The tracks continued through the ruins.
Nobody liked that.
The footprints weren't hidden.
Whoever had made them hadn't attempted to conceal their passage. They crossed the snow-covered streets openly, winding between shattered buildings and broken monuments as though their owner simply didn't care who followed.
Or perhaps wanted to be followed.
Aren immediately disliked that possibility.
"That's worse."
Nobody argued.
The group moved carefully through the ancient city while the tracks stretched ahead of them. Snow crunched beneath their boots. Cold wind drifted through empty streets. Towering ruins surrounded them from every direction.
The city felt larger the deeper they traveled.
Every time they thought they had reached the center, another district appeared beyond it.
Another avenue.
Another plaza.
Another collection of forgotten structures buried beneath centuries of ice.
The silence remained oppressive.
No birds.
No animals.
No signs of life.
Just ruins.
Endless ruins.
Lyra studied the footprints.
"They're recent."
Serena nodded.
"Very recent."
The military student crouched beside one of the tracks.
The impression remained sharp.
Clean.
Untouched by snowfall.
Aren frowned.
"How recent?"
Serena stood.
"Hours."
The answer made everyone uncomfortable.
Hours.
Someone had walked through the city only hours ago.
Possibly while the expedition slept.
The realization lingered heavily in the air.
Draven looked toward the temple visible in the distance.
The structure rose above the surrounding ruins like a mountain of black stone.
Massive pillars surrounded its exterior.
Broad stairways climbed toward towering entrances.
Unlike the rest of the city, much of the temple remained intact.
That fact alone felt suspicious.
Aren pointed at it.
"Question."
Nobody stopped him.
"Why is the creepy building always the one still standing?"
Selene glanced toward the temple.
"Maybe it was built better."
The boy looked offended.
"That's not the answer I wanted."
Nobody was surprised.
The expedition continued forward.
The footprints led directly toward the temple.
Of course they did.
At this point, nobody expected anything else.
As the distance closed, details became visible.
The temple was enormous.
Far larger than any religious structure Kael had ever seen.
Its walls rose dozens of meters into the air. Ancient carvings covered black stone surfaces while massive statues lined the stairway leading toward the entrance.
Every statue was faceless.
Every single one.
The damage wasn't accidental.
The faces had been deliberately removed.
The same pattern appeared throughout the city.
Yet somehow it felt worse here.
More deliberate.
More personal.
As though someone had wanted to erase an entire civilization from history.
Aren stared at one of the statues.
Then frowned.
"That's disturbing."
Lyra nodded slowly.
"I know."
The boy looked upward.
The damaged monument towered over them.
Its body remained perfectly preserved.
Only the face had been destroyed.
Aren shivered.
"I don't know why."
A pause.
"But that bothers me more than monsters."
Nobody laughed.
Because they understood.
Something about the sight felt wrong.
Deeply wrong.
General Caelan eventually ordered a halt.
The main expedition had begun arriving from different sections of the city.
Soldiers established temporary positions around the temple while officers discussed strategy.
Nobody intended to rush inside blindly.
Not after Frostwatch.
Not after the bell.
Not after the footprints.
Kael used the pause to study the structure.
The entrance alone stood nearly fifteen meters tall.
Ancient doors rested partially open.
Darkness filled the space beyond.
The interior remained completely hidden.
The tracks disappeared inside.
Naturally.
Aren noticed.
The boy sighed dramatically.
"There they go."
Nobody asked.
"The mysterious footprints."
He pointed toward the entrance.
"They could have gone literally anywhere."
A pause.
"But no."
Another pause.
"They chose the ancient nightmare temple."
Selene rolled her eyes.
"You complain too much."
"I complain exactly the correct amount."
Before the argument could continue, a sudden shout echoed from the opposite side of the plaza.
Everyone turned.
A soldier was running toward General Caelan.
The man's expression immediately drew attention.
Something had happened.
The soldier stopped before the military commander and saluted.
"We found something."
The plaza became silent.
General Caelan nodded.
"Report."
The soldier swallowed.
Then pointed toward a nearby structure.
"A body."
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
The word hung heavily in the air.
A body.
The first one.
After Frostwatch.
After the ruins.
After days of questions.
Finally—
Evidence.
The entire expedition immediately shifted.
Conversations died.
Attention focused on the soldier.
General Caelan's expression hardened.
"Show me."
The group followed.
The building stood several hundred meters from the temple.
A partially collapsed structure overlooking one of the ancient plazas.
Several soldiers guarded the entrance.
Nobody looked comfortable.
That wasn't reassuring.
The interior was dark.
Cold.
Dust covered everything.
Kael stepped inside alongside the others.
Then froze.
The body rested against a far wall.
A human skeleton.
Still wearing fragments of military armor.
Silence filled the room.
Because everyone recognized the uniform.
Frostwatch.
The skeleton belonged to someone from Frostwatch.
Aren stared.
Then slowly looked toward the others.
"I thought everyone disappeared."
Nobody answered.
The question was obvious.
If everyone had left together—
Why was one person here?
General Caelan crouched beside the remains.
Several officers examined the armor carefully.
The silence stretched.
Then one of them frowned.
"Commander."
General Caelan looked up.
The officer pointed toward the wall.
Everyone followed his gaze.
Words.
Someone had carved words into the stone.
The message was crude.
Uneven.
Desperate.
As though written by trembling hands.
The room became completely silent as people read it.
DO NOT FOLLOW THE SONG
Nobody spoke.
The warning felt strangely familiar.
Too familiar.
Turn back before it wakes.
Now this.
Do not follow the song.
Different messages.
Same purpose.
Warnings.
Aren swallowed.
"I don't like songs anymore."
Lyra ignored him.
Her attention remained fixed on the wall.
"The song."
Draven nodded slowly.
"The bell."
The connection appeared immediately.
The room felt colder.
Because suddenly the mysterious bell seemed much less random.
General Caelan stood.
His expression had become unreadable.
"Search the building."
The soldiers moved immediately.
The investigation resumed.
Yet something had changed.
The mystery was no longer abstract.
Somebody from Frostwatch had reached these ruins.
Somebody had survived long enough to leave a warning.
And somebody had been afraid.
Very afraid.
Minutes passed.
The search continued.
Then another shout echoed from the upper floor.
Everyone looked up.
A soldier appeared at the staircase.
The man's face had gone pale.
"Commander."
His voice sounded strained.
General Caelan stepped forward.
"What is it?"
The soldier hesitated.
Only briefly.
Then answered.
"We found more."
Aren frowned.
"More what?"
Nobody was prepared for the answer.
The soldier swallowed.
Then looked toward the group.
"More bodies."
Silence.
The room became still.
The warning.
The skeleton.
Now more bodies.
For the first time since entering the ruins, genuine fear began spreading through the expedition.
Because the city was no longer merely ancient.
It was becoming a graveyard.
And judging by the expression on the soldier's face—
They hadn't found all of it yet.