"Please," he said to himself, blinking hard. "Pay attention."
He circled a third time. Still nothing.
Hala and Oral were walking towards him now, their expressions were very serious. When he looked up at the icicle again, he was quite sure that he saw a drop of water dripping down the edge... but that was not the case at all.
Maybe. He narrowed his eyes and leaned forward.
After getting closer, he could see a layer of smooth moisture hanging on the surface of the icicle. The edges of this icicle were not as sharp as other icicles, and were more rounded and soft. He was surprised why he discovered it so late. But he still
There was no alertness, even though he had seen something flashing through the black ice. An unnatural calmness was poured into his body.
He vaguely heard someone shouting behind him, but he could hardly identify it. The voice was blocked and seemed to come from a very far away distance. He didn't pay attention. The only thing he needed to care about was the darkness in the ice in front of him. It was calling him.
, motioning to him, urging him to get closer. The black shadow no longer lingered at the edge of his field of vision, but now it occupied all of his sight. He stretched out his hand to touch——
The other hand grabbed his hand. It was Hala. He was pushed back and hit the ice ten feet away.
In fear, he recognized the swaying darkness inside the icicle, struggling to escape. It was poking from inside, trying hard to break through its prison. He realized that it had been trying to touch him.
Hala closed her eyes and stretched one hand over the weak spot in the ice, where the darkness struck. Her other hand clutched Lissandra's amulet. She sternly recited an aphorism of faith, and then she
The outstretched hand began to glow coldly. New ice crystals began to condense on the surface of the pillar.
This is definitely not enough. What Hara prays produces is not perfect ice. No one can create perfect ice anymore.
Spider-web-like cracks appeared on the surface of the ice crystal, and the darkness inside attacked with twice as much power. Hala, who closed his eyes, did not see the cracks, and Sigvar was too far away, even if he had risen to draw his knife, he would not be able to see the cracks.
Too late.
Oral suddenly appeared next to Hala, holding the Son of Thunder tightly in his hands. At that moment, darkness broke through the surface of the icicle and shot at Hala at lightning speed. Oral pushed her away with his shoulders.
He used his war hammer to smash the dark tentacle into pieces, making a shocking cracking sound. But there was more than one tentacle—three more emerged from the crack.
"Stonefist!" Sigvar screamed. He rushed forward, but he was too slow. They were too slow.
Oral retreated awkwardly, and with a sweep of the Son of Thunder, he knocked away one of the tentacles, but failed to stop the other two. They stabbed greedily into his flesh, one penetrated the muscles of his left shoulder, and the other penetrated
The side of his neck was bitten deep into.
Oral Stonefist's muscles rippled, and the alien tentacles squirmed into his body. His blood vessels turned black, in stark contrast to his pale skin, and then he fell to his knees.
Sigvar tried to grab him, but Hala held him back.
"No!" she shouted. "It will take you with it."
Oral used his last strength to throw the Son of Thunder towards them, spinning and rolling on the ice. "Let's go!" he gasped. "Send... a message... to the main castle!"
"Take the hammer!" Hala shouted to Sigvar.
"We can't leave him here—"
"It's too late. He's gone."
Sigvar watched helplessly as Oral was devoured. The Frostguard warrior was shaking all over, and most of his skin turned a terrifying black-purple color, like bruises all over his body. More than a dozen tentacles pierced him.
He killed him and connected him to the darkness inside the icicle.
"Take away the hammer and half a barrel of arrows!" Hala shouted again.
Sigvar sheathed his sword, picked up the Son of Thunder, and endured the pain it caused. He took a breath, and the coldness quickly followed his hands and reached his heart, almost stopping it from beating, but he
Without resistance, he embraced the cold and became one with it.
A sneaky figure, like an insect with spinous processes divided into jointed limbs, began to spread out from Oral's body. It gradually hardened, like lava gradually cooling. The evil purple light began to pulse in his body, as if it was the second time.
The beating of his heart emitted purple light to his flesh and blood.
Sigvar felt a horrible revulsion as he realized that something was growing inside Oral.
With a cry of pain, Hala threw the blood claw, and the short-handled ax rotated in the air, hitting Oral squarely between the eyebrows, killing him on the spot. This was a mercy to him, but a
Sigvar felt sad that the legend of the Frostguard tribe should die such a humble death.
Ice crystals immediately condensed on Oral's body, starting from the bloody claws and extending downward. The crisp white frost quickly wrapped his head, chest and arms. The power of Zhenbing seemed to prevent devouring, and tentacles
He also began to become slow and dull, and the purple light in his body went out.
"Did you stop?" Sigvar asked softly.
"Maybe for now."
"Your ax?"
"Stay here," Hala said quickly. "The three sisters have given us the blessing, hoping that it can control the things that live below, but no one knows how long. We must go. Hurry."
Sigvar did not protest. He began to walk around the perimeter cautiously, but Hala stopped him.
"Too slow," she snapped. "Go through the middle. Up!"
Sigvar froze on the spot, he didn't want to step on the bottom of the middle ice, but Hala started running first, and he took the first step reluctantly. He concentrated on keeping his eyes raised and followed her, initially still
Cautiously, he then began to accelerate. He was always ready to feel the movement under his feet, because the terrifying beast trapped in the ice had woken up from its endless sleep.
He could feel its malevolent power toying with him, tugging at his consciousness like a tentacle. It was watching him—that huge, lidless, unblinking eye looking through him from below. Toward.
The urge to look down was too strong. Sigvar held the Son of Thunder hard and gritted his teeth in the cold pain.
He always locked his eyes on Hala and recited the prayer while panting. "Don't refuse pain, because pain is life, and the absence of pain means death. Savor its comfort. Accept it." Even if he staggers under his feet.
When he was walking, he always resisted looking down. Every step was full of hardship, like running on the snow hills. He could feel the one eye looking through him, hinting at him, calling him. He shouted a blessing with a louder voice,
Get rid of the one-eyed man.
Then he had reached the other side, taking in a big breath as the weight on his body eased. Hala was also there, urging him to move forward. She pushed him forward, and the narrow gap was their exit.
Before he got inside, Sigvar glanced back.
Was it the purple light he saw under Oral's bones? He didn't have time to confirm. Hala pushed forward hurriedly. "Go, go," she said.
There was no time for him to pass cautiously and steadily. Sigvar pushed forward hard, rubbing against the ice wall without caring about the pain. When they reached the other side, the two of them flew along the chasm and rushed back to where they left from the ice wall.
lowered position.
"We...must...warn the main castle!" Hala yelled as he ran. "The nine...have been broken. The iron chains that imprison...the things that live below...have been loosened. Everything...
Other locations...must be inspected! The ice prison must be...reconstructed!"
They found the ice climbing tools that had been thrown there and gasped.
"Aren't we going to stay and fight it?" Sigvar asked between breaths.
"If the monitor wants to wake up... he needs to wait until all the icicles are broken through," Hala said. "The blood claws should be able to block secondary creatures."
"What if it can't be stopped?"
"Then we will kill it," Hala said. "But the news must reach the main castle. At least one of us needs to go back. Throw away everything you don't need."
Although he was a little reluctant, Sigvar took off the shield from his shoulder and leaned it against the ice wall. The sheathed dagger was also placed with it, and then Hara helped him tie the Son of Thunder behind him.
On their backs, they connected themselves to the same rope, folded their ice axes, and began the long return journey.
And at the same time as all this, he could always feel the giant eye under the ice looking upward.
The expelling shell once named Oral Stonefist cracked open a hole in the flesh mold lake, and a pale thing crawled out limply, bringing out balls of mucus and dragging its segmented limbs.
It staggered over to its front, clawing at the ice with its dagger-long claws. A sharp tail gradually spread out from behind, and then it raised its head, with its dark fangs and protruding crest revealed at the position of its heart.
Purple light. Pieces of soft exoskeleton wrapped and protected the heart, and then began to harden.
Its color was pale and lackluster, but its skin hardened rapidly, as if it had reacted with the air. The creature's eyes suddenly opened, observing the world that had just given birth to itself - twelve pinhole-like eyes.
It emits warm purple light and gathers in three different locations.
It raised its head high, tore its throat and let out the first scream of its new life.
Hala and Sigvar had climbed halfway to the Lost Bridge, when an inhuman shout reached their ears. The sound echoed in the thick fog around them. It was impossible to tell the direction of the sound.
It is also impossible to estimate distance.
"Speed up," was all Hala said, and then the two of them increased their frequency, sacrificing safety for speed. Their ice axes dug wildly into the ice wall, digging their toe stings deeply into each kick, and then kicked upwards with force.
Sigvar kept looking down, always ready to welcome some nameless fear appearing below the deep valley.
Then just as the shadow of the Lost Bridge appeared above the thick fog, it also appeared.
"Hanbingso," he hissed, and Hala glanced down.
"Go quickly!" she shouted, her eyes serious.
They climbed up desperately. If that... thing caught up with them before they reached the bridge, it would be very detrimental to them. Sigvar glanced down again, and the creature was flying towards them. It was winding.
There was malice in its movements, and many limbs with sharp blades pierced the ice wall rapidly. Three clusters of glowing eyes were on fire, and then it let out a strange cry, which sounded like the scraping of steel, and its upper and lower jaws clenched heavily.
together.
Hala got on the bridge first. She turned around and held Sigvar with her iron-like hands, and lifted him up. When he stood firm, she had already untied the rope and held the Blood Fang in her other hand.
, Hala is holding an ice pick. This is a poor replacement for Blood Claw, but now there is no room for criticism.
Sigvar also dropped his ice ax and tried to remove the Son of Thunder from his back, but Hala stopped him. "No," she said. "You keep climbing."
"I will stand side by side with you -" Before he could finish his words, she interrupted him with a fierce look.
"Climb up for me, half a barrel of arrows," she said, pointing at him with her bloody teeth. "No need to discuss."
"but--"
"No need to discuss!" she said sternly. "Climb up and send the news to the main castle!"
"But I should-"
"Go!" she yelled filial piety, and her violent anger made Sigvar take a step back. "Go, half a barrel of arrows," she lowered her voice. "If the three sisters have spirits, I will catch up with you soon."
Reluctantly, he picked up the ice ax and began to climb up, while Hala knelt down and began to pray, closing her eyes.
When he climbed about thirty feet, the creature climbed over the edge of the bridge. It looked up, with three sets of eyes locked on Sigvar, and continued to chase.
"Here you are, you ugly monster!" Hala shouted at it, stood up and faced it. "Come to me, let me beat you hard, with the will of the three sisters."
Sigvar could only continue to watch, helpless. The creature's attention moved to Hala and rushed towards her at a speed beyond normal speed.
She rolled to avoid its sickle-like slashes, and its claws cut through the air a few inches above her. As she stood up, she cut deeply into its side with her bloody teeth, ejecting a ball of steaming internal organs.
There was a shrill scream. Then she hit it a second time with the ice pick, but it bounced off its thick shell easily.
She jumped away nimbly and turned around to avoid the monster's slashing range.
Hala attacked twice more, cutting off a limb and making a deep gash on the side of its head, but its speed was unreasonable. Just as Hala's ax struck back, it surged forward.
Chonghe stabbed her forearm with a sharp limb. She gasped in pain and her bloody teeth fell out of her hand.
In desperation, she stabbed the monster in the face with an ice pick, but only blinded a few of its eyes. Her arm was still pierced. She could no longer escape.
Sigvar roared and pulled out the ice ax from the ice wall, then pushed himself off the wall. He fell thirty feet, then landed on the bridge, bent his knees to cushion, stretched out his hands to maintain balance, and landed right on Hala
The frozen stone slabs around him cracked under his impact. He rolled heavily and the air in his lungs was squeezed out.
When the creature turned its attention to him, he already had the Son of Thunder in his hands. It tried to pull away the claws on Hala, but she held on to it tightly, making it struggle but unable to break free.
.
"Hit! Half a barrel of arrows!"
Its huge mouth opened at an incredible angle, revealing rows of jagged fangs and tusks, while it let out an uninhibited scream, while Sigvar delivered a fatal blow with the Son of Thunder.
The huge hammer hit it on the head, smashing half of it and splashing all over the ground, making a cold crackling sound like thunder. The hateful monster hit the railings beside the bridge and tried to stand up, but
But it was swaying like a drunkard, and the purple light in its heart began to flicker.
Sigvar roared and struck the monster again as it tried to regain its posture. It hissed, but was helpless against his next attack. This time the Son of Thunder hit it in the middle of its chest, crushing its outer shell.
The skeleton collapsed the protective cavity around the heart. The monster slid to the edge of the bridge, waving its limbs wildly, and then the heart darkened and died completely.
Then it was swallowed up by thick fog, leaving nothing behind.
"It's so...reckless..." Hala said. He lay on the ground, her injured arm hanging limply by her side. Her complexion was pale—paler than usual—and her eyes were dull.
"Perhaps this is the will of the three sisters," Sigvar replied, walking to her and kneeling beside her.
"Maybe," she admitted, smiling weakly.
Sigvar used a dagger to cut the sleeve on Hala's injured arm. The flesh around the wound had turned black and was steaming. Darkness had begun to creep into her blood vessels. Both of them knew that if the darkness continued to spread,
What happens next.
"Use Bloodfang," Hala said. There was no trace of fear in her voice. "Don't be soft," she added, tapping the center of her chest with her hand.
Sigvar picked up the Bloodfang and weighed it. Its handle radiated ice and enveloped his hand, but he didn't notice it.
"It hasn't spread beyond the arms yet," he said. "It shouldn't have..."
Hala raised her eyes and stared at him, her eyes were extremely clear and fearless. Then she nodded.
"Do it," she said.
For three days, Sigvar kept climbing.
For the past three days, he had been feeling a poisonous eye watching him from the abyss.
He felt a greed in that gaze, eating away at him and consuming his willpower, but he continued to climb up.
Be patient and don’t complain. Bing never begs for mercy and never gives mercy. I should be like Bing.
Although the ancient creature's hunger was so clear and palpable, Sigvar realized that there was no real emotion behind this hunger. It did not feel anger, or hatred, or resentment at its fate. It was indifferent.
, careless, unknowable...and extremely patient. In a way, this makes it even more terrifying.
It wasn't unique, either. Sigvar didn't know how many other Watchers were trapped beneath the Howling Abyss, but as he climbed up, he could feel other eyes on him, following his progress.
Finally, he finally dragged himself onto the Bridge of Sorrow. At this moment, when he climbed to the top of the Great Rift Valley, he finally got rid of their gaze.
Hala Hanbingpo was tied behind his back with a rope. Her eyes were closed tightly and her breathing was shallow, but she survived. Her left arm was gone from the shoulder down, but there was no blood on her sleeve——
Bloody Fang's Ice Core sealed the wound very well. It was very physically demanding to climb with her, making this difficult climb even more strenuous, but this was his duty and mission, so he completed it without any complaints.
He just paused for a few seconds to take a breath, and Sigvar walked across the stone bridge with heavy steps and walked towards the main castle. It felt like several years had passed since his trip.
The road ahead was obscured by an ice storm, and he could not even see clearly anything more than a dozen yards away. When the towering city walls emerged from the storm, he saw a figure waiting for him.
Loraka Forked Tongue, the Frostfather of the Guardians, was standing leaning on his staff. Sigvar looked at the black tip on the top of the staff, stopped in front of the gate, and saw the ice hanging in front of the priest's neck.
Zhu, realized something.
He looked at the two men uneasily. Now, he could determine where they were coming from.
"Few of your kind will ever glimpse the darkness below, as we did," the old priest said. "Your understanding of the faith has deepened, but there is still much to learn."
Sigvar nodded, expressing deep agreement. Cha Ton's gaze then focused on Hala, who was tied unconsciously behind Sigvar, and then the old priest looked behind him again, looking for something.
"Where is the Stone Fist?" he asked, and Sigvar just shook his head. He was too tired to say more. "We are born of ice and return to ice," the frost priest said, touching his own with respect.
forehead.
"Dissolved," Sigvar struggled to say. "One of the Nine. Something appeared."
"The watcher's movement..." The priest exhaled, his eyes widening - maybe because of awe, maybe because of fear.
Sigvar nodded slightly, his breathing was extremely uneven, and his extraordinary strength might not be able to hold on at any time.
[A book-chasing app recommended to me by an old book friend I have known for ten years, the Changing Source app! It is really easy to use. I rely on this to read and listen to books while driving and before going to bed. You can download it here ]
"Our matriarch, the Lady of Ice and Darkness, must know this letter." The priest said. The door of the main castle began to open, and the shadow inside waved to him. "Come, Iceborn. We must prepare for the next step.
