Snow crunched beneath their boots as Rylan and Blaze arrived at the edge of the Glacien Reach—a vast stretch of frozen wilderness that had long been whispered about in the Academy's older archives. White peaks rose like sleeping giants under a pale blue sky, and cold winds howled through jagged canyons.
Blaze adjusted the fur-lined collar of his cloak. "This is it," he muttered. "The realm of winter."
Rylan nodded, eyes narrowed against the biting wind. "The Ice Mystic is somewhere out there… and so is the Winter Petal."
Their Soulbounds trudged beside them—Blaze's twin dragons, Crackle and Luma, their breath creating trails of frost and sparks. Rylan's own Soulbound, a creature born of spectral light and coiled shadows, flickered silently at his side.
They had been paired together because their Soulbounds had elemental affinities strong enough to counteract the extreme cold. But even with fire and magic at their side, Rylan could feel it: this region was ancient, and wrong in some way. It pulsed with something deeper than just cold. A slumbering power.
As they trekked deeper into the snow-choked terrain, the world seemed to shift. The trees—blackened with frostbite—creaked under invisible pressure. Above them, snow clouds rolled unnaturally fast, casting strange shadows on the ground.
"Feels like we're being watched," Blaze said, eyes darting toward the treetops.
"We are," Rylan replied quietly. "It's testing us."
Blaze glanced at him.
"This region… it's like a living memory. It's watching, waiting, and… remembering. It remembers those who seek the Petal."
Suddenly, the compass hanging from Rylan's neck flared to life. A warm pulse of violet-pink light tugged gently northeast.
They followed.
Hours passed. The terrain became harsher—more vertical, with jagged cliffs and ice-covered bridges that crackled with every step. Wind screamed through the peaks, turning their words into whispers.
At last, the compass pulsed more rapidly. They stood before a frozen glade, surrounded by icicle-covered trees and a frozen waterfall that glowed faintly under the setting sun.
At its base, encased in a crystal of solid ice, was the Winter Petal—a delicate blossom of white and pale blue, emanating a soft aura of healing energy.
But before either of them could take a step forward, the earth shook.
From within the ice of the waterfall, something stirred.
It began as a whisper—like wind through hollow bones. Then came the growl, low and thunderous. Ice shattered like glass, and from the frozen cascade emerged a being made entirely of ancient frost and glacial stone. Its eyes gleamed like twin sapphires. A massive crown of jagged icicles spiraled from its back.
The Ice Mystic had awoken.
It opened its mouth, letting out a deep roar that made the trees tremble and the sky darken. A flurry of snow swirled to life around it, forming into razors of wind and shard. The storm had come.
"Positions!" Blaze barked, already mounting Crackle. "We draw it out—then strike together!"
Rylan nodded and summoned his Soulbound, which shimmered into full form. A blend of wolf, dragon, and something stranger, it roared and bounded forward through the snow.
The Ice Mystic raised its arms, and with a single motion, the temperature plummeted. Frost crawled over their armor, and snow hardened into glasslike terrain.
Crackle shot into the sky, weaving between spear-like hail as Blaze launched a volley of fireballs. Luma swooped low, trailing heat to melt the terrain near the Petal.
Rylan dashed in from the side, unleashing twin streams of black-white and violet flame. His Soulbound tackled one of the Mystic's legs, trying to draw it off balance.
But the Mystic was faster than it looked.
It turned, slamming the ice-covered ground with its fists. Spires of frozen magic burst from the earth. Rylan rolled to the side just in time, feeling the bite of frost as it skimmed his shoulder.
Blaze circled back, his dragons coordinating like seasoned warriors. "NOW!" he shouted.
With a howl, Rylan's Soulbound surged upward, pouncing on the Mystic's chest as Rylan unleashed a focused beam of energy from both palms. The Mystic staggered, its ice cracking under the pressure.
Then it roared.
A shockwave of cold erupted from its core, knocking Rylan back and freezing his Soulbound mid-leap. Crackle swooped in and breathed a spiral of fire, freeing the frozen creature just in time.
But Rylan landed hard, gasping. Frost climbed up his boots, locking him in place.
"I… I can't move—!"
Blaze dove down on Luma, sweeping in to slice the ice with one wing. Rylan stumbled free, coughing. "Thanks."
"This thing's not just strong," Blaze growled. "It learns."
The Mystic raised its arms again—this time summoning a blizzard so dense it blinded them. Inside the storm, strange shapes appeared. Figures made of ice. Spectral shadows. Echoes of long-lost warriors.
"It's conjuring illusions," Rylan whispered. "Trapping us in a storm of memory!"
"Focus!" Blaze shouted. "They're not real!"
But the attacks hurt just the same. The illusions slashed and battered. Blaze's armor cracked under a phantom sword. Rylan's Soulbound took a knee under a hail of ghostly arrows.
They regrouped near the crystal pedestal. The Winter Petal still glowed within its prison, untouched.
"I think I can break the ice around the Petal," Rylan said. "But I'll need time."
Blaze gritted his teeth. "I'll hold it off."
He mounted Crackle once more and shot into the sky. Luma flanked from below, breathing walls of flame to slow the Mystic. Blaze hurled chains of lightning magic, dancing between hail and blizzard.
Rylan knelt beside the crystal and placed both hands against it. He whispered words in an ancient tongue—arcane and raw. His aura flared, a three-colored pulse weaving into the ice.
Cracks formed.
The Ice Mystic turned, sensing the shift.
It roared, charging through Blaze's flame barrier.
"Not today!" Blaze shouted, and hurled a lance of fire into its chest.
It slowed—but not enough.
It raised its arm for a final blow—until Rylan's voice rang through the blizzard.
"By breath of flame, by bone of frost, let the seal be BROKEN!"
A pulse of radiant magic shattered the ice.
The Winter Petal, now free, floated into Rylan's hands—its energy spreading warmth through the battlefield.
The Mystic stopped mid-attack.
It looked at the Petal.
Then… it bowed.
Slowly, it dissolved into snowflakes, carried away by the wind.
Hours later, Rylan and Blaze sat by a fire near the outskirts of Glacien Reach. The Winter Petal, now sealed inside a glass vial, rested between them.
"Do you think the other Mystics will be like that?" Rylan asked.
Blaze stared into the fire. "They're guardians. Not monsters. But whatever this is… it's more than just a test."
"They weren't just protecting the Petals," Rylan said softly. "They were watching over something else. A greater purpose."
The wind shifted.
Rylan looked up. In the distance, the sky shimmered—like a reflection on cracked glass. Something beyond was stirring.
Back at the Academy, the boy still lay in bed.
His eyes twitched beneath closed lids. The sigils on his arms pulsed.
And somewhere… in a ruined temple beneath the world, a voice echoed once more.
"The first flame has been taken. Three more remain. Let the shadows stir."