The highest floor of Valhena Tower had a silence no one had dared approach for years. The man who lived there, Commander Yuhen, resided in a solitary stone cell. His eyes were not blind, but they rarely opened to see, for what he gazed upon lay beyond the flesh.
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The Xhu seeping from his doorway began to change with the first vibrations of dawn. A pressure hung in the air; every breath grew heavier. As the commander rose in his bed, he whispered before his eyelids opened:
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“What powerful Xhu...”
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The guard had changed downstairs. Palir, Guroa, and Shuan ascended the stairs. They paused. No one spoke in front of the door. They merely exchanged glances. Finally, Palir reached out and knocked three times on the heavy iron door.
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The door opened from within. Yuhen stood before them, upright. He wore no armor, only a long black robe with a rusty sword at his waist. His eyes were still closed.
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“Commander…” Palir spoke, his voice hoarse. “That thing... has truly arrived.”
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Yuhen opened his eyes. They were like gray marble, without irises, yet he saw—and remembered.
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“For years, it visited me only in dreams,” he said. “Now it comes even before I sleep. This shore will demand bloodshed.”
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He took up his sword, fastening the belt tightly. “Wake the tower. Light all the torches. Send out the ravens. Draw the chained barricades. Today, the gods remain silent. Today, you are your own gods.”
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Guroa quickly bowed his head in salute. “As you command, sir.”
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Thus, Valhena spoke the name of blood aloud for the first time in many years.
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When Empty Mist reached the shore, it did not halt. The coast cracked at its approach. Stones shattered as if awakened from a century-long slumber. The first to step off the ship was Pegwalsge. Where his foot touched, no grass grew. The earth retreated without resistance.
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His crew disembarked behind him. All were silent, yet their eyes burned with a bloodthirstiness unmatched. This silence was like a moan concealed within a storm. Darkness seeped from each face; their eyes bore no light, only meaning a meaning as ancient as death itself.
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The first greeting they received on land was fear in the eyes of waiting soldiers. Commander Yuhen had not yet arrived. The soldiers awaited orders, but no commands came. For Hollow Mist had already given an answer.
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Some soldiers dropped their swords; others fell to their knees. The pressure of Xhu infiltrated them with a violence even the wind dared not challenge. The sky darkened like a curtain, clouds merging to deepen the shadows.
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Pegwalsge stepped forward, bending slightly to touch the ground with his fingers. A faint cracking sound spread as if the earth recognized his cursed touch. The ground did not speak like gods, but it bore their wrath.
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“I haven’t touched soil this innocent in a long time,” Pegwalsge remarked. His voice held neither anger nor emotion, merely truth.
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He raised his head. As his eyes met the sky, lightning did not fall, but the silence that awaited it shook the heavens.
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“Soon, nothing of its innocence will remain.”
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With those words, darkness intensified. His crew stood behind Pegwalsge as one body. Their eyes penetrated the soldiers’ souls, dissolving faith one by one.
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And then, silence shattered upon the shore.
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Savael was the first to act. As he raised his palms to the sky, fragments of Xhu tore through the air. The sky turned crimson like blood. Spiraling rings of Xhu descended toward the soldiers. Those caught in its path spasmed violently; their flesh peeled away without even allowing screams. Eyes bulged from sockets, souls gnawed by Xhu.
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Vorun swung his chain, ringing the bell at its end. Some soldiers' hearts pounded as if they would burst from their chests. One ripped open his own stomach where he stood. Another clutched his ears and collapsed. A soldier struck by the chain was cleaved cleanly at the neck.
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Eizma extended her tongue between her teeth, murmuring softly. The air around her warped. Soldiers began rubbing their eyes, seeing visions of their mothers’ corpses. One screamed, dropped his weapon, and fell to the ground, begging forgiveness, though no one was there to hear.
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Karra remained silent, yet where she walked, the earth blackened, and grass turned to ash. Her shadow caused soldiers to choke themselves. One soldier gouged out his eyes. Karra simply walked.
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Narth, with his eyeless face, walked among the soldiers. Those glimpsing his darkness fell instantly. His Xhu betrayed even the light itself. One soldier collapsed, vomiting blood and bile simultaneously. Narth drew his sword, and with a psychopathic grin, split the man’s head down the middle.
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And Pegwalsge.
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He placed his hand once more upon the ground, and a whisper spread not heard by ears, but felt in the bones. As his Xhu permeated the earth, soldiers' bones began cracking. Some exploded in place, their organs scattering outward, eyes fixed emptily. Others... merely stopped. No breath. No blinking. As if willingly abandoning life.
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There had been 90 soldiers; now only 20 remained.
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The shore was no longer silent, yet the earth did not appear satisfied with the bloodshed.
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Only a few soldiers remained after the massacre. Like rain, black Xhu residue fell upon the corpses strewn across the ground. The sky was pitch black as if even the heavens had shut their eyes to this disgrace. The remaining soldiers could neither flee nor fight. They simply trembled.
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And then...
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The chill in the air changed.
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A hum rose from beyond the shoreline. The earth trembled a second time but this time not from fear, but recognition. For the approaching presence carried no rage. It simply ruled.
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Commander Yuhen appeared at the western gate of Valhena Tower, walking with heavy steps. Behind him followed three naval soldiers: Palir, Guroa, and Shuan. They all walked through the stench of blood. But the one in front... was something else entirely.
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With Yuhen’s every step, the ground cracked. Stones froze beneath his feet. The air wasn’t just cold it became sharp. Breathing was like swallowing blades.
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Savael turned his head. “Something is coming,” he said, for the first time with seriousness.
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Pegwalsge narrowed his eyes. His crew looked to him. None moved, but they all felt it.
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Xhu... another kind of Xhu... a powerful Xhu... a colossal Xhu.
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Yuhen halted. His ice-like gaze fixed on Pegwalsge. Pegwalsge had sensed the irregularity in Yuhen’s Xhu this wasn’t just pure Xhu.
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It was the Glacial Orb.
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As the naval soldiers stood before Pegwalsge and his crew, it became difficult to breathe. Eizma’s dark energy, Narth’s eyeless unease, and Karra’s bleak silence had already seeped into their bodies.
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But then... Commander Yuhen’s Xhu descended upon them.
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And everything balanced.
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“This... this is something else,” whispered Palir.
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“The Commander is like one of them... maybe even stronger,” said Eliar, his mouth dry.
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“I can feel both. Two abysses...” muttered Sennre.
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Pegwalsge slightly bowed his head. “Interesting,” he said. “You’ve absorbed a very powerful orb, Yuhen.”
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Yuhen raised his hand. The three soldiers behind him stepped forward. Sennre and Eliar joined them. The few soldiers who had survived the earlier massacre straightened upon seeing the Commander. The fear in their eyes hadn’t vanished, but his presence... was like a kind of refuge.
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Yuhen spoke. His voice was not loud, but every word etched itself into stone:
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“I am now the bearer of the Glacial.”
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Pegwalsge said nothing. His crew remained still. But on some of their lips, faint tension appeared. Eizma’s nails once again dug into her arm. Savael’s pupils narrowed.
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Yuhen drew his white ice blade, and once more the sky darkened.
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The battle had not yet begun.
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But now...
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The sides had recognized one another.
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