Alone in the North (2)

The next morning, amidst a raging snowstorm outside, someone stirred inside the large tent. That person was Shiro.

As he stood up, he shivered slightly. It was freezing.

Shiro had quite a peculiar appearance—his eyes were purple, and his hair was gray. The reason behind his glowing violet eyes was the presence of his own bloodscript sigils within them. Anyone who looked closely could read the word "hex" written in an ancient language in his right eye, and spot the pentagram in his left eye—but you'd have to get really close.

Annoyed by the biting cold, Shiro used his Bloodscript Hex heritage to curse the surrounding snowstorm and frigid air.

Currently, there were two possible escape routes. One was to choose between Fogbound Grave and Deathsea—both were deadly zones—and cross the entire Undergarden on foot. Eventually, they would reach Verdant Requiem. Alternatively, they could try to find a monolith here in the Frozen Hollows, which was extremely unlikely. In this continent-sized land, they would need to locate one of the five monoliths. One monolith's location was known—each was named after its direction: north, south, west, east, and central. The central monolith was the easiest to find, likely located at the very center of the massive lake in the heart of Frozen Hollows. If they could reach it, it might help them escape.

Lastly, the most realistic plan was for Aria to skip ahead a few phases, obtain a Bloodscript related to reversing time, and use it to save them.

Each option was daunting. Even elite third-phase individuals had perished in this place. Second-phase survivors often returned half-dead. Escaping alive was nearly impossible.

Shiro, weighed down by these thoughts, retreated into a corner and began mumbling...

"We're all going to die, we're all going to die, we're all going to die, we're all going to die, we're all going to die..."

While Shiro mumbled, Onur also woke up. He had blond hair and eyes that resembled a mixture of yellow and orange. The tattoo he gained from his Berserker bloodline looked like a massive scar across his torso, with the word "berserker" inscribed in an ancient language.

As a prince, Onur usually wore elegant royal garments. But after what happened the day before, his clothes were torn and his hair disheveled. Anyone could tell at a glance that he wasn't just physically worn out—his mind was deeply affected.

After getting up, Onur pulled a lighter from his inventory, reignited the fire, and placed a pot on top. Naturally, as a prince, he had received lessons in many fields. Everyone here except Yuel had studied survival skills in Undergarden schools... well, maybe Shiro hadn't gone to school either. After all, he was just an experiment. He would have to ask him about it sometime.

Then Onur wandered around the camp and noticed a large chunk of ice. He summoned an axe from his inventory and struck it with full force. A massive crystal, probably five meters tall, cracked—and a smaller piece, about half a meter long, fell off.

Hearing the crash, Aria woke up. Her tent was on the opposite side from the boys and much smaller. Though she never admitted it, she was afraid to sleep alone. She had barely managed to fall asleep last night.

She yawned deeply. She had stayed up too late watching the scenery and then couldn't fall asleep while being alone. Though she wanted to sleep longer, Onur seemed to be preparing breakfast, so she had to get up. Her under-eye circles were still dark, screaming that she needed more rest. Nevertheless, she stepped out of her tent and sat by the fire. She wouldn't be sleeping more today...

Onur placed the crystal into the pot over the fire. It slowly melted into steaming water. He watched the water carefully... Once it was fully melted, he took out a piece of meat from a level-2 Dhune he had stored and placed it in.

He wasn't sure if the ice had turned into pure water, but he had healing pills—so even if it made them sick, it wouldn't be a big problem.

While they were preparing breakfast, Yuel was still asleep. But his peaceful dream was interrupted by Null. In complete darkness, he found himself conversing with a black owl. Though not with his mouth—his thoughts were spoken aloud thanks to his Whisper bloodline. Even in dreams, he had to use his bloodline to communicate, as he had completely lost his ability to speak.

"Null, how badly were you hurt? What happened? How can I fix this?"

"There's no way to fix it... Even though you're in phase five now, it's painful that I still can't tell you the truth. From now on, when you use percentage abilities, you'll have to endure the damage yourself. No matter how bad things get, you'll need to be careful. You're now valuable enough to bear the consequences. If you had done this when you were still insignificant, the damage would've spread across your body and erased you completely. You're lucky to have met someone like me instead of ending that way."

"Even if you can't tell me the truth, can I at least hear your real voice? I've always wondered."

"Alright then. If it hurts, just say so—I'll stop."

The owl flew onto Yuel's shoulder. Then, he heard a voice—unlike the warm, friendly man he was used to.

"It sounds clear, right? You can hear me?"

The voice was a strange blend of two things—on one hand, divine and comforting, and on the other, deceptive and sinister. It belonged to a girl—likely in her mid-twenties. Despite its beauty, the voice caused Yuel's ears to ache terribly. Even as a fifth-phase, one sentence was enough to make his ears ring and go numb.

"Please stop... My ears are hurting. I can't handle it... Phase five isn't enough!"

"Alright then. Looks like we'll stick with the usual."

Null's voice returned to the friendly tone of before.

Yuel asked the first question that came to mind.

"What's your real gender?"

"I knew you'd ask. No, I'm not actually male. I used this voice because it sounded most friendly to you. But I'm not happy about it. Did I ever give it away?"

"No. In fact, I really believed that voice was your true one."

"Well, now you know. Anything else?"

"How old are you?"

"Eh, well..."

Before Null could dodge the question, Yuel was woken up by Shiro for breakfast. Everyone gathered around the fire.

Even at the table, Yuel still carried his staff. The others didn't know much about him yet—especially that he had sacrificed his voice. Every time he "spoke," he actually used his staff to channel his bloodline. He moved his mouth only as a habit so it wouldn't look odd.

He wanted to ask Shiro for some spices—but when he opened his mouth, no sound came out. Confused, he looked at his staff... The crystal was broken.

'Null, forget that last question—how long has my staff been broken? The crystal's shattered!'

"That? You overused the white flames Luo gifted you the other day. They consume mana too. Yesterday, I took the damage for you, so I couldn't remind you. Your mana reserves had already been depleted while traveling in Frozen Hollows and talking with your friends. When you used it again... it cracked."

'Why didn't you warn me earlier?! How am I supposed to explain this? They don't even know I've lost my voice!'

"You'll have to find a way..."

'Ugh, fine. I'll figure something out.'

Yuel stood up. Onur had finished serving the food, Shiro was deep in thought, and Aria had already dozed off again.

Seeing Yuel rise, both Onur and Shiro turned to look at him, wondering what he was doing.

Yuel picked up a stick and scribbled something in the snow.

Shiro stood up, read it out loud:

"I need a mana crystal to speak. Mine is broken."

Yuel then turned and showed the cracked crystal on his staff to Shiro.

"I see... Then we need to get you a new one. Your Highness, I assume you have a spare? Could you give it to him?"

"Of course! We're friends, aren't we? Also, no need to be so formal—just call me Onur. We'll be stuck in this frozen hell together for a while anyway..."

After serving everyone, Onur walked over and handed Yuel a mana crystal—orange with red streaks, of fine quality.

All of them, including Shiro, Onur, and Aria, used crystal belts. You'd insert a crystal into the belt, and it would serve as a mana reservoir. Yuel, however, always carried his staff. Now, without it, he simply held the crystal in his hand and spoke.

"Sorry I forgot to mention it. I made a pact with my bloodline and lost my voice. Since I have the Whisper heritage, I speak using mana. I must've overused it yesterday... Just realized the crystal broke."

"We'll be stuck in this freezing hell for a long time, so if you've got any secret weapons or tricks, now's the time to share them. In return, I'll cook for all of you every day. Trust me, it's not every day a prince cooks for you."

"Alright, I'll wake up Aria now."

"Yes, Shiro. Go wake her up. She'll miss breakfast otherwise."

After breakfast, they packed up the tents and sleeping bags. To better understand the Dhunes and Titans in the area, they kept observing them. Yesterday, the weather had been clear enough to see the horizon. But today, a snowstorm had begun, and worst of all—they could hear heavy footsteps in the distance. It was even colder than yesterday.

They had rested to regain their strength, but it also meant they'd fallen behind. While all the Dhunes moved west, they had stayed in place. If they delayed another day, the next would be even colder—and in just a few days, they might all die from the cold.

They weren't sure what to do. They walked into the storm, checking nearby Dhunes to see if any could be tamed. But most were either too weak or carnivorous.

Finally, Shiro claimed he heard something. A human voice—crying out.

Moments later, they all heard it too:

"Help me! Please, someone help!"

Who else could've been unfortunate enough to end up in these frozen plains?