Dominion's End

V4C2: A Call Without A Response, Part One

Dominion's End Volume 4: Battle for Lan City

Original novel in Chinese by: 御我 (Yu Wo)

Chapter 2: A Call Without a Response—translated by Michimochi 

The trip for Lan City was now scheduled for three days from now. It would have been better if we set off earlier, but I had just returned. I wanted to stay with my big brother and little sister for a bit longer. Plus, it wasn't as if I had figured out what was going on with the "tattoos" on both of my arms. I had to figure it out before going into the city, or else there wouldn't even be any weapons for me to use.

My head started hurting when I thought about that time I had just returned home. Dàgē had mistakenly thought that I had these tattoos forced on me. I should stick with calling these "ice patterns" for now. After all, I've never seen anyone with silvery blue tattoos before. The color really is beautiful, but if anyone used such a color in a tattoo, that person would probably be poisoned by metal toxicity or something similar.

In order to thoroughly investigate this ice pattern in the full-length mirror in the room, I had cut off the sleeves of my shirt, turning it sleeveless. But with the weather getting colder, I would stick out like a sore thumb if I wore this into the city. I would need to add a jacket as a disguise, but I wasn't sure if covering the ice pattern would affect the summoning of the spear and the dagger. I had to get this sorted out.

The ice pattern on my right sprawled along almost my entire arm, from the tip of my pinky all the way to my upper arm. Luckily, the lines of the pattern weren't too clustered. There were just a few, and the icy blue color was very faint. It was nothing too outrageous; or else this delicate face of mine coupled with many complex tattoos would most definitely give an immeasurably odd impression.

The ice pattern on my left, on the other hand, was quite a bit smaller. The lines were thinner, wrapping once around the wrist. If this had been a real tattoo, I think I would be able to accept such a design. It was quite nice to look at.

My guess was that the right one represented the long spear and the left one represented the dagger. Since the gap between the size of the two weapons was quite large, naturally the gap between the size of the two ice patterns would be just as big.

In order to prove this point, I immediately shouted, "Come out, Ice Spear!"

Even after waiting several seconds, nothing appeared. I looked at my right arm speechlessly. Did I get it wrong? Is the spear on the left instead? But I recall it should be on my right...

I eyed my left arm skeptically, then called out again. Not a single response. What's going on?

If the spear is no good, then what about the dagger?

I hastily called out to summon the ice dagger. The silvery blue ice pattern on my left wrist glowed faintly. Suddenly, there was a chilling feeling in my hands as if I was touching a piece of ice. A sliver of ice had condensed in my hand, its shape somewhat like a dagger. Success!

As the moment of bliss went by, I immediately gripped the misshapen ice dagger, yet it shattered just as I closed my fingers around it. Its fragments scattered all over the floor, melting instantly, leaving not a single trace behind. Even the glow of the ice pattern had disappeared without a trace.

My mind blanked. I thought I had crushed the dagger into smithereens just by holding it. Several moments passed before I finally snapped out of it. If I could crush a dagger transformed from the Ice Emperor just like this, was there even a need for me to have a dagger in the first place?