Maline lay huddled in the sheltered alcove of the cave, her heart still racing from the encounter with the formless entity.

She took a moment to catch her breath and assess her surroundings. The cave was cold, yes, but at least there was no immediate threat to her life, aside from the cold itself and the lack of food.

As she lay there, she couldn't help but ponder the meaning of the vision she had experienced. How had she done what she did? Why was she attacked? She had to find a way out of this place, but she couldn't rely on luck alone.

With a deep breath, she closed her eyes and tried to relax, knowing that she needed to conserve her energy for whatever lay ahead. The constant chill seeped into her bones, and she shivered despite her best efforts to stay warm.

Then, a subtle change in the air caught her attention.

A faint breeze brushed against her cheek, coming from behind her. Maline's eyes shot open, and she turned around, her gaze scanning the darkness of the cave behind her.

To her surprise, she realized that there was an opening in the wall, hidden in the shadows. It had been there all along, but the darkness of her surroundings had concealed it from her sight.

It was her only option now, and she couldn't afford to stay where she was.

Cautiously, she checked behind her to ensure that no immediate danger lurked in the cave.

Finding nothing but the cold and silence, she made up her mind and crawled toward the concealed passage. The icy floor bit into her hands and knees, but she pressed on.

As she moved deeper into the narrow tunnel, Maline noticed that the familiar icy tiles she had seen before were absent.

Instead, she crawled on smooth, cold ice. The tunnel seemed to stretch on endlessly, but she couldn't turn back now.

Gradually, a faint blue light began to illuminate her path from underneath the ice. It was a soft glow that seemed to be reflecting off of something up ahead, casting dull shadows that danced around her.

As she continued to crawl, the glow grew brighter with each passing moment, beckoning her toward the unknown. The space ahead seemed to be widening, and the it began to feel less enclosed.

Finally, she couldn't crawl any longer. She had to stand up to proceed, her muscles protesting after being cramped for so long.

As she rose to her feet, she found herself in a space much like the one she had left behind. Crystalline trees lined the sides, their branches encased in drooping ice.

However, as she moved forward, these trees began to merge into one another, forming a solid barrier of ice skewers that stretched upward to the ceiling, blending into the haze ahead. They no longer resembled trees, but walls of deadly stakes aimed downward at her.

The ceiling of the cave was punctuated by openings that allowed light to filter through from above. It cast a glow that bathed the surroundings in an icy blue.

Maline continued to walk forward, her footsteps echoing in the quiet space.

She knew she had to find a way out of this place, but for now, all she could do was cautiously press on.

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As she advanced, the space became more airy, the temperature growing more chilly–not something she was looking forward to.

Then, as the fog ahead began to clear, she heard something.

“And you are here… Why?”

A whisper, akin to the blowing wind, blew past her ear as she hurriedly checked her surroundings. There was nothing.

Stunned, she stood still, before deciding that not answering wasn’t the correct course of action.

“Hello?” She whispered, in much the same volume as the recipient’s question.

Unsure of the invisible dangers that could have been anywhere, she remained stationary until another sound accompanied a breeze.

“You are in my territory. You will answer my questions.”

The breeze passed, before being punctuated by a gust, carrying a stern message,

“Speak.”

In stunned silence, Maline began, “I’m…” Her voice quavered noticeably, and she took a breath before continuing to speak.

“I only wandered into this place, I’m sorry.” Her eyes darted around, searching for any peculiar movement from the icy wind.

“Could you show me where I can exit?”

A lasting silence ensued, the now whistling wind no longer carrying any messages.

“Come.”

A silent whisper of wind passed by, the fog ahead clearing considerably.

Hesitating, Maline resumed her movement forward, her eyes nervously fixed on the path ahead. She could begin to see reflections there, maybe the path was ending.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she stepped into an icy chamber that lay beyond the fog-covered tunnel. The space was like nothing she had ever seen before, with a hint of man-made artistry to it.

The room held an icy desk in the corner that seemed to grow seamlessly from the floor. On its surface were several owls and foxes, their bodies frozen.

Their lifelike forms seemed to blend with the glacial stone, making it difficult to distinguish where the creatures ended and the desk began.

There was no exit in sight.

In the center of the room, elevated on a platform of frozen crystal, sat a young boy.

His appearance was strange to Maline, for he seemed neither fully alive nor fully frozen.

His ragged robe crackled with frost as if it were made of ice itself, and his long brown hair flowed seamlessly into the icy floor below, as if it were one with the frozen ground.

Despite his youthful appearance, he held a disconcerting demeanor. He sat there, unmoving, waiting, frozen.

His eyes, frosty blue and akin to spheres of carved ice, did not waver as she entered, staring directly at her. They remained unblinking throughout, as if making the surrounding air constrict.

Maline, her voice barely a whisper, finally found the courage to break the silence. "Hello…"

Hearing no response, panic began to creep into her expression as her lips curved downwards.

“I don't belong here–I just got lost, how do I leave?” Her questions came out smoothly only due to her concentration on making them do so. Her being trembled under his gaze.

Another long silence ensued, the boy’s unblinking eyes observing her own.

His voice came as a soft, chilling breeze that carried his words directly to her ears. "How did you enter?"

Maline instinctively glanced around as her hands folded and unfolded in front of her, her eyes lingering on the frozen creatures on his desk. "I entered through the tree-like spires outside, and then–”

Slicing directly through her line of thought, a sharp howl of wind blew past, carrying a clarifying question,

“How are you alive, asking me questions?" His expression had not changed, his eyes still surveying her form.

Maline's eyes widened as she realized the gravity of her situation. He was not making casual conversation, but ascertaining as to why she was not currently one of the piles of bones that lay behind her.

She hesitated for a moment, her mind racing for an answer. "I... I was lucky. That's all."

Another, deafening bout of silence lingered. Time seemed to stretch on indefinitely as she stood there, his stare locking her in place.

Through his gaze, she could sense an intent. Quickly, he sent a mounding burst of wind toward her, causing her to instinctively shield herself.

“Leave.” Upon reaching her ears, the wind conveyed his message before retreating quickly along with the boy’s hand motion. It rushed past them toward the icy wall opposite Maline, sapping her lungs of breath periodically.

Unaffected, the boy’s gaze remained on her, the air freezing as it pierced the icy wall, and a doorway of perfect dimensions was soon carved out, matching her height and width.

Maline didn't need any more prompting. She hurried toward the newly created exit, not looking back. The darkness beyond was intimidating, but it offered a way out.

She could feel the boy’s gaze finally retreating from her back, a mental weight falling off of her shoulders.