Snap
The sound was sharp, distinct, and honestly? Annoying as hell.
My left axe slipped.
I glanced down into a thousand meters of empty air. The wind howled up the cliff face, eager to remind me just how little stood between me and a messy splat.
"Cheap trash," I muttered.
My grip was perfect. I knew that much. The fault was in the metal itself—brittle from the cold and overworked from the climb.
They called this mountain Jotunn's Fang. The Graveyard of Climbers. Four thousand meters of sheer, frozen hell. No oxygen tanks. No ropes. No backup.
For a normal man, attempting this climb was suicide.
For me? It was Tuesday.
I reset the axe and drove it back into the ice. The impact sent a dull vibration up my arm. My gloves were soaked through, stiffening as the moisture froze against my skin.
I ignored it.
Crunch. Step. Crunch. Step.
The rhythm was dull. Repetitive. A snooze-fest.
Two years ago, this mountain had beaten me. I remembered waking up half-dead in a snow cave, shaking uncontrollably.
That version of me wouldn't have made it past the first ascent.
The me right now? I could climb this place blindfolded.
I looked up. The summit was close. Five meters.
"Finally," I breathed. "Let's wrap this up."
The mountain answered.
A deep rumble vibrated beneath my boots. Subtle at first. Growing fast.
I stopped and tilted my head upward, eyeing the snowpack above me.
"You gotta be kidding me."
The slope tore open.
What came down wasn't just snow. It was a roaring, white tidal wave that swallowed the world whole.
An avalanche.
Great timing. Just fantastic.
Digging in wouldn't help. A slide this huge didn't care about technique. Running wasn't an option.
The wall of white slammed into me before I could even sigh.
Bang.
My helmet cracked against exposed rock. Pain flared as my vision went white.
Then everything went quiet.
I didn't lose consciousness. That was the annoying part.
The snow packed around me, heavy and suffocating, hardening like wet cement as the air vanished. My arms were pinned. My legs were useless.
"Is this it?" I thought. Ice filled my nose.
My heartbeat slowed, each thump heavier than the last.
Thump… Thump…
It was almost peaceful.
Don't sleep.
I bit down hard on my tongue. The sharp metallic taste of blood snapped me back. Pain was better than numbness. Pain meant I was still alive.
The pressure above me was immense, crushing my chest and spine, but I didn't panic. Panic is for amateurs.
Seconds passed. Then minutes.
I didn't pray. Gods had never helped me before, so I saw no reason to start begging now.
That was when a voice answered anyway.
"Found.."
I rolled my eyes mentally. A voice? Here?
It didn't sound human. It was heavy, ancient, like massive stones grinding together deep underground.
"Found you!"
My body tensed. The ice beneath me shattered.
For a brief moment, gravity reversed. Something seized my leg—cold, unseen—and dragged me down.
Not up. Down.
I fell through ice. Through rock. Through something that felt uncomfortably like reality tearing apart.
Gasp.
Air rushed into my lungs, stale and metallic. I coughed violently, blood and ice splattering onto a cold surface.
Iron. Rusted. Solid. Real.
I opened my eyes.
Above me stretched a dark sky, illuminated by two moons—one whole, one shattered, hanging unnaturally still.
"Where…?" I muttered.
Clink.
I looked down. Chains.
My hands were shackled to the deck of a massive iron ship gliding silently across black water.
"You gotta be joking," I sighed.
I was alive. Probably.
Rows of bodies lined the deck around me, all bound like cattle. Some cried. Others lay unconscious. They were weak.
I leaned toward the railing and looked into the water. It didn't ripple. It didn't move.
Then something massive passed beneath the surface, its shadow stretching like a mountain.
Hungry.
I turned my head.
A woman stood at the prow, tall and pale, wrapped in furs blacker than the night. Her white hair whipped in a wind I couldn't feel.
No shackles. Expensive clothing.
The Boss.
She stared at the horizon like we were already dead.
I tried to speak, but my throat was dry.
Crack.
The sky split open. It wasn't thunder—it sounded like the world breaking apart.
Blue text appeared before my eyes, floating calmly in the air.
[Welcome, Erik Soren]
[Trial of Ascension Initiated]
[Prove Yourself Worthy of Valhalla]
I blinked and read it again.
A system.
I coughed, tasted blood, and started laughing.
"So that's the game."
The woman finally turned. Her cold gaze locked onto mine.
[Objective: Survive]
I exhaled slowly.
Figures.