Time had become meaningless on this voyage. Three sleep cycles had passed since departure, yet everything remained unchanged, only the endless white fog. No distinction between day and night. And Saint hadn't brought his old pocket watch, the one he'd left in her care. Fair enough, he'd never asked for it.

'It's cold!'

The thought crossed Halo's mind as he rubbed his shoulders, heading down the passage to the training room. The lights ought to emit warmth, even minimal amounts would help, but they were fighting a losing battle.

Halo still needed to master Death Clone, his True Ability. Jihriel's earlier guidance had helped, but he lacked practice time. Since he had no expendable clones and killing Sinners seemed unlikely in these waters, physical training would have to suffice.

Holly was naturally powerful due to his Beast Sinner origins, facing that kid again in Halo's current state would be suicide.

However, near the training room entrance, something stopped him cold.

Inside, Jihriel tutored White through what looked like an exhausting session. She swayed on her feet, barely standing. Her clothes offered no protection from the cold, her skin had turned ashen, and her brown hair lay motionless, too frozen to move.

But the steel in her gaze told a different story. She wouldn't go down, kept whispering Jihriel's teachings to herself, clinging to each word so she wouldn't lose her grip on the lesson.

Halo ran his hand through his dirty hair reluctantly. He really wanted to train, but with her occupying the room, his chances were nonexistent.

"Hey, Halo…"

While he stood there considering his options, Jihriel caught sight of him and came closer.

"Did you want to train?"

Halo shrugged.

"I didn't expect you guys to be here this early."

Jihriel positioned himself at Halo's side, the two watching White push through her exercises.

"I'm teaching her to use her True Ability properly. More efficiently." Jihriel said.

Halo frowned.

White had mentioned this previously, though Halo couldn't understand how she'd manage it. Her True Ability, Silent Desire, had already consumed too much of her internal reserves.

"How's that going to work?"

Jihriel gestured toward White's hand. Small sparks of flame flickered there, though she struggled to maintain even that much.

"The greater the desire, the greater the consequences, and the effort required. She could wish for the death of the entire Northern Mist if she wanted, but something like that would kill her too."

Jihriel gave his words a beat.

"Lesser desires such as water, fire, or an energy boost only require so much effort. Even so, they take a toll."

Halo furrowed his brow.

"So she's learning how to adapt to the pain?"

Jihriel shook his head in disapproval.

"Do you know how she became an Assassin? Driven by fear of failing her Purpose, she wished for the death of every Sinner on an entire land… Beast and Demonic Sinners were included. It nearly killed her. Beyond the physical injuries, she was completely out cold for a whole month."

Halo remembered Delilah describing it… White's entire body was bleeding, even her eyes, the ability pushing her to death's door. When he'd first heard about Silent Desire, he'd figured it would work that way. Power that immense required sacrifice. As long as she survived it.

"She's holding her own. I think Delilah will be saved."

Halo's expression darkened.

"Wait, you weren't sure?"

Jihriel smiled.

"I won't go that far. It's unlikely they could truly torture Delilah because of her True Ability, Broken Mind, any attack would be ineffective. But this is the Northern Mist we're talking about, and they have Nava. I'm sure they'd find a way."

Torture was familiar to Halo. Very agonizing.

And if Delilah's captors had anyone comparable to Mika, someone cruel wielding a horrific power, then the pain she was experiencing… he didn't want to imagine it.

But still, something wasn't right.

"What's so special about your gift?"

Halo summoned Magnus and transformed it into multiple weapons.

"Honestly, mine's awesome. It can slice through anything and transform into nearly any weapon you can think of."

Jihriel laughed for a moment.

"Your gift is impressive, no kidding. But unlike True Abilities, gifts can't really be shaped. Their true strength stays dormant until you're strong enough to unlock it. Even then, there are differences."

Jihriel examined Magnus's surface, a smile playing at his lips at how absurdly cartoon-like it was.

"Strong as your gift is, it still needs contact to be effective. Some gifts out there don't bother with that, they reach their target no matter what."

Jihriel continued his explanation, though Halo cared less about the theory and more about what his sword could actually do. Only one in a hundred possessed gifts anyway. Whatever Magnus's strength was, the weapon was undeniably formidable.

"They want your gift, right? How exactly are they going to get it?"

Halo gestured at Magnus, or more precisely, at the brown bandages binding his hand to the sword's hilt.

"Even if I wanted to, Magnus won't let go of my hand. It only ever lets go of one hand at a time."

Jihriel's gaze turned distant as he considered how best to phrase it.

"Because it's a gift, it can only be transferred willingly. No one can force it from me. Since they have Delilah, their plan is clear: I reach them and willingly give it up myself to save her. But if that never happens and I die, the God of Darkness can either destroy the gift or pass it on."

The explanation helped, but now Halo was even more curious. Jihriel's reputation for strength came despite never activating his True Ability. His gift had to be extraordinarily powerful to compete with True Abilities on its own.

Halo had his suspicions, including what Delilah had told him, but he wanted confirmation from Jihriel himself. They were supposed to be friends. Instead, the guy just deflected, never answering directly.

Before long, their discussion was interrupted by Brave's arrival, the man panting heavily.

"There… there's an iceberg in the sky."

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