Cooperation?

The north, Snow City.

It was a city built deep in the snowy plains, at the northernmost edge of the country. Snow covered it seven months of the year. At its coldest, a breath would turn to tiny ice crystals in midair.

The harsh climate had given rise to a culture all its own: drinking.

The people of Snow City loved to drink, and they knew how to brew.

Taverns of every size dotted the city, from breweries that could hold hundreds to tiny shops tucked at the ends of alleys with room for only a single bar. After nightfall, the scent of malt and spirits drifted through the streets.

At that moment, a girl in a black dress sat at the corner of the bar in an unassuming little tavern on the south side of town.

Yang Qianyan propped her chin on one hand. Three empty bottles stood before her, and the fourth was more than half gone.

She looked miserable.

It wasn't the alcohol.

"Everything you're doing is meaningless."

"You just want somewhere to vent your grievances."

Death God's words still stuck in her ears like thorns. They had echoed through her mind ever since the day she arrived in Snow City.

Worse, she couldn't argue with them.

Death God had never spared her with her sharp tongue. They were sisters bound by blood, after all, and had spent decades together. Their relationship had long since passed the point where ordinary rules applied.

Death God knew this was how she needed to speak to her.

It wasn't as though Yang Qianyan had never argued with Death God. She had always felt that part of her hatred for Love came from wanting to stand up for Death God. But Death God had never understood her. Instead, she kept calling