"Gru, Gru! Where are you?" Gru's father called out anxiously. But Gru ignored him, slinging a backpack over his shoulder and gripping an axe tightly as he hiked through the forest to meet up with like-minded friends.
Gru was just an average sixteen-year-old kid from Village 6. He was totally captivated by the books passed down from his ancestors, the ones describing what the world used to be like. Legends told of a time 2,000 years ago when the earth wasn't made up of the same monotonous gray landscapes of ice and snow they had now. Instead, there were vibrant, colorful lands filled with gods, fairies, dwarves, cities, countries, flowers, butterflies, oceans, songs - not to mention all kinds of crazy foods and booze.
Gru yearned intensely for the world described in those books. He knew it was all because of Skadi's arrival that everything had ended up this way. He'd even heard they were basically being domesticated by Skadi now. Supposedly they used to live freely in that wondrous world beyond these walls.
All those beautiful sights depicted in the books - if they weren't out there around the villages, they must be somewhere in the outside world! But Gru's father always said there was nothing beyond the walls except giants and death. He'd tell Gru they should be thankful for Skadi's protection instead of resenting her.
Gru had always listened to his father, repressing his own feelings about it all, until he found out it was his dad who had first given Skadi that spiteful nickname "Ice Witch." That's when Gru started losing faith in his old man's words. He no longer believed him, but still Gru endured - the gray, lifeless world; the yearning and ache inside for those ideals of flowers and springtime; even his own bitterness. That was, until Lady Brynhildr, Illya, and Chloe came to the village, saying the same wondrous stories of the world found in his books.
Gru could no longer restrain himself then. Others around his age felt the same way. Together they promised to uncover the truth of the world beyond the walls. They believed the flowers, seas, and wonders described in books still existed somewhere. They intended to go find those places, then tell their parents how wrong they'd been.
Sure, there might really be giants. The outside could be dangerous. But compared to shrinking into desiccated madness like their parents, they would rather stake their dreams on one mad quest. Their group had 5 people, all sneaking off without their families knowing. Helping each other, they made their way to the gigantic wall. Using tools and teamwork, they managed to climb up and over, crossing to the other side.
The moment they stood outside the wall, tears of joy welled up in their eyes. They're finally free! And look—the outside world wasn't dangerous at all. No giants. No death. Their fathers had been deceived by Skadi's tricks. However, just as they pitied their parents for falling for the deception...the earth shook violently!
They looked at each other, bewildered and panicked. Then they gazed ahead and collapsed in despair at what they saw. Giants—so many giants wreathed in flame—emerged before their eyes.
They fled in desperation, running in terror. Scared out of their wits, they wanted to climb back over the wall, to return to the village.
But it was too late! They were captured. The giants laughed loudly as they grabbed them up in their hands—plucking them up as easily as people in the village picked blueberries.
Gru witnessed his best friend crying and screaming as he was stuffed into a giant's mouth and bitten in half.
Blood dyed Gru's world red. He broke down, realizing now that his father hadn't tricked them after all. The outside world truly was dangerous, just as he'd said. And now they were seeing another color for the first time.
Red. The vibrant color of blood. Gru regretted not listening to his father. But it was too late for regrets.
...
Boom! Boom! The ground suddenly shook violently. With a splat, water sloshed out of his cup. His eyebrows furrowed—what was happening?
With a heavy thud, Chloe, bound heavily in ropes, toppled over. She wriggled like a caterpillar, struggling against her restraints. She seemed to realize something from the tremors alone. Her beautiful eyes, which had been staring at him, now widened with fright. She struggled more intensely against the ropes.
The quaking intensified rather than stopping. He frowned, rose, strode out the door and stood looking out over the village square.
The violent earthquake was like someone hitting pause on the world. The villagers froze in the snow, staring at the towering white wall. The sky was clear and snowflakes fell around them, landing on the confused chief's head, the anxious father searching for his child, and the rowdy playing children.
The ground went silent and still, as if time itself had stopped.
Then with a thunderous boom, a massive flaming hand came into view, grabbing the huge white wall. The supposedly unbreakable wall shattered where the fingers landed. Past the sixty-meter walls, a blazing head slowly emerged. At its appearance, it was like the play button got hit again.
A scream of pure terror suddenly cut through the silence, impossible to ignore. As if ignited by fear itself, more screams followed from the terrified villagers.
The giant, even taller than the wall, slowly stood up, revealing his massive burning body that towered over the wall itself. A bizarre grin spread across the behemoth's face as he bent down slightly, wound up one enormous leg, then kicked hard!
"Boom!" Skadi's divine barrier shattered like paper against the giant's leg as it continued barreling forward, smashing into the high wall itself.
"Boom!" An explosive roar, like muffled thunder, rang out. White stones flew into the sky as the giant burst a massive hole in the wall protecting the world.
"Raaaargh!" Roars rang out from outside the wall, seemingly both excited and angry. Countless giants of twisted shapes and forms poured through the breach created by the tall giant.
"Oh my god, the giants are inside!"
"They've smashed through the wall and broken in!"
"Run!"
Fear erupted. Villagers screamed as they turned and fled in terror. The invading giants were overjoyed, roaring triumphantly. They drew in deep greedy breaths of the air contained within the wall, eyes hungry as they stared at the terrified people. Then, with howls of delight, the giants stormed into the village, their greasy green eyes like starving wolves who hadn't eaten in ages.
Seeing those massive giants smash through the high walls, seeing them charge toward the world inside - the people in the forest closest to the walls were filled with dread. They screamed and howled, sprinting back toward the village. Wishing their parents had given them an extra set of legs as they ran for their lives. But even so, the lumbering giants easily caught up with them, plucking them like dried meat to happily stuff them into their mouths to chew.
Fear came crashing in from outside the walls, throwing the village into total chaos. Screams, shouts, crashes - everything mixed into a deafening mess, marking the start of complete pandemonium. In this moment, people were reminded of the ancient terror in their genes, the fear of giant rule that their ancestors had felt two thousand years ago in their despair.
A-46 walked out of the room, staring blankly at the charging giants like a robot. She raised her hand and pressed her index and middle fingers to her temple. "Beep - Scanning for strong life signals. Connecting to network...connection established, activating Hræsvelgr Eye...34,782 life forms confirmed detected..."
In Asgard, Hel sat on her divine throne in the grand temple. She slammed her fist on the armrest with a "pop," abruptly standing up with a furious expression. "Attacking Asgard now...what are you playing at, Surtr?" she demanded.
Glaring ahead with blazing eyes full of rage that could make anyone tremble, Hel stood before her throne. In front of her floated a magical projection made of mana. On it, a fire giant lounged on an enormous throne. Facing Hel's anger, he laughed. "Why so angry, Hel? We are in this together."
"I may view someone as a partner, but they may not see me, Hel, the same way!" she said icily.
"Don't worry, I've no intention of becoming your enemy or offending the mighty death goddess Hel," Surtr replied with a smile.
"Then what about this fire giant invasion?" she asked darkly.
"That can't be helped. They've been hungry for ages upon ages. The fences and shepherds protecting the flock have fallen - surely a generous goddess like yourself wouldn't mind, eh Lady Hel?" Surtr asked, still smiling.