Location: Northern Lowee – Glacial Abyss
The wind howled louder now, swirling snow into sheets of white that nearly blinded the trio as they advanced. But Blanc knew this place— not from memory, but from instinct. Like something in her blood was guiding her. They stood before a narrow crevice between two towering cliffs, barely wide enough to pass single-file. A soft blue light pulsed from within. "This is it," Blanc said, voice firm. "I could feel it calling me."
Rom clutched her sister's sleeve. "It feels… cold. But not like normal cold."
"It's magic," Ram muttered. "Old magic."
Blanc led the way through the crevice, emerging into a vast underground chamber— a hidden temple carved into the ice, its ceiling glittering like a frozen night sky. Pillars etched with ancient symbols lined the sides, partially buried beneath frost and time. At the center of it all sat a pedestal. Resting atop it: a shattered CPU core— its crystal broken into four jagged gasped. "That… looks like one of ours."
Blanc approached slowly, eyes narrowing. "It's not. It's older than any nation alive today." As she reached out to touch the pedestal, ghostly glyphs flared to life across the floor. The entire chamber began to hum. A memory triggered. Blanc's eyes widened as a vision crashed into her mind— images flashing too fast to process: A forgotten CPU kneeling before a rift, the fragments being sealed across the nations, a dragon, not corrupted— but guarding. Then… betrayal. Screams. The seal breaking.
She stumbled back, breathing hard. Ram caught her. "What did you see?"
Blanc gritted her teeth. "The dragon wasn't the enemy. It was trying to stop this."
Rom's eyes filled with worry. "Then why did it attack us?"
Blanc looked toward the shards on the pedestal. "Because it was already too late. Something twisted it. Took control." Suddenly, the pedestal glowed violently— and a pulse of energy blasted out, causing the ground to rumble. A hidden door at the back of the temple slid open with a grinding groan. Inside it, nestled in a vault of crystal and ice… was another fragment.
Rom's eyes widened. "It was here the whole time!"
Blanc stepped forward— but paused. The air had shifted again. "I feel it," she whispered. "Something's coming." From the shadows behind them, something stirred. Not a monster. Not a construct. A voice.
"You were never meant to find this place, White Heart." A humanoid figure stepped into view, masked in dark metal and crackling with unstable rift energy.
The villain had arrived.