Permafrost

67: Chion

⭐️Chapter 67: Chion

The group nervously looked at the guard, whose face wasn't very visible.

"All...all of us?" Cosmo asked, scared.

The guard glared at the group even more.

"Yes. ALL of you," they growled, clearly getting impatient.

Everyone exchanged nervous glances as two guards came up behind them. At least they got to stay together. Ryn leaned up to Corrin.

"Corrin? Are you going t-"

"Okay sir. We'll head in. Open the throne room doors."

Well that answered that. The guard lowered their weapon, and opened up the door. The two guards from behind pushed the group in, and all of them made their way into the room. As soon as they entered, the first thing they noticed was that it was WAY colder in here than the other areas of the castle. It was beautifully decorated however, adorned with ice crystals that reflected a blue light all around the massive room.

The very back of the room contained the large room in which the king sat on. His tentacles were flicked up out of his face, and they had the same ice pattern all Rinklings had. His eyes seemed to have some sort of stain on them, as if being around ice had nearly caused his eyes-or tears for that matter-to freeze. His inkling eye mask had what looked like icicle designs coming down from them, and his cheeks on his rectangular jawline had snowflake patterns on them. The king himself was in a blue velvet robe lined with what was probably fake fur around the edges, and had pants that resembled snow pants with boots.

As the group entered the room further, they saw the guards along the sides of the room. There were also pillars on each side as well, similar to the ones they'd seen before. Zane walked ahead of the group and bowed low as he approached the Rinkling ruler.

"Your majesty, King Chion," he said simply.

"Ah. One of my highest ranking assassins, Zane Masters. What are you doing, tagging along with these strangers?" Chion asked.

His voice was rather deep, but it wasn't loud and booming. It was soft yet cold, and it echoed through the throne room.

"Oh, but it was not my idea to do this. You must speak with your son if you want to understand. He'll tell you everything," Zane replied as he walked to the back of the group.

The Infernos groaned at Zane not coming up with an excuse, but to be fair he wasn't exactly 100% "with" their plan, either. King Chion looked down at Corrin with a cold expression, though it wasn't a glare. He seemed to be...disappointed?

"Son. What are you doing with those prisoners?"

"They're not prisoners, they're my friends! And we need to see Misty right now!" Corrin replied with little hesitance.

"There's nothing happening in there right now. What do you need to see her for?" Chion asked.

Corrin paused for a moment, as if unsure of his wording. He looked to the Infernos for encouragement, and all of them have him a confident nod with a smile. Corrin then turned back to his father.

"We're going to take her down and end this stupid cult!" he exclaimed with a hint of anger and annoyance.

The group was expecting Chion to fly into a rage of some sort, but he only glared at them. It was clear that anger was rising within him, however.

"You. What," Chion asked, as if the wrong answer would lead to a devastating punishment.

"Y-yeah, you heard me! She was the one who told you about the dumb prophecy, so how do you know if it's fake or not?!" Corrin shouted.

"Corrin. Spirits are wise creatures that have been around for millions of years. Why shouldn't we trust her?"

The Infernos were getting jitters as Chion remained calm, even Fang. One wrong move might get them sent all the way back down to...well, who KNEW where! Rehl and Jay exchanged nervous glances, while Zane simply watched in interest.

"Not all spirits are good! Why are you still trusting her after all this time?!" Corrin exclaimed.

"You know she saved your grandfather and I by creating the Nitro weapons to combat the Skylings! Had it not been for her, we all could have been dead!" Chion replied loudly, as it seemed anger was starting to rise within him.

"So?! What if it was just some cheap, scummy tactic to get you to trust her? She could have other plans now that you've fallen for her other words! Heck, we practically started a CULT for her! A CULT!" Corrin nearly screamed.

Honestly, this fight seemed to be solely between Corrin and King Chion. The Infernos kind of wondered why he hadn't bothered to do this on his own, but maybe it was because the more people with him the better.

"What does it matter to you, anyway? She told us a creature of fire would bring an end to us, so what am I to believe?"

Corrin hesitated for a brief second before speaking.

"Dad. We're found the fire creature."

"I mean, it's not actually fire, just hot ink, I don't see the-"

"Ryn!" Jack hissed.

"Oops..."

Chion stood up out of his throne, glaring at the group.

"So...you have brought the very think I seek to destroy. Very well then."

King Chion summoned a large trident that looked like it was made out of ice, and pointed it at Ryn. In a state of panic, Ryn wasn't sure if she was supposed to whip out her splattershot and fire, or hold her hands up and try to talk her way out of this.

"Wait wait wait, maybe you should...test them first? You could be killing a weak, innocent child who never knowingly did any wrong for all you know!" Corrin exclaimed.

The Infernos looked at him like he was crazy. Unfortunately, they had no time to reply to him or say anything else.

"Fine, if that's how you want to do this..."

Chion pressed the side of his ear, as if...there was some sort of communication device on it. The group could hear him as he spoke.

"Enaz. Korikuma. I need you down in the throne room at once."

The Infernos gulped at this. What was going to happen? Chion slowly lowered his arm so that his hand rested by his side once more. Suddenly, the large doors to the throne room burst open, and within it stood an adult male Rinkling and a...polar bear? They eyed the group, but said nothing as they made their way over to Chion.

"You requested us, your highness?" Enaz asked.

"Yes. I would like Korikuma to test the limits of these cephalopods, including my son and his friends, and if Korikuma fails then you are to fight them afterwards," Chion replied.

"Understood. Let's get to work, then."

Korikuma turned around to face the Infernos as Enaz created a seat of ice next to King Chion.

Welp.

It looked like there was no getting out of this one.