Every encounter with a stranger is a potential turning point in your life.
Unknown:
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The rocket shot through the forest canopy, plunging into the open sky above the river.
And for the first time in a long time, Yuno wasn't worried about what lay ahead.
She was swept away by the thrill of the moment, mesmerized by the person who had created this madness and by the boundless adventure that awaited them.
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The scene shifted to a snowy wasteland, an unrecognizable expanse of endless white.
Where a thriving kingdom once stood, there was now nothing but ruin.
The Kingdom of Britannia, once sprawling and majestic, lay buried beneath snow and silence.
Yuno's pink eyes darted around in disbelief, scanning the desolate landscape.
The lush green forest she had expected to encounter was gone.
In its place, only snow stretched endlessly, blanketing everything in a lifeless shroud.
What the hell happened? she thought, struggling to make sense of this bizarre reality.
Behind her, the rocket sat half-buried in the snow, its once-polished surface now scratched and dented from their crash landing.
As with most of Amel's invention, the ride had been thrilling, reckless, and, unsurprisingly, ended in disaster.
Yes, they had survived. But how? And why?
She no longer bothered with those questions.
After all the insane stunts Amel had pulled out of thin air, her capacity for disbelief had long since evaporated.
Yuno turned her gaze to the barren remnants of the kingdom.
Crumbled towers jutted out of the snow like skeletal fingers, reaching toward a pale, overcast sky.
It seems they are near the outside walls of the kingdom.
There were no trees, no signs of life—only the haunting remains of what once was.
Her attention shifted to Amel.
A short distance away, he fought with unrelenting confidence against strange, blue skeleton-like creatures that had emerged from the snow.
Each punch precise, almost effortless, as though the chaos around him didn't faze him in the slightest.
Yuno's lips pressed into a thin line.
She still didn't understand who—or what—Amel truly was.
But did it even matter? Would knowing change anything?
What she did know, without question, was this: Amel had saved her.
He had asked for nothing in return—not gratitude, not loyalty.
He had simply acted, as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
And for that, she was grateful.
For the first time in her life, Yuno felt... free.
Yet, in the back of her mind, a single question gnawed at her—a question she dared not voice.
Would the truth—that she was a witch—anger him?
I don't think so. If I told him, he'd probably just say, "You're an idiot," and smack me on the head.
Yuno sighed inwardly.
Despite everything, she couldn't deny it—she was happy now.
And wasn't that what mattered most?
She had come to the Kingdom of Britannia with purpose, a mission she thought would guide her.
But now, standing in the midst of ruins blanketed by an unforgiving snowstorm, that purpose felt hollow.
What was the point of anything now?
"What are you thinking?"
The voice startled her, snapping her out of her thoughts.
She turned to see Amel standing a few feet away, finishing off one of the eerie blue skeletal creatures.
With a casual swing of his fist, he obliterated it, the creature disintegrating into a glittering cloud of fragments.
These monsters had appeared seemingly out of nowhere, clawing their way up from the frozen ground like something summoned by the land itself.
Yuno's gaze lingered on the magic swirling in the air as the fragments dissolved.
I know this spell... but whose magic is it?
"Just that I'm... surprised," Yuno murmured, her voice unusually soft as she tried to piece her thoughts together.
"Surprised, huh?" Amel said, brushing invisible dust off his knuckles and letting out a playful puff of smoke from his lips. "That's interesting."
The dam broke.
"Well, YES! Because there should be a FUCKING KINGDOM HERE!" she shouted, her pink eyes blazing with frustration.
She kicked at the snow beneath her boots, her anger flaring hotter with every word. "AND ALL I FUCKING SEE IS SNOW!"
Amel arched a brow, his expression equal parts amusement and curiosity. "Why are you so angry? Were you expecting to find someone here?"
"No!" Yuno snapped, then hesitated.
The moment stretched as her own emotions puzzled her. Why was she so upset?
Amel tilted his head, a teasing smile tugging at his lips. "And yet you're not angry?"
"I'm not!" Yuno shot back, her voice sharp as she crossed her arms over her chest defensively.
But her voice betrayed her, trembling ever so slightly.
But just as the denial left her lips, a sudden force tipped her chin upward, and Yuno found herself staring directly into Amel's eyes.
How does he move so fast? she wondered, though she quickly dismissed the thought.
Trying to figure him out was a futile effort—his unpredictability was as natural to him as breathing.
"You're angry," Amel said again, his voice steady, his gaze sharp as it searched hers.
Caught off guard by his sudden closeness, a flush crept over Yuno's cheeks.
She swatted his hand away, her tone sharper than she intended. "Yes, I was looking for someone."
"And may I ask... who?" Amel's question came softly, yet it carried an undertone of curiosity that made her pause.
Yuno hesitated, her eyes darting to the snow-covered ground before forcing herself to meet his gaze once more.
Her breaths came unevenly—Damn him, she thought, and the way he always managed to unnerve me with just a touch.
"It was an old friend," she finally admitted, her voice quieter now, tinged with something she couldn't quite name.
Amel studied her for a moment, then released her chin and took a step back, his expression unreadable. "I see," he said simply.
He didn't pry further, and Yuno felt a flicker of relief.
Amel had a strange way of knowing when to push and when to let things be, respecting boundaries that others might have carelessly crossed.
It was one of the many things that made him so maddeningly fascinating to her.
"So, what should we do now?" Amel asked casually.
Before Yuno could respond, a voice cut through the icy air—cold and sharp, like the wind itself.
"Perhaps I can be of some help," the voice said.
Startled, Yuno whipped around toward the source of the sound.
A woman seemed to materialize out of nowhere, as if she had always been part of the snowy landscape, concealed in its stillness.
The sun's rays glistened off her form, highlighting a figure that felt both ethereal and commanding.
Her skin—or what could be described as such—was sculpted entirely from pristine, glistening snow.
It shimmered under the sunlight, exuding an otherworldly softness that seemed impossible for something made of ice.
She stood bare against the biting winds, unaffected by the cold that made the very air feel hostile.
Her hair was a striking cascade of vibrant orange, rippling like living flames against the stark white backdrop.
Each strand flickered as though defying the frozen world around her, adding a fiery vitality to her presence.
She was mesmerizing—both in form and in essence.
Her body radiated a strange, contradictory elegance: strength and fragility, stillness and motion.
Her chest, sculpted flawlessly, lacked any nipples of a human body, and her lower half, well that was fully exposed.
Yet there was nothing vulgar about her appearance. She was a vision of natural perfection, untouchable and awe-inspiring.
Her movements were fluid, almost like a dance, as though she and the frigid winds were performing some ancient, harmonious ritual.
And her eyes. Her eyes were the most striking of all—two pools of frosted silver, reflective and deep.
They radiated both wisdom and an unnerving calm, as though she could see far beyond the present moment, perhaps into the very essence of Amel and Yuno.
She was a paradox—a being of icy stillness and fiery vitality, untouchable yet vividly alive.
A living masterpiece of nature's duality.
"Who are you?" Yuno demanded, her voice sharp and defensive as she instinctively stepped forward.
Amel, however, remained frozen in place, his expression a blend of awe and confusion. {Well, this line is from the perspective of the snow woman.}
The woman smiled faintly, her silver eyes locking onto Yuno with an intensity that made the air feel even colder.
The temperature seemed to drop further as her presence became more pronounced, her enigmatic aura filling the space between them.
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