The snow did not cease.
It fell slowly, as if the sky itself had lost the will to hasten... much like him.
Jon sat upon a snow-cloaked rock, gazing into the endless white void. Behind him, a clan of wildlings moved in silence, making camp for yet another harsh night.
Tormund approached him with a faint smile, bearing a piece of roasted meat: "You know... I have never seen you this quiet. Is this peace... or are you lost?"
Jon did not answer at once. He only took a deep breath: "I have spent my entire life fighting... for the North, for the living, for the realm... and now there is nothing left to fight for."
Tormund sat beside him, looking in the same direction. "You are wrong."
Jon looked at him. "There is always something... only this time, it is not a war."
A long silence. Then Jon said, his voice low: "I killed her..." He did not need to speak her name.
Tormund sighed, his grip tightening on the meat in his hands: "You saved the world."
Jon shook his head: "No... I chose between love... and duty. And I still do not know if I made the right choice."
He stood suddenly, as if struck by a thought: "What if it is not over?"
Tormund chuckled lightly: "Hahaha... are you afraid of the dead again?"
"No..." Jon turned toward the true North, where no man dares to tread. "I fear something worse..."
At that moment, Ghost emerged from the snows, growling softly, his ears pricked. Jon knelt beside him. "What do you see, boy?"
But the dire wolf did not look at him... but into the dark. Far away... beyond the mist, a faint blue light gleamed.
The blood froze in Jon's veins and he whispered: "This is impossible..."
Tormund stood swiftly: "What is it?"
Jon did not answer at once... he only grasped his sword slowly, and raised his eyes, the blue glimmer reflecting within them. Silence... then he added: "Gather the men."
Tormund smiled a feral smile: "Finally ... this is the Jon I know."
Jon... did not smile. He only watched the blue glimmer that began to approach slowly, growing brighter with every step, as if the whole of the North were whispering his name.
The wind returned to howl with greater fury, and the snow fell faster, but the blue glimmer did not fade; rather, it grew stronger...
Drawing nearer, Jon stared in bewilderment: "Tormund... do you see what I see?"
"Gods... what is that?" Tormund said, his face pale and stricken.
The wind grew fierce... it was no longer mere falling snow... but a howling tempest, as if warning them.
Jon stood at the vanguard of the group, his eyes fixed on the horizon. The blue glimmer did not vanish... but grew clearer, as if drawing near... or as if they were being drawn to it. "How many men?" he asked without turning.
Tormund answered, pulling his furs tighter: "About fifty... the rest are women and children. If there is to be a fight..."
Jon cut him off quietly, but with an iron tone: "There will be no fight... unless we have no choice."
Ghost drew close, his white fur rippling in the wind, his eyes gleaming with caution. His body was tense... like a bowstring about to snap.
Jon leaned down slightly, whispering: "Tell me... have they returned?"
Ghost gave a low growl. Jon raised his head slowly, his eyes narrowing: "No... this is worse... let's Move north."
Every step was harder than the last. The snow reached their knees, the air stole their breath, and the cold crept into their bones.
But the light... was guiding them. Not as a star... but as a summons.
After hours of marching, they reached a narrow gorge flanked by black rocks, as though scorched in an age long past. Suddenly... Jon halted.
He raised his hand. "Hold."
Silence... even the wind... went still. Then... the sound of cracking... not around them... but beneath them. As if the ice... were breathing.
Jon took a step forward... then another. Until he reached the edge of the gorge... And there... he saw it.
He froze. "No..."
He whispered it in a voice barely heard... Tormund approached, looked... Then he took a step back, his eyes wide: "What in the seven hells is this...?"
Down below... there was a wall of ice. But not just any wall... it was neither smooth... nor solid. It was... like glass.
A blue light pulsed within it, like veins... like a beating heart... As if something living... was trapped inside.
Jon, slowly, as if disbelieving his own eyes: "This... was not here before." Suddenly... a shadow appeared behind the wall.
A humanoid shape... as black as coal, yet taller... gaunter... unnaturally twisted. Then... two eyes opened... blue.
But not like the eyes of the White Walkers... these were deeper... older... as if remembering things that ought never be remembered.
Everyone's breath caught in their throats. Then... the voice... it did not spill from a mouth. But... from within their minds. "At last..."
One of the men fell to his knees, screaming: "Get him out of my head!!"
Jon clutched his head, gritting his teeth: "Who are you?!"
The voice... laughed. A cold laugh... slow... filled with something incomprehensible. "I am... what came before them."
Tormund looked to Jon: "Before who?!"
The answer came... slower... heavier: "Before the dead... before the Long Night... before all that you know."
The wall cracked. A blue fissure spread across it... then another... then... an explosion. Ice shattered in every direction.
Jon shouted: "Fall back!!"
But it was too late. Jon was thrown to the ground, buried in snow, a ringing in his ears.
He raised his head slowly... the mist began to fade... then... it emerged.
A creature... standing in the center of the crater... its body black as the dark itself... but its eyes... They were not merely blue... they... drank the light from around them.
It smiled. "Jon... you have come at last."
Jon stood with difficulty, panting: "How do you know my name... who are you?"
The creature took a step closer... and with every movement... The snow melted beneath its feet. "I am... the beginning the world forgot."
Silence... then it whispered: "And now... I shall remind them."
It raised a hand... the earth trembled... and from beneath the snow... Things began to stir. Hands... clawing their way out of the earth.
But not the hands of the dead... no rotting flesh... no bare bone. Rather... cracked, ashen skin... like stone.
The first creature pulled itself free... tall and gaunt, but... its eyes... were hollow. Neither life... nor death.
Tormund whispered: "What in the seven hells is this."
"Brace yourselves!" Jon roared.
The first creature lunged... its speed... unnatural. Jon barely had time to raise his sword.
A clash... the sound... like steel striking stone. Jon struck it... the body cleaved... yet it did not fall.
Jon's eyes widened: "Fall back! Stay together!"
Tormund: "Go for the head!"
A heavy blow... the head shattered. The body halted. "That works?"
But it moved once more... there were more of them... so many more. Dozens... then... hundreds. The earth itself... was birthing them.
The entity stood above... watching... in stillness... with a smile. It raised its hand... all the creatures ceased their assault.
Then... they all turned their gaze to Jon... only Jon. The entity smiled: "You are different..."
Jon froze where he stood. "I feel you..." the entity drew closer. "You did not die... when you were meant to."
Jon's grip tightened on his hilt: "And you... were meant to stay buried."
The entity laughed. "I was never buried..." Another step. "I... was waiting."
Tormund screamed: "Jon!!"
But it was too late. The creatures surged forward... all at once.
The battle erupted. Jon fought... retreated... struck... But they would not stop.
One falls... two take its place. One of them struck him a heavy blow... Jon fell to his knees. He gasped for breath... the blood... the cold... the pain... Everything was crumbling. One of the creatures raised its hand... to end him... to kill Jon. But it... stopped...
Silence.
The black entity... was behind it. It approached slowly... and stood before Jon.
Jon lifted his head with great effort: "Kill me... and be done with it."
The entity drew close with quiet steps, its eyes locked on Jon: "Your time has come... to know the truth."
Jon, on his knees, looked up with eyes full of dread: "I cannot... I cannot!"
The entity reached out, a single touch upon Jon's brow... In that instant... all went still. Then...
A strange sensation flooded Jon's body, the pain turning to heat, the dread giving way to an eerie calm.
Fire... blue fire, began to spread across his hands and his sword... the blue flames dancing along the blade as if alive.
Jon drew a deep breath and rose to his feet, his eyes now glowing with power.
Tormund stood aghast: "what have you done?"
The entity smiled coldly, then turned its back, its final voice echoing in Jon's mind: "We shall meet again... and you will be mine."
Then it took a step back, and raised a hand. The creatures... halted, then... retreated.
Then... it vanished into the storm. A heavy... terrifying... silence.
Tormund breathed raggedly: "Tell me... that this is over..."
Jon fell to his knees... gasping for air. His hand trembling... he stared at his hand... At the last flicker of blue flame slowly dying out.
Jon stared at it... in shock... in fear... in disbelief.
Tormund approached slowly... his voice barely finding its way out: "Jon..."
Jon did not answer. He only raised his eyes toward the tempest that had swallowed the entity. "This is only the beginning."
"Move... let us leave this place," Tormund roared. The men began to fall back bit by bit, tense and terrified of what had just transpired.
As for Jon, he remained in the grip of shock. "How... how", he echoed in his mind.
They reached a suitable and safe place to pass the night. The dark was heavy, and the wind howled through the trees as if warning of what was to come. A fire blazed in the center of the camp, yet no man felt its warmth.
Jon sat apart from the others, staring at his hand... the very hand that had caught fire hours before. He opened his palm slowly... nothing showed. But the sensation... was still there.
A faint heat... as if something living dwelled within him, waiting for the moment to erupt. Tormund approached and sat beside him without a word... moments of heavy silence passed. "What happened to you?"
Jon did not look up: "I do not know... he touched my brow... as if something inside me awoke."
Tormund offered a half-smile: "Blue... fire? That is a new one."
Jon sighed: "It was not just fire... it felt as if... it poured out of me... to say something."
Suddenly, Ghost growled. Jon raised his head, tense: "Who goes there?"
A shadow appeared among the trees, moving silently, drawing near.
It was a woman... clad in white furs, her hair as white as ice, and her eyes as blue as the sky.
Her voice was calm: "I have been looking for you."
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