“I suppose all we can do now is wait… We should go to tell everyone at home that everything is alright… We will probably run into anyone that started heading here on the way back… Had I known we would manage, I would not have bothered with asking for reinforcements.” Kazius stated, trying to focus on what was in front of him instead of his internal struggle.

Despite his best attempts though, his expression had a distant look to it, something Alice picked up on as she stared at him.

“Something wrong?” Kazius asked her in confusion, realizing she was looking at him quite intently.

Alice perked up, growing a bit flustered.

“No, sorry… I just… I just feel like this is weighing heavily on you. I was just worrying about you… I know leading people isn’t easy… My father’s authority was mostly fake, but he was still very stressed… I just feel like lately there has been a different look in your eyes… Even when we climbed Mount Cyklon you didn’t look very happy at the party… And it has only gotten worse with this… Just… How about I handle catching everyone on what happened?” Alice questioned.

Kazius perked up at her words. He supposed she was more perceptive than he had realized. He was hiding a lot from her. The talk with Vind, his origin, and even his internal struggles… But he just could not bring himself to tell her any of it… He did not want her to change how he looked at him. The idea terrified him. Yet despite this, he still did not connect the dots as to why… But honestly, he was simply just refusing to allow himself to.

“Thank you… I suppose I am rather exhausted.” Kazius agreed, holding onto her hands briefly with his own.

Kazius was quite stressed due to his own internal struggles more than anything external, but that did not change the fact that her show of care was very much appreciated by him. It helped him greatly, even if he did not say it. It was really almost like Alice was always there for him in his worst moments, which was another reason why he wanted to spare her from all of this.

“I think you and Azanor could probably use a break… You two have seemed close lately. Maybe you both could talk and relax or something… I don’t get why he ran off like that…” Alice added, showing she had perceived that much as well. She didn’t know about their chats, but she could tell this much.

“I… I will try that… Thank you, Alice… ” Kazius agreed, feeling a bit nervous. After all, she was pointing out things Kazius had hoped she would not notice.

“Good, I think you should also relax some, Damon. I know dealing with Luna has never been easy on you.” Alice added it seemed like she intended to take care of everything on her own.

“I am doing fine, really! I told you, I just need to get over it. I will help. I think we should go ahead and go. Let me grab my spear and let’s head back.” Damon assured with a grin and thumbs up as if to show he was alright.

“Is it even safe to touch it?” Alice asked in concern, her brows furrowing as she looked at what was left of the Frost Giants near the impact zone.

“That aura is a little concerning… But my Shadows have never really hurt anyone I have not wanted them to… But I can grab it first to make sure it is alright.” Kazius admitted. Sure, the Shadows had questionable motives… But they did not seem like they meant physical harm towards him and his friends.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“I’m sure it is fine! It is my spear after all.” Damon protested.

“I insist.” Kazius stated, heading to it first. He did not want to risk any of them getting hurt.

With that, as he approached, he could see more of the petrified remains. He could not help but reach and touch an arm that was in his path. The charred remains did not only look like stone, but they felt like stone as well.

It all felt quite solid, he doubted these would go anywhere. Perhaps leaving them would suffice as enough of a warning to anyone that attempted to attack Vargstam…

Still, he kept going, reaching the spear that was now pitch black and radiating shadows in the strangest way. Kazius slowly reached for the spear, flinching as the shadows seemed to immediately go towards him. Just as quickly as that happened though, they disappeared into him.

“Huh…” Kazius trailed off, confused.

“What was that?! Are you okay!?” Alice exclaimed in concern.

“I’m fine! You two stay back there!” Kazius called back, glad that he had done this instead of Damon.

‘I have the permission…’ Kazius thought to himself, remembering Azanor’s words about his birthright when it came to The Shadows.

Kazius used those words to reassure himself that he was fine and that is why no harm came to him physically. With that, he went ahead and grabbed the spear, pulling it out. It was then the spear began to change. It was almost like the black coating around it was burning away.

What was left behind was a similar-looking spear except the metal looked sharper… The metal almost had a black and red shine around it… It was almost as if it was made of a different metal entirely, one Kazius had never seen before. Even with The Shadows gone, the hilt was now black, but what was most noticeable of all was the symbol on it.

It had changed.

The spear no longer contained Vind’s symbol…

In its place was an open eye looking down. Kazius could almost feel an air of contempt from the eye. It was almost as if it was looking down on everything and everyone. With 4 triangle-shaped tears. One triangle pointed down with another right below it, one pointed to the right, and one to the left.

It was strange, but he felt a connection to the symbol.

There was no trace of Vind’s symbol. It was like it was never there. It was just this new one… Kazius would ask Azanor about it at some point.

“Here.” Kazius stated, walking back to the duo before handing Damon the spear.

Damon studied the spear as he grabbed it, his expression showing his confusion. After all, he always carried his spear around, but now it was so foreign to him.

“It looks so different!” Damon exclaimed in awe.

“At least it seems like it is safe…” Alice stated with a sigh, relieved. She seemed a bit concerned about the change in appearance, but it seemed she did not seem to think much of it. Perhaps though maybe she just didn’t know what to even think.

“Buahaha! It looks fine! I can’t wait to try it out!” Damon beamed, seeming eager to practice with it.

“That will have to wait till later though. I’m sure everyone in Vargstam is still panicking.” Kazius admitted with a sigh. He did not know where to even begin. Alice said she could handle it, but he did not want her to sort out such a mess alone…

Still, he supposed all they could do was see what would happen.

“Alright, enough of that. Let’s go home.” Kazius stated with a sigh.

With that, Kazius would head back to town by foot considering he did not have the energy to go through The Shadows… Not to mention, he had this uneasy feeling deep down that he could not understand. He felt it would be best to keep their distance.

As they made their way back, indeed they ran into their reinforcements. Egil was together with other fighting-age men of Vargstam. They all looked quite alarmed, but somewhat relieved to see them back safely.

“What happened, Chief!? I thought there were Giants!” Egil exclaimed, looking quite tense.

“About that… The fight is already over, we actually won… Some Frost Giants should be coming back to negotiate peace.” Kazius admitted.

His words seemed to stun the group, unable to believe they took care of a whole army on their own.

“But how?” Egil asked, unable to believe what he heard.

“It is quite the story… Come on, I will tell you on the way back.”