Defiance of the Fall

All yours , great mistress! - Followed by a much lower , - Hurry , you old toad , activate the barriers! -

You old crone , - Kruta swore upon realizing he’d become a sacrificial offering . - I’ll remember this when I rule the steppes! Permanent hog duty! No , I’ll—AAAI! -

Kruta’s complaints turned into a high-pitch shriek as one of the faces descended with impossible speed to gobble him up .

69

DRIFTING SNOW

The islands looked like glimmering jewels , slowly bobbing about on the horizon . With the perpetual snowfall , they created an ethereal scenery . Of course , these small isles were actually the backs of huge beasts , transformed into death traps meant to capture and harvest the snow spirits . The Everfrost Titans were a type of Ice-attuned tortoise , but they shared quite a few similarities to some insectoid species .

Atop their shells were the islands , while a huge hive hid inside , which was where its descendants lived . The titans even birthed different types of creatures , only a scant few of which were true Everfrost Titans . Most were different types of helpers who took care of the titans’ every need , allowing them to stay in a torpid state where they communed with the Dao .

Between each titan was a sea of black pebbles , each emitting an intense chill . It was a shame almost all of these things were useless for cultivation . It was the environment that was magical , not the stones . Only a few pebbles managed to turn the icy Dao of this world into something permanent , but finding them was like looking for a needle in a haystack .

Catheya sat unmoving , releasing her Dao while Miasma cycled through her body . Her thoughts were empty as she turned herself into a beacon of ice . The falling snow was changed as it entered her proximity , transformed into sharp ice holding the chill of death .

It was odd . Not the transformation of the Dao around her , but how the world reacted . It didn’t try to rebuff her , more like it wanted to commune . It was a fleeting sensation , coming and going . One moment , she was Catheya , and her Dao was the Dao . The next , she was the vast ocean , stretching toward infinity . Ancient , powerful , vast .

Eruptions occasionally rocked the island , but Catheya barely noticed . She was trying to make sense of the feeling . Initially , she feared she’d been led astray by the powerful Dao inside the Red Zone , prompting her to push toward the next stage of her Dao . That wasn’t the case . She’d long since sealed her mind from the distorted truths of the Temporal Chamber . This was something else , an opportunity .

She just needed to figure out the root of the sensation .

The island tilted as an incredible shockwave almost threw Catheya into the ocean . The outburst scared away whatever truth hid inside the area , and Catheya looked toward the inner regions of the island with helplessness . A minute later , Zac emerged , having transformed back to his Draugr form .

That’s all of them , - Zac said as he stepped through the arrays . - What’s wrong? Are you okay? -

Catheya realized her expression was a bit off and donned a smile . - More than okay . I think I just figured something out . -

As long as you’re alright , - Zac said , handing over a sack . - Only two of them this time . -

Thank you , - Catheya said and stowed away the quest item . - It’ll be a bit before the next one gets close enough . It must have fed recently . It hasn’t responded to my signal at all . -

These lumbering hives usually only drifted about on the pebble sea . If you waited around for two to get close enough on their own , you risked being stuck on the same island for days . The best way to speed up the process was to turn yourself into bait—broadcasting your Dao to make yourself look like a particularly tasty morsel .

If everything worked , it would make the Everfrost Titans curious and instinctively swim closer to investigate . Of course , the practice had borne a different kind of fruit today .

Guess we’re taking a break , then , - Zac said as he took out a set of furniture , adding an environmental array to the dampening array .

The very breath of the titans created a deep hum that carried a hypnotic effect . It made the snow spirits lethargic as they dropped on the island , and it had a similar effect on cultivators . Even powerful warriors risked falling asleep without dampening arrays to counteract the hum . And that was a nap you likely wouldn’t awake from .

This one was pretty stingy , so I had to use a lot of force . It shouldn’t be able to send out any more workers for a couple of days . -

I heard , - Catheya laughed . - I thought you would finally sink one of these guys . -

I can’t believe how deep their sleep is . - Zac smiled . - I cut into its back with Arcadia’s Judgement] , and it only stirred for a few seconds . -

Seems almost impossible to wake them up as long as you stay out of the tunnels , - Catheya agreed . - I guess this zone would be too dangerous if it were any different . -