The miners' refuge revealed its secret as Kael stepped through the ice-glazed crevice. Arctic air clawed at his lungs, frost crystallizing his eyelashes despite the Inferno Ward shimmering around him.
"Stay back," he warned the shivering guide.
The tunnel's walls transitioned from volcanic basalt to prismatic ice, refracting his protective flames into spectral patterns. His celestial markings flared—not in resistance, but recognition.
There.
A vein of azure crystal pulsed beneath translucent ice. Frostvein ore—legendary ice-elemental gemstone born where magma rivers collided with ancient glacial tombs. Each facet hummed with paradoxical energy, its frost so absolute it devoured nearby heat.
Kael's breath fogged the air as he traced the embedded cluster. "A thermal inversion anomaly... or something older?"
His staff flared. Fifth-tier Magma Burst shattered the ice sheath, revealing gemstones glowing like trapped arctic stars. The cavern trembled, icicles shattering as the mountain itself protested this disturbance.
Three floors above, Simon's steward monitored through seismic crystals. "He's found the Convergence Point," he whispered to an obsidian communication mirror. "Shall we intervene?"
A distorted voice rasped through the void: Let the Keybearer awaken the Gate. Our hour nears.
As Kael harvested the first Frostvein shard, the Dusk Shard's whispers harmonized with the gem's cryogenic resonance. New sigils burned across his palms—celestial patterns warped by frost.
Chapter 71: Frostvein Gem
Kael's Magma Burst detonated against the glacial strata, ice shards exploding outward like crystalline shrapnel. His shimmering barrier deflected the debris as another concussive blast revealed azure luminescence deeper within the rockface—the telltale glimmer of elemental essence.
"Hydro-core resonance," he murmured, staff flaring as he unleashed another volley of Magma Bursts. The mountain quaked under fifth-tier onslaught, frost-rimmed boulders tumbling into oblivion.
"Remind me to hire warriors for excavation duty," Kael muttered, sweat freezing on his brow despite the Inferno Ward. "If only Finn were here to play pack mule..."
The final detonation parted the permafrost veil.
Before him lay a Frostvein monolith—a glacial sapphire the size of a siege engine's wheel, its facets refracting light into arctic auroras. The gem's cryogenic aura warred against his protective flames, its paradoxical birth from magma and eternal winter radiating sixth-tier potency.
"Alchemical perfection." Kael's breath fogged the air. Frostvein's nonreactive matrix made it the ultimate catalyst crucible—neutral yet unyielding, amplifying refinement while purging impurities. This specimen could craft a cauldron capable of brewing seventh-tier elixirs... or contain volatile celestial experiments.
The Dusk Shard pulsed hungrily against his chest, its whispers harmonizing with the gem's frozen song.
Kael emerged from the now-warming cavern, frost still clinging to his robes. The miners' cheers echoed as he announced improved rations—a paltry concession compared to the treasure he'd claimed.
Back in his dormitory, the Frostvein monolith dominated the chamber. Fifth-tier flames licked its surface for hours, slowly sculpting a cauldron's轮廓. Sweat dripped from Kael's chin as his mana reserves dwindled, the gem resisting refinement with glacial stubbornness.
"Persistent," he growled, downing a mana potion. The bitter draught reignited his celestial markings, their silver light revealing an anomaly—a fist-sized core of translucent crystal at the gem's heart, untouched by infernal heat.
"Impossible..."
Even seventh-tier Magma Burst left no mark. The core absorbed flames like a void, its structure defying celestial analysis. The Dusk Shard pulsed in recognition, its whispers shifting from hunger to... anticipation?