Gods Universe: Chain Ruler

Judd's eyes were open.

Where… am I?

He floated in the liquid, the severed remains of his arm drifting beside him. The cavern around him was eerily silent. Above, the bear's massive paw hung in the air, frozen in motion. Time itself had stopped.

Then, the liquid stirred.

A deep, unnatural cold seeped into Judd's bones. He looked down—his skin was changing, bleaching to an icy white. His right hand tingled, fading at the edges like frostbitten flesh.

His left arm twitched.

Then, impossibly, it moved.

The limb reattached itself, fusing seamlessly to his shoulder as if it had never been severed. The gaping wound in his stomach vanished. His torn flesh knitted back together. The scratches across his face were erased, yet his clothes remained in tatters.

The unbearable cold within him vanished, replaced by an eerie warmth.

Then, the liquid rejected him.

With a violent force, it expelled Judd from its depths. The moment he landed, the pool froze solid, sealing itself in a thick sheet of ice.

Judd rose, unsteady, his breath curling in the frigid air. His hair had turned gray, the tips streaked with frozen strands. His skin was deathly pale, as if kissed by frost. Even the sword in his grip had changed—its blade now shimmered with an icebound aura.

Then, time resumed.

The bear moved.

It lunged.

Judd reacted instantly, leveling his sword toward the beast's heart.

"Icego, mighty sword—Release."

A brilliant light erupted from the blade, an arc of glacial energy slashing through the air. A massive hole tore through the bear's chest, its body shuddering from the impact.

The beast staggered back, its maw trembling as it spoke.

"I apologize… I failed to protect the Icego variant. It was stolen…"

Judd did not hesitate.

With another strike, his sword cleaved through the bear's body. Flesh, fur, and bone split apart in a frozen spray. The beast collapsed, its organs spilling onto the frozen ground. Blood pooled over the ice, staining it deep crimson. Judd's own body was soaked in it.

With the Icego variant's power surging through him, Judd launched himself out of the ruined cathedral.

Among the rubble, he found a blue and white coat. He draped it over his shoulders, feeling the weight of his transformation. His mind felt… different.

As if I've been rewritten.

His breath fogged in the air as he looked around. His perception had sharpened. Every crack in the ice, every whisper of the wind, every distant echo in the ruins—he sensed it all.

Then, his gaze snapped to the place where Kujima had died.

Something remained there.

A residue of power.

Judd moved with purpose, as if he had always known this island, as if it had always been part of him.

He reached the spot where the battle had ended, where shards of ice marked the land.

So this is where Fros came to life.

His eyes traced the dried blood on the snow.

"Kujima… you taught me a lot," he murmured. "The old me would've shed a tear for you. But I don't have the luxury of grief anymore. Cheyra… Icego… I have to rebuild this place."

Then, he noticed it.

A magic circle still etched into the ice.

He recognized it instantly. Kujima had left countless ones like this behind when they trained in Harden—forgotten, carelessly abandoned. Normally, a single stroke of a blade would erase them.

Judd raised his sword and slashed.

The moment his blade touched the magic circle, the ground ignited in crimson light.

What?!

A suffocating energy engulfed the area.

A voice echoed from the blood-soaked ruins.

"I didn't expect someone to walk into my trap so soon."

Judd's blood ran cold.

Kujima stood before him.

"Oh, Judd… I thought you'd be dead before setting foot on this island." Kujima studied him, a smirk curling his lips. "You've changed. You're stronger now… even stronger than me. But that doesn't matter. I'm taking your body."

The dried blood on the ice pulsed—then moved.

It surged toward Judd, slithering like living veins, forcing its way into his mouth, his nose, his eyes, his ears.

Judd's body convulsed.

He swung his icebound sword, but the blood merely coiled around it, ignoring the attack. The thick, corrupted essence poured into him, drowning him from the inside.

His body went rigid.

Then, he spoke.

But it wasn't him.

"Kujima… why?" His voice trembled, struggling against the presence invading him. "You were like a brother to me… You're the reason I was discovered. The reason I'm strong…"

A chuckle.

Judd's own lips curled into a grin that wasn't his.

"Judd, this isn't personal. You simply walked into the trap. And now? I own your body."

For a moment, silence.

Then, something snapped.

Judd gasped—his breath coming in sharp, ragged bursts. His mind cleared, forcing Kujima's presence to the surface.

The voice inside him hesitated.

"…What?"

Judd clenched his fists.

"How… are you still in control?" Kujima's voice wavered in confusion. "I kicked you out. This should be my body."

Judd gritted his teeth, his skin turning paler by the second.

"I was cursed with Icego in the Cathedral," he growled. "Now get the fuck out of my body."

A new chill spread from within him—deep, unnatural, absolute.

The very air froze.

Judd vomited blood, and as the crimson liquid left his body, it reformed—shifting, merging, reshaping itself until Kujima stood there once more, bound in his own flesh.

Kujima narrowed his eyes. "You could've made this easy. You could've just given me that body." He gripped his sword. "Now I have to fight you in this crippled form."

Judd didn't flinch.

His grip tightened on the hilt of sword.

"This sword holds more power than you can handle." His voice was ice itself. "Release."

Kujima moved instantly, dodging the frozen rays that shot from the blade.

Then, he struck.

A single slash, precise, aimed to sever Judd's head from his shoulders.

But Judd didn't retreat.

Instead, he whispered:

"Variant of the coldest ice on Cheyra… GREAT HEXA! Absolute ZERO!"

The air shattered.

In a perfect circle, five meters around him, the temperature plummeted to 0 Kelvin.

Absolute zero.

No movement. No energy. No life.

Everything—including Kujima—froze.

Even Judd himself became ice.