A cold draft rustled through the room, as if the air itself was warning them of an approaching threat…

  "Be on guard," Alice whispered, gripping her bell tighter.

  Noel didn't need to be told twice. She took a step back, eyes scanning their surroundings with keen, predatory focus. "Someone's coming..." she warned lowly.

  The frost on the floor began to crack, spreading outward like spiderwebs.

  A shadow stretched across the wall, too tall, too thin.

  Then came a voice:

  “So… you’ve been handed toys by a relic in antlers.”

  Greed of the Seven Deadly Sins stepped from between two twisted crystal pillars, her form wreathed in jagged violet light. Her eyes burned with cold fury as they locked onto Alice, and the weapons in her hands.

  “How… adorable.”

  She raised one hand. Tendrils of dark energy coiled around her fingers like serpents.

  “Let’s see how long they protect you.”

  Alice's heart jumped as Greed materialized, her presence as menacing as ever. But rather than cower, she stood her ground, the bell and dagger held tight.

  "You won't win," she said firmly, her voice betraying a hint of fear but a whole lot of defiance.

  Greed sneered. "Oh, I always win," she laughed, her voice a cruel mockery of joy. "Especially when I take what I want."

  "I won't let you touch her," Noel said firmly, her arms outstretched protectively in front of Alice.

  Greed's cruel eyes flicked to Noel for a moment, considering her with cold disdain.

  "A reindeer girlie against a Deadly Sin?" she chuckled, her voice dripping with mockery. "You're no saint, little fawn."

  Noel's eyes narrowed, her fists balling. "I'm no 'little fawn'," she agreed. "I'll sure as hell give you a fight.”

  A sinister smile curled on Greed's lips. "A fight, eh?"

  She spread her hands wide in invitation.

  "Come on then," she mocked. "Let this be a lesson in futility when I break your antlers off.”

  The air turned electric.

  Noel lunged first, a blur of snow and fury, her body glowing faintly as she channeled the biting chill of ancient winter.

  But Greed was fast.

  She sidestepped with unnatural grace, catching Noel’s wrist mid-swing and twisting hard. A sharp crack echoed through the chamber.

  “Tsk, tsk,” Greed purred, leaning in close to whisper in her ear, “You’re strong… but strength without strategy is just noise.”

  With a vicious shove, she sent Noel crashing into the wall, snowflakes exploding like shattered glass around her.

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  Alice screamed her name, “NOEL!”, but before she could rush forward:

  Ding…

  The silver bell in her hand began to glow... warm against the ice.

  Alice's eyes flickered to the bell, feeling its unearthly hum as it glimmered.

  "What the…?" she breathed, confusion and hope mixing in her chest.

  Greed glanced over, noticing the glow. Her expression twisted from mocking to a brief flicker of suspicion.

  "What's that?" she hissed, her gaze fixated on the glowing charm.

  A soft chime rang out. It was deep, like a memory waking.

  The glow from the bell pulsed, wrapping around Alice like a shield of light and warmth.

  For just a second… she wasn’t in Euphoria.

  She was standing in a quiet forest at dusk, snow gently falling. Laughter, soft and pure, filled the air. A hand reached for hers: small, familiar… someone she’d long forgotten.

  “You’re not alone.”

  Then, snap back.

  Greed blinked, recoiling slightly as if burned. “What…? That sound, it’s annoying.”

  Alice gasped, clutching the bell tighter. It still hummed in her palm... alive with something ancient.

  And then came Noel’s voice, weak but fierce, from the rubble:

  "That’s it... Use it!"

  Alice looked down at the bell, its warm glow contrasting against the dark ice of her dagger. She didn’t understand it yet, but she felt it.

  Like a lullaby from a forgotten dream.

  With shaky breath, she raised the bell high, and rang it once more.

  Ding…

  This time, the sound rippled.

  A wave of golden light burst outward, soft but powerful, sending Greed stumbling back with a hiss. The violet tendrils around her writhed and snapped like burnt wires. Shadows recoiled from the light; even Euphoria itself seemed to pause.

  Noel lifted her head in awe as frost and warmth spiraled together in harmony.

  "...She's truly using it," Noel whispered, half-dazed. "An Echo Bell... blessed by Primordial Christmas..."

  Greed snarled, clutching her ears. “Shut up! Shut UP!”

  But Alice didn’t stop.

  Tears streamed down her face, not from fear… but from remembering.

  She rang it again.

  DING!

  And this time…

  She smiled through the storm.

  “Not today.”

  The Echo Bell rang on, driving Greed back with each powerful chime.

  "No! NO! NO!" the Sin screamed, her form flickering as the warm, golden light pressed in. "I won't be beaten by a silly bell!"

  Noel stumbled to her feet, holding her broken wrist.

  "Keep going!" She yelled to Alice, her voice ringing loud over the bell. "She's weakening, you're winning!”

  Alice raised the bell higher, her voice steady now , fierce with newfound purpose.

  “I’m not just ringing a bell.”

  She stepped forward.

  “I’m reclaiming myself.”

  And with that, she struck the bell one final time.

  DINGGGG—!!!

  A radiant wave of pure, shimmering light erupted from the Echo Bell, not destructive… but cleansing. It surged through the chamber like dawn breaking over a frozen world.

  Greed screamed as golden threads wrapped around her like vines made of memory and hope. Her shadowy form writhed, unable to withstand what she’d never understood:

  Self-worth.

  Protection.

  Care… given freely.

  With one last shriek of fury: "THIS ISN’T OVER!"—Greed shattered into fading violet sparks that scattered into nothingness.

  Silence followed. Then…

  Soft snow began to fall again in gentle peace.

  Noel limped toward Alice, half-smiling through the pain. “Looks like…” she said softly, “…you really are your own damn hero.”

  Alice trembled, then laughed, a real laugh this time, as tears slipped down her cheeks. “I… I did it.”

  The Connexus in her pocket glowed once more:

  [Bond Forged: Noel – First True Ally]

  Alice wiped her tears and looked at the glowing Connexus message. A small, proud smile formed on her face, something she hadn’t felt in a long time. Not only strength. Belonging.

  Noel limped closer, snow swirling gently around her. She reached out with her good hand and lightly tapped Alice’s forehead with a frost-kissed finger.

  “Don’t get too full of yourself,” she teased, voice weak but warm. “We’re not out of the woods yet.”

  Alice chuckled breathlessly. “Yeah… but we made it through this. And I’m not letting go, not of this power, not of you.”

  She closed the Connexus gently and tucked it away like a treasured secret.

  Then, faintly, echoes in the distance...

  Whispers on frozen wind.

  "She rang the bell…"

  "The lost one has returned…"

  Noel’s ears twitched beneath her antlers. She turned slowly toward the darkness beyond the chamber.

  "...Looks like word got around," she murmured. "You just woke up something ancient."

  Alice stepped beside her, dagger in one hand… bell in the other… no longer afraid.

  "Let them come," she said softly. "I'm ready.”