The spirit advanced again, and the frozen wind sliced through the air like invisible blades. Snow accumulated across the surface of the rocks, turning the warm valley of the demi-dragons into a hostile, silent field.
I took a deep breath and felt my own flame react — restless, lit as if it wanted to burst through my skin.
Rai'kanna raised a flaming barrier in front of us, which writhed instantly when the spirit touched its edge.
"He's absorbing my fire…" she muttered, gritting her teeth. "That shouldn't happen."
Liriel took two steps forward, the grimoire floating at her side. Its pages opened on their own with the magical wind.
"His essence isn't ordinary ice," she said, tense. "It's a combination of cold and emptiness. It's like… a fragment of nonexistence."
"That makes no sense," complained Vespera, shivering. "Not even pure ice steals fire like that!"
Elara spun her bow in her hands, eyes locked on the creature's slightest movement. "It means we're dealing with something that was modified."
"Modified?" I questioned.
"Corrupted," Liriel completed. "And deeply."
The spirit floated higher, scattering ice like dust. The air became so cold my fingers hurt just from holding the sword steady.
Lyannis lifted her spear, even while trembling. "Takumi… what does this spirit want with you?"
I gritted my teeth.
"I don't know."
But I knew it wasn't a coincidence.
The flame inside me pulsed in response to the cold — as if trying to repel that presence.
The spirit extended its arm, and a row of ice spikes formed in the air before shooting directly at me.
"Takumi!" Elara pulled my cloak, dragging me aside at the last second.
Vespera unleashed blasts of wind, diverting some of the projectiles.
Liriel raised a protective rune.
But the ice cut through everything too quickly.
Rai'kanna dove from above, literally breaking one of the ice blades with her wing.
"He's targeting you," she said. "I need you all to fall back."
"I'll hold him," I murmured. "If he's after me, then I—"
"Takumi, don't be an idiot!" Vespera snapped. "You're gonna turn into a popsicle!"
"And I can heat him back up with fire afterward," Liriel added, rubbing her hands — though it didn't sound like a joke.
Elara took a deep breath. "We need a plan. Something fast."
Lyannis moved ahead without warning, sprinting toward the spirit.
"Lyannis!" I shouted.
But she was already leaping, her spear charged with small red sparks.
She spun in the air and struck a blow straight at the spirit's core.
The impact shattered like breaking crystal.
For an instant, the spirit flickered — cracks forming along its translucent body.
"It worked!" she shouted, triumphant.
And then… the spirit vanished.
Literally disappeared, as if erased.
Lyannis hung in the air for a moment, without support.
Then the wind shifted.
"Get out of there!" Rai'kanna yelled, but too late.
The spirit appeared behind her, materializing like a bluish shadow. It grabbed Lyannis by the arm, and crystals of ice spread across her skin.
She screamed.
I ran.
Rai'kanna dove.
Elara fired.
Vespera hurled cutting winds.
Liriel traced runes on the ground.
But the spirit lifted Lyannis as if she weighed nothing, freezing her scales bit by bit.
"Let her go!" I roared.
The flame rose along my arm like an instinctive response.
I charged straight at the spirit.
"Takumi, wait!" Liriel shouted.
Too late.
I struck with all my strength, the flame focused on my sword.
The impact clashed against the spirit's arm, which cracked violently — but it didn't release Lyannis.
The creature turned its empty face toward me.
The feeling that emanated from it wasn't hatred.
It was… recognition.
As if it knew who I was.
Or what I carried.
The flame inside me pulsed hard, almost painful.
The spirit raised its other arm — a pure ice blade forming.
Lyannis screamed my name.
And I charged once more.
"Takumi!"
The voice came from behind — Rai'kanna.
She spread her wings wide, unleashing a blast of deep blue fire. The heat was so intense that the snow around us evaporated instantly.
The spirit reacted — not with fear, but with caution.
The blue fire wasn't absorbed as easily as ordinary fire.
It dropped Lyannis, who fell toward the ground.
Rai'kanna caught her in the air before she hit the rocks.
I turned toward them.
"Is she okay?"
Lyannis trembled, her arm partially covered in ice. "I… can… breathe…"
"Touch her, Takumi," Liriel said. "Your flame helps neutralize this kind of cold."
I did as she said.
The flame warmed my hand, and I touched the frozen scale on Lyannis's arm.
She gasped, her eyes widening at the heat.
"That… is… way too hot…"
"It's to thaw you," I replied.
Liriel placed her hand over mine and guided the flame with magic. "Slowly, or you'll burn her skin."
"Right."
The ice began to melt.
Lyannis took a deep breath, her face flushing.
"Thank you, Takumi…" she whispered.
Rai'kanna narrowed her eyes.
"We're talking later about you throwing yourself at unstable monsters."
Lyannis gave a weak smile. "You do that too."
"Because I know what I'm doing."
"So do I!"
"No, you don't."
"Yes, I do!"
"No, you don't."
The two of them started arguing even amid the chaos.
I lifted my head.
The spirit was standing still, watching us from afar, as if studying what to do next.
Elara lined up another arrow.
Vespera flexed her fingers.
Liriel prepared another circle.
Rai'kanna stared at me.
"Takumi… he's not retreating. He's analyzing."
"Analyzing what?"
"You."
My stomach dropped.
The spirit finally stepped back — or something similar to a step.
Its body fragmented into pieces of smoke that swirled like snow.
And it vanished completely.
The wind stopped. The snow ceased. The natural heat of the region returned — weak, but present.
Vespera sighed. "He ran away… or didn't want to continue."
Elara put away her arrow. "No. He completed his objective."
"What objective?" I asked.
Rai'kanna landed beside me, more serious than I had ever seen her.
"To mark you."
My eyes widened.
"Mark… me?"
Lyannis held my arm, still trembling. "Takumi… you need to be careful. Very careful."
Liriel closed the grimoire, thoughtful. "If that corrupted spirit came this far just to reach you… then whoever is manipulating it already knows you. Or… can sense your presence."
The warm wind blew through the valley again.
And for the first time since we started this mission, I felt real fear.
Not because of the monsters. Not because of the demi-dragons.
But because of something deep within the earth…
Something that was looking at me.
And waiting.