Freed from the Ice

Then, she spoke. "Skadi Everwinter, I know the past years have been rough for you. Your emotions, mainly your love for that boy, Sky Aslan, forcibly locked within your heart. Since I'm appearing before you now, it means that you've experienced it; unimaginable heartbreak, caused by your loved one himself, probably because of your actions."

Skadi gasped, shocked at how this majestic woman was able to just accurately summarize what had just happened, and decided to speak.

"Erm, if I may ask, who are you exactly?"

"Who am I? Ufufufu~, why, I'm you~! Known to many as the Norse God, Skadi, Goddess of Winter, Mountains, and bowhunting. To be specific, I am you from a previous life. I too made a mistake I came to regret for the rest of my life, rejecting Sky… I honed my abilities to the absolute limit, eventually transcending mortal boundaries and becoming a goddess. But what meaning was there to life, if I couldn't enjoy it with my loved one?"

She chuckled bitterly. "There isn't much time, so I'll cut it short and sweet. The reason why you suddenly felt as if your emotions were forcibly locked within your heart is because of a curse placed on our species, the Yuuki Onna. It dooms our kind to fall in love at a young age, before locking it deep within our heart, and inevitably doing something we regret. The only way to break this curse is to feel such overwhelming love towards your, our, loved one, in this case, Sky, that it "melts" the shackles that chain our emotions deep within. However, that isn't to say that once the shackles are melted that they can't reform. They can and will, so I recommend carrying around a picture of you and Sky, just in case the curse resurfaces."

Skadi Everwinter nodded seriously, etching her other self's words into her heart as if it was the Mandate of Heaven. "Also, even though I'm sure your heart wrenches every single time you see Sky with another one of those… girls…" Skadi continued, "worst comes to worst, you may have to concede and share him. As much as you and I both hate the thought of having to share our beloved, they are strong, and can protect Sky. I made that mistake once… sigh… how I regret it" Skadi finished wistfully.

Skadi Everwinter's eyes dulled. Share? Share Sky? She could only nod slightly, while vowing that she would have to grow stronger to not have to rely on those other bitches to help protect him.

"Finally, I'll tell you the way to get stronger, so listen closely." Skadi Everwinter immediately re-focused. "This world is a much vaster, much more magical place than you could even fathom, holding infinite opportunity for those willing to seek it. All people are born with an inherent affinity towards an element or perhaps, elements, with varying degrees of actual talent towards that element, going from Trash to God level. We have a Saint level talent, one talent level lower than God level, but in my life, I pursued multiple fantastical treasures and after many hardships, it wasn't I who obtained the treasure that could forcibly increase my talent, no. It was Sky~. See this crown? It's known as the Crown of Everwinter~. Legend has it that it was created through the tears of the world itself, weeping at the loss of her children… Not only does it increase one's talent, but it also gives its' wearer absolute control over ice, snow, and water." Suddenly, Skadi's image started to crack, her voice becoming more and more unclear, until it dissipated into snowflakes.

Skadi knew what she had to do. When she first realized she could somewhat control the powers of ice and snow to a certain extent, she grew arrogant thinking that she was invincible. How wrong she was. This encounter proved to be an eye-opener of sorts for Skadi, showing her the long, treacherous path that lay ahead of her to becoming a God. To finally be able to be with her husband, like her other self failed to do in her previous life.

That being said, she knew that something took precedence over all of that. Making amends with her husband. She decided. It was time. With the shackles chaining her love for Sky gone, her love for him seemed to only grow larger and larger by the minute, so much so that just thinking about Sky brought a smile to her lips that she didn't even believe possible. She would never let it shackle her again.

But, now that Skadi thought about it, she thought of something. Or someone. Mia Dawn. A seemingly perfect girl who just waltzed into Sky's life and became his girlfriend. But Skadi had different thoughts on the matter. She was too perfect. 'What are you hiding, Mia? Once I find out, I'll leverage that and make you leave husband's life… For good.' Skadi smiled cruelly, her eyes dull. Suddenly, Skadi felt a cold sensation wrap around her head. Lightly at first, as if it was just sitting atop her head, before it slowly started to squeeze. Tighter and tighter, Skadi clenched her fists from the nerve-wracking pain, before she inevitably passed out.

Lunch had long ended, in fact, school was almost ending, yet Sky noticed that Skadi still hadn't returned ever since he talked to her at the rooftop. Speaking of which, Sky , contrary to other days where Mia predominantly occupied his thoughts, Skadi was all he had on his mind at the moment. Why did she suddenly call him Husband? Was it really an act? What really happened that caused Skadi to turn cold to him all those years ago? Those eyes of hers as she looked up at Sky seemed to convey her wholehearted intent: that she was afraid of Sky leaving her at that moment, yet Sky still did.

The bell rang, and Sky, with old wounds resurfacing, finally decided that he would check on her, not as a friend, but as a concerned classmate. He rushed to the rooftop, discovering Skadi's limp body lying on the ground, seemingly unconscious. He panicked, quickly checking her pulse. Good. She was still alive, albeit her heart seemed to be beating abnormally slow. Struggling slightly, Sky picked Skadi's limp body up, taking her to the infirmary, where he gently set her down on one of the empty beds.

He quickly utilized the facility and what it had to offer, spreading a blanket over her body and brewing some boiling hot tea. After all, being outside in the cold for that long obviously wasn't good, and could even get someone sick. As he sat down by the side of Skadi's bed, he started to think about everything that happened between them.

The good and the bad. From childhood friends to distant strangers. And he came to a conclusion. If Skadi was truly being genuine today, he was willing to give her a second chance to be let back into his life as a friend. After all, as much as Sky would like to deny it, he still cared for her.

"Mrrnghh…" Skadi murmured, her eyelashes fluttering slightly as she opened her eyes sleepily, revealing her sapphire-like eyes. "W-where am I?" She asked, not really expecting a reply.

"I found you passed out on the rooftop, so I took you to the infirmary. Tea?" Sky responded, before offering her a cup of piping hot tea.

Skadi accepted the cup, nodding a little in gratitude, before gulping down a little frowning slightly upon tasting it. It seemed as if her entire being seemed appalled by the warmth of the tea, much like how ice shrinks away from fire. But since it was from her husband, she would gladly drink it, even if it had poison in it.

"Sky!"

"Hmm?" He responded.

"I-I need to tell you the truth." Skadi said, her face turning serious. "About everything."

"To be honest, I… I actually have a medical condition. When I was around the age of 9, I suddenly developed an intense disdain for all men, including you. Not wanting you to get hurt further, I decided to end our relationship then and there, fearing that my already existing feelings for you may be tainted by my disdain for men. Every time I see you from afar, I reminisce about the time we spent together as little kids, the time we spent laughing and playing together. *Hic* I know this doesn't justify me mistreating you all these years *Hic*, but I thought that… I thought that you deserve to know *Hic* t-that it's not your fault. F-feel free to hate me all you want." She started weeping near the end, her shoulders heaving slightly with each sniffle of her nose.

Sky would be a liar if he said he wasn't moved by her display. Even though he would have to disagree with how Skadi went about dealing with her condition, he couldn't really blame her for it. Sighing slightly, he sat next to her on the bed, before starting: "Skadi, now that I know that your actions were caused by your condition, obviously I can't hate you! How could you even think that?! And obviously it will take time to mend our relationship, but as long as you're willing to put in effort, so am I." He smiled, rubbing Skadi's back in a soothing manner.

"Promise?" Skadi looked up at him, eyes still watery.

"Promise." Sky confirmed.

Upon hearing that, Skadi smiled brightly, her smile like the sun reflecting off of morning snow. They chatted for a while, catching up on things, and laughing about their different experiences that they went through...