"Probably," Lumin chukled, noticing Uru’en hadn’t even heard him.
She was already moving, her hand snapping to the massive bone axe slung across her back. Her earlier shock had burned away, replaced by a cold, lethal clarity.
She took a step toward the fray.
"We should evacuate them first." Lumin’s intentionally loud voice stopped her in her tracks.
She glanced back at the flickering dome protecting Goran and the wounded, then toward the main entrance where the crash of steel and roar of combat was growing louder.
She gritted her teeth, the conflict between duty and instinct warring on her face for a single heartbeat.
"Let’s do it quickly," she growled, making her choice.
"Good choice," Lumin muttered as he sprinted to the nearest cot, hauling a groaning hunter over his shoulder.
Uru’en ducked inside the barrier, her strength making light work of three injured tribesmen, lifting them like children.
Goran marshaled the ambulatory, shoving them toward a rear exit that led deeper into the mountainside fortress.
As they worked, a deep, resonant THRUM pulsed through the air.
From the highest watchtower, a complex rune of ice and earth flared to life.
A semi-translucent, shimmering dome of interlocking hexagonal plates, just like a colossal snowflake, snapped into existence over the entire Salom fortress.
The next incoming fireball barrage struck it and detonated harmlessly against the barrier, scattering embers down the energy shield.
Meanwhile, at the main entrance, the fight had already started.
The Salom hunters, faces set in grim snarls, met the charge of invading warriors.
The attackers wore similar furs and hides, but their tribal markings were slightly different.
Jagged blue lines for the Frostwalkers, and stony, grey patterns for the Stonehides.
"ARRR!"
A Stonehide warrior, built like a moving boulder, brought a hammer down with earth-shaking force. One of the Salom hunters met it with his own axe, the impact sending a visible shockwave of force that cracked the frozen ground at their feet.
"SWOOSH-!"
A Frostwalker female spun through the air, her twin daggers trailing streamers of freezing mist that sought to encase a defender’s legs.
"Hunter’s Rage-!"
The Salom warrior roared, stomping down and shattering the ice with pure aura, before lunging forward with a spear of condensed wind.
"Bang!"
"Boom!"
"THUM!"
"RAAAR!"
The air was a cacophony of grunts, war cries, and the deafening clang of empowered weapons.
Ice shards flew, gusts of wind cut like blades, and tremors from earth-shaking strikes rippled through the small battlefield.
Then, a new pressure descended.
"!"
A crushing, dominant dread that slithered down the spine of every fighter on the field. The air grew thick, hard to breathe.
"FALL BACK."
The order rang out from the Salom lines, echoed by a similar bellow from the attackers.
Both sides disengaged instantly, scrambling backward across the bloodied snow, creating a wide, circular no-man’s land between the shattered gate and the fortress interior.
From the Salom ranks, two figures strode forward.
Chieftain Risha, her fur mantle swirling, her single amber eye like a banked coal. Beside her, her husband, the gentle giant chef. He held no ladle now, but a massive maul of black iron radiating deathly bloodlust.
Their combined auras rolled outward, dense, fierce, and unyielding as the mountain itself.
From the milling ranks of the traitor tribes, two figures emerged to meet them.
A tall, gaunt man with skin like weathered granite and eyes of flint - Norak, Chieftain of the Stonehides.
Beside him, a willowy woman whose every step left a faint, frosty footprint in the air, her long white hair moving as if in an unseen breeze - Laura, Chieftain of the Frostwalkers.
The four strongest snow barbarians of the three tribes stood facing each other in the cleared space.
The weaker hunters on both sides could only watch while holding their breath.
"What is the meaning of this?" Risha’s voice was flat, but it carried across the silent battlefield. Her single amber eye was fixed on Laura.
She didn’t even glance at Norak since she knew Norak well. He wasn’t smart enough to plan this. He might be brave, but not enough to orchestrate a betrayal.
Laura’s lips curled into a smile. It was meant to be seductive, but with her appearance and bearlike build, it looked more like a ferocious predator baring its teeth. "Come now, Risha. You already know the answer. Why bother pretending?"
"That might be true," Risha conceded with a faint nod. "But I also know that you are not strong enough to provoke us alone, Laura. So tell me, who is behind you?"
Laura snorted, a puff of icy mist escaping her lips. "Don’t overestimate yourself, Risha! If I wanted, I could have done this a long—"
"Enough."
Before she could finish, a cold voice cut her off.
"!" Laura flinched.
The defiance vanished from her posture instantly, her head bowing a fraction in immediate, unquestioning submission.
’Oh,’ Risha’s brow lifted.
Her amber eye seemed to ignite from within, glowing with a fierce, golden light. Her gaze pierced the space above Laura, focusing on empty air.
There, where nothing had been, the air shimmered like a heat haze.
The next moment, a figure clad in deep, sanguine robes coalesced from nothingness, looking down upon the gathered crowd as if surveying insects.
He descended without a sound, landing lightly on the churned snow opposite Risha, placing himself between the two traitor chieftains.
Risha’s husband frowned deeply, with his eyes meeting his wife’s for a fleeting second.
A cold knot of dread settled in his gut.
He knew, with the certainty of a warrior who has faced death countless times, that even if he and Risha fought together... they would be no match for this man.
"Chieftain Risha."
The red-robed figure finally spoke, his voice carrying a bored, elegant authority that clashed violently with the primal energy of the tundra.
"I see that you’re a reasonable person." The red-robed man’s tone was unnervingly casual. "I have a proposal. Would you like to listen?"
Risha’s expression didn’t change. "What if I refuse?"
The man chuckled faintly before his voice dropped, the false warmth vanishing, replaced by a glacial edge. "Do you think you have a choice?"
His gaze drifted past her, over her shoulder, to where the Salom fortress stood, sheltering her wounded, her elders, her children.
The silence stretched, thick with the weight of unspoken slaughter.
Risha’s lone eye held the man’s gaze, measuring, calculating the impossible odds.
Yet found none.
"...Let’s hear it first."
The man gave an approving nod.
"Good choice. Don’t worry, the proposal is simple."
He gestured vaguely toward the distant, brooding ridge where the Black Dome sat, a permanent stain on the horizon.
"We... are going to hunt the Night Devourer."
________ ___ __
Author’s Note:
[ Title: An End and a Beginning ]
[ This Chapter marks the end of our mass release.
However, I cannot let the year end without saying this: my deepest gratitude to you.
Thank you all!
This story exists only because you kept turning the page.
Your time, your curiosity, and your support are the true magic that bring it to life and motivate me to keep moving forward.
As we turn the final page of this year, I wish for you a story of your own in the coming year — one rich with new adventures, fruitful endeavors, and Chapters of joy and peace.
And as a hint of what’s to come... a little surprise is waiting for you all in the New Year. So stay tuned!
Wishing you a joyful and prosperous New Year.
Let’s make it a great one together.
All the best,
Peace_in_Chaos ]