"So, you haven’t found your other half either, have you?"

Oden and Sorn sat side by side at the edge of the ice wall. It was the same place where Oden had discovered Sorn just a minute ago. Sorn glanced at Oden's chest, and a small flicker of relief stirred within him when he saw the familiar pendant hanging there, identical to his own. Sorn was confident in his trust in Oden, but he truthfully could not be certain that Oden would not try to take Sorn’s pendant if he carried the other half.

"We could hunt down others. Take their fragments." Oden proposed.

It was the first time they had laid eyes on one another since the day they separated just before the Prophecy. Oden removed his pendant and set it down next to them, allowing it to let out one final jarring note before a far more preferable silence coated the area.

Worryingly to Sorn, a full minute had passed, yet Oden acted as if he had all the time in the world. His earlier declaration of “every second counts,” now seemed like a throwaway statement. Additionally, Oden had a new dark demeanor that he couldn’t put his finger on.

Sorn opened his mouth to ask, but he stopped. He wasn’t sure if this was a question he could bring up.

Oden raised a finger to his lips, as he saw Sorn wanting to say something. Then the Marauder gestured toward his ear. Sorn turned, listening closely. At first, he thought it was the wind, but then he heard it. A soft sound traveled through the air, a note he’d heard before. The faint melody was one that only someone with the other pendant could produce.

Without a word, Oden stood, his eyes peering in the distance. He left his pendant beside Sorn. "Don’t let anyone touch it," Oden muttered.

Then, without another glance, he turned his back and began walking down the corridor.

Without warning, a spear sliced through the air, whizzing down from above. Sorn sprang to his feet, a green wisp swirling at his side. The spear was aimed at Oden, who snatched it out of the air with a swift motion.

Sorn’s gaze flicked upward, tracking the trajectory of the attack. There, perched atop the ice wall, was a man from the Spear Clan, one Sorn had never seen before. His posture was confident, his eyes locked on Oden with a determined glint. He appeared to be in his mid-twenties, and his arms were crossed as he stared down. His pendant, however, was absent, and there had been no sound to alert them of his presence.

"Looks like we’ve got a climber," Oden said. There was no reply from the Spear. Instead, the man merely formed another spear beside him, his gaze never leaving Oden as it too was shot down by an invisible force.

Sorn was taken aback by its lack of speed. It was sluggish, and Sorn believed it to be easy to dodge. He glanced at Oden, who seemed to share the same assessment. With barely a second thought, Oden threw the first spear back at the man.

The two spears collided midair, shattering into a spray of frozen fragments. The climber blinked, his eyes widening in surprise.

But Oden didn’t give the Spear the luxury of time. In the blink of an eye, he loomed over the man, hurdling the tall wall in a single leap. His eyes, cold and predatory, locked onto the climber, and before the man could move, Oden brought a small ice axe down between his eyes, brutally crushing his skull.

In the same motion, Oden vaulted over the wall, his body disappearing over the edge. The top of the ice wall now dripped with blood. Sorn stood frozen, his eyes following the legs of the lifeless body that dangled over the side. The man had been an enemy, he was among the people who desired to kill him. However, as the blood pooled below, Sorn couldn’t shake the hollow ache that spread through his chest. The death had been pointless, the man had died for nothing, and the entire scene was just pitiful. He wanted to vomit, to do anything to get rid of the repulse burrowing in his soul.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Sorn blinked, snapping out of his trance. He turned to see Oden standing right beside him. Blood was splattered across Oden’s chest. "You can’t be zoning out like that. Anyone could just sneak up and kill you."

Oden’s gaze followed Sorn’s, eyes narrowing as they landed on the body hanging over the wall. He let out a sigh and clapped a heavy hand on Sorn’s shoulder.

"You’re going to see a lot more of that," Oden said. "Snap out of it."

Sorn nodded, pulling himself together. "Yeah, I got it. Sorry." He pinched his arm, hoping to jolt himself back into the present. Oden studied him quietly for a moment. Then, without a word, he reached down and picked up his pendant. The harsh, grating sound echoed through the air as he lifted it. Sorn flinched, and Oden joined his pendant with a new one, completing the perfect circle.

"He left it on the ground before climbing up to try to surprise us," Oden explained. "To his credit, it almost worked. He just wasn’t strong enough."

“I see.” Sorn supposed that with the task complete, Oden had no reason to hang around. "Are you leaving now?"

Oden hesitated before answering. "I did say we should gather people." His voice faltered slightly. "But— it’s a race. I’ll tell you this though. If we meet again later in the stages, we’ll need to talk about something I should’ve told you earlier. The short version is that my goals have changed."

The next moment hung between them for a heartbeat longer than it should have. "Alright, stay safe, Oden."

"You too." Oden’s eyes darkened briefly. "Also, you should look behind you."

Sorn turned just in time to see a girl skidding across the ice. She was a good distance away, about twenty meters at the other end of the corridor. What caught his attention immediately, though, was the pendant she wore. The pendant made no sound as the girl moved, perhaps it was because she had frozen it, as the pendant was encased in a thin layer of ice as it dangled from her neck.

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Sorn felt Oden’s presence disappear, the Marauder now likely searching for a way out. That left Sorn to deal with the newcomer alone. And luckily, the pendant the girl wore was exactly the kind he needed.

The two locked eyes. Sorn's fingers twitched as wisps began to form around him, but the girl’s next move was swift. She extended her arms, two sets of ice claws erupting from her hands with a crack of cold air.

"Hey, black hair boy!" The girl’s short blue hair was messy, standing out in sharp contrast to her pale skin as she came to a halt. Her voice rang out in the cold air. "What’s your name?"

Sorn blinked, caught off guard by the question. He hadn’t expected it, and it took him a second to process.

"Me? I’m Sorn."

"Great. I’m Zoe, second in charge of the Claw Clan." Zoe flashed a grin. "And I’ll be taking your pendant now!"

With that, she sprang into action. She leaped toward a nearby wall, claws extended to about a full meter, then bounded off it, bouncing effortlessly between walls as she closed the distance between herself and Sorn.

"I’ve never heard of the Claw Clan," Sorn said, eyeing her carefully as she closed in. The girl was good, her speed on par with his own. He didn’t feel panicked, but he knew he couldn’t let his guard down.

"Do you wanna learn?" Zoe’s voice had a playful edge, even as she swiped at him with her claws. Sorn ducked under the strike, his leg sweeping out in a quick arc to trip her up.

"Not really," he replied, already preparing for a decisive blow. But as Zoe fell, her position shifted. With a flick of her wrist, her claws shot out again, striking the ice beneath her. Her old claws disappeared into the air as new ones extended, pushing her up into the air with surprising speed.

Now about five meters in the air, she aimed another strike at Sorn. He dashed forward, narrowly avoiding the brunt of the strike, but one of her claws still caught him, slashing deep into his shoulder. Pain flared through his body, and he winced, momentarily stunned by the sting. He hadn’t taken her seriously enough before, and now he was paying the price.

"Gotcha!" Zoe’s grin widened.

In an instant, Sorn surged forward, using her previous technique against her. Bouncing off the walls of the corridor with maximum utilization of his ability, he rocketed upward, closing the gap between them. Zoe tried to jab him midair, but Sorn moved his face to the side before, landing a blow to her stomach with the full force of his momentum. The sound of impact was sickening and she was sent hurtling toward the ground.

Sorn landed beside her, breaking the fall with his feet as he planted them firmly on the ice. He stared down at Zoe, who groaned in pain, her blue eyes wet with tears as she clutched her stomach. Blood dripped from the edges of her mouth, a sight too akin to one Sorn had just forgotten.

“Sorry.” The apology left him before he could stop it.

Zoe stirred, trying to sit up. Sorn immediately pressed her down.

“What are you doing?” he asked, his voice firmer now. “You can’t do that in your condition.”

She glared at him, her expression full of frustration. “What are you doing? Do you think you’ve won just because of one hit? Do you truly believe you’re so far above me that you now have the right to pity your enemy? Are you trying some sick attempt to humiliate me?”

Sorn didn’t waver, only pushing her down harder. “No, I just won. And I don’t want you hurting yourself any more than you already have.”

Zoe stilled, staring up at him as if she had just encountered the most peculiar person in the world. Then, with a sharp sigh, she let her head rest against the cold ground.

“Of all people to lose to, it had to be an outsider and a wimp.” She reached for her pendant, the ice surrounding it disappearing. Before Sorn could react, she shoved it into his hands. “For your stupid kindness.”

She groaned lightly, though she tried to stifle it. Sorn felt a twinge of guilt. No doubt the strike had broken a few of her ribs.

“Stop pitying me,” she said. “You have no idea what you’ve done.”

“What I’ve done?” Sorn echoed, confused.

Zoe forced herself upright, swatting his hand away when he tried to stop her. “I said I’m fine.” She paused, taking a deep breath. A small, bittersweet smile formed on her lips.

“Me and my brother, Zachary, made our clan not long ago, just the two of us. Our mother was the first person to have the Claw ability, but she passed recently, just a year ago. She couldn’t make a name for herself. So we decided together that we had to give her a legacy. She was a great woman, she always dreamed of super big things. But our father left her alone with us two, and she had no choice but to raise as alone”

As she spoke, there was something different in her expression, something Sorn hadn’t seen from her, or really anyone yet. It was a look of soft, quiet longing. Nostalgia and hope filled her eyes.

Hope that he had just shattered.

“Don’t look so glum, idiot,” she said, her voice lighter. “If I lost this easily, maybe I didn’t deserve it in the first place. Besides, my brother is way stronger than me. He’ll make sure to win for us”

“I’m not glum,” Sorn retorted. Truthfully, he felt a little bad, but he wasn’t about to admit it. Instead, he looked down at the pendant she had given him and then connected it with his own. Then he shook it. The sounds that had once rung out from them were now silent. He wrapped the chain back around his neck, then turned back to Zoe. She had shifted so that her back was resting against the wall, her breath slowly steadying.

Sorn crouched down, facing away from her.

“What in Seraph’s name are you doing?”

“Just get on,” he said, not looking at her.

“Why would I—”

“I won’t move until you get on. And then we’ll both probably lose.”

She hesitated. Her lips pressed together like she wanted to argue. Finally, she sighed and shifted her weight forward, wrapping her arms around his back.

“You’ll be safer in one of the outer buildings than here in the middle,” Sorn explained as he started walking.

“You’re going the wrong way, idiot.”

“Ah.”

At least they didn’t run into anyone else.

For a while, there was only silence between them. Then Zoe spoke again.

“You know, when I heard rumors about you, I didn’t think much of them. But I always figured you’d be a pretty bad person.”

Sorn raised an eyebrow. “Why’s that?”

“I don’t know. Just seemed more likely.”

“I see.”

The conversation ended there. Neither of them felt the need to say more.

When the outer house finally came into view, Zoe tapped his shoulder. “You can drop me now.”

Elementals healed fast, even broken bones could mend in minutes. She slid off his back and landed lightly on her feet, rolling her shoulders as if testing herself. Then she turned to Sorn, eyeing him with curiosity.

“At several moments there,” she mused, “I could’ve killed you.”

“If I thought you would, then I wouldn’t have helped you,” Sorn replied.

Zoe continued to study him for another moment. “I know you just beat me, but since I want you to win, after my brother, of course, I feel obligated to give you some advice.” She leaned in slightly, her expression sharpening. “You can’t be so trusting. Especially not here. If you keep this up, you will get stabbed in the back.”

“Oh.” Sorn averted his gaze for a moment. “I’ll keep that in mind.” Then he looked back at her. “Will you be alright?”

Zoe waved a hand. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll try to find another pendant, but I’m pretty sure I’ve already lost this race. So worry about yourself now, okay?”

“Okay.”

Sorn gave her a final nod, then turned toward the building. His mind had already shifted focus to the Third Stage. He wasted time here, but he’d make sure not to waste anymore. He was confident that Oden and Crystal would be waiting for him below. He had no intention of disappointing them.

He stepped inside. The room was identical to the one he had started in. At the center of the table, there was a small slot. Without hesitation, he placed his pendant inside.

The floor opened beneath him.

For a split second, there was nothing. Then he fell.

The scream tore from his throat before he could stop it, as he descended to the Third Stage in a long ice pipe.