The woman of the house opened the door and screamed,
"Oh my God!"
The man came running, and both of them looked into the baby's eyes.
They placed the baby and the golden sword separately.
The man laid the sword down in the hallway,
and the woman gently placed the baby on the bed,
next to their daughter,
who was also a newborn.
Both babies began to cry.
The mother and father looked at each other.
The mother asked,
"What are we supposed to do with the child now?
I'm not giving him away, that's for sure."
Then she pointed at the boy's eyes with her finger.
"Look at those ice-blue eyes… No! We're keeping him."
The father smirked.
"B-Because of the eyes?"
The woman shouted,
"No, of course not, you idiot!"
Laughter echoed from the house.
"So… what should we name him?" the father asked.
The mother thought for a moment as she stared into the boy's beautiful ice-blue eyes.
"I know," she said, raising her hand slightly.
"Let's name him Ice. What do you think?"
The man shifted his gaze from the woman to the baby boy and then to his daughter.
He repeated the name softly:
"Ice… yeah."
"Because of his eyes, right?"
"But you know," he added,
"every baby has blue eyes at first."
The woman nodded.
"Yes, I know. But just look how blue his are.
He'll keep them, I know it."
The man and woman embraced.
And so—Wek became Ice.
Years passed.
Ice grew older and stronger.
But one rainy night,
while his adoptive parents were asleep—
and so was the daughter—
Ice wanted to sneak out to meet his friends.
He quietly opened the window
and was just about to climb out
when he heard a voice.
"Ice? What are you doing?"
It was Ela—Wek's (well, not really) sister.
"Ice," she said,
"should I tell Thous and Thisia?"
Ice dropped to his knees and begged:
"Nooo, please don't! I'll do anything, okay!?"
Ela smiled.
"Good. Then take me with you."
Ice stood up, brushed the dust off her shoulder, and replied:
"Okay, come!
But if we get caught—"
"We won't," Ela said confidently.
"They're sound asleep."
Ice stepped forward and leaned out the window.
Then he jumped. Luckily, it wasn't a long drop.
He landed safely, though the rain quickly soaked him,
and his clothes clung tightly to his skin.
Ela followed.
She landed in a crouch but slipped.
"Owww…"
Then came Ice's friends—Tek and Falk.
The three of them already had plans for the night.
"Ice, why did you bring your boring sister?" Falk groaned.
Ela gave him a death glare and inhaled sharply,
ready to snap back—
but stayed quiet.
"Well," Ice said,
"I guess we'll have to come up with something else for tonight?"
"No," Tek interrupted.
"I still want to know what's in there."
"What are you guys talking about?" Ela asked.
Ice answered,
"We're talking about that house.
It's been abandoned for 12 years now.
Just look at all the spider webs and moss."
Ela looked horrified.
"W-we can't just—"
Ice covered her mouth and said,
"Yes, we can."
He took a running start and kicked the old wooden door open.
Dust swirled into the air,
making it hard to see.
Once the air cleared slightly,
they saw drawings on the walls—
of a baby… and a dragon.
Near the bed stood an old armor rack.
The four of them explored the room separately.
Ela sneezed from all the dust.
Ice crouched and looked under the bed.
There, he found a large drawing
and a wooden chest.
He pulled both out—
the drawing in his right hand,
the chest in his left—
and placed them on the bed.
As he set them down, another cloud of dust rose.
Ice sneezed three times in a row.
Then he looked at the painting.
It was the same sword he had at home.
His expression changed.
"Why is a picture of my sword in the abandoned house next door?
It's exactly the same…"
What made it even stranger
was the chest that had been hidden with it.
His curiosity burned.
He opened the chest.
Inside was only one item—
a letter, sealed and written in large black ink:
To my son – Wek –
You probably want to know who I am.
And I understand.
(After all, I am the strongest.)
Wek, I know you'd probably be a fan of mine—
but I made the decision to keep growing stronger.
One day, I'll fight the Dragon King.
But that doesn't mean we can't meet.
So when you're old enough—
come to the land of the Dragon Killers.
Find the city called DragonWest.
There, search for a man called the Golden Knight.
And we'll talk.
To Wek—my dearest, dearest son.
Ice ran a hand through his brown hair and said,
"Phew… hey guys, you have to read this!"
But no one answered.
Everyone was staring out the window—
and recoiled in shock.
Falk was the first to speak.
"T-T-The village… it's burning!"
Ice quickly folded up the letter,
shoved it into his pocket,
and ran outside after his friends.
His two friends turned and ran in another direction.
Ice and Ela climbed back in through the window.
But then—an explosion.
The house was blown apart.
Ice was just about to climb through the window—
when the entire building was torn apart by the blast.
His whole family was inside.
Ela had just climbed through…
Ice screamed:
"NOOOOOO!!!"
The only thing left behind
was his golden sword.
He grabbed it and looked around.
Fireballs were falling from the sky.
And then he saw them—
an entire troop of dragon-like humanoid creatures.
Ice collapsed to the ground in shock.
He sat down,
tears streaming from his eyes.
"Who are you… and what do you wa—"
A fireball struck—
right on top of him.
But then—Ice's arm moved on its own, lifting the golden sword,
and the fireball slammed against it.
The sword had saved his life.
"W-What…?" Ice muttered in disbelief.
But then he saw them—
the dragon-humans,
slaughtering people and burning down the village.
He had to get out of there—fast!
Ice got up and ran.
Ash blew into his face,
he wiped it away with his right hand and kept running.
He glanced back.
He saw the entire village…
burned to the ground.
He dropped to his knees and whispered,
"Why…? What was that all about?"
Ice pulled out the letter.
"This can't be a coincidence…"
"Both of my parents had black hair and brown eyes.
Ela too…
And then that painting…
I have to get to the next village.
I need to warn them.
And find out where DragonWest is."
So Ice took off running—