The wind in the North didn't just blow; it screamed. It was a jagged, piercing sound that felt like thousands of icy needles pricking at the skin. As Kaelen and Liora crossed the final ridge of the Frost-Bitten Pass, the legendary Iron-Hold Fortress finally came into view.
Once known as the "Shield of Astrum," the fortress was a massive structure of black basalt and enchanted iron, built directly into the side of a jagged mountain. But as they approached, Kaelen felt a coldness that had nothing to do with the weather.
"Kaelen... look at the banners," Liora whispered, her teeth chattering despite the warming spell she had cast on herself.
The Royal flags of Astrum, which usually flew proudly over the battlements, were shredded. But they weren't fluttering in the wind. They were stiff, frozen solid in mid-air as if time itself had stopped for them. There was no smoke from the chimneys, no sound of clashing steel from the training grounds, and most disturbingly—no sentries on the walls.
"Stay behind me, Liora," Kaelen commanded, his hand tightening on the hilt of Ghost-Biter. "And don't touch anything. Especially not the ice."
The Gates of Despair
The massive iron gates were wide open, hanging off their hinges as if something incredibly strong had simply walked through them. As they stepped into the main courtyard, Liora let out a muffled scream, covering her mouth with her trembling hands.
The courtyard was filled with statues.
Dozens of soldiers, servants, and even horses were frozen in place. But these weren't made of stone. They were made of a strange, translucent blue ice. Their expressions were frozen in masks of absolute terror. One soldier was caught mid-scream, his hand reaching for a sword that was encased in a block of frost. A maid was huddled in a corner, her eyes wide with a fear that had been preserved forever.
Kaelen walked up to one of the frozen guards. He didn't touch the ice, but he hovered his hand near it. He could feel a faint, rhythmic pulsing.
"They aren't dead," Kaelen said, his voice grim.
"What? How can they not be dead? They're... they're blocks of ice!" Liora cried.
"Their souls are being harvested," Kaelen explained, his eyes glowing with a faint silver light as he activated his Sovereign'sSight. "This isn't natural frost. This is Abyssal Glaciary—a high-level curse used by the ancient Frost-Giants. Their life force is being drained slowly to fuel something... or someone."
The Lurking Shadow
As they moved deeper into the fortress, toward the Great Hall, the temperature dropped even further. The walls were covered in thick frost that seemed to form strange, ritualistic symbols.
"Kaelen, I hear something," Liora whispered, clutching his cloak.
It was a soft, wet sound. Schlick. Schlick. Like something heavy being dragged across the floor.
From the shadows of the arched hallway ahead, a creature emerged. It was twice the size of a man, its body made of jagged ice and rotted flesh. It had four spindly arms, each ending in a blade of frozen bone. Its face was a featureless mask of ice, save for a single, glowing blue eye in the center.
"An Ice-Wraith Construct," Kaelen hissed. "Liora, use your fire magic, but don't aim for its body. Aim for the ground beneath it! Break its balance!"
Liora nodded, her fear replaced by the instinct to survive. "IgnisPillar!" she shouted, slamming her staff down. A burst of orange flame erupted beneath the creature.
The ice-floor cracked, and the Construct stumbled.
Kaelen didn't waste a second. He blurred into motion, his silver mana flickering like a dying candle—he was still weak from the Black-Gorge fight, but he had no choice.
"Silver Lion Style: Third Form — Frost-Breaker!"
He delivered a concentrated thrust. Instead of slicing, his blade vibrated at an incredible frequency. When it touched the Construct's chest, the vibration shattered the magical core inside. The creature exploded into a shower of harmless ice shards.
Kaelen gasped, leaning against the wall. His mana circuits felt like they were being shredded.
"Kaelen! You're bleeding again!" Liora ran to him, but he waved her off.
"I'm fine. We need to reach the Seal Chamber," he panted. "If the Frost-Giant seal is broken, this whole mountain will collapse, and the invasion will begin tonight."
The Betrayal
They reached the doors of the Seal Chamber—a massive circular room at the heart of the mountain. In the center was a glowing blue circle of runes, and standing over it was a figure in a commander's armor.
"Commander Valen?" Liora gasped. "You're alive!"
The man turned. It was indeed Commander Valen, the hero of the North. But his eyes weren't human anymore. They were the same violet color as the Void-Thralls.
"Kaelen Vance," Valen said, his voice sounding hollow. "The Prophet told me you would come. He said you were a ghost who shouldn't exist."
"Valen, stop!" Kaelen shouted. "You're a Knight of Astrum! Why are you doing this?"
Valen laughed, a cold, dry sound. "Astrum? The King who sent me here to rot? The nobles who feast while my men freeze? The Void offered us warmth, Kaelen. It offered us eternity."
Valen pointed his sword at the floor. The blue runes of the seal began to turn purple.
"The Frost-Giants were never the enemy," Valen whispered. "They were just the battery. The Seal isn't keeping them out... it's keeping the Void locked in. And I am about to turn the key."
The Final Stand of Chapter 9
The ground began to shake. A massive, dark hand—made of pure shadow and cold—began to claw its way out of the center of the seal. The scream that came from the pit was not human. It was the sound of a thousand souls crying out in agony.
Kaelen looked at Liora. He knew he didn't have enough mana for a big attack. He had to do something he had sworn never to do again.
"Liora, give me your hand," Kaelen said, his voice eerily calm.
"What? Why?"
"I'm going to perform a Mana-Link. I'm going to use your life-force to jumpstart my core. It will hurt, Liora. It might even scar you."
Liora looked at the dark hand rising from the floor, then at Kaelen's determined eyes. She didn't hesitate. She grabbed his hand. "Do it. I trust you."
Kaelen closed his eyes. "Sovereign's Art: Soul-Symphony!"
A blinding flash of silver and orange light filled the room. Kaelen's hair turned completely white for a second, and his eyes burned with a light so bright that Valen had to shield his eyes.
"You want to see the power of a Sovereign?" Kaelen's voice echoed like thunder. "Then look closely, traitor. This is the end of your eternity."
But as Kaelen prepared to strike, the dark hand fully emerged, followed by a face that Kaelen recognized from his nightmares. It wasn't a Frost-Giant. It was a General of the Void, the same one who had killed Liora in the future.
The chapter ends as the General lets out a roar that shatters every piece of glass in the fortress, and Kaelen stands alone between the monster and the girl he failed to protect once before.