The four of them clambered up from the ground, looking around in confusion. Mountains loomed all around them. They found themselves in a mountain valley; black mountains with technologically crafted peaks housed elaborate buildings capped in white.
The damp, mossy ground was incredibly soft, soaking Chen Ke's suit pants. His leather shoes sank into the mud, and when he lifted his foot, water pooled in the shoeprint. In the distance, a green river gurgled down the valley, winding toward the slope at the valley's end.
The air was cold, not just from the usual chill, but because faint magic of the ice attribute was freely flowing through the atmosphere.
Sleery, Xu Jing, and Diana stood in front of Chen Ke. Diana wore a troubled expression: They had lost Lucina.
"Girl, if you stood steady earlier, Lucina wouldn't have died," Sleery said, looking at Xu Jing with a hint of blame.
