Chapter 10. The gods do not care for the suffering of mortals.

Kaylen struggled to regain consciousness, his body battered and broken. His arm was fractured in several places from the intense pressure, his ribs were broken from the impacts with the ground, and he had several cracks in his bones. With his right hand, he retrieved a potion and drank it. He encased his left arm in ice to immobilize the injured limb. He noticed enemy soldiers rushing towards him.

Struggling to get up, he managed only with great difficulty. He started forming icy spikes and hurling them at the approaching warriors, but they skillfully dodged and blocked with their shields. He needed just a few minutes for the potion to take effect and help his body recover.

Preparing for close combat, he formed an ice sword in his right hand. There were many enemies, but if he couldn't fight with both arms, his left arm would serve well as a shield. An icy growth formed into a round shield, covering his upper body.

The first warrior who charged at him swung his sword downwards. Blocking the strike with his shield, Kaylen quickly thrust his sword into the attacker's neck. He needed to hold out just a bit longer and fend them off for now.

More soldiers surrounded him. Despite his ice-covered arm and shield, he felt the pain from each blow striking the shield. They suddenly rushed him en masse, slamming into his shield and pushing him back against a wall. Pressed against it, he fought off the attackers. Their blows rained down on his armor, not penetrating, but the pain was intense.

"Kaylen!" Through the sounds of battle, he heard Yorund's voice.

A rope was thrown down from above, and grabbing it, Kaylen started to climb, using his ice shield to block the spears being thrown at him. Almost at the top, Yorund grabbed his arm and pulled him up.

Yorund, amidst the chaos of battle, had noticed his friend's dire situation and rushed to help. His face was bloodied, and somewhere along the way, he had lost his helmet. Deep claw wounds from a bear marred his right side.

"Attack!" a voice shouted from within the walls, and warriors of the village began descending, launching an assault on the retreating army.

He wanted to yell at his troops to turn around and counterattack, but the ice demon was there, and it would destroy them all if they stayed.

"Retreat!" he shouted, hoping to save as many soldiers as possible.

Despite their charge, Bjorn understood that his warriors were exhausted. They needed to finish off those they could and then return to recover their strength.

Kailen, however, unleashed all his fury on the enemies, sparing no one, not even those who knelt and begged for mercy. He didn't want to show them pity; they had killed everyone, including women and children, in the villages. He desired to catch up with their leader and end the threat of another attack. As he was closing the distance, a roar echoed in the sky, so powerful that the ground trembled.

The silhouette of a massive ursine appeared in the sky, its fierce eyes flashing with lightning. A powerful lightning bolt descended from the heavens, targeting Kailen. He stopped and quickly tried to move away from the attack, but the bolt continued to chase him, changing its trajectory to follow.

Realizing he couldn't evade it, he decided to take the hit with his magic. He began forming as much ice as possible in front of him, hoping it would hold. He watched as the bolt reached the ice, shattering it into pieces. In the last moment, he saw the lightning bolt before him. The strike hit his chest, throwing him several meters away.

Kailen felt excruciating pain throughout his body; his muscles convulsed violently, his nervous system misfiring, sending incorrect signals, and his heart stopped beating after a second. In an instant, he lay motionless on the snow. His lifeless gaze stared at the sky, and his mind was consumed with a final thought—rage at Anivia, who had promised protection but did not come, the divine armor that did not save him, and most of all, rage at himself for his foolishness and helplessness.

Bjorulf turned and grinned widely—this was what he had been waiting for. The demon was no more, which meant victory was theirs.

"Kill them all," he commanded.

As his troops turned and began their assault, he leisurely approached Kylen's fallen body. Even from a distance, he could see that Kylen couldn't have survived such an attack.

"So, this is it. Your song is sung, and a new story of Bjorulf the Conqueror begins," he said. He raised his sword to plunge it into the body to ensure Kylen was dead, but suddenly, the body was encased in solid ice, and the sword merely bounced off.

A piercing cry rang out, and in the sky illuminated by lightning, the shadow of a massive phoenix became visible. Two gods clashed in battle, and the heavens and earth shook from their confrontation.

Bjorulf realized that the ice encasing Kylen's body was not his doing, but that of the goddess Anivia. Kylen was likely already dead. Convinced of this, he turned towards the village, which was already ablaze thanks to his warriors. Finally, he would finish off their clan, and the rest would submit unconditionally.

The fall of the Bear's Fang was only a matter of time; Bjorulf's forces were too numerous, and the ursine had battered the defenders, whose morale plummeted with the death of their strongest warrior.

Meanwhile, lightning, fire, and ice clashed in the sky. The battle of the gods intensified. Since his last battle with his brother, Volibear had grown significantly stronger. He realized that the armor Ornn had crafted for him only constrained his true power, which was now fully unleashed. Even the combined efforts of his brother and sister could not bring victory in this battle. However, Ornn was holding back; he didn't want to cause further destruction or be the reason for countless mortal deaths. His primordial fire could annihilate everything.

The battle didn't last long, and Volibear eventually retreated, swearing not to interfere in mortal affairs. By this time, the village was completely destroyed, the army had looted everything they could carry.

Kylen, meanwhile, was on the brink of death. His body was nearly lifeless, and his soul had already begun to depart, but the ice was preserving his life. Kylen awoke in his inner world, in a temple he had once seen, in the same situation where he had nearly died before.

However, this time there was no teacher at the table, only a kettle with steam coming out of it.

"After all, I couldn't defend myself against the lightning of the gods, but why am I still alive?" Kylen said as he approached the table. "No, I can't die, I must return," he said aggressively, remembering that a vast army still stood before his home.

"Let me out," he shouted into the void, but it was just his mind, and he himself was the guardian, for there was no place to return to. Kylen began to thrash about, trying somehow to return, but he couldn't manage it. Then he heard footsteps. Looking up, he saw his master.

"Master?"

"Yes, it is I," came the reply.

"But how? You said you would disappear," Kylen said, astonished.

"You are smart and should have understood; I am your strength, skills, and memory. How can I disappear when they are still within you," the master explained, approaching the table and setting out the tea service.

"Then why did you say you would disappear?" Kylen insisted.

"So that you wouldn't become attached to me. I thought you would never return to your subconscious, but here you are," the master continued. From nowhere, tea reappeared in the teapot, and he began to pour it into the cups.

"I see. Wait, Master, I need to return. My home is in danger," Kylen said, refusing the master's invitation to drink tea.

"You know, I never wanted my student to experience the grief of loss, but life is unfair. Your body is sustained only by your magic; your entire nervous system is burned out by electricity, your muscles are damaged, as are your blood vessels. There's nowhere for you to return to," Sub-Zero replied.

"No, I can't stay here. My family is there: my wife, my son, my mother, my father."

"I'm sorry, but I can't do anything about your body or your power. I'm just a bundle of memories living in your subconscious," Sub-Zero explained.

"So, everything is lost," Kylen said, sitting down on the ground, feeling as if his backbone had been removed, leaving him without the strength to fight. "I should have taken that power; everything would have been different."

"No, that power is not for you. It only leads to ruin, and everything around you turns to dust. I lost control over my power and regretted it my whole life, but what's done cannot be undone. Understand this, Kylen," Sub-Zero said, placing a hand on his student's shoulder.

"No, I needed it, and I listened to the goddess and refused. They don't care about us. Only we forge our own history, not them," Kylen argued.

"In my world, there were unjust gods, and we suffered because of their decisions, but without them, there wouldn't be the world in which you live," Sub-Zero said.

"That's no excuse for them," Kylen replied.

"You're right. Listen to me carefully. When you wake up, you might face your worst nightmares, and a choice will stand before you. Think carefully, for it will determine who you become. But here's what I'll tell you: when my brother was killed, I vowed revenge. And when I came face to face with my enemy, I realized that we were just pawns in someone else's game. He regretted it when he killed him, and then I forgave my enemy," Sub-Zero confessed.

"If anyone dares to harm my family, I'll do everything to make sure they leave this world," Kylen snapped.

"I'm not saying you shouldn't seek revenge. I just want you not to be consumed by it. Don't lose yourself and your mind," Sub-Zero tried to persuade his student.

"What's happening?" Kylen asked as he felt warmth emanating from his chest.

"Someone is healing you. Goodbye, stay human," Sub-Zero said.

Consciousness began to return to his body, and the awakening was excruciating. His body ached from many pains, and his eyelids opened with difficulty. He recognized the place where he was—it was the healer's house. He tried to rise, but his body didn't respond to his mental command. He wanted to open his mouth, but that too failed, only producing a semblance of a moan.

"You are awake. Don't try to get up or do anything else; you won't be able to. I pulled your body out of the ice and managed to keep you from crossing over to the other side, but it's a long road to recovery," the old woman said. She wasn't trying to be sarcastic or insulting; her face was heavy with grief.

"Mmm," he tried to ask what happened after he lost consciousness.

"Would you like to know the fate of your village? I will not tell you; you will find out for yourself later," she said. She stepped away and took a small cup. "Drink this; it will ease the pain in your body."

She opened his mouth and began to pour the liquid in. With a sad expression on her face, she sat by the window and stared out.

Kylen was trapped in his own body and couldn't move. He had hope that if the healer was alive, the others might be all right. But he also saw the sadness on the old woman's face, which meant that things hadn't gone as well as he'd hoped.

The next few days were terrible for him. The healer took care of his body, gave him potions and liquid food to help his body recover. But during the time he was under her care, no one came to see him. The more time passed, the more he suspected that something terrible had happened.

One day he regained the ability to speak and move his head.

"Tell me what happened to my village. I will not tolerate lies," he demanded, his eyes glowing blue.

"Hmm, you threaten the one who saved you more than once? But I won't be angry because you lost everything," she said. After a short pause, she continued. "Sooner or later, you were going to find out anyway. Your clan is dead. When Volibear struck you with his power, they saw our weakness and launched a new, fiercer attack on our home. The defenders fought back, and the enemy suffered great losses. We destroyed most of their army, but we couldn't hold the line. They sacked the village and killed everyone they could find. They didn't kill me because they didn't want to incur the wrath of the Frostguard and leave me among the bodies of the people I had lived with for so long," she explained sadly.

"No, you're lying. I don't believe you," Kylen snapped, tears forming in his eyes and immediately turning to ice.

"You'll see for yourself," she said.

"Noooo!" Kylen screamed in anger. His body, unresponsive to commands, began to move and he fell off the bed, flailing but trying to get up. His eyes glowed a brighter blue, and pillars of ice grew beneath his hands, lifting his body. He had poor control of his body, but he still managed to control the ice. His lower limbs were covered in a layer of ice, and he used it to move, approaching the door.

With his magic, he smashed the door and limped towards the village. From a distance he saw burned houses, none of them intact. The closer he got, the more bodies he saw lying on the ground. Despair consumed him, but a small glimmer of hope remained, and he made his way to his home. Falling to his knees, he saw that the house was completely destroyed, nothing left of it. He was afraid to go inside, his hands clutching the snow. Grief, pain of loss, and boundless rage clouded his mind.

Nature responded to his inner rage by swirling a blizzard around his body. The howl of the wind became so strong that the trees bent under its force. The temperature dropped rapidly, frost forming on everything, followed by a thick layer of ice. Uncontrolled magic began to fill Kylen's body, and he reached out as if to find something. Within moments, a True Ice crystal flew into his hand.

"You will die a terrible death; I will avenge everyone," he said in a cold, impersonal voice, and the crystal was absorbed into his body, filling him with primal power.

The healer was confused. She had helped him, and in doing so, may have condemned other clans to destruction. She looked at him as if he were the embodiment of death itself.