The valley opened to a frozen lake, its surface a cracked mirror reflecting the moon's pale glow, each fracture glinting like a blade's edge. Qin Mo and Yi pressed forward, the wolf king's core pulsing steadily, its heat a shield against the biting wind. The FFD System's warnings flashed in Qin Mo's mind, the air thickening with an unnatural cold that prickled his skin.
[FFD System: Cold snap incoming. Environmental effect: Cold attunement enhanced: 25%. Balance: Heat 66% / Cold 34%.]
The temperature plummeted, wind howling like a thousand ghosts, ice crystals forming in the air like suspended daggers. Yi's frost threads stiffened, her face paling as she wove a protective shield. "This isn't natural," she said, her breath clouding. "The sect's array—or something older?"
Qin Mo shook his head, the shard in his chest pulsing with urgency. "The mountain's doing. The bells stirred it."
The cold snap hit, a wave of frost that froze the lake's edges, cracks spidering across the surface with a groan. From the depths, shapes rose—frost wraiths, ethereal figures of ice and shadow, their eyes glowing blue like the Silent Tax runes. The lead wraith's wail pierced the air, a sound that drained heat from their bodies, chilling Qin Mo's bones.
His breath frosted, his blade growing heavy in his hand. Flame Step flared, melting a path across the ice, but the cold siphoned his heat, the shard struggling to keep pace.
[FFD System: Frost wraith siphon detected. Heat loss: 20%. Balance shifting: Heat 60% / Cold 40%.]
Yi's threads lashed out, wrapping a wraith's form, but the cold hardened them, snapping one thread with a crack like breaking glass. "They're feeding on our warmth," she said, fingers weaving faster, her shield tightening around them.
Qin Mo lunged, his blade slicing through a wraith's form, frost shattering like brittle crystal. The shard burned, demanding he devour. He grabbed a fragment of the wraith's essence, a cold spark that flowed into him, the FFD System humming in response.
[FFD System: Cold wraith essence absorbed. Devour progress: 15%. New skill: Wolf Howl Shock (Prototype). Balance: Heat 58% / Cold 42%.]
The wraiths swarmed, their touches numbing his limbs, cold seeping into his veins. Qin Mo unleashed Wolf Howl Shock, a roar erupting from his lungs, the wolf king's legacy shaking the ice beneath their feet. The wraiths staggered, their forms cracking, blue light dimming in their eyes.
Yi seized the moment, her threads piercing the lead wraith's core, shattering it into a shower of frost. The cold snap broke, the air warming slightly, the lake's surface calming.
As they caught their breath, a new figure emerged from the fog—Ren, a lean man with sharp eyes and twin daggers drawn, his cloak dusted with snow. "Heard the howl," he said, glancing at Qin Mo. "My brother vanished in a chill like this—sect's doing."
Qin Mo studied him, the shard calming but alert. "Join us, and we'll find him."
Ren sheathed his daggers, a grim nod sealing the pact. "Deal."
The FFD System chimed, the balance stabilizing as the group stood together.
[FFD System: Ally detected: Ren. Wolf Howl Shock effective. Balance restored: Heat 62% / Cold 38%.]
The lake's ice groaned, cracks spreading like veins, but the bells remained silent—for now. Qin Mo's pouch felt heavier, the chime's echo lingering in his mind. Ren's eyes flicked to it, suspicion in his gaze. "Those bells—they're trouble."
"Trouble we'll face together," Qin Mo said, his voice firm. The shard pulsed, ready for the next hunt.