Alessio Leone's Perspective
The walk didn't take long.
After weeks crossing an endless tundra, ten minutes felt like nothing more than a blink, almost a cruel irony. But that was exactly it: in less than ten minutes, my boots touched different ground, and the landscape unfolded before me like a revelation.
Ahead of us, the narrow, winding mountain path opened into a wide field, a natural clearing carved by the wind.The ground was a massive sheet of ice, smooth as glass in some places and cracked like ancient crystal in others.Bluish fissures snaked beneath the surface, glowing softly, giving the place an almost sacred atmosphere.
The ice walls around us rose in colossal formations, sharp as natural blades.They towered like frozen spires reaching for the gray sky, some twisted by the wind, others so smooth they reflected the pale light like mirrors.The air here felt different.Denser, colder… more alive.
And then I saw it.
The cave.
It didn't look like a simple opening in the mountain. It was the gaping mouth of an ancient creature, frozen in time.Huge translucent stalactites hung from the ceiling like icy fangs ready to swallow any intruder.Old snow was trapped inside them, like dust imprisoned in crystal.The entrance was vast, wide enough for dozens of men to walk side by side, and inside there was a deep, blueish darkness, hypnotic… as if the cold itself had a color.
The wind passing through the cave made a strange sound. Not just a howl, but a distant lament, echoing and reverberating, like something inside was breathing very slowly.Every detail confirmed it: this was the place.The first door.The first trial.
I took a few more steps, slow and alert.Every crunch of snow under my boots echoed across the open field.Then I raised my hand, signaling for the group to stop behind me.
They froze instantly.Matteo tightened his grip on his staff.Hana reached for her quiver.Eleanor fixed her gaze on the darkness of the cave.Cassandra took a deep breath, like someone who could already sense trouble.
But I knew before they did.I felt it before they felt it.
I silently thanked my essence for the thousandth time.
As long as I was in a group, it would be very hard for any enemy to catch me off guard.Lion's Blood didn't give me strength alone. It gave me instinct.Perception.A sixth sense that pulsed beneath my skin whenever danger approached.
And now… it roared inside me.
My blood was boiling.Literally.Vitality raced through my veins like liquid fire, each heartbeat multiplying, each breath expanding into raw power.
That could only mean one thing.One single, inevitable thing.
The opponent hadn't shown its face yet.But it was close.Very close.
And in a matter of seconds, I would have to protect my team.
The first guardian was coming.
We heard it before we saw it.
The sound was deep, ancient, slow thunderous beats echoing through the cave like hammers striking the world itself.Each step reverberated through the ice, making the ground shake beneath our feet as small cracks spread across the frozen surface.
THUD.THUD.THUD.
The earth trembled.The air seemed to compress.And with every step, my instincts roared louder.
Then, finally, it appeared.
A colossal shadow stretched across the cave entrance, growing, taking form, until the faint sky light revealed the creature completely.
And even knowing exactly what to expect, my heart still sped up.
The beast was gigantic.Over three meters tall, but its presence made it feel twice that.Its body was made of massive plates of crystalline blue ice, so translucent they reflected the surrounding light in bright shards, as if it were carved from raw diamond.
Every edge of its body was as sharp as a blade.Its joints groaned like breaking ice, crack, crack, with each movement, releasing small frozen fragments that fell to the ground in a shower of crystals.
Its arms were long and brutal, ending in claws that looked like pillars of solid ice.When it placed one hand on the ground to advance, the impact made the entire clearing tremble.
But the worst were the eyes.
Two glowing slits, an intense electric blue, cutting through the frozen mist like malevolent beacons.And its face, if that could be called a face, held a grotesque expression of carved fury, with a serrated mouth that seemed forever on the verge of devouring something.
It was the personification of cold.Of brutality.Of the mountain's raw, merciless power.
As it emerged fully from the cave, snow and ice fell from its body like a miniature avalanche.Then it stood tall.Imposing.Unshakable.
The Guardian of the Cave.Watching us.Silent.Immense.
The largest creature any of us had seen inside the Black Tower so far.
I didn't need to look at my companions to know what they felt.Their breathing turned shallow.The air grew tense.And in their eyes, I saw exactly what I expected: shock, fear, and awe.
Unfortunately, I couldn't comfort them with the truth.If this beast looked enormous, in the future there would be monsters that would make this guardian look small.Creatures so big they could make mountains tremble with their presence.Entities that defied logic, form, and sanity.
But that was a story for another time.Right now, in front of us, there was only one obstacle.And if we wanted to keep advancing, conquer the mountain, and uncover everything it hid…
We would have to bring down the ice giant standing in our way.