The mountain's heart loomed, a jagged peak piercing the storm clouds, its slopes carved with frost that glittered like shattered blades. Qin Mo led Yi, Ren, and Lian through a snow-choked pass, the wolf king's core burning in his chest, a defiant flame against the cold that clawed at his bones. The FFD System hummed, its scans locking onto a faint pulse deep within—a shrine, its runes whispering of the Silent Tax.
[FFD System: Frostflame Balance: Heat 30% / Cold 70%. Scan: Icebound shrine, 100 meters ahead, essence detected, threat level: Critical.]
Lian's bow was taut, her eyes scanning the cliffs, arrows tipped with frost runes. "My family's relics spoke of this place," she said, voice low. "A prison for old gods."
Yi's threads hovered, catching snowflakes. "The bells—they're louder here."
The shrine emerged from the blizzard—a dome of ice, its surface etched with bell-shaped runes that pulsed blue, their glow syncing with the chime in Qin Mo's pouch. The shard in his chest strained, cold flooding his veins, the bells' leash tightening.
A roar shattered the silence—an ice ape, its fur white as frost, eyes blazing red, charging from the shrine's shadow. Its fists smashed the ground, snow erupting in clouds, ice shards flying like daggers. Qin Mo dodged, Flame Step searing a path, but the cold sapped his heat, frost creeping up his boots.
[FFD System: Ice ape essence detected. Devour potential: High. Heat loss: 20%. Balance: Heat 28% / Cold 72%.]
Lian's arrow struck the ape's shoulder, frost blooming, slowing it. Yi's threads lashed out, binding its arms, but the ape roared, snapping them, its strength fueled by the shrine's runes. Ren darted in, daggers slashing its flank, blood freezing mid-air.
Qin Mo unleashed Frost Howl, the chilling roar cracking the ice beneath, staggering the ape. His blade followed, Frost Claw raking its chest, frost shards scattering. The shard burned, demanding the ape's essence. He plunged his hand into its wound, the system humming as cold power surged.
[FFD System: Ice ape essence absorbed. Devour progress: 25%. New skill: Frost Grip (Prototype). Balance: Heat 27% / Cold 73%.]
The ape collapsed, its body crumbling into frost. The shrine's runes flared, summoning a frost array—lines of blue light snaking toward Qin Mo, pulling at his shard. He activated Frost Veil, a shimmering shield deflecting the array's grasp, but the cold deepened, his breath frosting.
Yi's threads wove a counter-net, disrupting the array, while Lian's arrows struck the runes, dimming their glow. Ren's daggers carved a path to the shrine's entrance, revealing a stone tablet inscribed with old god lore: "Nine bells bind the heart."
Qin Mo gripped the tablet, the bells in his pouch chiming louder. "The Silent Tax—it's their prison," he said, voice steady despite the cold numbing his limbs.
Lian's eyes darkened. "My family died to keep that prison shut."
The FFD System chimed, warning of deeper dangers.
[FFD System: Silent Tax resonance: 58%. Next trace: Shrine core. Binding risk: 55%.]
The shrine's ice groaned, the bells' chime a summons to the mountain's heart.