Chapter 58 – The Encounter with the Ice Dragon

The air at the mountain’s peak was razor thin, every breath a struggle that burned the lungs. Snow swirled like a furious blizzard, each flake a needle of frost that pricked their skin despite the protective enchantments they carried.

Their boots crunched over slick ice as they advanced step by step toward the wide plateau ahead.

And there it was.

**The Ice Dragon.**

Its body loomed like a living mountain, larger than any fortress they had ever seen. Its pale blue scales shimmered with an unnatural light, marred by dark crystal shards that jutted from its hide like poisoned thorns. From between those crystals seeped thick black smoke, tendrils of darkness that stained the air and turned the cold even more suffocating.

Its wings stretched wide enough to blot out the sky, casting the battlefield in shadow. One of its eyes still glowed with clear, piercing blue—like a remnant of the guardian spirit it once was. But the other was pitch black, its iris a burning ember of crimson. That single gaze bore down on them with the indifference of a god watching insects.

Doni’s knees nearly buckled as he stared. “I… I thought the stories exaggerated, but this thing is enormous…!”

Sari gripped her chain weapon so tightly that it rattled. “My legs… they won’t move. Is this what its aura does? It feels like my body’s frozen from the inside.”

Zareen felt it too. His chest was tight, as if an invisible hand were pressing on his heart. *Just looking at it makes me want to kneel… to give up.*

Then Yuna stepped forward, driving her black sword into the frozen ground. The blade pulsed with dark energy, pushing back the dragon’s aura just enough to breathe. “Don’t bow your heads,” she said, her voice sharp. “If we surrender now, we’ll die before we even draw our weapons.”

---

### The Voice in Their Minds

A voice rolled through their skulls like an avalanche, deep and heavy, vibrating in the very bones.

*Little mortals… you return again. Thousands have come before you, and all of them turned to dust.*

Zareen stiffened. The words were not heard with his ears—they pierced directly into his mind.

“He’s… talking straight into our heads,” he murmured, gripping his staff until his knuckles whitened.

*Your blood, your hatred, your greed… I am all of it. You cannot seal away what has become the marrow of this world.*

Cold sweat trickled down Zareen’s cheek despite the freezing wind. *So it’s true… this dragon isn’t just a beast. It’s the embodiment of humanity’s darkness.*

---

### The First Strike

The dragon spread its colossal wings. With a single beat, a storm exploded outward, a shockwave of snow and ice that blasted across the plateau.

“**Barrier!**” Zareen shouted, slamming his staff into the ground. A dome of white light enveloped them, holding back the storm. Cracks spiderwebbed across its surface—one more gust and it would shatter.

“**Rain Meteor Shot!**” Doni drew and loosed his ultimate skill. Dozens of flaming meteors arced from the cavern ceiling, slamming into the dragon’s back. But when the smoke cleared, its scales merely glistened, unharmed.

Sari darted forward, her chain whipping out. “**Chain Lock!**” The links coiled around one of the dragon’s legs, holding it in place for a brief second.

“Yuna, now!” Zareen called.

Yuna leapt high, her black blade glowing with condensed darkness. “**Dark Fang Strike!**” Her slash left a thin crack on the dragon’s scales—barely a scratch, but enough to draw a low, rumbling roar.

The ground quaked. Sheets of ice split and shattered, leaving their footing dangerously unstable.

---

### Crushed by the Aura

Zareen staggered, his head pounding as if a hammer had struck it. Black shadows danced at the edge of his vision, whispering.

*Give up… lay down your weapon… let it all end.*

His knees nearly buckled. “No…”

A hand gripped his shoulder, firm and grounding. Yuna’s gaze met his, cold but steady. “Focus, Zareen. You are the key. Don’t let its voice swallow you.”

He swallowed hard, forcing air into his lungs, and straightened. “I… I will hold on.”

---

### The Realization

The staff in his grip vibrated, glowing brighter. A sigil of pure white light formed at its tip—the same one that had appeared when he saved Gino from the darkness.

**Perfect Cure.**

Zareen’s heart pounded. *Could this work on the dragon? If it really is corruption given form, maybe purification is the only way.*

But fear gnawed at him. *If I fail, we all die here.*

His eyes swept over his companions: Yuna’s unwavering stance, Sari’s trembling yet ready chain, Doni’s determined but terrified face.

He clenched his fist. *No. I won’t let anyone fall. Not again.*

---

### Preparing the Counterattack

Zareen raised his staff high, chanting loudly. “**Buffs active! Defense Up! Attack Up! Regen Max!**”

Warm light spread through the frozen air, wrapping each of them in radiant halos. Their exhaustion lifted, replaced by renewed strength.

Doni gasped, flexing his fingers. “Whoa—this feels amazing! I think I could climb that thing with my bare hands!”

Sari rolled her eyes despite the fear in her face. “If you fall, I’m not catching you.”

Yuna glanced back over her shoulder, her expression unreadable. “Zareen. Are you ready?”

He drew a deep breath, steadying himself. “Yes. This time… we’ll make the dragon feel what it means to fight us.”

Above them, the Ice Dragon reared back. A massive sphere of blue energy formed in its jaws, the light so intense it cast long shadows over the entire plateau.

The wind screamed. The ground trembled.

And Zareen knew—

The real battle had only just begun.