Author's Note: Do Not Unlock Yet. Chapter Is Still Under Construction.

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He pivoted—

Void energy condensed around his hand, forming a spiraling sphere of controlled death.

He stepped—

And the world blurred as he teleported a short distance, reappearing with his sword already mid-swing.

Every technique he tested was one he intended to use against the corrupted creature.

Sweat formed on his brow despite the cold.

If this thing really adapts… then the first exchange has to be devastating enough to cripple it before it learns.

He practiced for hours, refining each strike, each movement, each burst of void energy until his breathing grew heavy.

Far above him, beyond layers of ancient ice, the corrupted being existed—waiting, shifting, unknowing that its next resurrection cycle would be met by someone far more dangerous.

Victor sheathed his blade.

"I'm ready," he whispered.

And somewhere down the icy hall, Rhozan gathered warriors—completely unaware that something else, deeper in the restricted chamber, had stirred the moment Victor activated his bloodline.

---sss

CHAPTER — THE TEN WHO WALK INTO FROST

The great cavern hall of the Kahr'uun echoed with a low hum as the warriors gathered—towering figures of blue-etched skin, four-armed silhouettes, and eyes that shimmered like frost-bound stars. Their breath misted in the freezing air, even though this environment was natural to them. Each warrior stood with rigid pride, their bodies adorned with traditional rune-scars that pulsed faintly with mana.

Rhozan, the Kahr'uun leader, raised one of his four hands. The murmur of anticipation died instantly. Compulsory silence fell over the cavern like a weighted cloak.

"My fellow kin," Rhozan declared in his deep, resonant voice, "the Iruhun has agreed to lead us to confront the Corrupted One. Those chosen must be ready to face death itself."

The warriors struck their fists over their chests, a harsh beat echoing through the cavern.

Victor stood beside Rhozan, arms crossed, white hair flowing like drifting snow. His eyes contrasted sharply—deep, abyssal void-black irises that made even the bravest of the Kahr'uun hesitant to meet his gaze for more than a heartbeat.

He felt the weight of their expectation on him—hundreds of them, all hoping for salvation, all believing he was fated to deliver it.

Rhozan gestured toward them. "One hundred warriors, Iruhun. The finest. They—"

Victor raised his hand.

"That's too many."

A ripple of shock passed through the crowd. Rhozan blinked. "Too… many?"

Victor nodded. "If I have to fight that thing—and protect all of you—we'll all die. I'm not dragging a hundred bodies into the jaws of an unkillable monster."

Murmurs broke out among the warriors; some stepped forward defiantly.

"We can fight!" one growled.

"We are not fragile!" another snapped.

"The Iruhun underestimates the Kahr'uun!"

Victor's eyes narrowed slightly. He didn't like the rising ire—but he understood it. They were a proud people, born of frost, raised in war, and honed by suffering under an enemy that couldn't die.

Still, he shook his head.

"I've lost too many people already," he said quietly. "I'm not adding you to the list."

The cavern fell silent. They didn't understand the full weight of those words. They couldn't. But Rhozan's expression softened with a faint glimmer of empathy.

"They are prepared to die, Iruhun," Rhozan said, stepping forward. "They all know the cost. We all would follow you into oblivion if that is what it takes. If we fall, so be it. Our songs will become eternal."

"That's exactly the problem," Victor muttered.

He raised two fingers. "Cut it down to ten. No more."

The Kahr'uun erupted in protests.

"We are warriors!"

"We can serve!"

"Let us fight beside the Iruhun!"

The ground shook with the force of their voices. Blue marks along their skin glowed brighter as their emotion surged. A lesser man might have been intimidated.

Victor simply exhaled and whispered, "Void Emperor's Domain."

Silent pressure rippled outward—lightless, invisible, but heavy enough to crush the atmosphere flat. The cavern seemed to hold its breath. Warriors staggered half a step, not harmed, but suddenly aware of something far greater than themselves.

A reminder:

Victor wasn't human anymore.

He wasn't mortal.

He wasn't even simply a Peak Nascent Soul cultivator.

He was Void-blooded.

When the domain faded, silence remained.

Rhozan bowed his head deeply. "Very well. Ten will go."

Despite the reluctance, the warriors accepted it. Rhozan began choosing. He selected those whose mana patterns burned the brightest—warriors with centuries of frost-borne combat experience. Each stepped forward, presenting their weapons and bowing before Victor.

A spear with runic frost veins.

A multi-bladed glaive shimmering with cold fire.

A pair of mage-warriors whose palms crackled with raw ice mana.

A shieldbearer carrying a translucent slab of frozen-crystal.

All of them radiated deadly power.

"We will fight for you, Iruhun," they said in unison.

Victor nodded once. "Show me what you can do."

The demonstrations began.

One warrior stepped forward, planting his foot. Mana rippled through the ground and surged up in jagged ice spires sharp enough to skewer metal. Another exhaled a gust that flash-froze the air itself, creating a shimmering wall of solidified cold. Two warriors combined their energy—a swirling blizzard orb erupted from their hands, spiraling with terrifying precision toward a distant pillar and tearing straight through it.

The pillar exploded into a million icy fragments.

Victor raised an eyebrow, impressed despite himself.

"Definitely strong enough," he admitted.

The warriors puffed their chests proudly.

Rhozan approached next—taller than the others, more heavily etched with ancient runes. His mana felt heavier, colder, older. He conjured a spear of solid frost that radiated killing intent and hurled it with enough force to warp the air.

The spear detonated into sub-zero mist upon impact, freezing the surrounding stone solid.

Victor whistled softly.

"…Yeah. You're all terrifying. Fine."

The ten chosen preened with pride.

Victor turned to Rhozan. "Good. Now that we're done, stay here and protect your people. The leader—"

"I am coming."

Victor blinked. "…No, you're not."

"I am," Rhozan said firmly, four hands crossing over his chest. "Our kin must see their leader walking into the frost. If we perish, it must be with dignity. If we return, it must be with honor."

Victor dragged a hand down his face. "Bro, you're literally the one person who should NOT be leaving."

"My decision stands."

"You're stubborn."

"And you are the Iruhun," Rhozan countered, unfazed. "Your strength will keep me alive. That should ease your fears."

Victor scowled at him. "…That's not how that works. But whatever. Do what you want."

Rhozan smiled triumphantly.

Victor muttered under his breath, "I swear, every world I travel to, someone wants to die under my banner…"

With the group formed, the journey began.

They moved through tunnels Victor had never seen during his fall into the underground city. Narrow passageways carved by generations of Kahr'uun. Ancient ice lifts controlled by runic levers. Hidden passageways sealed with frost-lock barriers that only responded to Kahr'uun mana signatures.

Several times, Rhozan traced glowing symbols across the walls—massive circles of interlocking runes appeared, humming softly. The warriors stepped through them, emerging hundreds of feet higher in spirals of cold light.

Victor stepped through one experimentally.

Space warped.

His Void Emperor senses buzzed.

He reappeared instantly on a high ledge overlooking the lower caverns.

"…Neat," he muttered.

Rhozan grinned. "Our ancestors wove these circles in anticipation of our exodus. Only our people can use them. And now, you."

"Lucky me."

As they ascended, the temperature plummeted further. Even Victor felt it—a numb bite against his skin. His mount materialized beside him, summoned with a mental command, its icy breath matching the cavern's chill.

Two thousand feet of ascent.

Half a dozen magic circles.

A labyrinth of frozen tunnels.

The Kahr'uun led with practiced familiarity, their movements confident, their mana lighting the darkness.

Victor followed, silent, focused.

Above them, something waited.

Something wrong.

Something old.

Something that had been hunting the Kahr'uun for forty years.

And now,

it sensed the Iruhun coming.

----sss

The building was sculpted out of a single massive block of glacier stone which was incredibly smooth, seamless and impossibly symmetrical.

Its entrance formed a tall archway shaped like two crescent blades meeting at the top. Strange symbols glowed faintly beneath the surface, arranged in circular patterns that seemed to shift when he wasn't looking directly at them.

Each one led back to a single point... the tall, reptilian feminine figure in black and crimson robes with her hands dancing through the air as her lips murmured incantations.

Two black horns curled elegantly from her temples with glowing tips.

Red sigils spun around her like satellites, and from the ground, a network of glowing channels reached toward the fortresses in the distance.

From each fortress, pillars of crimson light ascended, feeding into the enormous runic circle hovering above the clouds.

This was none other than Vayla, the Drakenar Sorceress.

And right beside her stood a tall figure clad greyish armor. Although he wasn't as tall as Garo and Maro, he was well over eight feet. This was none other than Commander Aiz.

Victor felt his gut twist. He'd noticed their presence before, faintly, but he hadn't dared to think about it while he was busy staying alive. Now that the dust was settling, the sheer pressure radiating from those two was unmistakable.