The Frostbound Threat

The wind howled as they ventured further north, each step crunching over frost-laced grass that shouldn't have been frozen. The land was dying slowly—consumed by a creeping cold that moved like a living curse.

Kai's fire flickered low in his palm. It was dimmer here, less confident.

"It's like the flame fears this place," Ayaka whispered.

Ren's eyes scanned the landscape. "We're not just approaching the ruins… we're stepping into something's domain."

The Skyfang Temple stood like a wounded beast at the top of a shattered peak—its pillars cracked, its walls half-swallowed by time. Yet something about it pulsed… calling them.

As they climbed, snow fell—black as ash.

Inside the temple, the air was colder than death. Runes etched into stone glowed faint blue. Shadows moved between the broken statues.

Then they saw her.

Standing at the center of the temple's heart was a woman cloaked in shimmering ice. Her face was pale, but familiar. Her eyes—too much like Kai's—pierced through the gloom.

"Sister," she said softly.

Kai froze. "What…?"

Sora's voice echoed in his memory: one of them wears a familiar face.

Ayaka gripped her weapon tighter. "Who is she?"

But Kai already knew.

"She's me. Or… she was supposed to be me."

The woman smiled. "I am what you could have become, had you been chosen by the Cold instead of the Flame."

"I don't believe in fate," Kai replied sharply.

"You should. Because I'm here to claim what's mine. The world cannot have both of us."

As her hand lifted, spears of ice rose around them. Kai's flame flared in defense, but it trembled against the frost.

Ren lunged forward, blade drawn. "We don't have time for this—"

But the woman vanished in a blink of snow, only to reappear behind him.

"Then make time."

She struck, and the cold swallowed everything.