She raised her head, gently holding up the Wolf’s Oath that emitted a deep blue radiance, letting its soft light brush across the ferocious War Axe and pitch-black bones.
"Grandfather, can you hear my voice now?" Her voice was like a clear stream, piercing through the black mist permeating around the skeleton.
"Look at this light. It once shone in your palm, representing your protection over every clan member. And now it is right here, calling out to you!" Her gaze tightly locked onto those two fiercely dancing clusters of spectral blue Flame, as if trying to reach through them and touch the will imprisoned by the darkness.
"I know you are trapped, wrapped in freezing mist, but you are no apostle of darkness! You are Garson Ice Trace, my ancestor! You are the man who would tuck a freezing hatchling into your coat during a blizzard to keep it warm!" Her voice carried a hint of a choke, yet it was brimming with determination as she slowly took step after step forward.
"Look at the light of this Gemstone, feel the resonance in my Bloodline. This is the bond between us, a connection that no darkness can sever. Negative Energy can twist your will, but it cannot change who you are!" She raised the Gemstone higher, letting the pure blue light almost merge into those gloomy eye sockets.
"Grandfather, grab this light, hold onto my voice! We are all waiting for you to wake up!" She practically shouted this last sentence, trying to use the Power of her Bloodline and the Gemstone to light the way home for her lost ancestor.
OOOOOH—
A painful whimper, sounding as if it came from an ancient Abyss, spilled from the depths of the Undead Commander’s throat bones.
The highly raised War Axe suddenly froze in midair, trembling violently, unable to fall even a fraction of an inch further. The thick black mist entwined around his body began to frantically churn and melt away, emitting a HISS like snow and ice meeting the scorching sun.
The spectral blue Flame dancing violently in those hollow eye sockets suddenly underwent a drastic change. The freezing, deathly stillness was dispelled. A sliver of Garson Ice Trace’s own will, like the dawn breaking through a long night, was being rekindled.
With immense difficulty, he turned his massive skull to look at the trembling Kaelin and the Deep Blue Gemstone she held up.
The huge, mottled War Axe slowly lowered and dropped at his feet with a heavy CLANG.
Seeing this scene, Raine, Sodden, and Winnie couldn’t help but breathe a collective sigh of relief.
They had succeeded! Kaelin’s call, combined with the Power of the Wolf’s Oath, had finally pierced through the erosion of the Negative Energy, awakening the last remnant of will deep within the Undead Commander’s skeleton.
Garson’s Undead form—no, what should now be called Garson’s surviving will—quietly gazed at Kaelin. The soft spectral blue Flame revealed the endless weathering of time and the kind of benevolence only seen in an elder.
A deep, hoarse voice echoed with great difficulty in everyone’s minds. "Child... my child... your courage... has illuminated my lost path..."
Hearing this call that spanned five hundred years, Kaelin nearly wept tears of joy. She nodded vigorously. "It’s me, Grandfather! My name is Kaelin Ice Trace, your descendant!"
"Kaelin... my Bloodline... a good name..." Garson’s deep voice echoed intermittently in everyone’s minds. He lowered his burly skeletal frame and slowly leaned his massive skull closer. His Bone Claw subconsciously reached toward the top of Kaelin’s head, as if wanting to gently stroke her hair like any elder who loved their grandchildren.
But just a moment before the Bone Claw could touch her wine-red hair, he suddenly froze. He looked at his Sen Bai finger bones, and the spectral blue Flame flickered. He was clearly afraid that his Undead shell would frighten the child before him who had inherited his Bloodline. He also saw Kaelin’s bloodstained, injured arm. The spectral blue Flame was filled with heartache, yet he didn’t dare touch her. That burly physique that had once dominated the battlefield, those arms that could once unleash proud Combat Techniques, now seemed so incredibly clumsy.
"Grandfather, I’ve finally met you." Ignoring everything else, Kaelin stepped forward and tightly grasped that rough, freezing skeletal palm with her own warm hands. "Grandfather, the future you protected—we’ve reached it. The Black Tide retreated long ago. Now, on the snowy plains of the Northern Territory, children are running freely, just as you once hoped."
She did her best to paint a picture of peace and tranquility, knowing that it was the deepest wish in the hearts of Garson and his Warriors when they fell.
"Good... Good! That’s wonderful!" Garson’s skeletal palm trembled unstoppably in Kaelin’s grasp. It was not only because he felt the warmth brought by his Bloodline, but also the instinctive ecstasy and profound relief within his surviving will. He continuously nodded his huge skull. In his spectral blue eye sockets, the freezing light was completely replaced by an irrepressible sense of comfort and satisfaction. It seemed that this alone was the richest possible reward for his perseverance and sacrifice back then.
While Kaelin conversed with her ancestor Garson, Raine, Sodden, and Winnie also sprang into action. They quickly moved to the fortress’s main entrance, hoping to find a glimmer of survival. However, their slim hopes ultimately did not materialize. The fortress doors were long gone, and the path behind them was tightly blocked by a rock layer of unknown thickness. Not a single crevice could be seen.
Refusing to give up, Sodden drew the Fine Steel Small Pickaxe specifically meant for dealing with rocks from his waist, gathered all his strength, and viciously struck a protruding rock!
CLANG!
A crisp ring echoed as sparks flew everywhere. The tip of the pickaxe only left a white dot on the rock’s surface. The rebounding force numbed the Dwarf’s arm, yet the rock layer didn’t budge an inch. Its hardness and thickness were far beyond imagination.
"By Moradin’s beard! This is sturdier than the stone bodies of Earth Elements!" Sodden spat out a curse and shook his head in frustration. It was glaringly obvious that this path was a dead end.
"It’s no use... That place... has long been completely sealed off..." After his brief moment of excitement subsided, Garson clearly noticed the actions of Raine and the others. His deep voice resonated simultaneously in everyone’s minds. Soon after, the spectral blue Flame in his eye sockets deepened, as if trying to peer into the depths of Kaelin’s soul. He could sense that this resilient and brave child hadn’t found her way here solely to deliver that comforting news. Hidden in the depths of her eyes was something far heavier.
"Kaelin... my child..." His voice grew even deeper, carrying the gravity of one who had seen through the ways of the world. "In your eyes... there are still lingering dark clouds... Your arrival... carries a new storm... Doesn’t it?"
"Yes, Grandfather." Kaelin’s expression dimmed as she presented the Wolf’s Oath in her hand to Garson. "I came here to retrieve it. My uncle, the current Duke Fenglang, Helrik... his ambition is dragging the Clan into the Abyss! He wants to stain Fenglang’s War Axe with the blood of former allies and innocents! He wants the peace you protected to be destroyed by an unjust war!"
"Helrik..." Garson repeated the name. The spectral blue Flame fluctuated violently, seemingly conveying a trace of disappointment stemming from his Bloodline, though it was mostly a helpless sorrow. "Fenglang’s War Axe... was never meant to be pointed... at those we should protect... He... has forsaken the oath..."
His gaze fell upon the Wolf’s Oath once more. The deep blue radiance seemed able to soothe his turbulent emotions. "Child... you did the right thing... The Wolf’s Oath is... the ’key’ to correcting the mistake..." His voice carried unparalleled solemnity and a sense of entrustment. "Take it... This is fundamentally a responsibility... belonging to the Ice Mark Bloodline..."
Upon hearing this, Raine, Sodden, and Winnie couldn’t help but feel their spirits lift, a surge of joyful success swelling in their hearts. After enduring this series of hardships, they had finally accomplished the goal of this adventure.
However, a highly realistic problem immediately presented itself. How were they supposed to leave? The main entrance was completely blocked off, and the path they came from was swarming with thousands of Undead. Were they supposed to forcefully fight their way back?
While worrying about their return journey, another question lingered in Raine’s mind. Ultimately, where exactly did the massive amount of Negative Energy that had awakened so many Undead come from?