Chapter 30: Betrayal

There are moments when the world falls apart in silence.
There is no explosion, no shout, no boom. Just a small turn. A cursed whisper no one hears, and yet it changes everything. Sometimes it is not the sword that wounds, but the trust placed in someone. And when that breaks, there are no ruins left to gather—only emptiness.

Ice is not the only thing that freezes a city. Unspoken words, hidden decisions, the faces you believed in… all of that can be deadlier than any storm. Because when the enemy no longer wears a mask but your very uniform, there is no battle left that can be fought with honor.

And what happens when the wound comes from the hand that once offered you help?
Which god do you pray to when betrayal does not come from hell but from the side to which you swore loyalty?

On the fields of duty, the price of betrayal is not death.
It is living knowing that the blood you spilled was not the enemy’s… but your brother’s.

The silence before the attack was deceptive.

Isaac watched the frozen settlement from a hill. His eyes, hidden beneath the shadow of his hood, did not blink. At his side, the hooded man known only as Number 29 folded his arms.
“Nervous?” the stranger asked, half-smiling.
“Not at all,” Isaac answered without averting his gaze. “But this is the first time I’ll show my true power in front of them.”

Not far away, Edén stopped before one of the frost-covered houses.
“Thanks for staying until now, Sara. You should go back to Asgard. I’ll check what’s left.”
“It’s not a good idea,” she said firmly. “We already know what can happen. It’s better if we stay together.”

Edén looked at the wounds on her arms with concern.
“Are you sure? Those wounds…”
“They’re nothing,” she interrupted. “I’ve been worse. Let’s go.”

Edén nodded, though the premonition pressed on him. But there was no time to think.
“Spear of War,” Isaac whispered.

The sky turned gold. A spear of energy descended like divine judgment.
“Watch out!” Edén shouted, wrapping Sara in his arms and shielding her with his body.

The explosion shook the whole area. The cabin blew to pieces and the blast opened a huge crater in the ground.
From a distance, the hooded man let out a nervous laugh.
“You’re a damned psychopath.”

Among the wreckage, Edén emerged, dragging a bleeding leg. Sara helped him to his feet.
“You okay?” she asked.
“Yes… but you…”
“I’m fine. But you shouldn’t be standing.”
“This is nothing,” Edén muttered through clenched teeth. “Now we have a bigger problem.”

“Demon!” Isaac’s voice thundered.
Edén went pale.
“Isaac? It can’t be…”
“Come on, demon, don’t waste my time. Show yourself.”

Edén watched from the shadows, disbelief and tension in his eyes.
“Is it really him…? His energy… it’s not the same. He’s at Shu’s level. No, even higher…”

The stranger turned his face toward Isaac.
“Are you sure he’ll come out?”
“Yes. I know how to provoke him.”

Isaac raised his voice.
“Let’s make a deal, demon. If you surrender, I won’t kill that lovely young lady with you.”
The hooded man eyed him warily.
“A deal?”
“I know you’re not stupid enough to think both of you will get out of here. Besides, if you resist, we’ll go for the children in the shelter. You want that?”

Edén trembled with rage. His fists clenched.
“Sara, go.”
“What?”
“I told you to leave. This guy won’t leave anyone alive.”
“But I—”
“Trust me. He seems to need me alive. But you… you might not be so lucky. Return to Asgard. Tell Shu and the others that Isaac… is a traitor.”

Sara looked at him with eyes full of pain, but she nodded.
“All right…”

A sword whistled through the air and grazed Isaac’s face, leaving a scratch.
“Are you going to resist?!” he roared.

Edén appeared like a shadow before him.
“Very predictable,” Isaac sneered, catching the blow with his wounded palm. Still, the impact staggered him.
“What…?!” his neck tightened as Edén’s kick struck, and Edén took the chance to wrest the sword away.

But a blade pressed against his throat.
“Nice try,” the hooded man whispered, barely moving.

Isaac looked at his palm with an expression of surprise and restrained fury. The scorched skin burned. The pain was real.
“What the hell was that…?” he grunted through his teeth.

The hooded man beside him examined the burn with indifference.
“It seems that, despite your strength, you still lack experience,” he said mockingly.

Isaac clenched his fist.
“Damn… I’ll kill that girl for refusing to obey.”
“Leave her. There’s no time to waste,” the stranger intervened in a firm voice. “We still have to deliver the boy.”

Edén, still breathing hard, didn’t take his eyes off Isaac.
“What are you planning, Isaac? And who the hell is this guy?”
“I don’t have to answer your questions,” Isaac replied coldly. “Just cooperate. Don’t make this harder.”

Edén frowned.
“So it was you… wasn’t it?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You were the one who let the Black Lights soldiers through.”

Isaac stared at him with not a scrap of remorse.
“Yes. So what?”
“Damn you!” Edén shouted. “You put everyone in danger. You put Yuki in danger!”

Isaac shrugged with disdain.
“And?”

That single monosyllable was the final spark. Edén lunged in fury, but before he could reach him, Isaac landed a solid blow to his face that left him unconscious.
“How annoying…” Isaac muttered, shaking the hand he'd struck him with.

A portal opened with a deep, ripping sound. The air changed—denser, darker.
“Let’s go,” said the hooded Number 29 as he crossed the threshold.

Hours later, deep within Helheim, the two walked among the shadows of a dead land. The ground, stained red, smelled of fresh blood.
“After all this,” Isaac sighed, “this job will finally come to an end.”
“That will be for you. I’ll keep working for the boss,” the stranger snorted. “The only good thing is I won’t have to put up with you anymore.”

Isaac turned his face with an ironic smile.
“I could kill you before I go. You’re more annoying than you’re worth.”

They didn’t get any further. A thick, icy aura wrapped around them.
They both stopped.
“What is this presence…?” Isaac thought, alarmed.

Garm’s lifeless body lay before them. Beside him, Hela barely clung to consciousness—her robe torn, her skin covered in blood.
“What the hell happened here…?” Isaac whispered.

A figure emerged from the shadows. His voice—soft but macabre—paralyzed them.
“I’m sorry to receive you like this. I was having a bit of fun,” said the hooded Number 26.

Isaac stepped back, a bad feeling lodged in his gut.
“Why does the boss have such a dangerous client…?” he wondered.

“So… do you have what I asked for?” the figure asked.
Isaac nodded and threw Edén before him as if presenting an offering.
“Here you go.”

Number 26 crouched beside Edén, studying his sleeping face intently.
“Ohhh… you look a lot like him,” he murmured with a sinister smile.

Isaac shoved him away brusquely.
“Don’t come any closer. We’ll deliver him when the boss arrives.”

Suddenly the ground vibrated beneath their feet. Helheim’s walls creaked.
“What’s happening…?” Isaac tensed, hand on his spear.
“Calm down,” Number 26 replied. “I’ll wait. It won’t be long. I like to keep my deals.”

Isaac knelt beside Edén, pulled out thick chains of energy, and bound him firmly to a blackened rock. As he did, Edén’s eyelids began to flutter.
“He seems to be waking up,” Number 26 commented, excited. “May I speak to him alone?”

“I don’t know…” Isaac hesitated, not taking his eyes off the prisoner.
“Yes,” interrupted Number 29. “It’s fine.”
“But what are you saying?”
“If I wanted to take him, I would have done it when we arrived. He’s not here for that— not yet.”

Isaac considered it for a moment. Then he nodded.
“All right… but make it quick.”

Both left the enclosure. Number 26 leaned slightly over Edén, who was beginning to regain consciousness.

“Where… am I?” Eden murmured, his voice hoarse as he forced his eyes open.

The dim light of Helheim revealed a harrowing sight. In front of him, the bodies of Garm and Hela lay motionless, drenched in blood and shadow. His heart froze for an instant.
“What the hell happened here?” he gasped, his breathing quickening. “Hela! Garm! You bastard! You’re the one who did this, aren’t you?!”

The dark energy shackles binding him began to tremble under the weight of his rage. He pulled with all his strength, though the pain in his wrists and ankles multiplied.
“Come now… calm yourself,” whispered the shadowed figure before him, unfazed by the fury unleashed.

“I’ll kill you, you bastard!” Eden shouted, his energy igniting like a spark threatening to become an inferno.

The stranger tilted their head slightly.
“I see Gen didn’t teach you as well as I thought.”

Eden froze. The mention of that name struck him like lightning.
“Gen…? How do you know his name? Who the hell are you?!” he roared, unable to stop his voice from trembling.

The shadow took a step forward, revealing a human face—though the eyes, heavy with darkness and a strange nostalgia, told another story.
“That fiery temper… but those eyes burning with light. There’s no mistaking it. You’re his son.”

Eden stared in horror, confusion, and denial all at once.
“I’ll ask one last time,” he spat. “Who the hell are you?!”

The figure knelt in front of him, at eye level, and with a voice soft as the sigh of the wind, spoke:
“I’m sorry to introduce myself so unexpectedly… My name is Iss. I was a warrior of Artemis. But to some, simply… Iss Yomi.”

Eden’s eyes widened completely. His breath stopped for a second. The blood drained from his face, and silence wrapped around him like an impenetrable wall.
“Yomi…” he whispered, unable to process what he was hearing.

“Yes,” the woman said with a faint smile. “I am your mother.”

Silence became eternal.

Eden couldn’t say another word. Only the image of his grandfather, Gen, crossed his mind… and the shadow of a truth far greater than anything he had ever imagined fell upon him like a starless night.