Niwla was sure that he had found a way to enhance the process of creating Ice Arrows. It was just a theory, a magical theory, but he was sure it would work. The only problem was that they were in the middle of a Tribulation, and Ice was definitely on its way to interrogate them about the Tier 2 to Tier 1 Tribulation they were experiencing. But if he wanted to test out his theory, it had to be now, before the fleeting idea disappeared from his mindscape.

Turning inward, he looked toward Winal.

"You're in charge. I need to do something."

With that, Niwla left the control seat, allowing Winal to take over the main body. Just as he was about to enter their Core, Alwin spoke up.

"What about me?"

Niwla turned back, staring at Alwin, then glancing over at Winal. "Look after him, please."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Alwin asked. "I'm the oldest one here. I should be looking after you."

Niwla raised an eyebrow. "You do realize that means more work for you, right?"

"You do realize I was joking," Alwin said. "Of course, you should look after me. I'm the guy who needs the most lookiest looking after of them all."

Niwla disappeared into the Core, leaving Winal and Alwin alone. The slime rolled up to the ant, asking, "So, what now?"

Winal didn't say anything; he just pointed one of his flaming legs at the floor.

"Sit?" Alwin asked.

Winal nodded.

"You got it, boss!"

Too scared to disobey the newly motivated Winal, Alwin followed his orders to the best of his abilities—which wasn't a lot. The slime hopped into the air, performed a front flip, before plopping down onto the ground next to Winal, watching as he tackled the Ice Tribulation.

In the real world, through the hellish snowstorm, a figure emerged. It was Ice. Like the previous Tribulation Beings, Ice held a glowing System Screen tablet in its hand. Ice scrolled through it, icy fingers gliding over the smooth screen. Unlike the other Tribulation Beings, Ice came with his own set of accessories. Frozen sunglasses were over his ice cube head, the reflection of the Screen visible on its dark blue lens. A series of runic letters that seemed to flow even though Ice never touched the Screen could be seen. It was a mystery what he was reading.

"Alwin, again," Ice said, finally looking up from the screen.

Inside their mind, Alwin perked up. He turned to Winal, saying, "Ice is speaking to me, doesn't that mean I should be in charge?"

Once again, Winal didn't say anything. He merely glared at the black-and-white slime, fire, and lightning bursting from each of his eyes.

"Noted," Alwin said, rolling behind the control seat.

Back in the real world, Ice continued to speak, "It says here you've racked up quite a few Tribulations. Mainly from Tier 1 to Tier 2 and from Tier 2 to Tier 1. With a single Tier 2 to Tier 3 Tribulation. I'd be impressed if Light wasn't breathing down my neck. So, tell me, kid, how are you doing it?"

Winal wanted to reply, but found himself at an impasse. He had trouble speaking. And if he wanted to communicate via Spirit Hands, he'd need to make a quick stop at the Core. But Alwin was here. Not the usual Alwin. An Alwin that had been given very explicit instructions to behave. Which meant that the chances of him misbehaving would rise exponentially the moment he was left unsupervised.

The Cold Turkey's beak quivered. Vocal cords tensed and vibrated. Winal could do this. He had to do this. For his other selves—his brothers. For Uchronia. A high-pitched squawk squealed out.

This was harder than he thought.

Winal was about to try again when a pair of Spirit Hands materialized overhead. He hadn't done it. Turning around, inside their mind, Alwin was still there, just sitting. So, it must've been Niwla. Thank you.

Through the main control interface, he hijacked control of the Spirit Hands. Winal started signing to Ice. Fingers dancing slowly in the frigid wind. He'd straighten this out with the Tribulation Beings, just like what Niwla wanted to do.

"Ice," Winal signed. "The reason that we are able to trigger a Tier 2 to Tier 1 Tribulation isn't because of some anomaly. It is much simpler than that. It is a product of my Core Skill. It is Cor's Blessing. Please update my file and apologize to Light on my behalf. I'm sorry for taking up your time."

Yet, for some reason, the Cold Turkey's beak started to move on its own at the exact same time. Between gesticulating hands or a voice, it was easy to see which one Ice would pay attention to.

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"No idea, Ice," the Cold Turkey said. "It just happens. No complaints though, since I get to see such a cool guy like you."

"Flattery won't get you far," Ice said. "But it works for me. I'll consider this investigation as inconclusive. Happy Tribulation, Alwin."

A gust of wind blew across the Cold Turkey's face, causing Niwla to instinctively squint. Just like that, Ice was gone, leaving him alone with the multitude of System Screens that continued to blow in absurd amounts of snow. It piled up high beneath his feet, blanketing the floor, but that was nothing for the naturally Ice Element Cold Turkey, along with that orange and white fur coat, which provided more than enough Ice Resistance to the cold.

If this Tribulation was anything like his first Ice Tribulation, all he had to do was wait out the cold. That was plenty easy. Taking the opportunity, Winal decided to investigate why the main body suddenly started speaking on its own.

Within their mind, Winal looked back once more. Behind the control seat was a certain no-good Slime, whistling away and avoiding eye contact. His eyes darted left and right, traveling all around the room, landing everywhere but on Winal.

Try as he might, Alwin's eyes eventually made their way to the flaming and electrifying ant. His compound eyes speaking more volumes than the quivering of his elemental mandibles.

Winal gave him a look that said, "Was that you?"

Alwin couldn't help but open his big fat mouth. "Maybe." He continued whistling before saying, "Niwla made me do it. I heard his voice telling me so."

Winal wasn't satisfied with that answer. Flames and lightning poured out of his body in droves as he got out of the control seat. He slowly inches his way toward Alwin. Each clack of his six legs leaving scorch marks on the floor of their shared mind.

Alwin shrank down, compressing his slimy body into as small a ball as possible. He whimpered, scared of what's to come.

Suddenly, a voice blared out from their Core.

"Alwin! Come here! I need your expertise!"

It was Niwla.

"S-S-See," Alwin stammered. "I told you Niwla was talking to me."

Before Winal could get another good glare in, Alwin started rolling towards their Core. The further he moved, the larger his ball-like body began to expand, until he was back to being a regular-sized Slime. Though he did lose a little bit of his mass. A questionable wet trail behind him proved so. If anyone asked, it was just sweat from how hot Alwin was.

Inside the Core, Alwin rolled up to find Niwla in front of a disassembled Mental Freezer. The door had been ripped free from its hinges, while the mini snowstorm that only Alwin could create remained exposed to the elements—or was it exposing itself to the surroundings since it was technically the elements—either way, how dare Niwla treat his creation with such disrespect?

Alwin opened his mouth, prepared to chastise Niwla for what he did, but he was beaten to the punch, literally. Niwla, taking a page from Commander Cooper, punched Alwin straight across his black-and-white jaw, using his Turkey wing.

"What was that for?" Alwin cried out.

"A lot of things, but that's not what I called you here for. I need you to modify your snowstorm."

"Why? It's already perfect. You can't change perfection," Alwin huffed.

Niwla already knew what to say to get Alwin to do his bidding.

"True. Your snowstorm is perfect. Something only you can do. But what if I told you there's a way to make it even more perfect?"

"That doesn't make sense, but I'm listening."

"The best way to make something more perfect is to make more of the perfect things. In other words, I need you to make more of your perfect snowstorms."

"Why didn't you just say so?" Alwin said. "Anything to show off my awesomeness."

Dark storm clouds started to gather near the top of the Core. A cascade of white, mirroring what was happening in the real world, plunged the Core into an Ice age. Snow blanketed everything, even Winal's brand-new Mental Hand Conveyor Belt thing that was really gross to think about. They were weight-sensitive. The moment something landed on them, they'd start moving, delivering heaps of snow to the edge of the Core.

What a waste of Mental brain power, Alwin sighed, acting as if he wasn't the one who triggered it.

"Okay, Alwin. Now I need you to lower the snowstorm, close to the ground."

"But why? They should be high up there, because they are perfection incarnate."

"Because you're more perfect than them. You made them. They should be below you, not looking down on you from high up in the sky."

"You make a good point, Niwla."

Alwin focused on the snowstorm, bringing them close to the ground, just like what Niwla had wanted.

"Great, just like that. Now, do you think you can create a tornado? One that sucks in air from the bottom and brings it to the top?"

"Probably. Why, though?"

"Think of it as punishment for the snowstorm, thinking they're better than you."

"That's a genius idea, Niwla. No wonder you're the second smartest guy here."

Alwin spun his body around in circles, rotating faster and faster with every passing second. Wind was being kicked up, rustling Niwla's feathers. With one final scream, Alwin hopped into the air.

The small tornado separated from his body and flowed toward the center of the storm clouds. As it travelled, it steadily grew until a massive tornado wreaked havoc in his Core, sending ludicrous amounts of snow launching high up into the sky.

"That'll teach you, snowstorm!" Alwin shouted.

"It's perfect."

"Of course it is, I made it."

Niwla ignored him. He was done with Alwin for the most part. Now he needed Winal. But first, a little test.

He got out a pair of Mental Hands along with a bucket. They scooped up some Mana and moved closer to the eye of the storm. The hands, along with the bucket, couldn't even get close to the tornado. They froze over, generating Ice Mana, only for all of it to be wasted as the Mental Hands crashed into the storm clouds on the floor, unable to move anymore.

More than perfect.

With Winal, they'd be able to properly set up the brand-new, super freezer. It was more than perfect for creating Ice Mana and thus Ice Arrows.

All of a sudden, their Core began to shake. The Ice Essence around it was melting, molding around their body, reshaping them.

The Ice Tribulation was over. Time to see what they Devolved into. Then, Winal would help him make the final adjustments inside their Core.

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