Chapter 507 – Hellish frost [13]

(POV - Emily Parker)

Emily had been working tirelessly ever since the agents sent by the High Council had left the base. Although she wasn't directly responsible for providing support, there was an entire team dedicated exclusively to monitoring the operation and assisting the agents, Emily made sure to pass along as much information as possible.

Information about anomaly behavior, possible patterns, potential risks they might encounter, and anything else that could increase their chances of survival. Even if she didn't exactly share the agents' way of thinking, Emily didn't want to bear the responsibility for any of their deaths simply because she had failed to provide some piece of information that could have made a difference.

She didn't necessarily expect all of them to make it back alive. Emily was far too realistic to entertain that kind of expectation. She knew perfectly well how dangerous this mission could become and understood that, sooner or later, casualties were bound to happen. Above all, however, she knew that even after sending [Angel of Death], she couldn't constantly hover over the agents like a babysitter.

They still needed to act on their own, make decisions in the field, and deal with situations that could change completely within a matter of seconds. If there was anyone with a better chance of resolving this situation before it became completely unmanageable, before dozens of people ended up dead, it was [Angel of Death]. That was precisely why Emily had chosen to send her.

Too bad the group of idiots on the High Council seemed incapable of understanding something so simple. Emily remained seated at the table, her arms resting on its surface and both hands supporting her chin as she became lost in thought. Her eyes were fixed somewhere in front of her, though she was no longer really paying attention to her surroundings.

Then the front door opened, pulling her out of her thoughts. Emily looked up and saw Laura entering the room. There was something difficult to read in her expression. She seemed a little anxious and, at the same time, somewhat tired.

It wasn't exactly one or the other. It was as if the two sensations had somehow blended together in a ratio that was difficult to identify. Laura looked up and noticed Emily sitting there.

For a moment, the two simply stared at each other. Laura's expression wasn't all that different from Emily's: "Hey, boss"

Her voice came out without much enthusiasm, almost like an automatic greeting. If anything, that only confirmed the impression Emily had gotten the moment Laura walked through the door.

Emily raised an eyebrow slightly: "Rough day?"

Laura let out a short sigh as she approached the table: "Kind of... I don't know" She paused for a moment before raising the laptop she was carrying: "I've got some data I wanted to share with you, but..."

Laura trailed off. Her expression suddenly changed, becoming strangely hesitant, as if she were trying to figure out the best way to explain something she herself wasn't entirely sure how to present.

Emily narrowed her eyes: "But...?"

"Um..." Laura looked away for a moment, clutching the laptop a little tighter against her body.

Emily sighed at Laura's hesitation. Honestly, if this wasn't a sign that more problems were about to surface, she had no idea what would be: "Data that's probably going to make me want to pull my hair out, right?"

Laura remained silent for a few seconds. Emily watched her expression, but the longer she did, the harder it became to decipher exactly what was going on inside Laura's head.

Emily raised an eyebrow: "No, it's fine. I'm not blaming you..." She sighed again, running one hand through her hair before continuing: "Either way, I doubt any of this can really surprise me at this point"

For a moment, Emily let her gaze wander over the data in front of them, analyzing the readings with renewed attention: "At least there's one genuinely good thing about all this. The readings indicate an abnormal concentration of energy in the city where [Angel of Death] is"

A small smile appeared on her lips, though it was far from reassuring: "So, if we're lucky, she should come into contact with this ice-apocalypse anomaly soon"

Emily paused briefly: "With a lot of luck, before we all end up as frozen humans" She tilted her head slightly, adding with a deadpan expression: "Literally"

Emily's attempt at humor didn't seem to have much of an effect. Laura's smile barely reached her eyes, and despite her efforts to appear natural, it was obvious how forced it was. Still, Laura didn't comment. She simply let out a quiet sigh and continued, setting the laptop down in front of Emily before opening it to a specific section.

On the screen was a rather... unique graph. Emily tilted her head slightly and began analyzing it. At first, she simply scanned the data with her eyes, trying to make sense of what she was looking at. Then, little by little, her expression changed. She needed a few seconds.

Not because it was difficult to understand, but because she wanted to make absolutely sure that this was really what the data was showing. If these graphs were accurate, and Emily seriously doubted Laura could have made such a blatant mistake, then she had quite a lot to think about.

"Hmm..." Emily rested one hand against her chin, her eyes still fixed on the screen as her thoughts raced at an absurd speed: "So... technically, it's no longer just a matter of the wind cooling down in the atmosphere" She looked up for a moment, her brow furrowing slightly: "The cold that's already there is actually getting... even colder?"

Laura simply nodded: "Exactly" ℴℴ𝗺

Emily turned her attention back to the graph. For several seconds, neither of them said anything: "That's weird as hell..." Emily murmured, more to herself than to Laura.

Well... Emily had definitely expected to find some strange data, but this... this was strange even by her standards. She slightly furrowed her brow as she stared at the information in front of her. What was causing this effect? What exactly did the anomaly stand to gain from doing this? Was there some purpose behind the alteration, or was it simply an unexpected consequence of its presence?

Unfortunately, Emily had no answers to any of those questions. For now, all she had were hypotheses and speculations piling up in her mind without leading to any concrete conclusion. She didn't even have time to continue thinking about it, however, when the communicator in her ear emitted a signal. The voice of [Angel of Death] came through moments later.

It was the same voice as always, carrying that same strange calming effect that made every word sound just slightly different from normal. Even so, Emily had already confirmed that it wasn't any kind of mind control or direct emotional manipulation: “I... think I should mention something...” [Angel of Death] paused briefly, as though searching for the right words: “There's a very bright light in the center of the city”

Silence. Emily blinked once. Laura did the same. The two slowly looked at each other, as though expecting the other to have understood something they had somehow missed. Neither of them seemed to have the slightest idea what she meant.

Emily brought a hand to her communicator: “A... light?” she repeated, a hint of disbelief creeping into her voice: “What kind of light?”

There were several seconds of silence on the other end. Then [Angel of Death]'s voice returned, just as calm as before: “A very bright light” Emily closed her eyes for a moment. That didn't help at all. She opened them again and looked at Laura. Laura merely shrugged. What the hell was that supposed to mean?

***

(POV - Protagonist)

I wasn't entirely sure how useful my warning to Emily was going to be in this situation. After all, simply telling her that a light had appeared out of nowhere wasn't exactly an enlightening explanation or particularly useful information. In fact, considering Emily's last words, it seemed like I'd only managed to confuse her even more.

But, to be fair, I didn't have much else to say. It had all started when the snowflakes began swirling irregularly, forming small whirlwinds that intertwined and spun around one another. The movement grew more and more intense, and before I could even understand what was happening, an incredibly bright, whitish light appeared in the middle of the phenomenon.

It happened so suddenly that I barely had time to process what I was seeing. And then it started snowing. Not ordinary snow, either. It wasn't anything like the few scattered flakes we'd seen over the past few days. It started snowing for real.

An absurd amount of snow came crashing down from the sky almost all at once, covering the surroundings within moments. The flakes were dense and relentless, rapidly piling up across the ground, the surrounding structures, and everything else left exposed. Within seconds, the entire landscape had changed. ⅇ

It was almost as if someone had suddenly decided to crank the world's weather machine up to maximum without warning or explanation. That said, this was far from the worst part. The whirlwinds dancing and intertwining with one another began intensifying rapidly, while the snow, which had previously been falling only sporadically, finally began pouring down in earnest.

The snowflakes turned into a veritable white curtain, piling up across streets, buildings, and everything else in their path. Then something even more absurd happened. The snow intensified... and began to solidify. At first, small mounds appeared here and there.

Then they began growing rapidly, piling on top of one another as if some invisible force were deliberately shaping the entire mass of frozen snow. And then it started growing. In the center of the city, a gigantic structure began to emerge.

Some kind of colossal tower, reminiscent of the descriptions of the ancient Tower of Babel, rose higher and higher, easily piercing through the layer of clouds. At its summit, almost lost among the clouds, something that could only be described as an ice castle began to take shape.

It was an incredible sight. Crystal towers, frozen walls, and jagged structures shimmered beneath the diffused light of the sky, giving the entire construction an almost fantastical appearance. It would have been a truly magnificent sight... if the rest of the city weren't slowly being condemned to a frozen extinction in the process.

I could feel it up there. The presence I'd been searching for ever since I arrived in the city. The sensation was unmistakable, a subtle pressure that reached my senses even from this distance. That said, the thought that slipped out of me was completely spontaneous. The anomaly turned out to be a giant castle? Cool.