Chapter 58

Walking through the frozen kingdom, her feet sink into the snow but do not reach the ground; instead, they meet the layer of ice beneath. New terrains have formed everywhere. Mountains of ice, which are merely houses transformed by the icy blasts but have not collapsed. Crystal trees, which are just regular trees fundamentally altered by the dragons' breath.

Everywhere, beasts from the Frozen Peaks roam. White wolves, yetis, and wendigos dominate the land, while dragons roar and fill the skies.

Sometimes, as her feet sink into the white desert, Elizabeth's mind conjures the image of a red sea trapping her, hands pulling her down... their numbers have certainly increased a bit, but she feels nothing but disgust for them. Despite knowing almost no one from this place, those who cause a tightening in her chest and are truly etched into her memory are the others, the vast majority, those who did not blame others for their downfall, just like those she saw beneath the ice as she walked.

"Once again..."

As the search for any remaining living beings continued, killing the creatures became a reactive act, as hunting them wasn't necessary when they gathered around her in droves, one after another.

"Another empty city..."

Her path extended, and slowly, step by step, she continued towards Avalon. However, considering the state of the other cities in the kingdom, its condition was obvious.

"This is..."

Her hands trembled as she approached the horses encased in transparent ice. With horrified expressions, the children on their backs held the reins firmly to the end, even as death loomed over them.

"How did you end up in such a distant place...?"

The nearest city was still far away, and even on horseback, it would take many hours to reach their location due to the snow. A frozen lake had merged beneath their feet. However, that boy with light hair... if her memory served correctly, he lived in Frostwatch, so... had all the others come from the same place?

"You certainly fought hard, children..."

Pulling her hand away, with teary eyes, Elizabeth prepared to continue her journey, but a small crack appeared in one of the ice formations before her.

"..."

The crackling reached her ears and made her reconsider, but looking at the children, it seemed impossible that this had happened. Such intense cold, capable of freezing her hands just by touching it... could a child really withstand this?

After a brief sigh, Elizabeth shook her head and resumed walking, but another crack reached her ears. Her eyes turned to the ice, and after staring without blinking for some time, a new fissure appeared.

Approaching the horse, she closely examined every part of the ice in front of her. It couldn't be the animal's fault; there was no difference between it and the others around. So... the girl? Her long black hair frozen in the ice as if time had stopped around her. Or the boy, whose eyes burned more than any others nearby... The answer came through a faint glow in his irises. A glow so familiar... Elizabeth recognized it immediately, as it was generated by what she used most.

"This is... fire magic...!"

Placing her hands on the ice, the heat spread from her fingers across the area encasing the children's bodies. As it returned to a liquid state, the water seeped under her feet and spread out, while the children's bodies gradually made contact with the external environment again.

Their feet were freed, but nothing happened. As it moved up their legs, then their arms, the result was the same. Lifting the children off the horse, Elizabeth carefully laid them on the frozen lake and, with great focus, continued to thaw the ice around their heads.

After remaining unresponsive even when completely free, Elizabeth checked their breathing. Both were breathing slowly and painfully, as if something was restricting air from reaching their lungs.

Placing her hands on their chests, even without the ice, their bodies were still intensely cold. The heat spread again, and as the children's body temperatures rose, the color of their skin returned. When air finally reached his lungs again, the boy's eyes widened, and he abruptly sat up, breathing deeply.

"Gasp! Gasp! Gasp!..."

After finally managing to breathe somewhat normally, his vision widened, revealing all the others who had been with him... dead. Clenching his teeth tightly and making fists, his tearful eyes turned to the girl beside him, consciously trying to ignore the others.

"She... she will be okay, right..?"

Elizabeth did not respond. She was doing her best, but despite the boy's incredible effort to keep them both safe, it seemed that, in the end, only he had truly endured the cold of the ice that enveloped them.

Closing her eyes, Elizabeth sighed. However, coughing and expelling the water trapped in her throat, the girl slowly and painfully rose.

"Eli!"

Pulling her close to his chest, the boy let the tears flow from his eyes while preventing Elisa from seeing what surrounded them.

With a small smile forming on her face, Elizabeth felt warmth in her chest at the sight of those two; she had indeed succeeded, finally finding some survivors in such a frozen wasteland.

However, this warm moment could not last long. Hearing the air being sliced, she grabbed the children and leapt. Whether horses or children, everything in that place was destroyed the moment the beast collided with the ground.

A roar echoed.

The dragon spread its wings, and with the constant approach of two more of its kind, Elizabeth drew her sword. It had been a brief period she had walked through that place, indeed, but even so, she could not consider being alone in that icy desert again.