“Man, it’s freezing in here,” Naki comments, followed by three sneezes.

  “It’s an ice cave. Of course it’s cold in here,” Shinoa explains to him in a know-it-all tone.

  They continue walking, going deeper and deeper.

  “My ability isn’t really working in here. These thick layers of ice are interfering.”

  Najun starts sweating heavily and his nose begins to bleed again.

  “Najun, don’t overexert yourself. It’s just a path — your ability won’t help much anyway,” Shinoa tells him.

  “They’re really close. They understand each other well and even started this search mission together. Lately, Najun has been more distant toward me. Is she the reason? Or has something changed in him?”

  Naki thinks this silently as he walks behind them, jealous of their closeness.

  They walk further until they reach a fork in the cave — it splits into two passages.

  “Wait. Let me check with my ability—”

  “No!” both of them shout at Najun at the same time.

  “We should split up, and you can use it again when you’re feeling better,” Shinoa suggests, and Naki agrees.

  “It’s best if Najun and I stick together, and you go alone, Naki.”

  “Why should I go alone? Why don’t you?”

  “You were the one who called us weaklings. That means we have to stay together to survive. If one of us goes alone, they’re done for — especially because we don’t know what else is lurking in these caves besides the Wonder Bird.”

  “Fine, fine. I’ll go alone.”

  Just as they are about to separate, the cave begins to shake.

  “Watch out!” Naki warns as many icicles fall. He deflects most of them with his sword, shielding his siblings.

  One icicle lands between Najun and Shinoa, splitting them up, and more come crashing down.

  Another is about to crush Shinoa, but Naki tackles her out of the way, pushing both of them into the left tunnel. As soon as they’re inside, huge chunks of ice collapse, sealing Najun off completely.

  “Shit! Najun?! Can you hear me?” Naki tries, but nothing goes through the thick ice wall.

  “Guys? Can you hear me?” Najun calls back, but he hears nothing either.

  “I guess I’m on my own, then. It’ll be fine.

  I’m well rested — I can reactivate my Birth-Protection. Best to use it in short bursts so I don’t collapse again.”

  Najun enters the other path. He activates his ability in small intervals, sensing the structure of his path and roughly where the others are.

  “So far, I don’t ‘see’ a way for us to reunite. Could Naki smash through the walls? He would’ve done it already if he could… so I can’t rely on that. I really do have to go alone. Completely alone…”

  He stops thinking and focuses only on moving forward as quickly as possible.

  “We need to get to Najun fast. It’s too dangerous for him alone,” Shinoa says while explaining her plan to Naki, but he interrupts her.

  “No, no. I can’t break through walls this thick, and I doubt we can remove those chunks. For some reason, this ice interferes with our abilities. It’s like it suppresses them.”

  “Then it seems we’ll have to go through the cave. And unfortunately with you.”

  “Haha, I’m not thrilled either.”

  They start moving.

  “You’re too slow, Shinoa. Come on, hurry.”

  “I am hurrying.”

  “Not enough.”

  Naki lifts Shinoa onto his back and starts running.

  “Hey! Put me down right now! Who do you think you are?”

  “We need to be fast, and with your speed we won’t make it. Hold on and stay quiet. Preferably hold on tight.”

  Before she can protest, he goes full speed.

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  “Ahhhh! Slower!”

  Naki ignores her and keeps running.

  After about six minutes, they’re already far ahead — much farther than Najun.

  Then they reach another fork.

  “Another split. We shouldn’t separate again or we might never find each other,” Naki says as Shinoa clings to his back.

  “You’re right. Let’s take the path that leads us closer to Najun.”

  Before they can move, they hear a strange noise. It multiplies, growing louder.

  “What the hell is that?”

  Before Naki can answer, they appear — wolf-like creatures made entirely of ice, but with no faces. Instead of a face, each has a single red stone emitting the strange sound. There are five of them.

  They surround Naki and Shinoa. The noises grow louder and form a rhythmic pattern.

  “They look weird. And this sound is starting to get annoying,” Shinoa comments.

  “I think Father mentioned them during training. He called them Red Icebreakers. They behave like wolves and have a similar body structure. The red gemstone acts as a communication device and an energy core. Their bodies are made almost entirely of a special ice that doesn’t melt in sunlight. Who would’ve thought they lived so close to us…”

  Naki draws his sword. One Icebreaker charges at Shinoa. She dodges the first attack but trips and falls. Naki cuts the creature down with one swing.

  “They’re not very sturdy. This’ll be easy.”

  Naki continues fighting until only one remains.

  “The last one. I’ll send you to your pack.”

  “Wait, stop!” Shinoa shouts.

  Naki halts and looks at her for an explanation.

  “He’s different from the others. And they’re talking to him.”

  “Who is talking to who?”

  “The gemstones of the others — they’re still communicating with the last one. I can clearly see signals being transferred.”

  “How can you see that?”

  “I have a Birth-Protection too.”

  Shinoa activates her ability.

  Birth-Protection: See Quality

  With it, she can see the condition, strength and energy of objects and people. That’s how she noticed the bird watcher wasn’t himself — and now she sees the gemstones exchanging energy. But she cannot see through walls or gain enhanced vision.

  “Be careful. I think the gemstones are synchronizing.”

  As she says this, the noise becomes a full chorus.

  The last Icebreaker grows larger and its body turns red.

  “It’s evolving.”

  Naki sprints forward and attacks — but his sword gets stuck in the creature’s body.

  He tries to pull it out, but the monster absorbs the blade.

  “Damn…” Naki thinks as the Icebreaker raises its claw.

  It strikes, but Naki lets go of his sword and jumps onto the creature’s back. It tries to shake him off, but he clings on and punches it repeatedly.

  “If I can’t cut you, I’ll beat you to death!”

  He punches until his knuckles bleed, but the creature takes barely any damage.

  “This thing is tough… I need my sword.”

  Naki grabs the handle again and pulls —

  He frees most of it, but the tip remains stuck.

  Before the monster can strike again, something stops it.

  Shinoa holds a fairy wand.

  “This is a Family Gift. It can halt evil beings — but hurry, I can’t hold it long!”

  Naki thanks her and yanks the sword out entirely. He jumps high and unleashes multiple sword slashes, landing in front of the beast before stabbing its red gemstone.

  The monster collapses, shatters, and dies.

  “Whew, that was close,” Naki thinks — then immediately gets smacked on the neck by Shinoa.

  “We only won because of me. You can thank me later.”

  “Yeah, yeah, I can also stand in the back waving a magic stick. How did you even get that thing?”

  “I stole it from Father’s archive.”

  “What?! Are you insane? If he finds out, you’re dead.”

  “He won’t find out if I put it back. Unless you tell him, perfect son.”

  “I’m not a snitch.”

  Naki stands up and sheaths his sword.

  “Why are you suddenly so nice to me? Nervous because I figured out you’re a sneaky snake?”

  “Hahaha, Naki, you and your imagination.”

  Shinoa hugs him.

  “I’m always nice. To everyone.”

  Najun is far behind the others. He can’t run as fast as Naki, and he focuses too much on sensing everything with his ability, forcing him to move slowly.

  “I hope they’re okay. Since Naki is with Shinoa, nothing will happen to them… except maybe they’ll argue and lose focus. I don’t understand why they dislike each other — they’re so similar… I should hurry.”

  Najun starts running faster. His worry grows until he’s sprinting. His injuries from his father’s punishment haven’t fully healed, but he pushes forward.

  “I won’t give up. I won’t give up. I’m finally useful. My ability — and I — finally have value. I need to find this bird so Father can be proud of me. He has to be proud of me. I want him to hug me again and appreciate me. I want to follow in his footsteps, and for that, I must find Mom. If I save her, Daddy will be proud… he must be.”

  Fueled by determination, Najun runs through the tunnel, ignoring all pain.

  He doesn’t notice the two red Icebreakers chasing him. Even though they’re close, they can’t catch him — and he never realizes they’re there.

  He reaches a huge ice hall.

  He sees Shinoa in the center — covered in blood, kneeling on the ground.

  To the side lies Naki, unconscious and also bleeding.

  Then Najun spots it —

  A giant bird in front of Shinoa.

  Colorful. Massive. Elegant. Beautiful.

  Its face slightly distorted, its beak shaped like a massive spike.

  The Miracle Bird.

  Standing right before Shinoa.

  She turns toward Najun.

  “Najun! Run!”