The walls around Eis crumbled, releasing a massive wave of geist that swirled around him. As he absorbed it, his own geist was restored, and with it, his strength returned. Rising to his feet, Eis'' gaze fell upon a katana lying on an ancient altar.


    The katana rested upon the altar, its presence commanding Eis’s attention. Its hilt was wrapped in pristine white ray skin, interrupted by dark, diamond-shaped patterns that ran along the length of the grip. Near the guard, a silver ring encircled the handle, its surface engraved with intricate, swirling patterns that seemed to shift in the light, as if alive.


    The scabbard was a deep, midnight blue, with a texture resembling frost-covered glass. At the end of the scabbard and along the guard, silver fittings gleamed, each etched with ancient symbols—dragons coiling and flowers blooming, their details so fine that they appeared to breathe. As Eis’s gaze traveled up to the blade, he noticed a faint blue shimmer to its steel, and near the tip, delicate white engravings in the shape of flowers, almost glowing against the dark metal.


    Eis approached the katana, his footsteps slow and deliberate, his eyes fixed on the sword lying before him. A cold mist seeped from the scabbard, swirling around it, each movement he made seemed to resonate with the blade, as if drawing him closer. Enthralled, he paid no heed to the sound of the cave collapsing around him. The walls trembled, stones fell, yet all Eis could feel was the magnetic pull of the katana.


    Grabbing the 124-centimeter katana, Eis steeled himself, swallowing back his hesitation. He pulled the hilt from its scabbard slowly, the blade emerging inch by inch. His eyes widened in shock; instead of a solid steel blade, a fragile length of frost greeted him, shimmering and crumbling as if dissolving before his eyes. The frost had eroded nearly halfway up the blade, creeping close to the hand guard. Each flake that fell from its edge vanished into mist.


    Noticing the cave crumbling around him, Eis tried to run, but his body froze mid-step. Eis'' head ached to the point he loses his balance. His mind was flooded with a rush of images. Scenarios, fragments of people, unknown knowledge, all swirling together in a dizzying torrent. Time felt endless. However, in an instant, his mind cleared.


    The collapsing cave had vanished. Instead, he stood upon a frozen floor. Shadows loomed around him, deep and impenetrable, wrapping the world in silence. Eis’s breath stopped as he lifted his gaze, his eyes widening at the sight before him: two enormous, glowing teal eyes staring down from the darkness, their shape unmistakably draconic.


    The dragon roared, sending a powerful gust of wind toward Eis. The coldness bit into his skin like sharp shards of ice. Bewildered by what was happening, he found himself unable to even open his mouth to scream. In an instant, any chance for action disappeared as his body was locked in place, frozen.


    The dragon looked down, seeming both satisfied in proving itself right and disappointed at the same time. Frozen inside, Eis’s expression shifted from shock to a look of fierce resolve. Through sheer willpower, the ice encasing him began to fracture, shards falling away as he broke free. His piercing gaze locked onto the dragon''s. In response, the dragon’s teeth began to gleam as if it''s grinning.


    Moving its mouth, the dragon spoke. "My name is..."


    .


    .


    Outside, the boss continued to unleash fireballs, desperate to bury Eis within the mountain. Suddenly, a towering pillar of pure, cold geist erupted from the depths of the earth, piercing straight up through the mountain’s peak. The blizzard outside the boss area is as strong as ever, snow swirling around in fierce gusts. Standing atop the mountain, a katana strapped to his back, Eis gazed down at the boss below.


    "So you were the one causing the tremors."


    Leaping from the mountain, Eis drew his katana slowly, revealing an ice blade. Halfway through drawing the blade, the scabbard began to split open, allowing Eis to draw his katana completely.


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    Reaching the ground, a cloud of dust enveloped the area around the boss. As the dust began to settle, Eis''s silhouette gradually emerged. The boss let out a thunderous roar, its voice echoing across the terrain and sending a fierce gust of wind that swept through the air, scattering the dust.


    Eis stared at the boss with a blank expression, his eyes completely turned azure. His once jet-black hair now bore streaks of white.


    The boss dashed toward Eis, striking with a massive fist. Despite its lack of an organic face, the shock of its expression was as clear as crystal. With a firm grip on his katana, Eis intercepted the blow, the impact reverberating through his body. Channeling his strength, he swung the katana, forcing the boss to distance itself.


    The boss gathered its flames, the air around it shimmering with heat as it charged a massive fireball. Despite knowing what was coming, Eis stood still, his expression blank as he watched the incoming attack. The boss spewed an extra charged fireball, lightning sparking around it as it made its way toward him. Eis raised his katana overhead and brought it down in a powerful arc, cleaving the fireball in half.


    Eis made his way to the boss slowly. Bewildered by Eis''s growth during the short time they hadn''t met, the boss felt cornered. The boss charged again, this time spewing three pillars of lava and massive rocks, as if a volcano had just erupted. Pointing his katana toward the approaching lava, Eis uttered...


    “Heaven and earth are yours to freeze, reign free under my rule...”


    ~[Nefylde]~


    Draconic claws began to form over Eis'' right hand. As the lava touched the blade, in the blink of an eye, both the lava and the boss froze solid.


    The claws crumble as Eis puts his katana back in its scabbard. His geist fluctuated, "Tch, how unstable..."


    .


    .


    .


    On the 60th floor, four men sit restlessly at an inn. A woman with dark-hazel, roundish-almond eyes and brunette hair tied into a low ponytail entered. Her curtain bangs cascaded down both sides of her face. She wore torso plate armor with fur accents below the pieces guarding her shoulders, knees, and elbows. Despite the armor, her lean, muscular physique was unmistakable. As she opened the door, she stole the four men''s glances.


    A guy with almond-shaped, greenish-blue eyes and loosely parted blond hair stood up upon seeing the woman.


    "Have you found her?!"


    "Someone said they saw her but..."


    "What is it?! Just say it already!"


    "She was spotted on the 89th floor, unfortunately the group that saw her was in an emergency, so they couldn''t spare any time for Frieda..."


    Gritting his teeth, the man grabbed his sword and wasted no time heading to the 89th floor.


    However, he was stopped by another man who sat calmly, his amber-colored, sharp eyes staring directly at him. The man''s lengthy bangs framed his face, while a section of his hair was tied at the back, resembling a ponytail, with the rest resting at his nape.


    “Do you think you''ll be able to do anything there with your current emotional state and a sword?”


    “Let me go.”


    “Calm yourself first.”


    “The fuck do you mean by calm myself!? Frieda right now might be melting from those plants as we speak!”


    “I''m saying that we have to prepare first if we want to rescue Frieda.”


    “If you want to prepare, do it yourselves, why can''t you understand we don''t have enough time!”


    “Oh fine then! Go there by yourself so when we rescue Frieda, she can find out her beloved brother died by himself due to his stupidity!”


    “What did you say? You bastard!”


    “Calm down, Friedrich, Ruhig! What use is it to fight among ourselves.”


    The two men sitting down—one taller than the rest with messy hair and sharp blue eyes, and the other with long, center-parted hair and down-turned green eyes—stopped the two from escalating their quarrel. After preparing, they headed to the 89th floor.


    On the 89th floor, the five battled ferocious plant-based monsters, their limbs thrashing and vines snapping. “Look! Frieda is there!” one shouted, pointing toward a massive tree with a gaping hole in its trunk. Inside, Frieda lay unconscious, covered by the roots of the tree.


    “God dammit, the faulsbaum got her, hurry up!”


    “These damn vines and roots, they''re so annoying.”


    The 89th floor was a labyrinth of writhing, sentient vegetation. Though each vine and branch was weak on its own, they moved in swarms, their strength lying in sheer numbers and poison lying within them. Burning them would only unleash a deadly fog of toxins, making any attempt at clearing a path more dangerous than effective. Friedrich''s group fought with frustration growing each second, furthering Friedrich’s panic. Just ahead, Faulsbaum’s roots coiled tightly around Frieda, feeding off her life force like a leech. The process was almost complete, and with half a day already gone since her capture, Friedrich knew they had only hours left to save her.


    “God damn it!” Unable to contain his frustration, Friedrich charged blindly toward Frieda, only to be stabbed in the back by a plant. The plant''s tentacle inflated, moving slowly toward Friedrich''s wound. “Oh no! It''s gonna inject its poison into Friedrich, Ruhig!”


    “I won''t make it in time!” Ruhig''s face flashed with desperation, as he attempted to save Friedrich.


    The rest couldn''t do anything but watch as Friedrich gets poisoned by the monster. Just as hope faded, a sudden chill filled the air. In an instant, every plant-based monster around them was crystallized, stopping mid-movement. The writhing forest of vines and tendrils was now silent, frozen.