They all made a small circle around the deceased, and one of the two swordsmen leaned down as he sat on his knees.

He slowly placed his hands on top of the foreheads of the deceased, touching them with two of his fingers; the others were just looking at them with silent stillness.

'System, what's that guy doing? Why's he touching the foreheads of the archers whom I killed before?'

[Host, that's a ritual which Snow Elves usually do when one of their kind has passed away.]

[The Last Chill: It symbolises guiding the soul into the eternal winter, their afterlife realm. Sometimes, the fingers glow faintly with blue or icy silver mana]

While Silas was looking at them, a faint whisper echoed inside his mind. It was not the usual metallic hum of the system, but it was something strange, something ancient.

Silas got confused, his mind became foggy as his brain stopped processing anything, and Silas gulped. 'Who's it? Am I hallucinating? Is the toll of sleepless nights finally catching up to me?'

<Honey, I don't have a lot of time to talk to you.><I'll not be able to explain it all in brief, but I can tell you the stuff that you need to know.>

"Honey? I'm not honey of someone, I'm Si— mmhmmm mhmmmm." Silas's mouth closed on its own, and his voice got stuck in his throat.

<I'm sorry, honey, but you can't say your name while I'm talking to you.>

"Why can't I say my name? And who the fuck even are you?" Silas wanted to shout, but couldn't because it would blow up his cover.

<Honey, if you say your name here, then the ones who're against the world would get to know about yo u and they'll come after you earlier than predicted.>

"The ones who're after the world? Means the ones who want the end of the world?"

<You're definitely smart, honey.>

<I don't have much time, I'll make it as quick as possible for you to fathom my words. There are a few people, and their main motive is the end of the earth. I can't reveal their actual names, but in your world, they are known as the group of 'Apostles of the Abyss' and their main aim is to—>

And with that, the connection with the voice vanished. Silas was left astonished, and his face went completely pale.

Sweat welled up on his forehead, hands started to tremble. 'What the fuck even was that.... system, do you know anything about that?'

[Yes, Host. I know about the voice.]

'Then tell me about it all, I want to know about the person who just infiltrated my mind.'

[Vo—ce O——n: ∎∎∎∎∎∎]

A loud mechanical voice rang in Silas's ear, which prohibited him from hearing what the system said. 'What are you trying to say, syste?, I can't hear anything.'

Silas put fingers inside both his ears, shook them violently as they started ringing loudly.

[Host, you're not on the required soul-affinity to hear the truth yet.]

'What the fuck, are you serious, system... ugh.' Silas's face curled up in an annoyed look, eyebrows frowned slightly.

[Yes, host. You should absorb more monsters to increase your affinity.]

'Yeah, blue idiot. You just want me to work and work and work and die because of the exhaustion, right?'

[Host, the training is for your own good; you were the one who was begging about being good in life, don't blame me.]

'Ugh... you're actually making sense.'

Silas then finally looked outside after a while. The snow elves, who were standing while making a circle around the bodies of the deceased elves, were now gone.

The bodies of the deceased elves were not there anymore either.

Silas scanned the area thoroughly to see if he could step out of the hole yet or not. After a while, he stepped out of the hole, but he was still keeping his guard up.

His hand at the hilt of his sword, which was tucked beside his waist.

'For god's sake, I'd definitely crash out if I encounter those fuckers now.'

Silas made his way a bit inside the dungeon. The surroundings now started to change slightly. The snowy fields changed into mountains covered in thick snow.

Tall trees were all over the place. There were some homes that felt like they belonged to a humanoid species.

"Houses? In a dungeon? What the fuck?" Silas got confused as he scratched the back of his head.

Silas scanned the surroundings, trying to find out if someone was trying to lure him there. 'Is it some kind of a trap? I know this much that the Snow Elves are smart creatures; they might have set the stage for me.'

Silas gulped as his grip on the sword tightened slightly. "System, what do you think. Will it be fine for me to go and search there?"

[Host, listen to me. You don't have to depend on me for everything; trust your gut. And yes, you don't have to be scared, just go and search there if you want to.]

Silas's teeth gritted, a vein popped up on his forehead, and his voice came low; the tone was filled with the feeling of pure hatred. "You fucking blue screen, I swear to god I'll malfunction you someday, mark my words."

He went closer to the house. When he reached there, he felt the presence of someone, someone who was not of a normal size.

Silas reached out to the back of a house to take cover as he peeked from the side of it, looking towards the centre of the small society.

There was a tail that was as big as a ten-foot-tall monster; it had black-dark fur on it, the snow was covering the top of its fur, and the tail was trembling slightly.

Silas gulped, but still chose to walk towards the tail. His steps were slow and deliberate, trying not to blow his cover.

His eyes were locked onto the front, and a small bead of sweat rolled down his temple.

When Silas finally reached close to it, he saw a huge beast that looked like a wolf, but not a normal one.

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