The ice had begun to melt, droplets of water slowly sliding down its surface.
They rose into the sky, covering the last visible sunlight beneath heavy gray clouds. The Emperor moved forward toward the azure knight.
Flames reignited in the knight's hand, forming once more into a blazing sword.
The two clashed.
The ground cracked beneath them.
The wind grew stronger—strong enough to rip trees from their roots.
The giants tried to flee, but there was no escape. They were either consumed by flames or frozen solid. Which was worse—burning alive, or freezing to death?
The dead city, already reclaimed by nature and stained with blood—human and giant alike—was now divided between fire and ice.
It looked like something out of a fantasy tale.
Because no human should be able to stand against an elemental giant.
'He… he's not human anymore. He's a monster being born.' The giant thought.
The impact pushed them apart. Their feet dragged across the ground as they stabilized.
The knight, clad in incandescent lapis-lazuli armor, stared at the Emperor.
The Emperor smiled.
A strange, unsettling smile.
His hand slowly rose to his chin.
'Why… am I smiling?'
The knight attacked again, his blade transforming—its shape twisting into something like a dragon chasing its prey.
A vertical strike.
Flames erupted across the ground.
The Emperor dodged the blade—
But not the fire.
The flames latched onto his arm, spreading.
"Agh…"
A low groan escaped him.
The ice melted—
Then he smiled again.
A darker smile.
The flames began to fade.
The knight frowned, disturbed by what he was seeing.
Ice tendrils twisted around the Emperor's arm, writhing unnaturally. Within them, something red pulsed.
That ice… was alive.
Like a parasite feeding on its host.
"Interesting," the knight muttered, almost amused.
Poul lowered his arms, his posture loose, almost careless—
And vanished.
Like a shadow after sunset.
A cold breeze brushed the knight's back.
His body tensed.
Then—
A small, freezing hand struck his neck.
The force sent him flying backward.
'That strength…!' the knight thought, eyes wide. 'How can something so small carry such power without even enlarging itself?'
The living ice tendrils wrapped around his burning armor, lifting him like he weighed nothing.
The Emperor's face twisted into something close to madness.
Reason had long left him.
Only destruction remained.
"Agh—"
The giant groaned as the tendrils tightened.
A reddish liquid seeped across the frozen coils.
Poul smiled.
A real smile.
At the sight of blood.
'More… tighten more… I want to see more.'
Then—
A sigh echoed in his mind.
He paused.
Looking around, he saw nothing but drifting smoke.
White and black, blending together.
Then he looked back at the giant, still suspended in the air.
"You've truly lost yourself…"
The voice was calm.
Familiar.
"You disappoint me, Poul."
He turned sharply.
No one.
'Am I going insane?'
"No. You're not."
'Then how are you inside my head?!'
The voice chuckled softly.
"You've really forgotten… I am Glaciei. Your elemental spirit."
A pause.
"…It's a pleasure to finally meet you, fallen star."
'Glaciei… that name… why does it feel so—'
His eyes widened.
He had forgotten something.
No—two things.
'How… how could I forget Glaciei… and my…'
His breath caught.
His body trembled.
"…son?"
The word barely escaped his lips.
'I… I have a son. I know I do… His name… what was it…?'
Silence.
Then—
'Jay.'
The name hit him like a blade.
Jay.
How could a father forget his own son?
What kind of man does that?
And what kind of son forgets his parents?
The answer came quickly.
A bitter laugh escaped him.
'I'm both.'
He laughed.
A hollow, broken laugh.
Somewhere between pain and acceptance.
'I'm a fool.'
Above him, the giant still struggled, bound by the tightening tendrils.
Seeing the Emperor laugh—
Something inside the giant snapped.
Flames surged violently, spreading across his entire body.
Even the blood on the tendrils ignited, turning into blue fire.
His lapis armor began to crumble.
Then his body followed.
'I can feel it… my body breaking down… my anger fading…'
A strange calm filled him.
'…my soul… merging with the fire.'
This wasn't cold calm like the Emperor's.
It burned.
Like fire becoming flesh.
No longer just power—
But something essential.
Something alive.
His body evaporated completely.
Meanwhile, the Emperor kept laughing.
His chest ached from it—
Until suddenly—
Something felt wrong.
The tendrils…
They were empty.
His laughter stopped.
He looked up at the gray sky—
The giant was gone.
A chill ran down his spine.
"Damn it… where did he go?"
Ice spread rapidly around him.
Then—
A sound.
Fire.
And the smell of destruction.
He looked up.
There—
The knight.
Riding a flaming horse across the sky.
Poul froze.
For a moment, he couldn't believe it.
Then he clenched his fist.
The tendrils returned to his arm, wrapping tightly.
A faint burn followed.
He stepped forward.
Wind pulled at his frozen clothes.
His hair—now completely white—moved with it.
He looked up, smiling faintly.
"This meaningless battle… it ends here—"
"You will die!"
The knight's voice cut through him, filled with absolute conviction.
The ice beneath Poul gathered, forming a circle.
Then it lifted him upward.
Toward the knight.
The knight charged.
Sword pointed forward.
"AAAHHH!"
A warrior's roar.
Facing the end without fear.
Poul said nothing.
He had already accepted it.
Victory or death—
The result was the same.
'Mother… Father… Jay… Maria… I'm sorry.'
His teeth clenched.
A blue blade formed in his hand.
Then—
Explosion.
Fire and ice tore through the air.
Blood spilled from Poul's mouth.
'Maria… forgive me… I couldn't keep my promise.'
He roared.
The city crumbled.
Only the walls remained, holding the collapsing pressure.
The knight's eyes bled.
His voice faltered.
Their weapons trembled.
The air compressed, shrinking tighter and tighter—
Like a collapsing sphere.
Veins bulged across Poul's arms.
His blade shattered.
The giant smiled—
Until he realized.
It wasn't blood—
It was an arm.
Poul had thrown his own arm into the flaming blade.
It began to disintegrate.
"AAAAHHHH!"
He screamed.
His frozen armor dissolved into mist.
The giant answered—
Launching his own arm.
Both bodies breaking.
Bone against bone.
Small against large.
Then—
Impact.
Fire and ice exploded outward in every direction.
The compressed air collapsed.
They were thrown apart.
Poul vanished into the snow, blood scattering like droplets in the wind.
'I… failed.'
A pause.
'But I didn't lose.'
'Maybe… I'll survive.'
Maria's promise lingered—
But something hurt more.
'Sorry, Jay… I… won't make it back home.'
'Sorry… for being a failure… as a father.'
His body flew endlessly—
Toward nowhere.
A lake.
A sea.
A volcano.
Anywhere.
Then—
He closed his eyes.
Tears falling.
His body felt lighter.
He opened them—
And saw her.
A beautiful woman with silver hair, standing by a window.
The wind moved her hair gently.
She turned.
Her emerald eyes met his.
Something felt… wrong.
Then he spoke—
"Who… am I?"