The sky was dead.
At the top of the world, among the crystalline branches of the Glacier Tree and eternal blizzards that devoured all sound, the figure of the Hail King stood like a curse incarnate.
His armor, forged from ancient frost and iron of forgotten eras, echoed like the memory of a time no one remembered.
His mere presence froze the soul, his aura spreading like a glacial ocean that devoured the will of mortals.
An indescribable pressure collapsed the senses of all present.
Saria trembled—not from the cold, but from the very existence of that being. She clutched her cloak, barely containing the panic rising in her chest.
Kogorō, wrapped in his spiritual form tinged blue by starlit snow, took an involuntary step back. The flow of his essence vibrated erratically.
—That presence... —whispered Kogorō, bewildered— Something is disturbing my soul... But why isn't Jiro affected?
The wind howled, carrying shards of ice like living blades. And yet, Jiro stood firm, his silhouette like a spear thrust into the center of the universe.
There was no fear in his eyes.
—So you're the Hail King... —Jiro murmured, voice hardened, loaded with inner fire— The one responsible for this frozen hell...
The crimson spear trembled in his hands, not from weakness, but from restrained fury. His reddish horns reflected the wintry light, intensifying with his Chi Tae.
The Hail King took a step.
The ice beneath his foot cracked as if the world itself were about to break.
From within his frozen helm, two eyes lit up—blue as stellar abysses. His voice slid out like a sepulchral whisper that chilled the bones:
—You were the ones who gave me that name... not I.
Saria, hidden behind Ardan, muttered:
—He's more terrifying than I imagined...
Ardan gritted his teeth. His gaze locked onto the enemy.
Can we really defeat something like this?
—So... you're the traveler —the King continued, with frigid interest, his eyes fixed on Jiro's spear— Bearer of a primordial weapon... That explains why you didn't succumb to my Frost Curse. Tell me, has your soul also been touched by eternal existence?
Jiro sneered.
—Don't compare me to you, you frozen scrap heap. I'd never become trash like you...
His aura exploded.
A crimson storm surrounded his body, Chi Tae energy roaring like flames in the heart of a blizzard. Snow evaporated on contact. Ice receded, trembling from the power radiating from the young Oni.
—Is that all? —the King mocked— Do you think you can intimidate me with such a puny amount of Chi Tae?
His voice shifted. A gust of centuries erupted from his throat.
—I have endured the void for one hundred and fifty years.
—I HAVE CULTIVATED CHI TAE IN THE MOST ABYSMAL SOLITUDE!
Then he unleashed it.
A wave of infinite blue energy engulfed the Glacier Tree. The entire universe seemed to shudder.
The clash of both auras—red and blue, fire and frost, chaos and order—shook the foundations of that suspended world.
Ardan, barely able to stand, shouted with difficulty:
—What is this power...?!
With a subtle gesture, the Hail King snapped his fingers.
From the ground rose the frozen bones of ancient warriors: skeletal soldiers in armor encrusted with frost, raising their cursed swords.
An undead army.
—That doesn't scare me... —Jiro muttered.
He spun his spear. With a single blast of crimson energy, a whirlwind of spiritual fire swept through the enemy lines. The skeletons collapsed, as if death had claimed them once more.
The Hail King remained impassive.
—Do you intend to take my kingdom?
Jiro lowered his spear. He took a step forward.
—I'm not taking it...
His eyes burned like lit coals.
—I'm freeing it!
He jumped.
With the full force of his Chi Tae, his spear aimed at the King's helm. The impact's speed cracked the ice beneath his feet, breaking layers untouched for centuries.
BOOM!
The King raised his arm and blocked the attack as if swatting away a breeze. The sound of the collision echoed throughout the Winter Eden. Sparks danced between the blades of the two powers—the sacred steel of Jiro against the cursed winter armor of the King.
—You think yourself powerful before a King...? —he whispered, sepulchral— I will freeze you. Sink you into my eternal hell...
In a brutal motion, the King seized the spear... and Jiro.
And like a toy, he lifted him and hurled him with titanic fury against one of the Glacier Tree's formations. Jiro's body crashed like a projectile, scattering shards of ice in every direction.
—JIRŌ!! —Ardan shouted, running toward the King.
—Where are you going, Ardan?! —Saria cried in desperation.
But it was too late.
The Hail King's eyes glowed, and without moving, he projected a thought toward Ardan:
—Do not interfere... wretch...
Ardan's heart stopped.
An icy pain, like poisoned needles of frost, drove him to his knees. Saria ran to him, holding him as her brother clutched his chest.
—Ardan, hang on!
Ardan trembled, gasping.
—That gaze... it nearly froze... my soul...
Meanwhile, from the impact's remains, a figure emerged.
Jiro rose from the crater, covered in frost, bruises on his body.
—Ugh... everything hurts... It looked way cooler in my head...
—Only you would think to launch yourself like that... —Kogorō muttered, approaching him.
But the King was already descending again, like a comet of ice.
He fell from above and landed with a crash that shook the Glacier Tree's roots. He shattered structures and platforms as he dropped. The skeleton of an ancient dragon, trapped in ice, creaked overhead.
—Speak of the devil... —Jiro said, spotting the King's silhouette.
Without a word, the King's hand closed around his neck. He lifted him effortlessly. And with divine strength, he slammed him against a crystalline wall of the tree. Shards of ice disintegrated from the impact.
Jiro's body was brutally slammed against the glacial walls. Each impact echoed like a heartbreaking cry among the frozen mountains, while the power of the Hail King seemed to know no limit.
The runes on his arms glowed with a freezing radiance, as if each symbol engraved was a death sentence.
But then—
—LET ME GOOOO!— Jiro's voice burst like a roar through the storm.
The Crimson Spear extended violently, shattering the ice that imprisoned him. With a fierce spin, he swung it through the air and struck the Hail King directly in the torso, the frost armor bursting into blue shards.
The ice monarch was sent flying, bouncing off a frozen ridge before sinking into the snow.
Jiro landed on his feet, his body blazing with a fiery aura.
The Chi Tae began to envelop him like liquid fire, deep red, wild, untamed. His eyes, like burning coals, reflected the resolve of someone unafraid to fall.
With swift, almost dance-like movements, he unleashed a series of elongated thrusts with the spear. Each impact against the king's armor released a crackling mix of fire and ice.
Steam wrapped their bodies in a chaotic veil. The Hail King defended himself with his body-shield, but the ground beneath his feet was crumbling.
And then—
The King raised his arm, and with a rift that split the air, tore open space itself. His hand reached into that dimensional breach.
What he pulled out was a sword that seemed forged by eternal winter: a bluish, luminous blade, with spiraling runes that pulsed with life.
—Behold my primordial weapon —he said, with a voice no longer human.
The blade shone like a frozen star, and with a single slash, it tore the sky itself.
—WATCH OUT! —shouted Kogorō, shoving Jiro to the side.
The sword's impact created a dimensional fissure, a massive crack that split the snowstorm. For a few seconds, the universe looked like a shattered mirror, and then… everything returned to normal.
—That... almost killed me… —Jiro panted, clutching his chest.
The Hail King showed no mercy. He leapt, and as he landed, he summoned two colossal glacial pines that rose beyond visible space. The world shattered in beauty and terror.
Jiro ran among the frozen mountains, using the spear as a swing to propel himself atop a massive ice formation.
—What are you doing?! —shouted Kogorō from below.
—Trying to lure him away from Saria and Ardan. I can't let him hurt them.
Another slash from the glacial sword tore through the air. Jiro barely dodged it, but felt the sword's cold almost freeze time itself.
Then, a single punch sent him flying. His body crashed against the immense ice tree at the center of the battlefield. Crystals shattered, and the echo of the impact traveled for miles.
The King appeared without warning, grabbing him by the neck.
—I'm disappointed in you, traveler. I thought you were more...
His voice grew darker.
—...but you're just another block of ice in my collection.
Jiro struggled, barely breathing.
—LET GO OF JIRO, METALHEAD! —shouted Kogorō, lunging with his scythe.
But the King froze him with a mere touch. Kogorō fell to the ground, his body encased in pure ice. Motionless. Silent.
—HE FROZE HIM! —Jiro shouted, horrified.
—Thanks to my curse —whispered the King— everything I touch becomes a prison. There's no difference between a rock or a heart.
Jiro, with effort, said
—You… froze… my idiot friend…
The King's voice turned grim.
—They took everything from me first. They stole all I had. I haven't destroyed lives. I've simply returned the favor.
—That doesn't justify it.
The King struck him hard.
—Don't try to reason with me!
Jiro fell, but rose immediately.
—I know what happened. Elliott told me everything… you… lost someone you loved.
The King froze.
—That's what people say when they've never felt true pain —he murmured.
And slowly, he removed his helmet.
When he did, Jiro saw the face of a young man. Bluish skin, frozen. Eyes with petrified tears. Beautiful and tragic. An angel buried by the eternity of sorrow.
The wind howled.
The storm swirled.
The Hail King looked at Jiro.
—I can't cry. I can't breathe. I can't feel. All that remains is this rage… this curse.
Jiro looked down.
—I didn't know… I didn't know you looked like that.
—And yet you judge me.
—I'm not judging you. But you shouldn't have used your pain to destroy the universe.
The King raised his sword.
—You are no one to tell me how to carry my cross.
—No —said Jiro—. But I am someone who wants to help you. Because you deserve to be free, too.
The answer was a brutal blow. Jiro was thrown into the void.
As he fell, the King descended after him, sword raised.
—Too late for redemption!
He tried to drive the blade into him.
CHING!
Jiro stopped it with the spear, blazing with Chi Tae flames.
—Then… I'll defeat you to free you from your own hell!
—That's what they said… right before they killed her in front of me.
And with a single movement, the glacial sword pierced Jiro's chest.
Silence.
The snow stopped.
The light faded.
And in that moment, at the Looming Temple, Saria and Ardan arrived… only to see the Hail King, standing, the sword still embedded in Jiro, who hung weakly from the weapon.
—Never defy the king… —he whispered.
He extended his arm and launched two frozen blades toward them.
And then…
the sound of slicing, the crunch of snow stained red, the storm was no longer just ice—
it was blood.
It was weeping.
It was ruin.