Snowstorms battered Frostwind for days without pause.
Visibility dropped to mere meters.
Supply caravans struggled.
Several roads became completely blocked.
Yet, under Arin's orders, work did not stop.
Engineers built heated shelters.
Lyra reinforced camps with thermal mana barriers.
Rynor organized rotating patrols to prevent exhaustion.
Slowly, stability formed.
One evening, Kael entered Arin's tent with urgency.
"My lord, scouts found something… strange."
He spread a map.
"In the northern mountains. Several villages disappeared."
"Monsters?" Arin asked.
"No," Kael replied. "No battle signs. No corpses."
Selene frowned. "Then what?"
"Empty," Kael said. "Like they vanished."
Arin's eyes narrowed.
"Prepare an investigation team."
At dawn, Arin led a small squad.
Rynor.
Lyra.
Selene.
Kael.
Ten elite guards.
They traveled for two days through blizzards.
On the third day, they reached the first village.
It was intact.
Houses standing.
Food still on tables.
Doors open.
No people.
Silence.
"It's like they walked away," Rynor muttered.
Lyra closed her eyes.
"I sense residual ice mana… very old."
They moved deeper.
The second village was worse.
Frozen blood on walls.
Claw marks.
But no bodies.
Suddenly, Kael froze.
"My lord… below."
He pointed.
A sinkhole had formed in the square.
Cold air poured upward.
Arin approached carefully.
Darkness stretched endlessly.
From below…
A low growl echoed.
The ground trembled.
Crack!
Ice shattered.
A massive creature emerged.
White-scaled.
Six-legged.
Glowing blue eyes.
An Ice Devourer.
Ancient monster.
Master-level threat.
"Formation!" Arin shouted.
Rynor charged.
Lyra cast layered barriers.
Selene summoned wind blades.
The beast roared.
Freezing mist spread.
Two guards froze instantly.
Arin felt the pressure.
This was far stronger than expected.
"Target the core!" he ordered.
They fought desperately.
Steel clashed with ice.
Mana exploded.
After a brutal struggle, Rynor pierced its chest.
The creature collapsed.
Silence followed.
Everyone breathed heavily.
"That thing…" Rynor muttered. "Shouldn't exist here."
Lyra nodded grimly. "It was sealed. Long ago."
Arin looked into the sinkhole.
"So something is awakening."
The system responded.
[SYSTEM PROMPT: Ancient Threat Detected]
[SYSTEM PROMPT: Regional Crisis Level – High]
[SYSTEM PROMPT: Hidden Quest Unlocked]
Back at camp, Arin studied old records.
Frostwind had once been a battlefield.
A prison.
For monsters.
And now…
The seal was weakening.
Far beneath the ice…
More eyes opened.