Traveling through the harsh, sheer cold biome that was the tundra, Lyrian, and his crew could almost feel that the environment itself was alive. Each step felt like it triggered something else to move.

Whether it be snow being crushed under the Rock Ostriches foot, bushes swaying, snow falling from the trees, or wind howling through the air, everything felt organic and real. Creatures moved along, quickly dashing away from the group, and sometimes the group dashed away from certain creatures instead.

Right now, their goal was the final cores that they would need to pass. Fighting any creature wouldn't do them any good. This was the final stretch. It would only be a waste of time to get into a fight now.

"How much longer do we have to go?"

After Lyrian said this, Alten took a moment to look at the sun, and then at the surrounding area before replying.

"I'd say two hours! That's if we don't fight anything on the way!"

That was much sooner than Lyrian was expecting, so he was happy with it. At this moment, Lyrian turned his head past his shoulder and glanced backward for a short moment before looking forward again.

'He's still following us. I wonder who he's sent by.' As he thought this to himself, the kid following them also had his own thoughts.

As he dashed across the bushes and boulders, he smiled arrogantly, 'They aren't showing any signs of stopping... foolish confidence, or determination. I wonder which one it is.'

At that moment, the spy kid saw Lyrian glancing back for only a moment. He suddenly got chills that ran down his back but continued without hesitation.

Although, he was thrown off slightly by this, 'What... he didn't sense me did he? No... there's no way. A kid like him?' He assured himself.

However, thinking about it, his mind began to become more and more anxious.

'I mean... he did somehow defeat him after all. I wasn't there to see it, but that's why he's called the Black Sheep.' He contemplated, 'Whatever... it's not like that matters anyways. I'll just eliminate him whether he knows him here or not.' A serious expression dawned on his face.

Just then, Alten made a sudden stop ahead of everyone, prompting the group to halt. Looking forward, Lyrian couldn't see anything that would stop Alten from continuing.

"What's wrong?" He said as Alten replied slowly.

He calmly walked his ostrich forward, "We're already at the ravine? That's odd... it still should be quite a while away."

Hearing this, Leon retorted, "Maybe it's a big ravine then." As he walked his ostrich to the front where Alten was.

Rylan also peeked out of the side and saw the giant drop off from where they stood, his eyes widening as his glasses nearly fell off of his face

"What in the hell!? It's pure dark death down there! The terrain was so flat and covered in snow that it was almost impossible to see from afar!"

Lyrian also pulled up in front of it. It was a giant chasm of missing earth that was as wide as the river and stretched for seemingly as far as the eye could see on both sides. Looking down into it, it almost felt like the infinite darkness was pulling you into it.

The spy who was following them stopped, hiding in one of the bushes as he stared at them. 'They're looking down... a hole? No... it has to be natural... then a ravine? Maybe a river like before. If so, it would be the perfect opportunity to push them in.' A spark lit up in his eyes.

"So... what do we do?" Rylan questioned, perplexed by everyone's silence.

The three looked at each other, seemingly understanding that they were all in coherence, before looking back at Rylan, who was horrified.

"No! No way! It's pure death!"

Hearing this, the spy was also slightly confused, 'Huh? What's that kid blabbering about? Pure death? Do they have some sort of pois--' Before he could finish his train of thought, the three ostriches suddenly jumped down into the abyss, disappearing from plain sight.

ραndαsnοvεl.cοm His eyes opened wide as he jumped out of the bush in shock. Staring at their footprints, he thought to himself, 'What in the hell!?'

Hearing them not touch the ground yet, he quickly looked over the ravine as well. On doing so, his legs went slightly limp, as he took a big gulp.

'I won't do it. I can't do it. How the hell is this worth it? Fuck this shit, I'm out.' He took a step back, before stopping himself from going any further, 'No... they did it. They wouldn't just eliminate themselves... damn it, I hate this job!' He yelled before backing up a few steps and hurling himself into the ravine.

Lyrian and the others on the other hand had jumped down and were traveling at super-fast speeds that blew black their hair and skin, with Rylan and Alten screaming their heads off like chickens.

"AHHHH!"

"MOMMY!!"

'What the heck is this drop? I don't see the end and it's been over 10 seconds!' historical

Lyrian began to grow slightly concerned as well. He trusted Alten, but now he was thinking that it might have been smart to ask some questions about what the hell this even was or where it lead to before jumping down like a jackass.

Even with his newly fortified body, his shoulders would be obliterated by this impact, there was no doubt about that. At that moment, a sudden gust of wind assaulted the group once again, blowing them closer together and toward the left.

This time, however, the wind was not the same old icy blast of chilling air, but instead, a rather hot, steaming whirl. Feeling this, Lyrian was left confused.

Finally, he saw something at the bottom, it was white.

'Snow!'

He thought to himself, slightly relieved.

'Of course, all these years of snowing, of course, there would be a bunch of snow at the bottom!'

However, he got another thought at that moment as well.

'But if that's the case... then did the hot wind come from?'