The one responsible for throwing the giant was a man with long, jet-black hair clad in blue. His stature was no larger than his opponent's palm. His eyes were voids of darkness, reflecting a hollow abyss. On his left hand, he wore a black metallic gauntlet adorned with a dark, lustrous gem that pulsed with a mysterious radiance.
Not far away, another towering monstrosity stood watching. This creature, covered in greyish-white fur with glowing green eyes and elongated fangs, possessed a pair of wild goat-like horns. Its height exceeded that of the three-headed Ashuran by half a torso.
Ashuran rose from the crushing snow in a frenzy. The synchronized roar of its three heads shook the valley. It lunged back with redoubled fury, its massive body low to the ground like a beast stalking prey. This time, it used more than just its legs; all six arms pushed against the snow, propelling it forward at a speed that defied its gargantuan size.
Despite the onslaught, the man in blue remained unperturbed. With his hands behind his back and his spine straight, he stood with a regal composure—immovable as a ten-thousand-year-old mountain against a blizzard.
As Ashuran closed the distance, it swung its three right arms simultaneously with colossal force. The impact of the giant's muscles sliced through the air with a piercing whistle, a blow strong enough to pulverize solid rock into dust in an instant!
In that split second, as the massive palms were about to collide with him, the man in blue moved slightly. He extended his right hand to meet the frenzied attack...
THUD!!!
The sound of the impact was not a deafening boom, but rather the muffled thud of compressed energy. The man's tiny palm had brought Ashuran's massive hands to a dead halt.
But Ashuran was not finished. Using its remaining three left arms, it brought one fist crashing down from above while the other sought to seize the man. The man in blue simply raised his left palm to block the overhead strike and used a swift kick to parry the grasping hand.
Seeing its triple-armed assault countered, Ashuran shifted its weight and swung its massive right leg in a sweeping kick. This movement forced the man to release his grip on the giant's upper arms. He shifted his stance and struck out with his right palm, once again stopping the giant's foot mid-air.
THUD!!!!
The heavy attack was parried with ease. Amidst Ashuran's disbelief, the man in blue leapt into the air as weightless as a bird, swiftly running up the giant's massive leg and torso.
The giant's six hands scrambled to swat the tiny foe, but they were far too slow. In an eyeblink, the man reached the chin of Ashuran's leftmost head. He delivered a concentrated punch, and the resulting recoil sent him spiraling toward the rightmost head, where he landed a powerful spinning kick. The sheer force caused Ashuran to lose its balance and fall backward.
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But it didn't end there. A blurred blue shadow streaked through the air, coming to a halt right between the eyes of the middle head!
Standing calmly on the falling giant's forehead, the man in blue wound up his left fist—the one encased in the black metallic gauntlet. The dark gem flashed, and he delivered a final, devastating blow to the center of the giant's brow!
CRACK!!!
The final impact knocked Ashuran unconscious before its body even hit the snow.
An unknown amount of time passed...
When Ashuran finally regained consciousness, it blinked in confusion, feeling a heavy lethargy throughout its body. It found its fur-covered, goat-horned brother sitting nearby. Its three heads scanned the surroundings warily, discovering the man in blue standing silently on a distant peak.
A sudden, chilling fear gripped Ashuran's heart—a feeling it thought it had long forgotten.
Seeing the three-headed giant move, the grey-furred creature spoke in a deep voice, "Ashuran, are you awake?"
Ashuran turned toward the voice, its three heads shaking in confusion. "Joson... what kind of creature did you bring with you? That human... who is he?"
In truth, these two were brothers—Frost Giants created simultaneously among eight by the sorcery of the god Hodor.
"He is my master. His name is Xuxin," Joson said with profound reverence, his glowing green eyes fixed on the blue figure on the summit.
Ashuran looked between his brother and the mysterious man. "Is he a human or a god? With such prowess... he cannot possibly be a mere mortal!"
"Master told me he is human," Joson replied simply. "And since he is my master, I have no choice but to believe his word."
The honest answer left Ashuran stunned. "Why did you bring him to me?"
"Because Master seeks the Doom Star," Joson answered firmly.
"I don't understand! What is this 'Doom Star'?" Ashuran asked, all three heads speaking in hushed, fearful tones.
"The Doom Star," Joson paused, "is one who is immensely powerful. So powerful that wherever they go, they annihilate everything in their path."
Ashuran's heart raced. It let out a bitter smile. "So you brought him to me... because you believed I was the Doom Star?"
"Master spared your life... therefore, you are not the Doom Star," Joson's blunt words pierced Ashuran like an arrow.
"Hmph... you know well I am not," Ashuran muttered. "If he wants the strongest of us eight, you should have taken him to the dragon, Niffhogg."
"I could not do that," Joson's face clouded with worry. "I feared Niffhogg would kill my master... just as he kills everything he encounters."
Ashuran fell silent for a moment before its three heads locked eyes with Joson. "But for the first time," Ashuran whispered, "I feel that... perhaps it is Niffhogg who might be the one to die if he faces this man."
Suddenly, a flash of light erupted from the western horizon, like a second sun being born, followed by a distant explosion. The energy vibrated through the very soul. Xuxin, who had been as still as a statue, reacted instantly. His eyes sparkled with newfound intensity. He leapt back down to the two giants.
"Did you see that light?" Xuxin asked, his voice trembling with excitement.
"That direction... it could be as far as Svartalfheim, the land of the dwarves," Ashuran replied.
"The explosive power is immense," Xuxin murmured. "It may be something even I cannot withstand. It must be the work of the Doom Star. We must hurry!"
Ashuran stared at the small human. "If you know it could destroy you... why head toward your death?"
Xuxin replied simply, "My life has always been for the purpose of destroying the Doom Star. If I must die by its power, then it is a worthy end."
After a brief moment where Xuxin left to extinguish a campfire, Ashuran asked Joson, "Are you guys not just marching to your deaths?"
"No," Joson replied with unshakable faith. "If that is the Doom Star, Master will destroy it. Did you not say yourself that even Niffhogg might not withstand him?"
Finding no logic to argue with, Ashuran made its decision. "I want to see the face of this Doom Star once. I will go with you."
"You might die," Joson warned bluntly.
"Death for us is merely waking up again in the Frozen Hell Castle," Ashuran smirked. "Or have you forgotten how many times Niffhogg has already killed us?"
When Xuxin returned, the party—one human and two frost giants—began their journey toward the west, chasing the shadow of the Doom Star.