The Last Ruler: The Return of the Goddess
Winter villages

Due to the sudden weather, Israhi and the others rushed to the village they were heading to at full speed. It would be better if they found a warm place first before the snow began to fall heavily and freeze them.

Not long after, they arrived at the village, but there was something strange. The village was covered with white snow and ice around every corner, but now it was summer. This is completely abnormal.

Their group stopped for a moment to find a place to rest, and looked around the village.

" Br.. cold. Why is there snow in a place like this??" aksa said as she hugged herself who shivered in the cold.

" It's weird. I'm sure this isn't the location where snow falls all the time, and neither... It's mid-summer, how come it??" yi muttered when he saw all that.

" I feel a strange energy around here, something I've never felt before. Something bad." said Israhi later.

It made the others who heard it so confused, they could not feel anything but a coldness that pierced to the bone. But they became worried about it, the energy that only Israhi could feel.

Meanwhile Altair, he did not think too much about it. Instead, he focused more on the snow that fell on him. This was not the first time he had seen snow, but he felt that someone was calling him through the snow.

Therefore, Altair chose to quietly close his eyes, and let them shower him...

< Here... Comehere... Come then... >

A subtle sound that could barely be heard, was heard in his ear through the snowflakes.

" who? Who's that..??"

Altair didn't recognize him, yet it felt quite familiar. The cold did not bother him too much, but the person or. something calling him was curious.

When he had not noticed, both his eyes had opened wide with a faint red color...

[" Ah.... He's right here. The other me.."]

That's not him..

" Altaire."

Altair was aghast when he heard his name called Israhi behind him, he then turned to stare normally, even the color of his eyes had returned as before.

" Hmm...??" even Altair might not remember what just happened.

" Altair, let's go. Yi found an inn that we can stay here. Like his snow will also continue to fall heavily until tomorrow."

" All right.."

Altair stepped away following the others along with Israhi as well, it was indeed a good idea to rest in the right place and warm.

They went to a fairly large inn, they booked a room on the 3rd floor along the main hallway. They even split their rooms.

Altair and Remilia, Yi and Mira, and the men were each one room otherwise there would be a riot.

But now... They were all in a restaurant on the first floor. At that time, Aksa then asked one of the servants who provided food.

" Sorry, we want to know what happened in this village?? I don't think this place should be covered in snow" he asked the waiter.

" Oh, about that... Nor do we know." and the servant answered him.

" You don't know??"

It's confusing, where they don't know anything about what happened to their village. But the servant shook his head...

" It all started with a sound in the southern mountains" the waiter said later.

Hearing that, Remilia seemed to know something about the mountain. " In hindsight, the mountains in the south of this place are always covered with snow, because it is the highest place in the world" he said.

" that... His voice was like a growl, sometimes like a howl. We don't know for sure what it is, and no citizen can get there in this weather because of the extreme road."

" Have you asked for help?" Derrick was curious about it.

" It's. We asked the various tendek Guilds, even asking the nobles for help. But no one can ever get there. They usually return injured due to monsters, some are frozen because of the cold temperatures in that place. Atar's men had also come, but due to bad weather, they could not get near there."

" Huh?? I thought that Atar was a magic doll of magic-driven steel, I didn't know that they could be blocked." That's interesting information for Altair, he who had long been curious about it.

Mira then replied, "Atar can still freeze, Altair. The steel sidelines where the movers are located can be covered in ice, and in poor conditions. The signal connecting them to the headquarters center could be cut off. If that happens, they just become puppets that move aimlessly until they eventually run out of energy." she told Altair.

Altair who heard it also nodded in understanding with that.

But regardless of whatever the condition of this village is indeed strange...

The place that he said was good to visit this summer, has turned into a winter village.

***

At night in the village, Altair was still awake in his room when the time had passed long and soon morning would come again. He just kept silent while staring at the dark ceiling there, while beside him Remilia fell asleep.

Altair still could not forget those subtle whispers, even now he could hear them. They asked Altair to come. The thing is, Altair doesn't know what it is.

" Um... Do I have to tell the teacher, okay??" Altair wondered about it.

Brakk...

When he was startled by the sound, Altair got up from the bed and walked to the window. It sounded like the sound of a window being shut hard, but it was closed. There was no way his window could make such a sound, unless there might be someone throwing him with something.

Unfortunately, Altair could not see anyone outside. Just snow.

He touched the window, where the cold sensation from out there could be felt. Altair stared at the mountains that could be seen from his room, which he said was the source of all this snow.

Just then, something approached Altair's head. Without realizing it, his eyes turned red again...

[" Go there... Look what happened... You'll find the missing there.."].

Another voice came in and affected Altair there. Altair turned to Remilia for a while, but she remained silent....

Woosshh....

" Ugh... It's cold!." Remilia woke up when the cold air came in, she saw the window beside it open.

Let the cold air in fly the curtains, until the snow enters the room freely, but there is something that attracts more attention there than that. That is, the existence of Altair that is not there....

" Altair..??"

***

Meanwhile on the road to the mountains, more precisely in the sky. Altair was there, standing on Zico's back to his original form, he took him flying into the mountain quickly. They fought the raging snowstorm the closer they got to the nearby mountains, yet the two did not budge at all.

Kruunggs...

Zico also complained about it, because Altair suddenly told him to take him to the mountains in the middle of the night like this. Zico was unhappy because his sleep was disturbed.

" Don't complain, Zico. We'll just look and come back." but Altair just said it like that.

Krongs..

Still, it wasn't fun for Zico.