Hiruzen hit the arena floor.
But he didn’t feel the impact.
He didn’t feel anything.
The world froze.
Not just stillness — absolute cessation.
Snowflakes hung mid-air, glass-sharp.
Voices froze in open mouths.
The crowd was a painting of shock.
Only Hiruzen breathed.
A cold breath whispered across the arena — older than winter, older than existence itself.
He turned his head.
A throne of frost formed from nothing.
And upon it sat Iskarth.
Silver-blue hair trailing like cosmic snow, eyes like hollow polar stars, his demonic presence heavy enough to suffocate time itself.
He looked down at Hiruzen, disappointment sharp as a blade of ice.
Iskarth:
"Child. I warned you."
His voice echoed like glaciers cracking.
Iskarth:
"You were not ready to invoke Stage Two. Our souls have not yet fully merged — you cannot wield my true power safely."
Hiruzen coughed, frost escaping his breath though he felt heat burning through his veins. He forced a smile.
Hiruzen:
"I didn’t exactly have time to negotiate terms. She was erasing everything I threw at her.
And— come on — she was begging for it."
Iskarth sighed, the arena temperature dropping further. Frost crawled across the frozen air itself.
Iskarth:
"And now look at you. A body seconds from collapse. When time resumes, you will suffer pain beyond what you felt after facing Adam — your cells are fraying from overreach."
Hiruzen clenched his jaw.
He remembered the Adam fight.
Remembered screaming until his voice broke.
He swallowed.
Hiruzen:
"It's not what I'm worried about."
He forced himself upright just enough to stare where Skadi had stood moments ago.
Hiruzen:
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
"She knew Skyzen. I need to go after her."
Iskarth’s expression changed.
Not anger.
Not annoyance.
Fear.
Ancient, brittle fear.
Iskarth:
"No."
The word resonated like a command from creation itself.
Iskarth:
"You will not pursue her. You cannot."
Hiruzen:
"Why?"
Iskarth’s gaze sharpened, voice lowering to a tone that froze the soul.
Iskarth:
"Because she is as you are — a vessel. My sister, Nulthria, sleeps within her."
"Primordial of nothingness. Erasure incarnate."
The word Nulthria rang like an inverted scream.
Hiruzen’s stomach dropped.
Hiruzen:
"A vessel… like me."
Iskarth:
"Yes. And whoever Skyzen is, he knows of us — of the Primordials, of the One. This makes him more dangerous than you understand."
The arena seemed to crack around them, reality strained by the name.
Iskarth (quietly):
"If my siblings awaken… existence will not bleed. It will end. The One’s return must never be allowed."
Hiruzen’s throat tightened.
Hiruzen:
"So what do we do?"
Iskarth:
"You lie low. You avoid the vessel of Nulthria. And you abandon reckless pursuit of Skyzen."
Hiruzen’s fists trembled.
Hiruzen:
"I can’t ignore him. He— he took everything from me. I can't let him—"
Iskarth leaned forward, cold fury rising.
Iskarth:
"This is no longer a simple vendetta, child."
"If Skyzen seeks Primordials… the game has changed."
Silence pressed like deep ocean pressure.
Hiruzen swallowed, voice quieter.
Hiruzen:
"...And if she comes to me again?"
Iskarth’s eyes glowed — infinite frost within cosmic void.
Iskarth:
"I will deal with Nulthria myself."
He stood, cloak of snow whipping through timeless air.
Iskarth:
"Our conversation ends. Time will resume. You will collapse. And you will endure it."
His form dissolved into a storm of pale snowflakes that never fell.
Just before vanishing, his voice whispered through Hiruzen’s bones:
Iskarth:
"Remember. Avoid her. For both our sakes."
Time snapped like a glass nerve.
Pain crushed Hiruzen’s body.
He gasped — then darkness.
Emma’s voice echoed as she rushed toward him.
Emma:
"Hiruzen! Somebody help—!"
His vision blurred.
The last thing he saw was snow melting into color as life resumed.
And the last thing he felt was dread.
Skadi isn’t an enemy. She’s a warning.
And Skyzen… is nowhere near finished.
End Chapter
