the edges of an abandoned village silence prevails and the sky is overcast with light gray clouds
the group moves inside the village cautiously their footsteps barely audible on the cracked ground raymos raises his hand as a signal to stop and the search process begins long minutes pass without any trace of life but suddenly a sharp roar is heard in the sky an energy portal opens in front of them and a patrol of six fighters covered in smooth black armor with a scarf bearing the cross ice symbol falls from it their leader steps forward his eyes shining with lethal coldness
patrol leader with a flat voice
surprising you are not from the akrit so what do you hide who are you
raymos takes a step forward trying to look calm but sweat wets his forehead despite the cold weather
raymos with fake anger
and what business is it of yours who are you to ask
arius whispers while standing next to his brother elius noticing raymos tension
arius in a low voice
hmmm raymos is trying to hold himself together but his hand is trembling this is not good
elius approaches arius a trembling whisper
elius
brother why dont we just run we can use our speed and escape with the maximum we have
arius with calmness and intelligence
no we cant if we move randomly we will expose ourselves these are not just scouts the energy of one of them touches three hundred thousand these are capable of leveling an entire planet to the ground and they are most likely just from the rogues
elius takes a step back sweating while the leader takes an additional step forward watching their movements without blinking
patrol leader with strange relief
you do not answer which means you are afraid this is nice
the team exchanges quick glances arius squeezes the hilt of his sword in silence while zarion steps back slightly his hand on a simple transmitter ready for any emergency
zarion in a heavy whisper
arius if we engage i need only 5 seconds to open a back portal for us but we must survive the first 5 seconds of their hell
arius with sharp eyes
position yourselves immediately do not attack and do not show any intention to fight until i give the signal
the cold wind passes and a deadly silence hangs over the team is tense but behind the eyes the next decision is being cooked
after that one of the ice demons members begins to activate a power measuring device and quickly passes his gaze over the members of arius team
he stops first at zarwin and the numbers appear on the device
power 8000 units only
he raises his eyebrow in disdain then directs the device toward elius
power 13000 units
he mutters sarcastically
heh just a somewhat strong child but he is worth nothing here
then he moves to raymos
power 30000 units
he shakes his head
oh this is the strongest of you it seems he is your leader isnt he
and finally he directs the device toward arius
the screen stops for a bit then a shocking result appears
power 5 units only
silence
then the patrol members burst into loud laughter
hahaha five only does this child even know how to use his energy
is this a test for children or did you come out of a nursery
but arius did not move he did not even blink his face was completely frozen and a small smile appeared on the edge of his lips
inside he thinks calmly
this device only measures active energy but the real raw energy that i hide they cannot even imagine
he lowers his eyes slightly while his eyes glow with a faint color he knows that the time has not come yet not to reveal his power nor to ignite the battle
the demonic leader steps forward with slow confident steps his eyes shining with a dark color as if they reveal the depths then he stops in front of the group
demonic leader in a calm but sarcastic voice
two children a teenager who thinks himself a warrior and a middle aged man wearing travelers clothes surprising what brought you here you do not look like residents of the akrit
he looks at arius then turns toward raymos
leader
share your destination with us perhaps we will guide you instead of erasing you
a heavy silence prevails then raymos responds with a sarcastic side smile while sweat pours from his forehead
raymos with suppressed anger
our destination yes towards your mother
he dashes like a bullet toward the demonic leader trying to land a direct punch to his face but the leader raises his hand calmly holding his fist with terrifying stability as if it were a childs fist then pushes him back with enormous force
raymos flies like a doll and rolls on the ground forcefully elius stands up confused shouting
elius
raymos
he tries to attack but the leader appears in front of him suddenly hitting him with his elbow on his chest so elius falls losing balance as if he were hit by a huge truck
arius stands still in his place watching the situation with eerie calmness while whispering to elius who had crawled toward him
arius in a cold whisper
we do not attack if we do we will be hunted to death these are not ordinary do not be reckless
raymos shouts
enough
his body explodes with enormous energy tongues of energy surround him his eyes shine with anger and he begins to launch successive energy waves toward the demonic leader one after the other the ground shakes and the air is torn from the intensity of the energy
but from the smoke the demonic leader comes out without a scratch he walks toward raymos with slow steps then appears in front of him in the blink of an eye
leader with a heavy voice
finished
one punch
he hits raymos in his chest with a force equivalent to an earthquake the ground shatters beneath him his body is buried in the middle of a deep hole still without movement his mouth bleeding
everyone s eyes widen zarwin retreats in fear elius does not move and arius watches in silence his eyebrows furrowed and his eyes burning with a precise analytical look
after raymos fell to the ground unconscious everyone froze at what happened then out of courage elius attacked them but he fell quickly as well and then only arius and zarion remained standing who were from the demons perspective the weakest arius stood without movement and the demonic leader said because of your insolence you will come with us
the sound of stone doors creaking rises as the prisoners are dragged through the harsh icy corridor their chains making a metallic hum on the ground the air is cold heavy charged with awe
ice demon soldiers with a thick commanding voice
bow before king kaiser ruler of the eternal ice
exhausted bodies are made to kneel before a huge throne carved from eternal ice crystal sparkling like a dark diamond at the top sits a huge entity king kaiser his body is covered in dark armor covered with moving icy layers his eyes glow like two embers in the darkness of the room
arius despite the restraints is standing in silence watching no fear but analysis he looks toward king kaiser with the gaze of one looking for a weakness not for salvation
internal description arius perspective
thinks while staring at kaiser
the amount of energy coming from him is indescribable this time there is no room for maneuvering or rebellion i will not get out of here alive if i even think of trying
zarion breathes with difficulty blood flows from his mouth but his eyes are open monitoring every corner elius is completely slumped without movement next to him raymos is still unconscious
the demonic leader who took them down enters behind them stands next to the throne speaks harshly
demonic leader
we brought them as you ordered my lord they resisted but they are weak this is all that remains of the human mission
king kaiser does not move he only looks that look is enough to crush the morale of a trained soldier then with a deep slow voice but carrying a strange internal echo
kaiser in a cold tone
this is who is supposed to be the danger coming from your planet you are less than nothing
arius does not reply he looks in silence and his inside is boiling but he remembers the message
internal flashback before the capture when the message appeared
a transparent blue message flashes before his eyes
system
surrender now an absolute necessity for survival do not resist
arius read the message quickly and without argument he bowed slowly and raised his hands in surrender not because of fear but because the system was never wrong in survival decisions
return to current scene
sound of chains moving as one of the guards kicks raymos to wake him but in vain elius groans zarion looks at arius as if asking him silently what next
arius replies with one look frozen then returns his gaze toward kaiser
kaiser with a cold smile
i want to know who among you leads and who among you breaks first
heavy silence arius does not answer he only stares
kaiser with a terrifying calmness
good we will start tomorrow to know what your bodies hide before your souls freeze forever
the soldiers begin to drag them to the inner cells darkness swallows them gradually while kaisers voice still rings in the hall
interior scene icy cell night
the weather is cold the characters breaths rise in the air like fog the cell is made of dark stone covered with ice the metal restraints bind them harshly to the wall
elius opens his eyes slowly groaning from pain
what happened are we prisoners
raymos breathes with difficulty tries to stand up while restrained
damn i did not expect that blow to take me down so easily who are these
zarion in a bitter tone
ice demons they were not in huge numbers but the leader alone was enough we all fell
elius looks around realizing the situation
where are we
zarion
in the depths of one of the mountains inside the base of their king kaiser
camera moves slowly toward the corner arius is sitting on the ground silent staring toward the wall with a deadly silence as if his mind is drowning in a sea of calculations and probabilities
raymos notices arius in a faint voice
arius what is the matter
arius in a faint voice as if talking to himself
kaiser his strength is beyond our range even with my reach to the number 100000 i feel like i am just an ant before him
zarion in a tense voice
we have to think quickly the king will not leave us like this he will likely summon us and start the investigation soon
elius approaches his gaze to zarion
and what will we say to him
zarion moves his head to the sides
certainly we will not tell him about the life cube this is our goal and it seems it is also their goal
raymos with wonder
impossible why would they care about a planet full of farmers water and weak resources
zarion lowers his voice as if there is someone eavesdropping
because this planet hides something bigger there is no reason that makes an entire kingdom led by kaiser move for ice and snow only i think they are looking for the cube too
arius raises his head finally in a low but firm voice
if that is true then we are now in a race with kaiser himself and the problem is that we are restrained and he is free
silence hangs over the place sounds of frozen water dripping from the ceiling everyone s eyes look toward arius as if he is the center of the last hope
elius
then what is the solution do you have a plan
arius returns to his silence then says
not yet but i will find one before the time for investigation comes we must be ready even if our only chance is just a good lie
the scene ends on arius sharp look and his mind working at full speed in the middle of the ice cell that hides in its walls the secrets of life and death
after that hours pass and after that they take them out of the cell and drag them to the king again and then they make them bow by force
after that kaiser starts as expected by asking them about the reason for their presence on this planet everyone tries to be smart about the situation and they come up with the excuse that they were only passing through a travel path and landed on this planet for rest and to take some resources from the inhabitants of the planet and leave in peace but they did not find anyone until they met his soldiers and what happened happened
kaiser looks at them with a heavy silence his eyes glow with a cold blue color like ice and it seems that silence alone is enough to make the hall tremble
then he speaks finally in a low but heavy voice like rocks
kaiser
do you think i will believe this naive story the planet akrit is not on the crossing path of any galaxy you are lying
he takes a step forward the ground freezes under his feet and he continues
kaiser
but no matter if you are truly here for rest then i will grant you eternal rest
one of the demon leaders from behind kaiser smiles with a cold irony while raymos tries to stand despite the restraints to shout
raymos
we are not your enemies let us go and we will forget this planet forever
but kaiser ignores him completely and looks directly at arius then waves his finger toward him and the restraints move on their own and raise arius in the air in front of him
kaiser
you the weak one with the number 5 why are you still silent
arius opens his eyes calmly looks directly into kaisers eyes without fear then says
arius
because i am thinking how to kill you
in a moment silence prevails in the hall the soldiers stare in surprise raymos mutters idiot and kaiser raises his eyebrow with a small smile
then in a fleeting moment arius is hit by a massive pressure wave of ice energy it breaks him to the ground violently
but the surprise is that arius stood up slowly without his face breaking or being in pain instead he was smiling
arius calmly the number 5 is not my real number it is only what i wanted you to see
after that kaiser returns to his throne and after that he starts watching his soldiers as they torture the team in front of him and he watches until they truly confess why they are here after a while of that a girl at the same age as arius and raymos enters the hall and suddenly everyone stops from her entry and when she enters she passes through the soldiers with all arrogance and pride and when she passes from above the team she looks at them and then she looks at arius then she smiles for a moment then she goes in front of kaiser then kaiser stands up and seems as if he is afraid then he says my little one arisa what brought you here my little one she replies with all coldness i got bored and also you my father bring me trivial matters so i decided to come and have fun with you here kaiser replies you have that my love but your father is busy now she replies with coldness and what are you doing you finished old man he replies that these boys i caught them and am trying to interrogate them about the reason for their coming here but they do not confess she replies father you are disgusting and pathetic then he says to her so my princess tell me what i should do with them for your sake she says okay she points to raymos and elius and zarion and says these are useless so throw them out as for that boy she means arius leave him for me kaiser replies as you command my little one then he orders his soldiers to throw the three outside the place and let them go elius tries to refuse and leave his brother but a thought occurs to arius which is that when they get out of here they should try to search for the cube and not to worry about him and he said it in a very low whisper
after arius whispered to his brother elius and his companions he said to them
when you get out look for the cube do not worry about me i will be fine just trust me
raymos nodded his head at him despite the anger and anxiety in his eyes then he and zarion and elius were dragged out of the palace by the soldiers while arius remained slumped on the ground staring at arisa who approached him slowly
she said to him while smiling slightly
you it seems that you are more interesting than the rest what is your name
arius did not answer her immediately but kept staring into her eyes steadily then replied calmly
arius
she laughed a little and said sarcastically
arius a strange name but i like it
she turns to her father and says
i will take him to my room i will take care of him in my way
kaiser looks with surprise then laughs a little despite the confusion
as you wish but be careful this boy is not ordinary
arisa replies with confidence
neither am i
then she pulls arius by his hand and takes him out of the hall while the soldiers open the way for her in complete silence arius despite the fatigue walks with her without resistance while he thinks
this girl is very strange but if she is my way out i will use her without hesitation
after arisa reaches her room
arius enters with restrained steps and as soon as he raises his eyes he is shocked by the vastness of the room which seemed like a royal hall even though it was just a temporary base the sofas are decorated and the walls are inlaid with rare engravings and everything suggests that whoever lives here does not know the meaning of poverty or simplicity
she sat him on a chair in front of her and he remained bound by hands and feet she sat opposite him crossing one leg over the other looking at him with a cold assessment look before opening her mouth saying
you are a great deceiver
arius furrowed his eyebrows and said in a fake tone trying to claim innocence
what do you mean i did not understand
she shook her head sarcastically and said
stop this acting i know that you are hiding your real power among all those who were with you you are the only one from whom that aura radiates but my idiot father does not feel anything
then arius realized something important
this is not an ordinary girl
the tone of her voice her confidence her sharp look all of them suggest danger of a different kind perhaps more dangerous than her father himself
she approached a little then said in a tone saturated with arrogance
i love the strong ones and for this reason you are now mine
arius was slightly confused so she continued her speech without waiting for his reply
i always get everything i want and you what are you but something i wanted
then she lowered her voice in a sharp tone
you have no choice if you refuse i will not ask my father to kill you i will do it myself .