Chapter 135 - SMALL THINGS (1/2)

THE ICE REGION

A woman could be seen descending from a background of white. On her back is a five feet sword, long and slender.

The sword was red and is famously known as the Red Queen.

Belonging to the number one expert of the Revolutionary Army, and is also the strongest woman in the world right now, Katarina Ivanov.

The blizzard on top of the white hill is not something people at the Pillar Forming could withstand.

If they were to reach this Hill they would be rendered frozen in a matter of minutes.

In the place where Katarina gained her understanding in Absorbing Attributes, the snowfall is not gentle, hailstones of ice and cold fall from the mountaintops, and heavy mist of rain, making the already cold places even colder.

Water that rains turns instantly into ice.

That is the kind of cold place the Ice Region is.

After the injury she suffered stopping the avalanche, she recuperated

After she was healed she immediately climbed the mountains before stopping at the Hill on one of the peaks of the White Mountain.

The peak of the mountains is still high but Katarina knows she would freeze to death if she climbs to the peak.

Even at her stage right now, she isn't confident she could survive the cold on top.

And she knows there is something else on top of the mountains. Something dangerous. Something ancient.

She trod the snows as each steps bring her down.

For three days and three nights she journey down.

She encountered Jean and Paulette group in the second day on the entrance of some cave and shares tent with them for the night before walking down again in the dawn until finally she reached here.

The Ice Palace.

A palace constructed of Ice.

There is magic in every ice brick, every part of the Palace. Because it is made by the Ice of the Ice Region.

And Katarina knows that hidden in each snowdrop is a drop of magic.

She looked in front of her and smiles. Standing in front of the Palace was her brother, Boris.

He was waiting for her, arms outstretched, smiling.

'It has been hard on you sister' Boris said as he come closer to her and gives her a long hug.

Katarina nodded and smell the scent of her brother.

Boris has always protected her. He protected her from the abuse of their father. He protected her from evil man.

He protected her in every possible way when she was too weak to fight for herself. She could not be as normal as she is if not for the shelter her brother provides..

If not for him sacrificing many things for her, she would not have been as strong as this.

She would not have been the strongest expert of the Revolutionary Army, standing shoulder to shoulder with some of the big names in the world.

Raymond in the East, Katarina in the West.

Before the shocking rise of Lord Shadow, this is the phrase that comes to everyone mind when discussing the two top expert in the world.

World Government is based on the Eastern Plain on the Plains region which is in the Eastern part of this large Pangaea.

Revolutionary Army is based on the Western Frozen Land on the Ice Region which is in the Western part of the Pangaea.

And two experts headed both of this organization as the morale pillars and figurehead of each respective organization.

And all of this happens because Boris sacrifices many beneficial items and resources to Katarina to better protect her.

Boris had to bow his head, endures humiliation before they manage to control half of Russia.

And all of that is because of her.

Katarina owes her brother very much.

'Brother, I have returned. I have heard what happened when I was gone.'

Boris nodded, his smile was bitter and his complexion turned bad.

'It's fine. We'll talk about it later. Now, let get you cleaned up. I have prepared everything for you in the Palace.'

Katarina enter the Palace and servants guided her to her room. It was a large space full of many exquisite furniture and paintings.

Seeing it, Katarina could only smile.

Boris has always known that she like paintings.

When she was little she saw the Water Lilies The Clouds by Monet. She saw it on TV on a front store shop when she was buying milk for her father.

She could not take her eyes off from the painting for a long time, almost like she was hypnotized by the colors and the image.

She was very much tantalized by it.

She was not an art lover, she does not like sculptures or carvings or opera.

But paintings?

To think that such beauty could be created by using only hands and the imaginations, she was very much in awe.

She told this to her brother and in her fourteenth birthday, Boris gifted him a replica painting of the Water Lilies.

Boris made one of his friend at school to paint it for him.

It was a sloppy painting and does not possess the same kind of beauty like Monet but Katarina was happy nonetheless.

Boris has always put her happiness before his own. Katarina sit down on the chair of her study and look at the painting with a serene expression.

She remembers her brother affection towards her and she chuckles. The only light in her dark childhood.

He was her lighthouse. He was that shine of light in the bottom of a dark well. The kind of light that absorb the darkness for her.

The kind of light that would taint itself so she could remain pure. Her brother was her sin eater.

Katarina knows her brother is not a saint.

But he had always protected her. Even with all his faults, he is family. And family sticks together, through the good and bad.

With Katarina power, she could get away from this place and live the live she always wanted to have.

A peaceful life. A family to care for.

She wants a happy family. To have a son. And daughter. A big family. She wanted to stop fighting and live on the countryside where the wind is breezy and sunny.

Where she can quietly tending a garden or paint when she has free time. At weekends, they will meet together and talk about their lives.

She wanted to grow old with someone while sunbathing in the sun. She wanted to love someone and not have her heart broken.

She wanted to love and be loved. A peaceful and boring lives. A kind of life that seems like a dream now.

She takes another sip of the warm water. And she smiles and closes her eyes. She didn't think it would be possible.

At least not in this lifetime.

Because…..it's her turn to protect her brother. Because that what family does for each other.

They got each other's back

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NEXT MORNING

It was early in the morning and Katarina was on the courtyard practicing her sword moves. The cold is constant and snows fall down.

Even the trees are white. It is different in the Palace but here in the courtyard, it is as cold and as white as the streets around the Ice Region.

But while she was practicing the cold dissipated and the snows that falls to her evaporated into mist.

The area around her feet vaporized as white misty energy coils around her, like a fog.

She learned the technique Sword Splitting the Air in a skill book she found when she was soloing a dungeon as part of her own training.

The skill is very powerful but requires very fine control, with each stroke and with each strike being thrust out.

The skill help Katarina to understand many intricacies in her opponents attacks and even helped her many time in applying the right amount of force in defeating or deflecting someone else's attack.

Boris was leaning on the courtyard pillars looking at his sister and then after seeing that Katarina has finished her set Boris said

'It's time.' Katarina looked at her brother, sheathe her sword and nodded

'Let's go.'

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EASTERN FROZEN LAND, ICE REGION

The Temple of Erika. Situated on top of a snowy white Hill, it was the grandest structure in all of the Ice Region.

It was a large temple dedicated to one of the most influential person in the world, the Oracle.

The temple resembles a lot like the ancient Greece temple dedicated to the Gods of Olympus.

When Katarina arrived with his brothers, the Paladins give them a nod and allowed them in without checking them which puzzled Boris.

Boris then asked.

'Will you not be scolded by the Oracle letting us in without any inspection?'

Boris knows that while the Oracle is influential she is weak. Which is why there is so many Paladins guarding this Temple of hers.

And if that is not enough there is also a lot of Seers swearing allegiance to her and guard her in the Inner Sanctum.

The Paladins look at Katarina and Boris smile and answered

'The Oracle has already foreseen my lord and lady will come here today in her vision. She has already ordered that if both of you came we Paladins will only need to let you come in' and he keep smiling and then he chuckles a bit.

Katarina was obviously puzzled by the Paladin behavior and she asked.

'Why do you seem so amused by my brother question?' Boris was also puzzled and look toward the Paladins

The Paladins then answered

'My lady must not misunderstand. It's just….'

'It's just what?'

Smiling he replied

'The Oracle also said that if I let you in without any hassle Lord Boris will certainly ask me about this matter. The Oracle even said word to word what you just ask me.'

He said chuckling a bit.

'That's what amused me. It was almost like my lord is acting a script to me since I already know what you are about to say. No wonder the Oracle got so many visitors in a day. If her prediction is all this accurate who will not want to see her and ask her for guidance?' The Paladins admired

Boris just smiles bitterly.

He himself doesn't like seeing that woman. She gives him the creep. It makes him think defeatist thoughts.

Like what if the future is already written what point of him doing anything?

This kind of thought always popped up when he consult the Oracle and this is why Boris dread to meet the Oracle.

But many of the lords of the Revolutionary Army urged him to ask the Oracle guidance on how to ride out the new wave.

The new wave is of course referring to Lord Shadow almost unstoppable momentum on the Plains.

The strongest man in the world Lord Shadow!

This is the kind of phrase that has been circulating all around the world after the battle between Lord Shadow and the Seven Fairy been broadcasted.

Some even bought the video recordings in the black market to analyze the fight.

Many forces all over the world has seen the footage.

Katarina hearing the Paladin reply just laughed.

'Interesting' she said as she looked at the huge temple in front of her and feel excited to meet the famous Oracle.

Even though the Oracle was famous and live in the Ice Region and everyone knows that Boris and Katarina rules jointly together, Katarina rarely meet people and only appears when there is a danger on her brother.

But unlike her bother who dreads his meeting with the oracle, she welcomed it.

While she knows the rumors of the accurateness of the Oracle prophecy, she always believed that people write their own destiny and fate.

After all she did. She changed her destiny. Witch each steps taken, with each choice, she moved forward and destroy the fate handed to her.

All it needs is courage and will.

After the guards let them come in, they walk the stairs and enter the temple.

The entrance of the temple is full of fine paintings and the interior is entirely white gold painted.

Domed towers encircle the main buildings at all points. The roof is ringed by statues of terrifying beast.

The casing for candles in the walls is filled with eternal candles that continues to burn till night and will not melt.