Just as the old wizard of the Crowley Family was anxiously fretting over the fate of the old manor, a small group within the Archwizard Council convened an emergency meeting, and many important figures both inside and outside the Alliance opened their eyes in astonishment.
The Young Legendary who had destroyed the ancient castle and casually slain an Archwizard had already left that empty wilderness behind and was now strolling unhurriedly across an ice field.
The enormous black cat trailed half a step behind him; the yellow cat lounged lazily across his shoulders, as though it were a thick, fluffy scarf wrapped around his neck.
At the end of the boundless ice field lay an abyss.
A black river churned at its bottom.
A gigantic blue-black dragon rested in the river—there had been no creature but this dragon in the river for years. But some time ago, a White Bear arrived at its bank.
It leaped into the abyss without suffering the slightest injury, instead smashing the massive boulders along the riverbank to pieces. Every day, it paced beside the river and roared at the dragon within, its thunderous voice making the ice fields for miles around hum and tremble.
Yet the dragon turned a deaf ear, floating motionlessly in the river like a corpse.
Until this day.
After the White Bear roared once more, an enormous sheet of ice suddenly cracked apart and plunged from the edge of the abyss into the river. The huge splash startled both bear and dragon.
"—This isn't a good omen!"
For the first time in many days, the White Bear spoke, its voice carrying an indescribable irritation. "What price must we pay before you are willing to act?"
In mysticism, or according to certain ancient divination theories, when something suddenly broke apart during