The Icicle Tree
A hill where flowers of every color bloomed, a forest thick with towering trees, a volcano where searing red lava flowed so vividly you could feel its heat just by looking, a crystal-clear sea where cool waves rolled and the seabed was visible at a glance, and a mountain locked in unmelting snow and ice. All these environments existed in close proximity within a single space. A realm of mystery that only spirits could enter. This was the Spirit Realm—Harmonia.
Across its vast ocean, an entity moved the waves at will, birthed shimmering droplets, and existed in perfect harmony with the water itself. She was deep in thought, focused on her work. Another being slowly approached her.
The newcomer walked with extreme care, his pure white frost trailing behind him yet never touching the sea. “What kind of child are you planning to make today?”
The blue entity, radiating an aura of firm refusal, answered the pure-hearted question curtly. “I don’t know.”
“Always so cold.”
The white being could freeze the entire ocean simply by standing still. The other was the ocean incarnate. They were two existences that should never have met.
“Elion, you’re the Water Spirit King. I’m the Cold Spirit King. That’s my role.”
The one grumbling in protest was Frost, the Cold Spirit King. As the spirit who embodied chill itself, he was pointing out the Water Spirit King’s unusually frosty tone.
“…You’ll die. Get out of my domain. I’ve told you countless times—the lesser spirits are terrified of you.”
Unlike Frost’s cheerful attempt to lighten the mood, Elion’s response was ice-cold once again. Because he was the Cold Spirit King, the lesser water spirits feared his power. All Frost wanted was to spend time with her, but their positions as Spirit Kings made that impossible.
“Fiiine~ I’m going, I’m going! Even if I don’t come, the whole place would freeze over because of someone. How am I supposed to live without any lesser spirits to keep me company?”
Frost openly displayed his hurt feelings before turning away from the great sea and returning to his own territory. Elion hadn’t wanted to send him away either. But embracing him was impossible—his power was simply too overwhelming.
“Lady Elion. Is this truly acceptable?”
The one who approached was Elestra, a high-ranking water spirit. There were fewer than ten spirits of her caliber in all of Harmonia, yet each performed their duties flawlessly while assisting the Spirit King.
“What do you mean?”
“No matter what, he is a Spirit King. The fact that he has no lesser spirits also means his power is that much greater…”
“Enough. If you’re worrying about war between spirits, that has never happened once in thousands of years. Besides, with Lady Spia present, such a thing could never occur.”
Elion gently scolded Elestra for looking too far ahead. After all, interference between spirits’ powers had been strictly forbidden in Harmonia from the beginning. It was a rule set by Spia, Goddess of both Spirits and Space.
“Even speaking of it can bring punishment, so watch your tongue from now on.”
“Understood.”
Elestra promised to be more careful, then dissolved her form and melted back into the sea. In truth, Frost and Elion were not in any position to wage war. Anyone who had overheard their conversation would have known that immediately.
We used to be so close. Now there are too many things I have to worry about.
Just as Elion thought, they had once been close enough that the phrase “thick as thieves” barely did them justice. Before they became Spirit Kings, they had been the best of friends. But once they ascended, maintaining that relationship grew difficult.
Still… if it’s Frost, it should be fine.
With that thought, Elion returned to her work.
Meanwhile, Frost had returned to his own domain—the Unmelting Mountain—and the palace built at its peak. Everything inside was crafted from cold ice, and true to its name, not a single piece showed even a hint of melting. They held their positions perfectly.
Yet an undeniable desolation hung in the air. As Elestra had said, Frost was a Spirit King without lesser spirits. Boredom was inevitable.
“I wonder when Elion will come play with me.”
Frost sat at a beautifully carved table and chair made of snow crystals, resting his chin on his hand as he brooded.
Shwoong.
At that moment, a figure sprang from Frost’s shadow and spoke in a low, resonant voice.
“What’s got you thinking so hard?”
“Ah, it’s you, Shade.”
Though Shade visited often enough that Frost had grown used to it, the shadow spirit was still a Spirit King in his own right, one who held considerable influence in Harmonia. As the being who governed the reverse side of all things, his gloomy nature was unmatched. Despite that, he and Frost were the closest of friends.
Frost poured out his complaints, asking Shade to listen. “Both you and I have no lesser spirits, so every day is just so boring.”
“True. Though you don’t even have a contractor, so it must be even worse for you.”
Clink.
Shade poured some spirit water—the kind spirits often drank—into a cup on the table and sat across from Frost. Then he made a casual request.
“Ice, please.”
Crack.Plop.
Without a word, Frost created ice and dropped it into the cup. He remained in the same position, chin still propped on his hand, lost in thought.
Slurp.
Shade sipped the chilled drink slowly, savoring it, before finally speaking again after a long pause.
“There is a way for you to stop being bored, you know.”
As he spoke, Shade rose from his seat and walked toward something in the distance.
“It’s not that I’m bored, it’s that Elion and I…”
Frost slowly lowered the hand supporting his chin and looked at Shade. Then his words caught in his throat.
“W-what are you doing? Don’t touch that.”
Shade had approached the Icicle Tree growing in the center of the ice palace. With a curious smile, he said, “This Icicle Tree holds tremendous power—the very thing that maintains the Unmelting Mountain. I wonder what would happen if I pulled it out?”
“Shade! Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”
The two had always spent time together in a friendly, cheerful manner. Shade’s tone and attitude were exactly the same as usual, but the situation had changed. Though he loved pranks, he had never crossed the line like this before. When Frost asked why, Shade answered in the same casual voice and tone as always.
“My contractor is conducting some strange experiment. He says he needs a Spirit King.”
“W-what are you talking about?”
“What do you think I’m talking about? You have no lesser spirits and no contractor. I’m saying it’s time for you to suffer a little!”
With those words, Shade infused a handful of shadow into the tree covered in countless icicles. The shadow slowly gnawed at the wood, then transformed into the shape of a scythe and sliced through the trunk.
Slice!
Rumble!
The moment the Icicle Tree vanished, chaos descended upon Harmonia.
“N-no… If this happens, the mountain will collapse and the surrounding regions will be devastated.”
Thinking quickly, Frost immediately began using his power. He expanded the range of his control as much as possible to prevent the mountain from crumbling. The falling chunks of ice barely held in place under his desperate manipulation.
“Frost, why are you even resisting? Just give up and fall already.”
As if finding Frost’s struggle amusing, Shade continued to poke at him while he strained to hold on. It was a perfect display of the shadow spirit’s playful nature.
“How about this?”
He placed the cup of spirit water he’d been drinking on Frost’s outstretched arms, or erased shadows to throw off his balance. Even then, when Frost stubbornly held on, Shade finally revealed his true colors.
“Oh? You’re holding out better than I expected. You’re too kind for your own good. It used to be fun, but lately I’ve just been feeling sorry for you. So I’ve decided. I’m going to drive you out to Pangea.”
“You bastard! You’re no spirit! I’ll tell Lady Spia and make sure you pay for this!”
“Really? Do as you like. Farewell.”
Shade spoke calmly as he shattered the delicate balance of power Frost had been maintaining.
“I’ll be taking this, though.”
At the same time, he snatched the Icicle Stick—the legacy of the Icicle Tree that Frost had desperately tried to protect.
“This should be enough.”
With those final words, Shade slipped into one of the countless shadows and vanished.
“Damn it… Damn it all!”
Rumble! Rumble-rumble!
As the Unmelting Mountain melted away in a cruel twist of irony, the territories of the other Spirit Kings nearby were affected. An avalanche struck the bountiful lands managed by the Earth Spirit King. Icebergs drifted into the beautiful sea ruled by the Water Spirit King. The blazing volcano governed by the Fire Spirit King grew noticeably colder.
And Frost himself began to fade from existence. His already pale body tore away like dust, slowly disintegrating. Because this was judged as interference between spirits, Spia was expelling him. With even the Icicle Tree’s legacy stolen while he still held onto his sense of self, there was nowhere left for him to go.
I will have my revenge, Shade. No matter what.
Shhhk.
Where the Unmelting Mountain once stood, nothing remained.
Soon after the incident in the Spirit Realm, the four great Spirit Kings gathered before Spia’s sanctuary. A woman emerged from the temple and spoke.
“An unprecedented event has occurred. Until a new spirit is born to replace Frost, the position of Cold Spirit King shall remain vacant.”
At Spia’s declaration, all four Spirit Kings nodded. But then Elion—the one closest to Frost—raised her hand. Her expression was deadly serious, as though she had come to a firm decision.
“Lady Spia, forgive my impertinence. Frost has not yet disappeared. My contractor has informed me that he is bound to a medium in Pangea.”
“And?”
“I will bring him back. Frost is not the kind of being who would commit such an act and then flee.”
Elion’s words were shocking enough to fill the other Spirit Kings’ faces with alarm. At that moment, the Fire Spirit King, Ifrit, regained his composure and addressed Spia again.
“Lady Spia, Elion is still in shock and speaking out of turn. I beg you to let the matter end here.”
He had dismissed Elion’s wishes without permission. The other Spirit Kings understood how he felt. Yet Elion could not stay silent.
“What are you doing?! I’m serious!”
As her voice rose, the Wind Spirit King—who had been relatively close to her—asked, “What do you plan to do?”
“I’m going to bring him back. This happened because of me.”
Elion firmly believed Frost’s actions were her fault. She knew his personality well enough to understand he wasn’t the type, but otherwise the situation made no sense.
“Let her go,” the Earth Spirit King said after careful consideration. His sincerity swayed the others.
“If Elion is going, then I’ll go too,” the Wind Spirit King added.
After some hesitation, Ifrit finally spoke. “Lady Spia! I implore you to grant us a brief grace period. We will definitely bring Frost before you. No matter how I think about it, I cannot believe he would do something like this.”
“Very well. However, if it is confirmed that Frost caused this incident, I will personally summon him and erase his existence.”
Spia’s tone was filled with stern anger. She knew Frost’s character and therefore could not fully believe he had done this. Yet even knowing that, the transgression could not be forgiven. He had violated the highest rule of all—the prohibition against spirits interfering with one another using their powers. If she did not set an example, the same thing would keep happening. Spia had no choice.
Bagan and Elizabeth were still walking toward Frost’s location. They hadn’t forgotten to borrow Selena’s power to keep the biting cold from freezing their bodies. As they continued forward, Elestra wore a displeased expression at the presence of fire energy, prompting Bagan to ask.
“I get that you two are naturally opposed, but is it really this bad?”
In response, Elestra explained, (Fire and water are indeed polar opposites, but there is also something Lady Elion once mentioned.)
“What is it?”
(There was an incident in the past. Since I was born after it happened, I don’t know the details.)
Elestra’s hostility toward Sally wasn’t simply because they were opposing elements. When the relationship between Spirit Kings was strained, the lesser spirits inevitably became hostile toward one another as well.
Sally chimed in playfully. (You’re probably curious, but I don’t know either. Heehee!)
In the midst of this, Elizabeth displayed her usual personality.
“Now that we know, it stops here. From now on, you two are going to get along.”
She forcibly brought the two spirits closer together.
Hiss!
(It’s hot!!!)
Splash!
Elestra sprayed water across Elizabeth’s face to defuse the situation.
“Whoa! Pff! Pff!”
(Hng… I was enjoying that…)
Sally returned to Bagan’s side with clear disappointment.
(More importantly, we’re close now.)
At last, Bagan and Elizabeth reached the place where Frost slumbered. They didn’t know exactly what kind of location it was, but one thing was certain.
“So this is where he’s been making those ice soldiers and sending them out.”
“Yeah. No doubt about it—he’s definitely here.”
The entire area was filled with unfinished ice soldiers.