The chamber where the eighth bell had fallen silent still quivered, the shattered steel and ice glinting under the dim violet glow of the runes along the walls. Qin Mo stood, the Frostflame Core's heat a flickering defiance against the deepening cold, the bells' chime from his pouch a faint, resonant echo that stirred his blood. The FFD System buzzed, its tone a sharp warning in his mind.
[FFD System: Frostflame Balance: Heat 30% / Cold 70%.]
The team pressed forward, their steps heavy on the icy path, their breaths fogging in the frigid air. Ren supported Wei, whose pale face showed a flicker of awareness, his eyes clearing but shadowed with the weight of his ordeal. Yi's frost threads coiled at her sides, her gaze steady with a mix of resolve and concern, while Lian clutched her relic and the new fragments, their combined energy pulsing in sync with the path ahead. Qin Mo led with his blade ready, the Frostflame Ascendancy tingling through him like a call to end this.
The tunnel spiraled upward, its walls narrowing, the runes deepening to a dark crimson, their glow casting an ominous light. The air grew warmer yet oppressive, the pressure mounting as the ninth bell's reckoning loomed ahead, a silence broken only by the distant toll of steel against ice. Shadows flickered, and the FFD System chimed a dire warning.
[FFD System: Silent Tax Heart detected, 15m ahead, threat level: Critical.]
The tunnel opened into a cavernous chamber, its ceiling lost in a swirling abyss of mist, its floor a vast circle of ice etched with a web of runes that pulsed with a sickly green core. At the center stood the ninth bell, a towering monolith of blackened steel and frost, its surface silent but radiating an overwhelming power. Before it hovered the Silent Tax Heart—a pulsating mass of shadow and frostfire, its form shifting, its eyes a void of red that locked onto the team. The air crackled, the silence pressing down like a vice, and the Heart raised tendrils of energy, unleashing a wave of frost that forced them to brace.
"This ends with your surrender," it rasped, its voice a hollow thunder, and it struck with a speed that shook the chamber. Qin Mo met it head-on, the Frostflame Blade igniting as it clashed with a tendril, sparks flying in the frigid air. The cold surged, testing his balance, but the Ascendancy flared, his movements fluid as he parried a second strike. The Heart's frostfire lashed out, forcing him to roll aside, the heat draining from his limbs, the binding risk climbing.
[Binding risk: 50%.]
"Together!" Qin Mo shouted, his voice cutting through the silence. Yi's threads lashed out, coiling toward the Heart, but the shadow resisted, the runes flaring as it broke free with a snarl. "It's too strong!" she yelled, dodging a swipe of frostfire. Ren set Wei against a pillar, then joined with his daggers flashing, striking at a tendril, the blow drawing a hiss of steam. Lian raised her relic, the fragments merging their energy into a beam that struck the Heart's core, staggering it, the mist thinning.
The Heart roared, its form expanding, and summoned a frost array, blue tendrils snaking across the chamber toward the team. Qin Mo raised the Frostmirror Shield, the barrier flaring to absorb the brunt, though the effort left his arms trembling. The Frostflame Harmony resonated, syncing his defense with Yi's threads and Lian's beam, weakening the array's impact. Ren lunged, his daggers carving a path, and Qin Mo followed, channeling the Frostflame Surge. The wave of ice and fire crashed into the Heart, shattering its outer shadow, but it reformed, its red eyes flaring.
"It feeds from the bell!" Lian shouted, her relic glowing brighter. She channeled the fragments' energy, a second beam striking the bell's base, the crack widening. The Heart faltered, its form thinning, and Qin Mo seized the chance, the Frostflame Dominion surging. He drove the blade into the bell's crack, the shockwave erupting, shattering the steel. The chamber trembled, the green light exploding outward, knocking the team back.
The Heart shrieked, its tendrils lashing wildly, and Qin Mo pushed through the exhaustion, the Ascendancy flaring. He drove the Frostflame Blade into its core, the shard devouring the essence in a torrent that made his vision blur, his body trembling. The team rallied—Yi's threads bound it, Ren's daggers struck its side, and Lian's beam pierced through, the relic's energy resonating with a thunderous crack.
The Heart collapsed, its mist dissolving into the air, the chamber falling into a profound silence. The bells' chime faded, the binding risk dropping, but the cost was etched in their exhaustion.
[Devour progress: 35%. Balance: Heat 35% / Cold 65%.]
Qin Mo dropped to one knee, the shard stabilizing, the cold receding slightly. Yi rushed to his side, her threads retracting, her face flushed. "You're alive—barely," she said, her voice rough but warm. Ren checked Wei, a flicker of recognition returning to his brother's eyes, while Lian approached the broken bell, her relic dimming as she pulled a final fragment—a piece that pulsed with the Tax's last breath.
The chamber shook, the ninth reckoning lifting, but a faint toll echoed from beyond the towers. The team gathered, their breaths visible, the fight's adrenaline fading into a weary triumph. The Heart's defeat had broken the Tax's grip, but the path ahead promised new shadows, each step marking the end of one battle and the dawn of another.