My eyes met the target, and without wasting another second, I stepped forward, dodging attacks with a graceful dance of shadow steps. One after another, I closed the distance, and soon its frame was beside me. The creature's jaw snapped open, something blue shining deep within as it prepared another attack.

"Die..." My cold words reverberated through the walls. I raised my leg and slammed it upward into the creature's jaw. The attack detonated inside its skull, shards of ice spraying everywhere. My leg wasn't spared; sharp fragments pierced into my skin, but I didn't care. If I didn't try, I would die for sure in this frozen nightmare of paranormal and system games.

I didn't hesitate. While the creature was thrown off by its own attack and its head was splitting apart, but already beginning to recover, I slipped close and plunged my scalpel deep into its ribcage. The moment the blue crystal inside shattered, the most terrifying shriek I had ever heard tore out of all five of them. I pressed my hands to my ears, but it was no use; the sound stabbed straight into my skull.

The sound knocked me out. The world fell into darkness. So cold… I'm freezing… My body was still, but my mind clung to something. Consciousness drifted like a leaf on a frozen river. The frost wrapped around me gently, tenderly, like a mother cradling her child. It should have been comforting, but all I could think was: this is death. This quiet, this hush, this embrace. Death dressed in frost.

I knew I should resist. I should fight. But I couldn't anymore. My flame was gone, smothered by a world that never showed mercy. To think I would die like this again… so cold, so alone, swallowed by ice instead of fire.

A flicker of light bloomed behind my eyes. Faint at first, but growing brighter, as if something deep within me refused to extinguish. Was I still alive? Time stretched, warped, lost in the glacier of my thoughts.

Slowly, a light blue glow took shape in the darkness. Like a seed catching dim sunlight, it sprouted. A stem unfurled. A bud formed. Then, petal by petal, a crystal flower bloomed. Its beauty was unreal, a frozen miracle glowing with the brilliance of divinity. A frostborn star, crafted by the hands of gods.

It drifted closer, slow and silent, floating on an unseen wind, as if it had a purpose, a message. I reached for it, fingers half-numb, wordless. Hope, or something like it, stirred faintly in my chest. I no longer cared if it was dangerous. I just wanted to hold something beautiful, something that felt like it wanted me to live.

My fingertips touched the flower.

It was freezing cold. But I loved it. It felt like the right end, or perhaps a new beginning. Nature's way of saying, if you must go, at least go with beauty in your grasp.

But just as the frost claimed the final warmth in me, the system's voice cut through the void sharply, refusing the silence.

[Quest complete - {Kill the monster blocking your way}]

[Reward unlocked: Passive skill - {Soulfrost Transcendence}]

[Description: Your soul has merged with the Frost Spirit. Half your essence can now freeze the living with a thought; the other half can command the ice around you as if it were your own limb. When your emotions stir, frost will heed you.]

[Special Manifestation: {Frost Halo}]

[A radiant mana circle blooms behind your back when frost is invoked. Skills powered through this halo deal triple their normal damage, fortify your resistance to opposing elements, and leave lingering frost that gnaws at your enemies. The halo grows in power as you master your frost.]

[Warning: Further evolution possible. The true shape of your frost has yet to awaken.]

At the moment I thought death was the next friend waiting to greet me, something else reached out instead. The frost welcomed me, and the cold never felt so comforting. It wrapped around me like a perfect embrace, both warm and cold. If perfection were a person, she would be a beautiful woman with flawless features, and she would feel like this: dangerous, gentle, absolute.

My eyes grew clearer. The haze that blotted out reality began to pull back, and the cave returned to my sight. The icy ground stretched before me, slick and blue. Old bones lay scattered like remnants of forgotten battles. Something soft nudged against my cheek.

"Beelzebub?" I whispered. My voice came out weak, and pain pricked through every inch of me. My ears still rang, my head throbbed, I felt like I had been struck by a speeding truck.

I pushed myself up slowly, each movement dragging against fatigue. The small hamster stared up at me with worry written across its tiny expression. With effort, I managed to sit, and Beelzebub leapt into my lap, rubbing against me, comforting in its quiet way.

"I'm fine," I breathed, lifting a hand to pet him. My smile felt fragile, but real.

The entire chamber lay in chaos, shattered after the battle. Yet the ice still glowed softly, bathing the place in an ethereal blue light. It reminded me of LED lamps buried beneath the walls, casting that cold, otherworldly brilliance. It was the best comparison I could think of.

I stood, legs trembling from exhaustion. But the ice under my bare feet did not bite anymore. It felt almost soft, like grass on a summer morning, molded to the shape of my step. It was strange, considering how smooth and unforgiving it had been before. Yet now it welcomed me, and I felt at peace.

The ice felt a little too comforting, and it brought the system message back to mind.

"Don't be alarmed, little one. I want to try something…" I said softly to Beelzebub, gently placing him back on my shoulder. He clung there, small paws gripping the fabric.

I extended my hand and closed my eyes, reaching for the ice that surrounded us. If my soul truly transformed, then I should be able to feel the shift. With a single thought, something ignited behind me. I opened my eyes and glanced back.

There it was.

The frost halo spun slowly behind me, the shape of a glowing circle, turning counterclockwise at a steady, serene pace. It hovered ten centimeters behind my wings, thin as a memory but burning with brilliance. Blue light spilled out from it, tinting the cave with its hue, making the ice gleam like crystal caught under moonlight.

My right hand tingled gently. Then I felt a connection forming between me and the frost itself. It was indescribable, like friendship or love. You could not see it, touch it, or measure it, but you could feel it, curling tightly into your heart.

The ice around me began to loosen. It dissolved into a mist, rushing toward my palm in a torrent of pale frost. It flowed into me, running through my veins like cold blood, until it all gathered around my heart. I felt full. Full but not satisfied. Greedy. So I kept absorbing, step by step, letting the frost into me.

[Exploration: 35%]

I passed deeper into the cave, absorbing all the frost I saw.

[Exploration: 50%]

The cave no longer resembled anything man-made. Mounted walls of ice rose like prison bars, thick and ancient. It took longer with each step to absorb the frost, and suddenly I wondered if I was still in this world at all. Reality bent here. Nothing made sense anymore. It was like walking through the belly of a frozen mountain, not a simple cave in a hill.

At 60%, I felt the cold return. An unnatural cold. Even with frost flowing in my veins, even as I controlled it, this place began pressing in. It was too much. Too deep. Too otherworldly. My instincts screamed.

I knew another system quest was coming. I prayed it would not, but the system never cared what I wanted.

My fingers curled into tight fists. My breath sharpened. And on the 65% mark…

[New Quest received]

Fuck...

Once more, everything began to rumble. The ground beneath my feet vibrated with a deep, ancient force, and a sound like splintering glaciers echoed through the cave. Then, from the very ice I had been greedily absorbing like a crazed idiot, long, jagged fingers began to break through. Fingers of ice edged in frostbite blue, clawing their way up from the depths as if death itself had been buried here and wanted out.

I stared, wide-eyed, heart dropping into my stomach. The ice cracked wider, groaning under the weight of something awakening. Something immense. Something furious.

"I messed up…" I whispered.

I stopped absorbing immediately, trying to reverse it, but the frost I returned didn't stand a chance. The ice I pushed out simply reformed, and every pulse of my effort only seemed to make the cracks grow faster, spreading like a web across the walls and floor.

"Go back! Go back! I am not ready to fight yet!" I shouted, backing away from the forming shape. My hand stretched out helplessly, frost bleeding from my palm as I tried to undo what I had unleashed.

But it was too late.

No matter how much ice I returned, no matter how much mana I poured into restoring the seal, the creature beneath was moving too fast. Its fingers spread wide, crushing through the ice layers I had weakened, like a monster waking from centuries of dreamless sleep.

A system notification flickered across my vision.

[{Slay the Guardian of the Mountain} - has begun]

Great...

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