Andre sat in silence, listening intently to Volak's tragic tale. Andre asked in astonishment, "If you obeyed the Ice Lord's order and did not remove the snow from your sister's body... then why did you leave the Ice Eagles Squad?"
Volak closed his eyes in pain, and answered with a voice heavy with bitterness: "I executed his order in that moment because I felt from his tone, and the tremor in his words, that my sister was in a state I should never see her in. I realized that if I brushed the ice away and saw what had happened to her, I might have lost my mind. I do not know what I would have done then... perhaps I would have attacked the demons' territory alone to either be the killer or the killed, or perhaps I would have stabbed myself to die with her right there in that cold cellar. I obeyed him to protect what remained of my sanity. But... what truly made me leave the squad was the strange and cruel behavior of the Ice Lord afterward."
Volak fell silent for a moment, then added, "Well, let us return to that moment... after Rose was buried."
In the Square of Mourning
The atmosphere was solemn, and everyone was weeping until their eyes nearly ran dry of tears. The tribe's leader, Zephyr, Rose's father, stood over his daughter's small grave. He was in agony, crying with a silence that squeezed the hearts, but suddenly he stopped his tears, composing himself with extreme difficulty as a leader who must guide his people, and said with a hoarse voice:
"The time has come to stop crying... and think about the tribes. As you know, we inherited the magic of healing, and it was passed down through the generations in our bloodline. My daughter was my pride and the pride of all the tribes, but she... is the last heir, and she has died. The necklace did not light up with its next bearer as is customary. I know it is cruel to speak of this when not even a full day has passed since my daughter's death, but... these are our customs. We must find a new bearer for the necklace immediately after the death of the previous one, so they can take on the responsibility of healing."
Chief Zephyr reached out his trembling hand toward the Ice Lord, Hyuga, who stood silent as a statue. But the Ice Lord did not move a muscle, nor did he extend his hand to give the necklace.
Everyone looked at him in surprise and tension. The Chief whispered pleadingly, "Hyuga... give me the necklace so we can complete the ceremony."
Very slowly, the Ice Lord took the necklace out of his pocket and stepped forward with heavy footsteps until he reached Rose's grave. He held up the cold necklace before everyone's eyes and said with an emotionless voice: "If you are waiting for the new healer of the village, that is no longer possible. For this necklace has become powerless. Its light was extinguished forever after Rose."
Everyone was stunned by the devastating news, and panicked whispers arose: "What will we do now? Does this mean the only healer in the village is gone? We will all die!"
Hyuga paid no attention to their frenzy, but continued with absolute coldness: "And since it is no longer of magical use, I will be the one to bear this necklace."
The Ice Lord placed the necklace around his neck. At that moment, Volak's angry voice pierced the silence of the graveyard: "Stop, Ice Lord! If the necklace has lost its power, and the healing magic no longer exists, then shouldn't we place it with its last master? It must be buried with Rose!"
The Ice Lord turned toward Volak with a sharp gaze and said: "Are you objecting to your commander's decision?"
Volak denied it, trying to contain his anger: "I have never objected to any of your military decisions before. But in this decision... yes, I object! This necklace is not yours, and everyone here knows that. So, Ice Lord, why don't we place it on Rose's grave to immortalize her memory?"
The Ice Lord was silent for a moment, then said with an icy tone: "It is true that the necklace is not mine. But... if it is placed on Rose's grave, she will be forgotten over time. Every sacrifice she made will be forgotten the moment the snow covers this grave. But, as I wear it as one of the Seven Knights, the whole world will remember her always."
Volak became furious and shouted in his commander's face: "So you say her sacrifice will fade and all the people of her village will forget her? While you, Commander of the Ice Squad, will immortalize her? If you believe that, you need to reconsider! You are a stranger to us! We have not witnessed any of your alleged heroics except that you saved us from some demons once. But... when the real demons attacked us, where were you? Tell me! Fighting at the gate they came from? Interesting! Then why did they reach us and manage to kill my sister? Tell me, Ice Lord!"
Hyuga's features did not change; instead, he replied with a provoking calmness: "I told you I had two missions, did I not? To liberate this village, and the other was to subjugate the Ancient Covenant Beast lurking directly beneath you. Do you want to know what it looks like?"
The Ice Lord pulled his left hand from beneath his cloak, revealing a complex black tattoo in the shape of a giant octopus. When the tattoo glowed, the entire earth beneath the villages shook with terrifying force, as if an earthquake was striking them, then suddenly stopped.
The Ice Lord continued amidst everyone's terror: "The demons took advantage of my preoccupation with taming this disaster, and what happened, happened. So..."
Volak interrupted him with a throat-tearing scream: "I do not care! Thanks to your preoccupation with the Covenant Beast, the demons attacked us and we were almost annihilated! And who saved us? Yes... the person whose necklace you now wear! So you say we could forget this? Do not joke with me! It is impossible for us to forget. So, give me the necklace right now!"
The Ice Lord tightened his grip on the necklace around his neck, half-drew his sword, and said with an explicit threat: "I do not care who is with me or against me. I have decided to take the necklace anyway."
With blind anger taking over everyone, all the tribes drew their weapons, and Volak stepped forward. But... the surprise that broke Volak's back occurred.
Julian, Iris, and Harold stepped forward... and stood behind the Ice Lord, drawing their weapons against Volak and the village people! They had sided with their commander.
When the Ice Lord saw that, he used the symbol of the Covenant Beast again. The place shook with terrifying force, making all the villagers and soldiers plant their swords into the ground, trying to hold on so the fissures would not swallow them. Then the shaking stopped.
The Ice Lord said with overwhelming coldness: "Now everyone knows what will happen to anyone who tries to object."
Everyone froze in their places out of terror. The tribes surrendered and dropped their weapons. Except Volak... he unsheathed his sword and screamed, his eyes overflowing with tears: "It is impossible for me to agree to grant you the necklace, Hyuga!"
Volak attacked, but he found his comrades from the Ice Squad (Julian and Harold) blocking him and preventing his advance.
Volak looked at his comrades defending Hyuga, then looked at the people of his village and the knights, finding nothing but total surrender and submission in all their eyes. At that moment, he stopped resisting and screamed at everyone with a voice hoarse from anguish:
"What? Have you become cowards now? Tell me! Is this how you return the favor to the one who died for you? Answer me!"
One of the villagers replied, his eyes on the ground in shame: "Rose healed my wife from a severe illness... and I will remember this as long as I live. But... I am sorry, Volak. We do not have enough power to stand against the Ice Lord and his beast."
In a fit of breakdown and betrayal, Volak drove his sword into the ice and raised his head toward the dark sky. He let out a massive cry, a scream that echoed throughout the entire place, carrying all the anger, sorrow, and brokenness a human soul could bear.
Then a strange, frightening quiet prevailed, and Volak said with a voice dripping with contempt: "Damn you all... when you needed her, she would come to you even at the cost of her life and her soul. But when she needed you now to protect her memory... you just... you just stayed silent! Damn all of this!"
Volak turned toward Hyuga, pointed his sword at him, and declared: "You know what? I will be the one to take that necklace from you, Ice Lord! So, I challenge you right now to a duel for it. If I win... I take the necklace. And if you win... then, I will leave the squad forever!"
Hyuga looked at him coldly and accepted the challenge.
And indeed, the two fought in a desperate duel. Despite all of Volak's anger and impulsiveness, the gap in power was vast. Volak lost the duel... and with his loss, he left the Ice Eagles Squad, carrying a wound that would never heal, distancing himself from everyone in the darkness of this cruel world.