Kazius sighed, unsure of where to even start with Isolf.
“Dying won’t solve anything, you know? I don’t know the details of what you believe in… But your men died over a lie, something terrible in your people’s eyes, right? Well, tell me, do you want to die here and leave those at home without any answers to what happened?” Kazius questioned, testing the waters somewhat.
It seemed things were making sense to Isolf, he was listening at least. At his question, Isolf responded with a sad shake of his head.
“Tell me, was this your whole army?” Kazius questioned. Anyone who was not naïve would not answer that question. Kazius had told himself he would be good, but whether he wanted to admit it or not, the question did not deep down slip out with pure intentions.
“Yes…” Isolf admitted in dismay, feeling ashamed to have led to the death of most of his people’s warriors.
At Isolf’s words, were it not for Kazius’ self-control, quite the wide and twisted grin would have made its way to his face. It took more willpower than Kazius would have liked, but he got himself under control. It became a bit harder when he heard the distinct voice speak.
‘So, they are now defenseless…’ Kazius could practically hear the delight in The Shadows at the revelation.
‘As defenseless as Giants can be- Wait, No! I am not like that! What he needs now is a friend, I will help him!’ Kazius snapped to himself mentally. If Azanor could hold out so many centuries without eating souls, he could control himself from… Whatever it was that he had the urge to do.
Kazius had a sort of kinship with Azanor over the two existing as beings of darkness, but it seemed the two also shared the burden of their natures betraying their personalities. Then again, it wasn’t like Kazius had not been warned about what would happen if he kept searching in The Shadows for his answers… The fact that the distinct voice was more talkative and even tried to tempt him was his own fault. Perhaps after making sure Azanor was okay, he could ask him for advice on how to maintain self-control.
“So you have no army… And The people that were left behind still believe the lie you used to believe, right? What do you think any father who loves his son would do in that situation? He would send anyone of fighting age to take care of the threat, us, and avenge his dead son.” Kazius explained.
To be honest, Kazius was making a lot of educated assumptions. He had always idolized the idea of a family, he wished he had one. Though considering his lineage, it was for the best he grew up without a father… Still, he was not ignorant of what a family should be.
Isolf seemed to look ashamed at Kazius’ words. So, it seemed Kazius’ assumptions were correct. With this, perhaps they will avoid spilling more blood.
“Now… Tell me, Isolf… And this isn’t a threat… Since I rather it not come to this… But we did this to your actual army…And this is what is left of them… We did not attack first, remember that… But tell me… If your father provokes us… What do you think we will do to him? Or anyone else he brings along? We won’t have any choice but to defend ourselves. That would end badly. To keep your people alive, you have to live… I know it is not easy living with your choices sometimes… But you have to.” Kazius finished with a sigh, his expression softening a little as he saw the Frost Giant nod in understanding.
Of course, part of what Kazius said was a bluff. He was not sure if they could pull something like that attack again… At least not in the same way considering the state the spear was in… And then there was the fact that Kazius had tried to not rely too much on The Shadows, but what he had done had still been pushing it. He understood their influence over his mind, and he did not want to risk it getting any worse…
Isolf grimaced at the thought of his father and any others dying in such a horrifying way. It was honestly surprising that Isolf did not hold any resentment towards Kazius and the others for their terrifying actions… But from his perspective, was there even any point in holding a grudge? He saw them as a power beyond his comprehension and understood that he was the aggressor in this situation. Naïve or not, once Luna revealed she had tricked Isolf, it took away any reason for him to fight them,
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“You’re right… But then… What… What should I do?” Isolf asked in concern and dismay.
Kazius sighed, that was not an easy question. Defenseless or not, Frost Giants were still formidable… How many widows could end up trying to take their frustrations out on them? Following Isolf home was not a good idea, especially with Azanor and Eve gone.
Kazius had discounted The Undead over the mountains as a threat along with The Frost Giants… But The Frost Giants were intelligent beings with wills of their own… And they were too close for comfort. Kazius had made up his mind that they could not be left alone… He would connect the two places under his rule. Thankfully, thanks to Luna… The situation was very much in his favor.
“Return home and then bring your father with you… He is the current King, right? We will negotiate in person at a middle point between our homes. Bring anyone you want, but don’t try anything… If you don’t return within 3 days, we will go to you and I promise you that you won’t like it. I need to keep my people safe… So, I hope you will understand. Don’t bother sending a messenger or anything, I will know when you’re nearby. I want to be on friendly terms, even be your friend… But more than anything… I won’t tolerate anyone putting my people in danger… Remember that.” Kazius stated firmly, his expression friendly, but when he gave his threats, there was an ominous glow to his eyes.
What he was doing with letting Isolf return home was risky, but it was the best choice. He wanted to befriend and help the poor Giant who almost took his own life a second ago, but Kazius could not afford to put Vargstam in danger. Vargstam was his home… And despite being the way he was and with the plots he was starting to weave to make sure he kept his power, he truly cared about the people in Vargstam. Above all, his friends also called Vargstam home, all the more reason to make sure that they were safe.
“I swear on my honor that I will return.” Isolf assured before looking at his men in dismay. Having heard the whole conversation, the remaining survivors began to get ready to leave.
“They’re leaving?” Alice asked in confusion, after all, only Kazius understood them.
“They will come back, then I plan to hold some proper negotiations… I figured it would be best we don't follow them… I don’t want their anger turned towards us when the number of deaths is revealed. Their army is apparently gone now, but their entire population is probably a similar height. A Giant is still a Giant.” Kazius admitted with a sigh.
“It is a shame they had to have so many losses, but I doubt they would have stopped their march if we tried to talk to them. We had no choice.” Alice stared in dismay as she looked at the charred bodies. Now that the threat was gone and hearing how the Frost Giants were tricked, she pitied them heavily. It was almost like she was trying to assure herself they did the right thing. It showed on her face, a dismayed expression appearing on it.
“It was either them or us… They started a war, but we ended it. It is that simple. If they had killed us all while still being tricked, they would not be mourning us, I know that much. These deaths are on their own hands, not ours.” Kazius assured her with a confident yet warm smile. The smile was genuine, but the warmth in it did not reach his eyes.
Deep down while Kazius pitied Isolf and the living, he felt absolutely no guilt for the dead. Even with him resisting The Shadow’s influence that he had allowed upon himself, Kazius was beginning to realize the ramifications of allowing their influence so far. He found himself incapable of caring about the casualties or how many more he needed.
It was not even about self-defense, he had goals and he just wanted to achieve them. He did not care how many strangers he had to sacrifice to achieve it. He cared about his friends, the people of Vargstam even… But if Isolf returned with his father and was unwilling to submit to his will, he could not stop himself from thinking about how simple and easy killing them would make things.
Kazius was horrified to think about that, after all… The reason he wanted to be a Holy Knight way back was because he wanted to protect strangers, defend the weak, and save people. Kazius still intended to confront The Demon King and even Ratier, but it was for their own sakes, not others. Combined with the dark desires he felt lately… And even the malicious joy he felt lately… He was worried. He was beginning to realize he tried to resist the influence of The Shadows, but that was not good enough. He had changed. He needed to put in effort to stop himself from giving in any further.
“I think you’re right. We did what we had to.” Damon agreed, snapping Kazius out of his thoughts with a grin.
“Yes… That’s right…” Kazius agreed with a sigh, reaching into his pocket to feel his necklace again, something he had not done in a while. He felt the letters that he was familiar with, feeling out his name. It was almost as if he was trying to assure himself that he was still himself.
‘I am fine… I am still me. All people change… I… I will be fine… I will do better… Once this fiasco is over, I will go back to the challenges in the mountains… And gain my own strength… And then I won’t have to rely on The Shadows as much… If the future The Oracle showed me is real… I will be fine…’ Kazius assured himself mentally, much to the disapproval of The Shadows.
Kazius could hear every bit of disapproval from them along with disagreement. Their whispers were so intense that it almost sounded like hissing.
‘You can’t help what you are… Just accept it… You’re one of us… You will learn that soon enough...’
‘No… You’re wrong… At least I hope you are…’