"Moon stared at the large creature silently. He had suspected this moment would come. Had known since the beginning that this was the trap—force people to turn on each other, to become murderers for the promise of escape.
But he'd also been planning for exactly this scenario.
"There's a third option," Moon said quietly, his eyes never leaving the creature.
It tilted its head, curiosity in its posture. "Oh? And what might that be?"
"We kill you instead."
[-2048 Lives]
[Four Element Affinity has reached Level 10!]
[Four Element Affinity has evolved to Five Element Affinity!]
New information flooded Moon's consciousness. A fifth element, one he hadn't possessed before, suddenly became available to him.
[Five Element Affinity]
[Rank: Epic]
[Level: 1] [Max]
[Details: You have moderate affinity to the four elements. Water, Earth, Wind, Fire. Low affinity to the intermediate element Lightning. +100% Extra Control. +100% Elemental Damage.]
Moon's eyes widened as he processed what he was seeing. He had just gained an Epic rank skill before even having a first-class evolution.
Before awakening, he'd read extensively about the journeys of powerful awakeners who had reached the second sanctuary. Never, not once, had he read about any of them possessing an Epic rank skill before their first class evolution.
Most awakeners considered themselves fortunate to obtain a single Epic skill by the time they were well within their second evolution.. Some never obtained one at all, even in the second sanctuary.
Yet here he was, level thirteen, with an Epic rank skill that gave him moderate affinity to four basic elements and access to Lightning—an intermediate element that combined properties of multiple basics, known for being one of the most devastating in combat.
The power coursing through him was intoxicating.
[Time: 0:24]
Twenty-four seconds left.
Moon's smile was cold and sharp as lightning as he looked at the figure descending from its throne.
"Oh boy... You're dead."
He turned toward Selene, who stood with a complicated expression on her face—shock, confusion, wariness, and perhaps a hint of fear warring across her features. She didn't know how to process everything that had been happening.
"Selene, are you ready to leave this realm?" Moon said, his voice cutting through her thoughts.
Selene swallowed hard, then nodded with a soft smile.
"I'm ready."
The figure watched this exchange with that same unsettling smile, apparently unconcerned by Moon's declaration.
"Foolish," it said, its voice carrying amusement rather than fear. "Many have tried to fight me directly. All have failed. Do you know what I am, little human?"
"I don't care what you are, you're in my way of going home," Moon replied.
Its smile widened impossibly, revealing more of those icicle teeth.
"Then come," it invited, spreading its arms wide. "Show me what you can accomplish...human."
"I don't think you're ready," Moon grinned, before releasing his new element.
Zap!
Lightning crackled around Moon's hands, blue-white arcs dancing between his fingers with wild energy.
Both Selene and the Heart of Winter reacted with visible surprise.
Moon didn't waste the moment. He immediately wanted to test his new skill against the figure before him, to understand the power he'd just gained.
Lightning left his arms in a jagged zigzag line, travelling toward the creature with speed that made his previous fire attacks look sluggish by comparison.
Its eyeless face somehow conveyed shock as it threw itself to the side, dodging with a speed that belied its massive size.
BOOM!
The lightning strike hit the throne instead, the concentrated energy exploding on impact. The bone and ice structure shattered where the bolt landed, fragments scattering across the platform in a shower of debris.
Moon smirked at the scene. He wasn't upset about missing—in fact, he was pleased. Incredibly pleased.
The fact that this supposedly high and mighty creature had dodged meant it was afraid of his attack. It respected the threat. That told Moon everything he needed to know.
"You..." The Heart of Winter's voice carried genuine confusion for the first time. "How can you be so much more powerful than seconds ago? Were you hiding your strength this entire time?"
"Maybe?" Moon smirked, taking a step closer but maintaining a safe distance. He turned slightly toward Selene, keeping the creature in his peripheral vision.
"Let's combine our elements," Moon whispered urgently. "I'll use lightning, you use water."
Selene nodded immediately, understanding flashing in her eyes.
Moon wanted to use both elements himself, but he couldn't. Despite having an affinity toward lightning and water, lightning was demanding—far more so than the basic elements. The mana cost was higher, and the focus required was intense. He was unable to dual-cast while channelling lightning without losing control entirely.
With Selene's help, though, they could create a combination far more devastating than either element alone.
Moon gathered more lightning and sent another bolt toward the creature. It dodged again, forced to move.
Selene seized that moment. The massive sphere of water in front of her launched toward where the creature had dodged. The water ball exploded on impact, drenching the Heart of Winter entirely. Its body ran with water, pooling on the stone floor around its feet.
The attack did minimal damage—barely worth mentioning in terms of actual harm. But that wasn't the point.
It was soaked, exactly what Moon had been waiting for.
What was surprising was the fact that the creature still hadn't attacked them at all. Not once since the fight began. It had dodged, moved defensively, but never counterattacked.
Moon's eyes widened as realisation struck, as his gaze landed on the timer and thought about the conditions before the timer ended.
[Time: 0:12]
"You... you can't attack us, can you?" Moon said, his voice carrying certainty.
The creature's expression twitched for just a fraction of a second before it smoothed back into that eternal smile.
"Twelve seconds left. Not bad, that's enough time to turn you into a charred corpse."
It was bound by the trial's rules. It couldn't directly harm participants until the timer expired. That's why it had used the wolves. Why had it orchestrated the entire setup to make awakeners kill each other?
It didn't know that everything would resort to this scenario. Nobody did, not even Moon himself. So, it was now bound by the system, unable to fight them until the trial ended.
Moon decided to take a calculated risk and moved closer. Not incredibly close—he wouldn't walk into a potential trap—but close enough to ensure his lightning wouldn't miss.
The creature was fast and could dodge from long range. But physics was physics. If it were standing in water and he hit the water with lightning, dodging wouldn't matter.
"Again!" Moon called to Selene.
They attacked in tandem. Selene sent more water, this time creating a spreading puddle beneath the creature's feet rather than a direct strike. It didn't move, as if waiting for Moon's attack.
In its eyes, the attacks that Selene was sending were nothing worth mentioning. She wasn't a threat; Moon was.
Soon enough, it found itself standing in ankle-deep water that Selene had pooled across the stone floor as it waited for Moon's attack to arrive.
Moon had expected it to leap clear, to recognise the danger. But it didn't move further.
A sudden thought struck him, almost making him laugh aloud.
It might not know what happens when lightning interacts with water.
"
had ruled this frozen realm for god knows how long, using ice and cold as its weapons. Lightning was fire's opposite, heat and energy, and this creature might have never encountered an awakener with lightning affinity before.
It didn't understand the danger it was in.
The realisation made Moon incredibly happy.
"Selene," he said quietly, lightning already building in his hands to unprecedented levels. "Prepare your strongest attack. The moment my lightning hits, it's going to be stunned. We finish it then."
Selene's eyes widened as she understood. Fire began gathering around her, compressed and violent, ready to unleash the moment Moon created the opening.
[Time: 0:08]
The Heart of Winter stood in the water, apparently confident that whatever these humans tried would be futile as long as it dodged Moon's attack.
Moon released everything he had.
The lightning bolt that erupted from his hands was massive, crackling with blue-white fury. It struck the water inches away from him, travelling through the water particles at incredible speed.
The entire pool became a conductor, and the creature was immediately hit.
The lightning bolt struck the water with catastrophic force.
The electricity spread instantly through the conductive pool, following the path of least resistance—which meant through every inch of water touching the Heart of Winter's body. Blue-white energy enveloped the creature entirely, arcs of lightning dancing across its crimson armour, finding every gap, every weakness.
The Heart of Winter's scream was unlike anything Moon had heard before. It sent shivers down his spine.
It convulsed, its massive body jerking as hundreds of thousands of volts coursed through it. The armour that had seemed invincible cracked in places, the ice formations on its crown exploding from the heat generated by the electrical current.
[Time: 0:06]
"Don't stop!" Moon shouted, already gathering more lightning despite the massive drain on his mana.
Selene didn't need to be told twice. Fire erupted from her hands—massive fireballs that struck the creature while it was immobilised by the electrical current. Then more water, keeping it drenched, maintaining conductivity for Moon's attacks.
Lightning from the Moon keeps the creature stunned and unable to dodge. Fire from Selene, dealing massive burning damage to its heavily damaged armour. Water to reset the cycle, ensuring the next lightning strike would be just as devastating.
ZAP! BOOM! SPLASH!
ZAP! BOOM! SPLASH!
The Winter Beast tried to move, to break free, but the combination was overwhelming. Every time it started to recover from the electrical shock, another bolt hit. Every time it tried to counter the fire, more water drenched it for the next lightning strike.
Moon's mana reserves were dropping precipitously. Each lightning bolt cost far more than his fire attacks ever had. His hands shook from channelling so much power in rapid succession. But he didn't stop. Couldn't stop.
Not when they were winning.
[Time: 0:03]
[Time: 0:02]
[Time: 0:01]
[Time: 0:00]
[Trial of Winter's Death - Time Expired]
The creature's restrictions lifted. Moon could feel it as a sharp change in pressure descend. The beast was finally free to fight back.
But the damage had been done.
Where moments ago had stood a majestic, terrifying being, now stood something charred and broken.
Its crimson armour was cracked and blackened, pieces falling away to reveal burned flesh beneath. The ice crown had melted partially, dripping down its face. One arm hung useless, the muscles too damaged to respond.
It was still moving, still alive, but barely. It no longer looked mighty or invincible.
"Continue!" Moon shouted, gathering more lightning despite his exhaustion.
Finally able to retaliate, the Heart of Winter opened its mouth.
Then it attacked.
A massive icicle materialised before the creature, longer than a spear, thicker than Moon's torso. It launched toward him with speed that was comparable to his lightning.
Moon felt death approaching.
His body moved on pure instinct. Lightning crackled around him—not as an attack but as movement, his epic rank skill allowing him to channel the element through his own body. He moved, faster than he'd ever moved before, his form blurring as electricity enhanced his speed beyond human limits.
He was so fast that when he dodged, his feet couldn't keep up. He tripped, tumbling across the stone floor in an undignified heap.
CRASH!
The icicle struck where he'd been standing a fraction of a second earlier. It didn't just hit the door they'd entered through—it obliterated it. The ancient stone exploded into fragments, the entire doorway collapsing in a shower of rubble.
Moon gulped, his heart hammering against his ribs. His hissed from a sudden pain that erupted in his legs.
'Shit. It seems like conducting lightning through my legs has its own side effects.' Moon thought with growing worry.
The figure before him was devastatingly strong in offence. Even wounded, barely able to stand, it had nearly killed him with a single attack. He thanked whatever forces governed this realm that the creature had been unable to fight them for those crucial twelve seconds.
If it had been able to attack from the beginning, if it could have used its full power...
They would be dead. No question.
Then the beast swayed.
Its legs buckled. The massive form collapsed to one knee, then fell forward entirely, crashing face-first onto the charred stone.
"An...irregular..." it muttered, its voice barely a whisper. "You are... an irregular..."
Then it went still.
[You have killed level 20 Winter Beast]
[You have gained 1100 Lives]
[You have completed the hidden realm]
The number of lives was insane, especially considering the double reward bonus had ended with the completion of the trial. That Winter Beast would have killed him five times over—maybe ten—if conditions hadn't been so perfectly in his favour.
The inability to attack during the trial. No knowledge of how lightning and water are combined. Underestimating him based on his level, allowing him to evolve his skill to epic rank. All of it had created a perfect storm that allowed victory.
Remove any single one of those advantages, and Moon would be dead.
Selene stared at the massive corpse, then at Moon, her face pale and her hands still trembling from channelling so much magic in rapid succession.
"Moon..." she started, then seemed unable to find words.
Moon slowly got to his feet, his legs shaking from exhaustion and adrenaline. His mana was nearly depleted. His body ached from the electrical current he'd channelled through himself. Every muscle felt like it was on fire.
But they were alive.
Against all odds, despite everything this cursed realm had thrown at them, they were alive.
The hidden realm completion notification hung in his vision, but Moon barely registered it. He was too busy trying to process what had just happened, trying to understand how they'd actually survived.
Selene took a shaky step toward him, then another, until she was close enough to grab his arm—perhaps to steady him, perhaps to steady herself.
"We did it," she whispered, disbelief evident in her voice. "We actually did it."
Moon nodded slowly, still staring at the fallen Winter Beast.
"Yeah," he said quietly. "We did."
Then another notification appeared, different from the others. The text seemed to burn itself into Moon's vision with weight and permanence, as if being etched into reality itself.
[An Irregular ascended the frozen mountain, leaving behind the corpses of heroes and monsters alike. He entered the ancient temple, where a powerful king sat enthroned before his altar, demanding the blood tribute that was his due. The Irregular refused. Instead, he offered the blood of the king himself.]
[You have defeated six powerful beasts: Arctic Wolves, Level 15.]
[You have defeated an awakened human: Gareth, Level 13.]
[You have defeated a hidden realm king: Winter Beast, Level 20.]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[You have achieved the impossible!]
[Final appraisal: Extraordinary. Your power defies comprehension. You stand where none should stand, victorious where all others have fallen. The realms themselves take notice of your unexplainable existence.]
The words hung in the air, shimmering with an otherworldly light that had nothing to do with the torches lining the chamber walls. Each phrase seemed to pulse with significance, as if the system itself was struggling to quantify what Moon had accomplished.
Moon stared at the notification, his breath catching in his throat.
This wasn't a simple completion message.
Irregular. The word carried weight. Implications. It suggested that the system had categorised him as something outside its standard framework.
An anomaly, just as the Winter Beast had said with its dying breath.
[Awakener, receive your boon!]
[Tenacity]
[Rank: Epic]
[Level: MAX]
[Details: Your will cannot be broken, no matter the circumstances. Illusions do not affect you, and your courage makes those with you feel stronger. +5 to Strength, Agility, and Constitution]
Moon's breath caught.
He had gained another Epic skill. Not just any skill, but one that affected his core attributes directly, permanently boosting three of his most vital stats. And the effects went beyond numbers—mental fortitude, immunity to illusions, and an aura that strengthened allies.
He glanced at Selene, who was still reading her own notification. Her eyes were wide, her lips slightly parted in shock. Whatever she'd received, it had clearly exceeded her expectations as well.
For a long moment, neither of them spoke. The weight of what they'd accomplished, what they'd received, hung between them like a physical presence.
Moon didn't ask what she'd gotten and Selene didn't ask him.
Some things were meant to be kept private. In a world where power meant survival, where knowledge of someone's capabilities could be used against them, discretion was wisdom.
They'd fought together. Survived together. But that didn't mean they needed to know every detail of each other's strength.
Selene seemed to understand this instinctively. She simply nodded at him, a small smile on her exhausted face.
"Congratulations," she said softly.
"You too," Moon replied.
Then a crack in the air rippled before them.
A portal materialised in the centre of the chamber, just a few meters from where the Winter Beast's corpse lay. It appeared suddenly, without warning—a vertical tear in space that revealed swirling colours beyond, blues and whites that seemed to shift and move.
Unlike the violent summoning that had brought them here, this portal felt stable. It hummed with energy that suggested passage rather than imprisonment.
[Exit portal available. Duration: 10 minutes.]
Moon stared at it, almost unable to believe what he was seeing. After everything they'd endured—the blizzards, the beasts, the cave, Gareth's betrayal, the trial itself—here was their way home.
Their escape from this frozen hell.
Selene took a step toward it, then stopped and looked back at Moon. "We should go. Before something else happens."
Moon nodded, but his eyes swept the chamber one last time. The bodies of Derek's team were scattered across the floor. The charred remains of the six Arctic wolves. The massive corpse of the Winter Beast itself.
So much death. So much sacrifice, willing and unwilling.
He'd killed awakeners today. Humans. People he'd shared shelter with, however briefly.
The weight of that would stay with him. He knew it would. But he also knew he'd do it again if survival demanded it.
That's what this realm had taught him. What this trial had burned into his core.
Survival wasn't pretty, nor was it noble. It was just necessary.
"Wait, let's take the body of the winter beast with us," Moon said as he began to walk towards the winter beast. Its body would sell for a large amount.
Moon then stopped in his tracks, and turned towards Selene with a soft smile. "So, uhm. I don't have a storage ring with me. Can you, hold it for us? We can split the shares."
Selene smiled before nodding her head. "There is no need, also. Here, you can have this." She said, as she gave him one of the storage rings she had on her hand.
Moon accepted the gift graciously, then stored the body of the winter beast. He tried to store the bodies of the arctic wolves, but unfortunately, he was only able to store the body of one as the storage ring became full.
They walked toward it together, side by side, two survivors of an ordeal that should have killed them both.
The portal's swirling surface beckoned, promising warmth and safety and an escape from this endless winter.
Moon took one final breath of the frigid air, then stepped through.
The world dissolved into light and color, and the hidden realm released its grip on him at last.