[Robb's POV]
It was oddly silent. Far too silent.
The air had grown much colder in just an hour…
Robb stared at reports of food supplies dwindling to nothing across the North. Support from the south had decreased with each year… and so did their population. It was difficult not to feel powerless.
Robb knew Edric tried his best. Mayhaps he felt just as powerless, if not more. One thought led to another.
When Arya had returned with news of their arrangement coming to an end, Robb himself had felt betrayed. The worst of it was that he had viewed them as an ideal match… and so did Arya. She was hurt the most. As she grew, so did the suitors for her hand but she didn't even entertain the thought.
There was no forcing her hand, Robb knew. Part of him preferred that. He hadn't seen Sansa since Edric left south. They had exchanged ravens, for certain… but it wasn't quite the same. At the very least, she had found someone who made her joyous.
Ser Arthur was the sort of fairy tale her younger self would dream of. By reputation, he was a legendary knight, honourable, second to none in sword skill, dutiful and possessed a heart of gold. The Emperor's Light, he had been named by the common folk in the south.
The only smear he had was that mistress… but Sansa had grown to like her, so Robb didn't judge him. His father had a similar stain on his honour. The brother he loved most wouldn't have come to be without it.
He would've liked to see the knight in person. Although, he felt it was only a matter of time. When the Others come, so will Edric and his royal army.
After spending a great deal of time indoors, Robb decided to get some fresh air. Everything seemed the same… yet oddly different. He entered the godswood. As soon as he made his way to the heart tree, he heard the scraping of steel against the earth.
Robb turned to the source, yet there was nothing. He drew his sword, his heart beating loudly. Something was off. He had felt it… this feeling for over an hour.
Yet, there was nothing but silence. Complete silence. There were no ravens or crows atop any trees. Not a drop of life. The heart tree itself seemed to be… freezing.
He felt a chilling hand grasp his shoulder. Robb immediately turned, swinging his sword… at nothing.
Am I going mad?
He questioned himself, taking a deep breath.
The world began turning blue. His entire body slowing, freezing. A feeling of helplessness washed over him until that, too, was frozen still. He did not even have a second to contemplate his death. A second to dread the future. It was a painless, sudden, death.
[Edric's POV]
I had hated him from the beginning of the short-lived 'rebellion' until my sword pierced him, realising the truth in his words and actions. If he truly wanted to fight me... he could have. He even could have beaten me in the right circumstances, but he didn't. It was half-hearted from the beginning.
Gaining full control over my body, I was able to begin overseeing the war of fire and ice raging within. The 'Demon' part of me perceived the Other side as a sort of virus that needed to be purged... and almost rightfully so, because the Other side was actively trying to consume everything within me. The battlefield was my body... burning and freezing all over.
I needed to suppress them, to adapt and accommodate both sides... or, better yet, evolve and merge all of these powers into one. That is what they should be. All parts of me, serving one purpose... like a realm united.
When I tried to regain consciousness, however, I found myself unable to do so. This internal battle had drained me completely.
…
By the time I woke, I was better... yet still not in the best shape. The fighting had all but ceased, as 'borders' had been set. Not exactly the perfect harmony I needed, however. With my body seemingly split in half, I was still weaker than before all of this...
I opened my eyes to the world.
I was in a chamber I recognised.
This...
Looking to the side, I saw a pair of steely grey eyes staring at me. They didn't belong to the little girl I last saw in person. She was eighteen now, a woman by all rights, and everything I thought she was capable of being.
"What in Seven Hells are you up to?" Arya questioned, crossing her arms.
"The pursuit of power is... not the prettiest," I said, raising my arm of ice.
"The pursuit of power? You mean the pursuit of destroying yourself."
"..." I observed the light behind those ice-cold eyes. She... still cared about me, for better or for worse. "Mayhaps so. And yet... I am too far gone to retreat. If I must perish for there to be a tomorrow, then so be it."
"..."
She stared at me, and now the sadness was much clearer.
"I..."
A bell had been rung. An attack?
I used my Green Sight and observed the outside very briefly. A horde of wights and dozens of Others encircled Castle Black. How long has it been? The Wall itself wasn't breached - did they come from the South? I sensed an overbearing power... a power that only one being other than myself could possibly possess.
I swiftly opened my eyes, only to see that Arya had left already. I lifted myself from my bed with some struggle. Then, I put on my armour as swiftly as my body allowed me. All the while, I heard roars, screams and the clashing of steel.
I had Stormfyre sheathed before drawing out Sunpiercer and running outside.
I fired at the first Others I saw, piercing their cores with lethal efficiency. Even in my weakened state, I could condense lightning powerful enough to shoot right through them. And, alternatively, so could the Night King walk over anyone else here without any trouble...
I had to face him.
Or... leave everyone to die and ensure my own survival.
These were the two great decisions I faced immediately.
Time dwindled with every millisecond.
At large, these couple of thousand lives did not mean much. All but one, it seemed. I may have broken her heart... but I wanted to see her live. That's the least I owed her. There was no other choice; I had to confront him.
I followed my senses, destroying every Other and wight in my way to the Night King. I did not need to go far.
Arya was actively fighting him, her blade shimmering with snow-coloured lightning. She was light on her feet... and for what it was worth, evading the Night King's every attack. One misstep, however, and he'd carve right through her.
She had managed to get a few cuts on his armour, but nothing past that.
Just as he was about to swing on her, I charged an overloaded arrow and fired it at his sword hand. It was perfectly aimed, exploding his hand... and hardly stunning him at all. He had continued his motion, but Arya was quick enough to evade the blade completely.
"Arya, retreat. This is my fight. Everyone else needs your strength."
An Other joined the Night King. It was...
A man I considered a friend. A man who once called me brother.
"Sister, you should join us," So much about him had changed - but it was unmistakable. The Other was Robb. "There's no need for you to fight anymore... much less beside the man who betrayed you."
Arya had frozen still.
"That can't be..."
"You don't even have to do a single thing," The Night King's voice echoed. "Stay..."
She didn't move.
I raced forward, dropping Sunpiercer and drawing out Fury. The Night King reached out for her heart while I tossed the warhammer in his direction. He didn't even step back, swatting the warhammer to the side as it smashed against a distant wall.
I drew Stormfyre and charged forward like a blur, slashing at his outstretched hand. Stormfyre, despite charged with my magic, couldn't cut through his skin. It stopped at his wrist.
I pushed Arya back instead, who recovered from her daze.
The Night King swung his thin, icy greatsword, and I clashed Stormfyre against it. Stormfyre's steel rang in my ears, creating an almost deafening sound. I retreated, observing a dent in the blade.
"Go, damn it, I'll handle everything here..."
"Don't you want to ask what happened in Winterfell?" The Night King questioned. "How your great ruler flew so far north, seeking out my former queen... all the while we took your undefended homeland. You could say he abandoned your family. If he had stayed, he would have been alerted to my presence... he could have even changed the outcome."
"..."
"GO!"
"No, I won't," Arya shook her head.
"You'll only be a liability."
"I doubt you're much better in your state," Arya countered. She was probably right.
The Night King struck again. I evaded it, barely, as the long blade scraped across my helmet and made a cut on my cheek.
It was exactly where my scar had been.
Despite all of my smithing efforts, and heavy armour perks, the Night King had almost treated it like butter...
I may as well be fighting naked when it came to him.
All the while, Robb began to fight Arya. I could hardly match the Night King, let alone aid her. For what it was worth - Arya was fighting well. She danced around Robb and had made several deep cuts through his icy shell already.
"Doesn't this bring you any fond memories of your first confrontation against us?"
"The day I slew one of your lieutenants."
"This will not end the same," His cold eyes stared at me.
"What makes you think that?"
"Your false showing of confidence is... amusing. You must have imagined becoming part Other might grant you some advantage, but all you've truly done is make yourself weaker. Our queen did well... even if that was not her intention."
"My question is how you arrived at Winterfell so quickly..."
"Did you believe only you were able to possess mounts that could fly?"
"..." I chuckled. "But, of course, you did... did you also come to slay Arthur and Daenerys?"
"What difference does that make? You are a dead man either way."
"You would have flown him over, no doubt... made an attempt at breaking my spirit. No, the truth is they evaded you. I am glad for that."
"Only delayed the inevitable."
"The only inevitable thing here is your destruction."
I said, sheathing Stormfyre and returning it home. From the Plane of Euthymia, I drew out Lightbringer.
"Do you intend to fight us with an incomplete blade?" The Night King raised an eyebrow.
"No... I intend to complete it, here and now."
"..." Even my nemesis was bewildered. "With what soul? Arya Stark's? We know you didn't love her so deeply."
"Mine own."
"What are you doing?!" Arya questioned as I positioned the blade against my heart.
The Night King did not advance, even going so far as to step back.
"You'll only perish," The Night King remarked. "It is a foolish attempt."
"You should never have been involved with me, Arya. I should not have been born into this world, for that matter... and, for all the pain I've caused, I'm truly sorry," I managed a smile. "I wish things could be different, but what good is any of that?"
"Don't do it..."
I'm sorry I couldn't make it to the end... or would it be the beginning, Raiden?
I did not hesitate further.
The blade was deathly sharp, piercing through everything in its path all the way to my heart and to the other side. I felt the throbbing pain as Lightbringer began to flicker a luminous, pure, golden colour. All of a sudden, the Other and Demon sides of me realised a common goal - storming to push Lightbringer back and restore my heart.
I drew out the sword with all of my strength, blood spraying out of the wound. As my magic flowed through it, the gold spread across the entire blade. This didn't only carry my blood and magic... but also my soul. How much of it? I truly didn't want to know.
I was alive, however... and, oddly enough, stronger despite knocking on death's door.
My body was as one. Fire, restoring the blood, and ice covering the wound.
At long last.
...
Edric faded in the blink of an eye, appearing before Robb and grasping his neck. His mismatched eyes stared into the Other. The chains the Night King had forged in his mind were burnt to ash as Robb gained full control of himself.
"Edric..."
"I'm sorry this happened to you, Lord Stark," Edric let go of his neck, speaking with an emotionless tone. "I'll set things right here."
"... Is Robb... back?" Arya questioned.
"As well as I could be, given the circumstances..." Robb spoke with a similar tone. "The Night King came with a small force; we should be rid of them before getting involved with those two."
"That would be the wisest course of action," Edric nodded. "Go on, before more of our men turn to wights."
"Yes, Your Grace..." Arya nodded. "I... hope you see the tomorrow we fight for."
Edric did not reply as the two ran off. He removed his helmet, tossing it to the side as his long hair was freed. It was part black as night, with the other part the colour of snow. His previously golden dragon eye was a cold, icy blue. The top of his head grew a full crown of ice, paired with expanding, great draconic antlers.
"No more games, no more immunity to my every attack and no more prophecies. It is just you, me and this sword which will bring your end."
He raised it, pointing the blade at the Night King.
"A duel to decide the fate of this world," The Night King remarked. "You would not have it any other way, Herald of the Storm."
The Night King raised his greatsword the same.