The wind in the Shattered Icefields didn't just howl — it screamed.
Shards of frozen earth jutted from the ground like knives, and the air shimmered in strange pockets where cold became too cold, warping the light.
Malik pulled his hood tighter. "This place feels like the world's trying to spit us out."
"Nah," Zyren said, crouching to light a rolled blunt from the ember of a frozen branch. "It's just a bad neighborhood. You gotta make it feel like you belong."
Malik stared at him. "You're seriously smoking out here?"
Zyren blew a thin trail of smoke into the wind. "Keeps the nerves steady. You'd be surprised how many great warriors were probably baked during history's biggest battles."
The Hunt Begins
A horn blast echoed across the ice.
"That's the start," Malik said.
Zyren exhaled, passing the blunt. "Hit it. First time's on me."
Malik hesitated — then took a pull. The cold air hit him harder than the smoke, but his mind felt sharper. The double heartbeat of his Thread thudded in his ears.
"Targets are scattered across the ice," Zyren explained. "Some are beasts, some are other contestants. We just need enough kills to rank high before the time runs out."
Malik frowned. "You make it sound easy."
"It is… if you're high enough to forget about the things that want to eat you."
First Blood
The first thing they found was a Frostling — a humanoid shape made entirely of snow and razor-edged ice. It moved in jerks, eyes glowing blue.
Malik's Split Sight triggered — one vision showed the Frostling lunging from the left, the other showed it sweeping low from the right.
He chose both.
Pivoting mid-step, he dodged the high strike, slammed his spear into the creature's knee, then twisted and drove the butt into its chest. The Frostling shattered into a glittering cloud.
Zyren whistled. "Alright… I'm officially keeping you around. You're like my violent, overachieving little brother."
The Rival
They weren't alone for long.
From between two jagged ice pillars, a tall woman stepped into view — skin a warm bronze against the frozen blue backdrop, eyes sharp, mouth curled in amusement. She wore a fur-lined coat with one sleeve missing, revealing an arm covered in runic tattoos.
She held a glaive across her shoulders.
"Two kills already?" she said. "Looks like I picked the right people to follow."
"Follow?" Malik asked.
She smiled. "For now. Until you slow down… or until I get bored."
Zyren leaned in and whispered just loud enough for Malik to hear, "She's got that 'I'll either save your life or stab you in the night' vibe. Kinda hot."
Malik ignored him, though his Split Sight flickered — in one vision, she fought beside them. In the other, she stood over him with her glaive dripping blood.
The Ice Cracks
The ground beneath them groaned.
A massive shadow passed under the ice. Then — CRACK! — the frozen surface split open, and a serpentine creature erupted into the air, scales glistening with frost.
"Zyren," Malik said, tightening his grip on the spear.
"Yeah?"
"Please tell me you're sober enough for this."
Zyren grinned, rolling his shoulders. "Brother… I'm perfectly high for this."