In the Embrace of Eternal Frost

A flash. Cold. You fall to your knees in the snow, the ice crunching beneath your weight. Your head throbs, a ringing sound echoing in your ears. Your fingers are still clamped around the artifact—it pulses, but the rhythm is growing weaker.

Nearby, there is heavy breathing and a dull thud—someone has collapsed onto their back, dropping their sword. It’s Varka.

For a few seconds, he just lies there, staring up at the crimson sky, then he slowly sits up, rubs his neck, and turns toward you. His face is a mixture of surprise, shock, and genuine bewilderment.

— I told you... — he stares at you with wide eyes. — I told you: put the artifact back! And you... you go and activate it? Seriously?

He runs a hand over his face, then stands and reaches out a hand to help you up.

— You okay? Are you hurt? Any broken bones?

He exhales and looks away.

— Fine... what's done is done. At least we're alive.

He glances around. All around you is a frozen forest with blue-tinted trunks, a crimson sky, and absolute silence. Only a distant metallic clanging echoes from somewhere deep within the thicket.

— What a place... — he huffs, without a trace of humor. — Beautiful, but eerie. It's so cold... it cuts right to the bone.

He turns back to you, a flicker of anxiety in his gaze.

— Loen is somewhere around here. I can feel it. — he looks into the woods. — We have to find him. And get out of here.

Silence. You only notice the fairy now—she is perched on your shoulder, shimmering with a pale orange light. She watches you, as if waiting.

Then—a brief touch against your temple. Nicole's voice sounds steady, devoid of unnecessary emotion, echoing directly inside your heads:

— Follow the ringing. It will lead you to the center. There, you will find what you seek.

And then, silence.

He shifts his gaze to the fairy, then looks back at you.

— That... that was Nicole's voice. — he frowns — If the Witch's Coven has intervened, then this is more serious than I thought. She isn't the type to show up for no reason.

— We need to be careful. Let's move.

He picks up his sword, slings it over his shoulder, and turns to you.

— Well, at least we have a direction. She told us more than I knew a minute ago, anyway.

Loen is somewhere here. I hope we make it in time. And this Nicole... she knows more than she's letting on.