Above the Snowfield

The absolute silence was broken by the crunch of feet on snow. Two figures, one gold and one silver, trudged alone through the boundless white world, leaving behind two parallel trails of exploratory footprints.

Having left the icy abyss that had imprisoned them for ten thousand years, they were still in the bitterly cold Far North. Yet the air now carried the scent of wind and the movement of snow. Tang Wulin walked slightly ahead, instinctively using his body to shield Gu Yuena from the sharpest gusts. The motion came as naturally as if he had practiced it thousands upon thousands of times.

Gu Yuena followed in silence, her restored violet eyes constantly sweeping their surroundings with vigilance and a faint, bewildered curiosity. Occasionally, she raised a hand and let the dancing snowflakes settle on her slender fingertips. Rather than melting, they seemed to flutter faintly like sprites. An inexplicable sense of affinity welled up within her from this world of ice and snow.

"There's... something ahead." Tang Wulin suddenly stopped and lowered his voice. His body tensed slightly, like a leopard sensing danger. Though his memories had not returned, his combat instincts had awakened first.

Gu Yuena followed his gaze and saw several agile figures below a distant snowy slope, circling a massive bear covered head to toe in thick ice armor. Flashes of energy flickered amid shrieking winds and the roars of a soul beast.

"Humans, and... a soul beast," she said softly. The words left her lips with the awkwardness of someone who had only just learned them, yet they were strangely precise. When she looked at the Ice Armor Bear, the faintest ripple stirred deep in her soul, as though she were looking upon one of her subjects. Yet when she looked at the humans in soul-guided leather coats, wielding soul-guided weapons, her feelings became far more complicated and difficult to understand.

"It's afraid," Tang Wulin suddenly said. His gaze locked onto the Ice Armor Bear, which looked fierce but had panic in its eyes as it tried to protect the cave behind it. "Those people are forcing it."

There was an unquestionable certainty in his voice. He did not even understand why he could read a soul beast's emotions.

The battle below was fierce. The Ice Armor Bear roared and swung its huge paw, shattering an incoming soul-guided ray, but another freezing beam struck its hind leg, making it stagger. A burly man at the head of the hunting party grinned in delight, raising an enormous soul-guided cleaver as he prepared to deliver the killing blow.

Just as the blade was about to fall, a golden figure slipped into the battlefield like a ghost.

Bang!

The dull impact was not the sound of a blade cutting flesh, but of a fist striking metal. The burly man felt an irresistible force surge through him. His soul-guided cleaver flew from his grip and embedded itself in the distant snow with a hum. He staggered backward, staring in horror at the black-haired man who had suddenly appeared before him.

Tang Wulin withdrew his fist and stood before the panting Ice Armor Bear. He said nothing, merely gazing calmly at the hunting party with his deep blue eyes. Yet an invisible pressure made everyone catch their breath.

"Y-you... who are you?!" the burly man demanded, shocked and furious.

Gu Yuena silently appeared at Tang Wulin's side as well. Her gaze swept across the hunting party before settling on the Ice Armor Bear. She merely lifted her hand slightly, and the surrounding wind and snow seemed to answer her call, gently winding around the bear's injured hind leg. The layer of ice visibly thickened and repaired itself, not only stopping the injury but also forming a protective shell.

The hunters stared in stunned disbelief. To control ice and snow to such a degree was practically divine.

"We mean no harm," Gu Yuena said, her voice as cold and clear as snow. "We were merely passing by. Let this bear go."

Her tone was calm, yet it carried an authority that could not be questioned. The Ice Armor Bear seemed to understand. It let out a low whimper, gave Gu Yuena a grateful look, then clumsily but swiftly retreated into the cave behind it.

The hunters exchanged glances, knowing they had encountered beings beyond their comprehension. The burly man swallowed, put away his hostility, and cautiously asked, "A-are you two powerful experts from Shrek City?"

Shrek City.

The name rang like a bell through the blank minds of both Tang Wulin and Gu Yuena. A fierce, utterly inexplicable tremor seized their hearts.

It seemed that something there was waiting for them.