Haru emerged from the portal, only to be struck by the cold. A world entirely of ice: frozen earth, jagged icy trees, and white air that burned the lungs. In the center lay a pile of wood.
The Voice: "Chop the wood before you".
Haru approached cautiously, but his eyes caught something else: a few meters away, a closed door was half-buried in the ice.
"Why is that door here?".
The Voice (Coldly): "It is irrelevant to the mission. Execute the command".
Haru hesitated. His intuition told him the door was no coincidence. Silence fell.
The Voice: "Since you have refused... you shall bear the consequences".
The ground shook. From beneath the ice emerged a massive beast, resembling a bear but covered in ice with dead blue eyes. Haru tightened the rope and gripped his axe. "Fine.".
The beast attacked. The fight was swift and violent—a strike shattered the ice, a side leap, an axe piercing the shoulder. After several minutes, the beast fell, cracking apart. It vanished, and a new portal appeared.
The Voice: "Enter".
Haru looked at the wood... then the door... then the portal. He entered.