The pale glow of the Wolf Spirit Stones shimmered with an eerie blue under the aurora. As Leon tightened his grip around the third crystal, the rune on his palm flared with heat—an odd resonance between fire and frost.
Garrosh crouched by a glacial crevasse, hacking away at floating ice with his axe. "Last one's in the *Cryohollow Crypt*. It's guarded by shadow-tainted ice spirits."
Elara wiped frost from her arrows, her emerald eyes fixed on moving shadows in the distance. "Those are patrol units from the Shadow Covenant. They're setting up a *Frostlock Barrier*."
Before she finished, dozens of figures emerged from the icy mist. Leading them was a cloaked figure adorned with skull motifs, wielding a bone staff crowned with a pulsing green crystal. Leon recognized him instantly—the leader of the Fang Assassins, a survivor from Molten Fire Canyon three days prior.
"Hand over the Wolf Spirit Stones, Elemental Bearer," the assassin sneered, tapping his staff against the ice with a grating sound. "Lord Arthus sends his regards. Surrender, and he'll tell you where your mother and sister are."
Leon's heart clenched. His dagger trembled in rage. Garrosh stepped forward, axe raised defensively. "If you want him, you'll have to get through me first!"
The assassin laughed coldly, raising his staff toward the orc. "Foolish beastman—do you really think Red Dragon blood can defy chaos itself?"
As he spoke, a chilling howl echoed from deep within the crypt. From the walls crawled countless Ice Spirit Guardians—shattered bodies of frozen shards, their hollow eye sockets burning with shadowfire.
"Scatter!" Elara loosed an explosive arrow, its flash briefly dispersing the horde. Leon activated the Heart of the Flame Dragon, unleashing a ring of blue fire that surrounded them. The spirits shrieked as they touched the flames, melting into streams of water.
"It's useless!" The assassin hurled a black crystal into the ice. It embedded itself with a pulse of green light. Instantly, the spirits surged faster, ignoring the flames entirely. Leon now saw the tiny dark runes carved around the crystal—pumping a steady stream of chaotic energy.
"Destroy the source!" Garrosh roared, swinging his axe at the crystal. But an invisible force repelled him, frosting the edge of his weapon. Elara fired three consecutive arrows, striking each of the crystal's rune nodes. The green glow flickered and dimmed.
Leon seized the opening, pressing all three Wolf Spirit Stones onto the crystal's center. A violent clash of red, blue, and icy-blue erupted in a deafening explosion. The Ice Spirits evaporated into mist. The assassin screamed as the shockwave hurled him backward, revealing a twisted shadow brand beneath his cloak—identical to Arthus's mark.
"The fragment of the Chaos Egg… already…" His voice cut off abruptly as his body dissolved into black smoke, leaving only a token engraved with jagged runes.
Elara picked it up, her expression grave. "This is a command seal from the *Shadow Council*. They're gathering elemental energy across the land—to resurrect the Chaos Egg at the *Forgotten Altar*."
Garrosh spat. "Chaos Egg again? What even *is* that thing?"
"The Shadow Covenant's ultimate weapon," Leon said grimly, recalling the Grandmaster's warning. "A monster hatched from countless lives and elemental power—it can devour the world's order." He tightened his grip on the stones, feeling the restless stirrings of dragon blood within. "We have to stop them."
As they left the Cryohollow Crypt, the aurora turned blood-red—as if the sky itself was bleeding. Elara pointed at dark patterns etched across distant glaciers. "That's the mark of a Shadow Ritual. Arthus is accelerating his plan."
Back at the Frostwolf Clan's camp, Chieftain Ironmane was sharpening his waraxe. Beneath his wolf helm, his eyes studied the stones in Leon's hands. "You've completed the test. Good. Now embed them into the Heart of the Flame Dragon."
Leon obeyed. As the stones fused into the crystal, the Heart blazed with interwoven red and blue light. A spectral dragon formed from fire and frost spiraled upward, roaring silently. Ironmane's dragon-shaped prosthetic eye lit up, projecting a star map—marked at its center was the *Forgotten Altar*, surrounded by seven elemental symbols.
"What is this?" Leon asked in awe.
"The *Elemental Resonance Chart*, passed down by our ancestors," Ironmane explained, pointing at the ancient script along the edges. "When all seven relics resonate, the gateway to the *Core of Creation* will open. But now, the Shadow Covenant is corrupting the resonance nodes with chaos energy." He suddenly coughed violently, his prosthetic flashing with a streak of black mist. "I… I've been tainted…"
Leon finally noticed the faint shadow纹路 creeping along the chieftain's neck. Garrosh caught his father, eyes wide with fear. "Father!"
"No need to worry, son," Ironmane patted his shoulder. "Now that the Elemental Bearer has come, the Frostwolf's duty nears its end." He handed Leon a totem engraved with a wolf claw. "Take this to the *Thunderlands*. There, you'll face the Storm Element Lord's trial—the key to stopping the Chaos Egg."
A horn blared outside the camp. A scout rushed in. "Chieftain! The Shadow Covenant's army approaches—Arthus leads them!"
Ironmane stood, shouldering his axe. "Garrosh, take the Elemental Bearer to the Thunderlands. We'll hold them here."
"I want to stay and fight!" Garrosh growled.
"That's an *order!*" Ironmane barked. "Protecting the bearer is protecting all of Azlan." He turned to Leon, his gaze heavy. "Remember—Thunder Trial demands a *heart of justice*. Don't let hatred blind you."
Leon gripped the wolf-claw totem, feeling the weight of the chieftain's strength and trust. He knew the Shadow Covenant's scheme had surfaced—but their journey must accelerate. As Garrosh slung his axe and prepared to march, Leon cast one last look at the Frostwolves readying for battle. In his heart, he vowed—*he would stop the Chaos Egg, no matter the cost.*
As they left the camp, northern winds swirled snow into a haze, muffling the sounds of impending war. Leon tucked the Heart of the Flame Dragon close, feeling both the rune on his hand and the totem burn with warmth—as if foretelling the trials ahead.
Storm clouds gathered over the Thunderlands. And across Azlan, the Shadow Covenant's darkness spread ever closer, following the rising pulse of the Chaos Egg.