The frostfire altar pulsed, its blue flames flickering, bell runes glowing like eyes in the dark. Qin Mo's shard burned, its heat a faint spark against the cold flooding his veins. Yi, Ren, and Lian stood ready, the FFD System's warnings screaming, the bells' chime a deafening song pulling at his core.
[FFD System: Frostflame Balance: Heat 15% / Cold 85%. Warning: Silent Tax ritual active, threat level: Lethal.]
Yi's threads trembled, her voice raw. "This is it—their ritual. They burned my village for this."
Lian's bow was taut, her eyes cold. "My family's relics warned of a song. The bells wake the gods."
Ren's daggers glinted, his gaze dark. "My brother—he's part of this. I'll save him."
The altar flared, summoning a frost phantom—a towering figure of ice, its eyes red with rune-light, wielding a blade of frost. Its strike shook the chamber, ice shards flying. Qin Mo dodged, Frost Veil shielding him, but the cold numbed his limbs, vision blurring.
[FFD System: Frost phantom essence detected. Heat loss: 25%. Balance: Heat 13% / Cold 87%.]
Lian's arrows pierced the phantom's arm, frost cracking, while Yi's threads bound its legs, slowing it. Ren's daggers slashed its side, blood freezing mid-air. Qin Mo unleashed Eagle Eye, spotting a bell rune in its chest—the ritual's core.
He activated Frost Fang, icy teeth biting the phantom's core, frost blooming. The shard burned, devouring its essence, cold surging through him.
[FFD System: Frost phantom essence absorbed. Devour progress: 20%. New skill: Frostflame Blade (Prototype). Balance: Heat 12% / Cold 88%.]
The phantom roared, summoning a frost array, lines pulling at Qin Mo's shard, the bells' chime deafening. Yi's threads disrupted the array, Lian's arrows struck the runes, and Ren's daggers carved a path. Qin Mo's Frostflame Blade flared, a mix of ice and fire, slashing the phantom's core, ending it.
The altar dimmed, a bell fragment falling, glowing blue. Qin Mo grabbed it, the shard straining, heat flickering.
[FFD System: Bell fragment absorbed. Silent Tax resonance: 85%. Binding risk: 75%.]
Yi steadied him, her threads trembling. "You're fading. The bells are too strong."
Ren's voice was fierce. "We're close. My brother's alive."
Lian nodded, bow ready. "We end the song."
The FFD System chimed, warning of the altar's collapse.
[FFD System: Ritual unstable. Core trace: Chamber depths.]
The chamber shook, the bells' song a call to the final battle.