The climb to Eldhollow was grueling. Jagged rocks lined the narrow paths, and icy winds howled like wailing spirits. Kael and Mira advanced through the snow-covered ridges in silence, their breath misting before them. The world here was ancient and untouched, as if even time feared the mountain's sacred heights.
Each step upward felt heavier, not from the cold, but from the weight of what lay ahead. The sixth chain was rumored to be guarded by a trial of will, not of strength. It was a relic buried in legend, hidden within a forgotten shrine carved into the heart of Eldhollow itself.
As they passed beneath a frozen arch of stone, the wind stilled.
Kael halted and held out a hand. "Something watches."
From the snow ahead, figures emerged. They were tall, lean silhouettes with antlers of ice. Their bodies shimmered like frozen statues, and their eyes glowed pale blue. These were the Frostborne.
Mira stepped beside him with both blades drawn. "Spirits of the mountain. They don't bleed."
"We don't need them to," Kael answered coldly.
The Frostborne raised their arms and the ground cracked beneath Kael's feet. Spikes of ice burst upward, narrowly missing him. He hurled a wave of black fire forward, but it fizzled midair and was absorbed by a shimmering field of cold.
"They're nullifying magic," Mira warned.
Kael growled and stepped forward. He didn't need fire. Ashveil pulsed with ancient fury as he leapt at the closest Frostborne. Blade met ice with a shattering crack. The creature stumbled as its head was severed in a spray of frost.
Mira moved like wind through snow and cut down another. But more kept coming.
"Enough," Kael roared. Power erupted from him. It was not flame, but something deeper. The fifth chain glowed bright as his voice reverberated across the mountainside. The Frostborne froze in place, trembling, and then crumbled into drifting snow.
Silence returned.
They pressed onward, reaching the summit as dusk settled. At the peak stood the shrine, an obsidian spire half-buried in the ice. Carvings lined its sides and told of gods long dead and oaths still binding. The doors opened at their touch.
Inside, a pedestal of pure crystal held the sixth chain. There was no guardian and no traps.
But as Kael approached, the air grew heavy. A voice spoke not aloud, but within his mind.
"What will you sacrifice? Yourself for the throne, or the world to keep it?"
Kael hesitated. Mira stood silently behind him.
"I've already sacrificed everything," Kael replied. "Let the world burn if it must. I will rule it from the ashes."
The chain uncoiled and floated toward him, wrapping itself around his forearm.
Power surged through him, colder than death and brighter than starlight. The sixth chain was his.
As they stepped back into the night, snow began to fall. Slow, heavy, silent.
Far below, kingdoms stirred. The word had spread. The Lord of Chains had claimed another key to godhood. And nothing, not even the gods of old, would stop him from claiming the rest.