Caelus held the ice-cold band in his hand, his eyes clouded with conflict.
"Are you regretting your decision to make it now, master?" Orion asked, reading the battle behind Caelus's silence.
"Somewhat... but if it is what Neriah desires, I don't have much of a choice."
His words came out uncertain, as if he didn't want to hear them himself.
Orion's face tightened. "Must we really abide by his every rule?" he muttered under his breath.
Caelus's eyes snapped toward him. "Don't speak nonsense. Just call her for me. We need to give it to her."
Orion took a deep breath and nodded. Once he closed the smithy door behind him, he exhaled again, slower this time. He didn't want to follow through with the order, but he knew he had to.
Outside, Erenyx was still practicing, her movements fueled by renewed determination.
"Nyx, c'mere for a second, will ya?" Orion called, his tone calm, carefully hiding his unease.
Erenyx finished her stance and walked over, catching her breath. "What's up?"
"Mas—your dad told me to come get you. Come on."
Her brow furrowed in confusion, but she followed him anyway.
The two entered the forge. Caelus sat waiting, the band still in his grasp.
"Come, Erenyx," he said.
She approached, eyes locked on the band. There was something about it—an unsettling chill that seeped into her skin.
"What... the hell is that?" she asked, her finger trembling as she pointed at it.
"You can sense it?" Caelus asked.
Erenyx nodded, her heartbeat quickening.
Caelus lifted the band toward her. "Do you remember the name of the man your uncle and I serve?" His tone was flat.
"Lord Neriah?" she answered, her voice quieter than usual.
Orion's face twisted. "A second please, master." He stepped out, his composure fracturing.
Lightning began to spark around him as he walked deeper into the forest, rage boiling beneath his skin. Then it erupted. Strikes of violet lightning rained down, cratering the ground, tearing through the air with furious abandon.
"You know how dangerous this is, Neriah!" he roared. "Why put her through this?! Are we just your tests, huh?! You basta—"
Before he could finish, he dropped to his knees. His eyes rolled back as his body collapsed, struck by the invisible hand of God.
Inside the forge, Caelus clutched his chest for a moment.
"Dad!" Erenyx shouted, rushing to his side.
"I'm fine... I'm fine." He straightened himself, then spoke again, voice steady but strained.
"Lord Neriah advised me to make this for you."
He held the band out to her once more.
"A band forged from gildros — a metal capable of containing nearly anything. This one holds the element of ice... and the one who once wielded it."
Erenyx's eyes widened. "Is that the presence I'm feeling? Are you sure this is safe?"
Caelus hesitated, even though he didn't need to speak aloud for her to hear his thoughts. The words caught in his throat.
"I wouldn't risk your life if I wasn't sure," he said—
but even he didn't believe it.
Caelus slowly slid the band onto his daughter's wrist
"When I found you... nineteen years ago, it was Lord Neriah who told me to take you in," he began, his voice heavy with memory.
Erenyx shivered as an intense cold climbed up her arm, spreading fast.
"It only took me two years to realize you were the sibling of that boy— the one my lord had blessed me with. You were just as bright as him... hopeful, ready to take on anything that came your way." His voice began to falter. "I see the two of you as my own children. No matter how unrelated you may be, I will forever be your father."
As he finished speaking, the ice crept further up her skin, her temperature plummeting to inhuman levels.
"Erenyx—please..." Caelus's tone broke, desperate. "I know you're strong... stronger than I could ever hope to be... I'm so sorry... I'm a horrible father... how could I do this?"
Tears welled and fell down his face.
Erenyx tried to pull her hand away, but the band had already fused to her wrist. She collapsed to her knees, ice pooling beneath her.
"Dad... help me..." she muttered, her voice trembling with pain and helplessness.
The frost continued its relentless crawl, encasing her midsection, climbing higher.
"Damn it... who knows teleportation..." Caelus racked his mind for a solution—then it struck him.
A misty vapor began to envelop them both.
"Mimicry Cloud," he uttered.
In an instant, they vanished.
When they reappeared in the dojo, Erenyx stood motionless—frozen in place, her eyes wide, locked in an eternal expression of fear.
Caelus dropped to his knees before her frozen form.
"Neriah... why must you take this away from me? Was he not enough? Was taking my boy not enough for you? Must you take her too?"
He clutched his face, struggling to contain the flood of tears that threatened to spill. Then, with a roar, he slammed his fist into the floor.
"Orion!"
A cloud of mist materialized before him, and from it fell the unconscious body of his student.
"Awaken!" Caelus commanded, his voice trembling with rage so fierce it made the air heavy.
Orion stirred, his body weak, his eyes adjusting — then freezing at the sight of Erenyx.
"Did sh—" he started, but the rest of his words died as he felt it—Caelus's anger, burning with a divine edge that mirrored Neriah's own presence.
"Did you know this was going to happen...?" Caelus's voice was low, venomous, his entire frame trembling with fury.
"Are you serious right now?" Orion shot back. "You remember what happened the last time he ordered you to make one! You aren't the same blacksmith you were three hundred years ago, Caelus!"
He stepped closer, his voice rising, each word like a blade.
"You sacrificed that boy to Neriah — and now you've done it again! And you seriously think you can blame me for knowing this would happen?"
Orion shoved a finger into Caelus's chest, his face twisted with anguish and rage.
"Take a look in the fucking mirror. This is your fault."