The hidden passage from the third spire yawned open, its icy walls narrowing into a tunnel that sloped upward, the air growing colder with each step. Qin Mo led the way, the Frostflame Core's heat a flickering shield against the chill, the bells' chime from his pouch a constant, nagging pull. The FFD System buzzed faintly, its warning a low hum in his mind.
[FFD System: Frostflame Balance: Heat 30% / Cold 70%.]
The tunnel's runes pulsed brighter, casting a blue glow that danced across the ice, and the team moved in tense silence, their breaths fogging in the frigid air. Lian clutched the rune-carved stone from the guardian's remains, her relic humming with a faint energy that seemed to guide her steps. Ren trailed behind, supporting Wei, whose pale face was streaked with frost, his breathing shallow but steady. Yi's frost threads coiled at her sides, her eyes sharp with lingering rage, while Ling Shou brought up the rear, his frost-white robes stained and his expression unreadable.
The tunnel opened into a vast chamber, its ceiling lost in shadow, its floor a mosaic of cracked ice and ancient carvings. At the center stood a frostbound altar, its surface etched with chains that glowed with a sickly green light. The air thickened, and a low hum filled the space, the bells' chime syncing with the altar's pulse. Qin Mo's shard thrummed in response, the binding risk creeping higher, and he felt a chill that went beyond the cold.
[Binding risk: 40%.]
Before he could react, Ling Shou stepped forward, his hands raised, frost swirling around him. "This is where it began," he said, his voice heavy with a weight that stopped the team in their tracks. "The Silent Tax forged its chains here, and I helped them." The confession hung in the air, a bombshell that shattered the fragile trust they'd built.
Yi whirled on him, her threads flaring. "You what?" she snapped, her voice trembling with betrayal. "You're one of them?" Ren's grip tightened on his daggers, his eyes narrowing as he shifted Wei behind him. Lian's hand went to her relic, her stance wary, while Qin Mo's blade rose, the Frostflame Core surging with heat and cold.
Ling Shou's gaze dropped, his shoulders slumping. "Years ago, I was a bellkeeper, bound by the Tax to enforce its will," he said, his voice rough. "I rang the bells that called the frost, that claimed lives—yours included, Yi. But I broke free, and I've fought to undo it since." He met Qin Mo's eyes, his own filled with a mix of guilt and resolve. "The shard is my redemption—or my curse."
The altar's chains rattled, green light flaring as if responding to his words. Shadows shifted, and frostborn enforcers emerged, their forms clad in ice armor, their spears glinting with frostfire. The fight erupted without warning, the enforcers charging with a synchronized roar. Qin Mo met the first, his Frostflame Blade clashing with a spear, the impact sending sparks flying. The heat of his strike melted the ice, but the cold surged back, testing his limits.
Yi's threads lashed out, wrapping around an enforcer's legs and yanking it down, her movements fueled by anger. "You don't get to atone that easily!" she shouted, her threads tightening until the ice cracked. Ren darted in, his daggers flashing as he struck another enforcer's side, the blow drawing a hiss of steam. Lian's arrows flew, each shot piercing an enforcer's armor, her relic's energy amplifying her aim.
Ling Shou raised his hands, frost swirling into a barrier that shielded the team, but his focus wavered, his confession weighing on him. "I can break the altar," he said, his voice strained. "But it'll cost me." Qin Mo nodded, trusting the moment over the past, and charged the altar, the Frostflame Surge erupting in a wave that shattered the chains' outer layer.
The enforcers pressed harder, one breaking through the barrier and thrusting its spear at Qin Mo. He parried, the Frostfang Strike cutting deep, the shard devouring the essence. Yi's threads pulled another down, while Ren's daggers finished it, the ice dissolving into mist. Lian's final arrow struck the altar's core, the relic's energy resonating with a crack that split the stone.
The chamber shook, the green light fading as the altar crumbled, its chains dissolving into ash. Ling Shou staggered, blood seeping from his nose, his barrier collapsing. "It's done," he gasped, collapsing to his knees. The enforcers vanished, the bells' chime softening, but the team's trust was fractured, their eyes on Ling Shou a mix of suspicion and pity.
Qin Mo lowered his blade, the shard stabilizing, the cold receding slightly. "We need to know more," he said, his voice firm. Ling Shou nodded weakly, the weight of his past a chain he couldn't yet shed. The chamber's runes pulsed, a new path opening, and the team moved forward, their unity tested but unbroken—for now.