Chapter 4: Cold Blood

Chapter 4: Cold Blood

The air changed the moment Alex stepped onto the second floor.

It wasn't just colder — it was sharp. Every breath bit at his lungs. Mist clung to the stone like frostbite, curling along the floor and climbing the walls. The red glow from the cracks was dimmer here, replaced by a pale blue light that shimmered across the ceiling like frozen glass.

His footsteps echoed in the quiet.

This isn't just another stone maze… it's colder. Slower.

The first step down nearly buckled his leg. His body was still wrecked from the boss fight. His right arm trembled when he tried to lift it, and every rib felt like it had been carved out and stapled back in.

He kept moving anyway.

The tunnel narrowed, winding through jagged ice-covered walls. Moisture condensed on his skin and froze almost instantly. His breath came in shallow clouds.

If it stays this cold, I won't last long.

His clothes were already torn to hell — the exposed parts of his skin were turning raw. His joints stiffened with each step.

He needed shelter. Something warm. A break.

But the dungeon didn't offer breaks.

A sharp crack echoed in the distance.

Alex dropped low behind a slab of frost-covered stone, pressing his back to it. He listened.

Nothing.

Then another sound — softer this time. A low scrape, like claws dragging across ice.

He turned the corner and saw it.

A creature crouched against the far wall, covered in slick, white scales. Its limbs were long and bent backwards, like an insect or a spider, and its face had no mouth — just a thin vertical slit pulsing with breath.

Its body shifted in the mist, blending with it.

It hadn't seen him yet.

Alex tightened his grip on the scrap-shield strapped to his arm. The blade he had was dull and chipped. His transformation was still locked — the mana in his body hadn't recovered.

I have to fight without it.

He moved quietly, stepping around the frost patches.

But the creature froze.

Then it turned — not with its head, but its whole body — locking onto him in an instant.

It shrieked.

The thing launched itself forward.

Alex raised the shield just in time. The creature's claws slammed into it with a clang that shook his arm to the shoulder. He staggered back, trying to keep his footing on the slick stone.

It came again — faster.

He rolled to the side, barely avoiding the second strike, and slashed across its leg.

The blade bit in — barely — leaving a thin line of blood.

The creature hissed and twisted, its movements jerky and unnatural.

Alex backed away, breathing hard.

It's too fast. I'm not recovered yet.

It lunged.

He caught it with the shield again, this time driving his shoulder forward to knock it off balance. It slid back across the ice, claws scrambling for grip.

He charged it — shield up — and slammed it into the wall.

A crunch.

It shrieked, flailing, its claws tearing into his side. He roared through the pain and drove the blade into its throat.

The slit-mouth split open, spraying freezing blood across his face.

The creature dropped.

Alex collapsed to one knee, holding his side.

The wound was shallow — but the cold made it feel deeper.

He sat there for a minute, trying to catch his breath. His limbs were going stiff again. His heartbeat was slowing — not from fear, but from the temperature dragging everything down.

I can't survive long like this.

He looked around. There were no torches. No fires. Nothing but ice and monsters.

But then — he saw it.

A hollow space near the edge of the wall, hidden behind a cluster of frozen debris.

A small cavern.

He crawled to it, dragging his body forward, leaving streaks of blood and breath behind him.

Inside, it was dry. No frost on the walls. No mist.

And more importantly — there was a heat crystal lodged in the corner. A red shard, pulsing softly. Old tech? Dungeon relic?

Didn't matter.

He crawled close, curled around it, and let himself breathe for real.

He didn't sleep.

He couldn't.

But he rested.

And when the warmth finally reached his bones again, he whispered to himself:

"Just a little further."

"Just until I can stand without shaking."

"Just until I can kill the next one."