CHAPTER 45

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The cold didn’t relent as we ventured deeper into the Frozen Wastes. The sky had darkened to a muted gray, with no sunlight breaking through the heavy clouds. Snow fell in thick, steady drifts, blanketing the land in a suffocating silence. Every step crunched underfoot, and the wind had grown harsher, biting through even the warmest of our layers.

Leira trudged beside me, her hand resting on the hilt of her sword, ready for whatever might come next. Sari followed behind, her eyes constantly scanning the horizon, as if she expected another Frost Colossus or worse to emerge from the snow at any moment.

We hadn’t spoken much since the battle, the weight of what we had faced still hanging over us like the snow-laden clouds above. The silence suited me just fine. It gave me time to think, to reflect on the magic of this land and the strange disturbances I continued to feel in the Aetheric Flow.

It wasn’t just the creatures. Something else was affecting the flow of magic here. Something deeper. Something I didn’t yet understand.

As we pressed on, Sari eventually broke the silence.

“We’re close now,” she said, her voice barely audible over the wind. “The northern outpost isn’t far. Maybe a day’s travel.”

I glanced back at her, raising an eyebrow. “You’re sure?”

She nodded, though there was a flicker of doubt in her eyes. “It’s where we were heading. The last time we traveled this far north, we made it to the outpost, but that was before... well, before things got worse.”

Leira chimed in, her voice firm. “We’ve been lucky so far, but these lands are more dangerous than ever. The demons have been increasing in number, and the magic of this place... it’s changing.”

I didn’t need to be reminded. I could feel the shift in the Aetheric Flow as clearly as the snow falling around us. The deeper we moved into the Wastes, the more erratic the magic became. It twisted and bent in unnatural ways, as if something were tampering with the very essence of the land.

The northern outpost. I hadn’t planned on stopping anywhere, but if there were people there—people with information about the demons, the region, or even just the Aetheric Flow—it could be worth a detour.

And I could feel something ahead. A pull in the Flow. A faint ripple that hadn’t been there before.

I kept my voice steady as I spoke. “If the outpost is still standing, we’ll stop there. Gather whatever information we can before continuing.”

Leira glanced at me, her eyes questioning. “Continuing where?”

I didn’t answer right away. My thoughts were racing, piecing together the fragments of information I had gathered so far. Alric’s mission was clear: I needed to hunt these demons and grow stronger. But there was more to this land than just demons. There was a deeper magic at play, something older and more dangerous than I had expected.

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“I need to find out what’s causing these disturbances in the Aetheric Flow,” I said finally. “It’s not just the demons. There’s something else here, something affecting the entire region.”

Sari frowned, her brow furrowing. “What do you think it is?”

“I don’t know yet,” I admitted. “But I’m going to find out.”

We continued in silence after that, each of us lost in our own thoughts. The landscape had begun to shift subtly, the once flat and desolate expanse now giving way to towering cliffs of ice and jagged rock formations that jutted out of the ground like frozen spears. The air grew colder still, and the wind howled through the narrow pass we now found ourselves in, amplifying the sense of isolation.

The northern outpost, if it still existed, was likely somewhere beyond these cliffs.

As we moved, my attention was pulled back to the Aetheric Flow. The disturbance I had felt earlier was growing stronger. It wasn’t just the random, chaotic pulses of the Frozen Wastes—it was deliberate, rhythmic, like a heartbeat beneath the surface of the ice.

I stopped in my tracks, the others coming to a halt beside me.

“What is it?” Leira asked, her hand tightening around her sword.

I didn’t answer right away, closing my eyes and letting the Flow guide me. The pulse was coming from below us, deep in the earth. It wasn’t just a random disturbance—it was something alive.

“There’s something down there,” I muttered, my voice low.

Sari glanced at the ground, her face paling. “Down there? What do you mean?”

“I can feel it,” I replied, opening my eyes. “The magic of this place... it’s coming from beneath the ice. Whatever it is, it’s tied to the land.”

Leira frowned, her gaze shifting uneasily to the ground beneath us. “Do we need to be worried?”

“We should always be worried in these lands,” I said, my tone sharper than I intended. “But this is something different. It’s not a demon—it’s older.”

The weight of those words hung in the air between us. Older than a demon. The idea made my skin crawl, though I kept my expression neutral. Whatever was buried beneath the ice, it was powerful. And it was influencing the entire region.

“We need to keep moving,” I said, breaking the tension. “The outpost might have more answers.”

Leira nodded, though I could see the doubt lingering in her eyes. Sari stayed silent, but her face was pale, her expression tight with fear.

The wind howled louder as we pressed on, the cliffs closing in around us, the pass narrowing until it was little more than a frozen corridor. The Aetheric Flow was stronger here, pulsing through the ice and rock like blood through veins. I could feel it thrumming beneath my feet, vibrating through the very air around us.

We were close now. Close to something powerful.

I could sense it. Whatever lay beneath the ice was ancient, far older than anything I had encountered before. The magic that flowed through the Wastes had its source here, in this place.

But we couldn’t stop now. Not until we reached the outpost. Not until I had more answers.

As the day wore on and the light began to fade, the wind started to die down, the howling slowly giving way to an eerie silence. The cliffs loomed overhead, casting long shadows over the snow-covered ground. In the distance, I could see the faint outline of something—a structure, barely visible through the haze of snow.

“There,” Leira said, pointing toward the shape. “That must be the outpost.”

I nodded, feeling a strange sense of foreboding settle over me. The Aetheric Flow was still pulsing, but it was weaker now, as if whatever was beneath the ice was watching, waiting.

We approached the outpost cautiously, our steps slow and measured. The structure came into clearer view—an old, weather-beaten building made of stone and wood, half-buried in snow. The air around it was unnaturally still, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were walking into something far more dangerous than just an abandoned outpost.

As we reached the entrance, I placed my hand on the door, feeling the cold seep through my gloves. The magic here was stronger than ever, coiled like a serpent, waiting to strike.

“We’ll find our answers inside,” I said quietly, pushing the door open.

The darkness swallowed us whole.