As the smoke cleared, Aermir stood in the aftershocks of the explosion. He looked exhausted, having used every ounce of his strength in that attack. A hand emerged from the swirling smoke, swiftly grabbing his neck and lifting him from the ground. It was the Night's King. His left arm was missing, but as Aermir was held in his grasp, the damaged limb began to Regeneration, growing back second by second like expanding ice crystals.
"You think a few fire spells and Valyrian steel will be enough to finish me off?!"
He gripped Aermir's neck tightly and continued, "I've lived for over ten thousand years, and even in the Age of Heroes, those as powerful as you are extremely rare. They can't kill me; all they can do is sacrifice their own lives to seal me on this side of the Wall."
He brought Aermir close to his face and said with an arrogant smile.
"I am the reason the Age of Heroes ended. You think no one wanted to stab me with Valyrian steel or dragon scales? I am the King of the Long Night!"
He threw Aermir to the ground and stepped on him. "I won't crumble like a lowly undead just because you stabbed me."
Then, his arm Regeneration, and he used it to lift Aermir. He conjured a cold dagger and stabbed at Aermir. A piercing sound rang out as his defensive buff Hand of the King. Aermir's stone armor shattered, but it still withstood the blow. Aermir smiled and began to beat him. "I won't give up!"
Aermir, panting heavily, launched a fierce attack on the Night's King with all his might. Each of his blows was unstoppable, each punch drawing blue blood from the ancient enemy. However, with each strike, Aermir's breathing became more rapid, while the Night's King, though clearly bleeding, remained unmoved. Aermir landed another heavy punch, but the Night's King retaliated, grabbing Aermir's fist and slamming his head against it. The ice horn on the Night's King's head sliced through Aermir's eye, causing him to lose sight in one side.
"I've been telling you," the Night's King scoffed, "But you don't understand. This isn't the first time I've fought a powerful warrior or sorcerer. I cannot be defeated; I am invincible."
The Night's King gripped Aermir's neck tightly, subduing him. He turned to his men and commanded, "Kill them. Let him see what happens to those who stand in my way."
Aermir's familiars fought fiercely, successfully killing more than half of the Others, but the numerical disadvantage was too great, and their defensive buffs began to fail.
Bo and Erebus were the first to die; exhausted, they were caught by the Others ' icy tentacles as they swooped down to attack again. Frost crawled up their feathers, freezing their once lively movements.
Erebus, draped in midnight black feathers, struggled beneath the icy claws, its cries drowned out by the encroaching frost. Its crimson feathers were already covered in frost; it thrashed about desperately, but the cold tendrils gripped it tightly, extinguishing the life force within it.
Artio and Berus fought fiercely; they were wounded in many places and bleeding profusely, but they succumbed to the overwhelming numbers. The Sith rushed toward the Night's King, trying to help her master, but the Night's King Night's King unleashed an ice spear that pierced her body as she lunged at him.
Imprisoned by the Night's King, Aermir helplessly watched his companions die one by one. Rage boiled within him, but no matter how frantically he struggled, the Night's King's iron clamps did not release him. The Night's King's words echoed in his ears, a chilling reminder that he seemed invincible.
The Night's King's army annihilated all his remaining magical allies. The once-mighty Druid was now blind and helpless, his heart filled with powerless rage. The cries of the fallen echoed in the air, and Aermir, consumed by grief and anger, could only watch helplessly as his world crumbled around him. Aermir screamed and punched, but the Night's King was now encased in thick ice armor, and his attacks could only shatter the stone armor on the Night's King's legs and arms.
"I will make you pay for every life you've taken!"
The Night's King seemed unaffected by Aermir's threat, coldly observing the surrounding chaos. "Your resistance is futile, Druid. Before the power of winter, your magic is utterly vulnerable."
"You destroyed everything in your path, reveling in death! You are not a king, you are the plague upon this world!"
"You will be like countless others who have tried and failed; your struggles amuse me. I am the harbinger of eternal night. Your powerless resistance is futile."
He crafted another cold dagger, this time made of black ice, and pierced Aermir's internal organs; the dagger and Aermir's defensive buff made a piercing sound again, but this time it could not resist as before, and he was stabbed.
He felt all the warmth in his body leaving him. The Night's King twisted the dagger, inflicting unbearable pain on Aermir, but he did not scream; as blood filled his mouth, he gritted his teeth and continued to punch, even though it hurt him more than the Night's King. He continued until his arm could no longer be lifted.
"Close your eyes, Druid; eternal night will descend upon all the living. Embrace the darkness, and sleep forever."
The Night's King's mockery echoed in Aermir's mind, and a suffocating weight of despair enveloped him like a shroud. He was in pain all over, his magic depleted, and the once indomitable Druid was on the verge of surrender. The Night's King's relentless attacks and taunts reverberated in his mind.
On the battlefield, his familiars, once vibrant with life, are now littered with their cold, lifeless remains. Exhausted, Aermir finds himself contemplating the possibility of succumbing to the Night's King's proclaimed inevitable fate.
He closed his eyes, a despairing weight pressing down on him, its coldness enveloping him. Aermir braced himself for the numb embrace of defeat. The Night's King's words, "I am inevitable, the eternal night is coming," echoed in his mind.