The Icy Path beyond the walls of the Frozen Empress Sect was unlike anything Yareen had ever seen. Frost glittered across the surface of the glacier they were running along—a ridge several meters wide, rising high above the valleys, bordered by chasms so deep their bottoms vanished into milky mist.
Every dozen steps, massive black pillars jutted out from the ice—each carved in an incomprehensible fashion. Ancient symbols, spiraling lines, and geometric patterns like frozen vortexes adorned them. The aura surrounding the pillars was heavy, as if time itself halted in their presence.
Yareen couldn't take her eyes off them. She had never left the sect's borders before. Her breath quickened, not from exertion, but awe.
"First time?" Imara asked, running beside her with an unreadable smile. Yareen only nodded.
