The Frozen Path

The Frozen Path

The wind howled like a beast in pain, whipping through the towering pines as Jerry, Janice, Selene, and his bonded companions pressed forward into the mountains. The trees thinned as they ascended, their trunks gnarled and twisted from the relentless northern cold. Snowflakes drifted lazily from the sky, dusting their cloaks and fur.

Jerry kept his area detection pulsing outward, scanning for movement beyond their own. The Abyss had stretched its claws deep into the world, and after the horrors of the hollowed village, he wasn't about to be caught off guard.

Yet something gnawed at his senses—something wrong.

Vrkane was the first to notice it, his massive form halting as his ears twitched forward. Jerry felt the wolf's unease ripple through their bond. Something is here.

Bengala's muscles tensed as she sniffed the air. Not beast. Not man.

Selene stopped ahead of them, her green eyes sharp. "You feel it too, don't you?"

Jerry nodded, his gaze shifting toward the winding path ahead. "It's not just one presence. It's…" He paused, sorting through the tangled web of his instincts. "It's watching us."

Janice unsheathed her sword. "I really hate when you say things like that."

A shadow flickered across the snow-covered path.

Aviana screeched from above, banking sharply, her talons flexing.

Jerry's pulse quickened. "Move!"

The ground erupted.

From beneath the frozen earth, massive hands of blackened bone burst forth, clawing toward them with grotesque speed. The snow and ice shattered as twisted figures pulled themselves free—undead, their eyes hollow voids, their bodies wrapped in tattered remnants of armor.

They came in silence. No moans, no howls—just the sound of cracking ice and shuffling feet.

Abyssal constructs.

Selene moved first, her daggers flashing in the dim light. She danced between the creatures, her blades slicing through exposed joints, severing limbs before they could fully rise.

Bengala leapt forward with a deep, guttural roar. She moved with a fluid grace no normal beast could manage—her claws raking through corrupted bone, her movements precise and intelligent.

Vrkane was a storm of fur and fangs, his golden eyes glowing as he lunged, snapping a skeletal warrior's head clean off with a single bite.

Janice swung her sword in a precise arc, severing a creature's torso in two. "There's too many!" she shouted.

Jerry's hands burned with energy as he stepped forward. His bonds surged within him, amplifying his strength. He was no longer just a man fighting alongside beasts—he was becoming something more.

He raised a hand, and willed the world to bend.

A pulse of raw energy rippled outward. The air hummed, vibrating with unnatural force. The nearest undead warriors froze, their limbs locking as Jerry's power coursed through them.

Then, with a single thought, he crushed them.

Their bodies imploded in bursts of black mist, dissolving into nothingness.

But the others kept coming.

Selene cursed under her breath. "They're being controlled."

Jerry's eyes snapped to the ridgeline above them.

And there it was.

Perched atop a jagged outcrop of ice—a figure draped in abyssal robes, their skeletal face hidden beneath a hood of blackened silk. Chains coiled around their arms, dripping with an ethereal darkness that reeked of the void.

A lich.

The moment Jerry's gaze locked onto it, the lich raised a hand.

The dead surged forward with renewed aggression.

Vrkane snarled. Kill the master. The rest will fall.

Jerry didn't hesitate. He moved.

One moment he was on the ground—the next, he was airborne.

Aviana let out a piercing cry as she swooped down, catching Jerry mid-leap. Their bond melded in an instant—his thoughts became hers, her instincts became his.

They were one.

She beat her massive wings, carrying them upward toward the lich.

The necromancer's hollow gaze followed them, and for the first time, it spoke.

"Godling."

The voice was not human. It was a chorus of whispers, each one layered with ancient suffering.

Jerry narrowed his eyes. "That's getting old."

The lich raised both hands. The air froze.

Not just cold—absence. The warmth of life itself was stripped from the world as abyssal chains shot toward Jerry, twisting like living serpents.

He felt the void reaching for him. It wanted to pull him under.

But he had something more.

He tapped into the beast.

His muscles shifted, his strength surging as Vrkane and Bengala's raw power flooded through him.

His body twisted midair, avoiding the chains with unnatural speed. Aviana's wings flared, redirecting them in a heartbeat.

And then Jerry struck.

His claws—longer now, sharper—raked forward, cutting through the chains like paper.

The lich reeled back, its hood slipping to reveal a face that was not fully dead. Half-rotted, half-preserved.

Someone who had once been a man.

Jerry landed in front of it, the ice cracking beneath his feet.

The lich studied him, its hollow sockets flickering with something close to recognition.

"You… are not ready."

Jerry bared his teeth. "Try me."

He surged forward. His claws gleamed with raw power, his instincts melding with his bonds. He was fast—faster than anything human.

The lich raised its chains in defense—

Too slow.

Jerry's strike tore through the necromancer's chest, ripping abyssal energy free in an eruption of violet flame.

The lich staggered.

And Jerry saw it.

Not just a creature of the Abyss. Not just a pawn.

But someone who had once fought against it.

Someone who had lost.

For a split second, the void in its eyes cleared. A flicker of memory. Of pain.

"…Don't let it take you," it rasped.

Then the energy collapsed, and the lich's body disintegrated.

Below, the remaining undead warriors crumbled into dust.

The battle was over.

Jerry stood among the remnants, his breath heavy. His arms still trembled with raw power.

Janice approached cautiously, lowering her sword. "You okay?"

He exhaled. The glow in his eyes dimmed. "Yeah."

Selene sheathed her daggers. "That wasn't just a mindless undead. That thing knew you."

Jerry frowned. She was right.

And that was troubling.

Vrkane padded to his side, his golden eyes sharp. It called you godling. But it did not fear you.

Bengala rumbled low in her throat. Because it was once like you.

Jerry's fingers clenched.

Just what the hell am I becoming?

Aviana swooped down, perching beside him, her sharp gaze fixed on the darkened horizon.

North.

Toward the temple.

Toward Mike.

Jerry shook off the thought. He couldn't afford to hesitate now.

He turned to the others. "We keep moving."

Selene nodded. "We're close."

The wind howled as they pressed forward, the ruins of battle fading behind them.

But Jerry couldn't shake the feeling that he had just seen a glimpse of his own future.

And it terrified him.

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