"Patriarch!" Sylvara rushed to her grandfather as soon as she teleported back to the real world. Sotis they could bring so items out of the ga, but it looked like they couldn’t really bring these frost pearls out of the ga.
She could only explain it to her grandfather to make him understand how truly ga-changing their last encounter had been. That small lake could take their entire family to whole new heights, to places they could have never even imagined to be possible.
Sothing that could increase their innate ice affinity! This was unbelievable!
"Grandfather!" She shouted with urgency and barged into the room, ignoring the surprised faces of the guards stationed outside. For the first ti, Sylvara actually felt warm inside their compound after facing the insanity that was the small black pool.
Her grandfather, long white hair cascading like a waterfall over his dark robes, looked up from his desk, his cold blue eyes narrowing with curiosity. "Sylvara?" he said, his voice calm. "What is it that has you so riled up?"
She rushed to his side, barely containing the words that tumbled from her lips. "Grandfather, I’ve found sothing, sothing that could change everything for our family. A small black lake in the frozen caverns, sothing that can increase our innate ice affinity! It’s... it’s beyond anything we’ve ever seen before!"
His brows furrowed, the lines on his face deepening as he leaned forward. "Increase... our affinity? Explain yourself. Tell everything, child. Leave nothing out."
Sylvara’s breath ca in quick gasps, her mind still buzzing with the mory of that cold, that power. "The lake is more than just water. It’s an elental node, a pure ice mana vortex that tests you, breaks you, but rewards you. The system itself has classified it as a test. There is a legacy if soone manages to pass the trial."
"But even if we don’t, there is so much to gain from it. If we can harness it, even for a short ti, we could raise the entire family’s strength to a level that would put us on par with the best guilds. Maybe even surpass them."
Sylvara’s heart raced as she began to recount every detail, from the first tremor of frost to the final, desperate scramble out of the black water. The future of her clan and her own destiny might in fact be decided by this small black pool.
Artimius calmly listened to everything. His eyes widened in shock as he processed her words.
"A pure ice mana vortex that can enhance our affinity," he muttered. "A trial that rewards not just those with ice affinity, but anyone with enough determination to endure it. And you say there is also a system legacy?"
Sylvara nodded, her breath ragged. "Yes, Grandfather. But it is not easy. I... I barely survived. It’s like the cold itself cos alive and tries to consu you. But those who can withstand it, those who can embrace it, will be reborn stronger."
Artimius’s expression darkened with a fierce hunger, his fingers curling slightly as if grasping at the promise of power. "This changes everything," he whispered. "If we can master this, our clan will no longer be at the rcy of those so-called ’best guilds.’"
He turned his icy gaze back to his granddaughter. "Sylvara, you have done well. You have given us a chance. No, a destiny. We will begin preparations imdiately. I will summon the Council of Elders and lay out a plan for mobilization. Every able-bodied mber will be tested. We will forge our strength in the cold, and the Frozen Abyss will beco the crucible that shapes our future. Go now. We have a lot to do."
Sylvara nodded. She hurriedly prepared to leave to alert the other Council of Elders, but she abruptly stopped. "Grandfather... there is one other thing." At first, she did not plan to, but knowing that the man wouldn’t let this go simply, she decided to talk about this matter as well.
"Grandfather... About Blood God..." She hesitantly told everything that happened, not leaving a single detail. In the light of what they had discovered, Sylvara did not think that the old man would care, but she imdiately regretted her decision.
Artimius did not look pleased at all. In fact, he seed to have completely forgotten about the whole black pool matter. He only looked at Sylvara with his stern blue eyes, disappointnt clearly etched within them.
"What have you done, you stupid child! How could you be so blind? The truth might not always be what it seems to be!" His voice thundered through the chamber. "What happens when a creature dies inside the ga? Tell ."
"I... Grandfather, but..."
"Tell !"
"An item drops sotis," Sylvara answered, biting her lips.
"And what happens after that?"
"After that...?"
"Does the corpse disappear or not?"
"I..." Sylvara’s eyes widened. "It does disappear."
"Then, is it not possible that Blood God already fought several enemies before your party arrived at the cavern?"
"But he did not tell anything about-"
"It doesn’t matter, child. That man is arrogant and prideful. Why do you think he would take the initiative to explain anything? You should have had the state of mind to analyze sothing from all angles calmly. You should not have jumped to conclusions! You of all people know his importance to our clan! Yet you dared to behave in this manner? Do you not trust my words, child?"
Sylvara’s eyes widened. "But... I thought—"
"You thought wrong!" Artimius snapped, his eyes narrowing. He lifted his right hand from within his robe and then removed the thin skin colored glove covering it. Underneath, his actual right hand was revealed, and shockingly, an intense aura of death reeked from it.
The entire hand was black, covered by putrid boils and pustules. His dark, corrupted hand glistened under the chamber’s pale light, each boil oozing a vile liquid that hissed when it touched the cold marble floor.
Sylvara’s breath caught in her throat, her eyes widening in horror and disbelief.
"Grandfather... your hand!"
His cold blue eyes blazed with a mixture of fury and pain. "This is the price I paid, child," he growled, his voice low and trembling. "While others received their blessings, I received their curse for seeing what must not be seen."
Tears welled in Sylvara’s eyes, a mix of fear, guilt, and awe. "Grandfather... I didn’t know. I didn’t understand."
Artimius’s eyes softened, but only by a fraction. "No, you did not. And that is why you will learn." His hand clenched, the corrupted flesh splitting and dripping black ichor.
"Blood God is not just a threat or a pawn, Sylvara. He is the one and only hope for our entire world! There is a war coming, and he is the only one who can protect us. Under no circumstances should you betray him, challenge him, or stand in his way."
Sylvara’s tears fell freely now, each drop freezing on her cheeks like tiny daggers. "I... I didn’t know," she whispered.
"Go. Return to the ga now. Do everything in your power to right this wrong. Even if it ans bowing your head before him."
Sylvara swallowed hard. "Yes, Grandfather," she whispered, her voice trembling.
Artimius’s gaze bore into her, cold and unrelenting. "Good. Because if you fail, if you act out of pride or fear again, then the curse upon this hand," he raised his corrupted limb with a trembling snarl, "will be the least of our worries."
He turned back to his desk, the air around him growing even colder. "Go now. We have much to do, and so little ti."
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