The light spat him into cold.
Air bit sharp into his lungs, thin and dry, and his breath fogged white. The stone under his boots was slick with frost, the walls glittering with frozen veins.
He staggered once, then straightened, axe in hand, eyes narrowing. The dungeon had changed again.
[Zone Entered: Frostvein Strata]
Environmental Hazard: Hypothermia Risk — Prolonged Exposure
Predator Density: Moderate (Pack Hunters)
Resource Nodes: Frost Crystals (Uncommon), Vein Ore (Rare)
Exploration Hint: Fire needed to stabilize core temperature. Seek thermal vents.
Cold seeped into his thigh wound, numbing at first, then aching deep. He clenched his jaw against it. The burns along his forearm stung raw, skin tight as the frost kissed it.
"New hell, same rules," he muttered.
He scanned the cavern. The ceiling arched high, ribbed with icicles like teeth. In the distance, a faint glow pulsed orange — a vent, maybe, or something worse.
His boots crunched over frost as he moved. Every sound carried far, too far, echoing back in broken whispers.
A growl answered.
Low. Drawn out. Not one throat. Several.
Shadows peeled from the frost like they'd been waiting. Wolves, but not. Taller, thinner, their pelts like shards of ice fused to muscle. Eyes burned pale blue, no warmth in them at all. Steam curled from jaws lined with icicle fangs.
Three of them fanned out, slow and deliberate, cutting him from the vent's glow.
The System chimed.
[Hostiles Detected]
Classification: Frostfang Wolves x3
Behavior: Pack Harriers | Bleed Target | Drive to Exhaustion
Advisory: Aim for throat seam under frost-pelt | Avoid hamstring strikes
Callum planted his boots in the frost, axe low, breath steady, chest rising with slow discipline. His pulse hammered, but the vow steadied it.
The wolves prowled closer, paws crunching, steam rising off their bodies in faint clouds.
Then they lunged.
The first wolf leapt high, frost scattering from its hide. Callum swung low instead of up, meeting its belly mid-arc. The axe ripped a red line across white hide. The wolf shrieked, folded, and hit the frost hard.
The second came from his flank. He didn't bother turning — he stepped in, slammed a shoulder into its chest, and buried the axe in its throat as they collided. Black-blue blood sprayed hot against the cold.
The third wolf struck while the haft was still wedged. Teeth closed on his forearm, ice fangs cutting into old burns. Pain flared bright.
He roared, yanked the haft free with one hand, and chopped point-blank. The blade split its skull, hot ichor gouting across his chest.
The wolf twitched once. Twice. Then silence.
All three bodies steamed against the frost, heat fleeing them faster than life had. Callum's own breath tore from him in ragged clouds, blood dripping steady from the bite in his arm.
The System chimed, cool and merciless.
[Combat Result]
Enemies: Frostfang Wolves x3
EXP Gained: 10 + 10 + 10 = 30
Loot Acquired: Frostfang Hide (Uncommon), Icicle Fang (Common x2)
Condition Updated: Bite Wound (Forearm — Moderate), Hypothermia Risk (Onset)
EXP Progress: 31 / 100 (31%)
He leaned on the axe, arm bleeding into the frost, and spat steam into the frozen air.
The vent glow still pulsed in the distance, warm promise or worse. Either way, forward was the only direction left.
"Closer," he whispered, and started toward it
The glow thickened with every step, orange bleeding through frost-white stone. The cold bit deeper, clawing at his ribs, but the promise of heat pulled him forward.
The passage widened into a cavern lit from below. Cracks laced the floor, magma shimmering far beneath thin crusts of stone.
Heat bled upward in waves, warping the air.
Frost met fire here, the stone dripping and freezing all at once.
A vent split the center — a wound in the earth coughing steam and sulfur. Around it, bones blackened by both fire and ice.
Callum crouched by instinct, axe at the ready.
The System struck.
[Environmental Hazard Triggered]
Thermal Vent Zone: Stabilize Core Temperature or suffer Hypothermia/Heatburn
Optional Trial: Defeat Guardian of the Vent to unlock Thermal Bond (Trait)
"Of course," he muttered, eyes narrowing.
The bones stirred.
From the vent's edge pulled itself a creature stitched from both extremes. Its body was wolf-broad, but hide split down the middle: one half armored in jagged ice, the other scaled in red-black like cooled lava. Breath rolled out twin streams — frost from one jaw, fire from the other.
It growled, the sound shaking both sides of the cavern.
[Hostile Detected]
Classification: Bi-Fang Guardian
Behavior: Zone Control | Elemental Split Attacks | Kill to Stabilize Vent
Advisory: Target spine ridge — weak point where frost and flame meet
The beast stepped forward, claws cracking frozen stone and hissing on molten patches.
One eye glowed pale blue, the other burning ember-red.
Callum tightened his grip on the axe, forearm bleeding, frostbite gnawing at his fingers. His breath fogged white, then burned in his throat.
The Bi-Fang Guardian lunged, both jaws opening.
The Guardian's twin jaws opened wide — frost rolling from the left, fire roaring from the right.
Callum dove sideways. Frost scoured the stone where he'd stood, turning it white in an instant. Fire seared the far wall, leaving it glowing. His skin blistered just from the heat that grazed him.
He rolled, came up with the axe high, and slashed across its flank where frost met fire.
The blade sparked, catching on overlapping plates. Not deep. Not enough.
The Guardian roared, twisting faster than its bulk should allow. Its frost side slammed into him, a shoulder of ice armor. The impact hurled him across the chamber. His ribs lit up, hot pain stealing breath.
He coughed blood, shoved himself upright, and reset his stance.
[Player Condition Updated]
Bruised Ribs (Severe) | Fatigue Rising | Burns (Minor)
The beast circled, frost paw dragging, flame paw hissing. Every breath from it filled the cavern with choking steam.
It lunged again, both jaws snapping. Callum braced the haft crosswise, teeth slamming onto the wood. Splinters exploded into his face. He shoved sideways, twisting the axe to wedge deeper between the jaws.
The Guardian shook him like a rag. His arms screamed. He rammed his boot into its chest, forcing space, then wrenched the haft free and drove the axe upward into the seam along its throat.
The blade bit. Shallow. Ichor hissed black-red, half-freezing, half-burning against his arms.
He snarled, shoved harder, but the Guardian ripped backward, dragging him with it.
It smashed him into the wall. Stone split. His vision burst white.
He dropped, rolled as claws scythed where his chest had been. Stone shards rained down.
He staggered up, chest heaving, and whispered through blood, "Closer."
The vow steadied his hands.
He feinted low this time, axe angled for the frost leg. The Guardian shifted to counter, jaws dropping — and he reversed, whipping the blade up into the glowing seam along its spine ridge where frost and flame collided.
The axe sank. Not deep, but enough to make the Guardian howl and stagger. Both elements burst wildly — frost spraying one side, fire jetting the other.
Callum clung to the haft, teeth bared, dragging the blade deeper inch by inch. Heat scorched his face. Frost burned his hands.
The world shrank to edge, seam, vow.
The Guardian slammed sideways, crushing him into the ground. He rolled with it, axe tearing free. He swung again, wild, carving another line across the seam.
Black ichor burst, hissing on stone, freezing and burning in the same breath.
The Guardian reeled. Weak point widening.
Callum roared, every muscle screaming, and brought the axe down in a final, brutal overhand chop into the glowing ridge.
The blade cleaved. The Guardian shrieked, a sound that tore the air. Both jaws flared, frost and fire bursting wide in a dying arc. The cavern walls shook.
Then silence.
The beast collapsed in a steaming heap, half of it freezing solid, half of it burning away.
The System chimed.
[Combat Result]
Enemy: Bi-Fang Guardian
EXP Gained: 60
Loot Acquired: Spine Ridge Shard (Rare), Dual Core (Epic), Frostfire Ichor (Uncommon x2)
Condition Updated: Severe Bruised Ribs, Moderate Burns (Arms/Face), Frostbite (Hands)
EXP Progress: 91 / 100 (91%)
The vent stabilized. Heat evened, frost withdrew. The cavern steadied, no longer trying to kill him with every breath.
A final panel opened.
[Optional Trial Complete]
Reward: Trait Unlock — Frostfire Bond (Hybrid)
Level Up! → Level 6
Stat Points Awarded: +5
Callum staggered to the vent's edge, leaning heavily on the axe. His ribs screamed, his skin burned raw, his hands tingled with frostbite.
But the vow burned hotter. Stronger.
He lifted his chin, blood on his teeth, and whispered again.
"Closer."
The cavern stank of blood, frost, and ash. The Guardian's body twitched once, then split down the seam, one half freezing solid, the other crumbling into smoldering shards.
Callum leaned against his axe, chest dragging air like a bellows. His ribs burned, his hands were numb and blistered, but his feet still stood.
The System's panel hung in front of him, bright and merciless, announcing the new path waiting to be chosen.
He didn't open it. Not yet.
Not while blood still ran down his arm. Not while his legs still shook.
First, breathe. First, endure.
The chamber quieted. The vent pulsed steady, no longer wild, as if holding its breath for his choice.
Callum ignored it. He gripped the axe, straightened with effort, and walked toward the tunnel beyond.
The light swallowed him.
And the dungeon waited