Everwinter Hill—
Beneath the enormous shadow of the Engine of Creation, an ice sculpture stood like a gleaming monument.
Inside the translucent layers, Huo Linfei was frozen in the final pose of his Qilin Armor—the flame patterns locked across his visor, his right hand thrust forward as if trying to grab something, his left leg still bent mid-charge.
The extreme cold had sealed fire itself at the instant of eruption.
March 7th's lips began to tremble. She staggered forward, trying to run to him—only to be yanked back by Dan Heng.
"How could…" Bronya stared, unable to believe it. "Why is he here…?"
Before she could finish, a violent gale screamed past. Beside Bronya, a black-haired girl raised her massive scythe into a ready stance.
"So this is the 'companion' you were talking about?"
"Yeah." Stelle answered simply, tightening her grip on the bat. "Judging by the situation, the boss is probably here. Get ready to fight, Seele."
"Hey, Andrei—does the Underworld really have singing mechanical penguins?"
This was the first time—and also the one-hundred-and-eighth time—Huo Linfei had knocked on the cell's stone wall. Next door came an irritable roll-over and a rattle of chains.
"Shut up, Overworld dog." Andrei's voice squeezed out through clenched teeth.
"Just curious~" Huo Linfei dragged out the tone. "You think Wildfire's secret base might be hidden inside the belly of some giant robot?"
BANG!
Andrei slammed his food bowl against the wall, the impact buzzing Huo Linfei's ear against the stone.
Then the iron door outside the cells opened.
A Silvermane Guard stood there.
"Huo Linfei. The Supreme Guardian wants to see you."
Both Huo Linfei and Andrei froze mid-motion.
The difference was: Huo Linfei's eyes sharpened, while Andrei looked outright stunned.
"Now? In the middle of the night?" Huo Linfei arched a brow, probing. "Can Lady Cocolia not sleep?"
The guard didn't answer. He only opened the cell.
When the restraints disengaged, Huo Linfei rose—and heard Andrei mutter, barely audible:
"Be careful, kid. They don't interrogate prisoners at night in this place."
Huo Linfei gave the tiniest nod and followed into the long, lightless corridor.
But they didn't go up.
They went down, through a sequence of concealed doors, until they reached a hidden lift platform. Gears groaned. The platform climbed—fast—yet the temperature plunged, like they were rising straight into a different kind of winter.
"Where are we going? This isn't toward Qlipoth Fort." Huo Linfei rubbed his arms.
No reply.
But Huo Linfei noticed something off: the guard's movements were stiff, and there was no white mist from his breath in the cold.
When the lift stopped, a snow-buried military camp spread before them. Large mechanisms stood in various states of decay—yet many seemed operational.
In the center, a black command tent sat too conspicuously on the white plain.
That was their destination.
"Go in."
Huo Linfei inhaled slowly. Wearing only thin prison clothes, he couldn't shake the suspicion this was deliberate torment. Energion surged through his body, forcing warmth into his limbs.
He lifted the tent flap.
Inside, Cocolia stood with her back to him before a crystal sand-table—an entire topographic model of Jarilo-VI shimmering under ice-blue light.
"What did you say to my daughter?"
Her voice was colder than the wind outside.
She didn't turn, but the snow on the sand-table quivered faintly as she spoke.
"Good evening, Supreme Guardian." Huo Linfei bowed with exaggerated politeness, then continued, "Which conversation do you mean? The one about the weather? Local cuisine? Or the Underworld heating proble—"
"Enough!"
Cocolia spun around.
Her violet eyes glowed with an unnatural blue.
"Bronya accessed the energy ledgers. And now she's gone to the Underworld behind my back. What exactly did you put into her head?"
"That's rich—I'm the innocent one here." Huo Linfei spread his hands. "Does truth need 'planting'? Supplies being skimmed is a fact. The Stellaron causing the Eternal Freeze is a fact. You can't hide that forever—"
"You know nothing!"
With Cocolia's roar, ice spikes erupted from the ground, pointing straight for his throat.
Huo Linfei scrambled back in a mess, sweat turning cold on his forehead.
"This crazy woman doesn't even warn before she swings—Armor!"
The Qilin Armor snapped over him. Flames ignited around his fists.
"I don't understand? No, I don't understand how someone can watch children freeze to death!" His voice rose. "Firecloud Art!"
The blazing strike tore through the tent. The surrounding "guards"—now clearly puppets—were thrown back, the ceiling ripped open to reveal the glittering starfield and, in the distance, the towering Everwinter Hill.
Cocolia slammed an ice-forged scepter into the ground. Her expression twisted.
"…Why… for a greater sacrifice. The Stellaron promised me—when the Eternal Freeze purifies everything, a reborn Belobog will never fall again!"
[WARNING: Stellaron energy surge detected!]
[Remaining Energion: 18%]
[Recommendation: immediate retreat]
"Wait—how am I down to that little already?!"
[Ahem]
[Most of your Energion has been spent maintaining body temperature since leaving the Express]
[Plus playing with fire in the cell]
[No supplies = low reserves is normal]
Cocolia's voice turned drifting, almost like she was talking to herself.
"I took her from the orphanage… gave her the best education…"
"She'll understand… when the new world arrives…"
A blizzard condensed into countless ice spears and fired at Huo Linfei.
He spun through the air, fists blazing, weaving a dense wall of fire—yet spears still grazed him. Wherever they hit, frost spread instantly.
[Remaining Energion: 9%]
[SEVERE WARNING: continuing combat will overdraw the body]
"System, shut up—you're ruining my flow!" Huo Linfei shattered the frost clinging to his armor. "So what if I'm low?!"
He stomped, cracking the ice beneath his feet, and launched himself like a cannonball straight at Cocolia.
"Before me, enemies either run—"
"—or get utterly crushed!"
The flames on his拳锋 compressed to the limit, warping the air with heat. The ice on the ground sublimated in a white steam trail beneath his charge.
"Firecloud Art!"
Through the ice fog, Cocolia's face blurred—only her violet eyes remained clear.
And in those eyes, beneath the rage, was something deeper than the snowfields:
bottomless sorrow.
"Bronya… will do better than me…"
That was the last thing Huo Linfei heard before his consciousness froze.
Ice began forming from the edge of his burning strike—then crawled over him, sealing everything.
"Where is this? Why is it so cold?"
His awareness floated in sticky darkness. His body felt like it was drifting through space—black, and only black.
Sometimes, a rough, ancient humanoid statue outline surfaced in the void.
"The mission of an Ultra Beast Warrior isn't to destroy someone… or support someone… not to defeat someone…"
"That line… feels familiar…"
"Our mission is to maintain the balance of the universe!"
"I remember now—this is…!"
A warm nostalgia rose from deep in his chest.
"Baboo?"
"…Huh? What was that?"
"Baboo! Baboo!"
"What is it, Baboo? Did A-Fei wake up?"
"Ah… so dark… Wait, is it dark because I didn't open my eyes? Heh!"
Huo Linfei snapped his eyes open.
The sensation of falling jolted him upright—only for his forehead to slam into something and send it flying.
"Ow!"
His vision was still blurry, but he could make out a green lump and a pink lump colliding.
Before his brain fully caught up, his mouth had already run ahead:
"Hey, chubby—did you awaken some weird kink or what? Why are you hugging Baboo so tight?"
Join here to read ahead.
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