The Trial Chamber's third gate dissolved in a flurry of pale light. Keiya stepped through first, her boots crunching into powdery snow, breath curling into the frozen air. Her skin prickled instantly; the cold here was alive, sharp as needles, seeping into her lungs. Above, the sky was an endless stretch of white-gray clouds, heavy and unmoving, as though the world had been paused mid-breath.
Klyden followed, swinging his arms exaggeratedly. "Ah—refreshing! You smell that?" He inhaled deeply, only to cough violently. "Okay, never mind. That's not fresh air—that's knife air."
Keiya pulled her scarf tighter. "Focus. This isn't a sightseeing trip. The third stage isn't supposed to be forgiving."
"Forgiving? Pfft. If it's as bad as it feels, then I'm expecting at least fifty snowball fights with death." He gave her a crooked grin, though his eyes were already scanning the terrain.
The snowfield stretched out into rolling dunes, broken only by jagged ice spires jutting out like crystalline fangs. Somewhere in the distance, faint shapes shifted—too smooth to be blowing snow, too deliberate to be the wind.
They didn't wait long.
The first Ice Elf came gliding across the snow with impossible speed, feet barely touching the surface. Its skin was pale blue, veins shimmering faintly with frostlight beneath, hair like spun silver that trailed in the wind. The eyes—cold, empty glass—locked onto them. In its hands, twin blades curved like crescent moons.
It didn't speak. It didn't need to.
Three more emerged from the snow behind it, erupting upward without a sound, flanking them instantly.
Keiya's breath fogged. "Fast."
Klyden tilted his head, adjusting his grip on his blade. "Perfect. I needed a morning jog anyway."
The first Ice Elf struck. Its movement was a blur, blades slashing toward Keiya, but Klyden stepped in front, steel meeting frost in a ringing clash. The impact jarred his arms, the cold biting straight through the metal. He pushed back hard, grinning despite the sting.
"You call that fast? My grandmother swings harder—"
Another elf's dagger grazed his cheek before he could finish. He twisted away, parrying, but three more slashes came in rapid sequence. Keiya stepped back, fire sparking along her fingertips, but the cold snuffed it out almost instantly. The snow itself seemed to eat heat.
"They're dampening magic," she muttered, frustration edging her voice.
Klyden ducked under a blade, kicking one elf back a step. "Guess that means you gotta go bigger. You are our walking sun."
A sudden shimmer in the snow to her right caught Keiya's eye—too late. Another Ice Elf burst upward, striking for her side. Klyden pivoted, taking the blow across his arm instead. Blood welled against the snow, vivid crimson, but his grin didn't falter.
"You're bleeding—"
"Eh, just adds color to the landscape," he said, shaking his arm. "Besides, someone's gotta be your shield."
Keiya's eyes narrowed. The heat in her core fought against the oppressive cold, her power sparking again in the palm of her hand. She gathered it tighter, more condensed, imagining a blaze so stubborn that no frost could choke it out.
"Cover me," she said.
"Thought you'd never ask."
Klyden stepped forward like a wall of moving steel, intercepting each strike with a precision that looked effortless but cost him more than he showed. Each blow rattled through his frame; his breath was starting to fog heavier. Still, he grinned as though every slash was a private joke between him and death.
"You're enjoying this way too much," Keiya called over the clash.
"What can I say? I'm a sucker for a good beating."
She gave him a sharp look. "Are you a masochist or something?"
"Only on weekends."
Despite herself, Keiya huffed a laugh. But the humor didn't dull her focus—her flames roared to life now, flaring gold against the snow. The Ice Elves slowed, momentarily startled by the sudden surge of heat.
"Inferno Edict," she whispered.
The world answered.
Flames spiraled outward from her hands, not in a wild blaze but in deliberate ribbons of heat, curling around Klyden without touching him. The fire obeyed her will, darting between Ice Elves, weaving like serpents through the snow. One flame lashed forward, slamming into an elf's chest and igniting frost-crystal armor in a burst of steam. Another wrapped around her, forming a shield of heat that melted every arrow of ice before it came close.
The cold fought back hard. Steam hissed where fire met frost, creating a dense mist that clouded vision. Shadows shifted inside it, blades whispering through the air. Klyden's outline stayed constant—steady as a pillar—as he blocked and struck in rhythm with her flame's dance.
Then came the tremor.
The snow at the far edge of the field erupted, a geyser of frost and shattered ice spiking skyward. From it stepped a figure taller than any Ice Elf they had seen. His hair was a crown of crystalline strands, each catching the dim light in shimmering blues. His robes were woven from ice itself, flowing like liquid frost, and the staff in his hand was a spear of pure frozen light. His eyes—deep, ancient azure—looked not at them, but through them, weighing their worth.
The Elder Elf.
Even the other Ice Elves stilled, lowering their blades slightly, as though the mere presence of their king demanded silence.
Klyden let out a low whistle. "Okay… that's new."
Keiya's flames flared higher in instinctive defense. "Stay sharp. He's not like the others."
The Elder Elf moved without haste, yet each step seemed to cross impossible distance, closing the gap between them in mere breaths. He did not speak. Instead, frost bloomed across the ground in intricate spirals beneath his feet, as if the snow itself bowed to him.
Klyden adjusted his stance, forcing a grin though his shoulders were tense now. "Guess the warm-up's over."
The Elder Elf raised his staff. The world seemed to hold its breath.
Snow began to fall—not in flakes, but in long, slow shards of ice, drifting down like pieces of shattered glass. Each one glowed faintly, humming with restrained magic. Keiya's chest tightened. The air was colder than death now.
Klyden shot her a sidelong glance. "Still got juice left, fire girl?"
Her flames flickered, but her eyes were steady. "More than enough."
The Elder Elf's gaze swept over them one final time. And then—
The snowfield exploded into motion.