The Northern Border's Bitter Cold: Domain Pressure Awakens

The three-day deadline arrived in the blink of an eye.

At the northernmost edge of the Hundred-Li Wasteland, the world abruptly changed color.

The yellowed permafrost beneath their feet ended without warning. In its place stretched a boundless, deathly white icefield, like a vast mirror shattered and pieced back together by the gods. It ran from their feet all the way to the horizon. Wind swept in from the far north, sharp as a blade. When it struck their faces, even their pores seemed to freeze.

"Brr—this is a whole different level of cold from the B.B. Corn Belt."

Leorio pulled his coat tighter, his teeth chattering slightly. He stamped on the ice, and the moment his sole touched it, a faint crack sounded. It wasn't the ice breaking. The rubber of his sole had turned brittle in the extreme cold.

Kurapika crouched and lightly touched the ice with a fingertip.

Just for an instant.

His brow furrowed.

"Something's wrong."

"The temperature is only part of it." Kurapika withdrew his finger. A thin layer of white frost had already formed over its tip. "There's an invisible field in the Ice Domain suppressing Nen. The moment mine touched the ice, it dissipated three times faster than usual."

As soon as he finished speaking, Gon clenched his fist and tried it himself.

Veins rose faintly along the boy's arm, and a thin layer of Nen covered his fist. But the instant it appeared, it scattered like cooking smoke in a gale. Its edges melted away before their eyes, leaving him unable to hold it together.

"It's true!" Gon's eyes widened. "It feels like my Nen is... leaking out?"

Killua tried too. An arc of electricity flashed across his fingertips and vanished.

The silver-haired boy looked unusually grave. "It's not just dissipating. My