Chapter 1: When winter dances with spring

“This tale begins at the end of a certain winter…”

As the final snows melt, the god of winter, King Ullr, leads his court of frost fairies and spirits away.

The last snowflake drifts down… and with it, winter says goodbye to the world.

🌸 Then comes spring.

Flowers bloom, bees dance with joy, birds sing, animals stretch from slumber.

The world begins to thaw, as it should — the natural cycle.

But then… something strange happens.

❄️ One child does not follow.

The son of winter, a mischievous little god with white hair and icy eyes, refuses to leave.

He laughs and tosses snowballs—playfully freezing the fairies of spring.

The earth is supposed to awaken… but now it slumbers again, trapped in frost.

The fairies are frozen in time.

The child stops and looks around.

Everyone is frozen.

No one laughs.

No one plays.

He drops his snowballs.

The silence makes his heart ache.

He builds an ice chair and sits… alone. Eyes filling with tears.

Then—🌿

A light.

A green light flashes.

THUD! Something lands next to him.

The son of spring has arrived — warm, glowing, curious.

They stare at each other in silence.

The son of winter turns away, folding his arms in cold defiance.

The son of spring watches… and smiles.

He reaches out, touching Winter’s icy crown.

🌹 It blooms — with pink, red, and white roses.

Winter stands, shocked.

He skates, angry, his magic forming sharp ice across the floor, threatening the young god.

But Spring only claps his hands.

The room fills with sunshine, golden wind, and wildflowers.

He holds out a hand.

🌸 “Dance with me?”

Winter hesitates…

Then slowly, shyly… he takes the hand.

And they dance.

🕊️ One cold, one warm.

One still, one moving.

They laugh, spin, and melt the season back into balance.

“After the dance, they said goodbye with a handshake.

The son of winter left with King Ullr…

And Edden, god of spring, could finally awaken the world.”

The sun hung low in the sky, casting long golden rays over the palace gardens. Sora’s fingers moved tenderly among the petals, the delicate roses blooming beneath his touch. The air smelled faintly of earth and blossoms, a soft promise of spring’s warmth.

He hummed quietly, lost in the simple joy of nurturing life.

“Sora! Sora, come inside! Winter is coming!”

The sharp voice of his mother pierced the calm.

Startled, Sora looked up, eyes wide. The distant sky had already begun to darken with rolling gray clouds, a chill creeping into the air.

He set down his watering can and hurried toward the castle. His feet barely touched the ground as he raced through the winding paths.

Just as he reached the grand doors, his mother was waiting. Her eyes were fierce with worry. Before he could protest, the heavy door slammed shut behind him.

“You must stay inside,” she said, her voice low but unyielding. “Hyōga will come. He cannot see you.”

Sora’s heart thudded painfully in his chest. The boy who had once danced with winter — the cold prince who had left him frozen in memory — was coming back. And now, the world was holding its breath.

He pressed his palm against the cool wood of the door, his fingers trembling. Outside, the first snowflake fell drifted down silently—then, just as it touched the ground, the entire garden fell into an eerie, frozen stillness.

A sharp crack echoed through the air.

Sora’s breath caught in his throat as a shadow appeared at the edge of the frosted trees—tall, pale, and impossibly cold.

And then, a voice—quiet, but filled with a cold intensity—whispered,

“Spring… it’s time to face winter again.”

To be continued

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