chapter2
The burning pain in my lungs made each breath feel like torture. I supported myself against the damp rock wall, struggling forward, trying to find a way out. Suddenly, a deep humming sound came from deep within the mine, and ancient runes on the walls lit up in sequence, emitting bone-chilling blue light.
The temperature plummeted instantly.
My exhaled breath immediately condensed into white mist, fine ice crystals hanging from my eyelashes. The cold pierced into my marrow like countless needles, and the dual torment of silver dust and severe cold completely disabled my healing ability. I shivered all over, my teeth chattering uncontrollably.
"It seems you need to reflect on your mistakes more calmly." Caden's voice came through the array, cold and distant.
Enduring the bone-piercing cold, I discovered a platform covered in runes by the rock wall. The flame rune at the platform's center gave me a glimmer of hope. I lunged toward it, pressing my frozen fingers on the rune's core, trying to activate it.
The rune showed no response.
I examined it carefully and found several fresh scratches at the rune's core, completely destroying the energy circuit.
"Don't waste your effort." Caden said coldly. "All the warming points have already been destroyed by me."
Seraphina's soft voice immediately followed: "Sister Ella, just admit your fault. As long as you acknowledge that you framed me out of jealousy, all of this will end. Watching you suffer truly pains my heart..."
"You and I both know the truth." I bit through my lip, warm blood trickling down my chin, blooming into dark red flowers on the cold ground. "The moonlight herb is for the sacred ritual, not to satisfy your selfish desires."
Caden's voice suddenly rose: "Seraphina needs the moonlight herb! As Alpha, I have the right to allocate resources!"
"Even if it violates the tribe's thousand-year tradition?" I shot back, blood congealing at the corner of my mouth.
Seraphina immediately interjected, her voice carrying deliberate choking: "Brother Caden, don't be angry. Perhaps Sister Ella needs more time to think..."
A memory suddenly flashed—as a child, I had discovered a backup ancient rune array deep in the mine. I dragged my frozen body forward, beginning to crawl. Every inch of movement brought tearing pain from frostbitten skin. Sharp stones cut my palms, leaving intermittent blood trails behind me.
"She's heading east." Seraphina suddenly reminded him, her voice carrying a barely detectable urgency.
Caden snorted coldly: "Death throes."
I finally found that moss-covered rune array at the end of an abandoned branch passage. Using my last bit of strength, I pressed my bleeding palm onto the rune's center.
A faint warmth slowly seeped from my palm. Though insufficient to dispel all the cold, it at least temporarily saved me from freezing to death.

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