"That's too expensive. I'll give three frozen gems for this, this, and nothing more."

Inside the bustling market, Titus stood locked in a tense exchange with an alloy salesman, the two separated by a plastic transparent wall smeared with fingerprints and dust. Voices overlapped everywhere, deals being struck and broken in the same breath.

Alloy sales were the lifeblood of the universe. Ships, buildings, weapons, all of it relied on refined metal. As humanity continued to shell corruption into oblivion, the demand only climbed higher, feeding markets like this one without end.

"You're bargaining with me?" the salesman scoffed, jerking his chin toward the long line behind Titus. "Don't you see the people waiting? Take it or leave it, kid."

His prices were already low by market standards. Compared to the massive conglomerates, being haggled like this felt insulting, a waste of breath and patience.

Of course, none of that stopped Titus.

As the argument dragged on, Enzo, standing beside Zeke, felt something cold brush past him. A dazed figure drifted forward, its form hazy, then slipped straight through his body before fading into nothing.

""It's going to be a full moon today," Enzo muttered under his breath.

Gaia's moon was unpredictable, appearing without warning and vanishing just as easily. Its strange laws barely affected those on the planet, and over time people stopped paying it any attention.

But Enzo cared.

His night creature lineage allowed him to see the dead, though only in specific moments when the veil thinned. Fleeting glimpses, pale outlines drifting between worlds.

Moments like a full moon.

It was disturbing, to say the least, but Enzo had learned to endure it. More than that, he had learned to adapt. Especially now, with Kilgar's legacy awakening within him, the rules had shifted.

He could see the dead spirits of beasts as well.

Faint silhouettes of claws and fangs, lingering instincts frozen in place long after flesh had rotted away.

I wonder if I can hunt them, Enzo thought, tilting his head back as if to shake the idea loose. There was no time right now. Still, after reaching the Ice Kingdom, it might be worth exploring.

"I'm done here. Let's go to the auction house next," Titus said as he returned, a small box resting neatly on his palm.

Inside it sat his purchases, carefully sealed and humming faintly with value.

"Okay," Enzo replied with a nod.

That was one of the reasons they had decided to follow Titus in the first place.

The Snowfall Auction House.

A massive commercial complex carved from ice and alloy, where treasures changed hands daily. Rare echoes, forbidden relics, even complete skills could be bought by those with enough wealth or nerve.

Heading into the Ice Kingdom, Enzo knew he needed more than raw power.

He needed echoes that would let him truly stand against the monsters of Gaia.

And there was no better place to find them than an auction house.

Soon they arrived before it and came to a slow halt.

The Snowfall Auction House loomed above them, its towering structure carved from layers of ice reinforced with lustrous alloy. Light refracted across its surface, scattering into pale blues and silvers that made the entire building feel unreal, like a frozen monument rather than a place of trade.

"Let me check some of the treasures from Master White in first," Titus said.

He detached from the group and headed toward an enclosed section at the side of the building, a guarded passage reserved for private evaluations. The alloy doors slid shut behind him, cutting him off from the noise of the street.

"This is so boring, ugh I'm losing my shit," Zeke cursed, rubbing his temples.

He hated errands. Standing around doing nothing made his skin itch. It reminded him too much of home, of being ordered around without purpose, of waiting while others decided his next move.

"Calm down. He'll be done soon, I'm sure," Enzo sighed, glancing at Zeke from the corner of his eye.

For some reason, Enzo felt a tinge of caution now that he hadn't before. Zeke's presence felt heavier than it used to. The fire energy he exhumed was intense, unstable, and frightening to say the least.

And that was saying something.

Enzo had once stood in the presence of the sun god during his second voyage.

He had killed him.

Yet Zeke's flames carried a different pressure. Not divine, but violent. Wild. Like something waiting to erupt the moment restraint slipped.

"Look over there, it's a minister…"

A young lady's voice cut through the murmurs. She pointed toward the main road where a troop of guards advanced in formation, escorting a carriage carved from ice reinforced steel.

The street quieted almost instantly.

In Snowfall City, no one dared to use carriages or parade personal guards openly. Not unless they were ministers or children of high nobles. The cold was unforgiving, and authority here was displayed sparingly.

So even without seeing who was inside, everyone already knew.

"Which minister do you think it is?" someone whispered.

"There are five stationed in the city. Minister Vincent maybe?"

"No, look at the ice rabbit design," another scoffed. "Minister Vincent wouldn't lower himself to something that plain. It has to be Minister Dan."

The line erupted into low arguments as people dissected every detail of the carriage. Its carvings. Its guards. Even the spacing between their steps.

Status was a language here, and everyone thought they spoke it fluently.

Then a sharp voice cut through the noise.

"You two idiots. What does it matter who's on that carriage?"

Heads turned.

"You should be more interested in why someone of that caliber is here in the first place."

The words hung heavy in the air, and just like that, the arguments died down.

Because that question mattered far more.

""That's true. An illustrious treasure might be about to appear," someone pointed out.

That was the only thing capable of drawing the attention of a minister in Snowfall City. And depending on how valuable it was, more of them might soon be heading this way.

"Should we inform the boss? Maybe one of the ministers will take a liking to our painting and buy it?"

"We need to muster up funds fast. Once word spreads, more treasures will surface. Bidding wars are about to start."

The crowd erupted into chaos, voices overlapping as assumptions spiraled out of control. Merchants began calculating risks, collectors whispered strategies, and opportunists smelled profit in the air.

This was the power a minister held.

A single appearance could bend the flow of events, turning an ordinary auction into a battlefield of wealth and influence.

"What's going on here?" Titus frowned as he exited the auction house, taking in the disorder outside.

He had been gone for barely a minute. How had the atmosphere shifted so drastically in such a short time?

"A bigshot appeared," Zeke replied casually.

Without slowing, the three of them stepped past the swelling crowd and into the line reserved for exalted weavers and above. The guards barely spared them a glance before letting them through.

If they had waited any longer, even this line would have been packed.

As news of a minister's arrival spread through Snowfall City, reactions rippled outward almost instantly.

"It's fine. What could that old fool possibly want at the auction house?" a voice scoffed.

Deep within the city, inside a luxurious estate carved from layered ice and crystal, a man draped in an unassuming white robe sat up in irritation. Moments ago, he had been enjoying a rare, peaceful sleep.

Now his night was ruined.

Such a stir was unnecessary. Annoying.

"Minister Noland," an assistant said carefully.

The speaker was a young boy dressed in a fitted tuxedo, his posture straight despite the long, furred tail of a monkey swaying slowly behind him.

"Remember the situation in Galafray. The Creation God. One of his grand students was seen near the auction house minutes before Fin's arrival."

The assistant hesitated, then continued.

"Maybe this isn't a coincidence."

"Maybe not" minister Noland seemed to understand then his gaze swayed.

"Bring everything in saving fault one, I want to see if this creation god really deserves such a title" minister Noland nodded.

The main reason the high god of Gaia had accepted Inkous into her 'alliance' was his ability to create god like weapons, it was a massive boost to anyone who had it.

She had even gone against the monsters in Weavetech for him.

If he was really so special, Noland would be stupid to let an opportunity to receive a treasure from him slip into the hands of that battle freak fin.

"Get the carriage, I don't want to miss out on it, meet me there" the old man didn't even wait he tore through space and disappeared from sight leaving cracks on ice in the air.

"You heard the man" The assistant barked at his underlings and in minutes a carriage convoy shot out of the area.

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