The beast roared. One tentacle tore free, hurling men and engines aside.
Cyrus conjured earthen plates midair. Tristan and his men leapt across them, darting through a flurry of lashing tentacles as they closed in on the pinned limbs. Ice shattered beneath each impact.
Seizing a narrowing opening, they swung their aura-coated blades in unison. Crescent arcs of light ripped into the trapped limb.
The Kraken screeched.
Green blood and black ichor splashed across the frost as the limb was cleaved halfway through. Tristan's group barely withdrew in time as the ice buckled, fractures racing outward beneath the beast's convulsions.
The Kraken reared back.
Ink-black smoke erupted from its maw.
Cyrus hastily threw layered shields over the group as the world vanished into choking darkness.
"Mages—wind!" Valdr's voice cut through the void.
A roaring gale answered. The black cloud shredded apart, torn into ribbons that dissolved into the sky—
—but the Kraken was gone.
Only the sea remained, rippling violently. Shattered ice and wreckage drifted where the beast had stood. Harpoon chains dragged uselessly into the depths.
Silence followed.
Tension hung thick as every eye scanned the horizon, weapons gripped white-knuckle tight, and no one dared to lower their guard.
Then the entire battlefield lurched.
The ice sheet tilted violently. Screams erupted as men lost their footing, weapons clattered away, siege engines tore free from their anchors, and crashed into the churning water.
The Kraken surged up from beneath the ice with a piercing shriek.
"Your Highness!" the elder cried, stumbling.
Lucien slipped from the man's arms and hit the ice hard. Pain exploded through him as he slid helplessly across the frozen surface, fingers scraping for purchase, until he conjured a dagger and drove it home. The blade shrieked against the ice as it bit deep, anchoring him in place.
Metal groaned overhead.
Lucien looked up.
A siege engine was already upon him.
He threw up a barrier. The machine struck with a deafening bang, the impact vaulting the heavy wood and iron over his shield into the water.
A deep rumble shuddered from beneath. The world lurched; the sheet snapped back violently. Soldiers screamed as they were thrown from their feet; siege towers crashed, and the air split with the thunder of breaking ice. Fractures raced across the frost, severing the isle as dark water surged up through the widening gaps.
"Mages—mend the crack!" Valdr's voice boomed. "Soldiers—assemble new siege engines!"
Magic circles flared along the ruptured floes, frost crawling across the gaps to stitch the isle back together.
Lucien forced himself upright, vision swimming. Mages strained to sustain their spells, hands trembling as sweat froze along their brows, while knights—bloodied and exhausted—struggled to reassemble the engines.
Around him, bodies lay strewn among shattered engines and splintered wreckage, the frozen surface darkened by blood and shadow.
His jaw tightened. 'If this continues, we're all dead for sure.'
The Kraken bellowed.
The sea split as the beast rose once more, scarred and bleeding, its tentacles lifting a splintered shipwreck before hurling it toward the isle.
"Shields!" Valdr's voice cut through the roar.
Barriers flared into existence overhead, but they shuddered violently on impact. Fractures spiderwebbed across the glowing wards before one shield collapsed, then another, showering the line with splintered timbers and debris.
"Fall back!"
A massive shadow loomed as the beam readied to plummet. Men scattered for their lives.
Lucien recited a spell; runic script wove within a forming magic circle—then something slammed onto him.
He hit the ice hard. Pain exploded through his chest as the spell backfired, a copper taste flooding his mouth.
"What are you doing?!" Lucien snapped, shoving the man off him.
The physician's panicked face swam into view. "No—Your Highness, you can't—!"
A thunderous blast shook the world. The beam crashed down, shockwave ripping across the field. Ice ruptured. Water surged. Shards and wreckage vaulted skyward.
Through the spray, tentacles erupted. Seawater parted for the screeching monstrosity as it thrashed across the field, tossing men and debris into a wind thick with brine and screams.
"To the rear," the physician rasped, hauling him to his feet.
Lucien clenched his fist. Even if they reached the rear, then what?
There was no ship waiting.
No retreat to fall back to.
Only the sea.
And a monster that could surface at will.
But something didn't sit right.
Lucien glanced back at the Kraken, now under a storm of spells and harpoons. Battered and bleeding, limbs severed—yet it persisted. Most monsters would have fled by now.
'So why hasn't it?'
As the barrage subsided, Lucien's drifting vision caught movement: figures sprinting across the ice toward the raging Kraken.
"Wait," Lucien halted, channeling his aura to his eyes.
It was Tristan at the lead, swordsmasters flanking him.
Earthen plates materialized in the air. Tristan and his men leapt across them, weaving through a flurry of lashing tentacles and frost mist.
Seizing a narrowing gap between the fractured ice and the Kraken's bulk, they dove beneath its looming head.
'What is he doing?!' Lucien's heart hammered. 'He'll be crushed—!'
Light erupted. Crescent arcs shot upward from beneath the Kraken.
The beast reared back with a shriek, maw torn wide as tentacles writhed skyward. Green blood and black ichor sprayed from the wounded seam.
Lucien's eyes widened. 'An opening!'
He shoved the old man aside, locking him in a dome-shield.
"Your Highness, NO!"
Lucien drew a mana stone from his ring and recited the spell. A massive magic circle flared across the battlefield; every eye turned toward him.
A colossal spear of lightning-wreathed frost screamed forward.
Pain detonated in his chest. Blood burst from his mouth and nose as his knees buckled. His vision ebbed into black—
…the last thing he saw was the spear driving deep into the monster's open throat.
…
A deafening screech tore across the sea.
The spear punched through the Kraken's maw and out the back of its skull. Green blood erupted in a violent spray before the massive body crashed into the water with a thunderous boom. Ice and waves surged skyward as the creature sank, its dark form disappearing into the depths, leaving only shattered floes and blackened water behind.
"Heh."
From atop a coral outcrop, Zieg shifted his binoculars to the unconscious Lucien, surrounded by frantic figures on the ice.
"No wonder Father wants that little prince," he murmured, slipping the lenses into his ring. "His magic is terrifying."
He stretched lazily, joints popping after hours of stillness.
Pity about the Kraken, but it had been an entertaining spectacle.
"Time to go back."
Mist thickened around him.
Beneath the veil, his body twisted, bones lengthening with deep, grinding cracks. Something vast unfurled within the fog, scales scraping against coral as a pressure rolled across the sea.
A powerful force surged upward, and the clouds above parted as something immense took flight.
When the fog thinned, the outcrop was empty.
***
Seated behind his desk in the dim room, Caelum watched shimmering black powder slip from his fingers into the open box before him.
A knock echoed against the door, followed by Mary's voice. "Your Holiness, Priestess Rhys wishes to see you."
Caelum set the box aside. "Enter."
The door swung open. Rhys entered with a rectangular box behind her back, covered in red cloth.
Their eyes met. Caelum offered her a benign smile. "Welcome back."
She stopped short, studying him instead of replying. Confusion creased her brow as her gaze drifted upward. "…What happened to your hair?"
Caelum lifted a hand, touching it absently. "Prince Lucien," he replied mildly.
A smile touched his lips.
It did not reach his eyes.
"Do not worry," he continued. "The cost has already been decided."
Rhys hesitated, then stepped forward. The door closed behind her with a soft click.
She drew the rectangular case from behind her back and placed it on the desk between them. The red cloth slid away, revealing a dull, ancient box etched with weathered runes. "The Zerounix Heirloom."
Caelum nodded in satisfaction. "Thank you so much for your hard work." His fingers traced the pulsating runes. "With this, we can proceed to our next plan."
*** End of Book 1 ***