The icy blade reflected in Shimoro's wide, terrified eyes. Time crawled, the cold air brushing against his skin as he braced for the killing blow. He squeezed his eyes shut and screamed inside.
KANG!
A sharp, glass-shattering impact echoed through the forest.
No pain followed.
Shimoro slowly opened his eyes, warm breaths spilling out as white vapor.
Right in front of him, a thick, jagged wall of ice had burst out of the ground, blocking the stranger's blade.
"How rude… attacking a child in my backyard."
Shimoro turned toward the voice.
Grandma Kaina stood there—not the gentle elder who scolded him for oversleeping, but someone different: her posture straight, her gaze razor-sharp, and her hands steady as cold mist curled from her palms.
The stranger pulled back his blade, studying the ice wall, then her. A thin, chilly smile formed.
"Oh… didn't expect to meet someone skilled in Solid Shaping in a tiny village like this. You're quick for an old woman."
Kaina's glare hardened.
"Shimoro. Behind me. Now."
He didn't need a second order. He scrambled behind her, heart pounding violently.
Shimoro (trembling): "Grandma… h-he… he tried to—"
Kaina cut him off, eyes still locked on the man. "I know. Stay low."
The stranger dusted his coat and walked toward them.
"Let's not waste time. Hand over the boy, and I'll make your death a little less painful."
Kaina answered with action—not words.
She drew both hands forward, forming a shimmering ice bow.
Fwoom!
A barrage of razor-sharp ice arrows shot toward the man. They weren't random; every arrow targeted a joint, a weak point, a path of movement.
But he didn't stop walking.
His body flowed through the barrage with eerie ease, leaning and shifting as if he already knew their trajectories. One arrow came close to his face—he shattered it with the back of his hand like it was nothing.
"A fine technique… just outdated."
In a blink, he vanished.
Kaina's eyes widened. "Behind!"
She spun and formed a quick barrier, arms crossed.
BAM!
The man appeared and kicked the shield with overwhelming force. The impact shattered it, sending Kaina sliding back several meters, carving deep tracks in the snow.
"Grandma!" Shimoro tried to run to her.
But the stranger appeared right in front of him.
He loomed over Shimoro, soulless eyes gazing down.
"Your turn."
He seized Shimoro by the throat and lifted him effortlessly.
Shimoro kicked helplessly, gasping for breath as darkness crept in from the edges of his vision.
Kaina (struggling to stand, wiping blood from her lip): "Let him go!"
She tried forming another attack—but the man raised his free hand.
A burst of icy shackles shot out, pinning her to a tree.
Shimoro's vision blurred. The pressure on his neck tightened.
"Show me… Are you worth the search? Or just a mistake of lineage?"
Shimoro's lungs burned. His limbs numbed. But through the darkness, he heard it—his heartbeat, louder, deeper.
And the faint whisper of the pendant in his pocket.
Something ancient stirred in his blood… not rage, but pure, overwhelming cold.
Shimoro's eyes snapped open.
They were no longer just blue—
they were glowing, a brilliant icy light flooding the forest shadows.
The man felt the temperature drop. Frost crept across his glove from Shimoro's neck.
"What…?"
Shimoro (voice echoing, doubled): "Let me go!!"
BOOOOM!
A blast of freezing energy exploded outward. Not simple ice—
an eruption of wild, uncontrollable shards.
The force tore the man's grip open, forcing him to leap back and shield his face.
The ground around Shimoro froze instantly in a five-meter circle. Nearby trees were coated in frost thick enough to crack their bark.
Shimoro collapsed to his knees, gasping. The glow faded from his eyes.
The pendant slipped from his pocket, pulsing with the same light.
The stranger stood farther away now, observing his frosted sleeve. For the first time, his smug smile vanished—replaced by a glint of dark interest.
"This ice… It really is the same. So the rumors were true."
Kaina sagged against the tree, horrified and stunned.
The stranger lowered his hand. The storm he summoned earlier faded.
"My original plan was to kill you if you were weak… but killing you now would be a waste. The fruit isn't ripe yet."
Shimoro trembled—not from cold, but from the shock of power he couldn't understand.
"My name is Vargas. Remember it well, little heir. I'll spare you today… but when we meet again, I'll come to reap what I've planted."
His body dissolved into black mist, merging with the last traces of the storm until nothing remained.
Silence fell over the forest once more.
Shimoro, drained completely, collapsed onto the snow.
Despite her injuries, Kaina forced herself free and ran to him. She lifted his head gently, holding him close as her expression darkened at the frozen wasteland surrounding them.
Kaina (whispering, sorrowful): "It's begun… I can't protect you from the truth anymore."
She carried the unconscious boy in her arms and walked back toward the village—
leaving behind a perfect circle of ice.
A silent marker of the night Shimoro's childhood ended.
End of Chapter 2