The cold came slowly at first, creeping under Liam's coat, biting at his fingertips, then growing sharper with every step forward. Snow crunched underfoot, thickening the deeper they moved into Zone Three. The sky was overcast, heavy with low gray clouds that hung still in the air. No wind. No sound. Just silence, and the cold.
They had crossed the boundary of the Ice Queen's domain half an hour ago.
Now, everything around them seemed frozen in time.
Liam's breath came out in short bursts of mist. His sword remained unsummoned, though the system's energy pulsed under his skin. He kept a hand near his side, ready, his eyes scanning the horizon.
Beside him, Rena walked in silence. She had pulled her scarf higher over her face, the fur-lined cloak wrapped tightly around her. Her sword hung ready in her hand, but even she moved cautiously now.
"This place is wrong," Liam muttered, voice low.
Rena nodded, but didn't answer.
They passed an overturned car, the entire surface coated in thick ice. Icicles hung from the underside, long and jagged, nearly touching the snow-covered ground. Beyond it, a row of buildings loomed, their windows broken, the rooftops heavy with frost.
Liam stopped walking and looked around.
There were no sounds. No monsters. No people. Not even animals. The entire zone felt abandoned, like death had swept through and taken everything with it.
> [System Alert]
Zone: North Wastes (Zone Three)
Territory Owner: Unknown (Hostile)
Threat Level: SSS
Target: Ice Queen – Proximity: 900 meters
Warning: Host power insufficient for full engagement
Recommendation: Contact and negotiate bond conditions
Liam's stomach turned.
He hadn't even seen her yet, and the system was already warning him that he was outmatched.
"We're getting close," he said.
Rena nodded again.
"She knows we're here."
"How?"
"She's a system holder. High level. Her territory senses us."
They kept walking, the snow crunching louder now, breaking the silence with every step. As they moved deeper into the zone, the buildings grew fewer. Open ground stretched before them... a plaza half-buried in snow and ice.
At its center stood a structure that had once been a fountain. Now it was a frozen sculpture, jagged and crystalline, shaped into a throne.
Liam stared at it.
"That's hers?"
Rena crouched behind a low wall, motioning for him to do the same.
"Yes. That's the throne. Her court."
They crouched together, watching from a distance. Around the throne, figures stood motionless, scattered like statues. Liam squinted.
They were people.
Frozen in place.
He could see the details clearly... faces locked in terror, weapons half-raised, expressions twisted in agony. Ice had captured them mid-motion, preserved every detail.
Liam swallowed hard.
"Are they…"
"Dead," Rena said flatly.
He didn't speak for a moment, staring at the frozen court.
"How many?"
"Dozens. Maybe more."
He looked at her.
"You've seen this before?"
"I've been here once. Long ago. Before she became what she is now."
Liam turned back toward the throne.
"It's like a warning."
Rena nodded.
"She doesn't want visitors."
> [System Alert]
Target Detection Confirmed
Ice Queen Aware of Presence
Initiating Encounter…
A sudden chill ran through Liam's body.
He stood slowly, sword forming in his hand with a crackle of energy. The air around them thickened. Snow began to fall faster, heavier now, swirling in strange patterns. The sky darkened slightly.
And then, without a sound, she appeared.
One moment the throne was empty.
The next, she stood in front of it.
The Ice Queen.
She emerged from the frost like a dream carved in ice. Her beauty was chilling, regal in a way that made the air itself hold its breath. Long silver-white hair cascaded down her back like frozen silk, glinting in the pale light. Her skin was smooth as polished marble, untouched by time or battle, and her eyes... her eyes gleamed like twin shards of sapphire, cold and unreadable, but impossibly alluring. Every step she took left frost trailing beneath her feet, as if the world bowed in silence to her presence. Her robes were woven from threads of shimmering snowlight, flowing weightlessly around her flawless figure, regal yet unearthly. She was elegance and danger made flesh... a queen not of kingdoms, but of cold dominion. And her gaze settled on Liam like a storm waiting to be claimed.
Tall, pale, wrapped in robes of white and silver that flowed like smoke. Her hair was long, the color of freshly fallen snow, her eyes cold blue, glowing faintly in the dim light.
She held no weapon.
She didn't need one.
Her presence alone was enough to freeze the air.
Rena stood, stepping beside Liam.
"Don't move," she whispered. "Don't speak unless spoken to."
The Ice Queen stared at them.
For a long moment, she said nothing.
Then her voice rang out, smooth, emotionless, and cold.
"You crossed into my realm without permission."
Liam swallowed.
"I..."
Her gaze narrowed.
"Silence."
The snow around her throne lifted, spinning slowly.
"You come with power you do not understand. A system that binds, that claims. You are not the first."
Liam didn't know what to say.
Rena spoke instead.
"He seeks a bond. The system chose you."
The Ice Queen's eyes shifted to Rena.
"You speak of choices, yet your own bond is incomplete."
Rena tensed.
"This is not about me."
"No. It is about him."
She took a single step forward.
And the snow turned to ice.
Liam could feel the temperature dropping with every breath.
The Ice Queen stepped forward again, her boots not touching the snow but gliding across it. The ground beneath her feet froze solid, a sheet of ice spreading outward with each silent step. Her robes drifted around her, untouched by the wind or the cold, like the storm itself obeyed her presence.
Liam gripped his sword tighter, his heart hammering in his chest. The system pulsed inside him, not with power, but with warning.
> [System Alert]
Target: Ice Queen
Bond Possibility: Unknown
Risk Level: Critical
Host Survival: 38%
Recommend: Initiate negotiation or retreat
She stopped about ten paces from them, head tilted slightly, eyes unreadable.
"You carry the Harem Overlord system," she said, voice smooth like polished ice. "A tool of control. A system meant to dominate."
Liam didn't move.
"I didn't choose it."
She raised a single hand.
Snow lifted from the ground, swirling in the air like ash.
"They all say that. Yet you came here, drawn by its desire for power. You seek to bind me."
Liam stepped forward once.
"I came because I have to. The system gave me a countdown. I don't survive if I don't find you."
Her eyes narrowed.
"You expect mercy because you are desperate?"
"No. I expect to survive."
Silence.
The snow stopped swirling. The sky darkened further, clouds rolling overhead. Light faded until only the Ice Queen's pale glow remained.
She lowered her hand.
"You do not fear me."
Liam took another step.
"I fear being weak more."
Rena moved beside him.
"Liam..."
The Ice Queen raised her hand again, and Rena froze in place, a thin layer of frost covering her boots and legs.
Liam turned quickly.
"Stop!"
The Queen's gaze returned to him.
"You would protect her?"
"She is mine," he said.
The words came unbidden, but they felt true.
"You are weak," the Queen said. "Yet you claim her. And now you seek to claim me?"
Liam nodded once.
"If I have to."
The wind stopped.
Snow hung motionless in the air.
Then the Ice Queen smiled.
It wasn't warm. It wasn't kind.
But it was real.
"Then prove it."
She vanished.
Liam blinked, stepping back.
"Where..."
The ground beneath him cracked.
Ice shot upward, forming jagged spikes. He jumped back, narrowly avoiding the nearest one. Rena struggled beside him, still frozen to the ground.
The Queen's voice echoed around them.
"Break the ice. Free her. Then come to me."
> [System Update]
Trial Initiated: Frostbound Challenge
Objective: Break Rena's Bind
Time Limit: 3 Minutes
Liam summoned his sword again, heat surging through his arm. The blade glowed bright red, cutting through the pale blue world around him. He turned to Rena, who stood still, frost creeping higher up her legs.
"I'm getting you out."
She nodded once.
"Then do it fast."
He struck the ice binding her feet. The sword shattered it with a single blow, but more frost formed immediately, climbing her legs again.
> Warning: Ice regenerates.
Solution: Overload with energy or find source.
Liam turned in place, scanning the area.
The fountain.
He ran toward it, the snow crunching beneath him. The frozen throne shimmered at its center, the base pulsing faintly.
He struck it.
Ice cracked.
The throne's glow faded slightly.
He struck again.
The entire structure shook. Light burst from the cracks, and the frost on Rena's legs shattered completely.
She gasped, falling to her knees.
Liam ran to her side, helping her up.
"You good?"
She nodded.
"You pissed her off."
Above them, the sky lit up with a wave of cold light.
The Ice Queen reappeared.
> [Trial Passed]
Bond Evaluation: In Progress
Next Phase: Duel of Wills
She stepped toward them again, eyes gleaming.
"Not bad. But you are far from ready."
Liam raised his sword.
"Then let's finish this."