"Terron's below us, dive!" Ether's raspy voice howled over the deafening winds.
A hundred Sky Beasts flapped their wings in unison, preparing for a quick descent. Winds kicked up even harder as they, along with their riders, rampaged through the skies to land on their destination.
Before they could touch the powdery, soft snow, they suddenly pulled their bodies up and flapped. After they cut their momentum, they landed.
Ether got off his beast first. His visor further hindered his vision, turning close silhouettes into faint shapes in the dark.
"Arrows, bows, crossbows, explosives, all of it. Hide them in the forgotten homes. Place the shovels beside the main gates so we could hide our Cemtrin better," Ether ordered.
All Thawed disembarked. Hundreds of feet landed on the snow, packing them closer together. They whispered instructions to one another to ensure their time wasn't wasted.
Snow parted, hardened, and broke apart as mighty Thawed walked into different homes and hid their resources inside. Off in the distance, something was aware of what was being hidden.
It watched, eyes locked on the courageous warriors preparing to liberate it. The creature bowed its head, curious and confused at once. It wanted to get a closer look.
"These explosives won't fit inside the homes," a Thawed informed.
Ether turned to greet her. "Place them in the rubble. I'll help."
He led her through the dark, moonless mountainside to several destroyed structures. Wood, stone, metals, everything was rubble and debris.
Once they got close enough, Ether placed his hands under a large piece of wood. What was once a wall to shield the owners from the elements became a blanket to hide the weapon from sight.
"Are you sure you can lift that up? You appear to be very... small and frail," the Thawed commented.
"I've been told that all my life. Yet here I am, as the spearhead piercing the Light Legion's chest," Ether snapped back.
To prove his strength, he lifted the wall with ease. It bent and creaked from the force, then stood still waiting to return to its former position.
The Thawed swiftly placed the explosive under the wall. Allowing Ether to effortlessly bring it back down, slowly. She stared with curiosity, questioning her leader.
"How big are your muscles?" She asked, in awe.
"I don't have any 'big muscles.' I've tried for so long, but can't get any because of my Thresher heritage," Ether honestly replied.
The Thawed stepped back, lowering herself as she did. "Then this means you must have a powerful Will! Many Thawed will keep their eyes on you, especially me."
She hurried away, leaving Ether standing beside the fragments of memory. He looked down at his chest, wondering what she meant. But whatever she was referring to, he did not care.
Being a normal Zegus was his dream, and having a 'strong Will' couldn't bring him closer.
That interaction caught the attention of the distant watcher. It opened and closed its beak, trying to mimic their speech. Nothing came out, no words, no air, only motion.
A breeze swept over Digon. Driving in the cold into its inhabitant's bodies. Reminding them they weren't as mighty and powerful as they saw themselves. Everyone was only an instrument.
Ether felt the cold, ruthless winds biting into his skin. A powerful shiver passed through his body. Due to being in a hurry, Ether had no time to ask for any wool inside his armor plates.
The armor became a case meant to hold in freezing temperatures, unknowingly harming Ether in the process. But he did not care. He had to endure, because if he didn't, he wouldn't be able to endure the pain of a fight against Kas.
"Feeling cold?" A voice crept into his mind.
It cut through the silence like a loud bang, deafening him from the inside.
"Hazen."
"You'd be correct. Anyway, how has moving into my old home been? Feeling special that you destroyed something I built with my father and glacier?"
He remembered crashing through the gate. Valentine close behind him. They walked through the chaos and confronted Hizentre, only to take him in and house his glacier.
"In all honesty, I'm a bit mad. Because, you know, you destroyed my stuff. But no hard feelings. It's reality and we're supposed to operate this way. If it wasn't you, it would have been Frosticus or maybe even Light."
Ether sighed. He turned his attention to the working Thawed. They moved with haste, hiding what they could and reconnecting to a mountain.
As he looked around, he noticed some Thawed were looking up to the skies. Defensive instincts kicked up, causing Ether to reach for Tellendor and prepare to yell orders.
Until he looked at what they were looking at. Up above in the moonless, starless, sky. There was a creature dancing above them. It flapped its wings while mimicking speech. Despite its gigantic size, it didn't make a sound.
It was as silent and quick as the breeze. Ether stared at it, eyes widened from shock. Surprisingly, his heartbeat remained the same. Nothing has changed in his body.
As if that creature meant no harm. All it wanted was to watch. And watch it did. It flapped all four of its wings, followed by a red outline. From what they could tell, it resembled a Sky Beast.
"E - E - E..." Hazen tried to speak.
Even she was in shock. But unlike Ether, she knew what this was. As a Thawed, it was expected of her to know what this was.
"Hazen, what is that?"
"That's Digon's guardian," she quickly responded.
More Thawed stopped what they were doing to look up at the fabled creature. It mindlessly, carelessly danced in the skies like a Sky Beast.
Ether turned to look at the Thawed behind him and noticed the Sky Beasts were bowing their heads. As if they were in the presence of a master.
He turned to look at the guardian again. Only to realize something odd. Unlike everything else, he could see the guardian clearly. Like it wanted Ether to see it.
"Do you know what it wants?" He thought.
"I wish. This is the first time I've ever seen one outside of its domain. Back in Metrivious, we would have to dive into the volcano to see the guardian. But this time... it came out on its own."
That's when the guardian stopped. It looked directly down at the staring Variants, before bowing its head and folding a wing over its head. As if it was proud to perform for them.
And then, as quickly as the creature descended from the mountaintop, it retreated. Top wings flapped first, then the bottom ones, like a normal Sky Beast.
"Digon acknowledged us!" The same Thawed from earlier cheered.
She marched forward, stepping inside the fresh footprints of other Thawed. Ether stepped aside, letting her moved by without resistance.
Dust manifested into a creation, leaving Demon's phantasmal body where Ether was before stepping aside. It swirled silently, allowing its master to get a proper foothold.
Ether jumped back, surprised to see his brother standing right beside him all of a sudden. "Did that thing attract you too?"
"That's not why I'm here. I am here to see you operate. So don't glance over your shoulder to see me," Demon sharply responded.
Ether understood. He rose both hands half way with open palms, signifying he didn't want trouble. Then he stumbled towards the homes.
One small batch of seven Thawed saw him approach. They stopped what they were doing, waiting to hear what their leader was going to ask of them.
"Absolute zero is when Thawed effectively kill themselves and bring themselves back to life later, correct?" Ether asked, wanting to confirm something.
"It's more complicated than that. If we get cold enough, our bodies will shut down. Hardening our bones, muscles, and skin. Protecting us until we gain enough heat to thaw out," a Thawed corrected.
A slight grin swept over his face. Enforcing his idea.
"What if you dug yourselves under the snow whenever it gets cold enough and freeze yourselves in there? Hiding everyone from the Light Legion's sight," Ether suggested.
"Pardon?" A Thawed tried to hold in his laughter. "W - well, I mean, it's not a bad idea. I mean, it could work. We don't need air when we're in absolute zero."
Knowing time was against them, they split apart. Each Thawed went to their own section of the destroyed base to let everyone know about their plan.
Leaving Ether alone once again. He watched them march through the completely white ruins. Demon walked closer to him. Its ghostly legs didn't disturb the snow, nor did it make noise.
It was silent and careless, as if Demon wasn't even there. Yet he was.
"Sunrise isn't that far from now. If you depart right now, you'll reach your Krugi by the time the early rays touch Imbushko," his voice spoke in a soft manner.
Ether tilted his head. "You came here to watch me talk to seven Thawed only to tell me to leave?"
"Okay, then, do a backflip," Demon shot back.
"Pardon?"
Demon stepped aside, hand gestured towards a Sky Beast. It scratched itself using its beak, trying to clean out anything that has gotten into its feathers.
"Or you can go home."
Ether slowly made his way closer to the beast. Demon followed him like a living mirror.
"But why do you want me to return so quickly?" Ether tried to understand.
But Demon grabbed his chest plates and forced Ether on the beast. "You will understand in time. Just go back home and make your decision: forward or backward?"
Before Ether could ask what that meant. Demon frightened the Sky Beast to leap up into the skies.