Grand Return System-Chapter 64: Frost and Flame Beneath the Same Sky

Frost and Flame Beneath the Same Sky

"I have a technique," Leon continued, stepping closer. "Heaven rank. It suits you."

Her pupils widened just a fraction.

"For me?"

"For you."

A hush came with the breeze, pulling shadows long across the sand. There she stayed - threads of silver falling like quiet rain behind her, a close-cut cloak of brilliant white tracing each lean line at her middle, the faint blue band drawing sight without asking. Cloth lifted now and then, brushing low against her limbs, murmuring where it met unbroken skin. Still, inside that grace, a thinness showed.

Leon saw it.

That small, careful look in her eyes.

The look of someone who had once lost everything—and feared losing again.

Seeing this careful girl, Leon’s heart softened. His voice dropped, warmer now. "Sit down. Now that your Amethyst Summit Division swordsmanship has reached perfection, it’s time for me to teach you another secret technique."

The light in Selena’s blue eyes flickered brighter. The faint shadow that had lingered there dissolved almost instantly.

So... he hadn’t forgotten her.

"Alright, thank you, Teacher." She smiled—pure, unguarded—and gracefully lowered herself to sit before him.

Leon’s lips curved faintly. He had indeed sensed her earlier disappointment. And now, watching her smile again, he felt an unexpected ease settle in his chest.

Rias still had a kingdom behind her—even if she rejected it. But Selena... she had no one left.

He was her only pillar.

If he ever allowed her to feel abandoned, even for a moment—

That would be unforgivable.

"Today," Leon said steadily, "I will teach you the Hell Blizzard Technique. This is a Heaven-ranked secret technique. It is profound and merciless. You must cultivate diligently. If you encounter any doubts, ask me. Do not cultivate blindly."

"Yes, yes. Don’t worry, Teacher. I will remember."

She straightened slightly, serious now.

Leon stepped forward and extended two fingers, gently tapping between her brows.

The transmission began.

Cold.

That was her first sensation.

Not the chill of desert night.

Not the coolness of evening wind.

This was abyssal frost—an ancient, devouring cold that seemed to originate from a forgotten underworld.

The Hell Blizzard Technique surged into her consciousness like a sealed storm finally released. Ancient glyphs unfolded within her mind, each stroke etched with ruthless clarity. It was not gentle snowfall.

It was annihilation concealed in silence.

"Focus," Leon murmured quietly. "Guide your Mana inward. Let the cold originate from the bone—not from the air."

Selena obeyed without hesitation.

Her Divine Ice Bones responded immediately.

A tremor ran through her delicate frame.

The lingering warmth of the Yellow Desert recoiled.

Frost spread outward from her core—spiraling through her meridians like crystalline rivers. Unlike Rias’s explosive flame, Selena’s power compressed inward. It condensed. Refined.

The temperature around them plummeted.

Rias instinctively stepped back, crimson silk robes fluttering, her D-cup chest rising slightly with surprise as the air grew sharp enough to sting her skin. "Senior Sister..." she murmured, half astonished, half competitive.

Tiny shards of frost formed midair—glittering like fractured stars—before dissolving into pale mist.

Selena’s breathing slowed.

Steady.

Controlled.

The technique was deeper than anything she had practiced before. Each circulation cycle strengthened the structure of her spiritual core. The frost did not rage—it stabilized. It anchored her.

Her aura expanded.

Not violently.

But inevitably.

Leon watched closely, violet eyes narrowing slightly in focus.

Good.

The synchronization was near flawless.

The Hell Blizzard Technique did not conflict with her Divine Ice Bones. It magnified them. Elevated them.

Her frost no longer merely froze.

It devoured heat itself.

Rias felt it clearly now. The pressure from moments ago had balanced. Flame and frost stood on equal footing once again.

Selena opened her eyes.

They were clearer now. Brighter. Colder—but not distant.

"Teacher..."

There was no trace of doubt in her tone.

Only gratitude.

Leon exhaled softly, only now realizing he had been holding his breath.

He had worried unnecessarily.

Still—

The thought that she had almost felt overlooked lingered like a bruise.

"Practice it slowly," he said calmly. "Do not rush. The deeper the frost becomes, the calmer your heart must remain."

Selena nodded firmly. "I understand."

Rias folded her arms lightly, tilting her head with a playful smile. "Looks like Senior Sister won’t lose to me so easily."

Selena glanced at her. A faint curve touched her lips.

"Of course not."

For a moment, the tension dissolved into something warmer—balanced.

Ice and fire.

Opposites.

Yet both orbiting the same center.

Leon looked between them quietly.

Two extremes.

Two pillars of his future.

He nodded and formally completed the imparting of the Hell Blizzard Technique. Soon, Selena fully received the scripture within her consciousness. It was her first true encounter with a Heaven-ranked frost art.

Her Divine Ice Bones reacted violently—as though awakened by a long-awaited call.

Selena closed her eyes again and entered cultivation.

Time passed quietly.

The cold aura around her intensified further. She sat like an iceberg beneath starlight—untouchable, dignified. The purity in her expression was untainted by scheming or ambition. She was like untouched snow—simple, sincere, unwavering.

This technique suited her perfectly.

Before long, she grasped the profundities of the Hell Blizzard Technique and began weaving it together with the Amethyst Mist Sword’s sword intent. Frost-laced sword energy subtly condensed around her fingers, sharper, more precise than before.

Rias watched in awe.

"She’s... amazing," she muttered softly.

Leon did not interrupt either of them. Both had entered deep cultivation states.

He simply moved to sit nearby, guarding them.

The desert night fully descended.

Once night fell, the Yellow Desert turned into something else. Cold crept in where daytime warmth had pressed hard just hours before. Moonlight lifted over the dunes, painting the sand in shades of pale purple and ash. Silence grew louder as the sky darkened above.

Fireside shadows flickered over Akeno’s dark robe as she worked without sound. When the chill around Selena softened, so did the heat from Rias, now calm like embers after rain.

One of them crouched down first, followed by the others who drifted close behind. Smoke curled between their faces when they settled near the flames. A moment passed before any spoke - just watching how light danced across palms stretched outward.

Morning light crept across the ground while Leon turned the meat on low flames. Smoke curled upward, mixing with the sharp chill of dawn.

Fireside glow danced across Rias’s hair as she tilted forward a little. Quiet settled around, making her voice come soft. Tonight just seems calm, she said

Sitting next to him, Selena held herself tall but loose. That feels right

Warm water filled the plain cups as Akeno handed one to each person there. She moved without hurry, her hands steady near the rim.

Under stars, their faces caught the light - each one distinct, each carrying a separate mood that spoke without words. One stood quiet, eyes distant; another shifted on her feet, restless; the third held still, watching Leon like she already knew what he’d say. The night air didn’t stir much, yet something between them did.

A single presence, clear like winter’s first chill.

A spark that burns like firelight. It glows without warning. Light leaps through dark air. Brightness arrives sudden, sharp.

A presence that moves like dusk, steady and watchful. Stillness shaped by years, seeing without needing light.

Fireside sounds broke the quiet now and then. The flames dipped low between gusts of night air.

Just silence this time. Pressure stayed away. Politics didn’t show up.

Just warmth.

A small bite, then her face lit up. Cooking done by Teacher just hits different 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Sure thing, she said, eyes losing their edge as a quiet heat spread across her face. That’s right. It really does

A soft laugh slipped out of Leon. He tried to hold it back, yet the moment was too much.

Frozen air bit at the dunes while fire crackled nearby. The heat curled over sand like a slow breath, even as ice held tight to shadowed stone.

For once in several days, a quiet kind of joy settled over everyone.