here, doctor.”

Her smile dims a little before she nods, replying, “It was a pleasure to have you here, Lieutenant North.”

I can tell just by the look on her face and how she said it that there’s more she’s left unsaid. Specifically that they wish I would stay for longer.

But I simply give her one more nod before turning around and beginning to walk away.

Terminal, did you make note of the locations of the nests in that document?

|Affirmative.|

Good job.

Definitely one nice benefit of having a sapient terminal.

|The list of benefits I provide is-|

I know. You’re a very useful terminal.

Somehow I feel a sense of satisfaction coming from the terminal at that thought that almost makes me pause mid-step at the doorway. But I keep walking anyways, soon finding both Alexia and Cynthia outside waiting for me while chatting.

Both of them quickly finish their conversation before turning to me as I approach. And the looks on their faces are clearly asking me how the chat went.

I nod to both of them and say, “We’re heading out. I found the locations of numerous newly created nests where we can hunt.”

They glance at each other before turning to me and nodding.

“Where to first?” Cynthia asks as we begin to walk down the hall of the base.

Terminal, where’s the closest nest that Alexia could handle?

|Ninety kilometers to the East.|

“To the East,” I answer her without pausing in my step. “We should start with the weaker nests for Alexia to get used to them.”

Both girls nod as we walk.

Time to go back to hunting again.

Except with some others this time.

Chapter 44

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Training

Alexander North

Our trip outside of the base’s walls reminds me of more than one thing.

First, it’s the first time in a while that I’m traveling with a regular human. Albeit a Symbiont Host. And that reminds me of the very simple fact that it’s cold outside.

Something I don’t generally tend to notice since I’m largely immune to it. If not entirely now.

The natural cold, at least.

If the Eternal Winter can be considered natural.

Then the second thing I remember.

The weaker frozen ones like to avoid me like the plague.

I’d partially forgotten this due to my time in that last nest. The one that was very strong. Where I got cold immunity from and ran into the Frozen Lord.

And it’s annoying. Also makes it difficult for Alexia to train.

Hopefully it won’t be an issue when we actually enter a nest.

The third thing I remember is just how plain weak these regular frozen ones are. Because they aren’t getting me any energy at all.

Or at least not a noticeable amount.

Probably because they’re so weak I just have to sprint up to them before they run, grab them by the throat, and snap it like a twig at this point. So not very strong.

At all.

I eventually just give up on attacking them myself, leaving it to the girls instead. For their training and so that Alexia can absorb their energy herself instead.

And, finally, I’m reminded right now as I stare at the large radio tower that’s radiating out a weak cold energy not to fully trust intel. Because the intel is not real-time intel. So more nests are still appearing even after we got that intel.

Then again, this makes for less walking and a shorter trip. And this particular nest seems weak enough for Alexia and Cynthia to handle on their own.

Terminal, are there any major threats nearby?

|Analyzing the surrounding area...|

I don’t sense anything myself, but it’s always best to make absolutely certain. After all, anything could happen.

Learned that lesson in the last nest.

|All nearby frozen ones are Tier 2 or below.|

Thought so.

From what I can tell, the one guarding the crystal is most likely a Tier 2 frozen one. Meanwhile everything else is Tier 1.

Alexia should easily be able to handle most Tier 1 frozen ones, but a Tier 2 could prove more trouble.

I’ll have to see how she’s doing by the time we reach the crystal.

Anyways, I turn away from the nest to find both girls studying the tall radio tower covered in frost.

“The nest should only have Tier 1 frozen ones, with what’s most likely a single Tier 2,” I warn the two while crossing my arms, bringing their attention to me for a second before they focus on the tower again. “The Tier 1 frozen ones won’t be an issue, but I will be following the two of you until you reach the crystal chamber where the Tier 2 is waiting. And if you end up in trouble against it, I will step in personally.” I pause for a second and add, “Got it?”

Both girls nod their heads, satisfying me.

This should make for a good test for the two of them.

“Then the operation will be for you two to both clear out the nest of frozen ones and for Alexia claim the crystal,” I order them both. “Do you have any questions?”

The girls proceed to ask one question after another for a few minutes ranging from the types of frozen ones that I’ve run into, the types I’m guessing are most likely within this radio tower, what the structure I sense is, where the crystal is, and so on. And with each and every question, I feel the corner of my lips inching ever so slightly upwards.

So far so good.

After they finish asking questions, I declare, “Then let the operation begin.”

Then I sit back and watch as the two move.

Their operation starts out with scouting out the entrances of the tower, followed shortly by having Alexia determine the number of frozen ones within using her own senses. Senses that aren’t as refined or accurate as mine, but are certainly improving at the very least.

After finishing getting a layout of the place, the two move around the exterior, exterminating the frozen ones outside of the nest.

If there were a sapient frozen one here then they’d go with a different plan, but since there isn’t a frozen one strong enough for that here, none of them will likely notice the disappearance of the frozen ones.

I watch them clear out the frozen ones outside before they move to the main entrance to the radio tower and begin entering it. And I watch each of their combat styles, with Cynthia focusing on her sword and cold energy infused rifle and Alexia focusing on her brute-force strength, all the way until they clear the first floor.

Overall, Cynthia is very talented in her combat style. It’s obvious she was trained by a professional. Which makes sense with her being a princess and all.

On the other hand, Alexia’s fighting style reminds me a little of how my own has become over my time as a frost infused.

Then again, my fighting style largely became this way due to my swords always breaking.

I just don’t want to replace my blades over and over again.

Anyways, the girls slowly make their way up one floor after another, killing off the frozen ones as they go. And I can’t help but feel a bit impressed with how far Alexia has gotten in such a short time.

I’m pretty sure she had no training in combat before meeting me after all. So it’s rather surprising to see her fighting this well.

She must’ve been trying really hard in her practice.

I smile at that thought as I continue following after them.

Chapter 45

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The Radio Tower

Alexander North

One frozen one after another, one floor of the radio tower after another, the girls slowly make their way upwards. All as I watch over them without doing any fighting myself. And as they go, Alexia absorbs the energy of each of the frozen ones they kill.

Between the two, Alexia is doing better simply through sheer brute force. What with her being as strong as a Tier 2 herself while Cynthia is only as strong as a Tier 1 Symbiont Host. Or rather, she is a Tier 1 Symbiont Host. Not just ‘as strong as one’.

But Cynthia is also far better trained than Alexia, and she’s using weapons that Alexia isn’t. And while that would normally not matter much with Alexia being a frost infused, what with our abilities and everything else we have, Alexia hasn’t been able to focus on training her abilities much since she’s been training with soldiers. Probably holding back so as to not turn them into popsicles.

She also hasn’t been going out getting new abilities like I have.

So she just has the same basic ability I had. The freezing things by touch one.

Which is one of the main reasons for bringing her along. To get her more used to using abilities and to get her more of them at the same time.

Real combat is also just a better method of training than staged combat in a training room.

As for the frozen ones who are inside of the radio tower itself? They’re all limited to mostly just wendigos, some wraiths, and a new one I hadn’t seen before that isn’t too strong. Although would be rather annoying.

Some sort of bats.

Lots of them.

The things are only about half a meter in height, with a wing span of about a meter. And they seem to swarm, filling up entire floors all by themselves with no other frozen ones nearby.

Except some corpses.

So they’re territorial as well.

Even towards other frozen ones.

Reminds me of a swarm of vampire bats. What with how vampire bats will suddenly swarm any open source of blood that enters their territory, tearing it apart one small cut at a time so that they can drink up their fill of blood.

Time passes as we all continue climbing up the tower, heading closer and closer to the source of the cold energy. The crystal.

And from what I can tell, the crystal itself should be an hour or two away from maturing. Just judging by what I feel coming from it down here.

I should get a clearer reading on it the closer we get.

After we get about two thirds of the way up the tower, the girls take a short break. Mostly so Cynthia can have something to eat and drink, what with me and Alexia not needing to do those things. A fact that bothers Alexia but I am all for.

Eating and drinking is annoying. It’s a waste of time.

If only I didn’t have to sleep either, then it would be perfect.

Although I do need to absorb energy from frozen ones instead as my form of nutrients. But that’s fine since I’m going to do that regardless.

Our break lasts for about ten minutes before we continue making our way through the rest of the tower. And by the time we reach the top of the tower – a large, open area with a ceiling and the broadcast device above it and open space on the sides showing the outside of the tower through windows – we find a rather interesting sight.

At the very center of the ceiling is the crystal. And perched atop the crystal, or under it considering the fact that the crystal is upside down, is a three-meter-tall bat frozen one. Meanwhile dozens upon dozens of other bat frozen ones are all around it, perched on the ceiling nearby.

I narrow my eyes a little at the flock of bats that are quickly waking up due to our presence. And the moment they see Alexia and Cynthia, they begin flapping their wings and dislodging themselves from the ceiling. Including the Tier 2 bat.

But then they all seem to catch sight of me and hesitate.

Cynthia doesn’t give them a chance to recover from seeing me and begins open firing on them. Immediately mowing down several of them in the process and pissing of the others. Enough that they quickly seem to forget about my presence.

Alexia, on the other hand, jumps up onto the little pillars of the wall that aren’t made of glass and then jumps off of that, using it as a springboard to reach the bats. Then she sinks her claws into the closest one and drags it straight down to the ground before crushing the little fella.

I watch the two of them work for a bit, finding them working together rather well. With each of them protecting the other whenever any frozen one gets too close.

And they would really be doing quite well.

If it weren’t for the Tier 2 that is doing nothing but screeching as it flies in place at the center of the tower.

Just what is it doing… could it be waiting for the crystal to fully mature? Maybe so it can devour it and take the ability before attacking the girls? Or just to take the ability before it flees the tower?

Both of my guesses turn out to be wrong when the pale blue bat suddenly opens its mouth and lets out a horrid screech that makes me frown a little. Meanwhile both girls flinch as they cover their ears.

The other bats don’t seem to mind, though, as they simply rush at the girls. Using this as an opening to attack.

Cynthia ends up being bitten in both her shoulder and forearm of different arms, but she pulls herself back together and kills both bats before shooting at the others with one hand covering her ears.

On the other hand, Alexia is bitten several times. But the frozen ones in question don’t really sink their fangs in very deep, making the bites seem more like bug-bites than anything from what I can see here. And Alexia just grabs them and crushes their heads with her bare hands afterwards. Using their teeth being lodged in her as an opening to attack.

I cross my arms as I watch the girls fight with the bats all avoiding me like the plague. And as I watch, I can’t help but feel a little bit of pride for Alexia.

She’s come so far.

The corners of my lips quirk upwards.

But there’s still the Tier 2 to handle.

Let’s see how they do against it.

Chapter 46

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Bon Appétit

Alexander North

The girls end up doing an excellent job against the frozen ones. With Alexia focusing her attention on the Tier 2 leader while Cynthia focuses on the smaller bats, keeping them all off of Alexia as she deals with the leader. Which doesn’t turn out to be that difficult for her from the looks of it thanks to her gun.

I tap my finger on the crook of my arm as I watch with my arms crossed, briefly wondering if I should at least consider using guns again. But then I remember that these are the weakest frozen ones. And a gun wouldn’t work on the higher Tier frozen ones that I normally fight.

So unless I want to waste a bunch of time and ammo, it’s best not to bring one. Unless it’s an incredibly powerful gun or something like that.

I could still see myself using a sniper rifle against a powerful frozen one. So long as I shoot it in a vulnerable place like its eye or something.

It could work.

As for the way Alexia and the Tier 2 are fighting, that just plain reminds me of two wolves going at it. Leaping at each other and attacking once before backing away and circling the other again. Then leaping again, attacking again, and backing away again.

Which is ironic since neither of them are actually wolves.

I glance at Snow, who is a wolf, only to find her just sitting next to me and watching the battle play out with her tongue hanging out of her mouth like a dog.

Then again, she used to be a dog. Before being infected, that is.

Maybe she still has some of her instincts from back then?

I turn back to the battle again as the bullets keep firing. Killing off one of the Tier 1 bats after another. And when they’re all finished off, the Tier 2 bat tries to rush towards the crystal. Only for Alexia to jump at him and stab her claws into its wings before dragging it down to the ground.

Where she finishes the thing off for good.

“Good job, you two,” I tell them with a nod of my head while stepping forwards as Alexia quickly begins going around absorbing the energy from the frozen ones. “You did better than I was expecting, but there are still some areas you need improvement in.”

I wait until Alexia finishes absorbing the frozen ones’ energy before I continue, “Alexia, you need to focus more on each individual frozen one if you’re going to be going in close like you’re doing. You need to try and sniff out what sort of ability they may have and then work around it. Make sure they don’t surprise you with a power you weren’t expecting.”

Alexia hurriedly nods her head as she stands a couple meters away from me staring directly at me without even blinking.

“Other than that, I noticed you were targeting the frozen ones with more energy in them,” I tell her with a slight frown on my face, making her twitch slightly in an involuntary admission. “You were leaving the ones with more energy, regardless of whether they were weaker or not, all to Cynthia as you targeted the ones with more energy for you to absorb. Which is not something you should be doing.”

She droops a little, so I walk up to her and place my hand on her head as I finish, “Remember that their energy isn’t an exact determination of their power. Some frozen ones have very little energy and focus entirely on the physical side of power.”

The twelve-year-old raises her head again and nods with a determined look in her eyes.

Then I turn towards Cynthia and move on to her post-battle report, “Cynthia, you did pretty well overall. The only thing I have to comment on is that you’re clearly not used to fighting against flying creatures like these bats. So I’d suggest you go ahead and undergo training against frozen ones that are unlike the enemies you’ve fought until now.”

She nods her head once before we all turn towards the crystal.

“Now we just wait for the crystal to finish maturing,” I state while putting my hands in my pockets. And after several seconds of silence pass, I add, “This could take a while. You should get comfortable.”

Cynthia moves to a corner of the large room and sits down by the window, turning her head to look outside past the blizzard. Meanwhile Alexia moves directly beneath the crystal hanging from the ceiling, staring at the thing rather hard. As if her staring could make the crystal mature faster.

I almost chuckle at that but manage to stop myself. Instead I walk over towards the entrance and sit down at it.

Just my presence here alone is enough to stop any frozen one nearby from entering. Probably the entire radio tower and not just this room in fact. But you can never be too careful.

We continue sitting around for a few hours before I sense the crystal finally finishing its maturation. And when it does, I get up and walk over to Alexia, telling her, “It’s mature. Go ahead and take it down.”

She immediately jumps up to her feet before proceeding to jump into the air to grab the crystal and yank it from the ceiling. Then she simply stares at the crystal for a few seconds, only to look up at me and ask, “How do I absorb this thing?”

I can’t help myself as a slight smirk stretches across my face and I pat her head, making her smile a little.

The smile on her face vanishes the moment I say, “You eat it.”

Silence fills the radio tower’s observation deck for several seconds.

“Eat it?” she asks, glancing between me and the crystal.

I nod my head. “Eat it.”

The silence returns.

It doesn’t take long for Cynthia to start muffling a laugh and trying to look away, ignoring the dirty look Alexia sends her way.

“Well, bon appétit,” I tell Alexia before giving her a thumbs-up and adding, “Tell me when you’re finished.”

And the look she gets on her face at that is priceless.

Chapter 47

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Back to the Capital

Alexander North

It takes her a little while to eat the crystal. And after she does, it takes even longer to figure out just what sort of ability she got. Since the part of her that she felt pain in during the actual mutation process was her claws. But nothing changed about them to a visual extent.

But it becomes clear when she tries her claws out casually on a random frozen one outside of the radio tower and begins to drain its energy without even killing it.

“Some sort of energy drain ability,” I comment while rubbing the bottom half of my face and watching. Honestly feeling a tiny bit jealous. Because that would be a very nice ability to have.

Well, it would be if it drained more energy. But it doesn’t seem to drain very much.

Probably because this was a weak crystal.

Maybe if I find a much stronger one that I could take myself later?

Assuming I can even find the same ability.

Especially considering how most of the large crystals like the one that gave me cold energy immunity are likely controlled by Frozen Lords. And I can’t really take on most of those fellas right now.

They’re too strong.

Anyways, I pat Alexia on the head as I watch her excitedly try out her new ability on nearby weak frozen ones. And after she does that for a little while, the three of us move on to the next nest. Because I want Alexia to have at least a few abilities to work with other than my own original ability.

The first nest we go to after the radio tower is located a couple dozen kilometers to the Northeast. Above the capital. And the nest ends up being in a small outskirts town that looks to have been set up after the Eternal Winter came.

A town that has since been abandoned due to the nest.

Alexia and Cynthia handle the place without much trouble, and we quickly move on to the next nest. A sewer leading into the capital city itself that’s a bit South of the last nest.

They handle that one without too much trouble either and we move on to the next. Then the next. And the next.

And after we finish dealing with five nests back to back, giving Alexia a rather nice supply of abilities, the three of us head to the capital city. Going directly towards the little bunker Alexia stayed at while I was in my little coma.

Then again, guess I technically stayed there too. Just wasn’t conscious at the time.

Anyways, I would’ve had us go on for longer, but we couldn’t. After all, Cynthia doesn’t have our stamina. And while we don’t need shelter to sleep due to us being frost infused, she does. Even as a Symbiont Host.

The cold is just too much for her to sleep in.

When we enter the capital, though, we find quite the number of frozen ones inside of it. Far more than there were before.

And that’s not all. I also notice that there is a powerful energy source deeper inside of the capital.

Now, whether it was there before or not, I’m not sure. It could’ve been here when I was last here, but I just didn’t notice since it was before I began to control my senses. Or it could be a new development.

Either way, I know what it is from.

It’s no doubt from the powerful Frozen Lord who fought with that other Sun God serving creature.

If it’s a new development, then that means the creature is starting to recover a little. And if it’s not, then it’s not.

I’m guessing it probably is, though. Considering the larger number of frozen ones gathered in the capital.

The three of us continue marching through the city with me slaughtering the frozen ones on the way so as to give the girls a break. All the way till we reach the bunker.

And the very first thing Cynthia does when we seal the door is rush over to a bed and plop herself down.

Falling asleep right away.

I share a glance with Alexia to find her snickering. Then I glance at my cousin with an amused smirk on my face.

She always did fall asleep rather quickly back when we would sleep over together as kids.

I move over to a different bed, finding the bunker having expanded since the last time we were here. Probably the work of either Cynthia or the doctor. And without hesitation, I flop over on my back on the bed.

Then I stare up at the ceiling, thinking about everything that’s happened in the past few days.

With the Frozen Lords existence, I need to focus on getting stronger myself. But I can’t leave the girls on their own too often either.

Although… they should be fine if they’re in this area. I don’t sense any strong frozen ones nearby, much less any Frozen Lords.

Other than the sleeping one, of course.

I guess I could spend one day every three days traveling with them to help guide them, with the other two days being spent fighting frozen ones on my own and clearing stronger nests.

It should give me enough time to search for new abilities for myself as well.

And speaking of abilities…

I glance at Alexia as she flops down on the same bed as me, going to sleep just as quickly as Cynthia. Which makes me raise a brow for a moment.

…she got quite a few decent abilities from that hunt.

Although none of them are as good as the first one she got.

Except the one to shoot out little pulses of cold energy in the form of a laser bolt from her hands. That one is pretty good.

I’m just glad she got a ranged ability out of them. Since she seems to be adverse to guns for some reason.

Not sure why.

Maybe it has something to do with her biological father’s company including guns as part of its products?

I think on that for a few seconds before sighing.

Well, I need to sleep too. I can think about this later.

So with that thought, I close my eyes and drift off to sleep.

Intermission 3

The Capital Planet of the Terran Empire

Edward North grins as he slams his fist into the head of yet another Tier 4 strength Frozen Lord. Dealing with the very last Tier 4 on the capital planet.

Leaving nothing but the weaker frozen ones and the Tier 5 left.

And after lifting his fist from the remains of its head, ignoring the creature’s blue blood dripping from his knuckles, he turns to look at the Tier 5 in question that is floating high in the air. The creature has spikes going out of its upper back and the back of its head, and it looks like it’s wearing a set of armor made out of a strange metal. One Edward recognizes as being from an ancient ruins located at the center of the capital planet. The most likely place where this frozen one was buried before the Eternal Winter came.

Edward’s been in a good mood ever since he heard that the communications between planets was going to be repaired soon. But, as he looks at the Frozen Lord in front of him, he feels that good mood fading ever so slightly.

Because the Frozen Lord looks just like one of the Frozen Lords they spotted on the ice planet known as Cocytus. The Frozen Lords that were with the Winter God, Cocytus himself.

“You have impressed me, champion of the warm ones,” the Frozen Lord declares while slowly floating into the air despite not having any wings. Simply using the blizzard around him to fly instead.

Edward tenses his legs, making the ice and concrete beneath his feet crack and shatter before he jumps straight up at the Frozen Lord with his hand open wide and a wave of flames building up around his palms. But the Frozen Lord sends a wave of blizzarding snow and ice down below him that shoots himself upwards further into the sky, dodging the general’s attack. Then the general falls back down to the ground, landing with one fist slamming into the concrete and cracking it for several meters around his point of impact.

“Are you really going to flee?” Edward asks while standing up straight again and turning his head to look at the Frozen Lord, who merely looks down at him with the liquid blue glow from his chest shining brighter and his glowing blue eyes dimming and brightening.

The Frozen Lord eventually answers, his mouth filled with razor sharp teeth not moving at all despite his speaking, “The Esteemed One must know of the champion. And his connection to the hybrid lord.”

The second part of his statement catches Edward off-guard.

Hybrid lord? What’s that?

He frowns in confusion before eventually crossing his arms, briefly glancing at the soldiers in the area that all have their cold energy infused weapons trained on the Frozen Lord. Then he turns back to the Frozen Lord. But before he can ask anything, the Frozen Lord’s mouth turns ever so slightly into a grin as he asks, “Oh? You don’t even realize it yourself?”

Edward’s frown grows as he jumps up onto a nearby building just to get closer to the Frozen Lord.

“Right, you warm ones, or ‘humans’, as you like to call yourselves, need your technology to communicate across worlds,” the Frozen Lord continues, his grin growing in a mocking manner. “Then how about I inform you of what’s happening on a certain planet.”

That has Edward’s eyes narrowing in a mixture of irritation and suspicion, the last of his good mood fading in an instant.

“Explain,” Edward growls out as steam begins to rise from his skin. Melting the snow and ice falling around him.

The Frozen Lord’s grin grows even wider as he says, “You’re vastly different from your offspring, warm one champion.”

Edward immediately destroys the roof as he jumps after the Frozen Lord again, managing to graze him this time with a punch to the face before the Frozen Lord avoids the rest of the attack. But despite most of Edward’s attack missing, he still leaves a fist imprint on the Frozen Lord’s face that emits smoke.

Despite being attacked, the Frozen Lord chuckles while moving around to watch Edward fall back down to the ground again, crushing the concrete once more.

“Vastly different indeed,” the Frozen Lord continues without missing a beat. “Dragron’s words imply your offspring wouldn’t react to mere instigation. That the hybrid lord is more like a cold one than a warm one in heart and form.”

Edward freezes right as he’s about to jump at the Frozen Lord again.

“Even our God has taken an interest in the hybrid lord,” the Frozen Lord says, noticing the hesitation in the general’s movements. “But it’s only a matter of time before the hybrid is captured.”

That makes Edward turn to stare at the Frozen Lord in surprise.

He’s alright? He’s alive?

Despite the Frozen Lord’s intentions, Edward feels more relief from his words now than anything else. Because it means he’s still alive.

That he isn’t in the frozen ones’ hands.

Edward’s frown turns into a grin. One that startles the Frozen Lord.

“Thank you,” Edward says, feeling all of the anxiety he was previously filled with vanishing in an instant. Both the anxiety he felt due to not being able to contact his son, even if he knew he would be able to soon, and the anxiety he felt from seeing the Frozen Lord in front of him. One that made him wonder if there could possibly be a Frozen Lord of his strength on the world Alex is.

The Frozen Lord finally opens his mouth for a moment before closing it entirely.

Then the Frozen Lord simply stares at Edward before floating higher again. As if he gave up on trying to get a reaction out of the general and is moving on, away from the world.

And Edward just watches him go, resigned to his departure. After all, Edward can’t fly like the Frozen Lord.

Instead, he just turns around and begins walking back to the military headquarters as he shouts at his subordinates, “Inform the research and development department their funds are being increased now that the Frozen Lord threat is abated.”

The soldiers all salute and shout, “Yes, sir!” before running off to follow his orders.

Meanwhile Edward just continues walking back to the military headquarters, a faint smile on his face.

He’s okay. He’s really okay.

None of the soldiers notice through the snow and ice, but a few tears begin to drip down his face.

Chapter 48

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Progress

Alexander North

A couple weeks pass as the three of us settle into a routine. One consisting of spending one day with me hunting alone, followed by two days of me hunting together with them. Going from one nest to another, clearing them all out as more nests appear in their place. And from time to time we search through the capital as well for frozen ones to deal with.

Over the course of the weeks, I end up raising my stats a decent bit as well.

I smile as I finish absorbing another crystal. Giving me yet another ability.

Terminal, please show my analysis.

/ Current Analysis of user Alexander North \

Strength: 12.61
Agility: 12.53
Reflexes: 11.87
Constitution: 12.31
Immunity: ???
Senses: 11.88
Energy: 24.1/32.5

Abilities: Cold Energy Claws, Cold Diffusion, Thermal Vision, Cold Energy Arcs, Cold Blood, Cold Energy Absorption, Cold Immunity, Cold Burst, Frost Spike, Frozen Wings

Body Malfunctions: N/A
Error: Cannot determine Immunity of user’s current species without the user getting sick to collect data.
The average of a human being without a symbiont is a 1 across all stats except for Energy.
The Energy statistic is determined with a 1 being set as the user’s original starting statistic for Energy.

\End of Analysis/

Overall, I got some pretty good abilities. Although of the nests I hunted on my own, I only ate the larger crystals. The other ones I gave to Alexia just to keep her safe.

As for this most recent ability…

Why do I have a bad feeling about this?

I glance behind me, but I don’t see anything changing right now.

Hey, terminal, are you sure you’re correct about this ability’s analysis? Frozen Wings?

Because I don’t-

My eyes widen as I let out a grunt and fall to my knees in this frost-coated cavern. Meanwhile I feel a mixture of itchiness and pain shooting from around my shoulder blades in my back. Pain that only grows worse and worse by the second as I feel something trying to grow from my back only to be stabbing into my armor and not getting anywhere.

I hurry to take off the top of my armor, leaving me in just a shirt without any armor over my torso. Then something shoots through said shirt, tearing it apart as I shout out in pain and fall down to the ground face-first.

And after that, all of the pain vanishes without a trace. Leaving me shirtless in the cavern while panting on the ground.

After a few seconds, I push myself up to a sitting position before glancing behind myself.

At which point I find two wings stretching from my back.

Huh.

|This unit’s analysis was correct. You have gained the ability Frozen Wings.|

I scowl at the air in front of me.

Yeah. I can tell.

A few seconds pass without the terminal saying anything, so I just sigh and refocus on my wings. The wings are completely made out of ice despite me somehow feeling them as if they were part of my body. They have pale blue glowing veins running through them and look like the wings of a dragon in fiction.

Interesting.

Although, kind of annoying.

I frown.

So, terminal. Is there any way to get rid of an ability?

|That is impossible. The ability is etched into your DNA itself upon eating the crystal and cannot be removed.|

Guess I’m gonna have to get used to these wings.

I’m also going to have to get a different wardrobe.

One with holes for the wings.

Because without them, I’m gonna be stuck walking around shirtless.

I let out a sigh at that thought.

This is going to be annoying. Just where am I going to get someone who can sew like that? It’s not like there are storekeepers around selling shirts like that.

And the stores with clothes left in the capital that were abandoned have all either been looted, or, more obviously, won’t have holes for wings in them.

I lean down, rubbing my temples. Then I stand up, feeling a little awkward due to my altered center of gravity.

Looks like my clothing problem isn’t the only one that I’m going to have to get used to.

But… on the bright side…

Terminal, will I be able to fly with these wings?

|100% certainty requires more data, however, it is assumed based on the structure of the wings and the rest of your body that it is possible to fly with them.|

That’s good, then.

It will help me at the end of the day. Because flight is always useful.

Cold Burst and Frost Spike are rather self-explanatory abilities, though.

Cold Burst lets me send out a wave of cold energy in a burst around me. One that freezes things and sends them flying like an explosion.

Meanwhile Frost Spike lets me grow a spike of ice anywhere on my body that I can use to attack with. And I can retract it too.

Both useful. Although nowhere near as good as Cold Immunity is.

I spend several minutes trying to adjust to my new wings, only to find it to be rather difficult. And not something I can really do in just a few minutes.

At the same time, though, if I end up in danger while not used to these wings on my trip back home… even if that’s not too likely. Considering how most frozen ones avoid the hell out of me.

Guess I’ll be a bit late today.

As I gradually begin to get used to my new wings, I think about the many abilities Alexia has gotten in this time. None of which are as powerful as Cold Immunity, but many of which are still very useful.

She also seems to have a lot more ranged abilities than I have.

Not that I’m complaining. Ranged abilities means she will be further away and therefore safer.

I smile at that thought as I continue trying to adjust to my wings. Only to frown when I trip and fall flat on my face again.

Right. This might take a while.

Chapter 49

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Searching the Capital

Alexander North

It ends up taking me several hours to get used to my new wings just to be able to walk with them. Then it takes a few more hours trying to figure out how to fly with them. Which is rather surprising, considering that it takes less time to learn to fly than to learn to walk with them.

Not that I’m complaining.

In the end I actually make it back to the capital just a little bit later than I had originally planned. Specifically due to taking advantage of my wings to fly over any terrain.

And when I make it back to the bunker, both Cynthia and Alexia stare rather blankly at my wings for several seconds.

I, on the other hand, just ask, “Do either of you know how to sew?”

They continue staring.

Seconds pass in silence.

“Um, hello?” I ask while crossing my arms. Snapping both of them out of it as Alexia shakes her head in denial and returns to her training.

Cynthia, on the other hand, nods her head and says, “I can do a little sewing.”

I stare at her.

She stares back.

“What?” she eventually asks while furrowing her brows. “Is it so weird that a princess can sew?”

I wordlessly nod my head.

“Then why’d you ask?” she exclaims with her arms crossed.

I keep my mouth shut.

Was mostly just asking in a ‘just in case’ sense. Didn’t actually expect either of them to answer positively.

After all, they’re both from really rich families. Even if Alexia’s situation was… special.

Eventually Cynthia just sighs, rubbing her temples before saying, “Well, fine. Go collect some shirts tomorrow from stores in the capital and bring them back. I’ll give them holes for your wings. But I can’t do anything about armor. You’ll have to check with a base for that.”

I nod my head with a faint smile and state, “Thank you.”

Wait, tomorrow?

I frown for a second, only for her to add, “We can go hunting on our own tomorrow, don’t worry.”

That has me pursing my lips, but after a few seconds, I just nod my head and mutter, “Alright. Thank you for the help.”

She nods her head and joins Alexia in their training. Meanwhile I head straight to bed while mentally deciding on where I should head tomorrow.

A lot of the capital has been left alone without all that many people looting it. Mostly because of the frozen ones roaming around it, not to mention the sleeping Frozen Lord that pretty much everyone knows about.

Most of the would-be looters are too afraid that the Frozen Lord will wake up the moment they enter the capital. So not many people actually enter the place. And while some still do, it’s nowhere near enough people to be able to steal even half of what’s in the massive city.

The most likely place to find some good quality clothing is the fourth district. Otherwise known as the shopping district of the capital. The place people would always go to for any form of shopping.

At least, before the Eternal Winter, that is.

After deciding on my target location, I quickly lie down in bed and fall asleep. And when I wake up the next morning, finding both Alexia and Cynthia gone on their own trips already, I head out further into the capital.

Nowadays there are more and more frozen ones gathering in the capital. But unlike with most people, they don’t attack me. In fact, they run for the hills – figuratively, considering the lack of hills in the capital – when they see me.

Which makes hunting while on this trip more trouble than it’s worth. So I don’t bother.

Unless they just get too close. Close enough I can handle them with a ranged ability.

Or if I accidentally corner them.

Not that most of them actually help me much with energy. Considering how weak they are.

I continue marching through the capital until I arrive at the shopping district. Which is a large chunk of the city spanning a good few city blocks.

But what used to be a busy place filled with cars driving through, enormous malls, large electronic billboards covered in ads, and people walking in entire waves down the large paths on either side of the street has now become nothing but a wasteland. One filled with large buildings, many of whom have crumbled a bit with rubble on the street mixed in with the damaged and sometimes destroyed vehicles. Frozen ones wandering about, ice coating everything, and not a single sound.

Even the Eternal Winter is quiet right now, with the blizzard not currently covering the capital.

Meanwhile the frozen ones here run as far away from me as possible.

It’s just quiet. Eerily so.

All I hear are my own footsteps crunching the snow beneath me as I walk around searching for a mall that isn’t as rundown as the others. With the exception of the sounds caused by the fleeing frozen ones.

I pay them no mind, having grown used to them at this point. And after finding a less rundown mall, I go ahead and enter it. Soon finding those rather annoying suicide spiders inside of it.

My eyes narrow when they rush at me, only for me to use cold burst to wipe them all out before they can touch me. And after a brief hesitation, I decide to turn back around and find a different mall.

Mostly because I’d rather the clothes not get destroyed by a suicidal spider.

After finding another mall, I enter it and find it filled with some strange insect frozen ones. Making me wonder if the shopping district just had a bug infestation problem before the Eternal Winter or something. But I continue on this time since they aren’t suicidal bugs like the spiders.

They’re actually rather weak. And they’re surprisingly not afraid of me.

Which does get a tiny bit annoying, but they get me some nice energy with the massive numbers they bring with them.

So I go ahead and hunt while searching for clothes.

Chapter 50

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The Bugs

Alexander North

I end up having to search through at least a few different malls, and for some reason, every last one that I search is filled to the brim with bugs. Frozen one insects of all kinds, whether spiders, beetles, roaches, mosquitoes, wasps, and mutated ones that don’t resemble any normal bugs on this planet.

And at this point, there are only two possible reasons.

Something strange is going on here, likely involving some sort of really powerful frozen one bug that I can’t sense due to the overwhelming energy given off by that powerful Frozen Lord sleeping away in the capital. Or there’s just some massive bug infestation in this part of the capital that all turned into frozen ones somehow.

If I had to guess, it’s likely the former.

Because the latter would be very unlikely, considering how I’ve never heard of any sort of infestation in the capital on this world before.

Plus this is just too many bugs.

And too many different types of bugs at that.

I frown down from the balcony of one of the large malls at the windows of another mall. Where I spot a swarm of what look like two-meter-tall pale blue praying mantises. Except with ice as the little scythe hands they have. And, of course, the usual glowing blue eye rings within pitch black eyes.

But if my theory is correct and there’s some sort of Frozen Lord bug in the area… just where is it?

I cross my arms for a few seconds before sighing and turning back to grab the shirts I found in this mall.

This should be enough. I’ll just take them back to-

My thoughts are interrupted when the ground begins to shake, almost making me stumble.

I quickly look around, but I don’t see anything in the building. So I look out over the balcony again at the city, where I almost immediately find the source of it.

A large chunk of the street collapsing in on itself, forming a fissure leading underground.

Guess my question was answered.

A large swarm of bugs of all kinds immediately begin to flow out of the fissure. Ranging from flying bugs to land-bound bugs. And they all begin to rush up the sides of the buildings, heading straight towards me and any other frozen one that isn’t a bug yet that is nearby.

My frown grows as I watch the bugs for a moment. Then I drop the shirts, hoping against hope that they aren’t ruined by the time I return, before jumping out of the balcony to a different balcony.

After landing on the balcony, I go ahead and wait for several seconds so that the bugs can reach me. And once they do, I immediately use Cold Burst, sending a wave of cold energy flying all around me in a pulse. One that sends the bugs flying while freezing them at the same time.

Not long after sending them all flying, I hear them shattering on the ground below. Meanwhile more bugs reach me, so I repeat the process, sending another burst of cold energy outwards.

Then I do it again, and again, and again. Repeatedly sending the frozen one bugs flying.

Eventually the bugs begin to avoid me and focus on the other frozen ones instead. And after they finish devouring them, they all rush back into the ravine below.

I look down at them with a frown on my face. Briefly wondering if I should chase after them.

The problem is that these bugs may very well spread throughout the capital. Which could possibly put Alexia and Cynthia in danger should they spread to our district of the capital.

So I really should deal with the problem.

I purse my lips.

But am I strong enough to fight them? I’m not sure.

The bugs themselves aren’t that strong. So they won’t be a problem.

What will be a problem is the Frozen Lord leading them. Assuming it is a Frozen Lord that’s leading them.

It may not even be a Frozen Lord for all I know. Considering that a Frozen Lord’s status isn’t determined simply by them being strong frozen ones.

But chances are, it is most likely a Frozen Lord.

I stare down at the ravine for a bit more before sighing and jumping down from the balcony. Using my wings to fly down towards the ravine.

Well, all things considered, the thing already sent its bugs to attack me. Which very well may mean that I’ve become its target already.

And if I head back to the others now, it may make them targets too.

The moment I step near the ravine, I feel a strange sensation. Like something is watching me.

Probably the leader of the bugs.

After a brief hesitation, I move around the streets to collect the energy from the bugs I’ve already killed. A process that takes quite a while to complete, simply due to the massive number of the bugs.

Then I move back to the ravine and jump down into it. My decision made, at least partially due to the amount of energy I got from the bugs. And when I do, I find the place to be filled to the brim with bugs and ice. Going deep down into the Earth for quite a ways.

But, to my surprise, the majority of the bugs avoid me. All of the ones at Tier 1.

Meanwhile the Tier 2 bugs attack me with wild abandon.

I start using one cold burst after another, freezing the bugs one after another. Both the ones attacking me and the ones leaving me be. And I absorb the energy from each one of them, taking the time to do so instead of simply rushing down the ravine.

Because I’m starting to think of this place as a goldmine for energy rather than a threat. Even if it’s still a threat.

And I’m reminded of that when I get deeper and begin to find some Tier 3 bugs as well.

Chapter 51

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The Endless Swarm

Alexander North

It doesn’t take long for me to realize just what sort of trouble I’ve ended up in. Not after I find myself surrounded by dozens of Tier 3 frozen one bugs.

I slay one after another, using whatever weapons I can at the time. Whether they’re cold energy attacks like Cold Burst or Cold Energy Arcs, physical attacks like my claws, or even the new Frost Spikes that I grow from my fist and use as a rather convenient longer range weapon that aren’t simply my claws.

And while this is getting me more and more energy, making me grow stronger far faster than I was outside of this place, it’s also growing more and more tiresome and difficult to keep fighting. Because there are simply too many bugs here.

After nearly three entire hours straight of moving down the ravine while repeatedly stopping to fight, I completely stop to take a break. Hiding myself inside of a side cavern within the ravine.

Then I go ahead and rest while occasionally dealing with a frozen one insect that makes its way inside.

I spend another hour in here resting and building up some of my energy before leaving the cavern and continuing my trip down the ravine for a couple more hours. Only to quickly feel overwhelmed again. At which point I begin to make my way out of the ravine.

Because I can’t regenerate enough energy in just an hour or two of rest.

I’ll have to come back tomorrow.

So after leaving the ravine, I head straight back to our bunker. Finding Alexia and Cynthia inside waiting for me.

The two look me over, finding me covered in wounds with the armor over my lower half damaged and still shirtless. Then Cynthia simply looks me in the eyes and asks, “Where are the shirts?”

I stare at her.

She stares back.

“Shit,” I mutter, “I forgot.”

Cynthia stares for a few more seconds before asking with a rather judgmental look on her face, “How did you go to get clothes and then forget the clothes? And after spending several hours there as well.”

I frown at her and cross my arms, “Not my fault a large ravine opened up in the street and insect type frozen ones started flooding through it.”

“Oh?” she utters while tilting her head, sounding interested. And Alexia leans forward as well, seeming equally as interested. “Continue.”

And so, I spend the next several minutes going over everything that happened. With the ravine, the frozen ones in it, how strong they were, and my worries that they might spread this way.

After I finish, Cynthia and Alexia share a glance before Cynthia turns to me again and asks, “So you plan on going back tomorrow?” I nod my head. “Then don’t forget the shirts this time. Bring them on the way back.”

I blink at her, remembering that that’s still a thing.

“You shouldn’t be walking around everywhere half naked,” Cynthia adds after a few seconds.

Yeah, probably shouldn’t be.

“Well, for now, I’m going to go sleep,” I tell them before walking over towards the bed while waving at them. “Night.”

“Night,” Cynthia responds, followed by Alexia’s more enthusiastic, “Goodnight!”

After making it to my bed, I quickly fall asleep due to my exhaustion. And when I wake up again, I find both girls already gone on their own hunts.

So I leave the bunker and head back towards the shopping district. Where I soon find bugs for days again.

I frown at the sight of the entire shopping district being infested again. Despite how many of the bugs I killed yesterday.

Either there were far more bugs further down, or these bugs are being replaced with more bugs.

If it’s the latter… actually, that might not be the worst thing possible.

Definitely a problem, but maybe I could… use this as an energy farm of sorts.

I frown at that thought as I slaughter more bugs.

It’s a good idea, but I need to make absolutely certain that the possible Frozen Lord down there won’t cause more problems. So I should go take a look at it before I decide on anything.

Then, if the frozen one at the bottom of the ravine isn’t something I need to worry about, I might just leave it be for a bit. Just to farm the bugs for energy.

I really need a way to get stronger faster if I want to stand a chance against the Frozen Lords.

My frown grows a little deeper.

Of course, there’s also the chance that the leader of these bugs may just be too strong for me to even handle in the first place.

But if that happens, then I’ll just flee and farm the bugs until I am strong enough to deal with it. Assuming I can.

There are just too many unknowns to make a set in stone decision right now.

So with my thoughts made up for now, I go ahead and begin hunting the frozen one bugs again. Slaughtering them all with ease since the ones at the surface are all Tier 1 frozen ones again. Likely having the Tier 3s deeper down like before.

One other benefit of this little hunt is that it gives me plenty of experience using my wings. What with me having to use them to fly down and around the ravine.

I slowly watch my analytics rise with every kill, going from early Tier 3 up towards early-mid Tier 3. With my statistics rising rather quickly when I start fighting against the Tier 3s again.

But this time around I don’t focus on killing them as quickly as possible. Instead, I focus on killing them as efficiently as possible. Taking as few injuries as I can while trying to keep my exhaustion to a minimum.

Because I need to get to the bottom to see what’s going on.

And if they keep replacing themselves with every trip, that could prove difficult.

Chapter 52

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Anger

Alexander North

I continue moving down the ravine, slaughtering the frozen ones all the way till I feel myself completely worn out again. To the point that I know I won’t be able to escape or fight if I face the bugs’ leader now.

So I once again retreat. Except this time, instead of just heading back to the bunker right away, I head into the mall again. Searching for the shirts I ditched the last time.

And fortunately for me, they are still there. Albeit covered in some frost that I quickly shake off.

After collecting them, I go ahead and head straight for the bunker. Where I find both girls already back.

But this time I’m too exhausted to stop and talk with them. So I just drop off the shirts before collapsing in bed and falling asleep in an instant.

By the time I wake up again, I find a large majority of my energy having regenerated again. Which is interesting as it implies my regeneration is growing faster and faster.

Makes me wonder if it has something to do with how much energy I have in general. Or maybe it’s just because I’m absorbing more and more cold energy from my surroundings.

Either way, I quickly head out again after making sure Alexia and Cynthia are still okay. Heading straight towards the ravine again.

And just like before, when I arrive, there are more bugs again. Except this time, there aren’t as many.

My eyes narrow a little before I find myself smirking.

Alright. So they can’t just infinitely make more of them.

There are two possibilities for why there aren’t as many that I can think of.

Either they’re growing fatigued from making so many, or there just weren’t enough down below to replace them, with the ones from yesterday having just come up from below.

Or there’s just the possibility that the possible Frozen Lord down there is trying to deceive me into thinking that. With them hiding frozen ones down below and making me think there aren’t as many.

Regardless, I’ll just keep up with my current plans and hunt.

After all, there’s nothing wrong about growing stronger.

So I return to my hunt again. Slaughtering frozen ones back to back and gradually making my way downwards again. By this point having gotten used to this routine.

I wonder just how many days I’m going to be spending here hunting.

Somewhere on Arran

Crao returns its attention to the tunnel leading down into the lair of one of its subordinates. And when it sees the Frozen Lord hybrid once again making its way downwards, it feels a minor amount of irritation. But other than that, it simply ignores the creature.

Because the God of Winter decided to leave him be lest he enter one of the Frozen Lords territories. At which point only that Frozen Lord may target him.

And the experimental hive is not in Crao’s territory. It is in Cryonix’s territory.

But Cryonix is still asleep.

So no one is able to capture the Frozen Lord hybrid right now. Not unless the Vanguard wakes up.

Crao continues to watch as the hybrid slaughters his way through the hive’s mass produced forces for a while. Just growing his own strength along the way and making himself much more of threat than before.

Then Crao turns its attention towards the hive queen. A special frozen one without any sapience or real planning.

And what Crao finds makes another trickle of irritation run through it.

Because the hive queen is beginning to rouse from its breeding slumber. Interrupting Crao’s plans to amass an army.

Crao doesn’t even consider interfering with the hybrid, because that would be breaking His will. And Crao would never even consider that.

Even if Crao did consider it, it would be killed after performing the act anyways.

Because Dragron would never allow anyone who broke His will to survive.

For good reason.

The Winter God is the absolute ruler and origin of all cold energy and frozen ones.

Which is why seeing a creature with the power of a warm one flaunting the power of the cold one infuriates Crao. Enough that its form – which is usually nothing more than a single chunk of floating ice – begins to shift, warping around in its anger.

Crao continues watching as the hive queen slowly wakes up, the creature’s form covered in a thick, icy mist. And after watching for several seconds, Crao finally turns its attention away.

There’s no problem there.

In the end, Crao decides that the hive queen will simply return to production after it deals with the Frozen Lord hybrid. Which should be a simple enough matter for a creature as powerful as the hive queen.

Even if the hybrid continues to grow his strength.

But right when Crao is about to continue focusing on the plan, another interference occurs. One in the form of radio waves beginning to approach the world of Arran.

Crao turns its attention towards space, finding the radio waves having been adapted to be able to pass through the Eternal Winter. Through His energy.

Then Crao feels a mental link establish between itself and Dragron. Following which Crao is brought up to date about the events of some of the other worlds.

Worlds where the warm ones are winning the fights and beginning to create new spacefaring crafts that work within His energy.

Crao feels surprised at the number of warm one worlds that are winning against the cold one assault. Especially when it hears that the angels have nothing to do with their victories, showing just how powerful the warm ones are on those worlds.

Then its surprise turns to rage at the very idea that a regular warm one could ever surpass Frozen Lords.

Dragron sends another wave of information to Crao, warning it that the world may be getting new warm ones to help the warm ones here soon enough.

Crao’s form stops warping at that before expanding to the size of an entire cavern in the large, frozen building it’s in.

‘Understood,’ Crao responds.

Then it doubles down on its work towards adapting the world.

Chapter 53

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

To the Bottom of the Ravine

Alexander North

Over the course of the next couple weeks, I fight against the frozen ones in the hive – which I’ve begun calling it due to the bugs – near endlessly. Leaving the girls to hunt on their own with me only joining them once a week or so. And there are fewer frozen ones in the little hive with each and every trip. Either proving that the one creating them is growing fatigued or something else is going on.

And now, as I return to the ravine at the end of the month, my energy having fully restored itself after not going to the hive in the past couple days, I take a deep breath. Mentally preparing myself for what I’m about to do.

I haven’t gotten any new abilities over the past couple weeks, but I have raised my statistics far higher than they were before.

To the point that just bringing them up makes me smile a little.

/ Current Analysis of user Alexander North \

Strength: 23.93
Agility: 24.42
Reflexes: 24.14
Constitution: 25.44
Immunity: ???
Senses: 24.14
Energy: 44.6/44.6

Abilities: Cold Energy Claws, Cold Diffusion, Thermal Vision, Cold Energy Arcs, Cold Blood, Cold Energy Absorption, Cold Immunity, Cold Burst, Frost Spike, Frozen Wings

Body Malfunctions: N/A
Error: Cannot determine Immunity of user’s current species without the user getting sick to collect data.
The average of a human being without a symbiont is a 1 across all stats except for Energy.
The Energy statistic is determined with a 1 being set as the user’s original starting statistic for Energy.

\End of Analysis/

At this point I’m starting to get close to the level of power that a Tier 4 Symbiont Host has. Which is very impressive considering that it’s been just a month.

That hive is incredibly useful.

I also feel far more confident at this point when it comes to dealing with the leader of the hive.

Although I have my doubts that the leader of the hive is actually intelligent. Considering how it’s just been recreating and sending out the bugs nonstop.

It hasn’t tried to stop me this entire time.

If it were intelligent, it likely would’ve tried something to deal with me instead of just keeping up this act of its.

I take in one more deep breath before letting it out again. Then I glance down at one of my new shirts, Cynthia having finished them over the past couple weeks. Making shirts with holes in the back to fit my wings so that I don’t have to walk around shirtless anymore.

Although I’ve ruined a few of them already.

To the point that Cynthia is talking about making me learn how to sew so she doesn’t have to deal with fixing them every time. Or making new ones.

Which is understandable.

Probably rather annoying for her to deal with.

I look around at the buildings of the shopping district, which are in even worse shape than they were before I first arrived here thanks to the bugs swarming. Then I focus on the ravine again and jump down into it. Flapping my ice wings to fly straight down while slaughtering any of the frozen one bugs I pass by on the way.

A process that has gotten far easier since the beginning. What with how much my power has grown.

I continue moving down without any trouble all the way till I reach the Tier 3 frozen ones. And even then, I continue slaughtering the creatures without much trouble.

All the way till I reach the point I’ve always turned back until now.

A point where a strange icy mist is filling the ravine.

My eyes narrow a little before I fly straight down into the mist. Immediately feeling some of it absorbing into myself thanks to Cold Energy Absorption.

But even with some of it entering me and empowering me, most of it is still there.

And what is just as surprising as when I first saw it, I can’t easily see through it like I can most other things of the sort. Like how I can see through the blizzards of the Eternal Winter with ease.

Probably means this is an ability of the leader down here or something.

Because of this, I make sure to hug the wall as I go down. Just to make sure I’m not out in the open, making myself an easy target.

And as I do this, I deal with more and more frozen ones. Every last one of which is Tier 3 in strength.

But none of them pose much of a threat to me anymore thanks to my own increase in strength.

So I keep flying downwards.

Even as the mist grows thicker and thicker, making it harder to see.

And even as I reach a point where the ravine expands outwards.

It isn’t until I begin to find webbing that I slow down. My eyes narrowing at the hint of what the leader may very well be.

A spider.

But my assumption quickly turns cold when I find something else rather odd.

The walls of the cavern aren’t made of stone.

They’re made out of the same sorts of materials that an actual bee hive would be made out of.

And that’s not all.

There also seem to be random bits of dirt and sticks here and there, along with some regular parts of a cavern made of dirt instead of stone.

Almost as if the place I’m in is some sort of nest of a bunch of different bugs and insects all in one.

Spiders, bees, ants, and so on.

Which I guess would explain the whole swarm of different types of bugs in the ravine.

I continue moving down deeper into the cavern, finding all of the different signs of nests growing more noticeable the further down I get. With the webbing growing thicker along with bits of honey dripping here and there.

All the way till I find a large hole in the very bottom of the cavern.

One covered in webbing like a cocoon.

And through a small opening on the top of the cocoon, I see one bug after another crawling out. Each of different types.

Looks like I found it.

Chapter 54

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The Hive Queen

Alexander North

Bees, wasps, spiders, beetles, ants, and even damned mosquitoes move out of the hole in the cocoon at a rather rapid pace. But the vast majority of these particular frozen ones are only Tiers 1 and 2. With the occasional Tier 3.

So none are particularly hard to kill.

Especially when I fly down towards them, aggravating them with my presence alone before using Cold Burst to wipe out the lot of them in a single blow. Then I proceed to move closer to the hole, through which I see even more icy mist than before.

But now that I’m this close, I can finally sense it.

The sheer power of this frozen one.

And when I do, I find my eyes narrowing more than a little.

Because it is Tier 4. Just a bit weaker than the sapient Frozen Lord from before that let me go.

This time around though, I have an actual chance against it. Because this one is clearly not sapient judging by the screeches I hear coming from within, along with all of its actions up till now.

And if it’s not sapient, then I can strategize around it and take advantage of that fact.

Plus it’s still a bit weaker than that Frozen Lord, so there’s that too. Especially considering how much stronger I’ve gotten.

Even if it’s still stronger than I am by a fair chunk.

Around four or so points higher than most of my stats.

The creature’s screeching slowly grows louder and more frequent with every second. And at the same time, I begin to notice the mist thinning out. Making it easier for me to see through into the cocoon.

But when it becomes thin enough for me to see the source of this little hive, I find myself feeling slightly… disturbed… by the sight of the creature.

The frozen one in question looks like a hybrid of dozens of different types of bugs. And not a clean hybrid either, with random parts of various different bugs growing on random parts of itself. With its main body seemingly that of a spider mixed with an ant.

It’s covered in the hairs of a spider across its entire body, including the parts that shouldn’t have that hair. Like the wasp stinger sticking out right above its spinnerets.

Just imagining being stung with that stinger is rather disturbing in and of itself. Not just because of the fur growing on it, but because it’s the size of my forearm.

As for the creature’s face? It has eight eyes on the front of its spider-like head, except with those eight eyes being from various different bug species.

Two pitch black spider eyes, one pair of narrow compound bee eyes, one pair of wide compound mosquito eyes, and one pair of compound wasp eyes. All scattered in two groups of four on each side of the spider head.

The creature has eight legs, varying between the species of bug, along with two pairs of wings. One wasp set and one bee set.

And that’s just the more basic features of its body.

There are too many others to name.

A shiver runs down my spine at the sight of it. Not to mention the other bugs it seems to be giving birth to one after another as it focuses its screeching gaze towards me.

It doesn’t take long for it to slow down on that birthing process, though. As if it’s stopping so that it can fight.

And since that’s the case, I narrow my eyes at it and immediately begin sending one wave of Cold Energy Arcs after another at the thing. With each set of arcs barely leaving scratches in the creature while also pissing it off even more.

But it still remains in place as it slows down the birthing process even more.

It can’t move yet. But I can’t easily pierce its carapace.

With that in mind, I quickly begin to shift the focus of my attack to a single eye.

An act that immediately produces results when the spider eye in question begins to show damage on it. Mostly including green cuts and green veins spreading across it the more I hit it.

And right when its birthing process seems to be coming to an end, with its eyelid closing over its eye, I stop flying, leading to me falling straight down on it while using Cold Energy Claws to slash at the eye one last time.

Cutting through the already damaged eyelids and into the damaged eye at last. Freezing it solid before shattering it.

The frozen one lets out an ear-piercing screech of rage and pain as I immediately begin flying away. Feeling my energy having drained a bit from that one attack alone.

To my relief, the creature doesn’t begin to regenerate. Meaning this thing isn’t one of those regenerating frozen ones.

Would’ve been a huge problem if it could.

Instead, it finally stops creating more bugs – bugs that I slaughter right away with a Cold Burst before they can do anything – and begins to slowly flap its wings while turning its hate-filled gaze towards me.

Then it turns into a blur, and I feel the creature slamming into me, sending me flying through the ceiling of the cocoon and out to slam into the wall of the ravine. Sending rubble down from the wall to the ground below as I cough out a mouthful of blood.

My eyes widen in shock at how fast the creature is before I immediately fly out of between it and the wall, the creature having backed up a bit after slamming me into it. But the frozen one’s eyes follow me with ease.

Well, the remaining eyes.

I glance down at myself, feeling rather bruised all over, but without any broken bones.

Then I focus on the abomination of a creature again.

And frown at the sight of it buzzing in the air, moving so quickly that my eyes can barely keep track of it.

Huh.

An agility build by the looks of it. Not pure strength.

This’ll be difficult.

Chapter 55

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The Chase

Alexander North

The frozen one moves back and forth in the air, moving almost to the point of a blur. Where I can barely keep track of it with my eyes.

I frown at it before glancing upwards at the ravine. Then looking back at the frozen one right when it moves to tackle me again.

This time I stop it with a Cold Burst before it can reach me, knocking it backwards a bit while I retreat myself.

I’m really glad I got Cold Burst now.

I watch the creature for a bit, repeating that same process a couple times before I decide on a plan.

One that has me flying upwards, past the frozen one and towards random outcroppings of stone in the ravine. And every time I get to those outcroppings, I smash them with my fists to send them falling down towards the frozen one.

The frozen one repeatedly dodges them, but the process of dodging them slows it down, and as I continue this, I notice something with its flying.

It doesn’t seem to be able to fly as quickly when it’s going upwards.

Probably because of its own weight, mixed with those rather thin wings.

Even if it has two sets of them.

So I keep up this pattern. Flying upwards, smashing random bits of stone to fall down towards the bug, and not stopping in my wake.

Until I eventually start sending arcs of cold energy down at the frozen one along with the bits of stone. Shaking the creature up even more.

Proving to be a rather effective strategy.

But after doing it for a few minutes, the frozen one suddenly stops chasing me. Making me turn back to look down at it, only to find the creature making some sort of orb of cold energy begin forming in front of its spider-like mouth.

My eyes widen and I immediately try to fly to the side to avoid whatever is coming, following which a beam of pure cold energy shoots straight through where I was just flying. One that follows after me and slams into parts of the ravine wall, freezing everything it comes into contact with in seconds. All the way until the beam itself dissipates just inches away from one of my wings.

I feel my nonexistent heart beating a million miles per hour at the realization of how close I was to being turned into a popsicle. Metaphorically, of course.

Then the creature begins forming another orb in front of its mouth while slowly flying upwards, and I immediately fly upwards again.

Except this time I don’t have the time to send arcs of cold energy down at it. Instead I just smash the ravine wall every once in a while to send rubble down and slow the bug as I focus most of my attention on dodging the beam of cold energy.

Honestly, I’m not sure what the beam will actually do if it hits my wings. Considering that my wings are already ice in the first place.

But I’d rather not find out. Especially when I’m flying so high above the bottom of this ravine.

So I just keep flying, hoping against hope that some of the rubble I’m making damages the frozen one’s wings.

That hope never comes to fruition, though, even by the time I reach the top of the ravine and leave it. Entering the city itself.

After leaving the ravine, I quickly move up towards one of the balconies of a mall nearby before turning to look down at the ravine. The bug itself not having been able to attack me yet due to me leaving its line of sight.

I watch it pass through the opening of the ravine just seconds later, with the creature following straight after me without any sort of confusion regarding my whereabouts.

Guess it’s tracking me somehow.

Annnddd it starts preparing another beam.

Great.

I quickly head inside of the building, with the beam slamming into the side of it right after I leave the bug’s sight. Freezing the walls of said building with ease and even breaking through some in the process to freeze walls inside of the building.

Proving that the beam isn’t just able to freeze things.

But I have the advantage now, beam or no beam.

Because we’re inside of a building.

And this bug will be very limited in its movements now.

I hear the buzzing sound of its wings approaching closer and closer as I sense its presence, but I just head further inside of the building. Where I begin to search for a good place to ambush the creature.

My plan becomes a little bit more convoluted though when the building begins to shake, and I hear walls caving in. Meaning the bug likely isn’t passing through the hallways like a good, civilized little abomination of different bug species.

Probably shouldn’t have expected it to in the first place.

Although…

I frown as I run through the halls, a possible plan coming to mind.

If the building becomes unstable due to the bug’s movements, that in and of itself could end up being a rather nice trap.

A faint smirk stretches across my face before I immediately begin rushing to the other side of the building. And without so much as a glance backwards, once I reach another balcony, I jump straight off of the building and begin flying towards another mall.

Except this time I enter the mall from the bottom.

Then I wait for a little bit to see if the bug will follow me.

A wait that doesn’t take very long before I begin to hear its buzzing wings and sense its powerful cold energy.

Alright.

I move a bit further into the building while waiting for the bug to reach the floor I’m on. And as soon as I feel the building beginning to shake as loud crashing sounds echo from the edge of it, I begin to move around the building in a circle. Making sure not to get too far ahead of the bug.

Let’s see if this little pest can survive a building falling on top of its head.

Chapter 56

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Crumble

Alexander North

I move in a gradual circle all around the building, making the bug follow me all the way through while also being sure to keep it closer to the edge of the building. Specifically so that I can control how the building will collapse.

After all, if I just march it straight through the bottom floor of the building, then the building might tip over and collapse to the side. Unlike if I do it in a controlled manner, destroying the supports starting from the outward supports and going inwards from there. Where the building should collapse straight down on top of us.

And when it does, I’ll make sure to finish it up near the basement. To give myself an escape route from the frozen one.

Of course, my plan doesn’t exactly go exactly as I envisioned it.

It starts out well, with the bug destroying all of the outermost supports. But after that, the thing seems to grow irritated and starts to screech.

Immediately making swarms of frozen ones that aren’t bugs head straight over towards us from the neighboring buildings.

I grimace at the sight of them, but they don’t stop me from going through with my plan.

Although avoiding and killing them do make my plan a bit more annoying to pull off.

I continue moving in slow circles to let the bug destroy the building’s first floor, gradually moving inwards until the building finally begins to shake rather unnaturally. Like it’s barely supporting itself.

And when the shaking grows so bad that cracks are forming all throughout the walls and ceilings, I finally head straight for the basement. Which is located somewhere around the center of the building.

Then I go ahead and use Cold Burst multiple times after entering just to freeze up the basement and make it harder for the bug to try following me.

I hold my breath for a few seconds after entering, only for loud crashing noises to begin sounding from above. During which I feel the entire floor I’m on shaking like crazy.

And right as the door to the basement is destroyed by the bug and the building, the ceiling collapses.

I hide further in the basement, entering one of the floors down here as everything shakes and the crashing sounds echo all around me. Meanwhile a loud screeching sound can be heard from above.

One that never cuts off even with the sounds of the collapsing building.

The walls and ceiling of the basement floor I’m on begin to show some degradation as well, with cracks forming on them. But they manage to hold out all the way till the building finally stops shaking.

My eyes narrow, though. Because the bug is still screeching in anger despite everything seemingly settling down.

And frost is starting to creep through the cracks in the building.

Looks like it’s not dead. But I guess I wasn’t really expecting this to be that easy.

I try to open the door to the stairs, only to find it completely stuck due to the deformed wall.

So I punch it open before walking up the damaged stairs to find the stairs completely blocked at some point going up. Sealing me down here entirely.

Hmm. Well, time for some digging.

Right when I move up to begin, the rubble begins to freeze over. Just like the ceiling and walls. Then said rubble starts floating into the air, surprising me for a moment as the bug is revealed on the other side. Floating above a massive crater in the mall’s rubble.

A frozen crater at that.

Of course, it’s very obviously not unscathed. But it’s in better shape than I was hoping.

The creature is missing one pair of wings, along with one pair of legs, a couple of its unnecessary body parts, two eyes, and its stinger. It also has quite the number of bruises and lacerations across the rest of its body.

And it looks pissed off. Very pissed off.

As soon as the thing spots me, it lets out an incredibly high pitch screech. One mixing anger and pain into one loud cry.

I glance around at the crater to find quite the number of frozen ones around it. All either frozen solid or crushed by the rubble.

When my gaze returns to the bug, it’s to find it flying straight towards me. Albeit far slower than it was flying before.

At a pace that I can actually fight against.

A faint smile emerges on my face as I jump straight up and fly out of the crater, leaving the bug to crash into the crater itself. Only for it to turn around and fly at me again, not bothering with the crushed ice falling from its face.

Looks like my plan worked in the end. Even with those frozen ones trying to get in the way.

I never expected the building to actually kill the thing. Only wound it enough that I can actually fight it.

And maybe anger it a bit to make it lose focus.

Both of which seem to have happened.

I dodge one attack after another, albeit without much wiggle room. Then I begin my counterattack, sending one wave of cold energy arcs after another at the creature.

And for the first time since meeting it, the thing creates some sort of barrier in front of it. One made out of pure ice that blocks my arcs.

It can’t dodge all of my attacks anymore, so it’s going with a shield now?

Makes me wonder what other tricks this pest has up its nonexistent sleeve.

We clash several more times, with me sending more cold energy arcs and it blocking all of them with its shield, before I finally rush in with my claws held up and a spike shooting out from the back of my hand. Only for the creature to suddenly stop flying and create a much larger barrier that blocks me entirely.

I grit my teeth as I try to push through the barrier, but it begins to glow, making my eyes narrow for a second.

Then it suddenly flashes once and sends me flying as bits of my fingers start to freeze over.

Chapter 57

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Ambush

Alexander North

I grit my teeth as I slam into the rubble down on the ground, with my fingers frost bitten. Which is a first ever since I became a frost infused.

Fortunately for me, the frostbite doesn’t last long and quickly begins to recede at a visible pace. Probably thanks to my Cold Immunity ability. So I push myself to my feet and focus upwards at the large bug, finding the creature already rushing towards me.

But the moment it gets close, I use Cold Burst with as much energy as I can pack into a single hit. Sending a wave of cold energy outwards, freezing everything and sending the bug recoiling backwards. Albeit with a lot less force than it sent me flying with before.

Then I fly back up into the air again, ignoring the last bits of the frostbite still on my fingertips as I create some distance between the bug and myself.

Also unlike with when it hit me, my Cold Burst didn’t do much damage. So it quickly begins to rush after me again.

Leaving me wondering just how I should deal with this creature.

It has barriers and powerful offensive abilities as well, even if it’s injured. Is still faster than I am, even if it’s by a much, much smaller margin. And it seems to be resistant to my own abilities to a degree judging by the result of that Cold Burst.

Should I go ahead and lure it to another building? Would that even work?

Can I even guarantee that I could make it safely to the basement before said building collapses?

I grit my teeth for a second, only to dodge the bug at the last second and immediately begin heading towards another building.

No. I won’t be destroying another building.

But what I can do is use another building to my advantage in a different way.

The thing won’t be able to move as quickly inside of a building. Nor will its vision be as good.

If I’m to beat this thing, I’ll need ambushes.

The bug follows me through the air after stopping its momentum and turning around. And it follows me all the way to the next building, at which point the building begins to shake when the bug follows me into it. Damaging the walls in the process.

But just like what I expected, the creature doesn’t cause anywhere near as much damage as the first time.

Which also implies that the other plan of destroying another building wouldn’t work anyways. What with it not being fast enough to destroy it in a balanced manner.

Not anymore.

Anyways, I quickly fly through the building from one hall to another. Occasionally moving up and down stairs to confuse the thing and make it believe I’m running.

Then I find a cosmetics store within the mall and spray myself down with a deodorizing spray, following which I spray random areas that I pass with perfume and the like. Just trying to confuse its senses. If that’s possible. Even if it would only work for determining the exact path through the building to find me and not to hide my actual location. What with its cold energy senses and all.

I continue moving through the building a bit, keeping track of the bug through my energy senses and trying to determine if its pattern of movements have changed or not. And they seem to have changed a bit.

Mostly in the sense that it’s no longer taking a straight path towards me. Instead ending up taking the wrong way sometimes and then breaking through a wall or something.

Good. Confused it.

Now that it doesn’t know exactly how to get to me at any point in time, I move up a floor and wait upstairs near the stairs themselves. Just waiting for the creature to get near the stairs itself.

And when it does, I let it enter the stairs before I immediately jump down from above and stab it in one of its wings with my claws and the Cold Spike extending from my fist. Ripping its wing apart in the process and sending it flying into the wall, only for it to crash through it and fall out of the building towards the ground below.

The creature no longer able to fly thanks to only having a single wing left.

I can’t help but smile a little as I walk to the edge of the building, right where the hole is. At which point I stare down at the ground below to find the bug having crash landed.

It’s currently trying to get up again, though. Proving that a simple fall won’t be enough to finish it.

But that doesn’t mean I can’t finish it myself now.

So I jump from the hole in the building and fly down towards the creature. Stopping just a dozen or so meters above it in the air as the bug itself turns its head upwards to glare at me while screeching out its anger.

I stay flying up here for several seconds, waiting to see if the bug will do anything to me while I’m up here. Waiting to see if it even can do anything to me.

And, while it takes a good few seconds, the thing does actually do something.

It spits out some sort of green liquid at me that I hurriedly dodge. Leading to said liquid splashing on a building and beginning to melt through the wall of said building.

Acid.

Great.

Was really hoping this thing wouldn’t have any sort of ranged abilities, but I guess that was too much to hope for.

I quickly begin to send one arc of cold energy after another at the creature while avoiding its balls of acid. Meanwhile the creature uses a barrier to block each one of my attacks.

But after doing this for a few minutes, I swoop down to strike at the thing with my bare claws. Taking it by surprise and destroying another eye before retreating back into the air again.

Pissing the bug off even more.

Now for the real battle to commence.

A fair one, unlike the one before.

If I can call this fair.

Chapter 58

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Retreat

Alexander North

The battle proceeds in a much smoother manner than it had previously. With me sending one arc of cold energy at the bug after another before occasionally swooping in to claw at it. Taking it by surprise almost every time and scoring a blow.

That said, my blows don’t do all that much damage to it. Except for its vulnerable points like its eyes and wings. Wings of which it has none of anymore.

I just keep hitting the thing one time after another despite how little damage most of my attacks are doing. Because they are still doing damage. And the creature itself isn’t able to do all that much back to me in return.

Making this a rather one-sided battle.

Until the thing suddenly freezes stiff for some reason and I sense a strange energy coming from somewhere else. Following which the bug turns around and starts digging into the ground at a rapid pace, leaving me behind in a stunned silence for a second.

I don’t stay here for long, though, as I quickly begin chasing after it. Heading towards the hole.

Only for said hole to freeze up entirely, sealing itself shut and letting the frozen one hive queen escape.

I move up to the frozen tunnel before slamming my fist into it, only for it to not even crack. Probably because of how dense it is.

“Are you fucking kidding me…” I mutter while staring at the tunnel of ice, only to glance upwards when I hear a strange voice echoing out all around me.

“Be grateful a hybrid such as yourself is still alive,” the voice says rather monotonously and androgynously. Its words reverberating from building to building all around me.

I don’t hear anything else from the void after that one statement, though. And the faint presence I felt fades away just as quickly as it arrived.

Leaving me staring at the tunnel of ice rather blankly for a bit.

What the hell?

I guess there really was a Frozen Lord controlling that bug. Although if that’s the case, I wonder why they didn’t bother me until now?

They didn’t interfere at all until the queen was on the verge of defeat.

And even then, all they did was make it flee. They didn’t come to help.

Is this because of what their Winter God said? About the whole ‘don’t interfere with me unless I enter their territory’ thing?

I frown at the thought before shaking my head and sighing.

Well, whatever.

I didn’t manage to kill the queen, but I did at least manage to grow a lot stronger from it all. Thanks to the frozen ones the queen was making.

It’ll also take a while for the queen to recover. Assuming the Frozen Lord involved can’t just heal it, that is.

My thoughts grind to a halt when I notice something. A very faint sensation of the bug’s energy coming off of the ice.

Interesting.

I think I can track this.

A faint smile stretches across my face before I begin following the ice tunnel from the surface using the energy trail left behind.

Maybe I won’t have to abandon the hunt after all.

Somewhere on Arran

Crao feels its inner rage growing even more turbulent as it watches the filthy hybrid following after the trail left behind by the hive queen. A completely unexpected turn of events in Crao’s mind. Albeit not one greater than the previous unexpected event. That of the hybrid very nearly defeating the hive queen in the first place.

The hive queen was far superior to the hybrid. It plain shouldn’t have been possible for the hybrid to win.

But, under Crao’s own senses, the hybrid pulled it off.

In a hideous manner, at that.

If there’s one thing the cold ones live by, it’s the idea of personal power and energy being the ruler of all. The determinant for who is stronger. And the decider of the hierarchy.

While Frozen Lords are perfectly willing to use warm one tactics against the warm ones, their battles between each other are meant to be contests of pure ability between the two cold ones or Frozen Lords. Cheap tricks like dropping a warm one structure on top of the cold one should not be used.

But while Crao despises the hybrid, it still considered him to be a Frozen Lord more than a warm one. Merely due to the Winter God’s declaration.

It didn’t believe the hybrid would resort to warm one tactics in the battle.

And it very nearly paid the price for it.

Crao multitasks, putting forth half of its consciousness to watch the hybrid following the hive queen and half of its consciousness to focus on the job it had been assigned. But after watching for a while, seeing the hive queen retreating towards a different hive outside of the capital city and within a nearby mountain range, Crao feels more reassured.

In fact, Crao begins to feel its confidence raising once more.

Since there is no way the hybrid can use any of those tricks on the hive queen when there aren’t any warm one structures nearby. Especially when there will be two hive queens present and not just one.

Of course, Crao will need to adjust the plans to accommodate the restoration of this hive queen and the loss of forces it will make, but those are inconsequential compared to the defeat of the hybrid. A defeat that doesn’t go against the Esteemed One’s will.

Crao takes a few moments to consider what sort of swarm the hybrid will make after being devoured by the hive queen. Since it isn’t allowed to interfere even to help the hybrid, taking capture out of the question.

But after spending a few minutes considering, Crao simply returns its full attention to the job of converting the world.

A job that is far more important than anything the hybrid could possibly be doing right now.

Chapter 59

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

New Strategy

Alexander North

I end up following the hive queen for over a day, with it heading directly South of the capital. All the way to the mountain range between the capital and my original base. A place I haven’t been in a while.

Along the way, I make sure to call Cynthia over the phone just to tell her that I won’t be back for a little while.

And to my surprise, even after reaching the mountains, I still continue following the trail into them. Deep into them, in fact.

Until I eventually find the place where the hive queen is fleeing to.

One that genuinely has me gritting my teeth.

Because, now that I’m nowhere near the capital, I can clearly sense the cold energy of everything here. What with the sleeping Frozen Lord not being here.

And what I sense is another hive. Just like the one in the capital.

With another hive queen in it. Judging by the power of the energy source.

I frown at the large ravine in the middle of the mountains. A ravine most people probably wouldn’t have noticed considering the fact that only frozen ones and Symbiont Hosts can sense cold energy in the first place. And it’s a ravine directly at the peak of a large mountain in the form of a massive hole rather than a ravine.

In fact, calling it a ravine in the first place is wrong.

I stare at the bugs coming out of it for a bit before sighing and going back down the mountain.

Right. I could barely battle against one hive queen on my own, and that was with the help of the infrastructure in the capital playing to my advantage.

The chances I can fight two of them at the same time out in the middle of nowhere are pretty slim.

But that doesn’t mean I’ve given up.

I can tell that the Frozen Lord who spoke before isn’t focusing on me. What with its presence not being here and all. So the creature likely assumed I wouldn’t be able to defeat the two hive queens.

At least, on my own.

With that thought in mind, I go ahead and call the doctor. And when she answers, I immediately state, “I have a situation you might want to know about.”

After heading back to rest at the bunker for the night, I return to the mountains before immediately guiding all of the soldiers I find waiting there through them towards the hive. Soldiers numbering at least a few hundred that were sent from several of the nearby bases after their commanders all heard news of this hive from the doctor.

Plenty to hunt the hive queens with. Especially when one of them is majorly injured.

All of the soldiers are Symbiont Hosts, with over two thirds of them being Tier 1 and less than one third being Tier 2. Along with just two Tier 3s. With one of them being that very same mutated Tier 3 I saw before.

The guy in question seemed rather pleasantly surprised to see my wings as well. What with him also having wings of his own on his back.

Everyone just tensely follows me through the mountains towards the hive. Without anyone speaking much at all.

Leaving the only noises being the crunch of our boots in the snow along with the faint hum of the jeeps behind us. Each of which are powered by cold energy cores in order to be able to function within the Eternal Winter.

The hives and hive queens pose a major threat to everyone, and not just me. So the bases were more than happy to help out in clearing them.

And with the help of all of these Symbiont Hosts with me, along with their weapons and the four mechs I see trailing along with us, I should be able to take on the hive queens.

Plus this gave me a chance to meet the commanders of the other bases. None of whom were as stupid and stingy as the chairman who formerly led Delta Base.

Hours pass as we trek through the blizzard of the Eternal Winter within the mountains until we finally arrive at the peak where the hive is. And after seeing the bugs swarming around within it, all of the soldiers immediately tense up even more without exception.

“This is worse than I thought…” Lieutenant Colonel Rorris states with a single flap of his ice wings and a frown on his face. “And you said they’re constantly being produced by the hive queens?”

I nod my head while looking down the large hole with my arms crossed. “At a rapid pace.”

“In that case…” the lieutenant colonel mutters before turning to the men and pulling a radio to his mouth as he states, “Retreat to the base of the mountain and begin setting up the basecamp. We’ll need to have a place to rest if we’re to face off against this many of them.”

And with that, all of the soldiers begin to fall back except for the commanders of each force. With the doctor surprisingly being here as well.

But the head commander is the Tier 3 mutated Symbiont Host, Lieutenant Colonel Richard Rorris.

The lieutenant colonel turns to me again and asks, “According to your report, the hive queens will likely be indisposed right now. Is that correct?”

“Affirmative,” I state while focusing on the hole. “Unless the second hive queen disturbed the first, it should still be focusing solely on producing new bugs. Meanwhile the first one will likely be recovering.”

“And you’re uncertain whether or not the first hive queen will be able to produce more offspring?” the lieutenant colonel continues, making me look at him and nod.

I have no idea what parts of the creature are necessary considering its mixed biology. So I don’t know if I destroyed its organs necessary to produce more bugs or not.

“Very well,” the lieutenant colonel states before turning to the others. “Let’s begin the planning session.”

Chapter 60

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The Attack on the Nest

Alexander North

Our planning session goes on for two hours before the soldiers finish preparing the basecamp for our use. At which point we move to it and continue our discussion for another hour. With the lieutenant colonels and majors ranking at the top of this force repeatedly grilling me for all of the information I have on the frozen ones within the hive.

Whether it’s the various different types of frozen ones given birth to by the hive queens or the hive queens themselves.

Of course, I’ve already noticed that the frozen ones in this hive aren’t the exact same as the previous hive. Meaning that these two hive queens aren’t the exact same.

But what that exactly implies can vary.

Are they not the same type of frozen one? Did they just choose to create different frozen ones in their hive? Or did they somehow evolve to create different frozen ones?

Maybe the things they eat affect what they produce. Or maybe it’s the Frozen Lord’s doing.

So many different possibilities, and we all go through each one.

But at the end of the session, all we’re left with are possibilities and no confirmations.

Hypotheses.

After another couple hours, we all just decide on a tentative plan before mobilizing all of the soldiers again. Having them surround the large, gaping hole leading down into the hive. But as I’m standing at the hole, I can’t help but notice two people who I wasn’t expecting to be here.

I frown at Alexia and Cynthia, both of whom are standing at the other side of the hole from me. With Alexia waving as if nothing were wrong.

What are those two doing here?

My first instinct is to call them over here and send them back to the bunker. But right as I’m raising my phone to do that very thing, I pause at the sight of the look on their faces.

At the sight of how serious they are.

Then I focus on their energy, and think about how strong they’ve grown over the time I’ve spent hunting both on my own and with them.

Eventually I find myself sighing before sending them a text telling them to only fight against the frozen ones closer to the surface. And to not go deep into the hive.

Both of them light up like Christmas tree lights after seeing the text. Especially Alexia.

I sigh again, shaking my head a little before focusing on the other soldiers all around the hole.

All of the soldiers are armed to the T with rifles, with some of them even having rocket launchers and the like. Meanwhile there are the four mechs that are stationed around, each with climbing equipment attached to their hands in order to let them go up and down the walls of the hive. What with them not having wings like me and the lieutenant colonel.

Wings make things so much easier.

All of the soldiers also have climbing gear on, and I can actually see several mutants amongst their numbers. Which is a nice sight to see as it means mutants aren’t being discriminated against or anything.

At least on the surface.

May be possible that the people who would normally do it are just too afraid to. What with the mutants having an easier way to get stronger than everyone else. Not to mention the homefield advantage within the Eternal Winter.

Not as much as the frost infused like me and Alexia though.

I turn my attention towards the commanding officers, who are currently dealing with last minute preparations for the assault. Then I focus on the hive itself, where I see the bug frozen ones all just roaming around down there. At least a few dozen meters deep in the hole.

The fact that none of them are coming out is interesting in and of itself. Likely means that they’re on the defense and are trying to protect their hive.

Probably because of the wounded hive queen down there.

Which implies that the hive queen in charge here is either at least partially aware and is controlling them, or the wounded hive queen can control the spawn of another hive queen.

Either way isn’t good.

But, regardless of the why, we need to deal with this hive before it grows more. And any other hives out there.

So, as soon as the commanders finally give the order, I jump straight down into the hole before anyone else and begin slaughtering the bugs with abandon. Meanwhile bullets fly down after me, straying relatively far away from me so as to not do any friendly fire.

And these bugs quickly prove to be rather weak to bullets in general. Weaker than most frozen ones I’ve come to know.

Probably because they’re just cannon fodder.

I slaughter one after another, going deeper than anyone else and not even killing them all in my wake. Simply because I have backup behind me to deal with the weaker ones.

My part of this plan is to deal with the stronger ones while the soldiers handle the small-fry.

Because at this point I am by far the strongest human, or former human, I guess, on this planet. What with my power nearing Tier 4 at this point.

Actually, I might reach Tier 4 by the time I even get to the hive queens down there. Then this will be a much more even battle.

A faint smile stretches across my face as I continue moving down the hive while slaughtering one frozen one after another. Proving to be moving quite a bit faster than I did in the previous hive simply because I’m not the only target for the bugs, and I’m not focusing on killing every last one of them.

And soon enough, I find myself making it down to the part of the hive that has Tier 3 bugs in it.

At which point I do finally start focusing on slaughtering them all.

Because if these fellas make it to the soldiers up top, the soldiers will have trouble.

Especially Alexia and Cynthia.

I don’t want either of them dying up there because I let a bug or two slip past.

So I start slaughtering the Tier 3s without focusing much on the Tier 2s beyond making sure none of them attack me.

Chapter 61

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Growth

Alexander North

I quickly run into a problem as I slaughter the Tier 3 frozen ones, however. With that problem being the fact that more keep coming. Which likely implies that the hive queens are at work making them at full speed. Possibly not even making the weaker ones right now.

And I can only assume that they’re both making them right now. Because this speed is just insane.

Unless the hive queen of this hive is just a lot faster at making them than the other hive was.

I frown at that thought before going ahead and reporting the new finding to the lieutenant colonel. Then I go ahead and continue slaughtering the Tier 3s, each of whom are now a decent chunk weaker than me simply because I’m very nearly at Tier 4 myself.

And with every single one I kill, every one that I absorb the energy of, I get that much closer to Tier 4. Rapidly growing my own strength. To the point that the lieutenant colonel was shocked when he saw me again after arriving to help.

After all, I’ve grown by over an entire third of my previous strength just in less than a month since we last saw each other.

It makes sense he’d be surprised.

And I also noticed the other commanders growing more and more wary of me. As if they see me as a possible threat to watch out for.

Also understandable. And while I would take offense to it normally, I find myself not caring in the least.

Makes me wonder if my new biology is affecting my thought process a little.

More than I already knew it was, that is.

But putting that aside for the moment, I continue slaughtering the frozen ones and growing in power along the way. One after another, for hours upon hours. All the way till my energy begins to deplete and I fall back. Calling the commander along the way as I do so.

And after I reach the first couple Tier areas, I find a large portion of the bugs cleared out by now.

The soldiers stationed there dealing with the bugs proceed after me, joining me in my retreat. Until we reach the surface, and they form a ring around the hole.

Then I regroup with the commanders again and give a short report of what happened. Which wasn’t much considering all I did was go down and slaughter Tier 3s until I ran out of energy.

And the only important detail I’d already informed the commander over the radio earlier. The detail about how the hive queens are producing more Tier 3s in this one than the last hive, and how they’re producing faster here as well.

Although something that surprises me is that the Tier 3 bugs didn’t follow me out. They just stayed down there and are no doubt growing in number again.

I frown after leaving the meeting and walking over to the edge of the hole, ignoring the soldiers on either side of me that grow tense merely from being near me. Soldiers who are from other bases and not the doctor’s base.

What I see when I look over the edge though is just the remaining Tier 1 and 2 bugs deeper down in the hole. A number that doesn’t seem to be growing.

Looks like the hive queens really are just focusing on the Tier 3s now.

|It is hypothesized that your energy is the cause.|

Hmm. I close my eyes and sense around my own energy source. Feeling it spread around with my own power.

Then I open them again and cross my arms while still looking down at the hole.

That could definitely be it. Or the hive queens were just put on guard by the Frozen Lord and ordered to do that.

They could also just plain be smarter than I give them credit for.

Since making the small-fry won’t do anything for them at this point. Other than irritate the commanders’ forces.

Although…

Open my analysis please.

/ Current Analysis of user Alexander North \

Strength: 27.91
Agility: 26.81
Reflexes: 27.04
Constitution: 26.81
Immunity: ???
Senses: 27.01
Energy: 4.4/50.1

Abilities: Cold Energy Claws, Cold Diffusion, Thermal Vision, Cold Energy Arcs, Cold Blood, Cold Energy Absorption, Cold Immunity, Cold Burst, Frost Spike, Frozen Wings

Body Malfunctions: N/A
Error: Cannot determine Immunity of user’s current species without the user getting sick to collect data.
The average of a human being without a symbiont is a 1 across all stats except for Energy.
The Energy statistic is determined with a 1 being set as the user’s original starting statistic for Energy.

\End of Analysis/

Hmm. At this rate I’ll probably reach the power of a Tier 4 in a few days or so.

Then I won’t have to worry about the hive queens’ power all that much.

Assuming the hive queen of this hive is Tier 4 like the other hive queen was.

I frown at that thought, not particularly liking how many assumptions I’m having to make for all of this. But I don’t have much else to go off of, so…

After staring down the hole for a bit, I finally begin to walk away towards the basecamp. Taking the time spent walking to search for Alexia and Cynthia. Or to be more specific, Alexia. Since she has an energy source while Cynthia only has her heat energy source that’s harder to detect.

And as I do that, I can’t help but remember what I was told before.

About the communications supposedly going back online soon.

Dad… I wonder how he’s doing?

Knowing his power, he should be perfectly fine. I can’t see even the sleeping Frozen Lord on this planet being a match for him.

But I still can’t help but worry a little.

I walk silently through the soldiers for a bit before sighing.

Well, nothing I can do but wait.

I glance towards one particular building of the basecamp when I catch a hint of Alexia’s energy.

For now all I can do is grow stronger and survive.

I walk over towards them before entering the building to find the two lying down on beds, looking rather exhausted.

The smallest hint of a smile stretches across my face.

And to keep these two alive.

Chapter 62

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Lost in Thought

Alexander North

I take about an hour to rest in our building before going back outside again and just walking over towards the hole. Where I simply sit down at the edge of it with my legs dangling over the pit as I look downwards.

With everything going on, I haven’t really had much time to actually stop and think about it all.

Which I guess is rather normal for me. Considering how pragmatic I am.

My current priorities are always what’s absolutely necessary, and that’s all I tend to think about. It’s something Dad, Cynthia, and even the emperor would always get on my case about.

Because I don’t tend to take actual breaks. Or even so much as take a breather in my mind.

Even when I’m resting, I still tend to be sitting there thinking about and planning my next actions.

It’s how I’ve always been, and how I’ll likely always be.

But…

I raise my head to look past the Eternal Winter around us towards the sky.

Terminal, what’s the progress on the repairs for communications? Or do you know?

|Flares of signals have been sent but not received, implying the likelihood that the sender is working again. However, the router connecting communications is still being repaired. Estimate is two days before communications are back up.|

Not bad, then.

My thoughts go back to my father, who is no doubt working hard in the capital right about now.

Despite being the general in charge of the entire military, I’ve never really seen the man as anything but a father. One who would get incredibly overprotective of me because of my heart condition and what happened to Mom.

So I’ve never actually seen him fight myself. Even if others say his fighting prowess is extraordinary.

That he’s strong enough to destroy a planet if given a bit of time.

I let out a sigh at the thought before resting my elbow on my knee and my chin on the palm of my hand. Just looking up at space above us.

There are fewer and fewer stars in the sky every week. Probably because of the Eternal Winter either devouring or destroying them.

So there isn’t much to see up there anymore.

Mostly just the larger stars.

Not to mention a lot of snow and ice. Since the Eternal Winter is running through space as well. But my eyes let me see through it all.

Kind of makes me wonder what it looks like to people without my eyes. To regular humans and Symbiont Hosts.

Probably nothing but ice and snow.

I continue staring upwards for several minutes before eventually sighing.

Just what is this universe coming to, anyways?

Makes me wonder if the universe will ever return to any sense of normalcy that it once had. Or if that Winter God of the frozen ones will ever be dealt with.

I frown at that thought as I remember the way the Frozen Lords treat me. How they each want to bring me to the Winter God.

At this rate, I wouldn’t be surprised if I do eventually meet this god of theirs. Whether I want to or not.

Which also makes me wonder what the Winter God would even do to me if he does capture me.

Experiment on me? Try to force me to serve him? Or just study me?

Could even just take a look at me and kill me right after that.

Although that does leave the whole ‘leave me alone unless I bother Frozen Lords in their own territory’ thing that the other Frozen Lord mentioned. Implying that the Winter God wants me to get stronger.

Maybe he just wants to see what sort of creature I’ll grow to be when I get stronger?

On that note, just how strong is the Winter God anyways? Considering that his energy is spread across the entire universe, he has to be above our Symbiont Host tiering system, right?

Terminal?

|Not enough data to come to a conclusion on the matter. However, for a being to spread their energy across the entire universe, they must be far above Tier 5 at the very least.|

Hmm.

Then there’s the fact that it’s his power that’s changing people into frozen ones in the first place. With those shards.

Just what are you… Cocytus…

Questions about the Winter God fill my head for several minutes before I eventually let out a sigh and return my thoughts towards my father.

He’s probably quite a bit worried by now, considering how he usually is. I can definitely see him rushing over to this planet the moment that’s possible. Just to make sure I’m okay.

And the emperor might do the same thing for his daughter, even if he doesn’t outwardly show his protectiveness sometimes.

Which makes sense as well. After all, he may be the emperor, but his sister was my mother, who died young. And he’s been just as affected by that as Dad has been.

Or, almost as affected.

Cynthia’s never had any real health issues like me. So there’s been less for him to worry about.

I glance back in the direction of the building where Cynthia and Alexia are currently sleeping as a thought comes to mind.

Hmm. Wonder how Dad will react to hearing he has a granddaughter?

I stare at the building from here for several seconds before eventually shrugging.

He’ll probably just dote on her or something.

Anyways, I turn to look down at the pit again as my thoughts return to the situation at hand.

Or, more precisely, towards the Frozen Lord I know I sensed watching me back when I was fighting the first hive queen.

I haven’t sensed them since, so I’m guessing they don’t expect me to do much of anything and haven’t been paying any attention.

That or they’re just better at hiding their attention now. But I doubt that.

I frown at the hive for several seconds before sighing again and getting up. Then I head back towards the building.

Might as well get some sleep too.

Chapter 63

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

A Commander’s Concerns

At the Edge of the Base Camp

Lieutenant Colonel Richard Rorris silently watches as the frost infused Frozen Consultant walks through the base camp towards the building he and his family are staying in. But no matter how long he watches him, he can’t get a very clear read on the man.

And more importantly, he knows very well that he wouldn’t stand a chance fighting against him.

It’s bothered him since the moment he heard of the man.

The rate at which the frost infused grows.

It’s just too rapid.

Just months ago the man was at the level of a Tier 3 Symbiont Host, yet now he is as strong as a Tier 4 Symbiont Host. And several months before that he was only at the level of a Tier 2 Symbiont Host.

And before that?

He was just a regular human.

His rate of growth is simply terrifying. To the point that no human on the planet can stand up to him anymore.

The lieutenant colonel dislikes uncontrollable factors.

He very much dislikes them.

And no one on the planet can control this factor.

After the frost infused enters the building with his family, the lieutenant colonel turns his gaze towards the hive.

Even if he doesn’t like the Frozen Consultant, he at least understands that they need him. He understands this very well.

If it weren’t for him, they’d all have been killed by the Frozen Lord from the rescue operation. And they wouldn’t have any chance at ever defeating the Frozen Lords either. Not unless transportation across planets is restored and Tier 4 and 5 Symbiont Hosts arrive.

And the only reason a Tier 4 or 5 Symbiont Host would even come to a backwater tourist attraction world like this one before other worlds is because of that very Frozen Consultant and his cousin, the princess.

All of it rubs the lieutenant colonel the wrong way. But there’s nothing he can do about it but go along with the frost infused’s whims.

When the lieutenant colonel had mutated himself, he felt like he had gained a great boon to his power. And he really did.

That feeling, however, faded when he realized the difference between a mutated one and a frost infused.

Richard walks over towards the edge of the hole leading into the hive.

He knows that he isn’t the only one who feels this way towards the Frozen Consultant.

A lot of people are scared of him. Of his power. And of the fact that he’s no longer human.

From the studies they’ve conducted, the mutated ones are more human than frozen ones. However, the frost infused are nearly half and half, leaning a little bit more on the side of the frozen ones than humans.

Which leads to a difference in treatment between them.

But at the same time, the frost infused are powerful. And they can grow far faster than others as well.

Richard has already had plenty of complaints about the frost infused come up from his subordinates who are simply frightened by the man. Despite the man not having done a single thing to them.

Another reason Richard finds the frost infused dislikable.

Because he’s increasing his workload. Even if it’s not on purpose.

The lieutenant colonel frowns a little as he looks down the hole at the hive.

At the very least, he’s grateful for the Frozen Consultant’s finding of the hives. Not to mention his clearing of other nests. So he would never act rudely towards him in person.

The man is doing his job well, all of the other problems aside.

And this hive is a major problem that needs to be dealt with, and can only be dealt with by the Frozen Consultant.

He’s the only Tier 4 on the planet that isn’t a frozen one after all.

Of course, his dealing with it also means he grows stronger.

A major problem with frozen ones in general.

How they grow stronger from devouring the energy of other frozen ones.

It makes the lieutenant colonel a little jealous since the mutated ones can only absorb a very minimal amount of energy from frozen ones. And it barely makes them grow at all.

Unlike the frost infused.

His frown fades a little as he raises his head, the man sensing another attempt at communication from HQ. One that’s growing ever closer to the mark.

Meaning communications with headquarters will be returning soon.

Which also means the chain of command will be restored as much as it can be.

They’ll also be able to gather intel about how the other worlds are doing, and how much damage has been done across the universe.

The lieutenant colonel just hopes the damage is kept to a minimum.

He lowers his gaze again back down to the hive while focusing his senses on the powerful energy source within it. The source most likely belonging to the hive queen that the Frost Consultant mentioned.

And after a brief moment of hesitation, he decides that it would likely be a good idea to let the Frost Consultant absorb the energy of the frozen ones in the hive to grow stronger.

Since he at the very least knows that he’d rather have the Frost Consultant as a threat rather than the Frozen Lords on the planet. Especially since the Frost Consultant can likely be controlled by his father.

Assuming his father would bother.

Richard grimaces at that thought as he remembers the rumors he’s heard. That the General of the Military loves his son more than anything.

He continues staring down the hive for a bit before sighing and turning around to head back to the base camp himself. Passing by several of the soldiers standing on guard in the process, making them give him a salute as he does so.

Worrying about all of this before the next assault will do nothing but reduce my efficiency in the battle.

So without another thought on the subject, he enters his own building and goes to get some rest.

Chapter 64

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Meeting of the Gods

Alexander North

The next couple of days pass by with me gradually making progress deeper down into the hive every day. But not only do the communications still not return during this time, but we all find that this hive seems to be deeper than the previous hive.

Whether that’s because of the new hive queen showing up and making them dig deeper, or because of the hive’s age, I’m not sure.

But we all get a rather big shock when all of my statistics reach Tier 4.

One in the form of a powerful wave of energy that suddenly shoots out of me before the Eternal Winter within the air begins to rush towards me. Making me both feel empowered and sleepy.

Shit.

“Lieutenant colonel, something’s happening to me,” I report right away before disengaging from the frozen ones and flying upwards. Fighting through the drowsiness to do so. “I’m retreating now. And I may fall unconscious the moment I reach the surface.”

“Frozen Consultant? What’s wrong?” the lieutenant colonel replies, sounding concerned. Albeit moreso for his forces than me. “And what’s happening to the Eternal Winter here? Is that your doing?”

“I reached Tier 4 and now… the… winter is…” I try to finish, but I feel my eyes trying to droop close as I fly as fast as I can towards the surface. Eventually breaking past the soldiers to fly straight up into the sky while the Eternal Winter rushes into me.

I feel more and more drowsy the more the Eternal Winter rushes into my body.

Terminal… what’s… happening…

|Analyzing… analysis complete. A rapid evolution is occurring within the user’s body brought on by-|

I miss what the rest of the terminal says as my eyes droop closed and I feel the strength in my wings giving out, leading to me falling down at an angle to crash right outside of the hole.

Then everything goes dark before I find myself in some strange throne room made of ice.

I look around for a few seconds, only to glance down and find that I have no body. Which makes me blink for a moment in surprise.

Only to hear a deep voice echo in my head.

“So this is the strange creature born of cold and warm.”

I raise my head to look at the throne, which was previously empty. But now it has a strange being sitting on it. One with glowing blue eyes that look both like crystals and like a strange liquid at the same time.

The man is wearing pitch black armor, with skin that’s both incredibly pale and has a very slight pale blue tint to it, and long silver hair that also takes on some faint tints of ice to it.

But what frightens me about the man is the cold energy I feel from him.

Energy that feels like the Eternal Winter.

Energy so powerful I feel like I’d die just from being in his presence.

Which is odd since I am in his presence.

“Your body is currently evolving to that of a true Frozen Lord, all that is present is your mind,” the creature declares while tapping his clawed finger on the throne in front of him. “But that won’t stay for long.”

I feel warning bells ringing in my apparently not present head as he raises a hand with a single claw pointing towards me and a powerful amount of cold energy building up at the tip of the claw.

As if he’s about to kill me.

Or erase my mind, at least.

But the moment the cold energy building at the tips of his fingers shoots out towards me, another being appears between me and him. And that being slaps the energy, making it slam into the wall as a wave of heat spreads out from this new being that quickly melts the throne room. Leaving us in a pitch black void.

I blink in surprise before looking around the new being at the first one to find him with a frown on his face, then focusing on the new being again.

The new being is clearly female, and with a much more human appearance to her. She has glowing reddish-gold eyes, with damn-near golden skin, and is wearing a set of white and gold armor. Although she does have six large, angelic wings spread out behind her making her look a lot less human.

And I feel an immense amount of heat energy radiating off of her.

“Then you really are protecting the hybrid, Sol,” the first being says while leaning back in his throne again and resting his cheek on one fist, his elbow on the throne. “Even when it is an unknown and a risk.”

“Risk or no risk, a child should flourish as they please,” the being apparently known as Sol declares, her voice sounding soothing to the ear.

The first being laughs at that. A mocking one.

Then he says, “As hypocritical as ever, Sol. If you’re so worried about children, then you wouldn’t have given these warm blooded creatures your blessing.”

Blessing?

Wait… are these two…

“Who I bless is of no concern to you, Cocytus,” Sol says, making my eyes widen as I recognize the name of the Winter God. “Don’t tell me you haven’t realized yet.”

I blink before frowning in confusion as Cocytus turns to look at me around Sol. Only for Sol to look at me as well.

And after a few seconds, Cocytus focuses on her again and says, “Possibilities may be naught but possibilities.”

“Agreed,” Sol declares, “but possibilities will be naught but possibilities if not given the chance to flourish.”

I look between the two, confused more than a little by what is going on.

Then Cocytus sighs and begins to fade away, leaving his voice faintly echoing behind him, “Then so be it. Let us meet again on the battlefield soon, Sol.”

“I will be waiting, Cocytus,” Sol responds. Then she turns to look at me as silence fills the void around us. Only breaking it a few seconds later when she says, “Now, child. You shall hear the tale.”

Chapter 65

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Tales of the Past

Alexander North

The tale? What tale?

I feel my confusion growing stronger and stronger by the second.

Then the being who I suspect is the Sun God begins speaking again, “Hundreds of thousands of years ago, long before any of the current civilizations of the universe were established, there were four forces. The warm ones of the Sun, the cold ones of the Winter, the aquatic ones of the First Rain, and the fallen ones of the Collapse.”

I blink at that, feeling more than a little surprised by the fact that there were two other forces beyond just the Sun and Winter.

But Sol just continues speaking without commenting about my thoughts. And judging by her and Cocytus’s earlier words, they most likely can read my thoughts in here.

“The warm ones, weaker than the rest yet also more peaceful and willing to work with the other species, were the direct opposite of the cold ones. Creatures whose very being was closed off to others as all they thought about was their desire to kill and serve their God,” Sol says, her warm yet calm voice echoing throughout the void as she begins to walk around me. “The aquatic ones, all indifferent to any interactions outside of their own species as they sealed themselves away in their own worlds with the power of their God. And the fallen. Hungry monsters designed by their God for no reason other than devouring everything in sight.”

Oh. That last one…

My thoughts pause as I realize something.

The fallen… don’t those traits also exist in the cold ones?

Sol turns to glance at me and nods before continuing to pace as she says, “The fallen were endlessly assaulting the forces of all three of the other Gods, however they proved incapable of breaking past the First Rain’s protection on the aquatic ones.” She stops walking as her eye narrow. “So the Collapse directly attacked the First Rain, leading to the first War of the Gods.”

Yeah, sounds about right.

She turns to look at me with a sad look in her eyes. Then she continues pacing while saying, “Their war shook the universe, and shattered the balance. Eventually drawing in the Winter God and I when it began to cause damage to the structure of the universe itself.”

The Sun God – who just confirmed the fact that she is, indeed, the Sun God – stops walking again and stares down at the ground.

“But we weren’t expecting what happened next,” she says, her voice sounding quieter than before. “The Collapse had already devoured the First Rain’s mind by the time we arrived, and both the mindless body of the First Rain and the Collapse himself attacked the Winter and I immediately.”

I grimace at that, starting to see a hint at where this might be going.

“Ages passed as Winter and I each fought one foe out of the two, staying far away from the other’s domains as we did so,” Sol continues before starting to walk again. “I took on the First Rain, and Cocytus clashed with the Collapse.”

“Eventually,” Sol says while looking away from me, “I was able to defeat the First Rain, erasing his body within that of several suns. But when I looked towards Cocytus’s clash with the Collapse, it was already too late.” She stops walking again and looks directly at me. “The Collapse had devoured his own mind and forcefully merged himself into the Winter. Changing both Cocytus and the cold ones forever.”

Sol slowly begins to walk up towards me before placing her hand on my cheek, letting me feel a strange, calming sensation spread through me. Alongside a comfortable warmth.

“With the last of Cocytus’s previous mind, he sealed himself away inside of his own ice,” she says while looking directly into my eyes with an incredibly sad expression on her face. “Before he lost himself entirely and did something he would truly regret.”

I feel a wave of sadness fill me at her story, and I’m not entirely sure if it’s my own emotions or hers.

But I feel them nonetheless, and it makes me pity her a little.

A sad smile stretches across her face when she no doubt hears that thought. Then she says, “But my battle with the First Rain didn’t end with just his death. I was gravely injured myself, and was therefore forced into sealing myself away as well to recover.”

She moves her head forward and rests her forehead against my own with her eyes closed.

“I made as many preparations as I could for Cocytus’s reawakening, but even I couldn’t imagine how powerful he’s grown since merging with the Collapse,” she says, her voice having grown even quieter than before. “Nor could I have expected how clear his mind was when he woke, even changed as it is.”

Silence fills the void for several seconds as I look at the beautiful goddess leaning her forehead against my own with a tear falling down her face. Yet despite this view, I feel nothing for her except some small hints of pity for her story.

I’m not entirely sure why, but I raise my hand and pat her on the head with a faint smile of my own. Startling her into opening her eyes.

Her surprise doesn’t last long though before she smiles again and takes a step backwards.

“Cocytus has grown too powerful for me to defeat on my own,” she says, her voice returning to normal without a hint of her previous sorrow. “We had both begun to believe it impossible for his rampage to be ended.”

She stares into my eyes for a few seconds before continuing, “Until we learned about you. A being with the energy of three Gods within him.”

I blink at that.

Three?

Then I remember that the frozen ones, or rather, cold ones also have the power of the Collapse in them.

“So, young child,” Sol states, sounding more serious now, “for the sake of the universe, will you become the new Winter God?”

I blink at that.

What?

Chapter 66

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Request

Alexander North

“Forget why for a second, how would that even be possible?” I can’t help but ask, speaking out loud for the first time since this little meeting began.

“Unlike what many assume, the position of god amongst each of the four species is not determined by birth or anything ridiculous like that,” Sol answers while still meeting my eyes. “It is power that determines our status. The most powerful of each of the species by a large margin will be declared the god of that species’ energy by the energy itself.”

That leaves me opening my mouth to say something, only to close it again without a word.

“Cocytus is Winter simply because he is by far the most powerful cold one in existence, and I’m Sun because I’m the most powerful warm one in existence by a large margin,” she continues a second later, after seeing me not say anything. “It’s as simple as that, child.”

So…

“You want me to get stronger than Cocytus and take his throne?” I ask with a frown on my face, not feeling as intimidated by her as I was before. “Why?”

A slightly regretful look emerges in her gaze as she looks down and answers, “Because Cocytus has changed and is no longer in his right mind. He even agrees with that statement, but the remnants of Collapse within him won’t allow him to back down and stop what he’s doing.” She looks up at me again. “And he has grown too powerful for even me to match, leaving you as the only viable option to stop him. Before he turns the entire universe into naught but a frozen wasteland filled with cold ones.”

My eyes widen at that.

“If things don’t change, he will eventually kill me, making my power recede to no longer protect parts of the universe,” she continues while glancing to the side as moving images begin appearing all around us with borders made of flames. Images showing the Eternal Winter covering the entire universe including all of space. Destroying planets, killing stars, freezing astral objects like meteors, and overall just bringing an end to the universe. With nothing remaining alive but the cold ones. “This will be the result if my people and I are killed, and he’s left as the only remaining god.”

I just take in the hellscape shown in the images for several seconds, feeling terrified just by the sight of it. Even if I’d likely be okay living in it simply due to my cold one side.

But what’s the point in living in a hellscape like that? Would it even be considered living?

“How would I ever be able to kill Cocytus?” I ask while turning to Sol once more. “I sensed how much cold energy he was radiating simply from sitting on that throne in my mind alone. It was enough to kill me if I got within a meter of him.”

She looks at the little screens again as they change to show different images of me over the time I’ve been a frost infused. Of my many battles, and of all the creatures I’ve absorbed the energy of during this time.

“For now, yes, you are far too weak,” Sol says without holding back. “You’re weak enough to be killed by my own ambient energy much less Cocytus’s.”

We watch as I absorb more and more energy in each screen, growing stronger and stronger.

Then she turns to look at me and continues, “But you grow. You adapt. And most importantly,” her eyes narrow as she looks me up and down, “you have Cold Immunity.”

Oh. Right. That ability.

“Immunities are the rarest abilities the four species can possess, and you have the exact immunity we need to fight against Winter,” she explains while meeting my eyes again. “Your personal power can be grown. Your energy reserves, physical strength, and assortment of abilities. But what’s most important is your immunity to Winter’s natural control over cold ones.”

I grimace at that last part.

Natural control over cold ones.

Right.

He’s a god.

Of course cold ones would be obedient to him.

Wait…

“Does that mean if Alexia were to meet him…” I mutter, feeling slightly horrified at the line of thought.

Sol nods her head, “Yes, your daughter would immediately fall under his control unless she got the cold immunity ability as well.”

I narrow my eyes at that.

Well, shit.

I don’t have much of a choice in this, do I?

“You have a choice,” Sol says, countering it. “However you may not accept the results of one of the choices.”

Right.

Leave this alone and ignore it, leaving the universe to die and Alexia to possibly end up controlled by Cocytus just from getting near him. Or focus on trying to grow strong enough to kill him.

Not much of a choice there, if I’m being honest.

“A choice is a choice,” she states without showing a hint of shame about it.

I let out a sigh at that before reaching up and running a hand through my hair, feeling more than a little stressed out by this. But eventually I just sigh and glance at the screens again. Watching myself grow stronger.

In all honesty, I wasn’t likely going to just stop growing stronger.

Growing stronger is necessary in the universe now, and it’s necessary to protect my family.

So it’s not like this changes much besides giving me a goal.

The void around us begins to crack, startling me in the process.

“It looks like your evolution is nearing its climax,” Sol states, making me focus on her again. “Please remember what has been said here. You do not need to make your choice right now.”

I frown at the goddess.

“In return for listening, I will grant you two favors,” Sol says, lightening my mood quite a bit. “The first favor is the information that your father will be arriving on Arran soon. And the second is that the cold ones on Arran are searching for the cold immunity ability.”

The first piece of information makes a smile form on my face.

But the second one?

Not sure how I feel about it.

The void continues to fracture before Sol’s form begins to fade.

With her leaving behind a few last words before she goes.

“Please stay alive, young Alexander. For the sake of the universe.”

Then the void collapses entirely and I find myself shooting forwards with a gasp in the real world.

Chapter 67

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Evolution

Outside of the Hive
Right after Alex’s evolution began

Lieutenant Colonel Richard Rorris grits his teeth as he sees the Frozen Consultant crash into the ice and snow covered mountain right next to the hole. Meanwhile his radio turns on and he hears the voice of one of his commanding officers – another lieutenant colonel just like him – coming from it, “Retreat is in full force, but what is happening up there?! All of the Eternal Winter is leaving the hive faster than we’re moving, and it’s frightening the bugs down here enough that they aren’t chasing!”

“That is a very good question, lieutenant colonel,” Lieutenant Colonel Richard Rorris says while watching all of the Eternal Winter nearby rushing straight into the Frozen Consultant. “But it’s not one I have the answer to.”

When he first heard the Frozen Consultant calling a retreat, he was afraid there was a surprise down below. Such as a more powerful frozen one, or maybe a Frozen Lord they hadn’t been aware of.

What he was not expecting was to see the Frozen Consultant himself rushing out of the hive with all of the Eternal Winter nearby rushing into his body.

What’s even going on? Is he being attacked by the Winter God somehow? Or is it another Frozen Lord’s doing?

Unfortunately, the Eternal Winter rushing into the Frozen Consultant at this point has blocked all view of him. So he can’t even see what’s happening to the man.

All he knows is that he’s at the center of it, and his last words before this happened were that he reached Tier 4. Which could imply that this is a result of that, but he can’t be sure.

The mere fact that he’s already Tier 4 is terrifying in and of itself…

At this point the Frozen Consultant is an entire Tier above the second strongest humans and mutants on the planet. Giving him free reign over all of them if he so desired it.

Right as the lieutenant colonel is about to shift his attention towards his forces currently retreating out of the hive, a strange flare of energy shoots up from around the Frozen Consultant. A flare that strongly surprises the lieutenant colonel.

Because it’s not cold energy.

He narrows his eyes at the cloud of Eternal Winter that is quickly merging with heat energy in the form of bright sunlight peeking out from within the blizzard. Meanwhile small hints of heat energy begin to peak out from within the cold energy. With both energies growing at a rapid pace in the center of it all.

Where the Frozen Consultant is located.

And if that wasn’t enough, Richard soon feels the attention of a number of powerful creatures focusing on their location. All of which are Frozen Lords no doubt.

“Be ready to fight at any moment, but keep up the retreat!” Richard shouts into his radio, feeling an uncomfortable sense of anxiety and stress building within him.

Because he has no fucking idea what the hell is going on.

All around Arran

Throughout every corner of the tourist world known as Arran, one Frozen Lord after another turns their senses in the direction of the mountains south of the capital. As a powerful wave of both cold and heat energy flood outwards from a single point in the mountains.

And each one of the Frozen Lords witnessing the event shows a different reaction.

Dragron narrows his eyes, feeling a slight discontent and unease flooding through him. As if he’s witnessing the birth of a potential new God that could overthrow his current God. A discontent and unease that quickly turns into anger. But he can’t disobey his God’s word, so he just returns his attention to the matter he’s currently dealing with. One of the warm one bases on the other side of the planet.

Craolyx feels a mixture of fear and surprise at the realization of just how strong the insect she had let escape at her God’s command has gotten in just a short period of time. And as she wonders how much longer it’ll take for that very ‘insect’ to catch up with and overpower her.

Crao, on the other hand, turns its attention towards the hybrid and feels both surprise and unease. Both at the unexpected form the hybrid’s evolution is taking, along with the sight of the warm one army aiding him in taking the hive. Thereby making it entirely possible for the hive to fall, just like the first hive. A realization that infuriates Crao.

Meanwhile the rest of the Frozen Lords simply dismiss the hybrid as not being of importance or not being their concern. Each of them focused on their own jobs, none of which have anything to do with the hybrid.

Except for one particular Frozen Lord that slowly begins to crack his eyes open within the capital.

As the Vanguard himself finally begins to awaken from his long slumber.

But the evolution of the hybrid doesn’t pause for even a second throughout all of this, as the two energies within him merge and split over and over again. Never fully combining, but still working together to forcefully change the hybrid’s body.

And the changes quickly become apparent as the man’s wings of ice gradually begin to glow with a faint glow of warmth to them despite being ice, his eyes take on a new form in that of pitch black orbs with faint glowing red and orange pupils surrounded by equally glowing rings of blue, and his claws take on flecks of orange and red energy.

Finally proving the man to be a hybrid in more than just a superficial stance.

As he takes on powers of the angels and shows them to the world for the first time. Even if the Winter God’s power still takes dominance within him over the Sun God’s power.

And the moment his evolution finally draws to a close, the Eternal Winter around him and the glowing sunlight begins to disperse. Revealing the man lying silent on the ice and snow with his clothes half destroyed.

Then, after several seconds of silence, his eyes shoot open.

Chapter 68

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

New Benefits

Alexander North

The moment my eyes open, I feel a strange sensation fill me from head to toe. Almost like I’m full of energy, but not one hundred percent the exact same energy I’m used to. Not entirely just cold energy.

There’s heat energy as well.

Something I’ve only seen before but never really had available to me to actually use.

|Analyzing… analysis complete. User has evolved. Additionally, the original evolution path was altered by external forces, improving the evolution further.|

I sit up while rubbing my temples, feeling a slight headache as I look around, briefly muttering to the terminal, “And the results of the evolution?”

Only for me to notice my wings, which are very odd. They’re still made of ice, but at the same time, they’re giving off heat.

Which is just bizarre.

Ice shouldn’t be warm.

It just makes no sense.

|The changes during the evolution process include but are not limited to: The addition of heat energy to the user’s energy reserves. The addition of two heat energy based abilities. The alteration of the user’s DNA to bring the angel DNA to the surface of the user’s warm one DNA. The alteration of the user’s DNA to purify the user’s cold one DNA, changing it from its previous virus form to a natural form.|

I blink in surprise at the many changes. Then I focus on my surroundings, where I find quite the number of soldiers with weapons trained on me.

My eyes narrow and I turn towards the lieutenant colonel to ask, “What’s the meaning of this?”

He focuses on my eyes, not saying anything for a few seconds. Then he raises his hand and states, “At ease, men.”

And all of the soldiers lower their weapons.

“I wasn’t sure if you would be getting out of whatever just happened with your mind intact or not,” the lieutenant colonel explains without a hint of apology. “Will you be up to another assault of the hive today, or should we wait for tomorrow for the next assault?”

Putting aside the pragmatic nature of the military and the lieutenant colonel, I stand up while brushing some snow off of my rather shredded pants as I answer with a frown, “Give me a few hours to adjust. Then we can continue the assault.”

He nods his head, still looking me over and seemingly giving a bit more focus to my eyes and wings.

My wings I understand, but not really sure why he’s looking at my eyes.

“Inform me when you’re ready to begin the assault,” the lieutenant colonel eventually says before turning around and raising his radio to his mouth as he says, “Everyone, take shifts watching the hive. We will go on the offensive again when the Frozen Consultant gives the word.”

I watch him leave for a bit before looking down at my hands.

Terminal, is there a change in my eyes?

|Affirmative. The user’s eyes have now changed to take on the appearance pitch black orbs with faint glowing red and orange pupils surrounded by glowing rings of blue.|

Huh. So mixing together the warm one and cold one aspects then.

Just like my wings.

Well, the first thing I want to know is what did the purification of my cold one DNA do?

|Previously, the user’s DNA was categorized still as mutated human DNA via a virus. However, now your DNA is considered as if you were naturally born as a cold one. The benefits of this include: Improved abilities, improved efficiency of cold energy usage, and the ability to use pressure.|

I frown at that as I walk over towards the edge of the hole leading to the hive.

How improved are my abilities?

Actually, now that I think about it, Sol mentioned the cold ones needing cold immunity.

|All cold energy abilities have been improved in their efficiency by approximately 50%, including Cold Immunity.|

My eyes widen at that in more than a little surprise. Then a smile forms on my face.

Now that’s nice.

Very nice.

Alright, condense all of the changes that you believe I need to know about.

|In addition to previously mentioned changes, the user’s gained the Heat Energy Absorption ability, an ability similar to Cold Energy Absorption, along with the Solar Flare ability, allowing the user to emit heat energy from their wings in a burst. The user has received a heat energy reserve to use along with any heat energy ability you may receive. Lastly, the user has received a pseudo ability called Steel Mind, which makes it impossible to control or alter your body and thoughts by outsiders.|

Hmm. All around, they’re quite good.

That said, what’s a pseudo ability?

|A pseudo ability refers to an ability that is not given by any specific change in the user’s DNA but is a side effect of other abilities and changes conjoining their effects together.|

Interesting.

What lead to this pseudo ability?

|The purification of the user’s cold one DNA included a process to control your mind by the Winter God, however, this process was interrupted by the enhancement of your angel DNA along with your Cold Immunity.|

I feel a chill run down my spine at the realization of just how close I was to ending up becoming a subordinate of Winter.

It also means I need to get Alexia the Cold Immunity ability before she reaches Tier 4. Not that it’ll happen anytime soon.

|It is unlikely that Alexia would undergo the same evolution as the user.|

I glance in the direction of Alexia and Cynthia’s building as I ask, “Why not?”

|According to this unit’s hypothesis, the evolution the user underwent was not entirely natural and was induced by outside sources.|

Right. So Winter and Sun both caused it.

But that’s still just a hypothesis, correct?

|Affirmative.|

Then I still need to get her the ability. Just in case.

Not now though.

Because now I need to get used to the new changes in my body.

I turn to look at the hole.

And after that, we can finish off this hive.

Chapter 69

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Pressure

Alexander North

I spend a couple hours getting used to the new changes, and I have to admit, I really like this new evolution. All of my abilities are more powerful now than before, and I feel like they’re easier to use. Not to mention that the Solar Flare ability is quite nice too.

The soldiers all seem to love it at least.

Because it clears out the Eternal Winter from an area depending on the level of intensity that I use the ability. How much energy I put into it.

If I barely put any into it at all, then it pretty much just heats up the area and clears out the cold energy in it.

But if I put a good amount of energy into it? It becomes a weapon and begins to burn stuff near me.

Other than that, I test my Cold Immunity on some of the nearby frozen ones, but they don’t prove to be helpful since they’re so weak. To the point that their abilities don’t even leave a scratch on me.

Now, whether that’s because I’m Tier 4 now or because of my improved Cold Immunity, I’m not sure.

Either way, I just have one last thing to test. And I can do that during the assault.

So I walk up to the edge of the hive once more before bringing up my radio and speaking into it, “Lieutenant Colonel, I’m ready for the next assault. And I’ve got a few things I’d like to try for this assault.”

It takes a few seconds, but when he answers, he sounds just as surly as ever, “Understood. The assault will begin in five minutes.”

“Roger that,” I answer while putting the radio down and crossing my arms as I look at the pit in front of me. With all of the frozen one bugs currently being relatively far down within it. Far enough that I can barely see them.

I sit here waiting for the soldiers who were resting to get into position. And as I wait, my mind drifts back to the two favors Sol gave me right when she left.

The knowledge that my father should be arriving soon, and that the cold ones are looking for the Cold Immunity ability.

I’m quite happy about the first piece of news, and I’m guessing that’ll mean that communications should be up again soon. But the second bit of news…

They’re looking for the same ability that I have.

What would that mean if they realized I have Cold Immunity? And a pretty powerful version of it at that.

Would they change their plans and try to capture me again?

Not sure, although I doubt it. Strictly because Winter said to leave me be.

And Winter’s word is law for them.

There are still too many unknowns.

On another note, I need to tell Dad about everything Sol told me. Since that’s rather important too.

It’s best to let the higherups of the Empire in general know what’s going on. What the real situation is.

Because none of them seem to know it. That I know of, at least.

Then again, it’s possible Dad could have figured it out. He is Tier 5 after all, and there aren’t any Tier 5 Symbiont Hosts on this planet.

Unless that one in the capital that’s unconscious is Tier 5, that is. Which I’m not sure about.

I very much hope they’re not.

|Communication attempts have been registered from a source approaching the planet.|

Wait, approaching the planet?

Does that mean…

|Affirmative. The likelihood that it is the user’s father is high.|

You said attempts, though, not requests?

|Affirmative. It is hypothesized that the communication equipment is still in the final stages of being repaired.|

Alright. So I’ll be able to talk to and see him soon.

In that case, I should deal with this hive now.

Before he arrives.

The corners of my lips quirk upwards at that. And after waiting the rest of the five minutes, I immediately jump down into the hive upon the commander’s order.

Now then.

Time to test out this new power of mine on a larger force of frozen ones.

This ‘pressure’ thing.

As soon as I get close to the Tier 1 frozen ones, I let out a strange sensation I’ve been holding in for a while now. Which isn’t all that much work, but is something I have to keep the faintest amount of focus on in order to hold it back.

Something I didn’t realize needed to be done when I first awakened until the commander asked me to reign in whatever I was doing.

But now that I let it out, a wave of my own sheer presence washes over the surroundings, putting a bit of pressure on anyone and anything inside of it that I designate as an enemy.

Another bit that I didn’t realize before when I was using it on the army. Since I don’t really consider them allies it pressured them too before.

Now that we’re fighting together, though, I force myself to consider them allies. Even if only temporary.

At least until I learn to control it better.

My pressure immediately makes it harder for the Tier 1 frozen ones to move before they’re shot down by the soldiers behind me. Meanwhile I just keep moving past them, not bothering with the weaklings as they’re mowed down.

I move deeper and deeper, eventually passing the Tier 2s with my pressure stopping them as well.

Albeit not without using Solar Flare a few times while passing them, wiping out some of them in the process with ease.

I keep moving all the way till I reach the Tier 3s and begin wiping them out with ease thanks to my new empowered abilities, and especially thanks to Solar Flare. Which proves to be quite useful in getting rid of large numbers of frozen ones.

And eventually, I make it down to the bottom of the hive. Where I find the same opening I saw in the last hive with frozen ones crawling out of it at a rapid pace.

Time for round two.

Chapter 70

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Round Two

Alexander North

I fly down towards the entrance of the little nest before using Solar Flare to wipe out the annoying insects buzzing their way out of it. And right as I feel the hive queen waking up, I notice the original hive queen that I chased here fleeing from the nest. Still badly injured.

“Hive queens spotted, engaging now,” I speak into my radio before beating my icy wings to fly straight up to the injured hive queen. Then I tear my claws straight through its already damaged flesh. With my claws actually doing real damage now and tearing into its carapace. Proving just how much stronger I’ve gotten since the last round.

A faint grin stretches across my face as the hive queen lets out a pained screech. One that hurries the other one’s awakening.

But I don’t pay it any mind other than making sure the other one doesn’t surprise me. Instead I focus on beating up this wounded hive queen. Tearing into it with my claws while ignoring all of its cold energy attacks that don’t do much of anything to me anymore with my evolved Cold Immunity mixed with its weakened state.

Once in a while I use Solar Flare to both blind and injure the wounded hive queen, with the other hive queen trying to force itself awake faster than before. No longer breeding more of its bugs in the process.

The creature ends up being too slow though, letting me get one last hit in on the wounded hive queen as I stab my clawed hand straight through its eyes and wrap my hand around some sort of organ inside of its head.

And crush the thing, making the hive queen let out an ear-piercing screech that has me wincing.

Before the creature goes silent and loses all of the strength in its body. Its cold energy rushing into me now that it’s dead.

The other hive queen finally opens its eyes and lets out a screech of its own in rage.

“And one hive queen is down,” I state into the radio to notify the commanders of the force above.

“Roger that,” the lieutenant colonel states. “We’re beginning our push.”

Now that the first hive queen is dead, I focus on the second one. Which actually looks a bit different from the first.

Although just in the fact that the body parts are slightly different and in different places.

Overall, still just an abomination of different bugs and insects. And spiders. And arachnids. And really anything else of the sort that isn’t considered technically a bug.

An unhappy one at that.

Guess these things have some intelligence at least. Enough to realize that I just killed its buddy.

Well, anyways, I swipe my claws down at it, sending a wave of cold energy arcs. But it just blocks them all with its armored wings. Something the other hive queen didn’t have.

Even if the other hive queen had somehow recovered its wings in the time it took me to get here.

I glance at its corpse.

Not that it helped the thing much.

I fly away when the new hive queen rushes straight at me, proving itself to be a decent chunk slower than the first hive queen. Except that when it slams into the wall of the hive in its charge, it makes a bunch of rubble fall down and dust fill the air. Proving to be a lot stronger than the first one.

Interesting.

The first hive queen was built for speed.

This one?

For strength.

But that’s perfectly fine with me.

My grin grows wider when I sense the bug rushing towards me again. Following which I dodge out of the way and follow after it, slamming my fist into the abdomen part of the creature, sending it flying downwards along with the momentum of its own movement.

To my surprise though, the only damage I cause to it other than it being sent flying was some slight discoloring on its hardened abdomen. Making it a little paler.

Then the bug turns around and rushes at me again, making me dodge it once more. Then I repeat the process, slamming my fist into its abdomen again. Turning the pale spot even paler.

Hmm.

The process repeats twice more before the creature seems to learn not to rush at me wildly and it begins to keep its distance and send ranged attacks at me. Many of which are in the form of webs made of ice that try to wrap around me before it rushes me again.

A strategy that only works once on its third try, sending me slamming into the wall of the hive while coughing out a mouthful of glowing blue and red blood.

I only take a single moment to look at my newly-colored blood before focusing on the pain from what feels like my organs being crushed inside.

But I push through the pain as I grab onto the creature’s wings and grunt as I dig my claws into their base. Using Solar Flare in the process to burn some of the hive queen’s carapace while also using Frozen Spike to grow a sharp spike from the palms of my hands that dig into the base of its wings.

And, despite the hive queen’s struggle to get away, I manage to rip out its wings, making it fall down towards the ground with a loud screech of pain.

Then I follow as I look downwards to see my torso partially caved in.

Fuck that hurts…

It is rapidly regenerating though. At a visible pace.

Which is equally disturbing to see.

I look down at the hive queen when it crashes into the ground, only to find it still alive even if its wings are gone. To the point that it even begins moving over towards where I’m heading.

But I manage to stop myself from falling after I regenerate enough. Simply by flapping my wings a few times now that the pain isn’t so strong and any nerves in my torso that were heading to my wings aren’t damaged anymore.

Then the two of us just stare at each other, the bug stuck on the ground and me flying in the air with a hand over my stomach.

This situation is starting to remind me a little of the other hive queen, what with it lacking wings now.

Right when I’m about to send arcs of energy towards the bug though, a loud shattering sound echoes from outside the hole, making both me and the hive queen look up.

What now?

Chapter 71

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Arrival

Alexander North

“Frozen Consultant, get out here now!!! There’s an emergency!!!” the lieutenant colonel shouts into the radio, prompting me to glance at the grounded bug who doesn’t look capable of digging like the other one was. Then I just fly up into the air, deciding it’s safe to leave it here for now.

I speed through the hive at a speed faster than any I’ve gone before, meanwhile I sense an enormous cold energy radiating from outside of the hive. One that sets alarm bells ringing in my head.

And one that reminds me of the energy source that was sleeping in the capital.

Fuck.

When I make it to the surface, I find everything in shambles.

All of the soldiers are frozen solid from their waist down, unable to move but not dead. The lieutenant colonel frozen high in the air with a large spike of ice connecting him to the ground as he is held right in front of a being I never wanted to see again.

That very same being that had fought with the angel before my coma.

The strongest Frozen Lord on the planet.

He has a large frame with frost-coated armor all over him, and very thick plating over his waist, shoulders, and feet, and claws kind of like crabs for hands. Except with one of those claws having some sort of hole filled with pure cold energy in it that I still remember seeing him fire like some energy cannon a while back. And he has the usual glowing blue eyes, along with a glowing blue energy coming from his chest.

After I make it out of the hive, the Frozen Lord turns towards me, his eyes narrowing at the sight of me.

Then he floats away from the lieutenant colonel, leaving the man just stuck there frozen hundreds of meters above the ground.

I narrow my eyes, briefly wondering if I should attack or run the hell away with Cynthia and Alexia, both of whom seem to still be inside of one of the buildings at the camp. Because there’s no way I’d stand a chance against this guy.

He isn’t like the other Frozen Lords.

No.

This guy is Tier 5.

There isn’t a single person on this planet other than possibly that comatose angel that can take him on.

And I’m no exception to that.

“You’ve grown well since I last saw you, hybrid,” the Frozen Lord’s voice rings out through the area. “But I sense that you’ve trespassed in my territory.”

A chill runs down my spine as I remember that previous Frozen Lord’s words.

That I am to be left alone so long as I don’t enter another Frozen Lord’s territory, at which point the owner of the territory may capture me as they please.

“Before anything else,” the Frozen Lord states, his eyes narrowing further as he floats higher into the air, letting off immense waves of cold energy in the process, “I have been indisposed for too long.”

The cold energy grows stronger and stronger before sweeping out in a massive wave, battering away any of the warm energy I sensed was fighting against the Eternal Winter. Leaving the entire world under the cover of the Eternal Winter once more without a shred of uncovered land.

I grimace as I watch this, knowing there’s very little I can do. At most I can use Solar Flare to uncover some of my immediate surroundings. But that would only span several meters around me. And I’m certain it wouldn’t last long before the Eternal Winter covered it again.

The shards begin to cover the area in greater number, with a few of them piercing into frozen soldiers and beginning to infect them. Turning them into froze ones while their comrades watch on in horror.

I feel my fists clenching at my sides as I watch all of this occur.

Then the Frozen Lord speaks, his voice seemingly resounding across the entire world, “I am Cryonix, the Vanguard of the Eternal Winter assigned to this world! From here on out, this world is under my direct control! All warm ones will either turn…” the creature’s eyes narrow, “…or they will die.”

Well, this just got far worse.

But I still cling onto my last hope.

Sol’s words.

And right as the Frozen Lord – or Vanguard, as he calls himself – turns and begins to float over towards me, it happens.

A powerful wave of heat in the form of heat energy washes over the world from the skies above. Clearing out a large portion of the Eternal Winter in the process and showing something approaching the planet.

I find a full smile appearing on my face.

The Vanguard stops and raises his head towards the skies with a surprised and grim expression on his inhuman face.

“It looks like this world isn’t yours after all,” I state plainly, bringing his focus back to me.

And as if on cue, I hear the terminal tell me the very thing I’ve been wanting to hear for a long time now.

/ Notice \

User General Edward North has attempted to use direct port ‘North’.
Would you like to give them permission?

\End of Notice/

“Yes, I would,” I state out loud, confusing the Vanguard for a moment before he focuses on the skies again as the flagship of the empire slowly enters the atmosphere. An enormous ship spanning over ten thousand meters in length.

A perfectly clear screen appears in the corner of my vision showing Dad’s face as he no doubt stands at the bridge of the flagship above me. And without hesitation, I allow him to see what I’m seeing through the screen, showing him the Vanguard.

His face immediately turns dark as another wave of heat energy floods out of the ship above. Surprising me for a moment as I realize it’s coming from him.

Interesting.

Guess I’m not the only one with new powers.

Then a glowing red streak flies out of the ship before appearing in seconds, with my father slamming his fist into the Vanguard’s face.

Sending the creature slamming into the ground as the ice below shatters, freeing soldiers with the shards melting.

Turning the entire situation on its head.

Chapter 72

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Father and Son

Space not far from Arran
Not long before the General’s Arrival on the planet

General Edward North, the strongest and most influential person within the entire Empire besides the emperor himself, repeatedly taps his foot while standing behind a large chair in which his brother-in-law, the emperor, is sitting. Meanwhile small bits of steam occasionally shoot out from his pores as the temperature around him gradually rises far higher than the cold temperature throughout the rest of the ship.

Ever since the ship left the capital, the general has felt restless. Not being able to do a single thing while being left waiting in the ship for them to reach Arran. The world where both his son and his niece are.

And that restlessness has emerged in the form of the heat that many of the crew within the bridge, including the emperor himself, are enjoying as the best heater on the ship.

No one would ever say that to the general’s face though.

But when the ship begins to get within sight of Arran itself, something strange happens. A powerful wave of Eternal Winter rushes across the entire planet, blocking out the work of the Sun God entirely.

“Edward,” the emperor states.

“It looks like the Vanguard is on the move,” Edward states without showing any expression on his face, even if he continues to tap his foot on the ground. “We might’ve arrived just on time.”

“Seems that way,” the emperor agrees.

The flagship rapidly approaches the planet before slowing down right outside of its atmosphere. Only for the general to be informed by his own mutated terminal that the communications are back up with the other terminals.

So without any hesitation, he states out loud, “Access the direct link between Second Lieutenant Alexander North and myself.”

|Error. User designated as Second Lieutenant Alexander North has been promoted since the loss of communications. Would the user General Edward North like to contact Frozen Consultant Alexander North instead?|

The general raises a brow at that but nods his head and says, “Affirmative,” anyways. Without any questions asked.

Because he can just ask his son when the call begins.

It only takes a few seconds for the call to connect. At which point a screen appears in the corner of the general’s vision with live footage of his son on it. Meanwhile the general hears the emperor next to him beginning to speak as if talking to someone, most likely in a call now with his daughter.

But the general ignores the emperor to walk away from his chair and focus on the call.

Only to suddenly freeze when his son changes the angle of the video to show a Tier 5 frozen one.

To show the Vanguard responsible for what’s happening.

Rage fills the general’s mind immediately upon seeing the Vanguard who is clearly threatening his son. And without saying a word to the emperor or anyone on the ship, a wave of heat energy surges forth from the general before he moves in a blur out of the ship through a hatch in the bridge. Then he floats straight down to the atmosphere by shooting out heat energy from behind him, following which he begins to expand the air around him once he reaches the atmosphere in order to fly.

All the way until he slams his heat energy-coated fist into the face of the Vanguard right when it begins to turn towards him. Cracking the ice covering the creature’s face as it flies to crash straight into the ground of the planet.

Edward quickly turns his attention to his son as he begins to inspect him, first poking at his face, then his arms, legs, and anything he can see even the slightest bit of damage on. Completely ignoring the changes in his appearance overall such as his wings and eyes as he does so.

And after determining that his son is okay, he pulls him into a hug as the boy returns the hug, having clearly been slightly exasperated by his father’s actions.

Several seconds pass as the father simply holds his son. With armored soldiers slowly floating down to the surface of the planet with cold and heat energy fueled full-body suits and energy rifles in their hands. Some cold energy empowered and others heat energy empowered.

The general only lets go of his son when the sound of shifting rubble can be head from the direction of where he sent the Vanguard flying.

He feels more than a little proud of the fact that his son is already Tier 4, but he glances at the Vanguard as the creature begins to float out of the large cloud of dust, ice, and snow that he had made. With the Vanguard having a rather displeased expression on his face as he says without breaking eye contact with the general, “Destroyer.”

The general tells his son, “Let me handle this one.”

Alex nods his head with a smile on his face. A rare occasion for him since the boy had largely stopped smiling anywhere near as much ever since they lost Alex’s mother.

Then the general focuses all of his attention on the Vanguard, only to glance to the side when he notices some of the Tier 4 Frozen Lords of the world rushing over to help their Vanguard. Meanwhile his son looks down at the hive below, where the general now sees some strange sort of bug that’s had its wings clipped.

“While you do that, I’m going to finish what I started here,” Alex states in a cold tone of voice before the boy flies down into the large pit.

Edward lets his son go and instead rushes to appear right behind Alex when the Vanguard moves to capture him. Capturing the Vanguard’s wrist and throwing him back to the ground again.

“Go ahead,” Edward states when Alex sends a brief glance behind himself. “I’ll deal with this pest.”

The Vanguard emerges from the dust he once again finds himself in before spitting out a bit of glowing blue blood.

Let’s teach it a lesson first though.

Chapter 73

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Mastermind of the Hives

Alexander North

I feel myself smiling as I head straight back down into the hive to deal with the annoying hive queen inside of it. Because I’ve finally seen Dad again. And he’s okay.

Right before I enter the hive though, I notice a bunch of the soldiers move towards Cynthia’s building. No doubt to protect her.

And hopefully Alexia as well.

Actually, I go ahead and send a message to Dad after entering the hive about Alexia. Telling him that there’s another frost infused like me that should be with Cynthia and shouldn’t be harmed.

He just sends a short affirmative back to me, making my smile grow ever so slightly wider.

Until my smile fades when I reach the bottom of the hive to find the hive queen furiously digging away at the wall with little to no success. Since its body just isn’t built for digging.

When I reach the creature, it turns its head up towards me and lets out an angry and frightened screech. But I ignore it as I fly up and begin sending one Cold Energy Arc after another down at the thing, bombarding it without the creature having any sort of way to return fire anymore. Since it can’t fly, and at this point doesn’t seem to be able to use any more ranged powers.

Of course, my attacks aren’t doing all that much damage individually, but every time they hit a weak spot they make it even weaker. And with the number of my attacks, the hive queen slowly succumbs to its death.

Leaving me flying down to go grab its energy.

That was rather easy.

Then, as if I jinxed it with that thought, the ice making up the walls of the hive suddenly begins to shift on its own.

I stiffen up before flying straight upwards to avoid half a dozen large spikes that try to spear into me from the walls.

What the hell?

“Territory has now expanded to envelop this area,” I hear a completely monotone and very androgynous voice echo throughout the area. “Orders are absolute. Hybrid is to be captured when within the territory of a Frozen Lord.”

I blink at that.

Wait, did it just say that it expanded its territory just to make this part of its territory?

Isn’t that kind of cheating?

The ice in the walls begins to shift more until it separates from the walls themselves and moves towards the center of the hive. At which point it forms an amorphous ball of ice.

Then I begin to feel that same presence from earlier. The one I felt when I was about to kill the first hive queen and it escaped instead.

Guess this one is the Frozen Lord responsible for the hive queens then.

I fly in place waiting for the orb of ice to form some sort of humanoid or even beastlike form, but it just, uh, stays as an amorphous orb of ice. Even as its voice continues to echo out through the hive, “Prepare yourself hybrid. For the battle of our world shall begin.”

That has me frowning at him before pointing upwards where Dad is fighting the Vanguard as I state, “I think it already began earlier when they started fighting.”

Silence follows.

I find myself awkwardly pursing my lips in the silence, wondering if the reality of my statement was that big of a shock or something. Only to rush straight upwards when spikes of ice shoot out of the wall at me and the orb of ice separates to enter the wall.

Wait a fucking second, how do I fight a floating orb of ice that can separate its body?! Does it even have a body?!

Said orb of ice doesn’t give me a chance to figure that out as it sends spikes of ice from the walls over and over again, making me constantly dodge them nonstop.

While I’m dodging the ice spikes, I glance upwards at Dad’s fight to see it growing more and more intense. Meanwhile soldiers begin to fall down into the hive around me. But I just shoo them away when they begin to get close, making them turn back around and leave.

Then I turn towards the ice coating the wall.

This thing is the Frozen Lord that’s been bothering me for a little while now with these hives. I want to deal with the pest myself.

And more importantly, I want its energy.

Because yeah.

I also have an idea on how to deal with it.

So after avoiding a dozen more spikes, I go ahead and get close to one of the walls coated with its ice before using Solar Flare. And instantly making a strange screeching noise echo off of the walls as a strange, blue steam lifts from the wall where my Solar Flare hit.

Then the spikes stop for a brief while.

Thought so.

It’s drastically weak to heat energy.

Which makes perfect sense when I consider how it’s a literal orb of ice without a real body.

Just need to melt the ice.

It’s kind of ironic. Because I’m pretty sure if this Frozen Lord had attacked me before I evolved and got heat energy abilities, I would’ve been left without any sort of way to hurt it.

Just to test that theory, I go ahead and fly straight at part of the wall covered by its ice. Then I slam my fist into the wall, only for the slightly pale ice there – something I only just now notice – to harden and completely ignore my fist when it collides with the wall.

Not taking any damage.

Right. I would’ve been left defenseless.

But now?

I use Solar Flare while the thing is trying to freeze my fist to itself, making another screeching sound echo through the hive as the pale ice begins to melt into steam and mist.

Not turning into water like a lot of the melted ice other than the pale ice is doing.

I turn towards the center of the hive hole as I see the pale ice beginning to retreat across the walls.

Time to have some fun.

Chapter 74

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Hybrid Versus Frozen Lord

Alexander North

It only takes me using Solar Flare on the ice coating the walls a few more times for the Frozen Lord to give up on that strategy. The strategy of just merging with the wall and attacking me there.

Instead it leaves the wall and forms its orb again, only to grow in size before morphing into a small dragon made of ice.

I narrow my eyes for a second, only to rush forwards to slam my fist into it while using Solar Flare.

And in the process learn a few things about this new form.

For one, it’s hard. Very, very hard.

So hard that my fist actually hurts a little from punching it.

And for two, it doesn’t melt quite as easily. Probably because the ice is much denser in this form.

As for the last thing I learn about it?

I learn this one when the thing slams its ice claws into my side and doesn’t really do much. Then it changes course of action to instead begin trying to cover me with ice. Likely in some attempt to crush me.

The Frozen Lord is not physically strong. It’s just dense. Literally.

It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever hit, but it has little to no strength behind it.

With all that in mind, I alter my own fighting style to simply avoid making close contact with it and giving it a chance to smother me. Meanwhile I repeatedly use Solar Flare on it whenever I do get close to the thing. Without touching it, of course.

And slowly I chip away at its volume. Decreasing its size with every usage of Solar Flare.

When the thing gets to around half of its original volume, though, it starts to get pissed. Which it shows by expanding outwards into a massive, solid net of ice that moves to surround me.

I try to get out of the way, but the net is just too big and too fast. So I try to use Solar Flare to melt through parts of it, only for the parts that I melt to instantly be replaced without any sort of hole forming.

Then the net quickly closes in on me, growing denser and denser the smaller it gets.

All the way till it completely wraps around me in a sphere.

I slam my fists into the side of the sphere while repeatedly using Solar Flare, but all that ends up doing is filling the sphere with steam. Even if the sphere no doubt shrinks ever so slightly.

“It has been determined that I am too weak to defeat you,” the Frozen Lord declares, not really surprising me since it really can’t do much to kill me. “But that does not mean I can’t sacrifice myself to capture you.”

My eyes widen at that, and I repeatedly use Solar Flare over and over again. Rapidly heating up the sphere of ice while melting it at an incredible pace.

Still filling up the sphere with steam.

But right as it begins to be so filled with steam that I can’t see through it, I realize something.

I’m not having any trouble breathing.

And after several seconds, the Frozen Lord seems to realize it as well even as it continues shrinking the sphere.

“It would appear the evolution has changed much about you, hybrid,” it finally states with a hint of defeat in its tone.

I, on the other hand, grin while using Solar Flare with more and more heat energy. Pushing back the sphere that threatens to crush me.

Once the sphere is pushed back enough, I try something I haven’t done before.

I compress the Solar Flare to just my fist as I slam it repeatedly into the ice sphere. Forcing all of the flare on a single point in the sphere instead of the entire thing.

And when I do that?

The sphere finally shatters, letting me fall out through the hole before the Frozen Lord manages to recover it.

I quickly turn around before repeatedly punching the sphere with my fists applying the new method of using my Solar Flare ability, slowly putting melted dents in the significantly smaller Frozen Lord. Only for said Frozen Lord to begin attempting to flee by separating itself and rushing for the walls.

Shit.

My grin vanishes at the thought of the Frozen Lord escaping.

But my worries turn out to be unnecessary when a large wave of flames sprouts from the walls, cutting off the Frozen Lord’s escape and making me raise my head to find the soldiers flying above me nodding in my direction. Clearly all responsible for this turn of events.

The Frozen Lord frantically rushes upwards, following the trail of flames.

I grin again as I rush straight past the much smaller and weaker version of the Frozen Lord. Then I use Solar Flare, blocking its path of escape while also melting large portions of it again. Since it’s no longer in a single solid form anymore.

It quickly begins to panic, seemingly going one way and then another over and over again.

But I just keep using Solar Flare. Which, when mixed with the heat from the flames on the walls, gradually melts away the last shreds of the Frozen Lord.

Until nothing is left but a strange glowing blue orb that won’t melt.

I move towards the orb as the Frozen Lord’s final words echo through the hive.

“Hybrid, we will never accept a filthy being like you as something worthy of standing next to Him, even theoretically,” the Frozen Lord declares, its voice echoing through the hive. “Never.”

Then I grab the orb and give it a light squeeze, cracking the thing and letting its energy flow into me just like any other frozen one I kill.

Proving that the Frozen Lord is dead.

One down, who knows how many more to go.

I raise my head to look at the soldiers, then at the exit of the hive high above us.

Only to find Dad fighting against not only the Vanguard but multiple other Tier 4 Frozen Lords.

With them all being bullied by him rather badly.

I purse my lips in awkward thought.

Okay, maybe not as many to go as I thought.

Chapter 75

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The Destroyer

Alexander North

Now that the Frozen Lord down here is dealt with, I go ahead and begin flying up through the hive with the soldiers following behind me. All of them acting as if they’re bodyguards or something.

Probably because of Dad.

And when we all reach the surface, I find a rather awe-inspiring battle going on.

Both Dad and the Vanguard are clashing in the air, sending shockwaves with each of their hits. Meanwhile Dad is also blocking hits from several other Frozen Lords at the same time. One of which is that same female Frozen Lord that I saw before.

But none of the Frozen Lords’ hits are doing shit to him. At all.

He easily blocks them all. Even melts some of whatever they used to attack him thanks to the extreme amount of heat energy radiating out of his body.

Along with the awe from seeing the battle, though, I also feel some… not sure what this emotion is, to be honest. Just that I know I want to get as strong as him as soon as possible.

Because the idea of being protected makes me feel sick for some reason.

Wonder if that’s one of the side effects of my new species or something?

Regardless, I watch Dad repeatedly clash with the Vanguard and the other Frozen Lords for a while before one of the Frozen Lords decides to change tactics and go after me instead. Which doesn’t end well for said Frozen Lord since I jump straight up and slam my fist into her face, this Frozen Lord being the exact one I was pretty much defeated by before.

And man does this feel good as I send her flying through the air straight back towards Dad, who grabs her by the throat and crushes said throat without a word.

All while shock is blatantly displayed in her gaze.

The now-deceased Frozen Lord no doubt surprised by how strong I’ve grown in such a short period of time.

That felt good to see. Because I felt like shit after she so easily defeated me before.

I glance back at the hive with a faint smile on my face.

Guess these hives did serve a purpose after all.

Just that it wasn’t the purpose that they were probably made for.

I turn to look back up when I hear a loud roar of anger echo out across the mountains. And I surprisingly find that it’s the Vanguard who is doing the roaring.

He looks very pissed.

Wonder why?

Was it the death of that Frozen Lord? He didn’t seem fazed by the other Frozen Lord who died, and I doubt these frozen ones give a shit about each other from what I’ve seen.

So what was it?

“Destroyer, do you have any idea of what you just did?” the Vanguard practically growls out as an icy mist flows forth from his body.

Destroyer?

I glance at Dad.

Did the frozen ones give him a nickname?

I stare for a few seconds as Dad answers, “I dealt with a nuisance who chose the wrong opponent.”

Yeah, Destroyer fits.

“That was my sister,” the Vanguard says out of nowhere, making my head jerk around to look at him. And I’m not the only one as quite the number of people look surprised by that revelation.

“I wasn’t aware you creatures were capable of having siblings,” Dad says, sounding a little intrigued himself.

The Vanguard, of course, doesn’t say anything useful after that. He just says, “I will destroy you.”

Then he rushes straight at Dad again while expelling quite a bit of cold energy. So much so that he’s practically turned himself into a rocket fueled by cold energy.

At the same time, the other Frozen Lords rush at him as well. With the dragon-like one taking the lead.

Only for Dad to spread both of his arms to his sides and declare in a rather terrifying tone that echoes throughout the mountains, “If you’re in that big of a rush-”

An enormous and blinding wave of light and heat rushes out of him to meet the incoming Frozen Lords and the Vanguard, enveloping them entirely within it. And it’s not just them that are enveloped, but the Eternal Winter near us is drawn into it as well or simply melted if it’s too far away to be drawn in but not too far to be out of range entirely.

But I quickly find myself having to close my eyes when I feel some faint pain coming from them. An act that everyone else is no doubt repeating.

A dizzying ringing sound echoes in my ear for several seconds before the light finally begins to fade. Revealing a rather surprising sight to me and everyone else.

All of the Eternal Winter in the mountains is gone, and along with it are the frozen ones.

Every last frozen one is just gone. Including the Frozen Lords and the Vanguard.

They’re just gone.

Not a single speck of them remaining.

Wow.

That’s just…

Wow.

I turn my head towards Dad, only to find him slowly floating down to the ground before dropping to one knee with his hand on his head. Proving that what he just did wasn’t easy for him to accomplish.

Without hesitating, I run up to him before offering a hand. One that he quickly grabs and lets me pull him up to his feet again by.

Then he just grins at me and asks, “So? What’d ya think?”

That almost has me rolling my eyes as I realize why he went a little overboard there.

He was showing off for me.

Probably because he’s never been legally allowed to show me his full power before. What with the laws restricting Tier 5’s abilities.

I smile wryly at that with a raised brow before tightening my grip on his hand a little and letting go as I answer, “It was great. Thanks for the help, Dad.”

He smiles back at me and says with more than a little emotion in his voice while the soldiers are all landing around us, “I’m glad I was able to arrive soon enough to help.”

Chapter 76

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Aftermath

Alexander North

After the battle, Dad quickly arranges things for the planet. His own heat energy along with the remaining heat energy from the angel from before ends up clearing out a large portion of the world of its remaining Eternal Winter. Albeit with some of the skies and space in general above the planet still being covered in the ice, snow, and shards.

But he quickly transfers all of the survivors of the planet onto the flagship. A ship far larger than large enough to hold everyone.

I’m actually rather surprised that they got the ship fully outfitted with cold energy power supplies for everything.

Although, judging by the sources of heat energy I sense every now and then as we march through the ship towards the bridge, maybe it’s not just cold energy they’re using.

Well, anyways, Dad also takes in the soldiers and assigns them to various positions in the ship based on their ranks. None of which are particularly high, seeing as none of the military officers on the tourist planet of Arran were very highly ranked in the first place. What with it being a tourist planet. One far away from any combat.

Which ironically ended up making this place more dangerous with more casualties, according to Dad. Since there were fewer people here to defend it from the Eternal Winter.

Also, while we walk, I go ahead and fill Dad in on what the Sun God told me. Only to find that they already knew some of the conflict from their own interactions with the angels.

Angels who, unlike the one on our world, worked together with the people of the world to defeat their Vanguards when they arrived.

But our world had no Tier 4s, much less Tier 5s.

So our world was just screwed from the get-go.

Speaking of the angel from our world, Dad sends soldiers to go retrieve them and bring them to the flagship to help them recover. Since the Sun God’s forces are our allies.

Then Dad begins to speak to me about his own new powers as we finally arrive at the bridge.

“My heat energy powers came about, according to the angel, due to the cold energy in the Eternal Winter reacting with the strong heat energy in my body,” Dad explains, sounding like he doesn’t understand half of what he just said himself. “Something about an automated defense by the heat energy that caused my body to mutate a little because of it, pretty much activating the energy inside of me in the process.”

Right. So a bunch of gobbledygook.

“General, sir! I have a report!” one of the soldiers on the bridge marches up to us as we approach the fancy looking chair in the center of the top floor of the multi-level bridge. With there being three different levels beneath this one, each filled with soldiers and officers running about along with a bunch of computer terminals. No doubt for operating the ship.

“Give it,” Dad states as we continue approaching the chair. At which point said chair starts to spin around to reveal the man sitting on it.

Uncle Rainald. The emperor of the Empire.

He just smiles at me and waves without saying anything, giving the soldier time to make his report.

“All of the refugees have been taken in from the planet surface, leaving only the lower Tier frozen ones behind,” the soldier begins. “Amongst the refugees and soldiers, a total of one hundred and seventy-one mutated ones have been found. Furthermore, only two thirds of those numbers are soldiers.”

Dad raises his hand to halt the soldier before he turns to me and Uncle Rainald and says, “Why don’t you two go catch up while you see Cynthia. I’m sure she’ll want to see you both.”

Uncle Rainald’s eyes light up at the mention of his daughter and he quickly gets up from his seat. Then he puts his hand on my shoulder and starts driving me towards the exit of the bridge while the soldier resumes his report.

After the automatic door to the bridge closes, and we enter the smooth, octagon shaped, metal hallway, he gives me a hug and says, “I’m glad you’re alright, Alex. And thank you for keeping Cynthia safe.”

I pat him on the back in my form of a return hug before he lets go, chuckling a little.

“Still haven’t changed?” he says, half in question and half in statement. Likely referring to my aversion towards being hugged.

I shake my head before smiling at him and saying, “Neither have you.”

He just laughs at that, after which he turns to one of the soldiers following us who are no doubt acting as bodyguards and says, “Take us to the refugees from the Vanguard battle. I would like to see them all.”

“Of course, Your Majesty,” the soldier declares.

Then the three of us move through the halls of the ship until we end up on one of those trams within the ship. Simply because the ship is too large for us to travel across the entire thing on foot.

And when we reach it, the emperor starts to ask about everything I personally experienced on Arran.

So I go ahead and run through everything with my uncle.

Because ever since I can remember, he’s always treated me well.

The man cared deeply for his sister before Mom died. And that care seems to have transferred over to me in some way, since he treats me a lot like he would a son sometimes.

Although part of that may also be the fact that I’ve heard he wanted a son as well but has never been able to have one. Not to mention how me and Cynthia were playmates growing up and he saw me quite often.

Meanwhile the soldier just kind of openly stares at me in shock as I tell my story.

Which, I have to admit, is rather amusing to see.

Chapter 77

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Home

Alexander North

I don’t manage to tell the entire story before we reach the refuge staging area within one of the flagship’s hangars. A secluded corner within the massive hangar far away from the cold energy field blocking the Eternal Winter from entering the ship while also blocking air from leaving it.

And everyone immediately kneels when they see the emperor. Everyone but Cynthia, who is instantly recognizable due to being the only one not kneeling amidst thousands of people.

From what I understand, this is just one of the many refugee staging areas. But I also happen to recognize quite a few people here. Which is interesting.

They’re all people from the bases nearby the capital.

Cynthia walks out from the group of people and immediately gets swept up in a hug by her father. Then, after at least a few minutes of hugging each other, they separate and he immediately begins talking to her at a rapid pace while guiding her away from the refugees.

Refugees who don’t look the least bit surprised by this.

Which makes sense. Everyone knows that the emperor adores his daughter.

I give a wry smile at them before following after, the three of us entering a more private room.

Then Cynthia starts sharing her own story with her father as I sit here and occasionally chime in myself.

Until the door opens and Alexia immediately runs straight to me, leaving an officer standing at the door while bowing. Letting the door shut behind the girl.

I pick Alexia up with a smile of my own, purposefully ignoring the amused look Uncle Rainald is sending me.

Alexia doesn’t say a word though, seemingly looking a little intimidated by the emperor while burying her face in my shoulder. So I go ahead and tell her while rubbing her back, “Don’t worry, he may look a little rough around the edges, but he’s your grand-uncle. My mother’s brother.”

The girl doesn’t remove her face from my shoulder though, leading me to just shrug at the emperor. Who looks rather disappointed by that.

“So,” he eventually says after waiting a few seconds, “how exactly did you get a daughter? No one ever filled us in, and the ship detects the same energy signature coming from the two of you, confirming she is your biological daughter.”

I open my mouth at that, only for Alexia to finally glance at him and answer, “He’s Dad because he’s Dad.”

That makes me close my mouth again without a word, feeling bemused by her own words.

“Yes, but how is that-” the emperor begins before stopping when he sees the look she’s sending him. Then he just looks at me.

“I’ll explain it later when Dad is-” I begin, just to be cut off by the sound of the door opening. Followed by a familiar voice.

“Well, I’m here,” Dad says as he walks in, “how about you tell me all about my new granddaughter?”

I focus on him. But I quickly find myself surprised when Alexia looks up at him and smiles. Albeit not saying a word.

“Well, it’s a bit of a long story,” I tell him while glancing between Alexia and Dad. Feeling a little bit surprised by how friendly she seems to be with Dad. All things considered.

He is also a public face as well, not to mention he’s personally a lot stronger than Uncle Rainald.

Dad smiles at us as he walks over to the two of us and says, “That’s fine. Take all the time you need.”

When he reaches us, he stops about half a meter away.

Then, to both our and Uncle Rainald’s surprise, Alexia reaches her hand out to him, making Dad immediately smile in response before he takes her hand. Only for Alexia to pull him over towards us, following which the three of us somehow end up in a hug.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Uncle Rainald and Cynthia smiling before hugging each other again as well.

Both of our families having finally been reunited.

With an additional member now.

My smile grows as Alexia wraps her arms around my and Dad’s necks, with Dad hugging the both of us. As a feeling of warmth spreads through my chest.

As I feel really happy and relaxed for the first time in a while.

No current dangers. Not with Dad here.

No more anxiety. No more living in fear.

Now we’re reunited.

And more powerful than ever.

The Sun God, the Winter God, the past death of Collapse and First Rain, and the Vanguards across the many planets. The refugees filling the ship as we speak and the people who still need saving on other planets. The Frozen Lords that I need the energy of all across the universe to grow stronger.

To grow strong enough to defeat the Winter God.

And to take the Winter God’s place.

But for now, I enjoy peace.

I enjoy my family.

And I enjoy the happiness that comes with it.

We can deal with everything later. And with far more numbers than we had before on Arran. Both in terms of quantity and quality, with higher Tier Symbiont Hosts.

Because now I’m home.

Where my family is.

Epilogue

On a Frozen Planet known by the nations of the Universe as Cocytus

The Winter God, Cocytus, sits on his throne while tapping a single finger on the armrest. His eyes closed as he finally feels his domain withdrawing from the world of which the hybrid was on ever since his awakening. The strange being supposedly meant to replace him. To bring his downfall.

But even with that knowledge, the Winter God doesn’t move from his throne. Even as he feels the Collapse within him urging him to destroy the threat.

All that manages to do is force him to order one of his own bodyguards to leave and find the hybrid.

He makes no moves to do so himself.

Because Cocytus desires not to kill the hybrid.

But he does desire to kill him as well.

A common problem that occurs when two powerful wills clash in a single body.

Then a flash of heat energy arrives right within his throne room, making the dozen bodyguards all around the throne and across the hall tense up. Each of the humanoid creatures looking nearly the exact same, with spikes shooting out of their upper back and the backs of their heads, along with a T-shaped trail of glowing blue light shining from their chest as they growl out through their rows of razor sharp teeth at the uninvited guest.

A guest that takes the form of the Sun God as she appears within the center of the chamber and completely disregards the Winter God’s bodyguards while focusing on him and speaking, “You’ve seen it yourself, Cocytus.”

Cocytus taps his finger on his throne again, not saying anything for several seconds.

Then he finally says, “Yes. A threat he may become. But that’s only if the creature can survive.”

The Sun God grins at him, crossing her arms under her chest as she retorts, “And survive he will.”

All of the bodyguards in the throne room begin to growl in anger at the Sun God. None of them pleased at her defiance of their God.

A simple reaction built directly into the genetic codes and cold energy of every single frozen one in existence.

Except for those under the protection of the hybrid, as Cocytus surprisingly found out.

As if the hybrid was directly declaring war on Cocytus’s domain.

The domain of Winter.

Yet also, the domain of Collapse.

“It’s not just your domains, Cocytus,” Sol says, sounding amused and interested. “Keep that in mind, old friend.”

Cocytus freezes when he’s about to tap his finger, only for Sol to suddenly vanish in another burst of light. Angering his bodyguards once again. Bodyguards who are all above the warm one’s interesting power designation system’s Tier 5.

Not just our domains…

The Winter God narrows his eyes for a few seconds before closing them and focusing on the hybrid once more. His Winter side feeling more hope than before.

Because if there is a creature in the universe who can free him for good, it would be the one that manages to have some hold over all three of the remaining domains.

Then he turns his gaze onto a single planet within the universe. One located far away from the planet the hybrid was on.

A planet that is entirely consistent of nothing but oceans.

And a single, strange orb of energy at the center of it.

Better yet, a being who may control all four domains.

Cocytus’s lucid thoughts are interrupted by his inner growling from Collapse’s side of his self. Covering up his thoughts and making it harder to act as he pleases once more.

But he still manages to hold back from acting personally, even if planning quickly becomes difficult.

And soon enough he feels his consciousness focusing solely on expanding the Eternal Winter – as the warm ones call it – once more.

Growing faintly excited for what is to come.

Author’s Note

Hello! Thank you so much for taking the time to read Eternal Winter’s Reign, Book 2, Era of Winter!

If you enjoyed the book, then please consider leaving a review! It helps me a lot as a self-published author whose entire career pretty much relies on these reviews!

Now, onto announcements!

For those of you who do not read my other book series, I have graduated from college with a Bachelors in Computer Science along with 2 certifications in Cybersecurity! So yay!

This is shown in my schedule largely by the fact that I’m trying to release one book or so a month. Although don’t mistake that for one book for every series. That’s just plain one book a month across all of my series.

As for Eternal Winter’s Reign book 3? My plan is to release one book of this series every year or so, with there most likely being a total of 4 or 5 books in the entire series before it is completed. Meaning there will most likely be two more books left in this series before completion.

But who knows how things could turn out in the end as my schedule does change a lot. I also change my mind a lot.

Additionally, I may start having audiobooks produced for Eternal Winter’s Reign at some point in the next few years. So look forward to that if you’re interested.

I’m not in a rush to get audiobooks though, so it could take a while. Especially with how many books I’m writing back to back.

This is my current publishing schedule for the rest of the year! Do note that I have already completely finished writing all of Wolf of the Blood Moon in its entirety and just need to edit and publish them! I also tend to write faster than I publish, which ends up with me having a bunch of books written and not published. Because the process of publishing can be tedious sometimes, thereby slowing me down in how fast I publish these books.

Also, this schedule is likely to change if something happens that requires it to change.

August: Wolf of the Blood Moon Book 4 (Preorder is here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0D6H1P33J) (this book is already completely written)

September/October: The Calling of Wrath Book 2

October/September: Wolf of the Blood Moon Book 5 (this book is already completely written)

November: The Rise of the Winter Wolf Book 6 – Additionally, the Audiobook for The Rise of the Winter Wolf book 3 will begin production in November as well

December: Wolf of the Blood Moon Book 6 (FINAL BOOK OF THE SERIES) (this book is already completely written)

January: The Undying Magician Book 4

February: Dungeon from the Void Book 5

March: The Rise of the Winter Wolf Book 7

April: Reaper's Resurgence Book 1 (this book is already completely written)

May: The Undying Magician Book 5

June: Reaper's Resurgence Book 2 (this book is already completely written)

July: Eternal Winter's Reign Book 3

August: Reaper's Resurgence Book 3 (this book is already completely written)

September: The Calling of Wrath Book 3

I hope you all have a lovely day! And please consider checking out my Patreon if you are interested in reading the chapters of my books that haven’t been released (or edited) yet in advance for a small subscription fee!

Also, consider checking out my discord server! I make announcements in there since I don’t like using social media. I also keep the above listed schedule updated on my Discord server.

And as always, go try out my other series if you’re interested in one of them listed below! And a recommended story as well!

My Other Series

My current most popular series on Amazon,

The Rise of the Winter Wolf

What would you do if your entire life was suddenly changed at the drop of a hat?

The entire population of the world that you were born into suddenly transported to another planet along with the rest of the intelligent inhabitants of the Milky Way Galaxy.

A strange System talking to you about abilities and levels without a care for your opinions.

Thousands of monster spawning dungeons placed around the new world without a care for the new inhabitants.

And if those weren't bad enough, a forced invitation for one thousand random individuals to compete in a livestreamed competition within a dungeon with the rank of Administrator as the prize.

You don’t know?

Well, it’s actually pretty simple.

You survive.

Our story follows Wolf Adler as he, along with every other human on Earth, are faced with a strange blue box filling up their vision, warning them about an upcoming reappropriation of every being of sufficient intelligence to a new planet for the initialization of some sort of System.

Will he perish in this new world? Or will he thrive?

If you’re interested, click here! It currently, as of releasing this book, has a total of 5 books in the series!

The Undying Magician

How would a true immortal with average talent in magic fare within a world where magic is everything?

In the world of Aria, only a small fraction of the population are classified as magicians.

These magicians are able to use magic through the manipulation of the mana they are born with and are the core of the military strength within every nation.

However, one nation in particular uses magicians to an even higher extreme than the others.

This nation is known as The Republic of Arcania.

The largest power in Aria.

Our story follows Nathan Fox as he graduates from high school and is sent to the Arcane Academy for his required training as a magician before he eventually serves his ten year term in the military.

Nathan has been a true immortal ever since he got a semi-magical disease that makes any damage done to his body instantly reverse itself, bringing him back to his top form on the day that he became an immortal.

Death is an impossibility for Nathan. But there are worse things in the world than death.

And if the power-hungry magicians of the world were to learn of Nathan's true immortality?

Then he might just experience those things for himself.

Nathan must navigate his way through the military academy without giving away his secret. But when the entire world falls into chaos due to a revolt by the most powerful beings on the planet, how will he keep his secret safe?

That has yet to be foretold.

About the series: Join Nathan as he navigates his way through a dystopian world, whether that's inside of a magical academy, in a land of the dead, or fighting wars against other magicians. As he hides his immortality until it's no longer needed, grows to learn the loneliness of immortality, and learns more and more about magic and his own disease.

If you’re interested, click here! It currently, as of releasing this book, has a total of 3 books in the series!

Wolf of the Blood Moon

When a Demonic Assault occurs, most people stuck inside of a Fracture end up hiding inside of a bunker in the hopes that they don’t get killed by a demon.
Others might even hope for the slightest possible chance at signing a contract with a spirit and becoming a Guardian.
So when Scarlet was caught in a Fracture, the last thing she expected was to become a demon herself.
Exactly two centuries ago, humanity was struck with their very first Demonic Assault. The skies above the capital of the US, shattering as if made of glass; demons of all kinds appearing out of nowhere; and no way to effectively stop them before the end of the Assault.
On the brink of devastation, some of the humans managed to find themselves offered a contract whilst inside of a Fracture. One bringing a chance at power, fame, and fortune.
Now, long after every nation of the world joined together to form the Terran Republic, Scarlet finds herself stuck trying to find a university from the Republic’s capital that will accept someone from a lower tier city into their midst. But, as if that wasn’t already enough trouble for one person to bear, she somehow ends up stuck in one of the Fractures of a Demonic Assault while visiting her father figure’s company building.
However, she doesn't perish in the darkness and instead awakens her dormant bloodline as a noble demon. A Blood Lycan.
Turns out she had been a demon all along and had been born for the apocalypse.

If you’re interested, click here! It currently, as of releasing this book, has a total of 3 books in the series with another one coming next month! And the rest of the series is already completed in writing and just needs to be edited and published!

Then there’s an Amazon series that isn’t quite as popular but is getting up there,

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The Calling of Wrath

What happens when a medieval world of swords and steel is invaded and forcefully introduced to a System of levels and magic?

It was just another ball.

Princess Cassandra thought she could deal with it.

She just had to pretend for half an hour to actually care about the attending nobles before her father would let her leave, as usual.

That is, until the sky started glowing blue and strange text appeared in front of her face, mentioning something about a System.

Even that she could deal with.

After all, it’s interesting, right?

Regardless of how… bizarre… it is, it’s still something new in her rather boring life.

But being kidnapped by planar invaders from some planet called Earth after a literal glowing heart flies through a portal in front of her and disappears in her chest?

That might be a little too much.

If you’re interested, click here! It currently, as of releasing this book, has a total of 1 book in the series with another book coming in the next couple months!

And last but not least, my first ever series,

Dungeon from the Void

A strange new dungeon, only having recently left the void; a destructive new element, never-before seen by the inhabitants of Midgard; and a half-elf mercenary on the search for a peaceful life.

Within the world of Midgard, most people struggle just to survive.

However, a daring few fight within places known as 'dungeons' to get stronger so that they may make a place for themselves within this cruel world.

These few are known as cultivators.

Our story begins with a young dungeon core as he enters the world of Midgard for the first time.

This dungeon core, one bound to an element known only by the strongest people within the world, starts his new life outside of the void within a secluded mountain range, far away from any kingdom.

How will the world react to this new dungeon core and his extremely dangerous element?

That is yet to be foretold.

If you’re interested, click here! It currently, as of releasing this book, has a total of 4 books in the series!