When we rode back through the fortress gates, the morning fog had not yet lifted. The air carried the scent of ash and frost, and echoes of the battle still hummed in my bones. Soldiers lining the ramparts paused their work, staring as Captain Feng led the unit in. Their whispers followed like wind in dry grass.
"That's the exile prince, right?"
"He really fought like that?"
"They say his blade burns and freezes at once."
I didn't look at them. I had no reason to. But somewhere inside, the silence that once surrounded my name began to crack. I wasn't invisible anymore.
Captain Feng dismounted near the courtyard, his usual hard glare softer, if only slightly. "Zhao Mukul," he said, his voice carrying through the cold air, "you did well. Better than most recruits who've spent years here."
I bowed lightly. "I only did what I had to."
"Humble too," he muttered, then turned to the waiting soldiers. "He saved your skins out there. Remember that."
Their gazes shifted — no longer mocking, just respectful. A rare and quiet victory.
Later, in the mess hall, the men offered me food instead of scorn. Lian Xueyin sat across from me, her expression calm as always, yet there was the faintest curve to her lips. "You've gained their acknowledgment," she said.
"I never wanted fame," I replied, pushing aside a bowl of stew. "Just a chance to stop being forgotten."
She nodded, eyes distant. "Sometimes being remembered is the first step to changing your fate."
That night, as everyone rested, Arina's gentle voice stirred in my mind.
"Recognition achieved. Secondary Task progress updated: 'Rise Above Shadows.' Rewards pending."
A faint warmth spread through my chest. "And what now?" I asked silently.
"A new quest awaits," she replied. "Fate's thread continues deeper into the mountains. The fortress commander will summon you soon — follow the path that calls."
The next morning, Captain Feng arrived early, his coat brushing snow from the threshold. "Prince Mukul," he said, holding out a parchment sealed with the imperial mark. "The commander's orders — a scouting mission to the Frostheart Mountains. Reports say an ancient relic has awakened there. You and Lady Lian will lead two soldiers to investigate."
"Relic?" I asked.
He nodded grimly. "An artifact from the early Celestial Age. One that holds power enough to upset the balance of any realm. The higher-ups believe it might be connected to the lost Goddess Gates."
Arina's presence sharpened immediately.
"Host," she whispered in warning, "the relic he speaks of — it resonates faintly with the System's energy. Proceed with caution."
"I was going to," I murmured inwardly.
Two hours later, we set out again. Snow fell heavier this time, the landscape swallowed by endless white. The mountains loomed ahead — ridged giants crowned with shadow. Frost coiled around the peaks like ghosts watching from above.
Lian Xueyin rode beside me, her hair whipped by the wind. Her eyes scanned the horizon constantly. "The Frostheart Mountains," she said, almost to herself. "My clan used to guard these lands before we were destroyed. The relic you seek… it could be tied to that past."
Her words struck something inside me — another piece of fate looping back to her.
By midday, the road narrowed into a trail carved between cliffs. Every gust of wind carried faint whispers, like voices trapped in ice. My hands itched against the hilt of the Snowfire Blade. The sword pulsed lightly, almost as if responding to the mountain's call.
"Arina," I thought, "this relic—what is it?"
"The records of the Goddess System mention an item called The Heart of Equinox," she explained. "It is said to balance frost and flame — a core fragment from the creation of worlds. Its energy matches your mark."
"So it's connected to me?"
"Perhaps," she said. "But power of that scale draws both destiny and danger alike."
We reached a ridge as the daylight began to fade. Below lay a deep ravine glowing faintly blue, as if the ice below hid a living heart. The two soldiers behind us muttered prayers under their breath.
"This is it," I said quietly.
Without warning, the ground trembled. Cracks spidered through the snow, splitting beneath our feet. One of the soldiers cried out as the edge collapsed, but Lian Xueyin raised her hand. Frost burst outward, forming a bridge of solid ice that caught him just in time.
She turned to me, breath visible in the cold. "Something's awake here."
Then it came — a howl shaking the mountains themselves. From the ravine's depths, icy mist billowed upward, followed by a massive shadow moving beneath it. Clawed hands of frost tore through the ground, revealing a creature half-beast, half-statue — an ancient guardian sculpted from frozen spirit ore. Its eyes glowed blue like dying stars.
The soldiers panicked. Lian Xueyin stepped forward calmly. "A Frost Guardian," she whispered. "Once bound to protect sacred relics."
Arina's voice rang sharply in my mind. "Host, this guardian is fueled by the relic's energy! To approach it, you must synchronize your sword technique further!"
"How?" I asked, gripping the Snowfire Blade tight.
"Match your pulse to the mountain's rhythm. Let the blade flow with both flame and ice simultaneously. Become the balance, not the conflict."
The creature roared, hurling gusts of freezing wind that shattered stone. I ducked behind a boulder, the air slicing past like razors. Lian raised walls of ice to block the storm, but cracks were forming already.
"Mukul," she called sharply, "whatever power you used before — now's the time!"
I closed my eyes, forcing breath steady. Fire for courage. Frost for calm. Two halves of one spirit. The Snowfire Blade flared brilliantly, casting light across the cliff. Blue and red spirals weaved together, shaping into a single strand of shimmering white.
When I struck, the sword sang like thunder. The beam of light cut through the blizzard, piercing the guardian's chest. Ice exploded outward; the creature froze mid-roar, its core shattering in a burst of light.
As the glow faded, the ravine fell still again. At the bottom, buried beneath layers of fractured ice, something pulsed softly — a crystal heart shaped like intertwined flames and snowflakes.
Lian Xueyin stared in wonder. "That's it…the relic."
She turned toward me, her expression unreadable but her eyes bright in the dying light. "We've awakened something greater than either of us imagined."
Arina's whisper followed like echoing wind. "Quest status: Relic Beyond the Storm — completed. Reward calculation underway."
I held the Snowfire Blade tight, the wind whipping around us as the mountains groaned beneath their own secrets.
Standing there beside Lian Xueyin, in the heart of frost and flame, I realized that recognition was only a spark.
Real greatness lay ahead — in storms no mortal had yet survived.