Nyxis followed the man into a tree that looked like the rest around them. The man in blue robes with loose sleeves stretched his hand towards the tree's trunk and muttered a strange, Keijula word under his breath. Before Nyxis's eyes, the trunk shimmered and flashed in a weird dark light before dissipating to reveal a bottomless cavern beyond. That's...

The man spread his arm, indicating that Nyxis should go first. Nyxis chewed on his lip. Should he trust a random person that happened to know that he was looking for his throne? He scanned the man's face for any hint of planned deceit and came up empty. That smile simply threw off every attempt at guessing what he was thinking.

A light laugh echoed from the man as if he sensed Nyxis's thoughts. "In case you are thinking that I will somehow kill you or make your life miserable, I am not," he stepped back and gestured for Nyxis to go ahead once more. "I can lead you to what you are looking for. But we should hurry. We must not let this entrance stay open for too long."

"Why is that?" Nyxis asked in his original voice. It felt foreign after spending many days impersonating accent after accent.

The man's smile didn't waver but he didn't say anything more. A sigh tore off Nyxis's lips. Well, if the man really wanted to talk...Nyxis would figure out how to blow up the place later if he needed to escape.

Nyxis stepped into the opening, expecting that he would fall into an endless pit. The floor held. Huh. Strange. The man ducked in not long after and before Nyxis could scan for any possible danger, the space morphed into a room with bare blue walls and blue ceiling. Nyxis shivered as a stray, cold breeze hit his arms. Where was he?

The man, unfazed by the sudden change of surroundings, stepped into Nyxis's view and clasped his hands together. "Welcome to the Ice Capital."

"Ice what?" Nyxis eyed the jug of water placed atop a table made of...well, ice. How come they have water in here if all they could produce was ice? Hold on. Wait. Ice? That means...

"Are you an ice sprite?" Nyxis blurted once he found his voice and his courage.

The man gave a curt nod. "I am," he placed a hand to his chest in sincerity. "I am Kennen Jarmez and I am glad to have you with us."

Nyxis knitted his eyebrows. He had never heard of that name before. Was this some kind of kidnapping? Was he going to be assassinated? Why was he still unharmed if that's the case? Could he use the jug to pummel the fairy on the head?

Kennen followed Nyxis's gaze to the jug. "You...want water?" he asked. He sounded confused.

Nyxis snapped back and blinked several times. "N-no," he said even though his throat was steadily drying out at the sudden change of temperature of his surroundings. "You mentioned the throne? What do you mean by that?"

Kennen's eyes turned into small slits when he smiled again. His pale complexion seemed to match all the blue around them. "I mean the Human throne that is meant to be yours, Nyxis," he said. "I've been trying to meet you for a long time now."

Nyxis's eyes widened. "You...?"

"Yes," Kennen answered even though Nyxis hasn't been able to form the complete question. "I have known about your family ever since I was conscious enough. You are quite famous here."

Nyxis narrowed his eyes "Famous, how?"

"Walk with me," Kennen stepped aside to reveal a block of dark ice behind him. "I'll tell you on the way."

Before Nyxis could say anything, the ice sprite turned and strode towards a part of the wall and raised his hand to it as he did with the tree trunk. The wall shimmered and a part of it disappeared only to show a peek of the bustling corridors filled with blue-robed fairies. More Ice Sprites? Was Nyxis dreaming?

Kennen ducked outside. Okay. They're going there. He didn't want to be left alone in this cold, bare room so he stalked after the ice fairy who now wove past people in light, airy steps. Big corridors to the point of being cavernous whizzed past Nyxis as he craned his neck up to follow Kennen's mop of dark hair amidst a sea of various-colored heads.

Bare walls flanked the path made of ice that was neither too cold or too slippery. Slanted arches lining the ceiling made the whole corridor look like it's tapering into a sharp point in an almost geometrical manner.

Light, bright but not too much to start stinging his eyes, shone from a source he couldn't fathom. It seemed to be coming from somewhere behind the ice but he couldn't be too sure. The floor was as smooth as a mirror but only returned a blurred version of himself when he tried to look. He clicked his tongue. He needed to trim his hair. It's hideous.

The other ice sprites they passed were either chatting with each other, rearing children out of the way, or just simply bustling about in their daily activities. Nyxis blinked a number of times just to cement what he was seeing as the haze of varying hair colors and skin tones becoming overwhelming for him. Just how many ice sprites were there? Why was this corridor so crowded?

Indeed, the mass of ice sprites hurrying along the corridors was enough to remind Nyxis of the Festival in the Nobility region where people would clog the streets to get a glimpse of the Royal family on their way to open the festivity. Nyxis hated that week with passion considering he spent the entire parade hiding behind his brother.

Kennen navigated the hordes with ease or perhaps some fairies went out of their way to make some for him. That left Nyxis fending for himself by muttering a lot of excuse me's and sorry's as he elbowed people just to try to keep up . Most ice sprites stared at him and his clothes with a kind of look on their faces that said he won't live long enough in this cold. Well, he probably wouldn't. His arms were already starting to freeze.

Nyxis drew his cloak tighter. He ducked when two male ice sprites passed him by. They carried a long pole made from ice for a purpose he wasn't interested in finding out. Nyxis managed to get out of the haze of the first corridor in one piece and jogged to a corner where Kennen lingered. "Is it usually this tough?" Nyxis's wheeze was evident in his voice.

The ice sprite turned to him with his signature smile before proceeding into a corridor where no one went into. Nyxis looked behind him, at the throng of fairies looming about in their usual activities. No one gave him as much as a sideways glance when he ducked into that corridor and followed Kennen.

"So, we can talk here, right?" Nyxis asked as the ice sprite walked in long, purposeful strides that made it hard for Nyxis to catch up. Why was Nyxis famous among the ice sprites and how in Umazure did this ice sprite know his name?

Kennen's arm shot past Nyxis's nose, almost hitting it. Nyxis skidded into a stop as the ice sprite's hand pressed on yet another part of an ice blue wall. Only this time, the walls looked a deeper shade of blue. Did it just become dimmer? What's going on?

"Come on, quick," Kennen's calm voice bounced in a hollow tone against the bare, blue walls . To Nyxis, it sounded like he was simply whistling a happy tune instead of conveying urgency. Well, it's now or never. He followed the ice sprite into the new corridor with nothing but the warmth in his veins.

In speaking of that, it hadn't taken Nyxis long to realize that his system felt like it had caught fire with how scalding the throne's beacon turned out with every step he took. The cold vanished from his body. Was the human throne really here?

The ice sprite led him through a series of dark corridors. The walls never seemed to contain anything. But once in a while, Nyxis would catch a glimpse of glass housing a silhouette of a mysterious object displayed from one part of the wall. Kennen would always be there to pull Nyxis out of the way before Nyxis could draw out a conclusion to what those objects were. With every step, it was becoming harder and harder to breathe. He was getting close. It's close.

"Here we are," Kennen stopped in front of a dark spot in the wall. He had his neck craned up to somewhere.

Nyxis mirrored the ice sprite's actions as Kennen raised his hand and chanted another strange Keiju word. A single part of the wall brightened and Nyxis's saliva went back the wrong way down his throat.

There it was. The Warseeker. The throne of Cardina.

"Glorious, is it not?" Kennen's voice was barely a whisper. It's as if he was attempting to not disturb the throne in its slumber. Meanwhile, the heat in Nyxis's veins was so great that it made his ears ring and his head pound. He wanted to reach out, grab it from where it was displayed, and run away with it. It's...

"Control that desire," Kennen said in an uncharacteristically stern tone. "The thrones are not meant to be used in any circumstance besides keeping a race alive."

Nyxis swallowed against the warmth now boiling in his throat. "Of course."

"You are aware of the consequences of using a throne in battle, correct?" the ice sprite said without turning to Nyxis. It's as if he was scolding a five year old fairy. It irked Nyxis a bit.

"I assume it's great," Nyxis replied. It was the only logical response he could think of. Great magic often requires great sacrifice. That much he was thought of at the Palace. "Why show me this, then?"

Kennen tore his eyes away from the throne to turn to Nyxis. "Because we might need your help in the coming siege."

Nyxis stepped back. "Hold up," he shook his head. "Siege?"

"We could bring you up to speed at the war council happening tomorrow," Kennen's smile went back to his face. "We still needed to convince the Grand Marshal to prepare for the coming battle."

Nyxis's head swirled with questions he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answers to. Had he missed that much? He was gone for a moment and in that time, the ice sprites existed, his throne was apparently at the Ice Capital all along, and there was a siege bound to happen and it's soon. Not good.

"Why is the Human throne here?" Nyxis asked as Kennen turned away from the display and began leading Nyxis back to where they came from.

"The first human king foresaw that his bloodline's power is going to be usurped," Kennen answered without turning to Nyxis or stopping. "He sought our help knowing that no one after the throne can reach us here. They won't even know we existed. This is the last place anyone after the Warseeker's power would look."

"Looks like he's right," Nyxis tapped his chin. Indeed, in all of his attempts to look for it, Penleth's underground was the last place he thought of. "How did he even foresee it?"

Kennen shrugged. "Luck? Some oracle consultation?" He turned one corner, forcing Nyxis to follow. "Either way, he was correct about the usurpation. That brings you here, right?"

Nyxis pursed his lips. All the history lessons he took at the palace came back to him. "Is his name Canraren?"

Kennen looked at Nyxis with a raised eyebrow before nodding. Nyxis frowned. "That doesn't make sense," he jogged to match Kennen's fast pace. "If the ancient royal family foresaw that their family is going to lose power, why make me, an offspring of the person who overthrew his descendants, the heir? Why not make Tobin Canraren the heir?"

"The ways of the thrones are a mystery no one has understood," Kennen tucked his hands inside his loose sleeves. Was he cold too? "It's not us who chooses our throne. It's the throne that chooses us."

Nyxis bobbed his head even though Kennen's answer didn't convince him. Like all of them, Kennen didn't know much about things like inheritance and destiny. Nyxis pursed his lips. "You mentioned the ice sprites knew so much about me," he crossed his arms. "Why is that?"

Kennen sidestepped a pair of ice sprites carrying buckets. They ducked their heads at him as some kind of formal greeting. "Before the races fell. The Helgase family is one of the most prominent ice sprite families around," Kennen said.

Nyxis knitted his eyebrows. "What?" he shook his head. "Say that again."

"The Helgase family were once ice sprites," Kennen stared at Nyxis like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You meant to say," Nyxis scratched his cheek. "If I ever get to unlock my synnavaim, I would be an ice sprite?"

"By theory, yes," was Kennen's only answer.

Nyxis's breath hitched. If this was true...

Kennen slapped him lightly on the shoulder, jarring him back to reality. "Do not worry about that for now," the ice sprite said. "The important thing is that you have found the throne of the Humans. Now, I shall show you to your room where you can wait before the Council for tomorrow. You will be meeting the Chief there."

Nyxis nodded, mum. Meeting the Chief sounded as terrifying as meeting a sugrarsask. Then again, he didn't tackle the Heiress at the edge of a cliff, fall into a raging sea, and survive just to be afraid now. If he could convince the Chief to grant him access to his throne, perhaps Nyxis would have something he could fight with in this coming war.

They made it to a wider corridor with a left turn when Nyxis heard a familiar voice that sent his blood plummeting to his feet. It's like an ice sprite found a way into his bloodstream and were slowly injecting ice crystals into his veins. The voices and the footsteps came closer until Nyxis and Kennen rounded a corner just in time for Nyxis to get a full view of who it belonged to.

Apparently, he had changed the color of his hair but Nyxis wasn't about to forget the face of the boy that betrayed them.

"Nyxis," the half-blood's eyes were wide. His companions, Cyrdel and Ravalee, froze when they heard him call Nyxis's name.

Nyxis's blood had reached their freezing point now. A growl rumbled low in his throat and he wasn't able to stop it in time. "June."