CHAPTER 9.3
After days of travel, they finally entered the forest—the zone where the battle was located.
Some time passed, and a giant appeared on the path. Upon spotting the humans, it charged, each step echoing with a boom.
Poul, who had been lost in thought, snapped out of it with the giant's footsteps, looking around.
Spotting the enemy, Poul quickly ran to the front line, a sword of ice in his hand. He dashed forward, the Hero of Ice jumping toward the giant and delivering a horizontal slash.
Mid-air, Poul dispelled the sword and launched a shard of ice that embedded itself in the giant's armor.
The Hero of Ice lunged at the giant, recreating the ice sword in his other hand.
With a look of boredom, he pierced the giant's stomach.
Blood splattered on his hands and face.
With an indifferent expression, he thought:
'How much blood will I have to spill before I conclude my vengeance?!'
The body fell with heavy, ragged breathing. Poul walked up to the head, where he saw the giant's eyes still gleaming.
It was as if this was what the giant had always wanted. And so, the Hero of Ice finished his job.
The soldiers' eyes gleamed with admiration, while others were wide with shock at their captain's power.
Treading on the blood-soaked, battle-worn grass, Poul was lost in thought.
'Why?!... Why was he happy to die?!'
A red liquid ran down the blue-tinted blade. His eyes widened in surprise as he realized—not everyone he killed would smile in the face of death.
Ignoring the applause around him, the hero walked on without a word.
The soldiers followed their captain, who was now at the highest line where the human-versus-giant battle began.
The time for peace was over. Poul had to kill more and more giants with each passing day.
After downing two more on a thick hide, he looked at the bullet-ridden body of the giant beside him.
Poul suddenly heard a beautiful song. The song belonged to a bird passing nearby. He smiled at the tune.
He dispelled his sword, turned, and walked toward his camp. As he walked, he looked at the irregularly sized trees.
He felt his cold, blue hand tingling.
'I feel like... with everything I create with this power.' As he walked, he looked at his frozen hand, which was stained with red fluid. He clenched it.
'This could be a blessing or... even a…' Poul breathed the clean, sweet air.
'Curse.'
Arriving at the camp, where he heard hammer blows and many voices, he walked towards his tent and sat on his bed, putting his hand on his forehead.
'How are Jay, Luis, Mary, and Kyrai doing?! Ah, it's been so long since I've seen them.' Throwing himself onto his back, he looked at the reddish canvas above his head. With a smile, he thought:
'When I get back, I'll get him an entire collection of Lot... ah, Jay is going to love it.' A satisfied chuckle escaped Poul.
Time passed, and night fell. The soldiers were gathered around the campfire, attacking their food with wooden plates and spoons.
Poul, on the other hand, was on watch, looking around attentively.
'Thanks to the moonlight... I can see a bit, but that also favors my enemy.'
Poul stood up, stretched his arms and legs, and did a short jump.
Afterward, he opened his mouth against his will, and a yawn escaped.
'It's a shame the sleep is slowly overpowering me. Damn it.'
Sitting down again, the Hero of Ice returned to his duty, even with reluctance.
About an hour passed, and the sleep grew heavier. The Hero of Ice wanted to raise the white flag, but couldn't.
And without realizing it, he was dominated until he finally surrendered.
In his dream, he was in the same place, sitting on a cut log. Behind him, the fire illuminated everyone but him. He was vigilant for protection.
"Just like years ago... you're alone," a male voice came from beside Poul.
The Hero of Ice quickly turned his head. He saw only a being completely blue with a human face and formal clothing.
Poul put his legs down and straightened them as he stared at the being.
The being raised both hands. "Easy, I'm not an enemy. On the contrary, I am your greatest ally."
The Hero of Ice raised an eyebrow.
"What?" He tilted his head.
'How can this being speak to me?' He thought a little more and realized something obvious.
"Wait, are you my Elemental Spirit?!"
"Yes, I am—" Fixing his gaze on Poul, he pointed his finger and, with a more serious and cold look, said:
"Wait... you still had to think about it?! How stupid can you be?"
Poul simply raised his middle finger.
The blue being turned, putting his hand on his forehead. He sighed deeply.
"Calm down, Glaciei... just breathe deep... he's just an ignorant person."
Poul ignored the words, sat on the ground, and continued watching.
Glaciei turned his attention back and saw that.
"Are you an idiot?!"
"Why would I be an idiot?" Poul asked, looking around.
"Isn't it obvious? You fell asleep, so what is there to watch over?!"
"Well, nothing."
"Then why are you still—"
"Even if I'm watching over nothing, why should I stop doing my duty?!" A silence dominated the dream.
Turning his face to Glaciei. "Tell me why I should stop?!"
The spirit just laughed.
The atmosphere was more blue, where the wind and the sound of birds did not exist.
"Spirit!"
"Yes?!" He said, trying to contain his laughter.
"Why, when I use my elemental power, I...—" Poul thought a little. "Never mind."
"Ah, that's because you're not fully elemental," Glaciei said, wiping tears from his eyes from laughing.
The Hero of Ice turned to his Elemental Spirit, eyes wide and mouth open. "Huh?!"
"Well, our time is up. Bye!" Glaciei said, waving his hand.
Suddenly, he began to move away quickly, without time for a reaction.
"Wait, Glaciei... No, wait, Glaciei—"
Someone was shaking Poul's body and saying:
"Hey! Captain, wake up; it's my turn now." The soldier clicked his tongue, impatient.
He started shaking the captain's body harder.
'Sleeping like a rock, damn it.'
"Come on, Captain, wake up. It's my watch shift now!"
Poul slowly opened his eyes and noticed the shaking.
Poul placed his hand on the soldier's shoulder, who stopped abruptly.
"Thank you for waking me up, soldier!"
With a sincere smile, he gave a knowing look.
Thus, Poul walked to his resting place.
On the way, with every step he took, his muscles contracted, his vision blurred, and an almost unbearable pain arose in his head.
Suddenly, everything started spinning like a spiral. His weak knees gave way to gravity. Something touched his face; it was green and small.
His back began to tingle and burn.
'What's hap... pening?!'
He wanted to call for help, but his voice wouldn't come out.
The stinging sensation turned into a feeling that fire was dancing on his back.
Slowly, his vision became darker and darker.
'No!... I can't... give in.' His trembling head lifted with difficulty. Clenching his teeth, he continued.
'Don't close your eyes, don't close—.'
His head hit the grass as the wind came. Soldiers prepared to rest, and others forged more weapons and ammunition for the mortars.
Poul walked through a mist that obscured his vision. With every step he took, a childlike voice grew louder.
Until the fog dissipated, he saw his son, Jay, lying on the ground with burned clothes. The child was groaning in pain, crying out for his father.
"Dad, help me... please don't abandon me." Tears streamed down his carbon-stained face.
"Please... stay with me."
Poul, seeing his son in this state, his face turned pale, his body trembled. Slowly, he began to walk, then broke into a run toward his son, shouting. "JAY!" He ran until his lungs hurt.
"I'M COMING... P-PLEASE HOLD ON... JUST... JUST A LITTLE LONGER."
When he got close to his son's body, his mouth trembled, his knees dropped like stones to the ground as he picked up the ashes of his own son's body. Tears poured from his face like a waterfall.
His voice was caught in his throat, while sweat fell onto the white ground. Slowly, the fog surrounded him.
'I failed... again.'
The crying suddenly turned into a melancholy laugh.
He felt something on his back; it was like a woman embracing him with pity.
"Let this anguish out, this sadness. Even if this is just another nightmare, you have to finish it soon," the woman said.
"But... I... I failed again," Poul said, placing his hand on the woman's arm.
She leaned into his ear and said:
"Don't blame yourself like that. How else will you avenge me?" she said with a smile.
Poul felt his heart beat fast.
"M-Mary?!" Poul said, turning his head slowly.
"Until next time... Poul."
The Hero of Ice, even kneeling, tried to move toward his deceased wife, but a sound of something starting to crumble echoed. The ground, which was white, was cracked in several places.
The Hero of Ice stared at the cracked ground, raising his gaze to Mary, who waved her hand.
"Mary—" The ground split open.
He fell into the darkness until he opened his eyes and saw his arm raised.
Looking around, he saw no one but himself. A noise came from outside.
The sheet contracted when he put his feet on the grass as he grabbed the sword beside him. The smell of gunpowder grew strong. Poul walked outside and saw his soldiers battling giants.
Screams of despair and pain mixed as the mortars fired. The giants defended one strike, then were hit.
But Poul, with his eyes stretched wide in surprise, advanced toward a platform, which he used for support.
Jumping, he stretched out his arm with the sword, and a burst of ice spikes shot out.
Upon landing, he charged at other giants.
After battling for a while, Poul was covered in mud, his clothes a little tattered from the fight, with ice consuming his arm up to his neck. With the smell of rusty iron and gunpowder.
Poul walked until he saw the last two giants fighting. He raised his sword when an ice spike emerged from the ground and pierced the second-to-last giant.
Then he heard something fire and hit the last giant's head. He laughed, a laugh that sounded satisfied as blood stained his head and clothes.
The sound of the giant's body falling kicked up dust. His ice sword released ice particles until it vanished from his hand.
Poul began to walk. He walked while laughing until he emerged from the smoke, seeing nature starting to overtake a gate.
"The place where it all began!" the Hero of Ice said.
"My homeland... the Wall." Flashes of the chaos of the Wall's invasion flooded his mind.
The laughter transformed into an insane, mad smile.
"The start of my vengeance."