Chapter 415: Chapter 416: Dual Attribute He was tired. It wasn’t just his body—it was his heart. He was tired of enduring. Of life. Of all of it. He was tired of losing. Of weeping. Of grief that never stopped returning. Damon sat there for what could’ve been minutes or hours—he couldn’t tell anymore. His gaze was hollow, distant. No thoughts stirred in his mind. He was tired of thinking, too. At some point, Valarie had started speaking to him. He didn’t even remember when. But he was tired of listening as well. His mind remained blank... until the figure kneeling before him slowly rose. Through the gaps in her visor, he saw the faint glow of her icy blue eyes. Then, with measured grace, she reached for her helm—and removed it. That single act, so simple and yet so intentional, stirred something in Damon. A flicker of hope lit in his dull eyes. What he saw beneath the helm was a face like no other. Pale as porcelain, untouched by time. Delicate, haunting. Her deep blue eyes carried no emotion—just the quiet stillness of ancient, frozen lakes. Her features were refined and striking, like a statue carved by the gods themselves. She looked like Matia. But Matia had been a girl the last time he saw her. A teenager, still wrapped in youthful innocence. The woman standing before him now... was no longer a girl. The realization twisted his heart. How many years had she waited? How long had she suffered alone? She waved her hand, conjuring a disc of frost—a mirror of pure ice—and studied her reflection. Damon saw it then, just for a heartbeat: the faintest flicker on her otherwise emotionless face. Surprise. Maybe awe. Maybe something softer. It was almost as if she found herself beautiful—and was startled by that fact. Her fingers drifted across her face, then moved across her body, down to her back—as if searching for something. Damon watched her silently, wondering if she was looking for the grotesque tentacles that once grew from her corrupted form. She seemed relieved when she found nothing. His gaze never left her. His heart remained heavy, his soul somber. Then, she turned around. Wings of glistening ice unfolded from her back. She flapped them once, sending a chilling breeze across the air, before folding them back with quiet elegance. She seemed intrigued by her form—perhaps even... captivated. Even as Damon stared at her with sorrow, she observed herself as if rediscovering her own existence. And in that moment, she almost smiled. Her fingers reached up again. Slowly, deliberately, she placed the helm back upon her head. Her long, raven-black hair danced weightlessly—though there was no wind. That simple act—her choosing to don the helm of her own will, even as his shadow—sparked something deep in Damon. Something fragile. Something alive. Hope. His hand trembled slightly as he opened his system panel. A new icon glimmered softly on the side. It bore the visage of her face—her face. Or was it even fair to call her Matia anymore? Still, he opened it. --- [Once, she was a beautiful fairy from a frozen land—denied the freedom to simply be. She wore only the mask she was given, never the face she truly owned. Until she met a wretched shadow. He saw what lay beneath the lies, and accepted it. In return, she gave him her faith... and her wings. She followed him, a wingless fairy in a world that did not welcome her. And when she vanished into darkness, she searched for him—through timeless darkness, across many ages. She fought horrors beyond number. She endured even as her flesh withered and her bones rotted. The monsters could not take her. But the corruption did. Still, she pressed on—fighting with wings not her own, the last gift of a fallen kin. But time... time always wins. She became a Ruined Fairy. And even then, she waited—waited for the shadow and the promise he made.] --- Reading the words made his chest ache, a quiet storm of grief and revelation twisting inside him. So she had fallen here long ago. She had fought, and fought... but even she had eventually succumbed to the corruption. Just like he almost had—when battling Ittorath’s spawn. Only his mastery corruption resistance had kept him from breaking. Those wings on her back... they weren’t hers. They must’ve belonged to her twin brother, Matlock. Damon understood now—why her father had resented her. She was meant to give up her wings for her brother. But he had given his to her. It was a gift of love. A defiance of fate. Damon could understand that kind of bond. Between siblings. He would die for his sister without hesitation. He paused. ’Would I live for her...?’ Even now, when every breath felt like agony... he had to live. As tired as he was—he had to. His hand moved to the main panel and opened her full entry. --- [Shadow: Ruined Fairy] A fallen fairy’s final grace now walks behind you—silent and bound. Once a beautiful fairy of a frozen land, now reborn as a powerful shadow. --- [Attribute]: Frost / Shadow [Rank]: Three [Class: Dancing Fairy] "Oh, little fairy, dance upon the strings. Sway to the whims of your master—a fleeting waltz between beauty and death." Skill – [Lethal Grace] Your movements are fluid and fatal, turning every strike into a perfect step of a deadly dance. --- [Class: Dark Fairy] "You rise in darkness." Skill – [Wings of Ruin] Your blade freezes the soul. Each cut leaves an icy scar that lingers, slowing healing and draining vitality. The longer you dance, the deeper the frost carves into your enemies, marking them with a curse of ruin. --- [Class: Ruined Fairy] "There is beauty in ruin. Share this beauty with the world." --- [Ruin’s End] Rarely does one gain three in a row—but a certain god watched your dance in darkness... and granted you a boon. From the wings of your lost kin, a chilling winter now spreads around you. All shall fall to Ruin’s End. --- [Minions: 0] --- [Soul Bound Armament] [Armor of Shattered Ice] [Description:] This armor carries the faint aura of home, invoking a feeling of melancholy in a god that can never return. Still, home waits—loyal as his yearning. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖 The bearer of this armor holds the same unyielding loyalty, even if it is often unrewarded. [Enchantment] [Frost Arsenal:] Generate ethereal weapons made of soul-infused ice at will, freezing flesh and soul. [Mimic Slash:] Copies enemy weapon techniques after observing them once. [Frozen Timestep:] Slows the perception of time when switching weapons or landing a critical hit. [Flake of Cold Eternity:] Summon a frozen double to fight briefly alongside her. --- Damon wasn’t surprised. She had slain ten thousand foes—her armor had bound itself to her soul, just as his had. But what caught his eye was her attribute. Two of them. Frost and... Shadow. "Why is hers called ’Shadow’ and not ’Umbral’ like mine...?" he muttered aloud. There was a difference. There had to be. But what it meant... he didn’t know. Not yet.