Ardena felt a shiver crawl down her spine as she crossed through the portal.
It wasn’t fear—she’d faced enough danger for mere fire wolves to faze her—but the eerie sensation of stepping onto ground that, despite being inside a cave, still bore traces of ice.
The temperature shift hit instantly.
Searing heat slammed into her face, and her breath turned heavy.
Around her, shards of ice and frost hung suspended in the air, proof that someone with extraordinary magic had passed through.
“That hunter…” Ardena whispered, recognizing the icy signature.
The cave was vast, a cathedral of stone with stalactites dangling like jagged teeth. Firelight danced across the walls, casting shadows that seemed alive. What troubled her most, though, was the gaping hole in the ice barrier—clear evidence the wolves had breached it.
Before she could process it all, a savage snarl snapped her back to focus.
Five fire wolves emerged from the shadows, bodies wreathed in living flames.
Their eyes glowed hellish red, and their breath smoldered as if they’d crawled straight from the underworld.
“Talk about a warm welcome!” Ravel quipped with a cocky grin.
Ardena clicked her tongue.
“We don’t have time for games. Move!”
The wolves charged in unison, flaming paws scorching charcoal marks into the ice.
Ardena reacted swiftly, raising her right hand and slashing a blade of wind through the air with a sharp whistle.
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Thwack!
One wolf howled as the wind split it in two. The others kept coming.
Ardena dodged a snap of jaws by inches, then propelled herself backward with a gust that flung her meters away.
Ravel, meanwhile, dove headfirst into the fray.
“I got this!” he shouted, sidestepping a lunging wolf and slapping a hand onto its blazing back.
The creature barely had time to snarl before exploding into embers.
The blast was so bright Ardena had to look away.
“Ravel, rein it in!” she yelled as heat grazed her arm.
Ravel turned to her with a shrug, all nonchalance.
“My bad, my bad… Didn’t mean to!”
Ardena shot him a glare but had no time to argue.
Another wolf lunged at her, fangs gleaming like molten coals. With a spin, she channeled wind into a spiraling current, deflecting the beast mid-leap.
“Now!” she barked at Ravel.
He leaped toward the disoriented wolf and tapped its flank with his fingertips.
Boom!
The wolf erupted into flames and ash.
Yet more wolves kept coming. Ardena’s frown deepened. No matter how many they felled, the cave seemed infested.
‘If we keep this up, we’ll suffocate before the wolves kill us.’ The thought chilled her. Trapped in a sealed cave, surrounded by fire and explosions—oxygen wouldn’t last.
“Ravel, we need to go!” Ardena ordered.
But before she could move, the ice beneath her feet cracked sharply.
A golden spear shot up from the ground, shattering the ice. A blur of light streaked through the cave, and seconds later, a young man rose from the fissure, hovering on a shimmering cloud.
Ardena and Ravel froze, stunned.
The boy had short brown hair and piercing green eyes. His posture was relaxed, but his smirk radiated confidence.
In his right hand, the spear that had shattered the ice spun lazily before he gripped it tight.
Ardena blinked, processing.
“Who…?”
The boy grinned, savoring their shock. Without a word, he hurled the spear.
It tore through the air impossibly fast, piercing one wolf—then ricocheting off the ice wall to strike another, and another.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
The weapon bounced like a lethal pinball, slaughtering wolves with unnatural precision.
Even Ravel, ever the quick wit, stood speechless.
“What the…?”
When the last wolf fell, the spear rebounded to the boy’s hand. Silence swallowed the cave.
Ardena stepped forward, eyes narrowed.
“Wait! Who the hell are you?”
The boy said nothing. With a final smirk, he ascended on his cloud and vanished through the portal.
Ardena gritted her teeth.
“Oh no you don’t!”
She sprinted toward the portal, determination blazing.