Rattan tried to move, to flee, but his feet were already stuck, bound to the ground by rapidly forming ice. A chilling numbness crept up his legs, and as his vision blurred, he saw, with dawning horror, that his own eyes were slowly turning into complete ice, the world fading into a frosted pane. Panic, raw and unbridled, finally consumed him. His composure shattered, he screamed into the frozen air, a desperate, guttural cry for his guardian: "Guardian! Help!"
Observing the unfolding catastrophe, Phantom made no move. He was no sixth-tier being, no master of cosmic laws. He held no authority, no inherent power to counter Lyra's dominion, no way to shield Rattan from the inexorable spread of her chilling influence. He watched, a silent, helpless witness to his Rattan agonizing transformation.
