Location: Northern Frontier – Beyond the Frost-Blood Kingdom
The world ended here.
That was the only way to describe the geography. Aris and Nox had passed the borders of the conquered Frost-Blood Kingdom hours ago. The landscape of snow-covered pine trees and undead settlements had vanished, replaced by a flat, endless expanse of white nothingness.
The temperature had dropped to a level that defied standard meteorology. It wasn't just cold; it was an active, hostile force attempting to stop molecular motion.
[Environmental Warning]
[Zone: The Glacial Wastes]
[Temperature: -80°C (Dropping)]
[Effect: 'Deep Freeze' – Unprotected biology will shatter within 30 seconds.]
Aris sat atop Nox, who was bounding across the ice sheets. Even the Eclipse Hound, a creature of the void, was uncomfortable. Frost was forming on Nox's smoky mane, turning the shadow-beast into a shimmering white ghost.
"Hold steady," Aris murmured, patting the beast's neck.
He activated his new gear.
"System. Engage Void-Walker's Mantle. Thermal Isolation Mode."
The black cloak draped over his shoulders shimmered. The inner lining, made of Wings of the Moderator, pulsed with a soft, white light. A bubble of distorted space expanded around Aris and Nox.
Inside the bubble, the temperature stabilized to a mild chill. Outside, the wind howled like a dying banshee, carving grooves into the ice.
"This isn't natural weather," Aris analyzed, his Abyssal Eye scanning the horizon. "This is a defensive formation. The Black Tortoise is projecting a 'Cold Aura' that covers a thousand miles."
The Grind: The Cryo-Drakes
Suddenly, the ice beneath them rumbled.
[Abyssal Eye: Threat Detected.]
[Target: Cryo-Drake Pack (Sub-Species of Dragon)]
[Level: 45 (Core Formation Peak)]
[Behavior: Ambush Predators.]
CRACK.
The ice sheet exploded upward.
Three massive, serpentine heads burst from the frozen ground. They were Cryo-Drakes—wingless dragons with scales like blue diamonds and jaws capable of crushing steel. They didn't breathe fire; they breathed a liquid nitrogen slurry.
"Ambush!" Aris announced calmly.
The lead Drake roared, lunging for Nox's leg.
"Jump."
Nox didn't need to be told twice. He teleported mid-stride, vanishing into his own shadow just as the Drake's jaws snapped shut on empty air. Nox reappeared ten meters in the air, landing on the Drake's back.
"Don't kill them yet," Aris commanded, drawing a black scalpel from his inventory. "Their 'Frost Sacs' are valuable ingredients for cooling pills. If you crush them, you ruin the loot."
Aris leaped off Nox, descending toward the second Drake.
The beast sprayed a stream of freezing liquid at him.
[Skill: Void-Walker Phase-Shift.]
Aris's body turned intangible. The freezing liquid passed harmlessly through his chest. He materialized a split second later, standing directly on the Drake's snout.
"Reverse Refinement: Extract."
He slammed his hand onto the Drake's forehead.
He didn't absorb its Qi. He targeted the specific organ in its throat responsible for the ice breath.
SQUELCH.
The Drake's neck bulged, then collapsed. A glowing blue orb, pulsing with cold energy, flew out of its throat and into Aris's hand.
[Item Acquired: Pristine Frost Sac (Rank: Earth).]
[Value: 500 AP / 2,000 Gold.]
The Drake choked, suffocating without its primary organ. It collapsed, twitching.
"Efficient," Aris noted, storing the sac.
Behind him, Nox was wrestling the Lead Drake. The shadow-hound used his superior mass to pin the reptile to the ice. Nox looked at Aris, waiting for permission.
"Eat," Aris nodded.
Nox unhinged his jaw. Void Maw.
He bit the Drake's head off in a single crunch.
[Nox XP Gained: +450]
The third Drake, realizing its pack was dead, tried to burrow back into the ice.
"Oh no, you don't," Aris said. "I need a full set."
He raised his hand. Gravity Well.
The fleeing Drake was yanked backward, sliding across the ice until it stopped at Aris's feet. Aris placed his boot on its neck.
"Sleep."
He drove the God-Blight Spike (just a little) into its spine, paralyzing it instantly. He harvested the second Frost Sac with surgical precision before ending the beast's misery.
The Ruined Outpost
After harvesting the materials, Aris didn't continue North immediately. His scan had picked up an anomaly.
About five miles East, buried halfway in a glacier, was a structure that didn't belong to nature.
"Let's investigate," Aris said, remounting Nox. "There might be data on the Tortoise."
They arrived at the site ten minutes later. It was a frozen ruin—a small fortress made of black stone, half-crushed by the shifting ice. A tattered flag, frozen stiff, still stood on a pole. It bore the insignia of a Three-Headed Hydra.
[Lore Check: The Hydra Sect.]
[Status: Extinct (Destroyed 500 years ago).]
[History: An ancient sect from the Frost-Blood region that attempted to tame the Black Tortoise. They failed.]
Aris dismounted and walked into the frozen courtyard.
Corpses were everywhere.
They weren't skeletons; the cold had preserved them perfectly. Hundreds of cultivators in blue robes stood frozen in poses of absolute terror. Some were clawing at their own throats. Others were huddled together.
Aris walked up to what looked like the Expedition Leader. The man was frozen mid-scream, clutching a jade tablet.
"What killed you?" Aris whispered, leaning in. "There are no bite marks. No wounds."
He activated Truth Seeker.
He saw the internal damage. Their lungs were crystallized. Their meridians had shattered from the inside out.
[Cause of Death: Sound.]
[Analysis: The Black Tortoise emits a low-frequency 'Hum' while sleeping. This frequency resonates with water. Since human bodies are 70% water, the Hum boiled them from the inside.]
"Sonic damage," Aris mused. "That's why it's called the Trench of Silence. It's not silent because there's no noise; it's silent because nothing survives to hear it."
He pried the jade tablet from the frozen corpse's fingers.
[Item: Expedition Log (Encrypted).]
[Decrypting...]
Day 40: We found the entrance. It is not water. It is 'Heavy Spirit-Mercury'. We cannot dive. Our ships float too high. The pressure... it crushed the vanguard.
Day 42: The Hum started. Elder Liu exploded. Just... exploded. We are retreating.
Day 43: We cannot escape. The ice is moving. It knows we are here.
Aris pocketed the log. "Heavy Spirit-Mercury. That explains the density readings."
This wasn't just an ocean. It was a pit of liquid metal infused with water essence. A normal submarine would be crushed like a tin can.
The Edge of the World
Aris left the ruin and continued North.
An hour later, the ice shelf ended abruptly.
They stood on a cliff of jagged white ice, looking down.
Below them lay the Northern Abyssal Sea.
It didn't look like an ocean. It looked like a vast, moving sheet of obsidian oil. The waves were slow, heavy, and silent. There was no white foam. When a wave crashed against the ice cliff, it sounded like a heavy thud, shivering the ground beneath Aris's feet.
[Location Reached: The Coast of Silence.]
[Atmospheric Pressure: 50x Normal.]
[Water Density: 100x Normal.]
Aris looked out at the black horizon. Somewhere out there, deep beneath that crushing weight, was a God-Beast the size of an island.
"Nox," Aris said.
The hound whimpered, backing away from the edge. Nox hated water, and this looked less like water and more like death.
"We can't swim in that," Aris agreed. "We'd be crushed before we reached the bottom."
He opened his Abyssal Inventory and checked his materials. He had the Titan Golem Plating (from the Iron-Thunder Empire), the Frost Sacs (from the Drakes), and the Necrotic Bones (from the Frost-Blood Kingdom).
"Time for some crafting," Aris said, sitting down on the edge of the cliff. "System. Open Abyssal Forge."
[Blueprint Required.]
"Design me a vessel," Aris commanded, his eyes glowing violet as he visualized the schematic. "Use the Golem Plating for pressure resistance. Use the Frost Sacs to regulate the temperature. And coat the hull in Shadow-Weave to bypass the sonic sensors."
[Drafting: The Abyssal Bathysphere.]
[Estimated Build Time: 6 Hours.]
Aris pulled out his crafting tools. The wind howled around him, but he didn't feel the cold. He felt the thrill of the puzzle.
"The Hydra Sect failed because they tried to fight the ocean," Aris whispered, picking up a hammer made of void-energy. "I'm not going to fight it. I'm going to become part of it."