Chapter 504 Ice Giant (Part 6)
When Kaizen saw Grognar strike himself, he stepped back a few feet, breathing heavily. He was trying too hard. In addition, his body was injured and tired, but his determination remained unshakable.
Grognar let out a roar of pain, but before he could recover, Kaizen took advantage of the gap and advanced with a final thrust. He channeled his psychic powers, concentrating energy in his hands and on his blade. With one swift, smooth motion, Kaizen delivered blunt blows to Grognar's most vulnerable areas. His shining sword sliced through the giant's ice skin more times than he could count, causing deep, bloody wounds. The impact of the blows was so intense that the ground itself trembled under the force of the combat.
As Kaizen continued to attack, Glacius tried once more to intervene, then a powerful burst of psychic energy erupted from his hands, pushing Glacius back once more. The giant was thrown violently, crashing into one of the mountain walls once more.
As Grognar struggled to stand, Kaizen spotted an opportunity. He leaped onto Grognar's shoulder, taking advantage of his superhuman agility, and aimed directly at Grognar's weak point: his neck.
With a cry of determination, Kaizen landed a powerful vertical blow with the Ragnarok Sword, but Grognar managed to get a hand on it in time, so he only lost a few fingers, which fell like icebergs to the ground, causing two intense tremors in a row.
At that moment, Grognar finally fell to his knees, with a look of defeat and disbelief in his eyes. His strength was rapidly diminishing, and he knew the battle was lost.
Kaizen, panting and wounded, retreated a few steps once more, watching the fallen ice giants before him. The region was plunged into silence, except for the sound of the wind howling through the peaks of the ice mountains. And from afar, Xisrith and the other Descragons watched with disbelief, disbelief, and everything that could characterize surprise. There was no other definition for Kaizen than...
"Majestic..." Samantho muttered, awestruck.
Kaizen, even though exhausted, maintained his determined stance. He knew that the battle was not yet fully won. Glacius, the last remaining ice giant, was still in a position to counterattack.
As he caught his breath, Kaizen carefully observed Glacius, whose expression was filled with fury. The blue giant stood up with difficulty, leaning on his ice hammer.
Kaizen prepared himself for the final confrontation, gripping the hilt of his sword firmly, but before doing so, he questioned:
"Why were you and your friend fighting?"
Glacius promptly replied with a pained expression. "What are you talking about? This guy is definitely not my friend." He pointed the hammer at the kneeling and extremely injured ice giant.
"Fine, whatever." Kaizen took a deep breath. "Why were you two fighting?"
"Because... I... I think... I don't remember."
"What? You don't remember?"
Glacius looked at Kaizen with a mixture of pain and confusion. As he struggled to find the words, his mind began to dive into distant memories, going back in time, crossing the ages. In the blink of an eye, the icy landscape around them turned into a desolate battle scene. Grognar and Glacius, in their towering young forms, were facing each other with powerful and thunderous blows, but the reason for their battle lay somewhere even deeper in time.
The memories in Glacius' mind flowed like the rivers between the mountains, revealing fragments of an ancient history.
Grognar and Glacius had once been allies, ice giants who shared the same origin and a common goal: to protect the land of Niflheim and its people. Together, they were invincible.
However, over the ages, something changed. Pride and ambition seeped into their hearts, fueling a bitter rivalry to find something out. Each of them believed that their approach to protecting Niflheim was the right one, and this disagreement turned into hatred.
Grognar believed that the best way to preserve the land was to keep it frozen, preventing interference from other peoples and protecting his people from outside dangers. Glacius, on the other hand, believed that harmony and coexistence with other beings and worlds was fundamental to Niflheim's prosperity.
So the battle raged, and as the thousands of battles raged in Glacius' mind, Kaizen witnessed his startled expression.
The ice mountains that were once majestic were now marked by deep scars, the result of the endless fighting. Throughout the ages, Grognar and Glacius had met again and again, their eternal battles shaping the fate of Niflheim and the other races. With each encounter, they wounded each other badly, but neither could defeat the other. Always a draw.
The memories soon brought Glacius to the present, and he faced Kaizen with sadness in his eyes.
"The reason we fought was that we wanted to lead, but as the ages passed, the memories became fragile, almost forgotten. And the other ice giants have split."
Kaizen understood the magnitude of the situation. The battle between Grognar and Glacius was much deeper than he had imagined. It was a struggle that spanned eons, driven by pride, ambition, and an unshakable determination.
Determined to interrupt this cycle of violence, Kaizen approached Glacius and landed on his shoulder. "Is there still a reason for you guys to fight? Do you guys still want to finish what you started?"
Glacius looked at Kaizen, pondering the young warrior's words. He pondered for a moment, feeling the weight of the ages of battle on his shoulders.
"No, there is no longer any reason for us to keep fighting," Glacius replied with a mixture of sadness and relief in his voice. "We have lost so much over these endless ages, and the war has only brought destruction and suffering to Niflheim and its people."
He lowered his ice hammer and looked at Grognar, who was still on his knees. A sincere compassion shone in Glacius' eyes.
"Grognar," Glacius called out, extending a hand to the ice giant. "The time has come to put an end to this fight. We are not enemies, but brothers of a land we love so much."
Grognar looked at Glacius with his eyes expressing a mixture of weariness and resignation. Finally, he reached out his own trembling hand and grasped Glacius', accepting the peace offer.
With that, the two ice giants stood up and a notification appeared before Kaizen.
[You have completed the hidden mission 'Restoring Bonds'].
[You have unlocked the story mission 'Order in Niflheim'. Do you wish to accept this mission? YES/NO.]