Whispers Beneath The Ice

The wind howled like a ghost trapped between time itself.

It wasn't just cold—

It felt like time had frozen mid-breath.

Aren tightened his jacket and narrowed his eyes toward the glowing crack in the ice. A faint bluish light shimmered beneath the frost.

Aren (softly):

"Tumo… this ice doesn't feel like just ice…"

Tomo, blinking softly on his shoulder, let out a low-frequency buzz.

Tomo:

"Confirmed. This isn't ordinary ice, bro… It's holding memories. But they're not ours."

Aren hesitated for a moment before pressing his hand against the frozen surface—

And suddenly,

a flash exploded in his mind.

A little girl screaming…

The Spiral symbol flickering…

And a masked figure dissolving into thin air.

Aren (startled):

"Whose memories were those…?"

Tomo (slightly panicked):

"This land is packed with fractured timelines… Anyone who stays too long might lose pieces of their own past."

Then came a faint, chilling voice—

like it echoed from beneath the ice.

??? (muffled):

"You've come again… Aren…"

Aren quickly raised his rod, eyes sharpening.

Aren:

"Who's there?! Show yourself!"

Beneath the ice, a reflection took form…

Echo.

Echo (voice through the ice):

"You'll forget everything, Aren… just like I did."

Tomo (blinking rapidly):

"Bro, it's Echo! But… he's trapped beneath the time layer?"

Aren (tense):

"He said I'll forget… Is this land stealing our memories?"

At that moment, Aika arrived behind them—her hand gripping an old, cracked dagger that pulsed faintly.

Aika:

"You two… You hear it too, right? The voices…"

Aren:

"You can hear them too?"

Aika (softly):

"They whisper… 'Time will bury all truth'…"

For a brief moment—

the world went still.

Even the wind held its breath.

Tomo (alerted):

"Bro! Something else is under the ice… an ancient seal. A Spiral Seal."

Aren:

"A seal? You mean something's sealed here?"

Tomo (gulping):

"Or maybe something's about to break free…"

The ice started to crack…

A faint shimmer revealed a hidden chamber below.

A broken Spiral mark was etched deep within—

radiating a faint warmth despite the frost.

Aika (in awe):

"That's… a Spiral Memory Gate. Whoever touches it… will either lose everything—

or uncover everything."

Aren stared down at it.

His voice was calm. Focused.

Aren:

"Then let's see… what I'm willing to lose."

The scene faded into black.

And a final line etched itself into the silence—

> "The ice remembers… what time wants to forget."

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Chapter 3 – End