The tension in the air was palpable.
Theoder was on his knees, his hands raised and his breathing ragged.
The cold stabbed at his skin, numbing his fingers. In front of him, Kael held his sword steady just inches from his neck, the blade reflecting the pale light of the snow.
To the side, Mira kept her bow aimed at him without taking her eyes off him for even a second.
"Boy… tell me, who the hell are you?"
"Who am I…?" Theoder stammered. "What do you mean?"
The blade moved a little closer. The metal brushed against his skin.
"Be careful, Kael," Mira intervened. "His divine power…"
'Divine power…? What the hell is she talking about…?'
"I know," Kael replied without lowering the sword. "I have it under control."
Kael fixed his gaze on Theoder again, this time with a terrifying expression.
"Alright, boy. Last chance. Answer, or die."
Theoder swallowed under Kael's murderous stare.
"Alright, alright… I'll answer. I'm Theoder Strellat," he said while glancing around.
A snow-covered forest stretched all around him. The trees were enormous—much taller and thicker than the ones he remembered. Everything seemed… out of place.
'This is really strange. The shock kept me from thinking about it before, but… how is any of this possible?'
Kael frowned.
"Strellat… I don't recall any clan with that name. What were you doing here?"
"I… well… could you lower the sword first?"
For a moment, Kael didn't move. Then slowly, he lowered the weapon and stabbed it into the snow.
It was becoming clearer by the second.
The coats they wore looked like they were made from thick fur, and beneath them were iron armors. Then there were the sword, the bow, the corpse of a giant wolf, the massacre he had witnessed moments ago…
"Talk."
"Well… I was just taking a walk through the forest."
"Taking a walk?" Mira repeated in disbelief. "No one takes a walk in the second ring of Yggdrasil."
'Yggdrasil? Wait a second… that's Norse mythology. Now I'm sure of it. This isn't the world I used to know.'
"Were you with those guys over there?" Mira asked, pointing toward the place where the massacre had happened.
"I… honestly—"
Suddenly, Theoder felt a powerful pressure in his chest.
The air around him compressed. In the next instant, a burst of wind expanded from his body, lifting the snow from the ground. This time it was more obvious. Much more.
"Kael!" Mira shouted. "His circle!"
"Calm down, boy," Kael said firmly. "You need to relax."
"My chest…"
Theoder coughed up blood. The pain kept rising uncontrollably, as if something inside him was about to explode.
"It's going to overflow!" Mira said, placing both hands on his back.
The moment she touched him, a light shone beneath her palms. For an instant, Theoder felt relief… but it didn't last long.
Another gust of wind burst outward—this time so violent that it pushed Mira several meters back.
Dark lights began to emerge from Theoder's body, like irregular bolts of energy. His veins expanded beneath his skin, clearly visible. Every muscle in his body ached like never before.
"Kael, he's going to explode!"
Amid the roaring wind and the crushing pressure filling the area, Kael moved.
In the blink of an eye, he was standing in front of Theoder.
"I'm sorry, boy."
The last thing Theoder saw was Kael's fist slamming into his abdomen. A sharp pain shot through his entire body, and immediately darkness consumed him. He lost consciousness and collapsed onto the cold snow.
Silence flooded the scene.
With Theoder's fall, all the power surrounding him dissipated, and everything returned to calm.
"You killed him!?" Mira exclaimed. "Are you an animal!? He clearly couldn't control it!"
"Quiet. I didn't kill him. I just put him to sleep."
Kael stared at the boy's body.
"If I hadn't knocked him out, his circle would've exploded… and with the amount of divine power he was releasing… it would've killed both of us."
Mira lowered her head. Her hands trembled.
"I've never seen anything like that before…" she murmured.
"What are we going to do with the boy? He can't control his circle. With that power, sooner or later he'll explode."
"Maybe we should kill him."
"Kill him?"
"If he explodes in a city, he could destroy the whole place. We don't know how much power he really has."
"Isn't that a bit cruel? There has to be another solution."
Kael remained silent for a few seconds.
"This is very strange… How has he survived until now?"
"Ah," Mira suddenly said. "Maybe Darik knows what to do. You know he's quite the scholar."
Kael snorted.
"You want me to bring a bomb into my house?"
"It won't be a problem," she replied. "If he loses control… you just knock him out again, right?"
"I'm not sure knocking him out will be enough next time…"
Kael walked toward Theoder's unconscious body, which lay face-down on the cold snow.
After a moment of hesitation, he made a decision.
"Alright. We're taking him with us."
He sheathed his sword at his waist and hoisted the young man over his shoulder.
Mira followed him. Before leaving, Kael stopped beside the corpse of the giant wolf and grabbed its head with his free hand.
"Let's see how lucky you really are."