“Oden!”

“Yes father?”

“Did I not tell you look after your sister?”

“I am!”

“Then what is she doing in my room?”

The boy ran towards his father’s voice. Upon entering the room, he found his little sister swinging a small axe of ice wildly. His heart welled up, and he found himself to be beyond impressed. To show such talent so early, especially as a girl in the Marauder Clan filled the boy with immense joy.

“Down with the enemy! I’ll bring you to justice, in the name of Seraph! Glory to the Marauders!” her voice was a shrill scream as she spun around the room.

The boy then saw his father, who was looking down at him with a raised eyebrow. Ever since his mother had left them, raising this child had been an extremely difficult task for the both of them.

The boy crouched down, meeting his sister’s gaze. He pulled her cheek as he stared at her bright, innocent eyes.

“Hello Rose. And just what do you think you’re doing?”

“Glory to the Marauders!”

She swung her arms in the opposite direction before gasping dramatically as her axe broke through the wall.

“You know, if you do stuff like this, you’ll make the wall cry.”

The girl turned around, her mouth covered in her hands, her eyes aghast.

“Really?”

“You can’t hear him. He’s crying right now.”

The girl dropped her hands and faced the wall. There was a devastated look about her as she gently stroked it.

“I’m sorry Mr. Wall.”

----------------------------------------

It didn’t take long for Sorn and Keilan to reach the throne room.

Inside, Oden and Crystal stood engaged in a quiet conversation Jester lay still on the cold stone floor, but no one gave him attention.

The room itself was underwhelming. For all the grandeur the throne symbolized, the chamber held nothing else. Even the large throne of ice had been disturbed, dragged to a side to reveal a strange hole.

Crystal saw them first, and her face brightened instantly. She walked towards them before placing a hand on Keilan’s shoulder, squeezing lightly.

"It’s good to see you back!" she said, beaming.

Keilan hesitated. "Uh… yeah, I guess."

Sorn said nothing. He was already near the hole, peering into its depths.

"Are those pink crystals?" he asked, not looking away.

Oden nodded. "We’ve been waiting for you two for a while. We should get going now, before we lose any more time."

One by one, they moved toward the opening. Then, they disappeared into the unknown.

----------------------------------------

Kaen was about to exit the hall when a strange hooded figure passed by him.

The air around the figure made him pause immediately. They walked with the quiet certainty of someone who knew they belonged, despite clearly not being a Tournament participant.

Kaen stilled, every instinct in his body telling him to stay on guard. But the figure didn’t even glance at him. They just moved past him as if he wasn’t worth noticing..

Then, just as he passed Kaen, the figure reached up and pulled their hood back.

Light blue hair spiked backward, save for two strands that framed his face in the style of curtain bangs. He was a man that stood tall, his shoulders relaxed.

“Who are you?” Kaen called out.

The man turned.

Now, Kaen had a much better angle of the man, but he still didn’t recognize the Ice Elemental. His face was angular, and he had a sculpted look about him. Across the bridge of his nose, a strange design made out of ice glowed faintly. But most interesting of all was the “XIII” tattoo marked into his left cheek.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The man smiled. It was the kind of grin a gambler wore before placing a bet knowing they would win.

“You can call me Eight,” he said smoothly, studying Kaen with quiet amusement. “It’s nice to meet you, child of Varian. Or should I say—nice to meet you, child of lightning.”

----------------------------------------

Sorn and his three companions moved through the underground tunnels, their steps echoing softly against the ice. The path behind them had led to a dead end, leaving them with only one way forward.

The cavern walls and ceiling shimmered with pink crystals, their glow reflecting off the ice, illuminating the entire place with a light pinkish glow. The only surface untouched by the crystals was the ground itself, which was a custom floor of ice made above the dirt.

"This place is really pretty," Crystal said, vocalizing what they had all been thinking.

They walked for a bit longer and then there, waiting for them, was a man.

He stood relaxed, his posture firm. The moment Sorn laid eyes on him, his body tensed. Keilan went rigid beside him, his face paling as if the blood had been drained from his body.

It was Radahn, head of the First Division.

Sorn tried to compose his panic. Had Varian seen through their plan? Had Oden and Bjorn been read like an open book? Had they walked straight into a trap?

Radahn exhaled, his voice cutting through the silence. "You took a very long time. I was beginning to wonder if that lead was even right."

Oden took a step forward cautiously. "You… anticipated this?"

"Of course. We predict everything you Marauders do."

Radahn spread his arms, and from either side of him, two spears emerged, their icy edges glinting in the pink glow of the cavern. He watched as the children before him shifted into their battle stances. He aloud laughed at their helplessness. Then, his gaze settled on Keilan.

"This is quite disappointing. Varian had high hopes for you. But now, you stand beside the very boy you were meant to kill."

Keilan stood his ground, but there was tension present in his shoulders. "How about we go to the end of this tunnel, and we see how justified I was to make such a decision."

Radahn sighed, shaking his head. "You’re still so young. Some secrets are better left hidden until you age." He smiled. "But it’s not like you’ll be able to do that anyway. Come now, Keilan. Find reason. You can still add a little time to your life, and I’ll keep your sister alive."

He barely moved as an ice arrow shot toward him. With a slight tilt of his head, he let it pass, the shard whistling past where his skull had been a moment before. He turned his attention to Crystal, standing with an ice-forged bow in her hands.

"I’m tired of this ‘kill your sister’ game," she said, her tone laced with scorn.

She didn’t wait for his response. She strode forward, lifting a single finger and pointing it straight at his face.

"You talk about killing me so easily," she said. "Then how about you do it right now?"

Radahn hesitated.

Crystal took another step toward him. "Come on, now. What’s stopping you?"

"Well, your highness—that’s—"

"Too afraid to hurt me?" Crystal smirked. "That’s a shame. Because I can’t say the same for myself."

Her foot shot forward, slamming into his stomach with enough force to send him skidding backward. He gritted his teeth, stabbing a spear into the ice to halt his momentum, his face dark with anger.

"You little—"

A second spear flew from his grip mid-sentence, but this one was different from any spear Sorn had seen before. It moved forward while curving unnaturally, swimming through the air as it closed in on Crystal.

"Watch out!" Keilan shouted, but the warning was unnecessary, as the ceiling above them cracked.

A hammer came down, bursting through the ceiling with an impact that sent crystal shards flying in every direction. Then, from the opening, a figure dropped down, landing directly onto the spear, crushing it beneath their weight.

“He really did come.” the familiar gruff voice filled Sorn with warmth. Bjorn was walking up from behind, his footsteps heavy in the ice cavern.

“Bjorn!” Radahn yelled, lurching forward, but Harvard, who had landed on the spear, swung his ice toward Radahn. At the same time, from the side, Gunnar came crashing through another wall. The Marauder’s renowned trio had come to fight the head of the First Division.

Radahn looked left and right, but the children had left. He understood it now. These people were here to slow him down. But there was a reason why he was chosen to come down here on his own.

“What arrogance!” he said loudly, twitching his hands to create ten spears in the narrow area. Do you truly believe you can defeat the second best warrior this place has to offer?

“Generally, no,” Bjorn admitted, slamming his fists together. “But this is a closed space isn’t it? Let’s see just how long you can last.

Radahn’s lip curled in anger, and he prepared himself to fight.

----------------------------------------

They ran without speaking. There was no need for words, nor was there time for second thoughts. The battle still raged behind them at first— the sound of crashing and incomprehensible shouts ringing in their ears. But then, after a few minutes, there was only silence.

Keilan looked back over his shoulder, clearly concerned.

"Don’t worry," Oden said, noticing his expression. "Those are the best warriors I’ve ever seen fight. In a closed space like that, I don’t think even Varian could walk out alive."

Keilan didn’t answer right away, as his eyes dropped to the ground. "I never imagined we’d be talking like this."

Oden turned to him. "Neither did I."

Before anything more could be said, Crystal’s voice rang out.

"Guys!"

They all halted.

Ahead, the tunnel widened, and in its center stood a cage. Thick bars of ice rose from the ground.. The prisoner inside barely moved, their face obscured by shadow, a lone figure swallowed by the dim light.

Sorn narrowed his eyes, trying to make out the features behind the bars, but before he could, Oden took a sharp step forward.

He didn’t need to see.

He knew.

The blood in his veins told him before his mind even had the chance to process it. The weight in his chest, and the memories, all the memories came flooding back in that moment..

He knew who was in that cage.

“ROSE!”

His left arm immediately became encased in ice, and he launched a massive punch at the bars of the cage. They shattered, and he dropped to his knees, sitting face to face with his little sister for the first time in years as the others watched wordlessly.

Then, they all caught sight of her.

Sorn stood frozen, his eyes widened and shaking. Crystal had a hand in front of her face, and Keilan had averted his eyes in pain, unable to look at what was before him.

The sight of the girl was nothing short of mortifying. Her fingers—some missing entirely—had been substituted with jagged pink crystals, the same ones that lined the tunnel walls. A large portion of her chest, her legs, even the top left of her head had also been overtaken by the same gleaming mineral. Each crystal had been embedded with intent. There was a clear mark of someone trying to turn her into some kind of twisted art piece. A single, luxurious piece of fabric covered a large portion of the girl’s body.

Oden waved his hand in front of her face, as he desperately pleaded to her, his voice breaking as he spoke. “Rose, Rose! It’s me, remember. Your older brother, Oden. What— what did they do to you?”

Her eyes were blank, as though she had lost her soul. She paid no attention to anything around her. The only sign of her life was her short, raggedy breaths.

“It’ll be okay, I promise!” a single tear ran down Oden’s face, “We’ll get out together— and we’ll go back to normal. Just me and you. We’ll leave this sick place and we’ll go far away. I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry—” he broke down then, unable to say anymore.

The words broke apart as his body did. He simply shut down, unable to say anything more.

Then, slowly, the girl lifted her arms, wrapping them around Oden’s neck. “Rose?” he breathed. She fell just as suddenly, her body going limp.

Oden caught her immediately, his arms tightening around her fragile frame as he pressed an ear to her chest. The moment stretched unbearably. Then—a heartbeat. It was weak, but still there.

He let out a shaky breath, one of anguished relief.

" So is the course of life. It always ends in sorrow. "

Every head snapped toward the sound.

The Emperor stood beside them. No one had noticed him arriving.

He was just there, as if he had been watching from the start.

"Father—" Keilan started.

The Emperor lifted a single hand, silencing him.

"Be at peace, child," he said gently. "There is much we have to ponder."

He took a moment, his gaze drifting across the room, settling on each of the kids in the vicinity.

Then, at last, he began to speak.