Chapter 14: A cold situation
The air in the chamber suddenly turned frigid, each breath visible as crystalline vapor.
A vortex of snow, ice, and crackling mana began forming at the chamber’s center with terrifying speed, drawing in loose debris and creating a howling maelstrom of frozen death.
At the eye of the storm, a pulsing core of deep blue light floated suspended in the air, radiating malevolent energy that made the very stones beneath their feet groan with supernatural cold.
The ice began to coalesce around the core with sickening purpose.
Sharp, crystalline formations grew outward like frozen lightning, sculpting themselves into a grotesque approximation of life. A massive icicle formed the creature’s torso, while long, skeletal appendages with razor-sharp claws of ice erupted from its sides.
Its maw opened to reveal rows of jagged teeth, each one a gleaming shard capable of tearing through steel.
The abomination had no need for feet, it floated with supernatural grace, the vortex around it never dispersing, creating a whirling barrier of cutting ice and bone-chilling wind.
Its obsidian eyes, like chips of the deepest winter night, fixed upon Mitch with predatory intelligence.
"Fuck!" Mitch’s curse echoed off the chamber walls as understanding dawned.
Above the ice wraith, mana condensed into a spear of pure winter, a deadly icicle as long as a man’s arm and sharp enough to pierce plate armor.
The moment it finished forming, it shot forward with the speed of a crossbow bolt, aimed directly at Mitch’s heart.
He threw himself sideways, the icicle barely grazing his skin but leaving a line of frost burn across his ribs.