SSS Class Mythic Beast Master-Chapter 397: In A Daze

Reinhard paused after seeing Odin nod, and then his eyes narrowed. He began cutting through the overwhelming information to focus on something equally critical. "What about Anna?"

"Hm?" Odin's response came casual, almost too casual.

Reinhard scoffed. "Don't give me that. It's suspicious how things are... First, you are my Beast Spirit, and then somehow my little brother has Surtr!?" His voice rose with each word. "I don't believe that means my little sister isn't connected or special."

Odin chuckled lightly, the sound carrying acknowledgment of being caught. "Smart... Your little sister has Ymir."

Reinhard froze completely with his expression widened in shock and disbelief, mouth opening slightly, eyes going enormous.

Odin nodded, the horned helmet tilting with something that might have been sympathy. "You three siblings are given the greatest and cruelest fate."

Reinhard gritted his teeth as his anger and terror mixed with a desperate need for information. "Will something bad happen to her?"

Odin fell silent.

The pause that stretched on for seconds felt like an eternity to Reinhard.

When Odin finally spoke, his voice came soft and almost gentle. "She will freeze the entire world into a plane of stasis and eternity."

Everything froze before the void shattered.

Reinhard felt himself falling, reality fragmenting around him into countless shards. He struggled against the pull of waking, screaming at Odin through the collapsing dream space. "What does that mean!? How can I stop it!?"

But Odin didn't answer.

The figure on Sleipnir faded into darkness, becoming translucent and then fully gone. Only the echo of those final words remained in Reinhard's mind.

She will freeze the entire world into a world of stasis and eternity.

Darkness fully took Reinhard.

…

Reinhard gasped as his eyes snapped open to the villa ceiling.

The solid wood beams crossing overhead, shadows playing across them from moonlight filtering through the windows. His chest heaved with ragged breaths as sweat soaked through his shirt completely, fabric clinging to skin that felt simultaneously hot and cold.

For several seconds, Reinhard couldn't move and processed what he learned in the dream. The weight of everything Odin had revealed pressed down on him, making him feel like he was being crushed by the sea itself.

Klein and Anna…

Both are carrying Beast Spirits of beings from his creation dreams. Both were destined for catastrophes that would consume the world.

Seven years until Klein's mind would be obliterated and his body would become a continental funeral pyre.

And Anna... how long until she froze everything into eternal stasis? Odin hadn't said. Hadn't given a timeline but just the terrible certainty that it would happen.

Reinhard sat up slowly, his hands shook from the tremors running through his fingers. That had faced down Phantasm Beasts and First Class Beast Master without fear.

But this... this was different, these threats involved his siblings…

He stood on unsteady legs, taking off his shirt and exchanging it with another black one before moving toward the door. His feet carried him through the villa's darkened hallway without conscious thought. Moonlight painted everything in silver and shadow with bits of it shining over his form.

The door to his siblings' room stood slightly ajar before Reinhard pushed it open carefully, the hinges silent. Moonlight streamed through the window, illuminating three beds arranged against the walls.

Klein slept in the nearest bed; his small form was curled in a ball. His brown hair spread across the pillow, face peaceful and relaxed in a way that would have been impossible months ago. No pain twisted his features, no curse marked his skin.

He was now just a ten-year-old boy sleeping soundly for the first time in years.

Reinhard moved closer, each step careful and quiet before kneeling beside Klein's bed, light blue eyes taking in every detail.

The gentle rise and fall of Klein's chest, the slight smile playing at the corners of his mouth, and him probably dreaming about something happy. The complete absence of the shadows that had lived under his eyes for so long.

Seven years until this all disappears… Reinhard thought, the number echoing in his mind. Until Surtr's embers converge and Klein's mind shatters under the weight of accumulated suffering from every Dark Tide victim in history.

His hand moved almost of its own accord, fingers gently running through Klein's soft brown hair. The boy shifted slightly at the touch but didn't wake, just settled deeper into peaceful sleep.

"I won't let it happen," Reinhard whispered, voice barely audible even to himself. "Whatever it takes. However impossible it is, I'll become a True Beast Master and seal those flames. You'll get to continue being happy and free like this, Klein… I promise."

The words felt simultaneously like steel conviction and motivation for Reinhard to continue pushing his limits. But looking at Klein's peaceful face, Reinhard knew he'd attempt the impossible.

Because the alternative was unthinkable.

He leaned forward, pressing a gentle kiss to Klein's forehead, then stood and moved to the next bed.

Anna slept on her back, curly black hair spread across the pillow like a dark halo. Her crimson eyes were closed, long lashes resting against her cheeks. One hand curled near her face while the other stretched out toward Klein's bed.

Even in sleep, her protective instincts toward her brother are evident.

Reinhard knelt beside her bed, and the weight in his chest grew heavier. His perceptive little sister, who noticed things others missed. Who'd cried tears of overwhelming relief when Klein was cured, and had suffered watching her brother's agony for years without being able to help.

And inside her resided Ymir.

The primordial giant from his creation dreams, the being whose body had been split apart to create the world itself.

She will freeze the entire world into a world of stasis and eternity.

What did that even mean? Would Anna become trapped in ice like Ymir had been in those dreams? Would she lose herself completely? Or would she remain conscious while her Beast Spirit transformed everything into frozen wasteland?

Reinhard's hand trembled as he reached out, gently running his fingers across Anna's forehead and through her curly hair. The movement was tender, protective, carrying all the love and terror he couldn't express in words.

"I don't know how to save you yet…" Reinhard whispered, voice cracking slightly. "Odin didn't tell me. Didn't give me a timeline or method, but just like with Klein, I'll find a way."

Anna shifted slightly in her sleep, a small sound escaping her lips before it shifted to a faint smile. Reinhard leaned forward, pressing a kiss to her forehead just as he had to Klein's, then moved to the final bed.

Anasha slept curled on her side, long blue hair spilling across the pillow and down toward the floor. She'd been through so much, losing her entire family in Mensis Town.

Witnessing horrors no child should see, and forgiving Brunhilde for nearly killing her with wisdom beyond her years.

And now she slept peacefully in a room with his siblings, accepted as family without question or hesitation.