Chapter 135: The choice
The handful of students who had succeeded in conquering this nightmarish trial finally reached the massive iceberg, the final rallying point. Summoning the last of their strength, they clambered onto the ice's surface, every muscle aching from the lengthy swim through freezing water. All around, the biting air seemed to paralyze their limbs, and a constant shiver ran through their bare skin or the tattered remnants of their clothing. All that could be heard were labored breaths and frantically pounding hearts, like an exhausted, discordant chorus.
Jack Blade, arms crossed, stood upright and impassive, reigning like a lord over this block of ice. A thin smile—a blend of satisfaction and irony—hung on his lips. Towering over the scene with his imposing stature, he surveyed the sprawled-out students, most of them incapable of rising after the superhuman effort they had just endured. Some were still gasping for air, struggling to catch their breath, while others lay in a daze, gazing up at the heavy gray sky, mentally processing the horror of what they had just overcome.
Yet one of them refused to remain pinned to the ground: Alexandre. After helping Marlon onto the ice (the latter already on the brink of exhaustion), Alexandre slowly stood. Thick droplets of water still ran down his naked body, crystallizing here and there into thin sheets of frost. But his skin, heated by adrenaline, let the most superficial water evaporate, forming fleeting wisps of steam. This paradoxical blend of extreme cold and body heat gave the scene an almost otherworldly quality.
Determined, Alexandre advanced toward Jack Blade at a calculated pace. Each footstep echoed like a silent provocation: he was not afraid and made sure everyone knew it. His eyes, shimmering with an unmistakable challenge, were locked on his instructor's. Of them all, Alexandre seemed the least intimidated, despite the chaotic scene behind him.
Jack Blade met his stare, visibly torn between surprise and amusement. As Alexandre closed in, a heavy tension took hold, quickly noticed by the other students, whose gazes flicked back and forth between the two. Jack Blade slowly uncrossed his arms. Everything in his demeanor suggested he wouldn't hesitate to punish—or even strike—if Alexandre ventured too far in this provocation.
All around them was thick silence. The only sounds were the ragged breathing of still-prone students and the faint glacial breeze sweeping the iceberg's surface.
"Got something to say, Hautville?" Jack Blade asked calmly, his tone carrying a subtle yet clear threat.