"Evein Coaster made his decision and now must face the consequences. Now, without Simma-Ron, he must confront the dangers lurking in the northern forest, unaware of what awaits behind every shadow and tree..."

The wolves were after him, five enormous wolves with dark, bristly fur and sharp fangs. Evein was already tired, not knowing how long he had wandered among the vast army of pine trees. He didn't hear howls; there was no need. He could see the wolves surrounding him, preparing to claim him as their prey.

Finally, the biggest of them lunged at the boy. Evein quickly struck it with the sword's blade. A second wolf pounced on him. Evein was surprised by how fast they were; they were not ordinary wolves. Even with the collective memories and experiences of all the Saint Joseph of Arimathea users who preceded him, coursing through his body. It wasn't enough to prevent the wolf's bite. At first, he only saw the wolf sink its teeth into his right leg. A second later, a pain engulfed him.

Evein raised the sword and tried to hit the wolf, which instantly released him and backed off. They adapted to their prey. Another wolf grabbed his arm from behind, almost making Evein stumble, they were trying to force him to drop the sword. The boy raised Saint Joseph again to attack the wolf tugging at his arm, and as Evein raised the sword, the wolf retreated.

There was no chance of defeating them. Three days had passed without eating anything; he was cold, and the blood he was losing from the wounds made him dizzy... So, the boy decided to run with all he had.

He reached the river, which was frozen. Without hesitation, Evein began to cross it, the wolves pursuing him without fear, knowing the ice was thick enough to run on its frozen surface.

Three wolves then ran alongside Evein, passing him only to turn around and block his path.

"I'm cornered," thought Evein. As the wolves behind him closed in, he realized he had one last chance.

The teenager raised the sword and with a strong blow, pierced into the ice surface, which started to crack and finally broke. Both Evein and the wolves fell into the freezing waters of the immense river. However, the moment the boy hit the water, he realized he couldn't move his body; his body heat had run out.

Evein sank.

"Sorry, Yavine, but this is where your brother's journey ends," Evein said to himself.

In his mind, Evein saw his sister Obvine and Yavine looking out the dining room window at the snowy, blinding light, while he could only watch from a distance...

Everything went black.

Then he felt the warmth of a hand on his forehead. Evein slowly opened his eyes. A blurry silhouette of a woman was sitting beside him...

"Simma?" Evein weakly asked.

"I see you've woken up," the woman said. Her voice was different from Simma's, more authoritative and commanding. The woman was young, with brown hair, but there was something unusual about her; moss seemed to grow from her eyes, and her hair was full of tiny flowers. She wore a brown leather jacket and thick riding pants. Her eyes were green and bright. But the most striking thing was the pair of butterfly wings growing on her back.

"Don't move, I'll go get the boss."

"¿What?" asked Evein. The young man tried to get up but couldn't; instantly realizing he was inside a tent. He lay on a bed with several animal skins over his pale body. The only sound around was the crackling of wood in the brass fireplace that warmed the entire makeshift dwelling.

Then, on the other side of the tent, the sound of someone walking on the snow was heard. Soon after, a relatively young man entered the tent. He wore a cowboy hat on his head and a thick leather jacket, quite handsome with a well-trimmed beard.

"Ah, good to see you awake. You were lucky we were close to the river," the man said in a jovial tone and sat next to Evein.

"Who... who are you?" asked the boy in an almost inaudible voice.

"But where are my manners! You can call me Nicholas," the man replied. "And you are?"

"What?" Evein tried to say something but then fell silent. After all, he didn't know if this man was on Alexander Noelius's side...

Nicholas then exhaled disappointedly.

"So should I just call you the User of Saint Joseph of Arimathea?" Nicholas asked and pulled out the heavy sword from under Evein's bed.

Evein couldn't help but be a little amazed by the man's ability to wield the sword. However, San José's color was different. It looked dull, gray, not scarlet like when Evein held it.

"It was very hard to retrieve it from the river's bottom, you know?" Nicholas said to Evein.

The cowboy handled the sword as if it were nothing and then left it leaning against the foot of the bed.

"What are you talking about, Nicholas? It was I, the one who pulled that sword from the river!" the woman with butterfly wings replied, pointing at herself and pouting a bit.

"Bayley, please, can't you see I'm trying to make a good first impression?" said Nicholas..

"You can make a good first impression, lying." replied the woman with butterfly wings.

Then Nicholas looked back at Evein.

"Boy, relax. If we wanted to harm you, we would have done it while you were unconscious, not now that you're awake. Do you think if I wanted to harm you, I would have had Hayley pull your almost lifeless body out of the river?"

"Ha! Finally you acknow..."

"Hayley, please! Can't you see this isn't about you? There's no 'me' in a team. And here, we're all on the same team," Nicholas responded quickly, interrupting the woman with butterfly wings.

"Evein... Evein Coaster," the teen finally said.

"What were you doing here, Evein Coaster?" the woman asked.

"I was looking for the guerrilla..."

Nicholas and the woman with wings exchanged an uncomfortable glance and then started laughing.

"Well...you don't have to look anymore," Bayley replied.

"You've found it. I am the leader of this guerrilla," Nicholas responded, pointing to himself proudly with his gloved hand.

Then, the woman raised her hand over Evein's head. An amber light illuminated Evein's face. Instantly, he felt his body warming up to its optimum state. He no longer felt cold or tired. This finally allowed the boy to sit up in bed.

"We'll leave you alone for a moment to dress, but don't take too long," Nicholas said.

The two warriors left Evein inside. He got out of the blankets and realized he wasn't even wearing his underwear. However, he saw a change of clothes on a chair at one end of the tent. It was different from what he was wearing: black woolen pants, a thick shirt, a black military jacket, and leather boots. When he dressed, he felt the clothes magically adjust to his silhouette.

The teenager then walked towards Saint Joseph of Arimathea. When he grabbed the handle, the blade quickly lit up again with scarlet radiance. Then he noticed a leather sheath beside Saint Joseph.

"They probably left it for me to sheathe the sword. I don't know what they want from me, but in the end, that's what Simma wanted, for me to join the guerrilla. I wonder if they've been looking for me too," Evein thought.

Evein adjusted the sword sheath strap on his back. Then he left the tent. He was surprised to find himself inside a military camp. Elves, dwarves, centaurs, fauns, fairies, and other humanoid creatures were engaged in various activities.

"Evein Coaster, over here!" Bayley exclaimed. She waved her hand in the air for Evein to approach a tent where some guerrilleros were analyzing a map of the region. The boy approached the tent, and instantly, all voices fell silent as they saw Evein enter. They observed him with curiosity and caution; after all, Evein was still a stranger.

"Comrades, I want to introduce you to Evein Coaster, User of Saint Joseph of Arimathea: a Banned Warrior of Christendom," Nicholas said, raising his fist proudly in front of everyone at the table. "With him among our ranks, we can execute this plan."

"What plan?" Evein asked."

Nicholas then gestured for Evein to come closer to him. When Evein arrived, both looked at the map. On it, there were some strange figures shaped like wooden spiders carrying buildings on their backs.

"Kringle," Nicholas pronounced. "Kringle is moving his troops north through his company's mobile factories. I have no doubt he'll try to finish us off. However, he overestimates his forces. He may have a greater number of troops, but he doesn't know we have a banned warrior of Christendom on our side." The guerrilla leader traced the map with his finger; drawn on the paper were a series of paths surrounded by mountain ranges and hills. "Kringle's monstrous factories can't move through the trails or penetrate the thickets of the northern forest, so to reach our camp, they'll have to cross through Vater-Johan's pass. And that's where we'll have the advantage of the terrain on our side," Nicholas replied.

"We'll still have casualties," Bayley replied. "If Kringle has brought his troops, it's because he expects a strong and continuous battle. Why else would the elf bring his factories unless he expects to mobilize an army? I doubt he brought the troops just to face us."

"I know Kringle better than anyone; I know that if he sees me, he'll attack. And that's what we'll use as our advantage," the guerrilla leader replied.

"Kringle has faced you before; your presence isn't a sign that we'll win."

"With Evein on our side, we'll win. I'm sure of that." Nicholas then looked up at Evein. "You'll help us, right?"

Evein exhaled...

"Yes," Evein replied.

The meeting ended shortly after.

Another place, another story...

The goblin looked at the boy from a certain distance as he didn't feel like getting close to him. However, he had to admit that the boy stood out—tall, with coppery hair, an athletic body. Despite wearing heavy silver armor and the red cloak with the king's coat of arms... it was that damned axe shining with scarlet light hanging on his back that terrified the goblin.

"Saint Ivan of Orthodoxia."

"What's the matter, Kringle? I can sense that you're staring at me with great astonishment," the guy with a deep voice asked. The young man looked over his shoulder at the goblin, and Kringle felt a little fear in front of his amber eyes.

"I'm just wondering if bringing you alone will be enough," the goblin replied.

"Our goal is to stop Jack Frost's rebellion, isn't it, Kringle? If I recall correctly, Jack Frost controls the frost, ice, and snow, but facing an army of snowmen doesn't seem worse than fighting Rattenfanger."

"Yes... but in Rattenfanger's front, you had the support of the royal army, The Nussnacker, mercenaries and the pillars of Advent. Here, it's only my personal guard and you," the angry goblin replied.

However, the banned warrior of Christendom just smirked.

"Even after seeing my skill with Saint Ivan de Orthodoxia, even after witnessing how I survived the Charbonnier's pit, do you still think I'm weak?"

"Of course, you are. After all, you're a human, unpredictable and full of mistakes, Faux Brawler. You're insidious, violent and temperamental," Kringle replied.

"Do you fear I might betray Santa Claus? I've told you, I've sworn allegiance to the king, Alexander Noelius IV."

"Yet, you're a Banned Warrior of Christendom and a user of the dreaded axe Saint Ivan of Orthodoxia," Kringle replied. "Of course, I'd distrust you; it's your destiny using that weapon, to overthrow the king."

"I've already told you, I'm not like the user of Saint Catalina of Assis, or the user of Saint Joseph of Arimathea" Faux replied. "I am the King's Fist of Justice. I could have allied with Jack Frost, but my loyalty lies with the king, unshaken."

"Maybe I would trust you if you had managed to capture the Scarlet Knight; the user of Saint Catalina escaped you on the frontline."

"And you're still on about that. Behind the Scarlet Knight are Sylvia Silverhaus's forces, who are not as reliable as you think, Kringle, and worse... the benefactor of the Scarlet Knight is Ella: the Winter Queen. The power of Saint Ivan isn't enough to face winter in person," Faux replied. "Besides, I'd also have my reasons for not trusting in you, and your apparently loyalty to the king."

"How dare you doubt my loyalty to the king! I've been loyal to him for over 10,000 years!" Kringle replied, angrily. However, Faux didn't bother to look directly at him.

"It must be hard for you to face the rebel, Nicholas; after all, you raised him, didn't you, Kringle?"

"How do you know that?" Kringle asked astonished.

Faux smiled and then looked over his shoulder at the little goblin.

"Who do you think told me?, Kringle."

"It was Christmas Past, wasn't she? the little gossipy ghost of Christmas Past. I told the king it wasn't a good idea to give her a position as one of the pillars of Advent." Replied the goblin.

"Oh, on the contrary, if there's someone who has shown legitimate loyalty to the king, it's been Christmas Past. Don't blame her, Kringle; it was me who asked about your past," Faux replied with another mocking smile.

"Have you told the others?" Kringle asked, angry.

"No. Relax, Kringle. I have no interest in taking away your position as a Pillar of Advent or stripping your place as the king's advisor. You are his head and reason; I am just his executor," Faux replied.

Snow began to fall, yet Faux's expression was of concern.

"Frost..." the Banned Warrior of Christendom announced. "Kringle, our journey together ends here. Jack Frost is near, and King Noelius's commanded me to deal with him before it's too late."

"Yes, you take care of him while we cross Vater-Johan's Canyon. Don't take too long; Nicholas guerrilla could be close."

Faux Brawler then jumpedand dropped from the factory into the snowy path.