"Holy shit..."
Damien slowly walked into the castle's depths, his footsteps echoing off walls of crystal-clear ice. He stopped at the entrance of a massive hallway, his eyes struggling to process what lay before him.
From left to right, stretching as far as he could see, the corridor was filled to the brim with ice cocoons. Tens of them. Dozens. Each one held a humanoid form suspended within, frozen in eternal slumber.
"These are..." Damien approached the nearest cocoon, studying the figure inside. "They are alive, are they not?"
Riveria moved to stand beside him, her jade eyes wide with recognition. "I think... they are inside the same ice we found Ais in."
Tiona pressed close to another cocoon, her breath fogging the frozen surface. "How is this possible? And who are these people?"
"My assumption would be people from Celdia's time." Riveria walked slowly down the corridor, examining each cocoon as she passed. "I... they do not look like only elves. I would have thought she made this for elves to survive something, but no." She pointed at a figure within a nearby cocoon. "Look. That is a Pallum." Her finger moved to another. "There. A Cat Person." She stopped before a third. "And here, a Dwarf."
Damien studied the collection of frozen forms. Different races. Different builds. Some wore armor, others robes, others simple clothing that had somehow survived the ages. All of them suspended in ice, waiting.
"Maybe..." He frowned, a thought forming. "No, it cannot be right?" He turned to Riveria. "Do you think these are her allies from that time? Allies of Albert?"
Tione's voice was sharp. "You are telling me all of these are ancient heroes?"
"Wait!" Tiona's eyes lit up. "If that is the case, then those weapons beside them..." She pointed at the various swords, staffs, and trinkets resting beside each cocoon, frozen in place alongside their owners. "They must be some legendary artifacts, right? Can we take them?!"
Damien grabbed her arm before she could move. "If I know anything about stuff like this, it is that it is better NOT to fuck with clearly useful weapons left on display in such a suspicious location." He looked around the corridor, at the silent cocoons, at the ancient treasures waiting to be claimed. "For now, we find Ais first."
Tiona pouted but nodded. She understood. The fact that they were roaming the castle without a single monster or entity trying to rip their heads off was already as good as it got. There was no need to tempt fate.
They continued through the corridor.
The hallway opened into a massive circular chamber, its walls rising into a dome of pure ice that glittered with ancient light. In the center of the room stood five ice cocoons, arranged in a circle like petals around an invisible center.
Four of them were empty. Hollow shells of ice that had long since released their occupants.
The fifth was not.
"AIS!"
Tiona rushed forward, her voice echoing off the frozen walls. Damien, Riveria, and Tione followed, gathering around the cocoon that held their friend.
Ais floated within, her golden hair spread around her like a halo, her face peaceful, her eyes closed. The ice was thick, older than any of them could comprehend, but it was the same as the others. The same as the one they had found her in nine years ago.
"It is the same cocoon from before," Riveria murmured, studying the frozen surface. "Just a bit bigger."
Damien circled the cocoon, his eyes tracing the patterns in the ice. "So our theory is correct, right? Ais is somehow connected to Celdia and the Ice Garden."
Riveria nodded slowly. "I suppose so. Yes."
Tiona pressed her hands against the ice. "How do we get her out?"
Riveria stepped forward, her staff lowering. "I think I can handle that. I was the one who freed her from the last one, too."
She placed her hand flat against the cocoon's surface. Magic gathered in her palm, warm and gentle, seeping into the ice. The frozen shell did not crack or shatter. It melted. Slowly at first, then faster, water streaming down the sides as Ais's form became clearer, more present, more real.
The last of the ice dissolved.
Damien caught her as she fell, cradling her against his chest. Her eyes fluttered. Opened.
"Damien?"
He smiled down at her. "How are you doing, princess?"
"AIS!" Tiona threw her arms around both of them. "Oh, thank god! We have been so worried about you!"
Ais blinked, still dazed. "What... happened?"
Damien's grin was lopsided, teasing. "Oh, nothing much. You just got kidnapped by a Corrupted Spirit, tried to kill me, and then somehow activated a giant Ice Garden on your own." He shrugged. "Normal Tuesday."
Ais's eyebrows rose. "What?"
Tiona and Damien helped her to her feet. She swayed slightly, one hand rising to her temple. "It is like I had a massive headache that has gone away."
Riveria moved closer, her expression serious. "You were hit by a curse. A strong one. From Revis."
Ais's eyes snapped open. "Revis!"
"Oh yeah, forgot to mention that part." Damien started. "What happened was—"
A massive explosion erupted on the castle wall, blasting a chunk of ice into the chamber. Shards rained down around them, forcing the group to shield their faces.
"Shit....Must be the Corrupted Spirit. She must have done something!"
The castle groaned around them, ice cracking, the ancient structure responding to the assault from outside.
They were out of time.
....
"We have to retreat!" Finn's voice cut through the chaos.
Gareth blocked an attack from a massive Demi Spirit dragon, his axe grinding against its corrupted scales. "What about the OTHERS!"
"We have no choice! They will make it!" Finn's spear drove back a tentacle that lashed toward them. "RETREAT NOW! Everyone! Let the shadows act as bait! Retreat!"
Ryuu, Samira, Bete, and the elite expedition members obeyed without hesitation. They fell back, fighting through the remaining tentacles, retreating toward the upper floors.
The reason for the retreat was clear.
The Corrupted Spirit had changed her approach. Instead of attacking everyone with her tentacles scattered across multiple floors, she had pulled them all back. Every single limb. Even the ones that had invaded Floor Fifty-Nine. She brought them all down to attack the Garden.
Her Demi Spirit monsters followed the same command. She redirected every one of them to attack Finn and his crew, overwhelming them with sheer numbers.
There was no holding this line. There was only survival.
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