In the same ice-made building, in another section
Marquez remained there
The section didn't have any furniture, just an ice-made throne at the back of the room.
There were no windows. The room was relatively dark
Except for a few stones in the pillars producing a giant blue glow
There Marquez was seated on the throne
But not like a king
He clutched his chest, breathing heavily. His skin was pale
Sweat formed on his face, but it never dropped
Twelve women surrounded Marquez's throne
Some white, some black, but they all had blue hair
They frantically moved around him
Some were fanning him, some were offering tea
But Marquez were still distressed, his hands gripping the chest area of his sweater
His vision burred
They wiped his face with the cloth, but the sweat came back
He stared blankly at nothing. He wasn't even blinking.
A brown-skinned girl approached him with wine
Placing the cup at his mouth
Marquez snapped
"No!" he shouted
He flashed his hand and slapped the golden cup away
All the women stopped moving
"Fucking leave!" he shouted
"But Marquez—" another called
"Leave!" Marquez shouted again, one palm place on his forehead, the other hand pointing at the exit.
The women briefly nodded and began leaving
The brown-skinned girl bent over to pick up the chalice
"Leave it," Marquez said softly, his voice hoarse
She left
Marquez sat alone in the dark room, clutching his chest
The veins in his forehead pulsed against his skin
Ancient dark blue marks began drawing themselves on his skin
Marquez groaned
"W-What is this feeling?" he muttered
The normal ice-cold feeling in his chest was gone
It was replaced by intense heat. Something deep inside his core kept fighting against his existence
Like fire versus ice
"You feel it, don't you?" a familiar mocking voice asked
Marquez's eyes widened
The world around him vanished. It was like he sank through the floor
Then—
Darkness
The new world loaded up
For some reason he was on his knees. Staring into black ice that didn't reflect.
He tried to stand up, but a leg pushed his head lower
"You're a failure, I thought you killed all the potentials," the voice said
"I did," Marquez answered, voice still hoarse
The leg was removed from his head
"I know," the voice said
Marquez rose to his feet. The figure stood directly in front of him.
It was the creature that tortured Leo, with pale dark blue skin, horns and tattoos.
The environment looked different
The ice still formed as trees
But
Pieces of the ice were cracked, some had shrunk
Almost like they were melting. The air felt moist and heavy.
"I can feel him," the creature said. "Enji has risen."
"That's impossible," Marquez said
Before Marquez could continue
The creature aggressively grabbed Marquez's face, covering his mouth
"Shut up," it said.
"This time... I'll take control."
The creature turned and threw Marquez
He slammed directly onto his ice-made throne
Instantly
The ice formed and covered his hands and feet
Marquez struggled but he didn't move
"Kuro, wait!" he called
The creature didn't look at Marquez.
Slowly, he faded into the real world
...
[THE ICE ROOM]
Marquez was back in his original room. He was hunched over on the throne.
His eyes fluttered open, adjusting to the dark blue glow
He raised his right hand, opening and closing it repeatedly
As if getting adjusted to a new body
It was not Marquez
He stood up and stretched, a huge grin on his face
The curly blue hair was losing its color
Slowly fading into white, the hair didn't even curl again
Kuro began walking toward the exit ancient tattoos forming on his body.
His grin remained
He pushed open the door, stepping into a long ice-made hallway
A guard stationed at the door, jumped at the sight of Marquez's body
"You." Kuro pointed at the trembling guard. "Send an order to every single soldier."
"Murder all the slaves."
...
THOMAS' POV
Thomas lay on the cold floor inside the room where Kado had locked him
He remained awfully still, mouth partly open.
There was no crown glowing in the dark room
Just silence
Then
Breathing, like someone being choked
Mist exhaled from his lips, like someone in the cold
His fingers curled, trying to dig at the concrete ground
He choked again
He rolled onto his belly, shaking continuously
He clutched his chest, shivering while unconscious
He rolled onto his back again, shaking his head from side to side
Mist still flowed from his lips
"Raaagh!" He shouted, trying to grip the ground
Suddenly
Calm
His eyes opened slowly. They glowed a faint orange.
It faded quickly
Thomas sat up, breathing heavily
He clutched his chest. Everything felt so cold
He could barely feel his heartbeat
He rose to his feet, trembling slightly
The crown remained a few feet ahead of him
He walked toward it
The moment he touched it, it crumbled
Almost like dust getting blown by a breeze
Even the gem faded
Thomas didn't say anything. He just stared
Then, talking
Mumbles were heard at the door. Thomas could hear the knob turning.
Thomas stood up, his fist tightening.
The door opened. Light seeped inside
Kado stood right at the entrance. For a second his face looked like—
Relief?
Thomas didn't care
Flames charged at his feet, blasting him forward
He shot forward grabbing Kado's collar and slamming him into the wall
The wall cracked, debris falling from the wooden ceiling
The whole building shook. Nearby, something fell and broke like glass
Kado coughed, blood slowly leaking down his lips
"Thomas," he said
Thomas shoved him harder into the wall. He spat more blood
"You tried to kill me!" Thomas shouted
"I'm sorry Thomas, I had to," Kado said
"Bullshit!" Thomas answered. "I could've died."
"We were gonna die anyway. now we have a fighting chance." Kado answered
Thomas released Kado, clutching his head
"He won't stop talking," he said
"You're one of us, Thomas," Kado answered. "We'll help you."
"No! Fuck you!" he shouted, slowly backing away
"Thomas," another voice called
Turning, Thomas saw Edd, his cigarette burning
Craig appeared too
Slowly red marks began forming on Thomas' face, similar to what they have.
He groaned
"I'll find my friends... Alone," he said.
Suddenly
Flames burst from his hands and feet in an uncontrollable burst
He flew upward through the ceiling, the snow-filled air washing against him instantly
Wooden debris falling around him
He landed on his feet, snow splashing around him
The faint ice-made palace was in the distance
Snow made it look hazy, but it was still visible
Thomas began walking
End