The mission assignment was posted at sunrise.
Ren stood in the outer courtyard as disciples gathered around the spirit board, murmurs spreading as names flared into view—etched in glowing script by the sect's authority formation.
At first, it was routine.
Scouting.Escort.Resource recovery.
Then—
Mission: Black Frost RavineThreat Level: VariableParticipants:• Ice Saintess – Lead• Senior Sister Lian• Ren Vale
The courtyard fell silent.
Then—
"What?""Is that a joke?""An outer disciple?"
Ren exhaled slowly.
Variable threat level.That meant unknown dangers. Monsters, remnants, things that didn't obey normal rankings.
And they were sending him—with them.
He felt it immediately.
Pressure.
Not spiritual—social.
Eyes bored into him from every angle. Curiosity sharpened into speculation. Speculation edged toward resentment.
"Ambient Desire Detected""Sources: jealousy, confusion, indignation"
Ren didn't smile.
He didn't need to.
The warmth in his chest told him everything.
Senior Sister Lian arrived first.
Her boots struck stone with crisp authority as she stepped into the courtyard, crimson-edged robes fluttering lightly. Her gaze swept over the crowd—and stopped on Ren.
She smirked faintly.
"So," she said, loud enough for everyone to hear, "looks like you survived the night."
A few disciples stiffened.
Ren met her gaze evenly. "Barely."
Her eyes flickered—something unreadable passing through them.
Good.
That meant she was paying attention.
"Jealousy Vector Strengthening"
Before Lian could say more, the temperature dropped.
Conversation died instantly.
The Ice Saintess arrived without sound.
No dramatic entrance. No aura flare.
Just presence.
Snow bloomed across the courtyard stones beneath her feet, frost creeping outward like something alive. Her white robes stirred in a breeze no one else felt.
She didn't look at Ren immediately.
That was worse.
When her gaze finally shifted toward him, it carried weight—measured, conflicted, restrained.
And Ren felt it hit him like a tide.
"High-Purity Target Proximity""Emotional Suppression Active""Conversion Efficiency: Unstable"
The Saintess looked away first.
"Move out," she said coolly. "We leave now."
They traveled by cloud platform.
Of course they did.
Ren stood at the rear, hands folded inside his sleeves, pretending not to notice how small the space felt despite the open sky.
Lian leaned casually against the railing, eyes flicking between Ren and the Saintess with sharp amusement.
"So," she said lightly, "do either of you want to explain why the elders think this is a good idea?"
The Saintess said nothing.
Ren shrugged. "They like stress testing anomalies."
Lian snorted. "You call yourself an anomaly now?"
"I think the sect does," Ren replied.
Her gaze lingered on him longer than necessary.
"…You're awfully calm for someone surrounded by people who could erase you."
Ren met her eyes. "I've already been erased once."
That earned him a pause.
Then a quiet laugh.
"Ice," Lian called without turning her head, "did you notice that?"
The Saintess's jaw tightened.
"I noticed," she said.
The cloud platform dipped slightly as spiritual pressure shifted.
Ren felt it.
Not hostility.
Restraint.
Black Frost Ravine earned its name honestly.
By the time they reached the outskirts, the air had turned sharp enough to sting lungs. Jagged stone formations rose like broken teeth, coated in unnatural frost that pulsed faintly with dark energy.
The Saintess raised a hand.
"Defensive formation," she ordered.
Lian stepped forward instantly.
Ren hesitated for half a heartbeat—
Then stepped into position as well.
Both women paused.
Not because he was wrong.
Because he wasn't.
"Combat Instinct Alignment Detected""Reward: Awareness +1"
The Saintess studied him sidelong.
"You've never been here," she said.
"No," Ren agreed. "But danger feels the same everywhere."
Lian smiled faintly. "I like that answer."
They advanced carefully into the ravine.
That's when it happened.
The cold shifted.
Not dropping—focusing.
Ren felt something old and hostile brush against his senses, like a gaze sliding over exposed skin.
"External Entity Attention Detected""Threat: Unknown"
"Stop," Ren said suddenly.
Both women halted instantly.
Lian raised a brow. "You sensed something?"
"Yes," Ren said quietly. "And it sensed me back."
The Saintess's eyes sharpened.
Before either could react—
The frost exploded.
Black ice spears erupted from the ravine walls, lancing toward them in a sudden storm.
Lian cursed and drew her sword in a blur.
The Saintess stepped forward, hands weaving a freezing seal that locked the air itself—
But one spear slipped through.
Straight toward Ren.
There was no time.
Ren moved.
He didn't dodge.
He stepped into it.
The spear slowed inches from his chest—stopped by nothing visible.
Ren raised his hand and pushed.
The ice shattered.
Silence followed.
Lian stared.
The Saintess froze.
"Dominance Event Detected""Multiple Witnesses""Desire Yield: High"
Ren's heart hammered—but he stayed upright.
"I told you," he said quietly. "It noticed me."
The ravine trembled.
A low, ancient growl echoed from the depths.
Something down there was waking up.
Something that had felt Ren's presence—and reacted.
Lian exhaled slowly. "…You're a problem."
Ren didn't argue.
They pressed on anyway.
Because retreat wasn't an option now.
The deeper they went, the more oppressive the atmosphere became. The Saintess took the lead, ice qi flowing flawlessly, yet Ren noticed the subtle signs of strain—micro-adjustments, breath held a fraction too long.
She was distracted.
By him.
Lian noticed too.
She drifted closer to Ren under the pretense of guarding his flank.
"You don't realize what you're doing," she murmured.
Ren glanced at her. "Existing?"
Her lips curved faintly. "That."
Before he could respond—
The system spiked.
"Harem Equilibrium Warning""Multiple High-Value Targets Engaged""Instability Detected"
Ren swore internally.
"What happens if it destabilizes?" he asked silently.
"Conflict intensifies.""Rewards increase.""Failure results in backlash affecting all participants."
Ren grimaced.
Of course it does.
They reached the ravine's heart—a frozen basin swirling with dark mist.
At its center stood a creature of ice and shadow, half-formed, ancient eyes locking immediately onto Ren.
Not the Saintess.
Not Lian.
Him.
The creature snarled.
"A foreign desire… trespasses…"
Ren felt the system surge like a living thing.
"Unique Entity Recognized""It Feeds on Suppressed Emotion"
The Saintess stepped protectively in front of Ren without realizing it.
Lian mirrored the motion on his other side.
Ren stood between them—
—and felt something click.
Not power.
Alignment.
"Temporary Resonance Established""Triad Synchronization: Partial"
Energy rippled outward.
The creature recoiled, shrieking as the frost around it destabilized.
Ren raised his hand instinctively.
"End it," he said.
The Saintess unleashed absolute zero.
Lian followed with a crimson strike.
The creature shattered into light and shadow, screaming—
—and then dissolved.
Silence returned.
The mist cleared.
Breathing hard, Lian let out a shaky laugh.
"…That worked?"
The Saintess turned slowly.
Her eyes locked onto Ren.
Not cold.
Not distant.
Searching.
"You should not exist like this," she said softly.
Ren met her gaze.
"And yet I do."
The system purred.
"Arc Progression: Significant""Desire Bonds Strengthened"
Somewhere far away, the sect's observation arrays flared violently.
And deep within Black Frost Ravine, something older than the sect itself noticed the disturbance.
The mission had just begun.
They didn't leave Black Frost Ravine immediately.
No one said it outright, but all three of them understood the truth: whatever they had destroyed wasn't the source.
It was bait.
The basin lay quiet now, frost settling into harmless patterns once more, but the air carried a residue that made the skin crawl—a pressure that hadn't existed before Ren arrived.
The Ice Saintess was the first to speak.
"We camp here," she said.
Lian turned sharply. "Here? After that?"
"This ravine suppresses external perception," the Saintess replied. "Moving while fatigued is riskier."
Her gaze flicked—briefly—to Ren.
"And," she added, "someone needs to be observed."
Ren accepted that without comment.
"Forced Camp Event Confirmed""High-Pressure Emotional Environment"
Of course it is, Ren thought.
They set up the camp efficiently.
A perimeter of ice sigils bloomed under the Saintess's touch, locking the temperature and warding hostile presence. Lian cleared the ground and set the barrier stones with crisp, practiced movements.
Ren helped where he could—collecting fuel, adjusting seals when instructed, keeping quiet.
Too quiet.
Lian noticed.
"You're calm again," she said casually, crouching near the low spirit flame. "That's becoming a habit."
Ren shrugged. "Should I panic?"
"I'd prefer honesty," she replied.
The Saintess didn't look at either of them, but the faintest tightening passed through her shoulders.
Ren met Lian's gaze. "I don't know how dangerous I am yet. I don't think panic helps."
She studied him for a long moment.
Then she smiled—but it didn't reach her eyes.
"That might be the most unsettling thing you could've said."
"Jealousy Response: Active""Yield: Moderate"
The fire crackled softly.
Night settled like a held breath.
Later, when the camp was quiet and the ravine lay frozen beneath moonlight, Ren sat near the edge of the ice barrier, back against a stone outcropping.
The warmth in his chest hadn't faded.
If anything, it had grown heavier—dense, coiled, demanding.
"Desire Accumulation Approaching Threshold"
Ren rubbed at his sternum.
"Don't," he muttered internally. "Not now."
"Backlash probability rising."
Across the camp, the Ice Saintess sat in silent meditation, eyes closed, posture perfect.
Perfect—and strained.
Her breath was too measured.
Her qi circulation fractionally off rhythm.
Ren could feel it, like a tension in the air between them.
He wasn't the only one who noticed.
Lian leaned back against a rock, arms crossed, watching the Saintess from beneath half-lidded eyes.
"…She's struggling," Lian murmured.
Ren didn't answer.
"Don't pretend you don't see it," she continued quietly. "You affect her."
Ren's jaw tightened. "I didn't ask to."
"Doesn't matter," Lian replied. "You do."
She shifted closer, lowering her voice.
"And unlike her," she added softly, "I don't believe in pretending emotions don't exist."
The warmth in Ren's chest flared sharply.
"System Notice: Emotional Pressure Increasing"
Before he could respond—
A sharp crack echoed through the ravine.
The Saintess gasped.
Her eyes snapped open, frost exploding outward as her meditation formation shattered beneath her.
Qi surged violently, then collapsed inward.
She clutched her chest, breath faltering.
Ren was on his feet instantly.
"Ice—!" Lian started.
"I'm fine," the Saintess said sharply—but her voice lacked conviction.
She stood, unsteady.
For a terrifying second, her control slipped.
The temperature spiked wildly, ice forming jagged patterns along the ground, spirit flame guttering dangerously.
Ren felt the system pull.
"Critical Emotional Imbalance Detected""High-Purity Target Near Breach"
He moved without thinking.
"Stop," he said—not loud, but firm.
The word cut through the distortion.
The Saintess froze.
Her eyes locked onto him.
The air between them tightened.
"I told you," she said, voice trembling despite herself, "to stay back."
Ren didn't.
He stepped closer—just inside arm's reach.
"I'm not attacking you," he said quietly. "But you're fighting yourself too hard."
Her pupils constricted.
"You don't understand—"
"I understand this much," Ren interrupted gently. "If you suppress it harder, it'll break you."
Silence crashed down.
Lian stared.
The Saintess's breath hitched.
"I don't have desires," she whispered.
The system surged violently.
"False Repression Detected""Correction Imminent"
Frost exploded outward in a shockwave.
Ren barely had time to react before the ground vanished beneath his feet.
The camp tilted.
Collapsed.
The world lurched—
—and Ren found himself slammed against cold stone, breath knocked from his lungs.
The Saintess was right there.
Too close.
Pinned between the rock face and Ren's body, her hands braced on either side of his shoulders, hair spilling loose around them in a dark curtain.
For one frozen heartbeat, neither moved.
They stared at each other.
Her eyes—no longer calm, no longer distant—were wide, shaken, alive with something she couldn't name.
"Forced Proximity: MAXIMUM""Desire Conversion: Unstable but Explosive"
Ren swallowed hard.
"…Senior Sister."
She didn't answer.
Her breath brushed his cheek—warm.
Very warm.
"This is… dangerous," she whispered.
"Yes," Ren agreed quietly.
She should have pushed away.
She didn't.
The air hummed with suppressed power, emotions grinding against barriers built over years of denial.
Then—
Lian's voice cut in, sharp and controlled.
"Alright," she said. "That's far enough."
The Saintess flinched violently, shoving herself back as if burned.
She retreated several steps, robes fluttering, face pale.
"I—" She stopped. Closed her eyes. Drew in a shuddering breath.
"I need distance," she said rigidly.
Then she turned and disappeared beyond the ice barrier, leaving frost cracking in her wake.
Silence fell.
Heavy.
Charged.
Ren stayed where he was, staring at the place she'd stood.
His heart was pounding like it wanted out of his chest.
"Desire Threshold Breached""Major Reward Pending Stabilization"
Lian approached slowly.
She studied him—really studied him—eyes sharp, expression unreadable.
"…So that's how it is," she murmured.
Ren looked up. "How what is?"
She crouched in front of him, gaze level.
"You don't chase," she said. "You don't force."
He said nothing.
"And somehow," she continued, voice quiet, edged with something dangerous, "that makes it worse."
Ren let out a slow breath. "I don't want to hurt her."
Lian laughed softly.
"That might be the problem."
She rose, turning away.
"I'll take first watch," she said. "You… should rest."
She paused, glancing back over her shoulder.
"Try not to destabilize the world while you do."
Ren watched her retreat, then leaned back against the rock, eyes closing.
The system's presence pressed close, almost satisfied.
"Saintess Bond: Intensified""Jealousy Vector: Escalating""Next Event Probability: HIGH"
Far from the camp, the Ice Saintess stood alone beneath the moon, hands clenched, heart racing in a way it never had before.
She pressed her palm to her chest.
"…What are you doing to me?" she whispered.
And deep beneath the ravine, something ancient shifted—aware now not just of Ren's power…
…but of his nature.
The night refused to stay quiet.