The first to step out was the knight himself, keeping his shield raised as he made a mad dash straight for the Old King.
"I'm right here!" Jasper taunted through a half-fearful yell.
Through the side of the grim, royal chamber, Finn sprinted with Charlotte by his side, watching the knight's provocation be answered.
A stream of azure mana split itself into a burst of javelins that pierced towards Jasper.
THWUNK
—A direct collision with the shield brought the knight back several feet, momentarily breaking his guard.
"Nnh...Woo!" Jasper caught himself, stumbling a bit before sprinting once again.
The bard's singing aided the knight's approach, granting a verdant aura around his body that glistened with the liveliness of a jungle.
From the giant king's staff, a frosty air stretched forth through the ruinous walkway before raining down with rapid icicles.
"Woah there!—" Jasper reacted.
The knight placed the shield above his head as the magical ice shot down from above, shattering into cold fragments.
"I'm feeling great! Cheers, love!" Jasper shouted in gratitude to the bard while moving.
Of course, such open thanks, partially due to the euphoria felt by the knight given a high from the blessing, flustered the bard.
Finn watched the entire time while closing in unseen on the position of the fallen king, "He's got a screw loose, doesn't he?"
"Are you really one to talk?" Charlotte playfully said, keeping up beside him in their sprint.
"Ouch, Charlotte," Finn said before taking a sharp turn.
From the position he was at, he had a clear view of the Old King's right side, between the last of the knelt statues and the throne itself. As a stream of condensed magic slammed against the knight's shield, the assassin and spellblade struck.
Finn led the assault amidst the Old King's focus on the knight, getting close beneath the glow of the azure light as he placed his hand against the giant's abdomen:
["Touch of Rot"]
'Focus it–spread it thin, target the foundation,' he thought.
It took some effort in that single moment, not condensing the contact to the single spot his palm touched, but stretching it across the physique of the Old King himself. Past the hole decayed through the robe, the melting touch caused the skin of the mage to crack and peel all over.
"This is a recreation of Spartia. The homeland of my people, and welcome to mankind. Now it is nothing more than a memory to us," King Zigmund said, placing the large apple on the assassin's hand. "Here. Try it."
"I'm not interested–" Finn rejected.
"I insist," King Zigmund said, looking down at the much smaller assassin with his silver irises.
Even if he was wary, he accepted the apple, seeing as his best choice for the moment was to play along. Hesitantly, he took a bite out of the fruit that was twice the size of what it should normally be. A look was given to the King of Giants as if asking "Happy?"
"The version of me outside of this memory–the one you're fighting–is nothing more than a golem. All the "Old King" does now is attack anybody who enters the throne room," King Zigmund explained.
"Then why did he use that spell–? To bring us here, I mean?" Finn asked.
"He didn't intend to use it. My soul is placed within that staff, you see," King Zigmund explained, leading the man on a stroll through the harden. "My hollow self intended to kill you with that spell, but I intercepted and changed it."
Finn followed beside the perplexing king, walking on a stone-paved path between fields of colorful, blooming flowers amidst a tranquil spring.
"Why'd you do that?" Finn asked. "We did trespass. We came for the treasure in your temple."
"I'm somebody that prefers to avoid violence. I want to gauge what kind of people you are. Perhaps if you came just a decade earlier, it'd be different. After my kingdom fell, I was consumed by rage–I locked myself away and studied magic for centuries on end," King Zigmund recalled, bringing his large hand gently against a cerulean flower.
"The Storm King did it, didn't he?" Finn asked. "We're going after him–we have the same goal, don't we? Help us–"
Amidst his questioning, he found the benevolent king stopping their stroll through the garden of memories as the figure stood in front of him, holding a pale flower.
"Like I said, perhaps a decade earlier, it'd be different. I cultivated my magic for centuries, all for the express purpose of not just avenging my people and killing Sirius, but humanity itself," King Zigmund admitted. "But, I overcame it. None of it would bring back what was lost, I would only lose what little I have left."
"What do you have left? There's not a single person left in your kingdom, Zigmund," Finn asked.
"Their memories," King Zigmund answered.
It was that same answer again; the very same sentiment he found from the Storm King himself. A shared feeling that he did not believe was a wise idea to speak of to the King of Giants, instead listening.
"As their king, it was my duty to protect them in life–I failed. However, in their death, I will safeguard their memories. Each of their names, their aspirations, the lives they led–until this world crumbles, that's my one purpose," King Zigmund explained.
"Then why did you bring me here? If you don't want to help, what do you want, then?" Finn asked.
From a gentle smile, the towering, yet young king's expression transitioned into a grim look.
"Besides the preservation of my kingdom's memory, I have one other goal. One ordained by a higher power, entrusted to me," King Zigmund told him. "—To safeguard the Fruit of The Gods."
Before Finn could get a word out, he froze as the staff in the king's hand slammed against the ground. It echoed, ringing against his ears as the beautiful garden faded away.
"Show me what you feel when everything you care for is taken away."