Liuke's world had shattered into a million icy shards.
He lay there, unconscious and broken—physically mutilated, mentally decimated, and trapped in the heart of the frost.
The betrayal stung worse than the freezing winds.
He had been handed over to his doom by the only person he had dared to love.
It felt as if he were a living curse—every life he tried to save only returned to wound him deeper.
Elysia had cast him into the dark dungeons of the Eternal Freeze.
Liuke remained bound in ice, his missing arm a jagged reminder of his sacrifice.
His body was buried in a frozen lock, with only his face exposed to the biting, merciless air.
Meanwhile, Elysia, having committed the ultimate betrayal, approached her sovereign.
She walked through the halls of the Ice Palace, her steps echoing against the crystalline floor.
"Queen Sharley, I have fulfilled your command," Elysia said, bowing deeply.
"I have brought before you a Solar Source of immeasurable power. His energy... it feels infinite."
Elysia kept her forehead almost touching the frost.
She waited for the praise she believed she had earned through her absolute loyalty.
Queen Sharley approached her slowly, her royal robes trailing behind her like a winter mist.
"Rise, Elysia," the Queen said softly.
Elysia stood up, a small spark of pride in her heart, expecting a reward.
Instead—CRACK.
A violent, deafening slap echoed through the throne room.
Elysia stumbled back, her face stinging, her mind spinning in total confusion.
"My son... my son is dead," Sharley's voice trembled, cracking under the weight of unbearable grief.
"My last son is gone. And he is gone only because you were late, Elysia."
"I... I beg for your deepest forgiveness, My Queen," Elysia stammered, trembling.
"What use is your forgiveness to a mother who has lost everything?" Sharley sobbed.
Suddenly, a high-ranking knight stepped forward, his hand resting on the hilt of his blade.
"Queen Sharley, shall I take this girl's head?" Knight Treyan asked coldly.
"Shall I lay it at your feet for her failure?"
"Silence, you fool," Sharley commanded.
The Queen placed both hands on Elysia's shoulders.
The gesture seemed almost motherly, but her eyes were as cold as a blizzard.
"Elysia, thank you for bringing that Solar brat. For this, you deserve a reward."
"Treyan... her silver eyes are shining too brightly. They cast too much light in this mourning palace."
"Remove one. Give it to her as a souvenir of her 'loyalty'."
Elysia's heart plummeted. She fell to her knees, clawing at the Queen's heavy robes.
"Queen Sharley! No! Please! I beg of you! I did my best! Please, spare me!"
But Treyan moved with the speed of a winter storm.
With his bare hands, he reached out and brutally gouged the eye from Elysia's socket.
A blood-curdling scream tore through the hall.
Elysia collapsed, clutching her face as warm blood soaked through her fingers, staining the white ice.
Within moments, the pain overcame her, and she fell unconscious.
"Throw her into the same cell as the boy," Sharley commanded coldly.
The Queen retreated to her private chambers.
She stood by the window, overlooking the vast 'Graveyard of the Frozen.'
In her kingdom, the dead were not buried; they were encased in eternal ice to be gazed upon forever.
Her eyes landed on one specific block. Charles. Her youngest. Her last.
"Oh, Charles... my child. I have failed you," she whispered.
She collapsed onto her bed, seeking the only refuge she had left—sleep.
Across the world, the Solar Empire of Helmora was in a state of absolute panic.
The Solar High Council was reeling from the shock.
For the first time, it wasn't a mindless beast that had breached them, but a shapeshifter who had played them for fools.
The Inquest Force swarmed the Shigari Hotel.
The remains of Lime, the Stealth Force agent, were recovered—half-devoured and frozen.
The Five Elders reached a verdict. Five Commanders were to be sent on a suicide mission:
Commander Elvis: Driven by guilt and the need for answers.
Commander Kling (68): A veteran whose body defied his age, a living mountain.
Commander Yui (34): Sharp, lethal, and calculating.
Commander Jems: A seasoned warrior of the middle-ranks.
Commander Lak (16): A child prodigy whose power surpassed men thrice his age.
Back at the hotel, Klane arrived, her heart heavy with dread.
She found the room crawling with men in black suits.
"Brother... where is Brother Liuke?" she asked, her small voice trembling.
An Inquest officer looked down at her, his face grim.
"He was kidnapped, kid. Taken to the other side of the world. He's gone."
Klane didn't scream. She simply broke.
Why? she thought as tears blurred her vision.
He was so kind. Why does the world hate someone so gentle? She walked away, leaving her toys behind.
Her childhood ended in that single, gray afternoon.
Deep beneath the Ice Palace, the silence was broken by a sharp gasp.
Liuke's eyes snapped open.
The cold was absolute, biting into his very marrow.
He struggled to move, but the ice held him fast.
He looked ahead.
And there, sitting right in front of him in the dim, blue light of the dungeon... was Elysia.
But she wasn't the girl he loved anymore.
She was a broken mess, a blood-stained bandage over one eye, staring back at him with a gaze that held no more secrets.