The biting wind was like a knife, chilling them to the bone.
Pela led an exploration team of dozens of elites, struggling to trek across the endless snowfield.
Everything began with that urgent military meeting.
When everyone was at a loss regarding the abnormal gathering of fragmentum creatures, the newly recruited man in black robes merely let out a soft, inexplicable chuckle.
"Heh heh heh..."
"Something... is about to awaken... there..."
His words, like a spell, led the team to this deadly, desolate place.
Pela pulled herself from her thoughts, glanced at the map in her hand, then turned to the silent figure beside her.
"Mr. Phainon?"
She called out softly again.
"Mr. Phainon?"
The calls beside him finally elicited a reaction from Phainon.
He tilted his head slightly, looked at Pela beside him, then his gaze returned to the front, saying nothing.
"We're almost at the designated exploration point," Pela said, pointing to the snowfield ahead, seemingly accustomed to his unapproachable aura.
"Mm."
A single syllable response, nothing more.
The team struggled through knee-deep snow.
Behind them, several Iron Guard soldiers, burdened with heavy supplies, found every step arduous.
The bone-chilling wind lashed at their faces like knives, their beards and eyebrows caked with ice, their hands red and stiff with cold.
In contrast, Pela, walking beside Phainon, seemed to be in another world.
A constant warm current emanated from Phainon, shielding her from the severe cold.
Her cheeks were not pale from the cold; instead, they had a healthy flush, and her fingers remained nimble, ready to record data at any moment.
After walking a bit further, Pela finally couldn't suppress her curiosity and looked up to ask, "Mr. Phainon, is your body temperature... always this warm?"
Phainon's footsteps paused, his voice devoid of emotion.
"Not at first..."
He said softly, "I just... got used to burning."
"Ah?" Pela was stunned; this statement perplexed even the intelligent intelligence officer.
Phainon offered no further explanation and continued to advance silently.
Not long after.
After crossing a snow-capped mountain, a vast snowfield appeared before everyone's eyes.
The snowfield was covered with crisscrossing fragmentum fissures, their density and scale far exceeding any records Pela had ever seen.
But the most eerie thing was that such a perilous place was dead silent, not even a single fragmentum creature was visible.
Pela took out the survey map and carefully compared it, confirming, "We've reached our destination. We'll set up camp here; nighttime operations will only be more dangerous."
The soldiers unloaded their equipment and began busily setting up the temporary base.
Phainon, however, walked alone to a small hill, silently gazing at the center of the snowfield.
He could feel it.
The earth beneath his feet, like a sleeping giant beast, had a faint but real breath.
Time passed minute by minute, and the temporary base was completed.
Everything seemed too calm.
So calm... it was sickening.
While Phainon was deep in thought, inside the camp tent, Pela was planning tomorrow's route with the exploration instruments.
Suddenly.
The needles of all the instruments began to tremble wildly without warning, emitting sharp, piercing alarms!
"What's going on?!"
Pela stumbled and fell to the ground, then rose in astonishment.
Immediately following was a strong ground tremor!
The violent shaking lasted for more than ten seconds, then abruptly returned to calm.
Everyone walked out of the tent, still shaken, but without the relief of escaping death!
At this very moment, something abnormal happened!
Was it really "that thing" about to awaken?
"Don't just stand there, retreat from here quickly!" Pela's command jolted everyone awake.
But in the next moment.
Ohm—
A deep resonance, coming from the deepest part of the earth, spread from the center of the snowfield.
The next second!
"Crack—"
A crisp sound came from the very center of the snowfield!
Immediately after, the sound became more frequent!
Crack! Crack, crack... From the center of the snowfield as the origin, countless dark fissures crazily spread in all directions!
The earth groaned under the immense pressure, trembling violently!
"It's... it's an earthquake!" Pela reacted instantly, her face drained of color!
"Run!!"
She let out a terrified scream.
However, it was all too late.
Boom—!!!
The ground beneath their feet suddenly sank, and the entire camp, along with the hill they stood on, instantly collapsed!
The sensation of weightlessness gripped everyone.
Pela only felt the ground disappear beneath her feet, her body losing balance, and accompanied by flying snow and the shouts of the soldiers, she plummeted into the endless dark abyss!
Just as she was falling into despair.
A hand.
A large, warm hand, grabbed her wrist, dispelling the chill of death.
It abruptly stopped her falling body in mid-air