A Random My Little Pony Fan Fiction Story 3: John's Kingdom

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Chapter 3: Glacio

The eternal night continued to rage on. What should have been sunrise was no more, but a forever night sky that went on for miles. Anywhere on the entire planet, it was plunged into the nightfall. Even though Lord Chernobog had only conquered one kingdom thus far, everything was engulfed by his doing simply by claiming his throne. And everywhere around the world and throughout Equestria, no pony could make heads or tail of it. Not even the other creatures could make logical sense by it.

When Celestia died, one would think the sun went with her. However, Luna picked up where her sister left off as John took the throne. Yet it baffled no pony why any of this had happened. It bewilders them though that no morning sun has appeared. The golden dawn was gone and the energy to start the day had weakened most of the plants and animals.

The clock had stopped and it was only a matter of time before chaos would erupt throughout the world. A little off balance of schedule could cause the whole world to be on fire.

The only thing that anypony could do would be to drink their sorrow away with booze or take various drugs to give them a spiritual revival during the dark times. And if things didn't get better anytime soon, it will only push any living creature to their primal instinct. First it will be rage and self defense. Then it will become civil war and factions.

Next would come the total destruction of society itself, going back to old tribes and clans. And if all is lost, then it's anyone for themselves as the animals take hold. Anypony could take anything as long as they have the strength to do it. A living organism must do in order to survive and carry on the bloodline. And so the final stage of going in a backwards loop would be for an organism to eat another living organism.

While this is a fact throughout any life, a desperate pony will do anything to live, even if it means cannibalism of their own kind or their own off spring. It makes it so that anypony who lives feels like that life is not a gift and that it was a punishment from the creator. The evil shape shift into their own kind after all. Pills that kill faster, viruses that form into a plague, or the war machine in the distance that prep for mass killing. Violence and instability becomes the new civility. It makes it that murdering a living being becomes the recipe for survival. It becomes the basis for life and good memories turn into a lifetime of pain.

The stakes were high as the eternal night engulfed the world and soon to bring out the worst in most. And only god knows what would happen to the ponies and if they were to survive Lord Chernobog and his genocide of the old blood. All lives of the lands landed on John and his Knights to carry forth and find the King's Crystal to end Lord Chernobog once and for all.

The band of heroes put out the campfire after taking some rest and heading out on foot. Their direction: Northwest. They did not know where the King's Crystal lied ahead exactly, but deep down in Glacio's heart he knew where he would find his father's inheritance.

All that they had was themselves and the weapons by their sides to fend against any darkness that might come for them in their waking moments or in their sleep. There was no room for error as all were focused on heading to their destination at almost any cost. Glacio was certain they would retrieve the King's Crystal. Ignis had hope but doubt about John being the one to be their savior.

Terra was ambitious and determined to right the wrongs of the past. Ventus was eager to put the evil to bed and be at peace so he can go home and rest. TK only wanted to get it over with and find the one who went missing in his life.

John only had one thing on his mind though: Legs and animals fucking a tree. No one would rest easily until they met their end goal; together as The Knights of John and King John himself.

A couple of hours had passed since they left on their journey to the King's Crystal. Not much was said between everyone in the party. Despite some being close to one another, there was a tense pressure around them, with not one of them wanting to speak up. Some had worries on their mind while others only wanted to focus on their redemption and forgiveness for their mistakes. TK didn't care to talk much and John didn't have much on his mind worth talking about to the others. But John looked at the others as he trailed loosely behind as TK was ahead of the pack.

All he could see within all of them despite his wandering mind was how thankful he was to find a group of weird creatures; who would kindly assist him on taking back his rightful kingdom and his precious wife. Yet deep down he didn't know what they were talking about sometimes and could only imagine what went on in their world.

And then John began to think. ‘Another universe? How could this be? Why could this be? And why here of all place where there is talking ponies around?’

None of it made sense to him other than remembering all of a sudden he still never got that toast from his previous wife from before. He really wanted that toast. But instead he only ever got a chicken that came out of his mouth as he had yawned that one time. It wasn't even funny. All it did was do a random dance with no one around to watch.

To him it wasn't funny. Why did it happen to begin with in the first place? It was as if everything was so random. Then John wondered how he even got here to begin with. His mind started to wander some more and soon he forgot what he was thinking about and went right back to square one again. He thought about pancakes for a bit.

John's mind was an endless void of randomness and virtue. There was no end in sight in what made who he was. If any pony were to see into it, no pony would be able to make heads or tails of it. He was in his own little world. A world where no one could understand him no matter how hard he tried.

TK on the other hand only focused ahead and didn't look back. Even though he could sense that their pack wasn't as tight as they all thought they were, he would keep trudging forward into the abyss if he had to. The others only had hope to hang on to.

Glacio had the most hope out of them all, but only in despair. Glacio was holding on to anything he had. In the moment of walking in the woods, he could only look up at The Eternal Night and be reminded of his own mistakes. He remembered the battle with Lord Chernobog back in his world.

All he could think of was all of were the solders he was responsible for dying left and right. He felt like he had led them to the slaughterhouse. And the most heart wrenching thing of all, he could remember as if it was yesterday; seeing his father dying and taking his last breath in front of him. He tried his best to help all those around him, yet he could not. And so when he looked up, all he could feel was a burden of guilt on his shoulders.

Eventually everyone started to get bored as they continuously passed by fields of bushes and trees as they headed deep into the forest. However, every once in a while, they would past up some beautiful fireflies; lighting their way into the forest ahead. It was a pretty sight to see as the sparkling lights fluttered around them.

Even Ventus was able smile for once and forget about his woes. For a brief moment, most of them felt a little happy for once. Even John couldn’t keep his crossed-eyes off of them. TK on the other hand did not deal with such blissful things and only wanted to move forward.

TK asked out loud to Glacio, "You're sure this is the way to the crystal?"

TK didn't look at him and only kept his eyes forward as always.

Glacio could sense the uneasiness of TK's words but smiled with confidence and said with a gleeful tone in his voice, "Of course. I can sense it in my soul that this is direction of where my father's crystal lies at. I can feel it in my heart this is the direction."

TK asked a hard question, "How did it even get here to begin with?"

Glacio answered with an uncertain face filled with disappointment, "I-I am unsure how. I believe after my father used it to hold off Lord Chernobog, it lost control and sent the other crystal and itself into this world. But I can only speculate as such."

TK could only give a moderate grunt in response. Glacio didn't know how to take that. He seemed worried that TK was on edge, but was too afraid to say anything towards him. Meanwhile, Ventus looked back at John as he minded his own business and looked at his surroundings. He had a smile of intrigue on his face as he slowed down his pacing and kept up with John in the back. He looked down on John despite John not even noticing a pair of eyes were on him.

As nervous as Ventus was on meeting new people, or in this case new creatures; he decided to make small talk with John to get to know him. Ventus asked with such curiosity in his voice despite his shyness, "So... John... was it?"

John started to notice who was talking to him as he strained his neck upwards while walking to look at Ventus.

Ventus asked on with building confidence in his tone, "I wanted to ask you... how is it in your world? My world is very different from yours I'm sure. And I would like to know... how is it here in your world? Do you have the same sunsets as we do? Do you eat the same foods? Do you have the same technologies like we do? How is it that you can understand our language while we can understand your language too? Can you do just about anything that our kind can do? What are the seasons like here? Do you use the same time as we do?"

Ignis had to butt into the conversation as he slightly looked back with annoyance and asked Ventus, "Easy on the questions there Ventus. I don't even think he can even understand what you're trying to say to him. Besides, why do you even want to know all that junk?"

Ventus looked at Ignis with disappointment and lost confidence in himself as he hanged his head, "Well... I was just curious was all. It wouldn't hurt to know what a new world is like. This might be the only chance we ever get to cross paths with another."

Ignis said back in a tough remark, "Hmpff. The last thing I want is to find a world where talking ponies exist. And I'm already in it."

Ventus lowered his head some more as he lost any self respect for himself, "Oh... well ok then."

His little sister spoke up for him with a slight smirk on her face as she looked back, "Don't worry Ventus. I'm sure if we got time, you can ask around and do your little research."

Ventus brought his head back up with a little bit of confidence as he felt like he had hope again. Sure it had came from his little sister, but that was what family was for in tough times; to keep your spirits up as he thought to himself.

Suddenly TK held his right arm up and told everyone in an instant, "Stop."

Everyone stopped in the middle of their tracks, looking worried as if something had happened that caused them to pause their quest. Everyone started to look around, wondering what was so important to hold up. There was nothing around them but some trees, bushes, and a slight gust of wind; no chirping birds or noisy insects however.

After a few seconds of just standing there, Ignis was the one to speak up, "What's the hold up?"

TK kept searching the area from what he could see inside of his suit, "Something is not right. It's quiet. Too quiet. Too quiet. Keep an eye out for anything suspicious."

Everyone was on edge. Even Glacio started to suspect Lord Chernobog had sent someone or something their way and forgot to even think of the possibility of such. He started to fear that the worst was yet to come. As everyone was on alert for their own safety, Custos wasn't far away from them and only a merely few trees down from where they were standing at. He was shaking with fear, not wanting to do what his master told him to do as he stood on a branch of a tall tree. He looked at the band of heroes and stared deeply into their souls as his eyes lit up brightly.

He was seeing everything that they held deeply within their souls. Anything that they had feared the most was hidden deep down. However Custos could see it all within his mind and behold it. Once he had seen what he needed to see, he stepped out of his mind and back into reality. He shook his head and stared back at the band of heroes.

Custos started to talk to himself with fear, "Come on... get it together. Your master said to do it and that means you have to do it. You'll only lose control of yourself for a while. Don't worry about the blackout. Just let it all go and let the pain happen. It'll all be over soon. Come on... just get it over with already, Oh may the lord help me..."

And soon without hesitation, Custos closed his eyes and concentrated deep from within. He stopped shaking, but his crystal body started to vibrate in a terrible tone. He tried to hold himself together, but he started to feel the pain as the atoms that made him started to pull part and push back together in a constant fashion.

He was starting to become something more bigger than himself. He started to become more than one mind as his body and soul was torn apart at every seam that one could imagine. He wanted to scream but lost the ability to even do so as he started to form in multiple bodies of shape shifting proportions. As he was transferring into something beyond his own comprehension, the rest of the group kept their guard up, waiting for a sign that everything was clear or a sign that said that they were all doomed. However there was nothing.

Ventus then spouted out, "I don't... see anything..." And with a sudden explosion of irony and regret, a fire came alive before them.

But it wasn't just any fire. A burst of flames quickly engulfed the area. However it wasn't of natural causes. It was a different kind flame; The Fire of Fate as one would describe it. While the burning flames didn't surround them, it enclosed on their general direction as the heat gave them little to disbar from.

All were confused as to what was happening. Glacio on the other hand noticed something that caught him in a trance as he slowly walked closer to The Fire of Fate. He walked ever so closer to it like a zombie as the others took noticed. It was as if he didn't have any control of himself. His limbs became loose as he held his head up high, seeing something within the fire.

Ventus tried to reach out and said to Glacio in worry, "Glacio? Where are you going?"

No one was sure what to do. No one knew what Glacio was seeing. What he saw was for his eyes only.

The others could only speculate as Glacio said to himself, "It... it can't be..."

Glacio took several steps more closer to the fire before stopping. He then stood there for several seconds as the fire burned on and the others stood there and watched in anticipation. Before anyone could say anything to Glacio, let alone go after him; Glacio collapsed to his knees as he stared blindly into the heat and the flames.

As the others watched on in fear for their friend, TK stood at the ready, prepared for anything that might come. All John could do was look around frantically, seeing what was around him. Glacio had the look in his eyes if he was seeing a ghost as his face turned pale white and his hands started to tremble.

Glacio then muttered out to himself, "But... but it's not possible. You are all dead."

From the fire, figures started to emerge that Glacio saw before. The others started to see it too as they were taken back by it. The figures were many, as they all looked the same. They were standing from both sides of Glacio. The figures looked like it was getting closer and closer before they stepped out of the fire itself.

Glacio looked in awe as he saw what appeared to be soldiers; but they weren't human though. They were mere skeleton in armor with weaponry that he recognized. It was the soldiers from his lands. They all wore armor made from metal from their chest to their toes and helmets to protect what once was their heads. They all held their iron swords with firm grips and held it high, awaiting for battle to come. They marched in unison and in line, surrounding Glacio as all he could do was watch in disbelief.

The dead soldiers all shouted in unison their war cry, "ERAH!"

They said it again and again and Glacio knew it all too well. It was what the soldiers would say as they ran straight into the heart of the battlefield. It was the last thing he had heard before Lord Chernobog slaughtered them all. After several of them came from the fire, they all stopped and turned staring at Glacio. They stood firmly and straight like a wall; surrounding Glacio, about four or five on each side. They held their swords up and looked like they were ready for battle upon command.

Glacio looked at them and felt like he could recognize them despite them being nothing but bone. Yet he couldn't quite tell who they were, but deep down he knew them before they died. The others didn't know what to say. Ignis, Terra, and Ventus were as shocked as Glacio was. However TK only saw targets and threats and was ready to fight every single one of them.

John only looked at the skeletons as if they were some kind of political hambones in a wheelchair named Ghost. Glacio didn't know what to say. He wasn't even sure if he should say anything to them. Would they try to kill him and have his head? Why were they there? How did they get here? Why was he seeing any of this to begin with?

Then in Galcio's ears, the echoes of a horse walking towards him ringed in his head. He looked up and straight forward to see a figure on a horse coming from the fire. Glacio had a feeling who it might be, but he didn't want to believe it for himself. He didn't want to think about it even. It could not have been him he had thought. And soon emerged from The Fire of Fate was no one other than his own father.

He was a skeleton like the others and he looked like he was in a constant state of anger and annoyance. He held his royal sword in one hand and in the other reigns to his steed that also was a skeleton while being on fire. His father still wore his royal garments as if he was still alive and was the king of his lands again, all the while looking down on his son. The horse stopped sort of Glacio as he stared at his father.

He didn't know what to say. He was supposed to be dead, yet here he is, before him, as if he was still alive. Yet there was a weird feeling about it all. It didn't feel right. It didn't feel like his father. He didn't look like his father. Somewhere deep in Galcio's mind, he was thinking this might be some sort of trick. Yet the look of it all was all too real for him to process in his mind.

As Glacio was still trying to process what he was seeing before him, the dead king looked at Glacio with disappointment as he asked him in his royal booming, commanding voice, "Do you have nothing to say to me boy?"

Glacio didn't say anything. He didn't have the courage to speak to him.

The dead king then said with more annoyance in his voice, "Not speaking is rude Boy. It is especially treasonous to not talking to your king when spoken too."

Glacio still couldn't say anything. He couldn't move a single muscle either as he stared with his mouth agape.

The dead king started to become impatient as he spoke with a commanding tone, "Do you not hear what I have to say boy?"

Glacio still hadn't responded yet back to his dead father. He didn't even want to say anything to him, yet he had to, but wasn't sure what to say to him.

The dead king on his last nerves said to his son, "Are you deaf boy!? I said speak!"

Glacio forced himself to say something.

He shook his head to clear his mind real quick and looked in awe while saying in a state of uncertainty, "Yo-you're supposed to be dead..."

The dead king looked at his son as if that was an insult and said, "I am not dead. Can't you see with your own eyes where I stand? But you would like it if I was dead, wouldn't you?"

Glacio was confused as he shook his head, "No... no... Father I miss you..."

Glacio was cut off by the dead king as he fired back, "SILENCE! You wanted me dead so you can take your place as king. You wanted to sit upon my throne and rule the lands so badly. I could see it in your eyes back then and I see it in your eyes now. Is that why you left us all to die?"

Glacio couldn't control his feelings as his mind was swelling with horrible thoughts. He was being accused of so much, but in his heart he knew none of it was true.

Glacio said to his father with compassion, "No father. No... it wasn't like that. I tried to save you. I tried to save as many as I could. I just..."

The dead king cut him off once more and striked back with his heavy words, "YOU DIDN'T TRY HARD ENOUGH! Did I not teach you how to be a king, that one day when it was your turn you would rule like I had? You're no true king to the throne. You're not even my son. No son of mine would let me die. And no king would let his soldiers die either. And you failed to do both!"

Glacio was hanging his head down in shame. His mind was believing every word the dead king was saying to him. He was starting to be convinced that his father had come back from the grave to belittle him.

Glacio looked at his father with tears starting to swell up in his eyes, "Bu-But I tired. I didn't mean for you all to die. I know I'm not ready to be king. But I tried father. I really did try..."

The dead king yelled back at him in anger, "YOU'RE WEAK! A weak son leads to a weak king. And a weak king leads to dead men. I gave you everything. Everything to succeed in life and to succeed me on the throne. And what did you do? You threw it all away! I gave you the world and you spit in my face and danced on my grave. Do you have no shame?"

Glacio could only hang his head in shame. He didn't do any of what the dead king claimed he did, but he couldn't help but feel like a loser. He only sought to be like his father when the day came for it, but he couldn't even do that. And now his father appeared to have come back from the afterlife to remind him of his mistakes.

The dead king exclaimed to his son, "You have failed your kingdom Glacio. You have failed the soldiers who protected you through the many wars and battles since you were a mere infant. You failed your mother. You failed me. And most importantly, you have failed your honor and duty as king. For the crimes against the crown of our homelands, you must be punished for your sins. And with that, you must be put to death and off with your head. The very least that you can do is take it like a man and die with honor and dignity. Now hold still..."

Glacio was losing his mind slowly as the dead king was making him feel worthless. But once Glacio looked up to see that his father was raising his sword to behead him, he had the look of fear and cowardice in his eyes.

As the dead king's sword swung towards him, Glacio yelped in fear as he scurried backwards, trying to get away from the dead king. As the dead king missed his mark, he only looked even more disappointed within Glacio. Glacio had his heart beat against his chest, palms starting to sweat as he feared the like of death being portrayed in front of him.

The dead king looked upon in anger and resentment, "You good for nothing, waste of life, coward. You can't even die like a king. I should have never had you to begin with. You will die like the rest of the animals."

Glacio stared at what once was his father as he stood there high and mighty on the horse. Not even the horse seemed to like him as it only breathed heavily; looking like it was ready to trample him to death. But before he could anything, the dead soldiers were starting to surround him, marching towards him as they had the order to put him to death.

Glacio was uncertain what to do. He wanted to fight back, but he knew that he let the soldiers of his own die. He felt nothing but guilt and could only torture himself in his own mind about it. He couldn't do what he needed to do and not even as king could he save himself or his kingdom.

In fear of his own life, Glacio quickly got up as he panicked and breathed very heavily as his began trying to think of a way out of the mess. As the soldiers drew near, he tried thinking of running away and freezing the fire and escaping that way. But somewhere deep inside him knew that was only going to delay the inevitable.

The Fire of Fate could not be frozen on the other hand anyways. It was a fire from their homeland that symbolized a challenge. And if that challenge was not complete, the fire would not die out. The only way it dies out is by completing the challenged or the challenger dying. Either way, Glacio thought it was all hopeless.

Death drew knew. In a last ditch effort, Glacio yelled out in fear and panic and raised his arms up and started to disperse the nearby dead soldiers with ice. It did not freeze them, but merely blinded them and put a "wall" between him and the damned. Once he had the chance, Glacio was running with the look of death on his face. He didn't have much where to run to, so he only ran past the others as he took refuge to a nearby tree and stood behind it and hid from the dead who wanted him to pay for his sins.

As the others took note of the situation, Terra asked in worry, "Shouldn't we be helping him?"

Ignis was about to move forward to help fight back, but TK quickly put his left arm in front to stop him.

TK then quickly noted, "No."

Ignis looked back in annoyance as he asked him, "And why the hell not?"

TK said as he looked towards them with complete confidence, "This is his fight. And his fight alone. He must do this by himself."

Ventus said out loud as he feared for his friend's life, "But he's going to die if we don't help him. John, what do you think we should do?"

Ventus quickly looked down beside him to find an empty spot of where John should be.

Ventus was confused and became curious, "John?"

Meanwhile, the ice effect had worn off, and the dead soldiers broke through and began scanning the area for Glacio. Soon the dead king on his horse walked through and started to be pissed. He was starting to lose his tolerance once he saw that his son was missing.

The dead king ringed out, "Can you hear me Glacio!? You can't run from this! You can't run from me or the ones you left for dead either! You are trapped here with us! So come out and face your sins boy! Come out and face your punishment and die! You are only making this harder for yourself! We will find you!"

The dead soldiers and even the dead king ignored the others as they walked by them, as if they did not exist. The rest wanted to fight, but knew that TK was probably right and would only make matters worse. So all they could do was stand by and watch as their companion was being hunted down.

As the dead soldiers were crawling through the area, Glacio was hiding behind a thick, dirty, tree hidden in the darkness. His chest expanding heavily as he could feel his heart beat rapidly like a drum. He was sweating all over and gave off the stench of death and fear. He did not know what to do. He had the power to fight them, but deep in his heart he couldn't. His body slowly wanted to give up on himself as he carefully slid down against the tree and sat down. He brought up his legs and remained in a fetal position. He was done for. He thought this was the end for him.

He was going to die and face the consequences to his actions of the past. He only deemed himself guilty for not saving those that he tried so desperately to save. This was going to be his final moments as king: trying to save it while die trying to. But in a light of hope, he saw John walk to him and stare at him. He was confused and wondered why he was not with the others.

He looked at him and got eye leveled with John, "What are you doing here? Can't you see that I don't deserve to live right now; after what I have done?"

John however, while still retaining his usual looks, said to him in a sort of advice, "Don't give up the legs. You are a nice doggy and deserve a treat. You didn't do a bad thing little boy. The polar bear is the bad guy."

At first, he only heard nonsense coming from John. It was almost a waste of his time and of his last breath. Then Glacio started to formulate what John was saying. Maybe on the outside John couldn't speak like a true king, but on the inside he was trying to convey a message to him. A message to him to not give up and that it wasn't his fault his father and the soldiers died.

He only could do so much in the end and that he tried to save them all. And despite him lacking the skills to be a true king, a realization came to mind that The Fire of Fate was playing tricks on him. He wanted to believe; deep down, that what he saw was his real father. He had wanted to say goodbye to his father one last time after all. He couldn't even make it to the funeral due to his injuries from Lord Chernobog's attack. He wanted to see him one last time and say that he was sorry. But his guilt was not holding him back any more as he stood up with confidence.

He then smiled as he looked at John and said, "Thanks."

John just sat there, not giving a response, but somewhere inside of him, he was saying 'you're welcome'.

Glacio was no longer filled with fear and regret as he walked around the tree to face his fears head on. Once he stepped out from the darkness and into the light emanating from the Fire of Fate, the dead soldiers were there to greet him as they all looked at him with the intent of death.

The mindless dead soldiers without hesitation immediately went towards Glacio, huddled together in a large group, raising their swords, ready to strike. Glacio however didn't feel the need to run away from his mistakes. He had put on a small smirk as he pointed both of his arms to the ground and a cold sleuth of ice rand from his hands as he started forming a quick bridge for himself to run on.

With his right hand, Glacio started to make a little ice trail that he could slide on as he went around the group of dead soldiers. All the while, he used his left hand to spray a heavy breath of ice on the dead, slowly freezing them as he slid around them with a slight breeze combing through his hair. As he went around all of them in an almost full three sixty, the dead soldiers froze in place and covered from head to toe with ice and frost. It was as if they were part of museum piece as they stood solid as a rock.

Once Glacio was done freezing all of them, he landed on the ground with ease as the trail of ice slowly melted away. The dead soldiers stood still and Glacio could only look at it with as a badge of honor. As Glacio was about to go and look for the dead king, it was only a matter of seconds before he had shown up. In the blink of an eye, the dead king showed up as if he had came out from nowhere and trampled the frozen dead soldiers with his steed. The horse shattered the soldiers into pieces like broken glass as it all fell to the floor. Glacio's confidence started to come into question as his small smirk disappeared as he looked up to the goliath before him.

The dead king looked down on him, as if he was disappointed even more with his son. Glacio started to have mixed emotions flair up. He started to feel guilt and regret once more. Then Glacio remembered who he was. As he cleared his mind, he looked at the dead king as if he was the one he needed to fear. Glacio unsheathed his sword from his side and quickly pointed at the dead king.

Glacio stated, "You're not my father. My father died defending his kingdom. You're just a trick trying to fool me. And as the new king, I will strike you down with my sword passed down from MY father."

The horse blew some air from its nostrils as the dead king only stared at Glacio with a deathly glare.

He then boomed with his commanding voice, "Is that how you see me as then? Your own father? You are a disgrace to the name and to the throne! You are not only a coward, but a worthless son! You should be ashamed of yourself calling yourself king. You will die like a dog right here and now."

The dead king lifted his sword and slashed in the air towards Glacio's head. Glacio however also struck back as both swords clashed. The metal clinging sound could be heard for miles as the two gritted their teeth and looked at each other with the will to kill.

As the swords held in their places, the dead king commented, "Give up now boy. You will never best me. Accept your fate and lay down your arms. You will never be a true king."

Glacio fired back, "Never. I don't need you to tell me whether I'm a true king or not. My father taught me to be a true king is to be wise and true. Never give in to your enemy no matter the cost, even if it's your own soul. And to always protect your subjects, your soldiers, your friends, and your family with your life. You may not always be pure at heart; nor will you always get it right. But trying to be a good king will always make you a true king."

The dead king said with discontent, "Foolish words from such a pitiful person such as yourself. What makes a true king is to remain stronger amongst the rest. And you boy are not strong in the slightest."

Glacio smirked as he took that as a compliment.

He said with an eager tone, "Oh, you don't think my father taught me how to be strong huh?"

Glacio quickly looked down and with his free hand, he aimed at the horse's front legs and froze it solid. And as swiftly as he was, he took his sword nd broke the horse's front legs in half, severing it from the body, allowing the dead animal to collapse. This made the dead king lose his balance and fall to the ground with a thump.

Glacio stood there like a champion as he pointed the sword to the ground, placed one hand on his hip, and let his smile glow as the Fire of Fate raged quietly into the Eternal Night.

However the battle was far from over as the dead king simply got back up on his two feet with his sword in hand. Once he was up, he straightened his back and gave the look of only anger and resentment towards Glacio.

The dead king said, "You will pay for that boy."

Glacio responded back as he walked towards the dead king; raising his sword, "Then let me pay you with interest then."

While maintaining his smile, Glacio swung his sword in the air to hit the dead king, but he was not quick enough. The dead king swiftly raised his sword as the two swords clashed once more, making a sound of clashing metal echo in the lands.

As Glacio still smiled gracefully, the dead king looked distraught, "You will have to pay more than that to be forgiven of your sins boy."

Glacio then said as he pulled back his arm, ready to swing at him again, "Then I'll pay with my blood, sweat and tears then!"

The two swords clashed as the two started to pick up the pace with their swords hitting against one another. The fight was gaining momentum as the others watched. They were watching closely as it became intense like they were on the edge of their seats. Ignis was looking on with eagerness especially since he could remember all the times he taught him how to fight since he was seven years old. He could recall countless times when he failed, but every time, he didn't stop trying and kept going. Ignis wanted to smile, but was holding back as the fight was yet to be over.

The two continued to swing swords at each other over and over and over. The sound of clinging metal could be heard for miles on end with each strike.

As the two continued their heated battle, they also continued to bicker at each other as well. "Your blood is spoiled and is no good to me!" said the dead king with a growl.

Glacio sad back, "Then I'll pay with my arm and my leg!"

The dead king could only bicker, "Will you be willing to pay with your soul!?"

Glacio said with a hopeful smile, "My soul belongs to the kingdom that I serve and the throne that I sit upon!"

As the two departed their swords from each other, the dead king finally had enough of their little fight.

He clenched his fist and yelled in frustration, "Enough of this nonsense!"

The dead king took both hands and a firm grip on his sword as he raised it above his head and came down with the heaviest strike he had given yet. It was so powerful that it took Glacio a bit off guard as he almost didn't raise his sword to clash in time.

The smirk disappeared from his face as he struggled with the weight of the dead king's sword constantly weighing him down on his sword. Glacio was being pushed back as he was getting put close to his knees. It was in the heat of the moment and the others started to become worried for him. Glacio tried to think of a way out, but there was no easy sign of spotting it. Glacio, tried as he might, took hold his sword with one hand, and used the other to quickly fire his breath of ice towards the dead king's legs.

At first it didn't seem to work, but it was enough of a distraction that it took the eyes off of him and placed it on his leg. And with the quick second of bliss, he slightly stepped back, stood up, and swiftly lobbed off the dead king's head before he knew what happened. It was a clean and straight forward cut with some blood spurting everywhere. The head tumbled towards the ground as the headless corpse simple collapsed to the ground like a puppet. Some blood did get on to Glacio's face, but none of it bothered him as he stood there with a smile across his face.

He looked towards the Fire of Fate as he noticed it slowly died down and the area around him returned to normal as it was before. He looked on passed the fires and only saw hope for his future as he stood there; tall and proud as he held his sword with grace. He had accomplished his fight and grew past his fears and nightmares.

The others walked towards him as Ventus asked with kindness, "Are you alright?"

Glacio looked back with a warm smile, "Never better my old friend."

Ignis couldn't help but smile back at him as he laid a hand on his shoulder, "I've got to hand it to you, I didn't think you would make it. But I taught you well didn't I?"

Glacio looked at him with a glare in his eye, "Yes, yes you did Ignis. But it is John who I have to thank."

Everyone looked dumbfounded when he said that as all eyes were on him.

Glacio bent down to John's eye level and said with such happiness from his heart, "Thank you John for showing me the light. I would have been scared and too weak to fight these creatures if you didn't tell me that it wasn't my fault. And you were right; it was all on me to fix my own problems that I blamed myself for."

Glacio got up as they still looked confused about John. Glacio exclaimed to everyone, "Let's get a move on shall we? We still have a ways to go till we get to that crystal!"

And so Glacio headed down the path of their goal first as the rest followed suit.

In their wake however, the head that was once the dead king started to move ever so slightly.

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