"Run away!"

Noelle trembled as Berdly stood against Kris, halberd in hand. He kept shooting spikes at Kris, but they either dodged or blocked every one. Why wouldn't he listen? If this kept up, it wouldn't end well for him. What Noelle had done to the others…

… what had happened to them? Kris had told her to use her Ice Shock spell, and… they were fine, right? O-of course they were. Noelle wasn't a… a murderer, and neither was Kris. They had just needed them out of the way. Once they thawed out, all those people would be fine. They would be fine, and Noelle was getting stronger every time. That was good, right? Getting stronger was good. The nightmare would end soon. Noelle just needed to get stronger.

Even if Kris ordered her to use Ice Shock on Berdly, it'd be fine. It wasn't fatal. Even if Noelle hit him, Berdly wouldn't…

"Snowgrave."

Noelle blinked. "S… Snowgrave?" She glanced at Kris, who looked back at her with an expression as cold as their voice. What was Snowgrave? Kris had never told her to use that spell before. She didn't even know what it was, yet somehow... she knew she had it in her. If she concentrated, she could cast the spell, but she had a really bad feeling about it. She didn't want to use it. She couldn't use it. Not on Berdly. Not on her friend.

"Snowgrave."

What was Kris doing? Why did they want her to use this spell? It wasn't safe. She had to stop them, make them snap out of whatever they were going through. "I'm telling you..." she whimpered. "I… I… I don't know what you're talking about."

"Snowgrave."

Why wouldn't they stop?! "I'm telling you, stop! I… I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Snowgrave."

Noelle scowled as anger began to burn within her soul. She didn't know what had gotten into Kris, but if they were so insistent on using this spell…

"… fine," Noelle said. "You want to see what happens so bad? Watch what happens when I cast a spell I don't know!"

"Snowgrave."

… Noelle raised her arms with her palms facing upward. Slowly, her body rose off the ground. The temperature fell, and snow began to swirl all around her. The blizzard intensified, filling Noelle's vision with whiteness. Her hair and clothes flapped wildly in the roaring storm. Berdly stared at her with wide eyes. "N-Noelle, what are you…?"

'No.' Noelle had always had a difficult time saying that word. She knew it was a weakness, but she could rarely bring herself to turn people down. She had always been too soft, too obedient. She… a tear fell down her cheek. She had always thought that Dad and Kris were the only ones she could say 'no' to, but now she wasn't even sure of that. The things she had done for Kris, she…

But was this even Kris anymore? They were so different. Since when had Kris been so commanding? Since when had they been so cruel? Since when had their voice been so terrifying? Noelle didn't know this Kris. She didn't want to.

Noelle felt something coming. The spell was ready. Noelle braced herself and…

She faced Kris.

They wanted her to get stronger? Then Noelle would give them exactly what they wanted. She wouldn't let them push her around any longer!

A cyclone of ice and snow erupted from the ground, enveloping Kris's entire body. Noelle lost sight of them through the storm. The wind howled as the snow revolved around and around them. Noelle screamed. The power was overwhelming; she couldn't stop it. Magic more intense than she had ever felt kept bursting out of her.

Everything that had led to this flashed through her mind.

"K-Kris…? Are you sure this isn't the wrong way?"

"S-someone stop them!"

"We're something else."

"W-wait! You can take the ring! T-take it! Take it! P-please, don't hurt me! N-n-no! Stop! Don't…!"

"R-run! Everybody run!"

"It's natural."

"All finished, Kris. Should we find some more enemies?"

"Run! Or she'll freeze you, too!"

"We can't stop her!"

"Isn't it a good thing?"

"She's too…!"

"I'm getting stronger."

Just as she felt she might pass out, the storm finally started to die down. Her feet returned to the ground, and where Kris had stood was now a massive crystal of ice.

Noelle panted. Her soul pounding, she stared at the crystal. Wh… where was Kris? What had she…?

"N… Noelle," Berdly whispered. "What did you do?"

Noelle struggled to breathe as she looked at the crystal. Was… was that Kris? They were…? Oh, Angel, what had she done? N-no, no! Kris had to be okay! She could never hurt…!

"KRIS!" Berdly leapt into the crystal and slammed his halberd against it. Chunks of ice flew in the air. "Hang in there, Kris! I'll get you out!"

As Berdly frantically swung his halberd against the ice, Noelle stood paralyzed. What did she do? What did she do? Kris was… she had to help them. She ran to the crystal and clawed away at it, but she could do nothing compared to Berdly. His halberd slowly but surely chipped away the ice. They just needed some time…

After a long, grueling endeavor, they finally shattered the ice that had encased Kris. They lied flat on their back. Berdly and Noelle knelt by them. They… they weren't breathing. Noelle felt for their pulse. She felt nothing.

She shivered as if her spell had never ended. "N-no… NO!" Noelle pressed her hands into Kris's chest. "Wake up, Kris!" She kept pushing. "WAKE UP!" She opened their mouth and breathed into it. She hadn't trained for this, only seen it on TV, but it had to work. It had to! She pressed into Kris's chest again. "Kris! Please! Wake up! Wake up! Wake…!"

Noelle's tears rained down on Kris's face. She collapsed, wailing over their corpse. Why? Why, why, why?! Why had they wanted her to use this spell? What had she been thinking, using it on Kris? She shouldn't have used it all. She should have just said 'no,' just refused, but she had been so angry and she had just wanted Kris to stop. Why wouldn't they stop?! Why…?!

Berdly stared at Kris's body in absolute disbelief. "Noelle… what happened?"

She pounded her fist into Kris's chest. "I DON'T KNOW!" she screamed. "S-something was wrong with them! They weren't themselves! They ordered me to k… hurt so many people! There were so many, and they wouldn't stop! They wouldn't stop! Th-they…!"

Noelle's voice cracked and dissolved into unintelligible cries. All she could do was cry, spilling tears over the friend she had murdered. They had been her friend, at least. The thing that had taken over was… something else.

"… h-hey," Berdly said. "It'll be okay. We just need to wake up. You don't think this is real, do you?"

Noelle sobbed. W-wake up? R-right. Berdly was right. This was all just a bad dream. As soon as they woke up, it'd be like none of this had ever happened. They'd wake up in the library and -

"It's not a dream."

Noelle shuddered. That… that voice…

Berdly's eyes again widened in fear. "N-Noelle! Look out!"

Raising her head, Noelle saw a red heart-shaped object floating above Kris's dead body. Was that… Kris's SOUL? For some reason, the sight of it filled Noelle with even more terror. She jolted upright and stepped back. What was it going to…?

The soul flew into Noelle's chest. She felt as if she had taken a hard punch and staggered back, nearly losing her balance. What had it done? Was it… inside…?

Proceed.

Noelle froze in horror.

What…?

Proceed.

Gnawing her teeth, Noelle trembled violently and clutched her head. A red aura covered her body, and she screamed. "AAAAAAHHH!"

"Noelle! What's wrong?!" Berdly shouted.

Proceed.

Slowly, Noelle turned towards him. The pupils in her eyes disappeared, and she stared at Berdly with eyes as white as her snow. "I can… still… hear… their voice…"

Berdly's legs quaked. "H-huh? What are you talking about?"

Proceed.

She couldn't resist it. That voice, so unlike Kris's, commanding her, and she couldn't stop it. She couldn't stop it. Noelle stepped forward and raised her arms. "B-Berdly, run away…"

Although he wouldn't stop shaking, Berdly didn't back away. "N-Noelle, whatever this is, you can fight it! Don't listen to it! You can beat it, Noelle!"

"I… I can't…" Her tears kept dripping down her face. "Please, run away…"

Pain. So much pain. Kris was dead; she had killed them. The pain needed to stop; she had to stop the pain. There was only one way. She had to get stronger. Once she was stronger, there would be no pain. Once she was stronger, she wouldn't hurt anymore, and to get stronger, she had to…

Proceed.

"N-no!" Berdly screamed. "Resist it, Noelle! You're stronger than this!"

Proceed.

"No! Run, Berdly! Run! RUN!" The storm brewed. "RUN AWAY!"

"NOELLE!"

PROCEED!

And then the ice was upon him.