Chapter 134: A Hidden Path

Chapter 134: Chapter 134: A Hidden Path

They continued their exploration.

Shiro remained at the front, following the changes in the Ice Elemental essence around them.

The deeper they went, the less familiar the area became.

Even Caelia began looking around more carefully.

"I’ve never been this far."

Damon looked at her.

"Really?"

Caelia shook her head.

"Frostveil is too large. There are plenty of places I haven’t explored."

Damon nodded.

That made sense.

The Frostveil Expanse was huge, and most explorers stayed around the safer areas they already knew.

There was little reason to wander into unknown territory without a good reason.

Now they had one.

Shiro suddenly slowed down.

Damon noticed immediately.

"Something changed?"

Shiro nodded.

The Ice Elemental essence was stronger here.

It wasn’t a huge difference, but it was enough for him to notice.

Snow also stopped.

She lifted her head and looked around.

Caelia felt it too through Snow.

"The essence really is stronger."

Damon smiled.

"Then we’re going the right way."

That alone lifted everyone’s mood.

They had spent days searching with very little to show for it.

Now they finally had something.

Damon looked at Shiro.

"Keep following it."

Shiro nodded.

The group moved faster.

The terrain slowly changed as well.

The ice became thicker in some areas, while large patches of exposed stone appeared between them.

Some trees were completely covered in frost.

Others had already been frozen into strange shapes by the dense Ice Elemental essence.

They didn’t stop to admire any of it.

Whenever beasts appeared, they dealt with them quickly.

Sometimes Shiro and Snow handled them.

Other times, Freya or Sylphie stepped in.

Damon also joined the fights more often.

He wanted to improve his own Ice Elemental control.

His affinity wasn’t comparable to Caelia’s, but his Spirit Origin had already given him a much better understanding of Ice Elemental essence.

He could now feel its movement more clearly.

That made controlling it easier.

A small spear of ice formed in front of him.

Damon flicked his hand.

The spear shot forward and pierced the head of a nearby Ice Beast.

Caelia looked at him.

"You’re getting better."

Damon smiled.

"I’m trying."

"At this rate, you’ll start stealing my element too."

"I’ll take that as a compliment."

Caelia laughed.

The next few fights ended just as quickly.

They weren’t looking for trouble.

They simply didn’t want anything slowing them down.

Eventually, Shiro stopped.

Damon immediately noticed.

"What is it?"

The Frost Qilin looked around.

Then he continued walking.

Damon followed.

The others did the same.

They went deeper.

And deeper.

Until even Caelia became uncertain about their location.

Then suddenly, Shiro stopped again.

This time, he looked confused.

Damon frowned.

"What happened?"

Shiro lowered his head.

The Ice Elemental essence was disappearing.

Not becoming weaker.

Disappearing.

Damon waited.

"Can you still sense it?"

Shiro shook his head.

Snow also looked around.

She couldn’t find anything.

Caelia sighed.

"So that’s it?"

Damon didn’t answer.

He looked around the area.

There was nothing obvious.

No giant formation.

No strange structure.

No massive concentration of Ice Elemental essence.

Just frozen ground, rocks and trees.

Caelia looked frustrated.

"We came all this way for this?"

Damon rubbed his chin.

"Maybe not."

She looked at him.

"You sound like you’re trying to convince yourself."

"Maybe I am."

Damon glanced at Shiro.

"Try again."

Shiro closed his eyes.

He stayed still for several seconds.

Nothing.

Damon waited.

"Anything?"

Shiro opened his eyes and shook his head.

The disappointment was clear.

Damon sighed.

He had been almost certain.

The increase in Ice Elemental essence.

The change in the terrain.

Shiro’s reaction.

Snow confirming it.

Everything had pointed toward this place.

But now there was nothing.

Caelia sat on a nearby rock.

"Maybe we missed something earlier."

Damon nodded.

"That’s possible."

He didn’t want to admit it, but he was disappointed too.

They had spent so much time searching.

This was the closest they had come.

Yet it had ended in another dead end.

Still, Damon didn’t leave.

He looked around again.

If this was really the closest they had gotten, there had to be a reason.

A Zone Heart couldn’t simply sit in the open.

If it was easy to find, explorers would have discovered it long ago.

Even beasts could have stumbled upon it.

That alone made Damon think.

"Caelia."

"Hm?"

"If you were hiding something important here, where would you put it?"

She looked at him.

"Underground?"

Damon smiled.

"That’s what I was thinking."

"But we’ve checked for underground openings before."

"Not this one."

Caelia looked around.

Damon continued.

"We followed the strongest concentration of essence until it disappeared."

He pointed toward the ground.

"That doesn’t mean the source disappeared."

Caelia’s eyes narrowed.

"It could be hidden."

"Exactly."

Shiro looked at the ground.

Damon crouched beside him.

"Let’s search the area again."

Caelia stood.

"Together?"

"Let’s split up."

She understood.

"If one of us finds something, call the others."

Damon nodded.

They separated into groups. Damon stayed with Shiro.

He wasn’t going to simply walk around hoping to find a hidden door.

He needed a clue.

He looked at the ground.

Then the surrounding rocks.

Then the trees.

Nothing stood out.

He walked slowly.

Shiro followed.

Every few steps, Damon stopped.

He closed his eyes.

He tried to feel the Ice Elemental essence around him.

Nothing.

He moved again.

Still nothing.

His patience began to run thin.

"This is annoying."

Shiro gave a quiet sound.

Damon looked at him.

"I know."

He sighed.

"We were so close."

He continued walking.

Then he stopped.

Not because Shiro had found something.

Because he felt something himself.

It wasn’t a pulse.

It wasn’t even a clear flow of Ice Elemental essence.

It was more subtle.

A faint resonance came from his Spirit Origin.

Damon’s eyes widened.

He stood completely still.

The Ice Elemental essence inside his Spirit Origin had reacted.

Something was pulling at it.

Very slightly.

Almost like a distant call.

Damon’s expression changed.

"Wait."

Shiro looked at him.

Damon focused.

The resonance disappeared.

He moved one step to the side.

It returned.

His eyes narrowed.