Chapter 24 — Edge of the Frozen World
The frost beneath their boots had begun to melt.
It wasn subtle enough to feel wrong. The air had lost its razor edge; the wind carried a faint warmth that did not belong in the northern territories of Ignis Prime. Vaibhav noticed it first, pausing as a soft gust drifted across his face.
Alicia felt it next. Her brows pressed together. "Temperature increased… by about three degrees."
"It feels like we're walking into someone else's territory," Shin muttered, hands tucked behind his head.
The land ahead sloped downward into a broad valley, the ice thinning into patches of hardened frost and fractured crystal. The snowline receded in uneven streaks, as if some heat pulse had swept through days earlier.
Vaibhav crouched beside a patch of melted frost, touching the wet surface with two fingers. "This isn't natural."
Alicia nodded. "Something radiating heat passed through here. Recently."
Shin grinned. "Finally. A change of scenery."
He didn't have to wait long.
A sharp shriek tore through the air—not the cry of any frost-beast they'd faced before. It was higher, sharper, lined with a strange burning resonance that carried heat in its echo.
A shadow streaked across the sky.
Then another.
Then twenty more.
They landed around the trio in rapid succession, cracking the ice beneath them with explosive force. Their bodies were lean and predatory, cloaked in shimmering orange-red scales. Their talons dripped molten heat, and their jaws glowed with emberlight.
Flame Raptors.
Fire-beasts.
In the edge of the Frostlands.
Alicia exhaled slowly. "This is impossible. These creatures belong in southern volcanic belts."
"They migrated," Vaibhav murmured.
"Or got dragged," Shin corrected, cracking his knuckles.
A Flame Raptor shrieked and lunged.
Vaibhav summoned his Beast Spirit.
Cold energy spiraled up his arm—white frost sculpting itself into a translucent gauntlet. The material rippled, solidified, and grew into curved talons of crystalline ice.
The Ice Bear Monarch Claw.
Vaibhav felt a thrill of power surge through him—the strength of the Transcendent Ice Bear echoing in his bones.
The first Raptor slashed at him with molten claws. He parried with the Ice Claw; steam erupted where frost met fire. With a twist, he cut downward, shearing through the Raptor's shoulder.
The beast screeched and collapsed.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+5 Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav (life force absorbed)
Another Raptor lunged from the side. Vaibhav spun, dragging the claw upward in a clean arc. Frost trailed behind the slash as the creature's neck split open.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+3 Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
A third fell to Alicia before it even closed the distance. She leapt forward, her blade glowing with emerald aura, slicing through the beast's chest.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+5 Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
The ground vibrated.
Ten more Flame Raptors emerged from behind melting ridges—only these ones bore red glowing cracks along their bodies.
Mutated Ordinary Flame Raptors.
The heat they radiated distorted the air.
Shin's grin widened. "Finally… some fun."
The first mutated Raptor sprinted toward him in a blur. Shin stepped to the side—not even looking—then struck with a short, clean punch.
The creature flew several meters before skidding lifelessly across the ground.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
> [+4 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
Two more tried to flank Vaibhav, coming at him from both sides. He extended the Ice Claw, letting frost sharpen the talons mid-swing. His right slash cut clean through the first beast; his left hand backhanded the second across the jaw, cracking its molten skull.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
> [+5 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
[+2 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
Steam swirled around Alicia as she stepped into the fight. She kicked a mutated Raptor backward, then fired a precise blast of emerald energy through its chest.
The beast crumpled.
> [+3 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
[Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
Another Raptor leapt toward her. She turned, deflecting its flaming claws with a barrier panel before slashing it across the ribs.
It fell twitching.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+3 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
Shin grabbed one Raptor mid-jump by its neck and slammed it into another. Bones cracked. Fire sputtered.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
> [+2 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
[+7 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
A trio of mutated Raptors charged together in a formation—fast, coordinated, dangerous.
Vaibhav stepped into their path, thrusting his Ice Claw forward. A condensed sheet of frost blasted outward, catching all three and freezing their legs mid-run. Alicia finished them with sharp, clean cuts.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
> [+6 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
[+4 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
[+3 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
Silence settled for one breath.
Then the ground shook again.
Three Exalted Flame Raptors stalked into view—larger, heavier, their bodies dripping molten lava-like energy. Their claws burned bright orange, and their screeches distorted the air.
The first rushed Alicia.
She swept her hand outward, forming a curved barrier that redirected the beast's lunge. As it stumbled past, she slashed its back open.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
> [+6 Exalted Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
The second Exalted Raptor leapt high, aiming for Vaibhav's throat. He summoned the Ice Claw fully, coating it in a layer of frost-spirit energy. The talons glowed with pale blue light.
He countered with an upward hook slash.
The creature's head flew off its shoulders.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+4 Exalted Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
Shin met the third Raptor by simply stepping in front of it. He dodged its molten swipe, grabbed its snout, and slammed an elbow into its jaw—sending it crashing into the ice, unconscious.
He stomped once.
It died instantly.
> [+5 Exalted Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
[Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
A deep growl rolled across the battlefield.
The last wave had arrived.
Eleven Mutated Exalted Flame Raptors, bodies cracked with red-hot fissures, flames spilling from their jaws like miniature volcanoes.
Alicia steadied her stance. "They're stronger. Much stronger."
Shin cracked his knuckles. "I'll take the big ones."
The first mutated Exalted launched itself toward Vaibhav. He stepped into the attack, dragging his Ice Claw across its throat. The frost-spirit aura collided with molten flames, erupting in steam.
The beast fell instantly.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+6 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
Two more Raptors charged at Shin. He sidestepped, letting them collide, then punched both simultaneously—each blow powerful enough to compress the air with an audible crack.
Both beasts hit the ground twitching.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
> [+8 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
[+1 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
Alicia blocked a burning claw with a shimmering barrier, twisting and driving her blade through the beast's core.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+4 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
Another Raptor lunged at Vaibhav. He parried using the Ice Claw, frost forming around the creature's arm, slowing it enough to crack its skull with a palm strike.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+2 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
Shin grabbed one Raptor by the leg and swung it like a club into another mutated Exalted. They toppled together. Shin stomped both.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
> [+3 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
[+5 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
Alicia ducked under a flaming swipe and cut a crescent arc through the beast's abdomen.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+4 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
Two more mutated Exalteds attacked in tandem. Vaibhav summoned the Ice Claw's full power, frost energy concentrating into the talons. He spun once, carving through both beasts' torsos in a clean motion.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
> [+4 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
[+6 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
The final mutated Exalted, the largest of all, charged at Shin. Shin grabbed its horns, dug his feet into the ground, and twisted sharply—snapping its neck with brute strength.
He tossed the corpse aside.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
> [+7 Mutated Exalted Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
All twenty-seven Flame Raptors lay dead.
Steam rose from molten blood sizzling against snow. Frost spread where Vaibhav's Ice Claw had struck. The battlefield glowed faintly orange from dying flames.
Alicia exhaled. "Let's extract shards."
The trio moved across the bodies.
Alicia handled the Ordinary and Exalted ones—cutting through scales, muscle, and crystal cores with surgical precision. Her cloth filled with blue and cerulean shards.
Shin tore through the mutated corpses—fingers sinking into molten flesh, pulling out crimson shards glowing with chaotic heat.
When all shards were gathered, two piles sat on the frost:
Alicia's pile of blue-white and Exalted cores.
Shin's pile of red mutated cores.
Vaibhav stepped back as both began absorption.
Alicia absorbed first.
The first pale shard cracked open in her palm, dissolving into her aura.
> [+2 Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Alicia (Shard 1)
Another followed.
> [+3 Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Alicia (Shard 2)
A brighter one.
> [+4 Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Alicia (Shard 3)
Then the mutated ordinary shards she had collected:
> [+4 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Alicia (Shard 4)
[+6 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Alicia (Shard 5)
[+4 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Alicia (Shard 6)
[+5 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Alicia (Shard 7)
[+4 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Alicia (Shard 8)
[+3 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Alicia (Shard 9)
[+6 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Alicia (Shard 10)
[+7 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Alicia (Shard 11)
Next came her Exalted shards:
> [+4 Exalted Power Points Gained] — Alicia (Shard 12)
[+4 Exalted Power Points Gained] — Alicia (Shard 13)
[+6 Exalted Power Points Gained] — Alicia (Shard 14)
Then Shin began absorbing his shards.
He absorbed the first mutated ordinary shard.
> [+3 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Shin (Shard 1)
The second dissolved sharply.
> [+5 Mutated Ordinary Power Points Gained] — Shin (Shard 2)
Steam faded.
Silence settled.
Alicia wiped her blade clean. Shin flexed his fingers. Vaibhav dismissed the Ice Claw as frost melted into his skin again.
The land ahead glowed faintly orange.
And the temperature continued to rise.
They moved forward cautiously, each step revealing more of the changing terrain—patches of exposed rock, steam vents rising from cracks, and distant embers drifting on the wind. This was no longer the Frostlands. This was something in between—an unnatural merging of climates.
A low growl rolled across the valley.
Seven shadows emerged over a ridge, massive wolf-like bodies wreathed in thick flames. Their fur cracked with molten lines, and their eyes glowed like burning coals.
Mythic Fire Wolves.
They surrounded the trio in a loose circle, heat radiating outward in waves strong enough to melt the ice beneath their paws.
Shin smirked. "Finally. Warmth."
The first Fire Wolf pounced at Vaibhav, its jaws blazing. Vaibhav summoned the Ice Claw instantly—frost spiraling up his arm in a flash. The claw materialized, curving into crystalline talons.
He met the beast head-on.
One slash.
Frost collided with flame.
A burst of steam enveloped them.
When it cleared, the Fire Wolf lay cleaved open.
> [+6 Mythic Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
[Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
A second wolf lunged at Alicia. She shifted to the side, leaving a trail of emerald light, and cut across its ribs. Shin finished it with a swift kick that snapped its spine.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+7 Mythic Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
Three wolves attacked at once.
Shin blurred.
His leg vanished—then reappeared buried in the jaw of the first wolf. He twisted midair, landing a second, unseen kick on the second wolf before driving his fist through the skull of the third.
All three collapsed with heavy thuds.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
> [+3 Mythic Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
[+5 Mythic Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
[+8 Mythic Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
Another wolf circled Vaibhav, flames spiraling around its body. It roared and leapt with explosive force. Vaibhav stepped in, slid his foot forward for grounding, and delivered a crushing palm strike with the Ice Claw reinforcing his arm.
The beast toppled instantly.
> [Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
[+5 Mythic Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
The final wolf attempted to flee—but Alicia moved faster. Her blade flashed, severing its hind legs, and Vaibhav finished it with a frost-coated strike to the skull.
> [+4 Mythic Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
[Beast Spirit Acquired: None]
Steam rose from the corpses.
But the valley didn't rest.
A deeper vibration coursed through the ground. The earth cracked. Flames burst upward as a massive serpentine body emerged from below—scales glowing red-hot, mouth dripping molten venom.
Mutated Mythic Fire Serpent.
Alicia tensed. "Its heat is… extreme."
Vaibhav summoned the Ice Claw again. Shin rolled his shoulders, eyes narrowing in excitement.
The serpent lunged, jaws large enough to swallow a man whole. Vaibhav planted his feet, thrusting the Ice Claw upward. Frost exploded around his arm as his claws caught the serpent's maw, forcing it open.
Alicia fired a concentrated emerald beam into the serpent's eye. The beast thrashed violently, tail whipping across the valley like a flaming whip.
Shin jumped above it and dove downward—
One strike.
His heel slammed onto the serpent's spine, cracking several plates open.
The creature shrieked and coiled, trying to crush Vaibhav.
Vaibhav roared and pushed back with all his force, slashing upward. The Ice Claw tore through flesh and scale, sending molten blood splattering across the snow.
The serpent collapsed in a shower of embers.
> [+6 Mutated Mythic Power Points Gained] — Vaibhav
[Beast Spirit Acquired: Fire Serpent Monarch]
The steam settled.
Alicia lowered her blade. "We extract the shards now."
The trio worked across the scorched battlefield—Alicia carving open the Fire Wolves, Shin ripping through the serpent's mutated core. Soon, shards lay in two neat piles:
Blue-white Mythic shards.
Red mutated Mythic shard.
Shin dusted his hands. "All yours."
He slid the shards toward Alicia.
Vaibhav stepped back as she took a breath and began the absorption.
The first shard dissolved into her palm, icy warmth spreading up her arm.
> [+4 Mythic Power Points Gained] — Alicia (Shard 1)
The next one glowed faintly.
> [+2 Mythic Power Points Gained] — Alicia (Shard 2)
A larger one burned brightly.
> [+8 Mythic Power Points Gained] — Alicia (Shard 3)
She continued, absorbing clean, powerful pulses of Mythic energy—
> [+5 Mythic Power Points Gained] — Alicia (Shard 4)
[+3 Mythic Power Points Gained] — Alicia (Shard 5)
[+4 Mythic Power Points Gained] — Alicia (Shard 6)
[+5 Mythic Power Points Gained] — Alicia (Shard 7)
Finally, the mutated shard.
Its crimson glow flickered ominously as she pressed it to her palm. Fiery and chaotic, it dissolved into her veins with a deep, burning surge.
> [+6 Mutated Mythic Power Points Gained] — Alicia (Shard 8)
Alicia exhaled, steadying herself. "These fire beasts… their energy is extremely volatile."
Shin smirked. "Volatile means strong."
They continued forward.
As the land sloped downward, the faint orange glow intensified.
Heat shimmered above the valley.
Then they saw it.
Thousands of beasts.
Every classification.
Every type—fire, frost, mutated, awakened—flowing in a single direction like a living tide.
Alicia's voice trembled. "All of them… migrating southwest."
Vaibhav swallowed hard. "This isn't just one region. It's the entire planet shifting."
Shin stared into the distance, no jokes, no grin—just silent tension.
"Whatever's ahead… is big."
The earth rumbled beneath their feet.
And the horde moved onward.