A dark gray sky stretched endlessly across the horizon.
An angry blizzard swept violently over the land, drowning the world beneath spiraling sheets of white. Snowflakes fell like shards of shattered glass, stinging against armor and flesh alike.
Frost crept across stone and steel, freezing exposed surfaces within seconds.
And yet—
Eight stallions mounted by eight riders galloped through the storm.
The icebreed horses were monstrous in build, with broad shoulders and thick fur.
Their hooves were reinforced by natural frost-resistant bone. And no matter how brutal the temperature became, they ran without falter.
Their riders were clad in thick enchanted armor, with scarfs and googles covering their faces so that they could withstand the cold.
Ofcourse this was not enough to fight off the cold of the region, so they had to regulate either their internal energy depending on their specialization, to be able to fight off the cold.
Knights circulated qi through their meridians, strengthening blood flow and resisting frostbite.
Whilst mages continuously cycled mana around their bodies, forming invisible thermal barriers against the lethal cold.
At the front rode Rolland Cane.
The Vice-Chief of Riffy Cliffs and the leader of this expedition force.
His icebreed horse traversed the frost plain with tremendous speed.
His posture remained steady despite the wind's assault, while his hand rested near the hilt of his greatsword, and his eyes scanning constantly in case of a sudden attack.
They had traveled for nearly a full day without pause and by now he and his party had traversed a large distant from the Riffy Cliffs and they were close to reaching the Amada Mountains.
As they moved the Amada Mountains began to take shape.
At first they were only shadows.
Then they grew larger and sharper, taking shape as jagged silhouettes piercing the sky like broken spears of stone and ice.
As the mountains drew closer, the icebreed horses instinctively slowed down.
Their hooves pressed more carefully against the snow.
Rolland who was at the lead accessed the mountains as if he was searching for any signs of danger.
He scanned the rocky slopes.
Then slowly reached over his shoulder and unsheathed his greatsword.
The blade shimmered faintly as qi flowed into it.
The others immediately followed.
Then suddenly steel rang against steel as weapons were drawn.
No one spoke.
Rolland inhaled once and slashed towards the air.
A crescent of compressed white qi tore forward from his blade, cutting through the blizzard like a falling star.
It traveled the distance between the warriors and the mountain, and then struck the mountain face with incredible force.
BOOM.
The sound of the explosion shattered the silence, causing several rocks to fall down.
Snow and ice erupted outward as a hidden figure was torn free from concealment.
Even from the great distance, the expedition party could see what it was.
A reptilian beast coated in icy plating tumbled down the slope, its body severed cleanly in half.
It had been waiting in ambush for the warriors, preparing to attack them while their guard was low.
Rolland lowered his blade slowly.
He then turned to his teammates and then said.
"We camp near this area for now "
The crew remained silent no one raisng objections to the order.
Rolland then turned to the only scouts of the team.
"Finn and Hera, both of you scout ahead the terrain and outline a safer route to reach the dungeon."
The two scouts whose faces were covered with scarfs nodded in unison.
They both disembarked from their horses and headed towards the mountains with haste and stealth.
Finn took the left side route of the mountain, while Hera took the right route.
As soon as the scouts left, Rolland and the group began to retreat from the vicinity, planning to make shelter, at least a kilometer away from the dangerous mountains.
Meanwhile at the same time, inside the Riffy Cliffs within the shadowy confines of the dark cathedral's testing chamber, Snow regarded the crystal ball before him with a frown creasing his brow. He then turned to Lady Agatha, who wore a puzzled expression.
"So what does black signify?" Snow inquired, already anticipating an dreadful revelation.
Ahead him, Lady Agatha had a puzzled expression as if she couldn't quite comprehend what this was supposed to mean.
"l said what does black signifies.
Snow had to repeat his question again to gain her attention.
The lady looked at him with a petrified expression not even bothering on his rude manner of asking. Her mind was lost elsewhere as she finally figured what the colour being projected on the crystal ball was supposed to mean.
"Black...
..it should signify a void "
She spoke softly as if she couldn't believe her own words.
Snow frowned at those words already feeling a terrible premonition.
"So what does the void mean then ?"
He asked casually despite him already have an incline of the answer.
Lady Agatha had a lost expression for a minute before she eventually said.
"The void basically means nothing "
Snow frowned and then said dejectedly.
"So in other words l don't have a talent for mana either?"
"Haa l had a feeling that this will happen "
Lady Agatha still appeared horrified and when she heard Snow's self deprecating comment, she shook her head.
"l am afraid that you have it all wrong. Its not just that you don't have talent for mana, but that you don't have mana in you entirely.
Snow frowned now understanding why the self-proclaimed seer was so shaken up.
In the world of energy, mana and qi were two sides of the same coin.
They both represented life, and at the same time they were all equivalent to life.
And if one had no mana then they had no qi.
Now since qi or mana was equivalent to life, it meant that their absence was equivalent to saying one was not alive. Meaning that they were filled with nothingness.....which thus meant a void.
"Hahahaahaha, what do you know. l really am a cursed child "
When he heard the news, Snow coudn't help but laugh hysterically.
Without waiting for Agatha to say anything he suddenly stood up from his seat and swiftly left the room.
Edward was pacing back and forth, impatiently and anxiously waiting for the news outside.
When he saw Snow exit through the tents with a smile plastered on his face, he was overjoyed already thinking that it was good news.
But when Lady Agatha exited the room afterwards with a rattled expression, he stopped in his tracks.
Noticing that the news had unsettled the blind lady, Edward judged it to be worse than bad news.
"What happened?"
He asked with a nervous tone.
Lady Agatha took a moment to gather her words before saying in a low audible tone.
"There is no hope for him_ he really is cursed"
Edward frowned when he heard that.
He knew that when Snow was born Lady Agatha had declared him cursed, but as the child grew up, the lady had never treated him like an abomination and had always regarded him with kindness.
So for her to bring up the cursed topic again, it must have meant that things have gone terribly south during the apitude test.
"What do you mean? What happened in there?"
Edward could already feel his heart thumbing in his chest.
Agatha's pale blind eyes turned towards Edward landing on him with precision.
"The boy has no mana or qi on him. He_ he might not even have a soul. "
Spoke the blind lady while stuttering at the end of the sentence.
Edward brows knitted to the max when he heard this.
He began to piece together the implications behind the claim that Snow had no mana.