Epic Of Ice Dragon: Reborn As An Ice Dragon With A System

Chapter 2431: The Beginning Of The End [12]

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”Ah, Nifl? Ha, ha, she was a crybaby...” Hel’s tone softened with affection. ”Whenever her sisters teased her, she cried. If she disliked her meat, she cried. If we were even a minute late feeding her, she cried. A slight scare, and she would wail endlessly. Her cries were sharp and loud, freezing everything around her. Her tears turned to tiny ice crystals... She made quite the mess. Yet she was my adorable little sister. We loved her despite it all, and we helped her grow into the wonderful dragon she is now.”

”W-Was she really such a crybaby? Wait... it doesn’t surprise me that much. She does cry a lot even now...” Drake sighed, recalling Nifl’s tears during their confrontations or when she met his brother. ”Mom...”

”You miss her?” Hel asked gently.

”She and the others are coming to help. You won’t be alone anymore, Dragon King. We’ll face this together—as family.”

”I see... Thank you, Hel,” Drake said softly, taking her hand. ”I mean it.”

”Hm... Your hand is so warm, my king,” Hel murmured. ”I’ve only known the warmth of my sisters and mother before... But I grew faster than them, and it’s been so long since I felt something like this. I had almost forgotten...”

”You’ve stayed here all this time?” Drake asked.

”Not confined—it was my duty and my choice,” Hel replied. ”But yes... Helheim was the only Realm left untouched. Little changed for us here while my sisters had to relocate. I remained with my children, who share my cold touch. We exist between life and death. No other beings are quite like us Death Dragons. We crave the warmth of the living, but we can never truly have it. At least the souls we guide will one day be reborn and feel life’s warmth again.”

”...I see,” Drake said quietly. ”It must have been lonely.”

”No... not really. It is my life,” Hel smiled faintly. ”But sometimes... I dream of the surface, just once. My presence alone radiates Death. Anything fragile—like innocent mortals—would perish instantly, causing disaster. That’s why I stay in Helheim.”

”Maybe I can help with that. I’ll find a way,” Drake promised. ”Don’t you want to feel the sun’s warmth? See the colors of forests, rivers, the sea? I’ll even cook you something delicious. How about it?”

”Is this... my king, are you inviting me on a date?” Hel sighed, a mix of amusement and melancholy in her voice. ”Are you unaware of my age? Please... stop teasing. It might amuse you, but it’s not funny to me...”

”I’m not teasing, Hel,” Drake said earnestly. ”I owe you so much already. I’d feel terrible if I never repaid you. So how about it?”

”Y-You truly mean it?” Hel asked, blushing in shock. ”I... I don’t know what to say...”

”Think about it,” Drake said gently. ”No pressure.”

”Hm... I will,” Hel murmured. ”I... haven’t tasted food in eons.”

”You don’t eat?” Drake asked.

”At our level, we don’t need to,” Hel explained. ”You don’t either, you know? We sustain ourselves on raw environmental energy. We only ate when young and growing. At my age... food is a distant memory.”

”I’ll prepare something wonderful,” Drake insisted. ”I even have a Divinity of Cooking, remember?”

”Yes, I know. I saw it,” Hel smiled faintly, almost chuckling—though expressing emotion was difficult for her. ”You are the most peculiar dragon ever born.”

”Ah, come on. Maybe one day there’ll be Cooking Dragons or Chef Dragons—an entire bloodline and family. Imagine it,” Drake said, drawing another near-chuckle from her.

”You’re good with words...” Hel said softly. ”Now, let’s continue.”

”All right...”

Drake grew serious, stepping into the ninth world—the realm of the Immortal Soul Blade.

Unlike the others, this world was empty. Nothing but endless white void.

”There’s nothing here? Why? Hel?”

Drake called for her, but Hel had mysteriously vanished.

This whiteness.

This void...

Drake quickly understood its meaning.

The Concept of Swordsmanship he had lost—this white void was the emptiness it left behind.

Hel must have known. She wouldn’t create an unsolvable trial to trap his mind forever.

No...

This was the challenge: to fill this white space.

And to find what remained, hidden somewhere.

”Muramasa... I can sense your traces. Celestia too... my swords.”

Drake walked through the white void—for days, weeks, then months.

Finally, his journey ended when he spotted something.

A small wound in the white void—a sharp slashing mark at its center.

”...A slash wound.”

Drake approached and touched it. Beyond the crack, a world of endless, shifting colors flickered.