Inside the Frozen Corridor, the bone-piercing chill felt as if it could freeze the very soul. Kiriya's two phantoms, like pale blue shadows, slipped silently into the mist ahead.
Almost at once, a sharp screech rang out from within the fog. Several beings, shaped entirely from pure ice—the Crystal Shapers—had been roused. With jagged claws gleaming, they lunged toward the phantoms.
"Three on the left, two on the right. Ice Spike eruption countdown: three…" Mira's cold, emotionless voice sounded in Kiriya's ear, as if she were announcing something unrelated to herself.
Her crystalline staff gave the faintest twitch; in front of her, faint blue light flickered across the patterns in the frozen ground.
Kiriya gave no reply, only lowered his body slightly. The instant Mira's count hit "one," his figure blurred—Blink Step activated—and he dashed five yards sideways.
Crack!Boom!
Almost simultaneously, thick, razor-sharp ice spikes exploded from the spot where he had stood, bursting upward with lethal force.
His two phantoms, meanwhile, deftly pulled the monsters into just the edge of the spike's blast radius, so they too were grazed by the eruption.
"Path clear. Safety window: seven seconds. Eliminate them." Mira's command was clipped, as precise as machine code.
Her staff pointed forward; a frigid Ice Pulse shot out, striking one Crystal Shaper on the right. Its speed was sharply reduced, yet she made no follow-up attack, instead calmly watching Kiriya's next move—like evaluating the efficiency of a tool.
Kiriya understood perfectly. This probing lack of trust was no surprise to him. With both body and phantoms striking in unison, his sword hummed, dark energy wrapping around the blade as he carved into the elemental core.
–587! –587! –587! (phantoms' synchronized attacks)
–721! (Body · Weak Point Strike)
Efficient damage numbers floated up. The Crystal Shaper's core shattered, collapsing into shards of ice.
Mira's eyes lingered a moment on the numbers, but her frozen expression didn't soften. She simply called out the next spike countdown and the optimized route.
"Keep up. Next spike radius is larger, offset increased by fifteen percent."
Thus, the entire Frozen Path phase progressed in this chillingly efficient but emotionless rhythm. Mira's calculations were terrifyingly precise—every warning, every route, flawless.
Kiriya's execution was equally impeccable: evasion, strikes, and phantom control flowed seamlessly.
Twenty-eight ice elementals were dispatched in swift succession, yet the atmosphere between them was colder still than the winds of Everfrost Gorge.
At the corridor's end, a smooth, mirror-like wall of ice radiated killing frost, blocking their way.
"Second phase—Hall of Mirrors." Mira fixed her gaze on the wall, where their reflections slowly emerged… then twisted, tore away, and solidified into two icy doppelgängers identical in appearance, weapons, and staves replicated to perfection.
"Their skill modules are copied from our current combat data. Identification logic relies on subtle frequency differences in energy fluctuations.
The originals are steadier, more active; the copies, stiff and delayed. I'll mark the real ones and control them. You focus your strikes on the marked target."
Her tone was that of explaining a math problem, not a battle for life and death.
The Ice Mirrors attacked in unison. Kiriya's double summoned two blue phantoms that lunged at him, while Mira's duplicate raised its staff, conjuring a hail of icicles that filled the passage.
"Mark complete." Mira's staff tip flashed a faint blue beam, striking Kiriya's doppelgänger square on the forehead. A snowflake sigil shimmered there. "Prioritize elimination."
The true Kiriya willed his two phantoms forward; they hurled themselves at the enemy phantoms without fear. His body blink-stepped in, blade piercing directly toward the marked mirror's core.
–654! –701!
The copy's HP plummeted. Meanwhile, Mira refused to clash head-on with her double. Staff slamming down, she unleashed an Ice Chain, freezing the copy in place.
"Control duration: three point five seconds," she reported coolly, beginning to chant another spell.
Just as Kiriya and Mira were about to shatter the first doppelgänger, disaster struck. Mira's frozen copy broke free prematurely, staff raised high as surrounding frost converged wildly.
It was the cast of Global Ice Burst! Smaller in scale than the Lord's, yet in this narrow hall, still lethal.
"Interrupt it!" Kiriya barked.
"I know!" Mira shot back instantly, irritation edging her calm voice at this disruption.
Her chanting sped up. Multiple Ice Chains burst forth, binding both doppelgängers anew, severing the cast. "Stay with the plan. End this quickly!"
Kiriya said nothing more, only intensified his assault. Moments later, both mirrors shattered under their combined focus.
The ice wall collapsed, revealing the final, grand and perilous stage—Between the Thrones.
At the center loomed a colossal Frozen Throne. Rising from it was a massive form sculpted from eternal glacial ice: Glacriel, Frost heart, blue flames burning deep within its hollow eyes, glaring down upon the intruders.
Around the throne stood four Frost Guardians, larger, more solid, armed with ice-forged shields and spears. Their silent presence radiated suffocating pressure.
"Final stage. Execute the plan." Mira's speech quickened, voice heavier than before.
"The guardians' aggro will lock onto the greatest threat initially—me. I'll use Frozen Domain to forcibly draw them and slow them for twelve seconds. That is our only, and best, window. You must destroy at least two within that time, or else…"
She didn't finish, but her ice-blue gaze cut into Kiriya's, filled with rare gravity—and a resolute finality, as if wagering everything on a teammate she barely knew.
Before Kiriya could respond, she thrust her staff deep into the ice at her feet.
[Frozen Domain]!
An eruption of absolute cold blasted outward, forming a vast pale-blue field. All four guardians were instantly engulfed. Their movements slowed to a crawl, bodies crusted in rime. Hatred locked firmly on Mira. But the cost of such overwhelming power was steep—her mana plunged drastically.
Kiriya wasted not a heartbeat of this dearly-bought chance. Body and phantoms alike streaked forward like lightning tearing through a blizzard.
"Phantom Resonance!"
"Blink Step!"
"Phantom Slash!"
Blades shone, wrapped in shadow, striking mercilessly at joints and energy cores with maximum efficiency. Damage values erupted in a frenzy!
–701!
–823!
–745!
By the instant the zero-degree field collapsed, two guardians had crashed to the ground, shattering into frost! A third was already below half health!
Glacriel bellowed, a deafening roar. Its colossal palm slammed onto the floor.
A storm of icicles rained across the arena—High-Frequency Icicle Barrage!
"Evade quickly," Mira instructed tersely, raising a shimmering Ice Barrier with effort, blocking those aimed for herself and Kiriya's body.
Her breathing hitched, mana draining rapidly. Kiriya's phantoms dodged with elegant footwork.
The remaining guardians pressed forward again, but the threat had been drastically cut.
Kiriya repeated his dance—phantoms baiting, body flashing with blistering speed—while Mira's occasional Ice Chains locked them down. At last, every guardian was brought low, shattering into shards of ice.