PASSAGE 52: A TWISTED BOND

A primal yank on Hrimr's arm ripped him from his daze. "Let's go, Hrimr! We gotta get away from that thing!" Alaric barked, urgency lacing his voice.

But Hrimr, his face pale and etched with a sudden determination, tore Alaric's grip free. "No way! I need to find my father!" He didn't wait for Alaric's reply, sprinting towards the smoldering wreckage of their house.

"Hrimr! Stop!" Alaric cried, a wave of dread washing over him. "Your father… he's…." The words stuck in his throat. How could he break it to the young man that his father was already lost, consumed by the very nightmare they just faced?

But before Alaric could utter the harsh truth, Hrimr paused, his silhouette framed against the inferno. "He's what?" Hrimr's voice trembled, a flicker of dawning horror in his eyes.

Taking a deep breath, Alaric forced the words out. "Nidhogg… he… he devoured him."

Hrimr's breath hitched. The defiance in his eyes flickered, replaced by a raw, agonizing disbelief. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Just then, a blur of black and gold zipped past them, snatching Hrimr from the path of Nidhogg's monstrous tail that whipped out in a lightning-fast strike.

Alaric, propelled by the force of the attack, landed several meters away. Hrimr in his arms, they were shielded from the brunt of the devastation by the pelt Hrimr had given him. Debris rained down, a grim testament to the destruction Nidhogg wrought.

As the dust settled, Alaric gently lowered Hrimr to his feet. Concern gnawed at him, but before he could voice it, Hrimr surprised him. A fist, fueled by grief and denial, connected with Alaric's jaw, sending a jolt of pain through him.

"How can you say that?!" Hrimr raged, tears streaming down his face. "How can you say my father is dead?!"

Alaric locked eyes with Hrimr, the weight of the truth, a heavy stone in his chest. "H-Hrimr, it's the truth," he stammered, his voice barely a whisper. But before Hrimr could respond, a booming laugh echoed through the caverns. "Ho ho ho!" It was Nidhogg, his deep, guttural laughter filling the space with a chilling malice.

"That's right, little one," Nidhogg's voice continued, slithering closer. "Don't listen to this mortal's lies. Your father is very much alive." Both Alaric and Hrimr whipped their heads towards the monstrous serpent, surprise etched on their faces.

"Look closely," Nidhogg hissed, gesturing towards his forehead. Alaric and Hrimr strained their necks to see what lay upon the serpent's monstrous head. At first, it appeared as a mere protrusion, but as their eyes adjusted, a horrifying sight unfolded before them. Their pupils dilated, a scream catching in Hrimr's throat. It was Njord, his lower body grotesquely fused to Nidhogg's head. He hung limply, his once proud stance replaced by a horrifying parody of life. His eyes, once filled with the icy blue of the north, were now vacant white orbs, staring sightlessly into the distance.

A low, guttural moan escaped Njord's lips. "Come here, son," he rasped, his voice a chilling echo of his former self. "Come to your father." The words were a mockery, a cruel twist of parental affection used to ensnare Hrimr in a web of deceit. Hrimr's face contorted in a mask of horror and grief.

Grief, heavy and suffocating, clouded Hrimr's judgment. He ignored Alaric's restraining hand and dragged himself towards the colossal white serpent, a morbid hope flickering in his tear-filled eyes.

"Father? Is that really you?" he called out, his voice barely a whisper amidst the thundering echoes of the night. "What happened to you?"

A guttural chuckle rumbled from the serpent's maw. "Come here, son," Njord's voice, twisted and warped, echoed from the monstrosity. "Give yourself to Lord Nidhogg."

Blind to the grotesque mockery before him, Hrimr took another agonizing step forward. Nidhogg, sensing his prey's wavering resolve, dipped its head low, its reptilian eyes glinting with cruel amusement.

"Good boy," it hissed, its voice dripping with venom. "Now, it's time to –"

Its menacing words were cut short by a desperate cry. "Alaric! Now!" Hrimr's voice, raw with urgency, ripped through the oppressive silence.

Nidhogg's amusement vanished in a flash. Its serpentine head snapped upwards, catching a glimpse of Alaric descending from the sky, a blur of black and gold. The Crescent Reaver sang a deadly song as it cleaved through the air, aimed for the serpent's throat.

Nidhogg, with surprising agility for its size, reared back just in time. The blade grazed its side neck, carving a deep, jagged wound that sent a spray of crimson raining down. A roar of pain, tinged with fury, erupted from the monstrous beast. 

A tense silence filled the air as Alaric landed with a flourish, skidding a few feet before coming to a rest protectively in front of Hrimr. 

"That was a near one, Alaric! You almost had him!" Hrimr exclaimed, a sliver of his old spirit flickering through the haze of grief.

The colossal serpent, Nidhogg, recoiled from the attack, a guttural groan escaping its monstrous maw. Fresh blood dripped from the gash on its neck, painting the snowy ground crimson. It regarded Hrimr with a baleful glare, its voice thick with wounded pride.

"What's the meaning of this, boy?!" Nidhogg boomed, the very air vibrating with its fury. "Do you defy your own father?"

Hrimr, however, met its gaze with unwavering determination. The scales had fallen from his eyes. "Don't you dare try to fool me!" he roared, his voice brimming with newfound defiance. "My father would never lead me down a path that leads to darkness like you!"

Nidhogg hissed, a sound like hot coals spitting. Its colossal form thrashed in anger, its reptilian eyes burning with malevolent rage. "Foolish child!" it bellowed. "You dare defy a god? I'll shred you into pieces!"

With a deafening roar, Nidhogg lashed out with its tail, a monstrous whip of muscle and bone aimed squarely at Alaric and Hrimr. Alaric, ever vigilant, reacted with lightning reflexes. He grabbed Hrimr, using the momentum of the serpent's attack to launch them both into a graceful dodge.

But Nidhogg, fueled by fury, wasn't finished yet. It launched a surprise attack mid-air, spitting a torrent of noxious black and green fluid towards them. 

"Alaric! Watch out!" Hrimr cried, his voice a desperate plea.

Time seemed to slow down for Alaric. Trapped in mid-air with no room to maneuver, he had a split-second decision to make.  Without hesitation, he raised the Crescent Reaver, its magical energy pulsing with a brilliant black and gold aura. In a blur of motion, he met the noxious spray head-on.

The Crescent Reaver, empowered by his will, sliced through the acidic fluid like a hot knife through butter. The emerald glow of the Eye of Chronos intensified, bathing the incoming torrent in a cleansing light. The noxious mixture split in two, spraying harmlessly onto the surrounding landscape. 

Alaric and Hrimr landed safely on the ground, a wave of relief washing over them. However, their respite was short-lived. Their eyes widened in horror as they witnessed the devastation wrought by the serpent's vile concoction. The once pristine snow and sturdy rocks they'd landed near were now warped and decayed, reduced to a bubbling mess by the corrosive touch of the fluid.

A chilling chuckle, laced with malice, rumbled from Nidhogg's maw. "Ho ho ho," it echoed, the sound bouncing off the snow-covered landscape. "I almost had you there, little warrior. But how long can you keep dodging like a frightened rabbit?"

Alaric's brow furrowed, a deep crease etching itself into his forehead. His eye, the Eye of Chronos, narrowed, scanning the colossal serpent with a newfound gravity. This wasn't just some mindless beast to be cut down. Nidhogg, empowered by Njord's twisted spirit, possessed a cunning intellect that Alaric hadn't anticipated. Unlike the mindless charges of previous foes, Nidhogg could adapt, could strategize. 

The weight of this realization settled heavy on Alaric's shoulders. The battles he'd faced so far, though perilous, paled in comparison to the monstrous threat that loomed before him. Not only did Nidhogg possess immense physical power and a deadly acidic attack, but it also wielded a terrifying intelligence.

A shiver danced down Alaric's spine, a prickle of unease that spread through him like wildfire. This fight wouldn't be a simple clash of steel and claw.