Chapter 15

“You are about to play a major part in the coronation of a God!”

Those words out of the mouth of the man I considered a close friend and a mentor, while he was looming over my fallen best friend, made me reel back in shock. I still couldn’t process the fact that the traitor in the council was none than Frost. That the man who was supposed to be one of the guardians of Untethered on this planet was the one who had stabbed the entire group in its back.

I don’t know what came over me but before I knew it, I was rushing towards Frost, scythe in hand and ready to kill. But before I could get anywhere near Frost, one of his henchmen had punched me in the gut with great force that had me doubling over in pain.

I looked up to see Frost looking towards me with an amused look in his face before he turned around to sit down on a stool at the bar. He then nonchalantly poured himself a drink before raising it and toasting, “To the fruits of patience.” and downing it in one go.

I could barely contain my rage as I looked towards him acting as if this was some sort of joke. Through all the emotions whirling around in my mind, I could only get out one word, a question really.

“Why?” I spit out, my voice barely carrying across the room in my dazed and tired state.

“Hmm?” Frost had a questioning look on his face as if he hadn’t heard what I had said or didn’t care enough to answer my question.

I gritted my question out once more, “Why did you do this? Why betray everyone? Why reduce your student to such a pitiful state?”

This time, it seemed, my voice had been heard as Frost gained a contemplative look on his face as if wondering whether he should dignify me with a response. It seemed like he had made his decision when his face adopted a smug look, seemingly ready to answer my questions.

“The simple answer is power, David,” he exclaimed, with his arms spread out as if he was a monarch addressing a large crowd of people.

I still couldn’t make sense of it all. How could he justify the fighting, the deaths and the strife he had caused just for power? How could he justify what had happened to Samuel, what had happened to Frank?

“Power? All this for such a flimsy thing like power?” I couldn’t keep the despair and anger I felt at the answer he had given out of my voice, “How was all this worth it?”

For a brief moment, Frost gained a look of rage on his face before it quickly passed and he composed himself and his face morphed into stone.

He looked at me for a long time and turned his back on me. I was confused by this course of action before he started speaking, “Power is a flimsy thing, huh? Pretty easy for you to say, isn’t it, Mr. Third Slotter, Saviour of the planet?”

I was startled when he turned back to face me and rushed towards me before getting into my face. He shouted, “How would you understand the allure of power when power has been handed to the likes of you on a silver platter?”

He then calmed himself down with effort before continuing, “You see, David, people like you, they eventually assume their position at the top of the mountain, no matter how many they have to step on to get there, knowingly or unknowingly. So, your vantage point is skewed because you look down on others while Untethered like me are forced to scrape the bottom of the barrel.” The rage he was surely feeling was creeping back into his voice and I didn’t think he could hold on to it much longer.

“You know how many third-slotters are there in our solar system, David? Let me enlighten your uninformed self. Thirteen, including you. Do you know how many people know that on our planet? Only one, till now. Me.”

“Third-slotters are Gods, David, exalted, revered and feared, all at the same time. And I couldn’t bear seeing such power fall into the hands of a child who couldn’t respect the gift he had been given. The naivete, the moaning. Everything, every action of yours frayed on my nerves. And so, I decided to take it for myself.”

“How can you steal my power, when it doesn’t belong to you, you backstabbing, two-faced monster?”, I asked, vehement.

“Hmm, remember the first time I met you,” Frost had gained back his smug look from before, which I couldn’t wait to wipe off his face, “How I told you I was a two-slotter and didn’t reveal my power to you? That’s how I will take your power, the one which should have always belonged to me.”

I was now actively looking for ways to get out of this dire situation. But I couldn’t see any way to escape, not without any help. And that’s when I caught sight of Frank, or rather his eyes. His eyes had flicked open and were now actively trying to tell me something. I just knew I needed to buy time.

And the best way to do it? Get Frost to do more monologuing.

“What power? What do you even mean,” I asked, wanting him to continue to enlighten me, as he so smugly put it?

“Let me ask you something first. Did you know that the children of two Untethered are naturally Untethered? Well, they are. And so was I. Along with my twin brother. But we weren’t similar at all, not one ounce.”

“What brother? I never knew you had a brother,” I exclaimed, genuinely mystified by his statements and where he was going with it.

“Patience is a virtue, David. As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, I had a twin brother. He was the most talented, a two-slotter, the pride of the family. He unlocked his first ability at the age of six. He could control and covert anything into ice or snow. Frost, my parents used to call him.”

I couldn’t keep the shock out of my face as I listened to what he said.

“Frost,” I vaguely murmured.

“Indeed. Frost. And then there was me, Michael, completely useless. The black sheep of the family. Couldn’t even unlock my tattoo. The taunts, the looks, the sheer powerlessness. And that was when I vowed that I would make everyone regret ever underestimating me. That I would become stronger than Frost ever could.”

“And then the most magical thing happened. I unlocked my tattoo and my power. And all in one go. It seemed that my yet unlocked ability had had enough of me getting the abuse and the humiliation I got. It had had enough of me being powerless.”

“And what a glorious power it was. The ability to steal. From other Untethered.” Frank finished his spiel with crazed laughter that had me wondering about his sanity at this point.

“Steal? What do you mean,” I asked, seeming very interested in whatever drivel he had to spout?

“My ability allowed me to snatch what I couldn’t have. You see, just like you, an Untethered doesn’t unlock all his abilities at once. He has a number of unused slots, slots that would be better served by me. I was born a one-slotter so I could steal the second slot of any Untethered who didn’t yet have his second ability unlocked.”

“And that’s what I did, the first chance I got. I stole the second slot of my own brother. But the cost of such an unnatural task always requires a sacrifice. Can you guess what?”

I mulled over it for a moment before I realised what he was talking about. He must have recognised the look of abject horror on my face as he continued, “Seems like you have guessed the answer. Yes, a life. The life of the person I was stealing the slot from actually. Regrettably, it just so happened to be my brother.”, he said, not sounding remorseful at all.

I couldn’t keep my silence. I shouted vehemently, “You monster. How could you do something like that? And to your own brother? Doesn’t family mean something to you?”

Frost seemed amused if anything after my comments. “Oh, David. Let go of your naivete. Family means nothing in this world. Only one thing does, power. All-conquering power. And I took it. Because that’s what this world taught me. I also needed to fill my new slot with an ability so I asked myself, ‘Why waste the noble sacrifice of my brother? Why not take his ability too?’”

“And so, I became Frost. I became what I had always been envious of, the one who had always looked down upon me.”

I couldn’t help but ask him, “How does Frank come into all of this? Why toy with him? Why pretend to guide, only to betray him in the end?”

Frank smiled at me, saying, “I like your curiosity, David. You always ask such impertinent questions. You see, my brother’s powers, while fantastic, had certain limitations. For one, it depended entirely on the depth of my core. And if I ever came across a foe that could outmatch through sheer core power, I would be in dire straits.”

“So, I started to look for alternate powers to replace my current one. And I found a power that certainly filled my requirements. You see, as Nova had described to you, a former member of the council had used the life force of the council members to drive back the miasma monsters when the monsters were at their peak.”

“And that was my solution. A power that didn’t just depend on me. But that could be added onto by others, even adversaries, if the power permits. And I began to look around for a similar power. And through a fateful stroke of luck, the power fell right into my palms.”

“Emotion manipulation. The drawing of power from others’ emotions. Just the type of power I needed. And so, I decided to nurture Frank so that he could explore the powers, know the scope of his powers.”

I couldn’t help interrupting him at this point, “Why? Why mentor him when you could have just stolen his power?”

He answered in a tone that wouldn’t have been out of place from a teacher. “Two reasons. First, I wanted to see if the power was really what it promised to be. After all, I didn’t just want to kill someone just for that to be a complete and utter waste. Bad business, killing. Can get the Council on your trail, you know. And that’s the last thing I needed.”

“The second reason was even if his power wasn’t suitable for stealing, I could have gained a powerful weapon. One I could mould in my shape, my own personal creation. My attack dog, my right-hand man. My greatest creation, that’s what Frank is.”

I denied his point furiously. “You are wrong. Frank would never have joined the likes of you.”

Frost only smiled lightly in response, as if he was humouring a petulant child. “Oh, you would be surprised to see what people can do with the right guidance, especially from a person they trust with their lives.”

He then clapped his hands and continued, “But thankfully for all of us, his power was just right for me. And with it, I could get one step closer to what I wanted to be. God.”

“But fate had other plans it seems. Just before I was about to execute my plans for Frank and escape the clutches of the Council, luck dropped you into my palms. One who unlocked his tattoo on his first day as an Untethered. A third-slotter, not seen for centuries on our planet. What luck.”

“And I waited. To see just what your power would be. And what a magnificent ability it was. The ability to control the flow of time, capable of reversing death itself. An ability so grand that even the grim reaper must have thought it a waste to kill you.”

“And that’s when I knew I had to have your slot and your power. It would require some patience of course, but what’s a month compared to the years I have had to wait and the years I was prepared to wait further for the chance to be a third-slotter.”

Horror. That was the only emotion going through my mind right now. But I had to gather myself to get out of whatever this mess was. I needed to get to the council to inform them of this betrayal. Frank would get one chance and I had to be ready for it. The element of surprise was the only thing I had going for me.

I wasn’t worried about the henchmen at all. I would have to go for the head of the snake itself. I had to take down Frost. Everything else could follow.

I continued looking for any sign from Frank to suggest that he was ready to do whatever he wanted to do when Frost said, “Alright, let’s begin. We already have all the players here. No need to continue this charade any longer.”

That was when Frank nodded at me subtlety before releasing out a burst of miasma so powerful that it sounded more like an explosion. That was my opportunity and I took it. I raced towards Frost, scythe back in my hand, ready to finish and his plans, once and for all.

Just as I was about to strike Frost with the full force of my scythe, he moved with speed and agility that I hadn’t known he possessed. He vanished in a flash before my eyes before sweeping my legs from under me. The explosion from Frank had completely destroyed the bar by this point and we were out in the open and all the fighting had stopped at the sound of the explosion and the sight of us.

Frost looked at me with rage on his face before saying in a low voice, “That was very stupid of you, David. I wanted this to be as painless as possible for you and Frank but it seems like you don’t like painless. Then so be it.”

Saying that he started to gather miasma in the palm of his hands while he continued, “It’s not required for you to be in the best state, physically or mentally. You know, many people like to name their attacks or abilities. I don’t usually go for such corny stuff. But the attack I am about to execute, it deserves a name.”

After that, he stopped talking before spreading his arms in a violent motion shouting, “Absolute Zero.”

I closed my eyes due to the rapid fluctuation of miasma in the environment. When I opened it back up again, I was shocked by what I saw. The entire city seemed to be covered in snow and ice. Every single Untethered within sight was encased in an icy grave. I could only gasp as I comprehended the magnitude of the attack Frost had just executed.

“Powerful, isn’t it?”, Frost replied, moving towards me as he did, step by step.

“Before I take what’s rightfully mine, I just want to thank you. For your third slot and your ability. You can rest in peace knowing I will make good use of it.”

Saying that he extended his hands towards me before beginning what I assumed to be ability. I could actively feel my core being drained and would have likely screamed in pain; had I not been encased in ice.

I closed my eyes and came face to face with my core again. I could see that my core was rapidly shrinking and dying and I was helpless to stop it. I shouted in frustration within my mind before something strange happened. Instead of shrinking gradually, it just exploded outwards in a volley of fire and light. Before I knew what was going on, I felt like I was being thrown off a cliff with no way up.

Suddenly, my core stabilised, although it was a little fraction of what it used to be. I was still worried it would die out before I was somehow forced to open my eyes.

What I saw in front of me had me shaken to the core. In front of me were the three baby griffin from the last day, with my familiar chirping worriedly at me, as if it knew something was wrong with me. I recognised this scene from the night before. This was when I had just bonded with the baby griffin.

I collapsed in front of it, my whole being taken over by sheer exhaustion and the drain of my core. Through all this, only one thing was going through my mind.

‘I travelled back in time again!’