Icard's legs gave out. He staggered back from her before collapsing to the ground.
The shard was still lodged straight through his body.
Frost poured from it, seeping into him.
It numbed his stomach first, then crept outward, invading the rest of his body with merciless slowness.
"From the way you move," she said calmly, watching his struggle with mild interest, "I can tell this isn't the first time you've been here."
He grit his teeth, breath coming out in ragged clouds.
"I can also tell you know quite a lot about this place," she continued. "So tell me--how do you plan to survive that?" She gestured lazily at the shard impaling him.
It looked like a simple stab but it wasn't.
This was a skill obtained on the third floor of the Frost Tower - Ice Mould.
The ice never melted into water. Instead, it degraded into frost, endlessly freezing whatever surrounded it.
Embedded inside his body, it would freeze him from the inside out.
And judging by its wielder, Icard knew the effect was far more potent than usual. That single shard was more than enough to turn him into a frozen corpse.
He lifted his head and met her gaze, breathing unevenly.
"You… want to… kill me?" he asked.
"Huuuuh?" She tilted her head, then smiled. "I just want to play a little. But if you die, oh well."
Icard noticed her demeanor now was nothing like earlier. Nothing like Erient's. She was really serious about this.
Icard's mind raced.
First, he attempted to remove the shard but it had frozen in place.
That was expected. He frantically sought another option but there was barely anything he could think of in that state.
Only one thing crossed his mind - share the frost across his body. At this rate, he'd die if it reached his heart and freezes his blood circulation.
And so, he grabbed the shard then and the frost began creeping on his hand as well.
"Ohh" the Keeper whispered in amusement. He grabbed it tightly, taking the frost up to his hands.
He endured the pain as much as he could. Perhaps the shard would still freeze him completely but he couldn't think of any other thing.
The shard soon froze his hands in place and was already creeping up his arms. Soon enough, it reached his neck, his chest and began creeping toward the rest of his body.
'Ahh, this isn't good' he said in his thoughts as he felt it making its way up his neck. 'Damn you, Erient'
He felt bitter but he was really powerless now?
Powerlessness... something he had to start getting used to again.
"Are you really the one?" the blue lady asked, arms folded, faint disappointment lacing her voice. "I expected you'd withstand this much"
'How can I do that when I haven't been made an incarnation yet?!' Icard wanted to scream at her but he was unable to speak.
Soon, it reached his head. By then, most of the shard had already disappeared. His arms were completely frozen and so was the rest of his body.
"Hmm" she hummed again. "You will reeeaaaally die at this rate if you don't do something"
She spoke like she was being entertained watching him like this.
'Am I really going to die like this?' he thought to himself. 'Erient! I gave him everything. How can he do this to me!'
Icard's bitterness enveloped him.
Now, he couldn't help but watch his life flash before his eyes.
There, his consciousness flickered and his mind took him back to his first turn. The memory replayed in his head.
When he appeared here, Erient was waiting atop the tower, a powerful presence he couldn't comprehend at that time.
Erient went ahead to introduce himself.
"I am Erient, the Keeper of the dimension of the Frost Tower. You have just appeared before me as my potential incarnation"
One thing Icard could remember back then was the way the Heralds and Keepers spoke to them at first, as if they were supposed to know what all these things were.
"Hmm. You seem quite compatible with my Frost Tower" Erient said.
"Now, I shall test you to see if you are truly worthy to be my incarnation. After which, I shall educate you properly"
Before Icard could say anything, the tests followed.
Back then, he nearly died as well. Erient subjected him to torturous trials.
But thinking about it - it felt really similar. Although Erient didn't stab Icard though.
He simply froze Icard's foot to the iced ground first and created circular patterns around Icard by just waving his hands.
Then, he began with the first stage. He called it the Ring of warmth. The first circle began to disintegrate.
"This is the test of bare initiation" Erient said before it began.
Icard could remember feeling a warm-like sensation, very comfortable.
And then, it wore off. After which, the cold he had been feeling around him increased tenfold, although he wasn't being frozen.
It was an agonizing experience.
The second ring followed; disintegrating into a mist that clung to his body. It corroded his body, freezing it corruptibly and causing his body to sublimate into the frost.
The ring was called the Fate-led.
He endured an unimaginable pain. Erient instructed him there -
"This is a test on your mental fortitude. The more you waver, the more your body sublimes"
It took a while before the ring finally vanished completely.
But Erient didn't let him rest or protest. He continued with the third ring - the Ring of Madness up to the last Ring of Stillness where he was closest to dying.
Thinking about it now, they were much more excruciating than what he was passing through now.
'Heh' he scoffed in his mind since he was unable to speak again. The feeling that Erient had betrayed him dawned on him more.
He wanted to curse at the Keeper again, but then, his consciousness was fading already.
"Ahhhhh" he exhaled weakly, a thick white mist escaping his lungs. There, his mind gradually went blank until, he was dead.
Or...so he thought.
[Warning: Your Reawakening Has Been Forcefully Initiated]
'Huh?'
[Skill - Regelation - Has Been Activated. Your Body Is Currently Under Repair]