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[Years ago…”The Stretch of Zero”]

[…”Back then, I was just a few years older than you. Just barely had a couple hairs down there, but I felt like I could defeat anything in my path. Let’s see…around that time I was…I believe a “Noble” class swordsman”…]

“…Phew…”

Standing in the sea of pale white, he exhaled a misty breath between his lips, looking towards the cavern.

THUD. THUD. THUD.

The stomps of something massive were approaching from the bowels of the shadow-covered cavern. Around him, the perpetual blizzard of the hellish region of ever-winter roared, swirling as the rain of snow pelted his pale skin.

The tips of his ears, his nose, and his fingertips were red from the biting frost, but he still held a confident smile as he slowly unsheathed his sword from the scabbard on his back.

“Let’s do this!” He confidently called out.

Youthful vigor birthed itself with that smile as his eyes gleamed with the yearning of glory and triumph; behind him, a black ponytail swayed in the cold winds._.

[…”I wasn’t alone, though. I was with the other two members of my party: Valliam, a support mage, and Maria, a paladin…I remembered how much convincing I had to do to drag those two along with me out to that desolate land of frost. A lot of booze was put on my tab”…]

“A-are you sure? Whatever is coming sounds huge!” The man with frizzy, light-blue hair said, gulping as he clutched his red-steel staff.

[…”Valliam was meek and opposed to danger. We were opposites in that regard, but despite that–I trusted my life to him, and him to me. Even if he was adverse to combat, he was invaluable on the battlefield”…]

Standing beside him, a tall woman dressed gallantly in ivory armor, brandishing an emerald cape with the sigil of a lion on its back, held up a heavy, steel shield and a mace as her orderly, orangish-red hair was moved by the cold winds.

“It’s too late to run now. We’re in its element–if we try to turn tail and run, we’ll be slogging through the snow, wearing down as it chases us like prey, but…” The woman raised her mace valiantly with her purple eyes shining, “…Retreat is never an option, anyway! We’ll fight in the name of the Holy Order!”

[…”Maria, on the other hand, was overzealous and honest to a fault. She was as stubborn as a behemoth, and even tougher. In that regard, she definitely had me beat in recklessness”…]

Together, the three stood in the rampant snowstorm as the stomps continued.

“Uegh…” Valliam trembled, gulping again.

He held his confident smile despite the biting frost attempting to wither at his strength, looking forward as the occupant of the cavern finally unveiled itself.

Massive paws, clad in silver fur plummeted down against the snow as the beast marched out from the shadows of the cave, entering the field of snow.

“…You’re kidding me…!” Valliam said, “That thing is massive!”

“Perfect! The bards will sing songs about this! I’ll be getting free drinks from every tavern for the next year!” He raised his black-steel sword high.

“For the Holy Order!” Maria shouted, charging forward without a second thought.

[…’What ensued was a messy entanglement with that house-sized bear. Still, I was overjoyed–I don’t think I ever stopped smiling the entire time, even as I came inches away from those massive claws tearing me in two’…]

Dashing across the snow, he rushed the silver-furred bear as it swept its arm through the snow, bulldozing through the white mass as it roared out, attempting to cleave through him.

“Ha-ha-ha!”

He laughed as he flipped over the paw of the goliath bear; its paw alone was the size of his torso, but he managed to evade it with his youthful agility.

As he countered with a slash to the bear’s arm, all that was left was a shallow cut that didn’t so much as bleed through its fur.

…Its hide is tough, he realized.

Standing there for a moment, he looked up to find the massive paw of the bear plummeting down towards him.

“–!”

THUD.

Swooping in front of him, he was shielded by the overzealous paladin, who blocked the claw, though her boots sunk into the snow in a struggle against the bear’s massive strength.

“Go!” Maria called out.

He looked on for a bit before nodding, “–Right!”

As he ran in again towards the humongous beast, with snow swirling around him, he watched as fireballs hurled through the air, flung against the beast.

“Hear me, Spirit of The Great Pyre! Through ashen winds does your breath exhale! From charred ground does your rage be heard! Fire Storm!”

–From the frizzy-haired mage, the incantation left in the form of a volley of fireballs manifesting, shooting off towards the goliath bear rapidly.

Explosions roared out in small bursts, causing the silver-furred beast to roar out in pain and stumble back, freeing the paladin from the contest of strength.

“Nice on, Valliam!” He grinned wide.

With the opening made, he rushed forward without hesitation in the swirl of smoke and snow; his blood rushed with such vigor that the embrace of the cold was unfelt.

[…’We worked together well. Even against a beast like that, for me it simply felt like a hunt. Now that I think about it…I loved the cold that day; the feeling of my own blood rushing and warming my body from the frost made me feel truly alive’…]

Swiftly, he scaled the body of the massive bear, dragging his never-dulling blade into a series of deep cuts along its form before reaching its head.

“–And down you go! Let the bards remember the time Julius Dragonheart felled a beast as vast as the fields it lived in!”

With that, he sunk his sword straight into its skull–instantly slaying the great beast with that finishing touch.

[…’Still, that was only one part of it. Our journey through ‘The Stretch of Dread’ was anything but easy or simply’…]

Exhausting hikes through the sea of snow, pelted by harsh winds carrying pellets of frost that felt like arrows to the skin.

During the nights, they bundled around a campfire, kept ablaze only through the efforts of Valliam, who stoked the flame with his magic.

“You almost passed out back there, Vally,” he said teasingly, leaning back against the frost-clad wall.

Valliam huffed, “I-I did not! I was simply catching some rest between steps!”

“I don’t think that’s a thing,” Maria added.

[…’No matter how much we bickered, we had each others’ backs. That’s how it was. Those days were some I’d never take back’…]