(Chapter 35)

Shyrveen stands up that was followed by Han Sen.

"... You won't heal this?"

"No, not yet... Let's go..."

Han Sen gulped but the heavy feeling in his heart was lifted after knowing that the creature is dead.

But he is still thinking about another worst thing that killed this creature to be frozen but not even releasing a little bit of cold air, and might be still lurking at the end of the cave.

In each one minute of their walk, they saw the body is getting bigger and longer, that after twenty minutes or so.

They reached the place of the cave which they're seeing the most incomprehensible thing in the universe.

There's an invisible wall that separating the worlds of the dark and eerie cave and the frozen and cold cave in front of them.

Both men looked at each other and observed the corpse of the creature, and noticed that it is in the much worst state, already inside of the ice crystal but it is so transparent and they can still see the detailed scales of the creature.

"... Maybe this barrier thing is extended to and on this outside body since it wasn't cut off to the inside body?..."

Han Sen concluded and pointed the whole body that in-between of both worlds.

"And maybe that's the reason too for why its freezing temperature was isolated inside of the corpse before knowing that it was the case, if once not touched..."

"... You have a point-..."

Shyrveen was thinking too but something made him stop speaking and stunned, which was noticed by Han Sen.

"Brother Shyr?..."

"... I need to move forward..."

"!!! Why? If you took even one step inside of that world, you will be frozen to death too, brother Shyr!"

"... But the thing is, brother Sen..."

Shyrveen stared at the world of ice before shifting to look at Han Sen, and pointed at his temple and continued.

"... It spoke for the second time... It said that I'll be okay because the cause of that phenomenon is what we have on Earth... An energy called Mana... And my body was already familiarized with the energy but because of certain circumstances... It was draining out from my body..."

"... So, that's the reason why you weren't this 'awakened' yet?"

"Yeah... So, I think I need to go inside alone... I'll share with you some treasures within later... For sure there should be some, since this thing is looking very well planned..."

Han Sen nodded to what Shyrveen said because it really made sense.

"Alright, should I wait here?..."

"... You may, but once the time is too much longer and I'm still not out yet. You can continue your things first... Oh, take care of my Beast Souls too... They might be frozen unexpectedly since they weren't from my world."

"... Got it... Good luck, brother Shyr!... See you soon..."

"See you soon too..."

Shyrveen only nodded and started to walk towards the edge of the dark and eerie cave, released a deep sigh.

The moment he takes his first step in the frozen cave, his shoe, and pants on that leg started to be frozen, ice is crawling upward to his body, covering his whole body in ice.

That made Han Sen panic and decided to pull Shyrveen back, out of the ice world. But he heard Shyrveen saying he's still alive and that his body needs to adapt to sudden intake of dense Mana.

After fifteen minutes, the ice that has been covering Shyrveen's body started to melt and he's back to normal, except for his paleness.

'Still doable...'

And took his second step, third step, and another step, until he reached the end of the cave that is a chamber.

There's an ice throne in the middle area, where a transparent but still describable shard that is floating inside of the ghostly figure's chest that sitting on the throne.

He looked around and found another two things, the head of the very big creature that was frozen with an open jaw, and a blue crystal, with a size of adult's fist that looks like it came out from the creature's mouth.

He walked and crouched to pick up the blue crystal and glance at the big very head of the creature, as if it was frozen in that position while intending to eat shard including the ice throne.

'... This is more like the real dragon compared to Dragon Tadpole... And I'll just be a foreign matter between its teeth once I am eaten by this kind of creature if this thing is still alive... Is this the stage above Sacred-Blood?...'

Then he shifted his eyes to the blue crystal back to the frozen head and finally inspected the crystal and thinking.

'... Is this like the black stone of what Han Sen had?... If this thing came out of that creature... This will be like a magic core then... Wait... If this and the black stone can be consumed by creatures... Then humans should gain something from this too? Since human is only a specie but still a creature too, right...'

He ponder for what he will do for fifteen minutes again, before staring at the shard on the throne.

'... If I took that Soul Shard, my body will adapt to what it has... And for sure I'll be put into a coma again... Then better to check this crystal first...'

Shyrveen thought and slowly took a bite but his teeth isn't budging or sinking into the crystal, and thought that he was like an idiot thinking that something is worthwhile with the crystal.

But fortunately, his tongue licked once the edge of the crystal and he heard the voice inside his mind again.

'Tyrant Sea Serpent's life essence was consumed. One Super Geno Point gained.'

"..."

Shyrveen was stunned and repeatedly saying the word 'Super' in his mind until he realized what it means.

'So... Sacred-Blood wasn't the limit of these creatures...'

He looked back again at the frozen sea serpent.

'... This thing should be living under the lake but curiously felt a weird energy which was the Mana and followed it until reaching this point. But was frozen to death because of the Soul Shard... Detecting an intruder to its territory... Did Eggie put a failsafe on the shard and now the ice world is the effect of it?...'

Then his eyes went back again to the crystal and started to lick it like a lollipop and stop once he knew that it was reduced to half.

'I should bring this to brother Sen... I already got 9 Super Geno Points from this... And seeing the surrounding... There wasn't even a piece of treasure here... And I already promised him.'

He put the half-eaten Life Essence in his inventory and decided to put the corpse of the creature too.

Outside, Han Sen saw the body disappeared and gladly relieved that his friend is still alive. And started to eat some of the Mutant fish meats while waiting for Shyrveen.

But before he can have his first bite, a sudden shivering cold air embraces his body and made him looked at the ice world hurriedly and his eyes started to get wider and took a step back.

He saw the ever silent ice world is starting to crawl slowly towards him and he took another step back, he throws the fish meat into it and shocked that the meat was instantly covered in ice and shattered once meet the ground.

"Brother Shyr!!!"

Han Sen shouted repeatedly while stepping back until he reached the point of the cave where they came in.

"Brother Shyr!!!"

Clenching his fist and took his one last glance in the cave and dive again into the water and saw that the ice world went faster after touching the water and he hurriedly summoned the mutated Obsidian Dragon Beast Soul and his Golden Black Beetle Beast Soul to swim faster.

He got out of the crack and saw the panicked fishes that saw him too, but the fishes ignored him as they were busy swimming away from the gap too.

He reached the shore and move away to keep his distance away from the ice and finally saw the whole situation is a little bit.

'Out of this universe...'

He mumbles while he's massaging his forehead, for three things.

First, he is still worried about his friend even though, what Shyrveen said to him is making him stop to go back.

'... If this is what you mean adapting to that energy... What kind of Earth you're living at then, brother Shyr?...'

Second, he's thinking about what he will say to Yang Manli about Shyrveen's whereabouts without exposing or telling them about the things related to Shyrveen.

Third and lastly, the one-fourth of the lake, the ground, the trees from the forest nearby to the crack was consumed by the ice world.

He saw the phenomenon is too weird because, the world of ice is like a dome, not even reaching the clouds in the sky.

He can see some freezing wind carrying little icicles to anywhere inside of the dome.

'... Just a little stronger and that wind will be an ice storm soon... Fuck... Qin Xuan and Yang Manli will kill me...'

Inside the cave.

A few minutes ago before the thing happened outside.

Shyrveen grabs the Soul Shard but only to be confused for he can't grab it, and tried to make his hand grab the shard in any direction but he really can't.

'... It's like a hologram...'

And stared at the ghostly figured that still sitting and thought.

'Should I take a seat then?...'

That he do so, and once he position his limbs to what the ghostly figure looks like.

He started to feel the coldness that is biting him everywhere in his whole body, he endured the pain from the ice killing his body tissues, that soon he found himself standing on the snowy prairie with an endless mountain range surrounding the said prairie.

'... Another place that looks like where I met Eggie and Irveen?...'

Outside, where his real body is sitting on the ice throne, is now enveloped by a transparent ice block that soon spread into the cavern walls and now froze the whole cave tunnel to the one-fourth part of the lake outside and the ground above his head, and made a weird phenomenon.

Back to the unknown snowy prairie.

Shyrveen looks around and explored the place.

Soon, he found the same exact figure that was sitting on the throne but now much more detailed and realistic.

That was sitting on crossed legs with closed eyes, as if he was meditating.

"... Sir?"

He greeted and tried to disturb the man from what he is doing to ask for where he is, but only to be answered by silence.

Shyveen scratches his head and took a seat on the snowy field facing the man, he observes him and waited for something to happen, but he waited and waited for nothing until he got an idea.

He mirrored what the man is doing, crossed legs, closed eyes, and started to focus on his senses.

But he doesn't know what to find or to sense.

'... Wait... Nightmare... Alley was the cave's tunnel... My siblings turning to monsters should be the creature?... But how?... Nevermind that... Cold winds would be the sign for the ice world?... So, I need to focus on sensing the Ice Element or Mana?...'

After making some conclusion he decided to feel not the cold feeling from the snow, or the freezing feeling from low temperature, but something that should be the cause of this miniature ice world to happen.

At the Steel Armor Shelter.

Han Sen was depressed too, he feels so guilty while being worried too for his friend.

Qin Xuan and Yang Manli are pointing fingers at him that he should bring them to where he left Shyrveen behind.

But Han Sen strongly declined to say about it and accepted the beating from two angry tigresses.

He was confined in Shyrveen's room for three days now and staring at the ceiling, and thinking about the murmurs in the whole shelter about the weird place that in the Ethereal Loch.

Yesterday, he heard from the passing by members of the gang, that someone was escaping from the creature's hot chase on his ass and ended up coming to the Ethereal Loch. This someone, claimed that he already prayed for his last seconds before he noticed the creatures that chasing him ran away instead.

He thought that it was because of him but only to realize that there's a weird phenomenon that is happening on the other side of the lake.

This idiot was cautiously looking around for the creatures and stayed away from the water since he knew the legend of the lake too.

But, the reason why he was called an idiot by Han Sen because the said person was carelessly step in the boundaries of the ice world and instantly froze his shoes including his feet.

With the fear of dying by being frozen alive. The person decided to cut off his foot to stop the spreading of the ice on his body and ran away from the lake back to the shelter in one foot and two hands.

'... What really an idiot... Knowing that there's a weird phenomenon on his very eyes, but ignore it instead... Haa... Wait... If that's the case, then Steel Armor Gang will be in danger too! Shyrveen might kill me if something happened to Yang Manli now!... Ugh! Fuck!'

Han Sen stands up and harness his Genes to destroy the locked doorknob and hurriedly went to the office of Qin Xuan, and sighed in relief that he saw them that still only preparing to leave...