Merry Christmas, everyone. I hope you enjoy—this is a fun bonus chapter for the holidays.
***
Winter was a season that was often associated with cold. The weather would grow chilly, and in some parts of the world, it would even begin to snow.
Throughout history, there were small moments in this world where a lonely being decided to explore and watch from a distance. In some of these cases, this lonely being was spotted. In others, they didn't know he was watching at all.
This is a tale. One that went through time and even space. The story of a being who was almost as lonely as the sad author who calls himself Adam Hawker.
Without a doubt, both of them had bad endings.
***
A tale across time and space…
"Man, it's really snowing hard out there, isn't it?" Bruno asked, looking out the window of his home. "Really sucks how much snow there is."
Olivia hummed and sat close to the fireplace, attempting to stay warm. She had a book already opened, reading about the Arcane Knights and how they once fought a powerful demon that threatened to freeze the world before it was sealed away. "You're an ice mage. Does the cold even bother you?" Olivia questioned.
"Nah." Bruno shook his head and tapped his chest. "Your bro can handle it. The others can't, though. I wanted to hang out with Nev and Trent today! We were going to go fishing out in the woods! Now I can't." Bruno let out a grumble. "Talk about a lame fourteenth birthday."
He had just turned fourteen today, and of course, fate decided to lock him and Olivia up by snowing so much that the entire village was stuck indoors. This wasn't just any snow; it was a full-on blizzard. Ice and frost rained upon the land, and clumps of snow were so high they physically blocked all the doors.
Fri had never seen a winter quite like this, but today it was as cold as it was in Mordheim.
"Don't be so down, Bruno." In the kitchen, Rosco walked out holding two cups of hot cocoa. He gave one to Bruno and then took a seat next to Olivia by the fireplace, giving her a cup as well. "I'm sure the snow will end eventually."
"Yeah, but with how much there is, it'll take at least a week for it all to melt," Bruno grunted. "A full week without getting to hang out with my bros! That sucks!" Suddenly, Bruno gave a grin, and without warning, he threw himself at the thirteen-year-old Olivia, wrapping her up in a tight hug. "Guess I'll have to hang out with you, bro!"
Olivia let out a loud yelp and thrashed around, dropping her book and spilling her cocoa. Bruno's body was ice cold. "G-Get off me!" Her teeth clattered together, and she hit the boy over the head.
Bruno chuckled and eventually dropped her to the ground. "Bro, let's play a game!"
"No. I'm reading." Olivia grumbled and turned her back on the boy, picking her book up once again.
"Oh, come on? Please?" Bruno tried to give her his best puppy dog look. "You never know when it'll be our last time to hang out."
Olivia snorted and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She softly shook her head. "No, I know. We're never going to not have time because we're going to be together forever."
"That's a little childish, isn't it?" Bruno said flatly.
"What! No, it's not."
"It totally is." Bruno snorted.
Olivia's eye twitched, and she slammed her book shut. She glared back at Bruno. "Well, I guess you're right; after all, I wouldn't want to hang out with you forever anyway!"
"Oy! Hurtful!" Bruno grabbed his chest as if he now had a broken heart. "How could you wound me so, bro?"
"Stop calling me bro-"
"Bro, bro, bro, bro, bro-"
Bruno crashed to the ground as Olivia and he began to play fight just like they did when they were kids. Rosco rolled his eyes and ignored the two kids as they lightly hit one another. With a grunt, he stood up and wobbled over to the window. On cold days, his bad leg always seemed to ache.
Rosco let out a quiet whistle at what he saw outside. The snow really was coming down hard today. It was all the way up to the window. Enough to freeze even a fire mage. He wondered briefly what the cause of such a storm could be, but then something caught his eye.
Rosco squinted and leaned forward to stare out the glass. Far, far away, something moved in the sea of white. It was hard to see, for there was so much snow and ice raining down that spotting anything was next to impossible. Whatever it was, it was also deep within the woods. He only managed to spot it because of its size. It was bigger than the trees and hidden in the darkness of the forest, but a pair of bright crimson eyes seemed to stab out of the darkness.
Rosco nearly yelled when he saw it. This was a monster. A massive one at that. He stumbled back and turned away to grab his wand, but when he looked back, all he saw was an empty forest.
Rosco kept looking, expecting those eyes to appear once again, but they never did. Had he imagined them? Perhaps he did. After all, for a very strange moment when he had stared at those massive eyes, he thought he had been looking at Arthur. Or at the very least, it felt like Arthur was looking at him.
Such a thing would be ridiculous, though. Rosco glanced back at Olivia, who had somehow gotten Bruno trapped in a headlock and was choking him out. Had her father come to check on his daughter? No. That was silly. Arthur was gone.
Rosco rubbed the back of his neck and muttered about needing more sleep as he walked toward the kitchen.
That day, some people claimed that when they looked out their window, they saw something massive, covered in red scales, which flew above their village and left. It was believed to be a dragon, but of course, that was impossible, as dragons didn't exist, and the blizzard that was created was determined not to be caused by magic and was a natural occurrence.
In the end, the strange flying object that was spotted above Fri one winter night was simply forgotten about.
***
A tale across time and space…
"F-Forgive me, Lord Ken Yuan." Yujin's body grew dimmer, and his fire began to grow weaker, on the verge of fading out.
"It's okay, Yujin." Ken fought through the shivers, and she brought up a piece of a log, pressing it into Yujin's body. It began to heat up and burn, melting away and creating more fire, which she eagerly used to warm up her rapidly freezing body. "You've done well. This is my fault."
Ken hated being in the family palace. She hated her siblings, her father, and her servants. Most of all, she hated any martial arts instructor who wasn't Feng. Because of that, she had done something that was a little foolish.
It had been snowing outside, as it often did during the time of winter, and she decided to go out into the forest and train with Yujin. The snow had been relatively light, and her body's natural heat was able to withstand it, so she didn't bring proper gear. Also, because she had something to prove to herself, she went further than she ever had before, going deeper and deeper into the woods so she could truly go all out with Yujin.
She was only seventeen years old, and she was tired of the rest of her family bullying her spirit for not being that strong. It ticked her off the way they would mock Yujin, which was why she wanted to train even harder with him and get his flames to grow stronger.
Unfortunately, she was hit with a wave of bad luck, as the snow, which had been light and not all that bothersome, suddenly grew into a mighty blizzard.
That was why she was now stuck inside a cave, slowly freezing to death. She managed to get a campfire going with Yujin, who had taken the shape of a ball of fire, and she was feeding him various sticks she had gathered to keep his heat going.
It was a struggle, but she, of course, refused to give up.
"You're doing great, Yujin." Ken cheered her little spirit on. "You got this. I believe in you. You're the best. Don't let any of those idiots back home tell you otherwise."
"F-Forgive me, Lord Ken Yuan, but I do think I am reaching my limit," Yujin admitted. The cold was intense, and in order not to allow his lord to freeze, Yujin had been letting off all his mana as a wave of fire to keep Ken warm. He had rapidly burnt through all his reserves and was now reaching the bottom of his energy. "I'll burn up the last of my strength to keep you warm."
"No." Ken shook her head. "You did enough." She grabbed the gourd at her belt. "Go ahead and return."
"My Lord, it is my duty to die for you-"
"I said return." Wordlessly, Ken absorbed the spirit and closed the gourd. As soon as he was gone, the small fire she did manage to get going went out instantly. Ice started to creep into the cave, freezing the stone, and Ken felt her body shiver more and more, her skin beginning to turn blue. This cold was not one meant for survival. No creature could live within this hellish place. "There is no reason we should both have to die."
Ken closed her eyes, expecting the release of death to come and claim her, but instead she felt a gentle hand touch the top of her head—a warmth flooded into her body.
"Lord Ken Yuan." Ken's eyes opened, and she looked up, finding the smiling face of her teacher, Feng. The blind man kept his hand on her head and surrounded her in his own mana, which easily fought off the cold. "Shall we return home?"
And so, that was how she began to be carried through the blizzard by her teacher. She rode on his back, and he brought her through the woods, walking at a slow pace. The cold didn't affect either of them, for that was how intense and strong his mana was.
"I'm sorry about the weather." Feng clicked his tongue as he walked. "An old friend of mine decided to visit. He's in a bit of a foul mood, and during times like these, he can't properly control his own power. He didn't mean to do this, and I gave him a stern talking to, and he finally left, so this blizzard will be ending soon."
Ken's eyes widened in shock. "Your friend did this? Who is he? An ice spirit or something like that?"
"Something like that." Feng looked up, and Ken followed his gaze, and her eyes widened as a massive shadow fell upon her and her teacher. She heard the flapping of wings and saw something covered in scales, but she wasn't able to figure out what she was truly looking at as it flew off and left, vanishing further into the blizzard. "Where he goes, disaster tends to follow."
That night, Ken Yuan, as well as everyone else who happened to look into the center of the icy storm, all dreamt of an ancient being that was born in Rome. When they all woke up, they forgot about the strange dream that had claimed them that night…
***
A tale across time and space…
"Sieg! Siieg!! Siiiiiieg!!!!!"
"What?" Sieg pinched the bridge of his nose, the thirteen-year-old boy debating if he should walk out into the freezing cold and allow it to claim him.
"I'm booooooored." Orion was flat on his back, drunk on Haru only knows what. His cheeks were a rosy red, and he kept giggling and babbling. Sadly for Sieg, he was stuck with his father.
Chrysanthemum Village never saw cold weather. It was always as if it were in the middle of the summer, and their cozy fishing village was warm and tranquil. That was different today, though. For the first time in history, it was snowing. Not a light snow either. This snow was hard and so cold that all of them were forced indoors.
That was why he now sadly sat in a little shack with his father, who was beyond drunk. "You don't get to choose your family," Sieg muttered. "I really wish I did, though. Of course, I'd be stuck with this idiot. Why couldn't I have been with Davi when this happened… I hope he's okay."
"Your brother will be fine." Orion let out a hiccup and sat up slowly. "He was built to survive. Davi is a survivor. Even if this world ends, I think he'll still be there to see the end of it."
Sieg let out another sigh. "You're just muttering nonsense now."
"I'm serious." Orion's tone changed for a moment, and the man walked over to stand next to his son. The two of them looked out the window, watching as the snow grew worse and worse. This blizzard didn't look as if it would be slowing down anytime soon. "Davi's special. I don't have to worry about how he'll end up or where his journey will take him. Of course, I still do because that's what a parent should do, but I'm confident that no matter what, he'll be fine. I'm much more worried about you."
"Me?" Sieg raised an eyebrow and glanced up at his father. "What did I do now?"
Orion let out a snort. "You know, several people in the village, especially banner holders, don't particularly like you. What with how you're full of talent but constantly telling the world that you want to be an Arcane Knight."
Sieg huffed. This was a conversation he had with his father so many times. He always insisted that he would be a Knight, and his father always yelled at him or tried to convince him to change his mind.
Today, things were a little different. Orion had a distinct look in his eyes. Perhaps he had given up on convincing Sieg, or maybe he was just so drunk that he wasn't in his right mind, but for once, Orion didn't yell.
"I have something for you."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah." Orion reached into his robes. "I'd like you to have this."
Sieg's eyes widened when Orion handed him a wooden mask. It was in the image of an oni's face and dyed red. "T-This is your mask?"
"I don't need it anymore." Orion let out a hiccup and collapsed back onto the floor, letting out a giggle. "My days as a Spell Sword are over." He raised his hand up and stared at the back of it in silence. "I don't want to fight anymore. I've gotten bored with it. The Devil Hawk's story should be at an end."
Sieg frowned softly. He thought about refusing the gift; it was weird that his father was giving it to him out of the blue like this. Still, even if he didn't care for his dad, he knew that this mask held a lot of history behind it, and so, Sieg gently tucked it into his robes. He doubted he'd ever wear it anyway.
Sieg glanced back out at the window. "I hope Davi is okay."
Meanwhile, out in the middle of the blizzard, Davi stood before a large stone object. The young boy stared up at it with wide eyes.
It came out of the ground and almost looked like it was carved into the image of a human finger. Spiraling, runic-like text was written across it, glowing with untapped mana, and every second this thing was out in the open, ice flowed out, the blizzard getting bigger and bigger.
Titania resided in her chair, ignoring the cold. "That mage better be right about this."
"W-What are you going to do?" Davi asked in fear.
Titania lifted her only remaining limb, her fingers poking out of the shadows that covered her. "I'm going to bring Rome here."
And on that day, Davi met the Great Dragon of Roads, and the world that he knew came to an end.
It all came down in a hail of fire and ice.
***
A tale across time and space…
"I thought I would find you out here." Adam turned slightly when he heard Rosette's voice. The raven-haired beauty stared at him with a look of mild concern. "You should come back inside. It's not safe being out here. Who knows how much longer this place will remain?"
Adam held a soft smile on his face, and the white-haired man looked away from her and back out at the wasteland before him. He was knee-deep in ash, and shards of embers rained from the sky. As far as the eye could see, there was only destruction.
A world that failed. A tale that ended.
Adam reached out and gently allowed an ember to land in his hand. "Eighty million, five hundred and eleven thousand, eight hundred and twenty."
"Sir?"
"Nothing. It doesn't mean anything." Adam shook his head, and his eyes held a look of sorrow as he gazed upon the doomed world that was around him. "How much longer until we can reach Rome?" Adam gazed toward the sky. "When will this tragic tale reach a happy ending?"