"Now then… shall we begin?"
Winter said softly, extending his hands forward in quiet excitent.
A lantern materialized in his grasp.
Within it, a dim crimson fla flickered weakly.
The mont Rael looked at it, his mind tingled and a creeping cold spread through his body.
What the hell is that…?
As if sensing his confusion, Winter pointed at the lantern.
"This is an artifact the Trickster once borrowed from one of the underworlds." He said casually. "Or at least, that's how he described it to but I am pretty sure he stole it from Hades."
He continued calmly as if explaining sothing mundane.
"It's capable of absorbing the soul of any sentient being and preserving it for millions of years as long as it's supplied with enough energy."
Rael's gaze returned to the flickering fla.
"The crimson fire you're seeing is my father's soul. It once burned with the strength of a demigod."
He paused for a mont before continuing.
"Now… it's nothing more than a fragnt of what it used to be."
"The reason I want your card is to create a vessel, a container capable of housing my father's soul in that empty shell behind you."
Rael turned slightly.
Behind him, the blacksmith he had mistaken for the God of the Forge continued hamring tal in a steady rhythm.
"Hello…"
The man spoke.
"How is he talking if he is just an empty shell?" Rael asked, frowning. "Co to think of it… wasn't he the one who told to enter when I arrived?"
Rael had completely forgotten about the guy while he was focused on Winter.
"Well, that was just pulling a prank." Winter said cheerfully. He wiggled his fingers. "I used invisible mana strings just like now and even the voice ca from because I just wanted to shock you."
He then imitated the man's deep voice perfectly.
Rael stared at him.
…Seriously?
He suppressed the urge to say sothing very inappropriate and asked instead, "Then what is that body made of?"
He narrowed his eyes.
"I'm guessing it's not your father's actual body you kept around for hundreds of thousands of years, right?"
"Well… that actually is his body." Winter replied. "Unlike souls, preserving a body is far easier especially with the massive amount of energy generated by the countless deaths in this treasury."
"Hmm, I see." Rael mused without caring about how Winter disregarded deaths of challengers so easily. "So what do I have to do?"
"Nothing, really." Winter said lightly. "Just relax while I combine the lantern with your Arcana Card and turn it into a proper container for my father's soul."
Rael frowned slightly while listening.
"You see, contrary to what most people believe, a soul isn't just floating around freely in your body. There is actually a container, sothing that shields it from the outside world but when a person dies, that container shatters, which is why a reaper can carry the soul so easily afterward."
He glanced at the lantern.
"Recreating such a container is… extrely difficult and the stronger the person was in life, the harder it becos, even Gods of Underworld or soone like the Trickster struggles as the law of Karma doesn't make exceptions."
"Although my father's soul is rely a small fragnt of what it once was, his true body is still that of a Demi-god so the soul container needs to be of such as well."
Then his eyes returned to Rael.
"But your Card…" Winter said slowly. "It's different as it's designed to adapt slowly, integrating the power of Arcana into your weak mortal body."
He shook his head.
"I don't even know what it's truly made of but if what the Trickster told is true…"
A faint smile appeared.
"It should be capable of adapting into a soul container as well."
Rael narrowed his eyes. "Couldn't you have just placed your father's soul into a weaker body?"
Winter shook his head.
"Once soone reaches demigod rank, there is no real distinction between body and soul anymore." He said quietly. "If I tried to force his soul into a body that wasn't his own, the chances of it being cast into the Realm of Nothingness would be far higher."
He continued, his voice steady.
"Even if this container idea fails, the worst that could happen is that my father's soul simply ceases to exist."
His hands clenched slightly.
"But if he were sent to the Realm of Nothingness…"
Winter exhaled slowly.
"That's sothing I could never live with."
He looked up again, eyes hard.
"In the Trickster's words, this container is the only gamble I can take because a gamble with no chance of winning is nothing more than a fool's errand."
"Okay, enough talk now, just summon your card already." A smile appeared on his face once again.
Rael studied him for a long mont before summoning the card as a radiant golden card appeared midair, hovering between them.
"Before I give this to you," Rael said evenly, "I want you to swear on your true soul that you won't try to harm in any way, no matter what happens and even if your plan fails… or if sothing happens to your father's soul."
He didn't lower his guard.
Even after everything, Rael wasn't foolish enough to trust an ancient monster so easily and that was exactly why he wanted Bind of Eternal Damnation.
A vow sworn on one's very existence and enforced by the soul itself. He had taken one himself when he had negotiated with Hel in Helheim and now he was asking Winter to take one and since Winter was still a fragnt of the God of the Forge, such an oath would bind the whole.
Winter's smirk deepened. "Good. Good."
He nodded approvingly. "I like that you are cautious."
He straightened as his presence shifted subtly.
"I, Winter Sunforge, first child of Eidolon Sunforge, Ruler of the Divine Realm Fabrica Aeterna, the one known as the God of Forge, Ignivar—"
The air trembled faintly at the ntion of his divine na.
"—swear upon my na and my true soul that I shall not harm Rael von Ashborn in any way, regardless of the outco of the Soul Container's creation."
The words settled as golden chains erupted from the ground, coiling upward before binding around Winter's body and only once they vanished within his body did Rael send the card forward.
It stopped right in front of Winter.
Winter's grin widened as a hamr flew into his hands and golden armor began to form around his body, piece by piece. His ordinary brown hair shimred, then shifted into blinding white as he stepped forward, toward the raging fla.
The bright orange flas of the forge seed to welco him as it danced brightly with every step of its monarch.
Winter held the golden card in one hand as the lantern floated silently behind him, the crimson fla within it burning brighter with each passing second.
Rael was speechless.
For the first ti, he felt the true pressure Winter had been suppressing all this ti.
The divine treasury trembled as Winter raised his hamr and for the first ti in countless centuries, he swung.
—
anwhile…
Far away, within the divine realm Fabrica Aeterna, a man with blinding white hair and eyes devoid of color sat upon a throne. It was the true body of the God of Forge.
A faint smile appeared on his lips as he felt the shift.
"So…"
His voice echoed softly through the realm.
"You have finally arrived."
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