When Varian opened his eyes, it was snowing outside.
Primula and Calamity were both making a snow woman version of themselves, well, they were trying and failing horribly, but hey, it's fun to watch!
Maybe he could try use these figurines and scare away the Jai Emperor in the future?
'It might actually work!'
If the two outside knew his thoughts, they might beat him up. Fortunately, they weren't reading his mind.
The room he was in was transformed into a warm winter home with a fireplace, thick carpets and simple furniture. There was a blanket covering him and a hot coffee next to him on the table. Throwing off the blanket, Varian grabbed the coffee and stepped out of the room.
Sarah and Enigma, both dressed in pretty winter clothes were discussing small topics, sharing a laugh from time to time.
They both waved at him with a smile and he sat down with them for some light talk. Not a word was spoken about the duel, Hortus or any serious issue.
Their anxiety seemed to have cooled down and Varian visited the kitchen overflowing with aromas.
Sia greeted him with delicious meals with the maids helping her serve them. She stared at him the whole time and he understood that if he didn't leave in time, he might get eaten.
Varian declared the invitation by the two to judge their 'perfect snow model' and walked ahead.
Leaving behind his footprints in the snow, he passed by the trees covered in white.
Some distance away, he found the silver-haired woman in a white dress was sitting on a wide tree branch, fishing with an absolute peace of mind.
When he sat next to her, Isadora handed him a fishing rod.
Varian joined her in fishing. An hour passed in the silence.
"Dora," His hot breath accompanied the words.
"…Are you two teaming up to split my name?" The princess rolled her eyes. Varian chuckled and pinched her pouting cheeks. "Just kidding, what do you think are my chances of beating him?" The rod shook slightly but Isadora didn't immediately pull. She waited for it to completely take the bait. And then, the big fish was pulled out the need to borrow any strength from the divine paths.
Leaving the fish back into the icy lake, Isadora said without any change in expression. "What if it's low? What if it's high? What will you do? What can you do?"
Varian rubbed his forehead. "It's frustrating when you answer like that but it's even more frustrating since you're right. I really don't have a choice."
"…Precisely. Since you must fight, fight with all you have. Four slivers, seven paths against two slivers and two or three paths." The eyes of the princess reflected the calm ice lake.
"I don't think they'll just give me the slivers. Not before I reach rank 2. Until then, I have this." Varian raised his palm. A lotus flame of red and green emerged.
"The mini-slivers of life and death." Isadora narrowed her eyes. "They aren't fused like yours."
The red and green flames were deeply intertwined in the lotus but they didn't mix unlike Varian's slivers which could be fused and separated as per need.
"Yeah, they aren't." Varian closed his hand, pulling the slivers together. But as he proceeded, a force of resistance emerged at some point and began to push outward.
He still pushed on but the more he closed, the harder it got for him to close further. It's like folding paper, incredibly easy initially at first but impossible after just a few turns.
When it got too difficult for his physical strength to do the job, Varian flooded the mini-slivers with aura.
Boom!
An explosion occurred in his hand and the ice lake exploded, leaving them floating in the air. The white landscape around them was dyed red.
"…Sliver fusion is not as easy as I thought." He sighed in frustration.
Isadora held his hand even though it had regenerated in a split second and looked at him in reproach. "For someone who holds Logos and knows how difficult the process was, you are being stupid." "I know about Logos' fusion, never experienced it. This is my first and these aren't slivers. These are mini-slivers." Varian said with a defensive cough. "They're as good as slivers below the divine rank." Isadora gazed into his eyes. "I begin to see why Sia keeps saying you'd be safer if she locks you up in the basement. You might kill yourself trying to fuse these slivers."
Looking at those ruby red eyes, Varian felt a chill down his spine for no reason."We're not getting into that again. Sia is just like that sometimes."
"Yeah, I think Sia is wrong too." "Right?!" "It's better to throw your soul into a dream world where we can all live together while your body remains here."
"I know the duel was brutal and stressful but fucking hell!" Varian pulled her into a hug and patted her back. "Don't worry, princess. It'll be fine. It'll all be fine. I'm here. I'm not leaving you."
Isadora hugged him tight, as if she's afraid he'd disappear and said in a feeble voice. "I want to just escape with you to somewhere distant, somewhere all these conflicts won't touch us. But your fate…it's so messed up that I can't see any way out. You must've realized too, right? The difficulty of the dangers you have to face only increases every time you succeed and the chances you could survive the next danger only diminish.
The chance might never be zero…until it is." "I know." Varian didn't show any sign of bitterness as he admitted the harsh reality of his life. "But I'll keep fighting, you know why?"
"Why?" "I have a cute princess I don't want to leave behind. She's very stubborn and reliable, but sometimes, she overthinks a lot and ends up worrying too much. She needs a hug and kiss. And I have to remain so that I pamper her with love." Even though they weren't a new couple, Isadora felt her face burn at his words. But to counter his aggressiveness, she whimpered. "And even now, I'm just a princess, while she is your queen. Hmph!" "Hahahahahaha!" "Don't laugh! I'm really jealous now!"
"Since you're alright, I'll go hit the divine ranks, my mental state is great now. Love you, my princess!" "Hey, Hey, Hey! Who said I'm fine? Call me Queen too! No, call me Empress!"