Chapter 29: Curiosity Kills

Sometimes the truth isn’t hidden because it’s unreachable.
Sometimes it hides because the human soul isn’t ready to see it.

The ice that coats the streets doesn’t just freeze bodies; it silences voices, memories… and crimes.
Midgard, once a cradle of life and hope, now lies buried beneath an unnatural winter, as if the world itself had decided to stop.

In that frozen silence, the steps of the brave ring out loud. Not from courage, but from necessity.
Because when everything collapses, all that remains is to walk.
To walk to seek answers.
To walk to find those who still breathe.
To walk even if the road only leads to horror.

But curiosity, like a spark in the dark, does not always lead to light. Sometimes it drags you into the abyss.
And in those abysses, the worst thing isn’t the monsters.
The worst thing… is discovering that we ourselves created them.

The city rose like a frozen tomb. The streets, capped by a thick layer of ice, creaked under Edén and Sara’s footsteps. No sound except the wind whistling through the ruined buildings.

“What the hell happened here?” Edén murmured, hugging himself, shivering. “Winter isn’t supposed to be here yet…”
“Everything has gotten worse since Balder died,” Sara replied without looking up. “The seasons are… broken.”

Edén looked up at the night sky, where only a few stars flickered.
If it weren’t for them, Midgard would be plunged into total darkness, he thought. I can barely see clearly…

“We need to get inside as quickly as possible. The cold is eating me,” he said.
“Okay,” she answered, moving forward without hesitation.

They ventured into the city, their figures small beneath the vast white void.
There doesn’t seem to be anyone alive around here… If they’ve been like this more than a week, finding survivors would be a miracle, Edén thought as they crossed a frozen fountain, beside which several animals lay petrified by the ice.

“What the hell really happened here?” he muttered, almost a whisper. “Is it even possible… that anyone survived this?”

A faint glow in his pocket lit his side. He pulled out the Ether Mirror. Its surface rippled like water trapped in glass.
“What now…?”

Shu’s image appeared, Nai at his side. Both looked exhausted.
“We’re done over here,” Shu reported. “We found almost no one. Only a little girl… and a group of three men. We had to kill one. The other two are restrained.”

Edén sighed.
“What a discouraging report…”
“Yeah…”
“We’ll keep exploring this city, still hoping to find someone else.”
“Understood. We’ll return to Asgard. Be careful.”
“We will. Thanks.”

The image faded. Edén stared at the Mirror a moment, still glowing with an echo of light.
This device… it’s like a magical version of the phones from my world. Fascinating.

“Alright, let’s keep going…” he turned his head. “Hey, Sara… Sara?”

Silence answered him with a jolt of unease.
“Sara?!”

“Damn it…” Panic struck his chest. “I let my guard down for a second. One second… Shit.”

He began to turn on his heels, but he never took the first step before a wooden plank struck his face with brutal force. Everything went black.

Darkness hung over Eden’s consciousness like a thick cloud until a sharp pain at his temple brought him back. The icy feel of the ground, the metallic taste of blood in his mouth… he was alive.

“What do we do with them?” a rough voice said from the gloom. “They look strong… maybe they can help us.”
“I told you not to trust anyone,” a raspier voice growled. “They’re only food.”

Eden’s eyes cracked open. Two human figures—dirty, armed—watched him with a mix of suspicion and arrogance.
“Look… he’s alive,” one of them muttered in surprise.
“That’s impossible. I hit him with everything I had. He should be dead…”
“Then finish him before he causes trouble.”
“Yeah…”

Eden inhaled slowly. The ropes bit into his wrists. The cold reached his bones.
What happened?… I was with Sara… Sara?
Where the hell is Sara?

He raised his head, steady and direct, like a flame that refused to die out.
“Well, well…” the elder man sneered. “Looks like you want to kill me with your stare.”
He ripped the gag from Eden’s mouth.
“Where the hell do you have Sara?” Eden’s voice lashed out. “If you don’t tell me the truth, I’ll kill you.”

“Who do you think you’re talking to, brat?” the other man roared. “That’s my big brother.”
“Kill me?” the elder interjected. “I don’t think you can do much… in your state.”
“You’d be surprised what I can do.”
“Where is Sara?”

“Ah… you mean the girl who was with you?” the man smiled, sickly.
“I’m sorry to tell you, kid, but she’ll be my next wife. We’ll repopulate the world. That’s the task God gave me.”

Eden narrowed his eyes.
“Really? I don’t think she’d want anything to do with someone as ugly as you.”

An axe blade sliced through the air at full speed. It passed so close it left a thin cut on Eden’s cheek.
“You handle your weapon well… for an idiot.”
“Brother! Leave it to me, I’ll chop him to pieces.”
“You don’t know how much fun I’ll have with that girl. I am God’s chosen. All future humans will descend from me…and from her.”

Eden laughed softly.
“God’s chosen? What nonsense. No god I know would choose trash like you.”

The ropes around his wrists began to char, burning slowly until they fell away completely.
“Sorry…” he said, springing up. “I don’t believe in gods.”

In a blink, Eden’s fist drove into the elder’s knee. Then the jaw. Finally, a burst to the back sent him crashing to the floor, unconscious.
“Who’s next?”

The second man trembled. His legs stumbled back on instinct.
“Who are you?” he stammered.

Eden fixed him with a killing stare.
“You could say I’m your god. And your day of judgment has come.”
“Back! Stay back!”

The man tripped clumsily and fell through a half-open door, tumbling down stone stairs into the dark.

Eden descended with steady steps. What he found made him stop cold.

Cells. Dozens of people locked away. Pale, trembling faces. Hollow eyes.
“What the hell is this…?”

His gaze fell on a chained figure, clothes torn, barely conscious.
“Sara…”

“Bastards…” he whispered, containing his fury.
“I’m sorry!” the second man whimpered. “He forced me! I didn’t want to! He was going to kill me!”

Eden felled him with a single blow, unruffled.
“Trash. You’re not worth dirtying my hands over.”

With effort, he broke the locks on every cell and freed the prisoners. Sara was the last; her chains clattered to the floor.
“I’m sorry… I couldn’t protect you.”
“Thank you for saving me,” she whispered.

Eden held her carefully, saying nothing more.

Are the demons truly monsters… or are we?

A little girl approached him, trembling.
“Thank you, sir, for helping us.”
“It’s nothing,” he smiled.

Who is the true enemy?

Later, in the improvised shelter…

“I think you should stay here a little longer,” Eden told the man who had guided them.
“It’s nothing. I can bear it. But they shouldn’t be here… I should have protected them when those two showed up.”
“Don’t blame yourself. Those men were stronger than ordinary humans.”
“But…”
“These kids will be grateful to you forever. Bearing those wounds for them… not everyone would do that.”

Deep cuts marked the man’s torso.

“You may not want to tell me, but… what happened in this place?” Eden asked.

The man lowered his gaze.
“It all began… that day…”

Flashback

The earth trembled with life that morning. Hundreds of people worked the fields outside the city while the sun warmed their faces with an almost endless gentleness. Among them, a tall man with thinning hair and a steady look inspected the rows of vegetables. His daughter smiled at him from a few paces away.

“What…?” the man whispered, stopping dead. “What is that?”

He looked up at the sky. Two enormous figures crossed the clouds, hiding the sun as if the end of days were approaching. Elian—by which his people knew him—felt his heart stop for a moment.

High above, two colossal wolves floated like living shadows. One, with dark fur and eyes full of cruelty, laughed, and the sound rolled across Midgard.
“How small humans look from here,” Hati roared. “Brother, can I eat them?”
Sköll, more sober, answered without even looking at him.
“Stop your nonsense. First we must fulfill Father’s will.”
“You’re such a bore…”

They lifted their heads and unleashed a howl that froze the world’s blood. The sky split. The cycle of day and night became chaos. The moon fled in one direction; the sun escaped in the other.
“The moon is mine,” Hati shouted.
“And the sun is mine,” Sköll replied.

Their fangs gleamed like blades blessed by darkness.

“What is happening…?” Elian whispered, trembling as he looked at his daughter. “Alina, come here!”

The little girl ran to him, but the thunder of another howl stopped her. Whole packs of wolves had surrounded the city. There was no escape.
“Run!” Elian cried in despair.

The crowd scattered. Screams. Tears. Blood. The ground began to stain red. The snow, now falling heavily, was no longer white. The very air seemed to tear with every cry.

Alina called her father’s name, but her voice was lost in the roar of the icy wind.

Elian watched three wolves approach his daughter. He ran with all his strength, every fiber of his being, but one of the beasts leaped on him. It grabbed his arm and threw him to the ground. A dry, brittle sound filled the air as the wolf began to tear his flesh.

“Stop! Please!” he shouted, eyes full of desperation.

Before him, Sköll’s fangs rose toward the sun while Hati sank his jaws into the moon. The heavens themselves seemed to come apart at the sight. Light died. The world fell into darkness.

A spray of blood lit the clouds for an instant, staining them crimson. The blizzard grew more violent. Men and women fell frozen. Ice covered houses, bodies, trees, hopes. Everything died.

Days later, some survivors began to devour what remained. The city had ceased to be a refuge and had become a prison of hunger and madness.

Return to the present

Eden fell silent. His eyes remained fixed on Elian, who, with a distant stare, still carried the weight of that memory.
“This is real…” Eden whispered solemnly. “I’m sorry—I shouldn’t have asked you.”

Elian shook his head slightly and managed a tired smile.
“You don’t have to apologize. Thank you for listening… and thank you for protecting my people.”
“I’m sure,” Eden said softly but firmly, “that Alina would be proud of you.”

Elian looked away, holding back a tremor in his lip.
“You think so?” he murmured. “You’re a good person, kid… very good.”

Eden could barely answer. That pain, though not his own, pierced him as if it were.

In the distance, where the sun never touches the ground, giant chains began to tremble. A colossus more than thirty meters tall, covered in gray fur and still stained fangs, waited in the gloom.
“Father,” Fenrir said in a deep voice, “all the pieces of the mechanism are connected.”

Loki strolled among the shadows, a smile on his face.
“Oh, I see… You’ve done a fine job, son. Soon you will be free. And then that old man will pay for every one of our scars.”

Fenrir bared his fangs. Metal creaked beneath his paws. The world began to quake.

Isaac’s footsteps thudded heavy over the frozen snow. Every corner of the city felt like an echo of abandonment, a postcard from death.
“Damn it…” he thought as he stared into the void. “We haven’t run into anyone so far. Is it really worth staying?”

Kou appeared suddenly, his face drawn.
“Isaac, you should see this.”

Rei was already there, staring into a house with horror.
“What’s wrong?” Isaac asked, approaching.

The three of them stopped at the threshold. Inside, human skeletons were piled atop one another. The walls were stained with dried blood, and a metallic stench filled the air.
“This can’t be real…” Isaac whispered.

Rei stepped forward and crouched beside the bones.
“These have been here a long time. They don’t look recent.”
“Yeah…” Isaac agreed. “Also, every bone has small cuts. Looks like someone took care to… strip them clean.”

Kou went pale.
“You mean someone ate them?”

Isaac didn’t answer, but his look said enough. Rei covered his mouth. Kou couldn’t stop retching.
“How disgusting…”

“Given the current situation,” Isaac added coldly, “I wouldn’t be surprised.”
“Why didn’t they send us sooner?” Rei asked, voice still shaking.
“Who knows…” Isaac said, something unsettling stirring inside him.

A chill ran down his back. He felt a presence.
“Keep exploring the city,” he ordered without turning. “If you find anything, tell me.”
“Yes,” they both replied, heading down different corridors.

Alone, Isaac stayed on alert. Then a familiar voice cut through the silence.
“Well… Your senses have improved a hell of a lot since we last met.”

The stranger’s sardonic tone echoed like a poisonous whisper.
“What are you doing here?” Isaac asked, keeping his composure.

The man stepped out of the shadows, his face hidden beneath a hood.
“You’re so bitter… Aren’t you happy to see your old comrade after so long?”
“If you’re here…” Isaac ground his teeth, “it’s a bad sign.”
“You miss nothing. As always.”
“Speak, then. If not, I’ll slit your throat right here.”

“Calm down…” the stranger laughed. “The plan has reached its final phase. The boss wants you captured.”

Isaac narrowed his eyes.
“Really? I thought it would take longer.”
“He wants this closed as soon as possible.”
“Good… I was getting tired of hiding my power from those weaklings.”

“You won’t regret it?” the stranger asked, tilting his head. “It seems you’ve grown fond of them these months…”
“They don’t matter to me.” Isaac lowered his voice. “You know very well what my priority is.”
“Oh… I see. You’re clear about it.”
“I’ve done everything you asked. I let them into Grek and into Nork.”
“We know. And you will be rewarded as you should,” the hooded man replied mockingly. “Though I must admit you did a good job for someone so useless.”

Without warning, Isaac’s spear was a millimeter from the man’s throat.
“Keep talking… and I’ll cut that filthy tongue out.”

The stranger let out a small laugh, but his eyes showed no amusement.
“Now I think you have a more important problem…”

Isaac turned slowly. Kou was behind him.
“Isaac…?” Kou’s voice was barely a whisper. “Who is he? Capture who?”

Isaac didn’t answer. His face hardened. The hooded man didn’t hesitate. He appeared behind Kou and took him down with a precise hold.
“Let go of me!” Kou shouted, struggling.

Isaac roared with fury.
“Didn’t I tell you to search the city?! What the hell are you doing here, Kou?!”
“I told you to let me go!”

“Do something to this guy before I kill him myself,” the stranger growled.
“Kill me?” Kou repeated, eyes wide. “What are you talking about, Isaac? Please… you’re one of the good ones, right? We just… we can talk about this. Maybe it’s a misunderstanding…”

“Make a decision for once,” the stranger snapped. “This kid is getting on my nerves.”

Isaac closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, determination chilled the air.
“‘One of the good ones’… who knows. I only do what suits me. And because of that… I have to end you.”

The blow to Kou’s face landed immediately. He didn’t understand.
“Isaac… no…”
“Give me your sword,” the young man asked in a grave voice.

The hooded man handed it over.
“Don’t take it personally, Kou. I didn’t want this to happen. But if it did, it’s your fault.”
“Stop! Please, don’t— I promise I won’t tell anyone!”

Isaac advanced, step by step.
“I’m sorry…”

With a single thrust, the blade pierced Kou’s heart.
“Wh—why…?” was his last breath before the light left his eyes.

Isaac looked down, breathing hard, and returned the sword to the hooded man.
“You did well,” the stranger murmured.

Isaac did not answer. He only lowered his gaze to his comrade’s body.
Then, without warning, he drew his spear and attacked.
“Bastard!” he roared, his face twisted with rage. “You shouldn’t have touched my friend.”

The stranger blocked the blow, surprised by the ferocity.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“Shut up!”

They exchanged blows. Sparks flew. The ground trembled.

In the middle of it all, Rei appeared. His eyes fell on Kou’s body.
“Kou!” he cried, running to him.
He dropped to his knees, held him in his arms… and the silence said everything.
“He’s dead,” he whispered.

Something appeared in Rei’s eyes that Isaac had never seen before: an absolute desire for revenge.
“I will kill him.”

The hooded man noticed it too. And he smiled.
“So that’s it…” he thought. “Very clever.”

With a single movement he kicked Isaac, sending him flying. Then he vanished.
“Isaac!” Rei stood up. “Are you okay?”
“Yes… I’m sorry. I couldn’t protect him… I—”
“Kou…”

They fell silent, tears streaming down their faces.
“Please,” Rei said, not taking his eyes off the body, “take Kou to Asgard. I’ll go after him. I’m going to kill him.”
“No,” Isaac replied, rising with difficulty. “It’s too dangerous. If you die… you’ll never forgive me. Let me handle this. I promise I will bring his head to you.”

Rei hesitated… then nodded.
“Thank you, Isaac… You’re better than I thought.”

Rei wrapped Kou’s body in a cloak, hoisted him onto his shoulders, and walked away without another word.

And then the applause came.
“I must admit,” the hooded man said as he reappeared, “your performance was outstanding. Ever thought of acting?”
“Shut up,” Isaac said, with a hollow look. “Stop saying stupid things. I swear I wanted to kill you for real.”
“You’re deranged, Isaac.”
“I know. Now tell me… do you know where our target is?”

The stranger nodded.
“Yes. He’s not far.”
“Good. I don’t feel like walking much…” Isaac smiled sideways. “Besides, I want to see him again.”

And only one name accompanied him in his mind:
“Wait for me, demon.”