The moon continued its course in the sky, and in the frozen ground, Freya followed the General’s path.
Across large crevasses, the duke’s daughter followed Rhea, keeping as much distance as possible but not enough to lose sight of her.
After about five minutes of walking, she ca to a complete stop behind so large rocks.
Further on, the space was completely clear, the crevice leading to a large open space, making concealnt impossible.
"Darn it..."
Freya growled, the distance separating her from Fenrir’s general continued to widen. The young woman bit her lip, at this point the obvious choice would be to go after Rhea now, it was her plan all along.
However, sothing about the phenonon before her, the legend among legends, held her back.
There was more than death to this situation, it was just the roof of the world she had to deal with.
She took a deep breath, ready to step into the bright light, but then another change froze her.
Rhea stopped at the edge of a precipice, she took off her military hat and looked out at the horizon, the wind blowing through the silver in her hair.
Freya looked at her for a mont, and when she could confirm a smile across the General’s figure, her heart raced a little.
Arms extended at her sides, she erged from the safety of the rocks and advanced.
"So, are you done playing hide and seek?" Rhea said without turning her back, Freya lowered her head, completely defeated.
"...When did you know?"
The wind blew harder, Rhea turned to admire Freya’s face, she observed her head to toe before shifting her gaze towards the horizon.
"All along we knew you were there, all of you. Now, I’ve seen a lot of anomalies but I haven’t been this surprised yet, so, warrior of Ambrosia, why don’t you share why are you following ?"
Freya’s gaze widened, barely a minute had elapsed since their encounter, yet she sensed herself being in Rhea’s hands, and it was not rely a perception.
Rhea once again fixed her gaze upon Freya, the tranquility emanating from her deep blue eyes conveyed a profound ssage, her life was no longer hers.
"Ah...I was expecting a lot, so I’m not really surprised." Freya lowered her head, clutching her dress tightly to her thigh. "Since you knew we were here, I assu you already know why I followed you?"
They looked at each other for a mont, Freya’s eyes showed no resistance, no determination, it was a look already prepared for disappointnt and Rhea could sense it.
With a simple nod, she responded.
"I see, and why are you in Kalaharis? Our eting here was just a coincidence, so why are you here instead of solving what your people caused?"
Freya sighed and shook her head, she didn’t know Rhea personally but the stories about her made her understand that would be her reaction.
"I caused nothing, at most I was unable to fight, but if I could have been there, I would have fight without hesitation. But I am not looking for excuses or sacrifices, I want a solution, for everyone."
Rhea’s eyes sharpened, for the first ti, a semblance of emotion seed to pierce through her usual calm.
"What happened to that solution you and your team have been working on over the past few months? The one you turned into a monster, the Sin of Greed, why haven’t you used him yet?"
Silence fell once again between the two girls, Rhea was already showing that she knew everything about Freya and was conspicuous by her lack of determination to help her.
Freya wanted to be as honest as possible, she opened her mouth, but imdiately closed it. She clenched her fists and began to shake, a scene that intrigued Rhea a little, but then a whisper escaped Freya’s lips.
"...Again...it’s happening again, it’s always like this..."
Her body started trembling more noticeably, while her voice grew louder.
"What’s the point of asking that? You want to hear that we failed? That we couldn’t create the monster we wanted? Or that we tried to manipulate a Sin and it backfired? Yes, we did that, we did the worst and even more, we did unforgivable things to soone who was our friend, but you know why we did that?"
She took a step forward, placing a hand on her chest and eting the General’s eyes.
"We did this because we are weak, useless and powerless! None of us have the strength to face the Twilight of the Gods, none of us have the courage to go on a suicidal mission for nothing! We have made all these mistakes because we tried everything, we asked everyone for help, but all of you, you and all the countries of this stupid world refused to help us... Everything you say, is that we brought this to ourselves, but what they forget is that when the Players reach them, there will be no distinction between us."
Her breath becoming heavier, she lowered her gaze to the ground, a bit of her aura erging appearing as purple vapor around her.
"This is so ridiculous... all of this could have been avoided if just one of you had decided to take action... We rebelled against our Queen, so why would you, the strongest, listen her nonsense? Follow a Code? What is a Code in a dying world?"
Gazing wearily at Rhea, her soothing aura enveloped her. The General maintained silence montarily, fixing her gaze upon Freya, who fearlessly t her eyes. Afterward, she gracefully donned her hat once again.
"You speak a lot for soone who has no power."
"I’m just tired of being insulted, I have my own pride. If you don’t want to help us, then let’s not beat the bushes."
Rhea smiled once again, defying her placid deanor. She drew her sword from its sheath, the light reflecting on Freya’s face.
"Let’s say I refuse to help, how do you see the result? Can you stop the Twilight of the Gods?"
She inspected every detail of the blade decorated with elegant designs.
Freya was torn between a potential implication behind her words and realizing what her words and the sword had in common.
Sweat forming on her forehead, she gritted her teeth.
"I think I’ve told you enough, so will you accept, or deny the right to return to my people?"
"...It’s bold of you to assu they’re still alive."
The wind blew, lifting the hair of the two young won facing each other. Rhea, now scarfed with a big smile, put away her sword and took off her hat again.
Freya stepped back, her eyes trembling.
"Alive?.... What do you an? What... You... You better not..."
"Better not what? Didn’t you describe yourself as a powerless ant? What will you do against us if you can’t stop a single Player?"
She watched the moon reflected in her eyes, Freya kept increasing the distance between them but the glow of her hands showed that she had no intention of running away.
"The ti for chivalry and heroism is over, warrior, this is the land of monsters and you are dealing with an Empire of Predators. I have surrounded myself with the hungriest wolves and they will not need my approval to dispose of your troops if they show themselves to be sacrificial lambs, starting with their leader."
She shifted her gaze to the hat, staring at the golden wolf head. Freya stood on alert, ready to fight an unwinnable battle.
"I told you I didn’t intend to be insulted, I guess you won’t accept my request, so I have nothing to lose. Show your true form now, demon wolf."
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