At a polar location of biting cold and crystalline white lay a land untouched by human presence. No animals survived here; even cold-resistant creatures refused to approach.
An ice wall that plunged into the clouds stood like a giant crystalline sword thrust into the sky. It towered here, untouched by sunlight, sealing off life itself. Within the ice crystals that had not melted for ten thousand years were ancient microorganisms and bones frozen for who knew how long.
Yet within one area at its base, nothing existed at all—only absolute ice!
Even microorganisms and bacteria hardy enough to withstand absolute zero dared not intrude upon this place. This was a truly frigid, pure land, a place no life dared violate.
At this moment, a middle-aged man trailing a long tail of green flames crawled here.
He stared at the sealed ice wall before him, his eyes filled with excitement. Feather-like spikes sprouted from his arms, and his fingers became incomparably sharp, like withered chicken claws.
They did not resemble a white dove's wings, but rather those of some gray pigeon or sparrow, carrying an air of corruption. He raised his hand again and severed his lower body, leaving the flames behind, then pressed his elbows together to form a complete pair of wings.
The instant they merged, a gray beam shot into the ice wall before him.
As the gray light flickered back and forth across the iron-hard surface of the ice wall, it traced the outline of an arched door out of thin air.
The moment the outline appeared, the entire glacier split open with a crack three meters wide and roughly five meters long, forming a physical doorway. Strange skeletons stood on either side within.
Some had wings, some resembled birds, while others stood on all fours like