Everyone was holding their breath, gathered around the frozen figure. Sophia's trembling hand was just about to pull the dark hood fully back when something unexpected happened. A cracking sound echoed through the forest! The figure shattered the mass of ice encasing his body with unbelievable physical strength and swung the axe in his hand straight toward Sophia's head. At the very last second, Shizuka yanked Sophia backward, saving her from certain death. As the children screamed in terror, Shizuka shouted to the group's leader,
"Noah! Help!"
At that moment, Noah emerged from the darkness, his sword casting a silver gleam under the moonlight.
"Are you only strong enough to attack women?" he asked, a confident yet cold smile curling his lips. "How about fighting someone your own size, Bram?"
At the sound of that name, everyone froze.
"Bram?"
Everyone except Hyoga stood in shock; he alone felt all the pieces of his vision fall perfectly into place. The hooded figure slowly pulled back the fabric, revealing Bram's harsh, emotionless face.
"Noah," Bram said, his voice as cold as a grave. "It seems I'll have to kill you all before you find the object in the forest. What a shame…"
He tightened his grip on the axe and lunged at Noah.
A merciless clash erupted between the two, sparks flying through the air. Fearing they might hit Noah by mistake, Sophia and Shizuka held back their magic, waiting for the right moment. Bram's strength was terrifying; Noah lost his balance for an instant and fell to the ground. Bram raised his axe high, ready to deliver the killing blow, and brought it down with all his weight toward Noah's face. Noah blocked the massive strike with his sword using his last ounce of strength—but the blade was on the verge of breaking.
At that moment, Hyoga remembered the spell Naomi used whenever she scolded him back at home. It was their only chance to survive.
"Naomi!" Hyoga shouted. "Lift Bram into the air with gravity! Just like you did to me!"
Naomi forced herself to focus despite the terror. She raised her hands and directed all her will toward Bram's center of gravity. Suddenly, Bram began to rise helplessly into the air, defying gravity. With his feet off the ground, he was completely exposed.
Noah instantly seized the opportunity.
"Well done, kids!" he shouted as he sprang to his feet and swung his sword at the floating Bram with relentless fury.
Noah swung his sword with all his might, aiming for a fatal blow. However, Bram—suspended in the air—displayed impossible agility, raising his axe to block the attack. Not only did he deflect it, he didn't suffer a single scratch. Noah clenched his teeth and, instead of retreating, poured all his mana into the hilt of his sword. The blade began to glow with a dazzling light. Bram, no longer content with defending, channeled his own dark mana into his axe and counterattacked.
When the two immense forces collided in midair, a deafening explosion tore through the forest. Noah's sword could no longer withstand the pressure and shattered into thousands of pieces, sending Noah flying backward. At that very moment, Naomi's strength—spent on sustaining such an enormous spell with her small body—finally gave out. As the gravity spell collapsed, Bram slammed violently back into the ground.
Roaring like a beast consumed by rage, he charged toward the children. Just then, Shizuka leapt forward; when she slammed her hands into the earth, massive vines and roots burst from the ground and wrapped around Bram's legs. Losing his balance, Bram crashed to the ground as the roots coiled around his entire body like serpents, pinning him in place. Seizing the chance, Sophia clasped her hands together and shouted with all her power. A wave of freezing cold spread outward, engulfing the roots and encasing Bram within seconds inside a colossal block of ice, completely immobilized.
A heavy, snowy silence fell over the clearing.
"We did it… We really did it!"
An indescribable sense of relief spread across Hyoga's face. This time, the bloody nightmare he had seen had not come true; with the help of the necklace, he had changed fate with his own hands. In tears, he hugged Naomi tightly. Sophia and Shizuka embraced each other, celebrating their victory and survival, while Noah looked down at the hilt of his broken sword and smiled. Then he turned his gaze to his former friend Bram, lying silently like a statue on the ground. A dark night had been illuminated by the children's courage and the power of friendship.
Noah walked over to the block of ice and took a deep breath.
"Alright," he said, his voice still trembling slightly with lingering adrenaline, "what exactly happened here?"
Hyoga stepped forward and explained everything honestly:
"Last night, I had a horrible nightmare, Noah. It felt so real that I couldn't stay silent. I trusted Sophia and told her everything. When I realized that the killer I saw in my dream was Bram, we decided to set this trap."
Noah was impressed by the child's maturity.
"You did an excellent job, Hyoga. We'll decide what to do about Bram later, but our priority hasn't changed: we still need to find that mysterious object in the forest."
Shizuka spoke up.
"Sophia and I can stay here and keep watch. But we need to imprison Bram more securely. This ice could melt at any moment, or someone might attack from the outside."
Though Bram couldn't move inside the ice, the hatred burning in his eyes suggested he could explode into violence at any second.
Noah thought for a moment, then made his decision.
"Alright. Here's the plan: First, we'll dig a deep underground pit and seal it with magic to hold Bram securely. After that, Hyoga and I will head into the depths of the forest to search for the mysterious object. Naomi, Sophia, and Shizuka—you'll stay here and watch over the camp and Bram."
Everyone agreed. The girls were confident; Naomi was anxious but believed in Hyoga. For Hyoga, this was a valuable chance to be alone with Noah and finally ask the questions weighing on his mind.
As the first rays of sunlight warmed the forest's damp soil, the camp buzzed with silent, tireless work. Noah and Hyoga labored for hours, digging the deep pit that would become Bram's prison. Though Bram remained motionless inside the ice like a frozen statue, the hateful glare reflected on the rough surface still felt like a cold breath on everyone's neck.
When the pit was finished, they carefully lowered the massive block of ice deep underground. Sophia and Shizuka combined their magic to prevent any chance of the ice cracking. Ancient tree roots beneath the earth rose at Shizuka's command, wrapping around the frozen figure like steel chains. Sophia then froze the roots with magic, turning them into an unbreakable armor. Finally, they sealed the pit's opening with a massive lattice of intertwined roots.
"I think everything's ready," Sophia said, wiping the sweat from her brow. Her gaze drifted to Hyoga, her protective instincts still very much alive. "Safe travels. Everything here will be under control."
Naomi stepped beside Hyoga and held his hands.
"Be careful, Hyoga. Come back quickly," she whispered.
Hyoga gave her a reassuring smile and moved to Noah's side. As the three girls waved goodbye, the lost young prince and the group's leader took their first steps into the dark, deep heart of the forest.