On the night following the alliance announcement, the leaders of the Frost Kingdom and the Shadow Kingdom gathered in the Crystal Hall. The blue torch flames collided with the surrounding ice, casting a unique glow — like the birth of a new era.
Sajibro stood at the center of the hall, with Arthur behind him, his eyes gleaming with a new gray shine. He stood like a statue of suppressed fire and silent ice.
King Icegrin Voltaire spoke in the tone of one who knew the hour had come:
"The Frost army will be ready within two days. Frostzar, the Dragon of the Pact, will accompany us into battle — he'll lead the storm himself."
Then he looked to Arthur and said:
"But before anything… I want to understand. What happened to you?"
Arthur stepped forward, his footsteps slower than usual — as if each step was reshaping his very being. Then he raised his gaze:
"I died without dying…"
He opened his palm, and above it glowed the mark of the wound, pulsing like a second heart.
"When betrayal pierced me… the First Wound awakened. I don't know if it's a blessing… or a curse. But I feel it inside me. It never leaves. As if it doesn't belong to me alone."
Sajibro stepped forward and said firmly:
"That wound is not granted… it is awakened. And it has awakened within you, Arthur, because you betrayed death — and faced yourself as no one ever has."
Then he turned to the commanders:
"He is no longer a soldier. He is a sign. And anyone who stands against the shadows… will see in him the end that treachery deserves."
The hall fell silent, as if the snow itself were listening.
Then Kuroma stepped forward with a cold smile:
"The Demon Kingdom won't expect an attack from this direction. We believe they're concentrating their forces to the south… but if we move from here, with Frostzar, we'll catch them off guard."
Musayuki added, unfolding a magical map in front of everyone:
"Their only weakness lies in the Black Gate… If we can open it from the inside, their lines will collapse. But we'll need a stealth team."
Hana spoke up:
"Leave it to me. The Pure Deception Division is ready to move. We'll precede the army by a full day and infiltrate the kingdom's heart."
Sajibro nodded and said calmly:
"Then the age of defense is over."
He raised his hand, and shadows gathered around it, as he said:
"We were not born to save this world… but to remake it as it should be. From today on — no shadow without fire, no frost without an oath."
At dawn the next day, the armies of shadow and frost stood on the kingdom's borders. The banners rose — half black like an inverted dawn, and half white like the unmelting snow. Among the ranks, Arthur prepared his sword, but it no longer felt the same.
The sword was once a tool… but now, the wound itself was the weapon.
Sajibro approached him and said quietly:
"Do you feel it? The silence… before the storm."
Arthur replied:
"No… I feel the world watching me… as if I were the end."
Far away, atop an icy peak, Icegrin watched the sky and whispered to himself:
"If this is the age of oaths… then let mine be fire that never betrays, and shadow that never breaks."
End of Chapter Thirty-Seven.