The air in the Third Circle of the Necropolis didn't just feel cold; it felt dead. As Ren stepped out of the Hall of Whispers, the stone corridor opened up into a vast, subterranean cavern that defied the laws of nature. Above him, instead of a ceiling, there was a swirling vortex of grey clouds, and below, a garden made entirely of crystalline ice and silver frost.
[Notice: You have entered the Third Circle: The Frozen Garden of Despair.] [Environmental Hazard: 'Soul Frost' active. Movement speed decreased by 15%. Mana regeneration increased by 20%.]
Ren's breath came out in a thick white mist. Even with the Void energy coursing through his veins, the cold here bit into his skin like invisible needles. Behind him, his three Abyssal Sentinels stood like statues of obsidian, their purple eyes scanning the frozen landscape for any sign of movement.
"A garden in a tomb..." Ren muttered, his voice muffled by the Mask of False Divinity. He reached out to touch a frozen rose, but the moment his finger made contact, the flower shattered into a thousand jagged glass shards.
[Warning: Host's presence has been detected by the Garden's Keepers.]
The ground beneath the silver frost began to vibrate. From the icy soil, figures began to emerge—pale, slender creatures with skin like polished marble and hair made of flowing white mist. They were beautiful, in a haunting, macabre way, but their eyes were empty sockets dripping with frozen tears.
[Monster: Frost-Weaver Banshee (Level 15 - Rare)] [Trait: 'Shatter Touch'. Every hit has a 10% chance to freeze the target's limbs.]
"Beautiful... yet rotten," Ren sneered. "Just like the priests in the Holy City."
The Banshees let out a synchronized wail, a sound so sharp it could crack diamond. The soundwaves hit Ren like a physical wall, forcing him to slide back. But the Abyssal Sentinels didn't flinch. They stepped in front of their master, their heavy shields pulsing with dark energy.
"Sentinels, Form 1: Iron Shadow!" Ren commanded.
The three shadows slammed their shields into the ground, creating a wall of darkness that absorbed the Banshees' sonic attacks. While the monsters were focused on the front line, Ren vanished into a patch of shadow beneath a frozen tree.
[Skill Initiated: Void Step - Phase II.]
He reappeared in the air, directly above the lead Banshee. His hand was no longer a fist; it was a claw of pure, concentrated Void energy.
"Die," he whispered. He plunged his hand into the Banshee's chest. Instead of blood, shards of blue ice exploded from the wound.
PART 2: THE FALLEN SAINT
Seraphina did not attack immediately. She stood there, a fragile entity yet radiating a pressure that caused the ground around her to crack from the sheer intensity of the cold. The sword in her hand—Rose of Purity—once a symbol of hope, was now covered in a layer of pitch-black ice, trembling as if it were weeping for its master.
[Warning: Zone Boss - Sinful Seraphina (Level 25 - Corrupted Hero)] [Status: Soul-Bound. She cannot die unless the Ice Core is destroyed.]
"You... too are a child of the Light..." Seraphina's voice echoed, raspy and fragmented. "Run... before the frost... freezes your very soul."
"Light?" Ren sneered, his laughter echoing throughout the frozen garden. "I threw that trash into the gutter the moment they broke my bones. I didn't come here to be saved, Seraphina. I came to liberate you... by destroying you."
[Skill Activated: Void Surge!]
Ren vanished. This time, his speed was so great that he left behind pitch-black afterimages. The three Abyssal Sentinels lunged simultaneously, forming a lethal pincer maneuver. But Seraphina, even in her corrupted state, was a master swordswoman. She swung her blade, and a circle of frost erupted, blasting the three shadow soldiers back like ragdolls.
CLANG!
Her ice blade clashed with Ren's arm, which was now coated in dense Abyssal energy. The shockwave from the collision blew away every frozen flower in the vicinity, creating a dead zone of pure conflict.
"Fast," Ren hissed through gritted teeth, feeling the cold trying to seep through his mask to freeze his very breath. "But the speed of a corpse isn't enough to touch me!"
[New Skill: Shadow Extraction - Overdrive!]
Ren wasn't just using shadows to summon; he began to extract the shadows from the environment itself. The entire garden suddenly plunged into darkness. The shadows of the frozen trees began to elongate, coiling around Seraphina's legs like black serpents.
"Sentinels! Sacrifice!" Ren ordered ruthlessly.
His three shadow soldiers did not hesitate. They charged straight at Seraphina and self-detonated.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Three consecutive explosions of Void energy created a small black hole exactly where Seraphina stood. Her ice armor shattered, revealing blackened wounds on her porcelain skin. Seraphina collapsed to one knee, her sword plunged deep into the earth to maintain her balance.
"Why... do you carry... such immense hatred?" Seraphina looked up at Ren, her eyes momentarily showing a flicker of sanity.
Ren stepped forward, each footfall shattering the ice beneath him. "Because it's the only thing they left me with. You were a Saint, weren't you? You saved tens of thousands, right? And look how they repaid you. They threw you down here, turning you into a lapdog to guard their filthy secrets!"
Ren reached out, his Void energy manifesting into a long, violet-black blade. "You are proof that sacrifice is meaningless. I will end this suffering. Not out of kindness... but because I need your strength!"
[Finishing Move: Void Execution!]
Ren plunged his blade through Seraphina's heart. But instead of blood, a burst of pure white light, suppressed for centuries, exploded outward. It didn't attack Ren; it enveloped him, trying to cleanse the hatred in his soul. But Ren's hatred was too deep, too vast. It devoured the light, converting it into a terrifying form of chaotic energy.
[Ding! Slain Sinful Seraphina.] [Exp +25,000. Soul Shards +1,000.] [Level Up! Level 13 -> Level 18] [Special Skill Acquired: 'Frost-Void Mastery'.] [Item Received: 'Broken Rose of Purity' (Epic Rank - Requires Repair).]
Seraphina's body dissolved into white petals that floated in the air before vanishing. The frozen garden began to collapse. Massive ice pillars fell, signaling the end of the Third Circle.
Ren stood there, looking at the broken sword in his hand. He felt a new surge of power flowing through his veins—colder, but stronger than ever before.
"Eighteen years of being your toy..." Ren looked upward, toward where he believed the Cathedral of Elarion stood. "I'm one-third of the way there. Wait for me, Aris. When I return, I will freeze your entire fake Paradise with this very cold."
[Notice: You have conquered the Third Circle.] [Progress: 3/9 Circles.] [Entrance to the Fourth Circle: 'The Hall of Eternal Penance' has opened.]