Chương 307: Frozen Hell

Meanwhile.... The blizzard howled across the frozen expanse, vast currents of white swallowing the ruined arctic region beneath layers of screaming snow and jagged ice. The land itself looked wounded. Great fractures split the frozen earth apart in violent patterns, while towering crystal formations erupted from the ground like the blades of buried gods clawing their way toward the surface.

Thick mist drifted low between them, dense enough to drown sight after only a few meters, leaving the world feeling endless, empty, and deeply unnatural. Only creatures of colossal scale could truly be seen in this wasteland, their silhouettes occasionally shifting behind the veil of snow like colossal predators lurking beneath deep water. Amid that deathly landscape, a single figure walked forward. His steps were uneven, ragged, each crunch of ice nearly consumed by the roaring wind.

A long robe draped over his body, its edges whipping violently in the storm, while beneath it, layers of reinforced cloth armor fought desperately to preserve what little warmth remained. Even so, the cold seeped through everything. It gnawed at flesh, clawed at bone, and turned every breath into agony. Warm air escaped beneath the hood in pale clouds as strands of crimson hair occasionally slipped free, dancing wildly against the storm.

Beneath the shadow of the hood, sharp blue eyes remained fixed ahead with unwavering determination. Eskar tightened his grip around the worn leather satchel hanging against his side.

'I can feel him,' he thought, his exhausted gaze piercing the blizzard ahead.

'My Founder is here. He has to be.' The sensation had only grown stronger the deeper he ventured into the frozen region. It was faint, almost impossible to describe, yet undeniable all the same. Heat and cold were merely two sides of the same law, and the being he sought ruled over both. If his Founder truly lay sealed somewhere within this wasteland, then the center of this frozen hell was the most likely prison imaginable. And if that was true... Then Eskar had no choice but to continue. He had promised them.

Promised Vale. Promised all of them. A faint smile tugged at his lips despite the storm tearing against his body. By now, Vale was probably enjoying himself somewhere within Irea, eating lavish meals, making reckless decisions, and somehow stumbling into trouble while pretending he had everything under control. The thought eased the weight pressing against Eskar's chest, if only slightly. Then suddenly, warmth pulsed against his side. The satchel glowed faintly orange.

Eskar blinked before kneeling slightly against the wind and opening the bag just enough to peer inside. Curled tightly within layers of cloth sat a tiny dragon no larger than a cat, its bright scales glowing like molten embers in the darkness. Heat radiated gently from its body, spilling through Eskar's robe and pushing back the merciless cold. A genuine smile spread across his exhausted face.

"Thank you," he muttered softly, reaching inside to stroke the creature's head.

"You've probably saved my life more than once already." A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. The small dragon puffed itself up proudly and let out a triumphant little yelp before nestling deeper beneath his robe for warmth. Eskar chuckled under his breath, though the sound quickly faded as something echoed through the storm. A distant noise. His expression hardened instantly.

In one smooth motion, he reached for the weapon strapped against his waist, drawing the crude blade forged from the bones of a Category Four beast. The weapon looked savage rather than refined, its pale surface jagged and uneven, but it was durable beyond reason. He still remembered killing the creature it came from. Even now, the memory made his stomach tighten. He had allowed himself to be swallowed alive. Then he had burned the monster apart from the inside. A reckless gamble that should have killed him.

Yet somehow, he had survived. And now that same desperate luck had brought him here. Eskar slowly turned in place, his breathing steadying. The storm muffled nearly every sound around him, reducing the world to screaming wind and shifting snow. Visibility was terrible. Even with sharpened senses, he could barely see beyond several meters. Worse still, he was effectively crippled here. His abilities could only safely affect his own body. Anything beyond that risked destroying him from within.

Vale's blades had somehow acted as conduits capable of handling his power, but those weapons were long gone now. Without them, direct combat against something truly powerful bordered on suicide. Still, retreat was impossible. Then suddenly, He froze. Slowly, Eskar lifted his gaze upward. Something stood ahead of him. Something enormous. His pulse skipped violently. A towering silhouette loomed through the mist, so tall its upper body nearly vanished into the blizzard itself.

It resembled a human only in the vaguest sense. Its limbs were grotesquely elongated and unnaturally thin, hanging almost limply at its sides, while its body bent at strange angles that made it look unfinished, like a mockery of life given form. It stood perfectly still amidst the storm. Watching. Eskar's grip tightened around his weapon.

'A Category Five… maybe higher.' Yet something felt wrong. Why wasn't it attacking? Carefully, very carefully, Eskar began stepping backward through the snow, suppressing even the sound of his breathing. If the creature noticed him properly, escape would become impossible. One step. Then another. Then,"Thou!" The tiny dragon sneezed. A puff of flame burst from beneath Eskar's robe. Eskar's eyes widened in horror.

"No-" He looked back toward the creature. Its eyes were open now. Bright pink. Burning through the storm like lanterns. Eskar's heartbeat thundered violently inside his chest. The creature lowered itself toward him with jerking movements, its limbs stretching further as a shrill, distorted shriek erupted from somewhere deep within its body. The sound pierced through the blizzard and rattled the ice beneath Eskar's feet. Fear clawed up his spine. He couldn't outrun it. Couldn't overpower it.

And yet every instinct screamed at him not to flee. So instead, Eskar planted his feet into the snow and raised his bone blade with both hands, his blue eyes hardening beneath the storm.

"Come on then!" he roared back defiantly. The monster answered with another deafening scream as one massive hand descended toward him through the snow. Closer. Closer. Then suddenly, Something moved through the blizzard. Fast. Far too fast. Eskar only caught a glimpse of white before an enormous shape slammed into the towering creature with catastrophic force. The impact exploded through the frozen wasteland like a cannon blast. Crimson blood erupted across the snow as the giant creature shrieked in agony.

Eskar staggered backward, shielding his face against the violent shockwave. The massive creature collapsed sideways into the ice, clawing frantically at something attached to its throat. Something biting into it. The second beast refused to release its prey, no matter how violently it thrashed. The giant screamed louder and slammed itself against the frozen ground, sending towering walls of ice erupting outward in every direction.

Eskar was thrown backward by the impact, barely managing to catch himself before sliding across the frozen terrain.

"Now look what you got us into!" he shouted furiously toward the dragon beneath his robe. The little creature didn't answer. Instead, it stared silently past him. Eskar's expression shifted. The screaming had stopped. Slowly, he raised his head. And froze. Standing over the corpse of the gigantic creature was a wolf. A colossal wolf. Its body dwarfed entire buildings, white fur flowing elegantly through the storm like drifting snow itself.

Bright blue eyes gleamed with an intelligence far too profound to belong to any ordinary beast, while fresh blood dripped steadily from its jaws onto the frozen earth below. The sheer presence of the creature made the entire blizzard feel smaller around it. Beautiful. Terrifying. Eskar stood motionless, unable to speak, unable even to properly breathe as the wolf's gaze settled upon him. Then a voice echoed inside his mind.

"Human." The wolf's mouth never moved. Yet the voice rang with perfect clarity through Eskar's thoughts, deep and ancient enough to shake his soul itself.

"Why are you here?"