Deep beneath the ocean floor, the leviathan lay hidden like a wounded god.

The pressure was suffocating. The water was heavy and dark, enough that even time seemed reluctant to move.

In that silence, the massive monster curled against the seabed. Both its arms were gone, leaving behind only jagged stumps. Hundreds of cuts marred its body, some shallow, some deep.

It breathed heavily, dragging water into its lungs, then eased. Its senses dulled, eyelids heavy.

It was exhausted, broken even, but undeniably alive. 

In its animal mind, the serpent believed the water would keep it safe. 

And indeed, it did.

Until—

A faint crackling spread through the abyss. A thin web of frost crept across the seabed, slowly climbing up rocks and stones. Tiny ice crystals began to form. The water cooled by microdegrees, second by second, barely perceptible to the slumbering monster. 

Then, violently, without warning— 

The temperature collapsed all at once, the cold biting deep.

The leviathan’s eyes snapped open. Its body tensed as instinct screamed before thought could. It drove its tail into the seabed, hurling its body forward in a desperate attempt to flee.

But… it was far too late.

From the surface all the way to the seabed, every drop of seawater had now become part of a single mass of ice. The ocean had frozen in one impossible instant, and the monster was locked within this icy prison.

Its ribs struggled to flex, tail trying to lash. But the ice did not budge one bit.

Then—

Crrrk… 

Fractures carved through the frozen sea in a column directly before the imprisoned leviathan.

Shatter!

Ice splintered apart within that column like it was opening a path for someone, shards and fragments raining down.

The leviathan’s eyes strained upward, trying to catch the view.

At first, there was only a silhouette, slowly descending. Each of its weightless steps landed on what little fragile ice was left within the column, immediately breaking when touched.

Gradually, the shape became clearer. And soon, there was color.

It was a boy with icy blue hair, dressed in white, looking rather delicate. The twin ends of his long scarf drifted upward behind him as he descended.

The leviathan could not comprehend. The power and the figure it was staring at did not match. 

Slow and light, Frost finally landed fully before the locked leviathan. A platform of ice had formed beneath his feet without him seemingly having done anything.

Frost’s eyes opened fully, the icy blues glowing colder than a blizzard.

That was when the massive serpent understood. Their sizes didn’t matter at all. 

The eyes staring at it had already decided.

Still, the leviathan tried once more, convulsing against its prison, desperately seeking even a sliver of hope. 

“Grrrkk…”

It was useless. The ice held it in place securely, mercilessly, denying every movement.

“Grrrkk… Grrrkk…”

Finally, the monster stopped and surrendered, waiting for the killing blow.

Yet, Frost didn’t offer such mercy.

He extended one hand, touching the ice encasing the leviathan. The cold instantly deepened within its body.

The monster felt its own warmth disappear helplessly. Its blood thickened, muscles stiffened, and the last trace of sound sealed as its throat froze. The very heat sustaining its life was slowly being stripped away.

Frost stopped just short of its conclusion.

The leviathan’s body had been frozen thoroughly. But deep within, a handful of neurons still lived, and so, its awareness remained.

Frost allowed it… deliberately.

It was then the monster realized it had been denied death. And this… was the punishment.

Frost took a few steps to the side, stopping before the leviathan’s tail. His fingers closed in, touching the ice that encased it almost gently.

Then, with one soft and lazy movement… he flicked.

That tiny vibration sent a sharp crack through the frozen tail. 

SHATTER!!!

A segment of the monster now collapsed into glittering red shards. 

Pain tore through the leviathan’s nervous system. Its mind screamed, but its body could not. Its frozen body drowned out its own cries, while the frozen prison swallowed every bit of its resistance.

The abyss heard nothing, and the creature could do nothing but take it.

Frost watched without expression, letting the pain sink in. Then, he stepped closer again.

One organ at a time, he shattered them. The leviathan was being dismantled like a toy made of glass.

Shatter! Shatter! Shatter!

Pain surged again and again. The leviathan felt every last one of its parts crumble. It only wished the torture would come to an end.

Eventually… its consciousness began to fade.

In its passing, only one thought lingered: It had chosen the wrong place, the wrong night, and the wrong person to threaten.

Frost stood in silence before the creature’s only remains—its head. He let the last flicker of life vanish from the frozen flesh.

Then, he moved. 

He shattered the head and skull, flash-freezing the brain thoroughly to preserve it. The organ was massive, way too much for a physically frail boy like Frost to handle.

But that didn’t stop him. 

He bent and froze his hands to it, dragging the frozen mass slowly toward the direction of the Academy.

His body didn’t have the strength, and his limbs trembled. Every step demanded effort as warmth refused to fuel his muscles.

It was an impossible feat, but he forced himself to continue.

Images surfaced in his mind again and again: Greyson collapsing, breathing growing shallow, lying motionless.

It was an endless loop.

Frost’s chest tightened. It was unbearable, far more unbearable than the hard labor.

He did not care how heavy the organ was or how much his body protested. He would bring it to the Academy and demand answers.

And if the world refused to offer them...

He would carve them out himself.

He refused to let anyone who tried to hurt Greyson walk away unscathed.

Never again.