Time seemed to lose its meaning within the frozen stillness of the tent, as though the world itself had paused in anticipation of what was about to unfold. The air, once dominated by that biting, merciless cold, now trembled with a different kind of pressure, something deeper, something that carried a quiet authority that none present could fully comprehend. Then, without warning, a sharp crack rang out, clear and piercing, slicing through the silence like a blade. It was followed by another, and then another, each one louder than the last, as fine fractures spread rapidly across the surface of the ice cocoon. Those fractures did not remain dull or lifeless, as they began to glow with a soft golden hue, and from within, something radiant pressed outward, as though it had been waiting for this exact moment to be released.
