Lucas’s gaze darted from the trembling forms of Lira and Mirielle to the Divas standing rigid beside the Empress. What unsettled him most wasn’t the wind or the dark, but the faint tremor in their composure. These won were Ascendant-ranked cultivators...individuals powerful enough to level entire fortresses...and yet their eyes flickered with unmistakable fear.
The old guide muttered sothing under his breath, clutching the talisman around his neck. His voice was barely audible, but Lucas caught fragnts of it...a prayer to the mountain spirits, a plea to ward off death.
Lucas swallowed hard, his instincts sharpening. Whatever was coming was far beyond anything they were prepared for. Even the snow seed to have gone still, as if the mountain itself were holding its breath.
Selene stepped closer to him, her voice shaking. "Why... why does it feel like that? Like sothing’s pressing down on my chest?"
Lucas didn’t answer. He was too focused on the unseen weight in the air, that oppressive force that made his Qi swirl erratically inside his core. It wasn’t just a strong aura...it was ancient, vast, and cruel.
The guide’s lantern flickered violently, its light sputtering. "It’s close," he whispered. "By the heavens... it’s close. Do not move. Do not make a sound."
But the warning ca too late. A low rumble rolled across the snow, followed by a gust so cold it burned their faces. The mountain groaned again, and the snow under their feet began to vibrate softly.
Lira gripped Nyx’s arm, her teeth chattering uncontrollably. "I can’t... I can’t take this cold anymore," she murmured.
Nyx barely heard her. Her eyes were fixed ahead, where the mist seed to twist unnaturally. "It’s not the cold," she said under her breath. "It’s fear."
Lucas could already feel it too...the overwhelming pulse of life force sowhere ahead, hidden by the veil of white fog. His heart thudded hard as he turned toward the Empress. She stood at the front, utterly motionless, her eyes closed as if listening to sothing beyond mortal hearing. The two Divas were tense behind her, their hands trembling slightly as they prepared to draw their weapons.
Lucas exhaled slowly, his breath turning to frost before his face. "We’re in trouble," he whispered to himself, his voice nearly lost in the rising wind.
And then, faint but undeniable, ca the first sound...heavy footsteps crunching over the snow. The aura that followed made Lucas’s skin prickle and his Qi falter for a heartbeat. Whatever it was, it hadn’t shown itself yet, but its presence was enough to make the mountain tremble.
He glanced at the others once more. The guide had gone pale, his lips moving in silent prayers. The Divas were whispering to one another, their confidence broken
Lucas’s eyes narrowed, his hand resting on the hilt of his blade. The air was suffocating, the pressure unrelenting.
They hadn’t even seen the creature yet...and already it felt as though death itself was watching them.
The sound that followed was unlike anything they had ever heard. It wasn’t a single growl this ti but a chorus of them...low, guttural, and echoing across the frozen environnt. The ground quivered, Lucas’s breath hitched when he saw movent in the fog. First ca a pair of glowing eyes, silver and cold like polished steel. Then another pair. Then dozens more. The mist parted slowly, revealing shapes...massive, white, and deathly silent except for the crunch of snow beneath their claws and hooves.
Selene’s lips trembled. "What in the heavens..."
Lira took an unsteady step backward. "There are so many," she whispered, clutching her weapon though her hands shook too much to keep it steady. "Why... why are they all here?"
The guide’s voice broke the silence. "They shouldn’t be," he said, his tone cracking under the weight of disbelief. "Beasts of this rank..these kinds...never move together. Never." He pointed a trembling hand toward the dark ridges above them, where faint silhouettes of massive creatures lingered like shadows. "Mountain lions, gorillas, wolves... those species fight to the death if they cross paths. But now..." He swallowed hard. "Now look at them."
Lucas followed his gaze and understood instantly. Every beast, from the smallest snow leopard to the towering white-furred gorillas, had the sa glint in their eyes...an eerie, unnatural silver light. They were moving in unison, circling the group with predatory precision, yet none made a move to strike.
"They’re being controlled," Lucas muttered, his tone grim. "Sothing is commanding them."
The Empress didn’t respond imdiately. Her eyes narrowed as her Qi flared faintly around her. The glow of her aura turned the snow at her feet to mist. "It’s powerful creature." she said finally, her voice calm yet carrying an unmistakable edge.
A low growl rumbled from the side. A mountain lion with silver-streaked fur stepped forward, its muscles rippling with barely restrained power. It was massive...taller than a man, its eyes glowing like molten ice. Beside it, two white wolves bared their teeth, while farther up the ridge, the silhouette of a giant gorilla erged, its chest beating in a steady rhythm that made the ground vibrate.
Nyx exhaled slowly, her breath forming long ribbons of mist. "There are... too many," she said quietly. "Even if we fought, we wouldn’t last long. They’re all high-ranked... and so of them..." She paused as her eyes caught the seven larger figures among the horde...beasts whose auras alone distorted the air around them. "Ascendant rank."
Lucas’s eyes t hers. He didn’t have to say it aloud, but both understood. Ascendant-ranked beasts weren’t re animals...they had the minds of n and the instincts of predators. They could form strategies, coordinate attacks, even wield eletal powers. Facing one was dangerous enough. Facing seven at once was suicide.
Lira’s voice trembled. "Then... what do we do?"
The old guide shook his head slowly, his face pale. "We pray," he said quietly. "Because this mountain has already decided our fate."
For a mont, none spoke. Only the howling wind and the steady thump of beasts’ movents filled the silence.
Lucas clenched his fists, his Qi flickering faintly through his veins. "Outmatched or not," he murmured under his breath, "we don’t die standing still."
The Empress finally turned to him, her expression unreadable. "You’re right," she said, her voice calm despite the chaos gathering around them.
Then, as if on cue, the beasts began to move again. The wolves ford ranks, the gorillas lumbered closer, and the lions spread out, their silver eyes reflecting the group’s every twitch. The sound of claws digging into frozen earth echoed like drums of war.
Surrounded, outnumbered, and facing death on all sides, the group stood their ground...tiny figures in a vast sea of white and shadow.
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