The cavern opened to a cliff's edge, where the mountain's peak pierced the sky, storm clouds swirling with frost. Qin Mo's shard burned, fighting the cold that gripped his limbs, the FFD System warning of imbalance. Yi, Ren, and Lian stood ready, the bells' chime echoing from the depths below.
[FFD System: Frostflame Balance: Heat 23% / Cold 77%. Scan: Frost hawk flock, 200 meters above, threat level: High.]
Lian notched an arrow, her eyes sharp. "My family hunted hawks like these. They guard relics."
Yi's threads hovered, catching the wind. "The bells—they're guiding them."
A screech tore the air—frost hawks, their wings like blades of ice, diving from the clouds, eyes red with Silent Tax runes. The lead hawk's talons slashed, aiming for Qin Mo's chest. He dodged, Flame Step flaring, but the cold sapped his heat, frost coating his blade.
[FFD System: Frost hawk essence detected. Devour potential: High. Heat loss: 20%. Balance: Heat 21% / Cold 79%.]
Lian's arrows flew, piercing a hawk's wing, frost shards scattering. Yi's threads wove a net, slowing another, but the flock swarmed, talons tearing at their cloaks. Ren's daggers slashed a hawk's throat, blood freezing mid-air.
Qin Mo unleashed Frost Howl, the roar shaking the cliff, hawks faltering mid-dive. His Frost Grip clamped a hawk's wing, pinning it, his blade slicing its core. The shard burned, devouring its essence, cold surging through him.
[FFD System: Frost hawk essence absorbed. Devour progress: 25%. New skill: Eagle Eye (Prototype). Balance: Heat 20% / Cold 80%.]
The flock regrouped, their screeches syncing with the bells' chime, summoning a frost array. Ice lines glowed, pulling at Qin Mo's shard, vision sharpening with Eagle Eye. He spotted the lead hawk's core—a bell fragment embedded in its chest.
Yi's threads bound its wings, Lian's arrows struck its eyes, and Qin Mo's Frost Charge closed the gap, blade piercing the core. The fragment fell, glowing blue, the shard absorbing its cold.
[FFD System: Bell fragment acquired. Silent Tax chain: 9/9. Binding risk: 60%.]
Yi caught Qin Mo as he staggered, the cold overwhelming. "You're freezing," she said, threads steadying him. "The bells—they're too strong."
Lian's eyes were hard. "My family died for those fragments. We can't let them win."
Ren nodded, daggers ready. "My brother's down there. I know it."
The FFD System chimed, warning of the cliff's depths.
[FFD System: Silent Tax resonance: 65%. Core trace: Below.]
The bells' chime grew deafening, the mountain's heart calling.