The Sword Field fell into silence.
The stray dogs had vanished.The air felt colder than it should.And the man with the wooden sword stood across from Fridge Sama like he had been carved from stone.
Tatsu raised a hand weakly."Um, can we talk about this before we commit to violence."
The swordsman answered by slamming his heel into the ground.A sharp gust of wind circled him, lifting dust in a swirling spiral.
Tatsu lowered his hand."Okay, that is a no."
The swordsman pointed at Fridge Sama."My sword master told me a man of cold wind would appear. He said I must fight him and see the truth of my blade."
Fridge Sama looked disappointed."You people and your training arcs."
He stepped forward.Tatsu grabbed his arm.
"Hey, hey, wait. You are not going to fight him, right. You barely woke up. You have not eaten anything."
"I do not need food," Fridge Sama said.
"You have not had grape soda," Tatsu clarified.
Fridge Sama paused.
"Perhaps I will fight."
The swordsman sprinted forward in a straight line.No warning.No testing of distance.Just pure speed and momentum.
His wooden blade swung at Fridge Sama with a force that would break bones if it landed.
Tatsu flinched.
But the blade never reached its mark.
Fridge Sama shifted only one step, gentle and precise, and the sword sliced through nothing but air.
The swordsman spun and attacked again.Again, Fridge Sama moved just barely.A tilt of the head.A lean to the side.He avoided every strike with the smallest possible motion.
Tatsu watched with wide eyes.
"He is dodging like he is in slow motion."
"He is attacking in slow motion," Fridge Sama said without emotion.
The swordsman heard that and snarled, pouring more aura into his swing.Lightning cracked across his arms as he jumped into the air, blade raised high.
Tatsu screamed, "Watch out."
The blade came down.
Fridge Sama raised one finger.
Just one.
The wooden sword struck his fingertip and stopped.Completely.As if it had hit a mountain.
A small shockwave rippled through the field.
Tatsu's jaw dropped.The swordsman froze in disbelief, mid stance, suspended like a broken animation frame.
Fridge Sama tilted his head."Wood," he said calmly. "It was never going to work."
He flicked his finger.
The swordsman was launched backward five meters, landing on his feet only by desperate instinct.
He looked stunned but not afraid.More like a man who had been handed an answer to a question he did not know he had asked.
"Your control is perfect," the swordsman breathed."What are you."
"Cold," Fridge Sama said.
"And annoying," Tatsu added.
The swordsman steadied his breath, then bowed deeply.
"I understand now. Master was right to warn me."He lifted his head."You are not someone I can challenge."
Tatsu blinked."That is it. No more fighting."
Fridge Sama nodded once.
But the swordsman held up a hand.
"There is one more thing," he said.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded paper.
It was a flyer.
Tatsu recognized it immediately.
Tower of Trials RegistrationTen days left
The swordsman offered it with respect.
"My master said to give this to the cold one. He said your arrival means the tower will shift. He said to tell you something."
Fridge Sama's eyes narrowed slightly.
"What did he say."
The swordsman swallowed.
"He said the tower remembers. And it reacts to the one who once…"
He stopped.
Suddenly his eyes widened.His mouth snapped shut like something invisible clamped it closed.
He gasped, clutching his throat.The message was being suppressed.
Fridge Sama stepped forward.
"What did he say," he asked again, voice low.
The swordsman strained to speak.Only one word escaped his lips.
"Return."
Then he collapsed on his knees, sweating, unable to say anything further.
The air grew colder.
Tatsu looked at Fridge Sama.
"Hey," he whispered. "What does that mean."
Fridge Sama did not answer.
His gaze stayed locked on the flyer in his hand.
The Sword Field around them felt as still as frozen water.
Something unseen had interfered.Something strong enough to silence a message.
And for the first time since Tatsu met him,Fridge Sama looked genuinely troubled.