The Frozen God (1)

The Frozen Ruins was more than just about timelines and Vastarael knew that.

The main reason why he knew about this was because of the Orchestral Vialex.

It was a weapon touched by a Primordial but for some reason, it was stuck in this frozen city for a reason.

Out of all the Abilities of this Vialex, only one of them was bound to be the active.

[Harmonization of Existence.]

[This is the most dangerous power the Vialex holds, Harmonization. When played with the utmost skill, the Vialex can align the flow of time with the user's will. The wielder can, for a limited time, become the master of time, bending it to their desires. However, this comes at a great cost.]

[The longer the harmonization lasts, the more the wielder risks losing their connection to the natural flow of time, potentially becoming a timeless being outside of fate—lost, without purpose, and forever adrift in the infinite sea of temporal possibility.]

[Only being a Timeless can this ability be used well.]

This was the skill that was active in the Frozen Ruins. Which meant that no matter what, as long as the Vialex still remained in the city, he would be subjected to its effects.

The Harmonization of Existence wasn't just affecting the ruins. It was actively shaping the experiences of anyone trapped within. Each person here was caught in their own fragment of time, repeating moments endlessly or being shifted between alternate realities.

Vastarael's goal was simple in principle but daunting in execution: break the cycle, free the sisters, and secure the Vialex.

To do so, he needed to eliminate Peccavi. They both acted as anchors to the Vialex's influence. As long as they existed, the city would remain a nexus of temporal chaos.

However, once he killed both of them, no timeline would exist and it would completely isolate the timelines.

And if he's still in there, he would die.

The cold air of the cathedral bit into Vastarael's lungs as he jolted awake, the chill sinking into his skin like shards of ice.

The moment his golden eyes flickered open, a cascade of sensations crashed over him.

Disorientation, panic, and an overwhelming sense of urgency.

[Veneri! Run! NOW!]

Phaenora's voice screamed in his mind, pulling him into immediate awareness. Her usually teasing tone was gone, replaced by raw terror that cut through his grogginess like a blade.

He groaned, dragging himself upright, only to meet the sight of the Second Peccavi, the priestess, kneeling near him, her crimson eyes wide and trembling.

In her hands was the Orchestral Vialex, its surface shimmering faintly as though resisting the chaos around it. The floor beneath them was splintering, glowing cracks of temporal instability spreading like a spiderweb across the cathedral.

"You're awake," the priestess said softly, though her voice quivered with urgency. "We must leave, My Lord. Now."

"What happened?" Vastarael rasped, shaking off his dizziness.

He tried to steady himself but the floor lurched beneath him like a ship caught in a storm. His instincts screamed that something was deeply, catastrophically wrong.

"The timelines… they're gone. You killed my counterpart and made me your subordinate. Without us as anchors, the city's connection to the Vialex has been severed. The artifact's harmonization is failing."

Vastarael froze. The murals, the endless fragments of possibilities… they were gone. He'd succeeded in breaking the cycle. But the cost was now spiraling out of control.

A deafening crack echoed through the cathedral as one of the towering stained-glass windows shattered, its shards scattering like rain. The entire structure shuddered violently, the ancient stone groaning as if it were alive and in agony. Vastarael's eyes snapped toward the source of the noise and that's when he saw it.

A god.

It wasn't just a god. It was the same monstrous being that had tricked Peccavi and her people into their frozen purgatory.

A towering entity, twenty meters tall, its form cloaked in shifting waves of black spectral energy that rippled like an endless void. Its body was humanoid in shape but its features were blurred and undefined, as though reality itself refused to give it shape.

Around it, the air shimmered and distorted, time glitching erratically.

With a single step, the god entered the cathedral. Vastarael felt the earth beneath him quake. The once-majestic chamber crumbled as its massive presence filled the space.

Vastarael's knees buckled under the oppressive weight of its power, an overwhelming force that pressed against his very soul. His instincts screamed at him to move but he was frozen in place, utterly paralyzed by the sheer terror of its existence.

This was the very first time he felt fear.

The god's voice rumbled through the cathedral, deep and resonant, like a thousand voices speaking in unison.

"Blizzard's Wrath."

It turned its amorphous gaze to the priestess, who clutched the Vialex tighter, her knuckles white.

"You were my sanctuary, my herald, my tether to this mortal plane. But now… You are nothing. No longer bound to my will. You dare align yourself with this… prince?"

The priestess flinched under its gaze, but her voice, though trembling, remained defiant.

"I was your pawn. You used me, my people, and destroyed us for your gain. You made me kill your subordinate who ruined this city. I will not serve you anymore."

The god tilted its head, the motion almost mocking.

"Then you are no longer a Winter Labor. You are nothing to me."

The atmosphere around them began to ripple and distort as the god's presence warped the very fabric of time. Vastarael could feel a sickening pull, like his body was being torn apart and reassembled with each passing second.

His vision blurred, images of alternate versions of himself flashing before his eyes. In one, he was older, scarred and weary. In another, he was dead, his body frozen in the ruins.

"Phaenora," he gasped, clutching his head. "What… what's happening?"

[The god's presence is destabilizing time! It's too strong. You can't fight it, Veneri. You have to run!]

The priestess turned to Vastarael, her crimson eyes brimming with urgency.

"We have to leave. The Vialex is useless now. Its harmonization can't function without anchors to stabilize it. If we stay, we'll be consumed by the temporal rift!"

The god took another step forward, its immense form looming over them. The cathedral trembled, massive chunks of stone falling from the ceiling as the entire structure began to collapse. Vastarael tightened his grip on his glaive, but the weight of the god's power made even standing a challenge.

The god raised an arm causing spectral tendrils to appear and lash toward them like whips of pure darkness. Vastarael dove to the side, narrowly avoiding the attack, though the force of it sent him skidding across the floor. The priestess shielded herself with the Vialex, the artifact glowing faintly as it absorbed the brunt of the blow.

"You cannot escape. Your defiance is meaningless. You are but fleeting echoes, bound to fade into oblivion," the god intoned, its voice reverberating through the crumbling cathedral.

Vastarael clenched his teeth, forcing himself to his feet despite the crushing pressure bearing down on him.

"We're not echoes. And we're not fading today!"

The priestess grabbed Vastarael's arm, pulling him toward a side passage as another tendril of darkness smashed into the ground where they had just been standing.

"We can't fight it! We have to run, My Lord!"

Forcing his legs to move, Vastarael followed her, the two of them darting through the crumbling cathedral as the god pursued them. Each step was a struggle, the warped flow of time slowing their movements while speeding up the destruction around them. Vastarael could hear the god's voice echoing behind them.

The passage they were in collapsed just as they reached the end, forcing them to leap through the jagged remains of a shattered window. They landed hard on the frozen ground outside, the shock of the impact jarring Vastarael's senses.

Behind them, the cathedral imploded, the god's form visible amidst the rubble, its spectral energy flaring as it began to emerge from the ruins.

"Keep running!" The priestess urged, her grip on the Vialex getting tighter. "We can't stop!"

Vastarael gritted his teeth, his muscles screaming in protest as he pushed himself to keep moving. The god's presence loomed behind them but Vastarael refused to give in. He had made it this far and he wasn't about to let some monstrous deity end him now.

With every step, the two of them fled deeper into the frozen city, the god's spectral energy trailing them like a shadow of death. Their only hope was to outrun it, to escape the city before the temporal rift consumed them all.

Vastarael noticed the igloo where he stayed for the next three days. Miraculously, the sisters were not there. In fact, even as time glitched, they were not visible.

He summoned his Tracking Rune and sighed in relief when he saw two blue trails leading outside the city. He could feel their presence far away but extremely faint.

'They escaped right on time. Good.'

Now, he focused on running.