Chapter 87: Half way point
Floor Four resembled a library abandoned by time itself.
Towering shelves of translucent ice rose in endless rows, disappearing into a ceiling swallowed by pale mist. Every shelf was packed with books entombed beneath crystal-clear frost. Through the ice, Nathan could make out brittle pages filled with elegant scripts he couldn’t identify, each volume preserved in perfect condition as though time itself had forgotten to age the books.
Snow drifted lazily through the vast chamber despite the absence of any visible openings. Silence reigned as only the faint hiss of falling flakes and the occasional groan of shifting ice disturbed the oppressive stillness.
The temperature dropped another degree.
Nathan immediately felt the Cloaks react. Frost-runes woven into the fabric ignited with a soft blue glow, steadily pushing back against the biting cold. Around him, the rest of the party’s cloaks shimmered almost continuously, the enchantments working at full capacity just to maintain a survivable body temperature.
"So this is what High Cold feels like..." Garrett muttered, flexing his stiff fingers around the haft of his axe.
"It’ll only get worse from here," Elise replied.
She stepped to the front of the formation, her mana sense sweeping across the frozen library. Her gaze lingered on several shelves before narrowing.
"The Wisps are here," she said. "Same behavior as the ones on the first floor. They’re a nuisance, not the real danger."
Nathan followed her line of sight.
Among the shelves rested several enormous books suspended in midair. Unlike the frozen volumes lining the shelves, these floated freely, their thick covers bound in pale leather reinforced with icy metal clasps. Frost-coated chains wrapped around each tome like restraints, while faint blue mana pulsed beneath the bindings as though something inside was breathing.
"The Tomes," Elise continued. "Those are the real threat."
She pointed toward one of the floating books.
"They’re dormant until we enter their detection range. Once they open, they’ll unleash concentrated freezing winds and long-range ice spells. Individually they’re manageable, but if multiple Tomes activate together, they’ll blanket the entire area with overlapping attacks."
Nathan nodded, already piecing together the battlefield.
"So we deny them that opportunity."
"Exactly," Elise said. "Close the distance immediately or destroy them before they fully open. If we let them establish firing positions, this floor becomes a siege."
"Noted," Nathan said after a brief glance across the frozen library. "Mirko, Frost Golem—take point and draw their attention. Dillon, prioritize the Tomes. Use [Quick Draw] before they can open. Kuro, assist him. Elise, keep barriers on Mirko. Garrett, stay in the rear. The Wisps will probably try to circle around us."
Everyone acknowledged the order without hesitation.
The formation advanced between the towering shelves.
Their footsteps echoed softly across the frost-coated floor, each breath hanging in the air as white mist. The deeper they ventured into the library, the stronger the dormant mana became.
Then the first enemies appeared.
Frost Wisps drifted silently from between the shelves, translucent spirits trailing ribbons of icy mist as they floated through solid ice as though it weren’t there. Their pale blue cores pulsed rhythmically, watching the party without immediately attacking.
Nathan barely spared them a glance.
His attention remained fixed on the floating books scattered throughout the library.
The Whispering Tomes.
Each crystalline volume hovered motionlessly several feet above the ground, bound shut by frozen clasps. Their covers twitched ever so slightly, and from between the sealed pages came a chorus of faint murmurs—countless overlapping whispers spoken in forgotten tongues.
They were waking: A clasp snapped open, The pages began to part, Cold mana surged outward.
Nathan had already anticipated it. "Dillon!"
The swordsman vanished. [Quick Draw]
A flash of silver streaked through the air.
Before the Tome could fully open, Dillon’s blade sliced cleanly through its spine. The enchanted book froze for a fraction of a second. Then it exploded into a cloud of shimmering ice crystals, its whispered voices abruptly silenced.
To the left, another clasp burst open. Kuro was already there.
The assassin slipped between the shelves without making a sound, his body dissolving into a blur before reappearing directly beside the awakening Tome.
[Assassinate]
Twin daggers pierced the book’s core simultaneously, Cracks raced across the crystalline cover. The Tome disintegrated before a single spell could be released.
A third floated higher, attempting to open beyond melee range. Kuro flicked one dagger.
The blade spun through the air with pinpoint accuracy, burying itself into the Tome’s exposed binding. The unstable mana inside immediately ruptured, reducing the floating grimoire to sparkling frost that drifted gently to the floor.
Three Tomes destroyed. Not a single freezing gale had been unleashed. Only then did the Frost Wisps make their move.
Dozens of ghostly figures swept from the shelves at once, their hollow cries echoing through the library as they converged on the party from every direction, seeking to overwhelm them while the remaining Tomes struggled to awaken.
Elise’s [Mana Bolts] detonated among the Wisps, clearing them in waves. Mirko’s [Aegis Strike] carved through a cluster of Tomes that had managed to open, the shockwave scattering their pages before the wind could form.
Nathan moved through the shelves, his [Hunter’s Insight] mapping the library’s layout. That’s when he saw it.
A book that wasn’t frozen.
It sat on a shelf near the back of the library, its leather binding old but intact, its pages yellow with age. No ice covered it. No frost touched its spine. It was as if the Tower had deliberately preserved this one text while freezing everything else around it.
He picked it up. The cover was blank, but the pages inside were written in a script he could read—old, formal, but legible. It was a history of the ancient kingdom that had existed before the Tower absorbed this place. The kingdom had worshipped something called the Silent Throne. The book described it in reverent, fearful terms:
"The Silent Throne is the seat of judgment, where the worthy ascend and the unworthy freeze for eternity. It speaks not with words, but with the weight of ages. It watches. It waits. It remembers. When the Tower came, the Throne did not resist. It simply accepted. And the kingdom accepted with it. We are the Frozen now. We have always been the Frozen. We will always be the Frozen."
Nathan closed the book. The Frozen Throne. The Silent Throne. The voice. Connections he couldn’t quite make, but he could feel them, threads of a larger picture that he was only beginning to glimpse.
He attempted and successfully pocketed the book into his Inventory and was caught by Elise who raised an eyebrow but didn’t ask.
[Floor 4 Cleared.]
---
Floor Five was a bridge of crystal ice spanning into bottomless chasm of pale blue light. Barely wide enough for two people, it had no railings, and icy winds howled through the abyss. The cold had reached Severe, forcing the Winterhart Cloaks to work at their limits.
Glacial Shards swam through the glowing void below like schools of frozen fish. Then they scattered as a Frost Wyrmling emerged.
Twenty feet of serpentine ice rose from the chasm, its crystalline scales shimmering as frost poured from its jaws. Its dark, hollow eyes locked onto the party.
"Frost Wyrmling!" Nathan warned. "Smaller than the Pyre Wyrm, but much faster. Don’t let it knock you off the bridge!"
Mirko stepped forward, [Impenetrable Fortress] flaring around her.
"This knight shall hold! Strike when an opening appears!"
The Wyrmling dove, unleashing a blast of frozen breath that flash-froze the bridge into jagged ice. Garrett slipped, but Red caught him before he could fall into the abyss.
"Elise! Stabilize the bridge!"
The Frost Golem slammed its fists into the crystal, raising frozen supports beneath the weakened section while Elise layered [Mana Shield] over Mirko.
The Wyrmling banked for another pass.
Dillon’s Cloud Serpent shot into the chasm and intercepted it midair. Lightning crackled across the Wyrmling’s icy scales, and the creature shrieked as its flight faltered.
"Now!" Nathan shouted.
Kuro materialized on its back. [Invisibility] had carried her through the chasm unseen, and now she clung to the Wyrmling’s spine, her daggers rising. [Assassinate] drove both blades into the base of its skull. The Wyrmling convulsed. Its flight became erratic.
Nathan drew Moonlight. [Focus Shot] charged for twenty seconds as the arrowhead blazed in a silver-white light, the Tyrant’s Eye piercing the chasm’s pale glow. Kuro marked the Wyrmling’s core then nathan released.
The arrow punched through the Wyrmling’s skull and out the other side. The creature went rigid. Its pale blue eyes flickered once and died. It fell, shattering against the chasm walls before dissolving into motes of fading light.
[Floor 5 Cleared!]
[Reward: Frost Wyrmling Scale (Rare Material)]
---
The party stood at the Floor 6 portal. The cold was Critical now, the cloaks were glowing with the strain of constant enchantment, and even the warming crystals Vex had given them were struggling to maintain their heat. Five floors cleared. Three remained.
"We’re past the halfway point," Nathan said. "How’s everyone holding up?"
"Arms are tired but steady," Garrett reported. He was leaning on Volcan, steam rising from the mace’s head in soft white plumes. Red’s wool was still armored. "Red’s good. We can keep going."
"Mana’s running a bit low," Dillon admitted. "Thunder Edge takes more out of me than Quick Draw. But I’ve still got enough potions for three floors. Maybe four if I pace myself."
"I’m conserving," Elise said. "The Frost Golem is drawing power from the environment, so it costs less to maintain here than in volcanic conditions. I’ll have reserves for the boss."
Mirko sheathed her sword. "Hmph! This knight is undamaged. The cold is unpleasant but my indomitable self shall prevail."
’I am at full capacity,’ Kuro added. She had shifted back to bunny form on Nathan’s shoulder, conserving her energy for the floors ahead. ’The Wyrmling was a good test. The Butterfly will be harder.’
Nathan nodded. He looked back at the bridge, where the Frost Wyrmling’s body had already dissolved into the chasm’s pale glow. The memory of the voice in the portal lingered in his mind like a persistent, irritating memory. Something was watching them, definitely.
’We will find answers,’ Kuro said through the link. ’But not by stopping. The Tower still needs to be cleared. The Butterfly still needs to be defeated. Whatever spoke through the portal, it can wait.’
’And if it can’t?’
’Then it will show itself again. And we will be ready.’
Nathan drew a breath and turned to the portal. "Floor 6. Let’s move."
