The Temple of Echoes defied every architectural principle I'd ever known. White rose in impossible formations—towers that bent inward at angles that would collapse any normal structure, archways intersecting in ways that hurt my eyes to follow, staircases visible through crystalline walls that seemed to ascend and descend simultaneously.
Unlike the weathered stone fortresses and crumbling watchtowers we'd passed on our journey, the Temple showed no sign of erosion or age. Its pristine surfaces caught what little sunlight remained and amplified it, causing the entire structure to glow with an ethereal luminescence that pushed back against the darkening sky.
"It's beautiful," Laina whispered.
She wasn't wrong. Despite the knowledge that this place housed the source of Frostfall's curse, I couldn't deny its breathtaking beauty. The massive arch marking the entrance rose at least thirty feet high, its surface covered in intricate carvings depicting scenes I couldn't fully comprehend—battles, coronations, transformations, and in one corner, what looked disturbingly like the sled I'd woken up in at the beginning of this journey.
"Let's keep moving," I said, forcing my gaze away from the carvings. "We don't have much time."
Joran hung back, his lean frame tense as a bowstring. The wind tousled his dark hair as he stared at the Temple with apprehension.
"Something's not right," he muttered.
I rolled my eyes. "You've been saying that since this morning. What exactly isn't right?"
He shifted his weight, hands never far from his knives. "This place... it's too perfect. Look at the snow."
I followed his gaze. He was right—despite the constant blizzards that plagued these mountains, not a single snowflake clung to the Temple's white walls. As I watched, a gust of wind carried a flurry toward the structure, but the moment the flakes touched its surface, they simply... dissolved.
"It's feeding on them," Joran said, his voice barely audible.
"Or it's just warm," I countered, though I didn't believe it myself. Nothing in this hellish landscape was warm unless it was meant to lure you to your death.
Laina had already started toward the entrance. "We didn't come all this way to stand around theorizing."
I caught up to her in a few quick strides, my hand instinctively finding Heartseeker's hilt. The dagger wasn't visible, but I could feel its presence, a warm pulse against my palm. Its twin, Frostbite, remained dormant—this close to the Winter King's domain, its power felt muted, reluctant.
As we approached the archway, I noticed something strange. The massive doors beneath it stood slightly ajar, as if inviting us in. No guards, no barriers, no obvious traps.
"Too easy," I murmured.
Laina nodded, her hand dropping to the knife at her belt. "Agreed. But what choice do we have?"
None. We both knew it.
I glanced back at Joran, who had finally begun to follow us. His eyes constantly scanned our surroundings, looking for threats that might emerge from the gathering darkness.
When we reached the threshold, I paused and placed my hand against the door. Instead of cold stone, I felt a subtle vibration, as if the entire Temple quietly hummed with contained power. The sensation traveled up my arm and settled somewhere in my chest, resonating with something inside me.
"Do you feel that?" I asked.
Laina pressed her palm to the surface, her brow furrowing. "It's... warm."
Joran kept his distance. "We should be careful."
"We don't have time for caution," I said, checking my mental countdown. Three hours and twenty minutes remained. "We need to find the Heart of Winter now."
With that, I pushed the door wider and stepped through.
The vast circular chamber beyond took my breath away. The ceiling soared upward, opening to the sky, yet somehow no snow entered despite the perpetual storm outside. Instead, a column of swirling blue light extended upward, seemingly without end. I stared into it for a moment too long and felt a strange vertigo, as if I might fall upward into that light.
"Isaiah," Laina whispered, her voice carrying a note of warning.
I tore my gaze away and focused on the chamber itself. Six doorways branched off from the central space, each identical to the others—arched openings with no visible doors, leading into darkness.
"Which way?" Laina asked, her voice barely audible.
The moment she spoke, something strange happened. Her whisper echoed through the chamber, growing louder with each repetition until it became a shout.
"WHICH WAY? WHICH WAY? WHICH WAY?"
We froze, the echoes continuing until they finally faded.
"What the hell was that?" I hissed, keeping my voice as low as possible.
But even my hushed words transformed, echoing back as a commanding roar.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?"
Joran, who had followed us inside, pressed his finger to his lips in a universal gesture for silence. Smart man.
I nodded, pointing instead toward the nearest doorway. We needed to move, to find the Heart of Winter before my time ran out. The others followed as I headed for the archway, passing through it into a darkened corridor.
Or at least, that's what should have happened.
Instead, I blinked and found myself standing once again at the entrance to the Temple, outside in the cold mountain air.
"What the—" I spun around, disoriented.
Laina and Joran stood beside me, looking equally confused.
"We were just inside," Laina said. "How did we get back here?"
I clenched my jaw and marched toward the entrance again. "Let's try once more. Maybe we... I don't know, triggered some kind of defense."
This time, I kept my hand on Heartseeker as we entered, feeling the dagger's warmth pulse in response to the Temple's strange energy. Again, we found ourselves in the circular chamber with the column of blue light. Again, I headed for the nearest doorway.
And again, we ended up back outside.
"This is impossible," Laina growled, her fingers curling into fists. "There has to be a way in."
I paced back and forth before the entrance, my mind racing. We couldn't brute force our way through—that much was clear. The Temple wasn't going to let us simply walk in and take what we wanted.
"The trials," Joran said suddenly. "The stories all mention trials. Six trials for six doorways."
I stopped pacing and turned to him. "What kind of trials?"
He shrugged. "I'm not sure."
"We don't have time for six trials," I said, glancing at the darkening sky. "There has to be another way."
Laina's eyes narrowed in thought. "What if we don't need to complete all six? What if we just need to choose the right door?"
It was worth a try. I nodded and we entered the Temple once more.
This time, I studied the chamber more carefully. The six doorways appeared identical at first glance, but as I looked closer, I noticed subtle differences in the carvings surrounding each arch. One featured flames, another ice crystals. The third showed what appeared to be an endless abyss, while the fourth was decorated with mirror-like surfaces. The fifth bore carvings of mouths and ears, and the sixth displayed hourglasses and sundials.
"The trials," I murmured. "They're labeled."
Laina moved to my side, her eyes darting from one doorway to the next. "Which one do we choose?"
I considered our options. Fire would likely involve heat and burning—not ideal in our cold-weakened state. Ice seemed redundant given our surroundings. Void and reflection both sounded dangerous and unpredictable. Whispers might involve mind games or illusions.
That left time.
"The sixth door," I said, pointing to the archway decorated with hourglasses. "Time is our biggest concern anyway."
I approached the time-marked doorway, my fingers brushing against the intricate carvings. The stone felt warm beneath my touch, almost alive. Taking a deep breath, I stepped through the archway—
And found myself standing once again in the central chamber, as if I'd never moved.
"Damn it," I muttered, the words transforming into a thunderous roar as they echoed through the space.
"DAMN IT! DAMN IT! DAMN IT!"
Laina winced at the volume but kept her composure. "Maybe we can't choose? Maybe we have to complete them in order?"
I ran my hand through my hair, frustration mounting. The countdown in my head ticked relentlessly forward. Three hours and fifteen minutes remained. I quickly calculated what that meant for us.
"If we have to complete all six trials and still have time to deal with the Winter King afterward..." I paced the circumference of the chamber, thinking aloud. "We'd need to finish each trial in about twenty-five minutes to leave a forty-five-minute buffer…"
I turned toward the first doorway, the one carved with flames. "Let's start with this one."
Without waiting for further discussion, I stepped toward the flame-carved archway. This time, as I crossed the threshold, the world shifted around me. Heat slammed into my body like a physical force, driving the air from my lungs. I staggered, momentarily blinded by the sudden transition from cool blue light to searing orange.
When my vision cleared, I found myself standing on a narrow stone path suspended above a sea of liquid fire. The air shimmered with heat, making the path ahead waver like a mirage. Behind me, Laina and Joran materialized, their expressions shifting from confusion to alarm.
Well, at least we're not cold anymore.