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A trail carved deep into the snow stretched across the icy landscape. At the end of it, Venom trudged forward, leaving heavy footprints behind.
He moved quickly, scanning the endless mountains of ice around him, his expression twisted with frustration.
So far, he still hadn't found a single trace of human activity.
Just as he was grumbling to himself, the ground began to tremble again.
"Here we go again…"
Venom didn't flinch. Even with the tension thick in the air, he kept his usual calm.
Not far away, the smooth snow began to bulge upward, rising slowly as if something dangerous was about to crawl out from underneath.
A guttural roar ripped through the cold air.
A massive, four-legged lizard burst out of the ground.
Its body was covered in a thick coat of fur, and beneath it glowed a pair of blood-red eyes. At the tip of its tail dangled a strange, fleshy ball that looked unsettlingly dangerous.
It crouched low, hissing, tail swinging as if trying to scare Venom off.
But Venom didn't even blink. He'd run into plenty of these things on the way here.
His skin rippled, hardening into black armor, and he strode forward without hesitation.
The lizard hissed again and opened its jaws wide, spewing a blast of icy wind. The freezing air engulfed Venom before he could move, sealing him in a block of ice.
The beast snarled, lifting its heavy tail. With a powerful swing, it hurled the fleshy club straight at the frozen figure.
But just as it was about to connect, the ice shattered. A black hand shot out, clamping down on the swinging tail.
The lizard's eyes widened in shock. It yanked hard, trying to pull its tail free, but no matter how it struggled, it couldn't break Venom's grip.
Venom's grin spread across his jagged teeth as he tightened his hold. With a sudden swing, he slammed the creature into the ground.
Once. Twice. Again and again, until the snow was splattered with blood. Then his hand morphed into a blade, and with a single stroke, he hacked the beast's tail clean off.
The lizard howled in agony, realizing too late this was a fight it couldn't win. It tried to scramble away, dragging its mangled body across the snow.
Venom leapt, landing hard on its back, pinning it under his heel. With no hesitation, he drove his blade deep into its body.
The monster thrashed desperately, but after a few moments its movements slowed, then stopped altogether.
"Giant creature slain. Seventy life points gained."
The voice of the system echoed in Venom's head.
He ignored it. His blade melted back into black liquid and slid up his arm as he pulled it free of the corpse. Without sparing the body another glance, he started walking again.
Roars echoed in the distance, animalistic and savage.
Venom paused to listen but didn't bother changing direction. Beasts could fight all they wanted. That wasn't his problem.
"Daddy, you can do it!"
He froze.
That hadn't been a roar. If his ears weren't deceiving him, that had been a human voice.
After hours trudging through this frozen wasteland, he couldn't just ignore that chance. Even if he wasn't sure, he had to check.
Venom turned sharply and sprinted toward the sound.
Up ahead, a huge mammoth was thrashing wildly, snow flying with every step. And clinging to its thick fur—unbelievably—was a man.
The man was climbing higher, gripping the shaggy hide with one hand while clenching a crude bone dagger in his teeth.
As he fought to keep hold, the mammoth bellowed and bucked, desperate to throw him off.
On the snowy ground nearby stood a little girl with silver-blue hair and piercing blue eyes. She clasped her tiny fists and whispered anxiously to herself:
"Daddy, you can do it!"
The mammoth's gaze flicked toward her. Its eyes flared red.
With a furious trumpet, it charged at the girl.
The man on its back stiffened. His head snapped up, and his face went pale.
"Esdeath! Get out of the way!" he shouted, plunging the dagger deep into the beast's hide to drag its attention back to him.
The mammoth roared, even more enraged by the stab.
Esdeath stood her ground, pulling a weapon from her belt and raising it, ready to fight.
But in front of the mammoth's towering bulk, her small frame looked like nothing more than an insect.
Fear rippled through her chest, but she lifted the blade anyway, refusing to back down.
The mammoth reared, front legs rising high. Its shadow loomed over her like a mountain before it came crashing down.
"Esdeath!!" her father cried.
The earth shook with the impact.
"....."