In a frost-lit chamber, a mont face figure knelt before a bell, its surface etched with runes of forgotten gods. The Silent Tax had watched for centuries, collecting debts in blood and souls. The bells were its seals, binding the mountain's heart, a spark of the old gods locked in frost and fire.
[Record: The Silent Tax, born when gods fell, claims fragments to wake what sleeps.]
The figure's fingers traced the runes, their glow pulsing like a heartbeat. The wolf king's fall had stirred the bells, its core now bound to a boy—Qin Mo. His shard was a key, one of nine, to unlock the gods' prison.
The bells chimed, sharp and cold, their sound reaching the boy in the snow. The Tax would not forgive his debt.
[Alert: Shard-Bearer detected. Binding initiated.]
The figure rose, their cloak blending with the frost. Qin Mo's path was set, and the bells would lead him to the Tax—or to his end.
—To Be Continued in Volume I—