The vault's core was a maze of ice shelves, scrolls glowing with bell runes that cast jagged shadows. Qin Mo's shard strained, its heat a faint spark against the cold flooding his veins. Yi, Ren, and Lian moved silently, the FFD System's warnings sharp, sensing a betrayal within the archive's frost.
[FFD System: Frostflame Balance: Heat 22% / Cold 78%. Scan: Sect infiltrator, 60 meters ahead, threat level: Lethal.]
Ren's daggers glinted, his voice low. "My brother's trail ends here. The sect's hiding something."
Yi's threads hovered, her eyes hard. "They burned my village for these scrolls. I'll burn them back."
A figure emerged—an Azure Flame Sect infiltrator, clad in azure robes, jade token pulsing red, blade glowing with frostfire. "Core-bearer," he sneered, "the Silent Tax thanks you for opening the vault."
The infiltrator struck, blade weaving a net of blue flames, frost trailing like smoke. Qin Mo dodged, Flame Step flickering, but the cold sapped his heat, ice coating his boots. His blade clashed, sparks mixing with frost, the impact jarring his arms.
[FFD System: Frostfire blade active. Heat loss: 25%. Balance: Heat 20% / Cold 80%.]
Lian's arrow pierced the infiltrator's shoulder, slowing him, while Yi's threads bound his legs, snapping his stance. Ren's daggers slashed his token, disrupting its pulse, but the infiltrator summoned a frost array, lines glowing, pulling at Qin Mo's shard.
Qin Mo unleashed Frost Fang, icy teeth biting the infiltrator's arm, frost blooming as blood froze. The shard burned, demanding more. He activated Eagle Eye, spotting a scroll in the infiltrator's robe—sect orders: "Use shards to fuel the Tax's heart."
[FFD System: Sect essence trace absorbed. Devour progress: 10%. Balance: Heat 19% / Cold 81%.]
Yi's threads tightened, pinning the infiltrator, while Lian's arrows struck his chest, ending him. The scroll fell, revealing the sect's collusion with the Silent Tax—shards as sacrifices for old gods.
Qin Mo gripped the scroll, the bells' chime louder, syncing with his shard. "They're using us," he growled, heat flaring despite the cold. "All of us."
Ren's face was grim. "My brother—he's part of their ritual."
Lian notched another arrow. "My family died to stop this. We finish it."
The FFD System chimed, warning of more infiltrators.
[FFD System: Silent Tax resonance: 75%. Next trace: Archive depths. Binding risk: 65%.]
The shelves groaned, runes pulsing, the bells' chime a drumbeat of betrayal.