The morning sun over Hiderat was pale, as if the sky itself was exhausted from the bloodshed of the previous days. Alicia stood in the center of the training grounds, her breath hitching in her chest as she tried to lift a training blade. Her arm, reattached through raw magical force and Clen's interference, felt heavy—like a foreign object bolted to her shoulder.
*"Move,"* she hissed to herself, her teeth grinding together. *"If the legends are true, Borden doesn't fight with swords. He fights with the atmosphere. If I can't even lift ten pounds of steel, I'm not a Hero; I'm a liability."* She swung the blade, but the momentum pulled her forward, nearly toppling her.
From the balcony above, Clen watched her struggle, his arms crossed over his chest. He didn't offer a word of encouragement. In his mind, the "Hero" was a fascination, but the child Luna was the future.
*"She is pushing against a wall made of her own trauma,"* Clen thought, his golden eyes narrowing. *"But Borden isn't Drel. Drel wanted to rule. Borden simply wants to erase. If Alicia cannot find the spark that shattered the Dragon Slayer's blade, she will be the first to freeze when the frost arrives."*
Beside him, Nelluru was helping the palace guards clear the massive stone pillars Drel had toppled. She moved with a strange, fluid grace that looked almost violent. Every time she gripped a block of granite, her muscles rippled with the density of a Troll, and the stone cracked under her touch.
*"I can't stop it,"* Nelluru whispered, her eyes wide with fear as she watched her own hands. *"The strength just sits there, waiting to explode. I feel like I'm wearing a suit of armor made of my own flesh. How am I supposed to go back to being a nurse when I can crush a man's skull just by trying to check his pulse?"*
The peace of the palace was suddenly shattered by a sharp, piercing cold that didn't belong in the season. It wasn't just a breeze; it was a physical weight that settled over the city. On the horizon, the bright blue sky was being eaten by a wall of white, swirling mist.
Inside the nursery, the temperature plummeted. Queen Tala gasped, clutching her son tighter as frost began to bloom across the windows in the shape of jagged, mocking crowns.
Luna, however, did not shiver. The child looked at the frosting glass, the light purple aura in her eyes pulsing in rhythm with the approaching storm. She pointed a tiny finger at the window and let out a soft, melodic hum that vibrated with Abyssal energy.
*"He's here,"* Clen realized, his voice echoing in Alicia's mind. *"The King of the North has arrived. He didn't wait for the ice to melt. He brought the winter with him."*
Alicia dropped the training sword and looked toward the North. The mist was moving too fast to be natural. It was a tide of absolute zero, and at the heart of it, she could sense a presence so vast and cold it made the Forge feel like a flickering candle.
*"So this is a true Beast King,"* Alicia thought, her fear finally crystallizing into a cold, hard resolve. *"Drel was just the shadow. This… this is the eclipse."*
The scouts on the outer walls didn't even have time to sound the horns. They were turned into statues of ice where they stood, their expressions frozen in mid-gasp. The War of the Four Kings hadn't just started; it had arrived at their doorstep.