Long ago in Ashen Grove, Oscar stuck a knife under a slab of meat sizzling on a flat stone over a roaring fire and lifted it off the heated rock onto a clean bark, good replacements for plates. Hungry, he drooled, bit down on the tasty morsel, then immediately pulled his mouth away. His tongue squirmed around in burning agony. Putting his plate away, Oscar downed a cup of juice, soothing his scorched mouth.

"Can I continue?" Gol-4 laughed mechanically, strange buzzes and hums in beats. His head spun around in midair, looking quite comical. "I have so much more to tell you."

"Hold on, I have a question." Oscar stabbed the knife into the ground and enjoyed Erden's soft head, caressing the coat of white fur. "Did you never think what would happen if people stole your inventions or created their own from your designs? You mentioned you sold a couple of them."

The golem's blue-glass eyes flared, radiating brighter than the deepest part of his fireplace. Having seen this action many times, Oscar knew the golem was searching through his stored memory. He patiently waited until Gol-4 settled on a rock and snorted in mechanical arrogance. "Like I would allow my own creations to turn on me. You underestimate the genius I am or was, my dear lad! Everyone knows to put in a failsafe for the worst-case scenario."

"As expected from a genius!" Oscar played along with Gol-4's little act, clapping his hands in rousing applause, which woke Erden up by his side, grunting and spitting on the floor. "How does it work?"

"It might do you some good to know. Though Silvia most likely made sure to wipe out my Divine Stone Clan's existence, that hateful witch, there is a possibility that others might find remnants of my genius. They might find some of my old blueprints or one of my creations in stasis. When you return to your home, which will undoubtedly be at war, you may have to face them." Gol-4 made another gear-grinding chuckle. "The formations within them are so intricate, but all of them contain a protocol to react to my Ein and voice. In a single word, I can shut down entire fleets or turn golems against their masters."

"Your core must be malfunctioning. That doesn't help me at all. I don't have your Ein and voice." Oscar wondered if Gol-4 could hold on until their escape. Sighing deeply, he lost interest and devoured the cooled-down steak, but Gol-4 banged into his forehead.

"Wait until I'm finished, you little brat! There's a second failsafe!" Gol-4 continuously knocked on Oscar's head like an annoying gnat. Oscar waved his hand in surrender and allowed Gol-4 to continue, "If the first protocol fails, always have a second one on hand. However, this one requires a touch. Certain idle nodes exist within my formations, appearing to be unassuming and a part of other functions. That's all a ruse. Link them together, and you'll have full control."

"What if someone figures it out? You couldn't take control of the Bronze Ape in the desert realm." Oscar was doubtful, the words and actions failing to match up.

"Damnit, lad! I didn't have my memories at the time. If we find a way back into the desert realm, I can take control of that Bronze Ape with no problems." Gol-4 seemed ready to erupt. "Its formations within still contained the proper nodes for me to take control even after Silvia's people wiped its primary directive. If you ever run into something of mine, remember what I'm about to tell you: the method to take control."

…….

'He left quite a mess for me to handle. That damned Gol-4.' Oscar stared at the rising archways spinning around the portal. Placing the Teragine inside a mountain was a good move by the enemy. The Bellariach Mountains were already a cold place for most of the year, perfect for masking the encroaching environment from the realm inside the portal. The northern winds carried the poisonous snow to the rest of the mountain range and spread further to the northern territories, reaching Frostveil City.

"I never dreamed of seeing the Teragine here and being used as a weapon." Turning to Charles and Robert, he asked, "Have we called for reinforcements?"

Charles held a broken medallion and let the shattered fragments slide off his hand. "I have already informed my sister about the situation. But she'll take time to rally the fleet and converge on our location. It took us over half a day to reach this place. I suspect she'll take longer."

"That's too long. I suspect the enemy has already been alerted. We don't have the manpower to storm the portal and reach the control core." Frowning, Oscar pondered. The enemy had plenty of time to mount a defensive position around the Teragine since it was positioned closer to their captured regions. Glazing around everyone gathered here, he pondered. Could they take over the portal with just these forces?

"The two of you still need a lesson in prudence and preparation. It's a good thing I came prepared." Robert snapped his fingers, and from the closest mountain, two other powerful figures flew toward them. Emily exclaimed and ran forward to hug one of them, a woman with tied-up plum hair and a pair of devilish red eyes, resting a scimitar on her waist, Elizabeth Raeven. The other was a man with short lavender hair resting on his head, eyes containing a deep blue that shimmered like a great lake, Suen Raeven. Oscar remembered meeting him once in the Raeven Estate. The rising Ein from the two of them revealed their powers as Marshal Exalts.

"Unlike the young prince, I brought these two to follow behind, just in case. Four Lower Marshal Exalts should be enough. Isn't that right, Oscar?" Robert grinned. "The snow doesn't affect anyone above Middle Marshal Exalts, and I can feel the law of this realm. It's limited to Lower Marshal Exalts and below."

"I am not the leader right now. What do you think, Charles? As the highest-ranking person here, you have the final say." Oscar awaited Charles's decision as did everyone else, eyes centered on the prince.

The prince closed his eyes, seemingly deep in thought, and snapped them wide open, gazing at Oscar. "These archways require far more effort and time to destroy. Are you sure you can disable them?"

Oscar beat his chest, placing his fist close to his heart, a sign of respect and the making of a promise, not a light one but one held strongly like an oath. "If we find the control core, I can shut it off."

"Then, it's settled. Victory here will save our northern armies from a frozen death. We have to act quickly before enemy reinforcements arrive." Charles pulled out his dual-blade, two swords held together on the opposite ends by a single handle. Now, he resembled the regal majesty and presence that Celestina held. Like sister, like brother, Oscar smiled at how far Charles had grown since.

He bowed, sticking his shield into the ground. "The Black Aegis Order will follow you to the end."

"As will the Raevens." Robert and the other two bowed. "Finally, you behave like the prince you should be."

"I thank the two of you." Charles smiled back before he sharpened his gaze, fully concentrating on the portal. He breathed deeply and shouted in a commanding voice, "Follow me! We will not fail!"

Charles led the charge, followed closely by Robert, Elizabeth, and Suen Raeven. Behind the Marshal Exalts, Oscar and his Black Aegis Order maintained a tight formation, protecting him as he was the key to this battle. Nearing the portal, he glanced back at his followers and friends, nodding to each one of them to remind them not to die. The portal swirled indifferently to their charge, maintaining a flow of Ein to the archways.

Stepping through, Oscar endured a slight discomfort in his stomach and found himself in the middle of a large courtyard, fields of snow as grass and rivers of ice frozen in between. Great spires of ice and walls of blue rock towered over them. He was in a beautiful, beautiful palace of ice, rock, and snow. It appeared to be a timeless place, forever preserved by the cold touch of nature, not a single frigid breeze coming over to ruin the stagnancy of the palace.

"Who dares intrude on our land!" Shouts and bursts of Ein caught his attention. Some struck fear into his already cold body, the presence of multiple Lower Marshal Exalts.

A powerful flame washed over like a tide all over the courtyard, melting everything down to just the bare stone, and the river of ice boiled away before it could even stream like a proper river. Robert Raeven yelled out, "There are five of them!"

"I will stop two of them! Oscar, take your men inside and find the core." Charles flew high, his Ein twisting and coiling into the shape of his Amphiptere anima, great draconic wings expanding from a scaly, snake body. The dragon head roared and breathed out burning light, sweeping the beam across the spires of the palace. Charles raised his dual-blade and melded the anima into it. "Don't think you can get past me so easily!"

"Raevens! Hold fast!" Robert and the others melded their animas into their blades and clashed against the enemy.

"Black Aegis Order, enter the palace!" Oscar lifted his shield and slammed into one of the gates, forcing it wide open. He immediately impaled his Golden Drill into a Lower Knight Exalt in the chest and reduced him to ash. Following Robert's example, he and Erden stamped their feet on the ground, sending forth waves of flames to pave the way. "Find the core!"