The car door opened, and Lin Xiaojue exhaled a breath of hot air. It rose and immediately condensed into an icy mist.
Large snowflakes fluttered down like a falling waterfall, burying the road in an instant.
The roadside greenery was adorned with ice crystals, the smooth tree trunks were piled high with snow, and in the distance, the sparse crowds on the beach had long since scattered.
Only one black-haired girl stood by the shallow sea. The wind and snow howled past, but she remained frozen there like a statue.
Snow piled up around her, constantly trying to draw near, only to be cut off by an invisible force that prevented it from getting even an inch closer.
“Xiao Xia!”
Lin Xiaojue shouted across the distance. She quickened her pace, pushing slowly through the wind and snow.
The blizzard grew deeper, eventually reaching her knees. Lin Xiaojue’s vision blurred, leaving only Xia Yao’s hazy silhouette.
*Crunch.*
The snow groaned under her feet. A bone-chilling cold seeped into her muscles, accompanied by the dry snow whipping against her face.
It carried away her heat while piercing her body like a sharp knife, making her entire frame tremble.
Lin Xiaojue grit her teeth and wrapped her coat tighter. Her eyelashes were already coated in a layer of ice crystals, and snow stains left marks on her face.
Only her golden eyes remained, flickering in the snowy field as she tried to track the person being buried by the blizzard.
She tried to call out again, but her voice was quickly drowned out by the howling wind. Having no other choice, she pressed on toward that black dot.
Her instincts from years of fighting residual beasts told her that this was more than just a simple loss of control.
The mana that had been stable within Xia Yao’s body had suddenly spiraled out of control, like a collapsing skyscraper, beyond any hope of recovery.
With her mana in disarray, even the surrounding environment had turned hostile. The once-ordinary beach was now deeply affected.
Stepping onto the frozen surface of the sea, Lin Xiaojue gradually lost her sense of direction. Before her eyes was nothing but a vast expanse of white. Even though Xia Yao’s black hair was striking, she could no longer find her.
Suddenly, a distant lighthouse flickered to life, and the moan of a ship’s horn echoed from afar.
The blurry yellow light glowed brightly through the white mist. Although it did not pierce through the haze, it provided a sense of direction.
Lin Xiaojue reached out, pulled her scarf tight, and wiped her face. The ice water left behind was dried by the cold wind. She didn’t feel too cold because she could no longer feel anything at all.
Her hands still seemed to be hands, and her face was still a face, but she had lost all sensation of touch.
Stepping back into the accumulation of snow, she left two tracks in the sea of white. Finally, Lin Xiaojue found that graceful silhouette.
Above white over-the-knee socks, a wide purple bow cinched her waist, complementing a pleated mallow-colored puffy skirt.
Black lace trimmed the hem, and the girl with jet-black hair wore a veil hat, radiating an aura that made it impossible to approach.
She stood there blankly, gazing up at the sky in isolation. Her eyes were lifeless, like a doll whose soul had been extracted.
“Xiao Xia, I’m here.” Lin Xiaojue raised her arm to block the wind and snow. Her silver-white hair fluttered, now coated in a layer of shimmering frost.
Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks.
The snow around Xia Yao began to flow like a cyclone, gathering snowflakes as they wove and swirled in the air. They formed a hurricane that completely enveloped Xia Yao.
The girl’s purple silhouette vanished into the snow.
Immediately after, the accumulation of snow encased her entirely. The snowflakes flowed and climbed, condensing into blocks. Part by part, they transformed into a giant made of snow.
Its face was hideous, and its massive frame blotted out the lighthouse behind it, leaving only a silhouette cast against the lighthouse’s glow.
*Roar!*
The giant let out a furious roar, stirring up a violent blizzard. Snowflakes clumped together into icy masses, streaking through the air like white lines and battering against her.
While it wasn’t painful, it significantly obstructed her vision.
Lin Xiaojue jumped back to maintain her distance. She wiped her face and glared solemnly at the giant before her.
‘A residual beast.’
‘Is it a product of mana pollution? Or a resurgence? Or did someone turn Xia Yao into a residual beast?’
Countless thoughts flashed through her mind, but Lin Xiaojue decisively ruled out the third possibility.
Magic technology was strictly held by the government; it hadn’t even been released to the public during wartime, so a leak was impossible.
She looked around. The blizzard was at its peak, and her teammates were not with her.
‘I’m all alone, then.’
*Roar!*
“I really don’t know if this 0.4% represents your peak or just the start of your transformation…”
Before Lin Xiaojue could finish her thought, the giant roared again. It swung a massive fist, bringing a wave of overwhelming cold as it lunged toward her.
“Transform.”
In an instant, the surface of the sea let out a loud *crack*. A sonic boom erupted from the center of the battlefield, dispersing the surrounding snow.
The ice shattered, sending frozen spray flying into the air.
Lin Xiaojue braced both hands against the fist. Her delicate hands seemed insignificant against the massive snow-fist, but surprisingly, she didn’t look like she was struggling at all.
“Xiao Xia! Wake up!”
Using the momentum, she flipped through the air and unleashed her mana.
Golden mana, like wings, suddenly bloomed. It transformed into golden threads that danced wildly in the air, flying toward the giant to bind it tightly.
Then, Lin Xiaojue raised her hand and retracted the golden threads. She frowned slightly.
“Xiao Xia, what on earth are you thinking…” The girl in the bridal dress looked worried. She opened her hand, and the golden threads gradually dissolved, turning back into golden mana that flowed back into her body.
Looking at the now-motionless giant, she fell into silence.
“Tell me…”
She stepped a little closer, but the giant still didn’t react.
It neither attacked nor defended; it simply stood there with a contorted, agonizing expression on its face.
Lin Xiaojue walked up to the giant and reached out. She knew this method was extremely risky.
Pressing her hand against the giant’s head, she slid it downward without encountering any resistance.
‘It’s snow. Soft snow.’
A hint of warmth reached her hand. She followed the direction of the warm current, searching bit by bit until her entire arm was submerged.
Searching deeper, she still couldn’t find Xia Yao.
She tried to pull her hand back, but it wouldn’t budge.
Glancing at the snowman, Lin Xiaojue decided to lean half of her body inside.
The heat intensified. Lin Xiaojue felt a scorching sensation so intense it felt as if it would burn her hand off.
It was like putting her hand into freshly boiled water, scalding it until the skin was raw and tender, then slowly peeling that skin away to reveal droplets of crimson blood.
Slowly, she finally found the person.
She grasped a strand of extremely hot hair, and her skin felt as if it were being sliced open.
As her fingertips pinched the hair, she heard troubled inner voices—emotions that were likely causing Xia Yao great distress.
They were like sharp knives cutting through the mind, like filth stuck in memory that couldn’t be removed, or like the sweet scent of fruit. At the center of these thousands of intertwined emotions, she finally captured a sliver of light.
“Xia Yao.”
“Huh?”
The black-haired girl, who was clutching a knitted sweater, turned her head in bewilderment.
“I’ve come for you.”
“Senior, didn’t you already…”
“I’m here for you.”
The girl tried desperately to dodge, but Lin Xiaojue didn’t care. She reached out with her blood-stained hand and pulled her close.
In an instant, the snowman melted.
The girl stood dazed in place, staring blankly at what was in front of her.