Jack's breath came in short gasps, his fingers tightening around the artifact as the glowing red eyes multiplied outside the cave entrance. The creatures moved slowly, their massive bodies barely visible against the swirling snow. Their growls were deep and guttural, reverberating through the cave walls like distant thunder.
Sigurd tightened his grip on his spear. "Frost Stalkers," he muttered. "They don't just hunt for food. They hunt for power."
Jack's stomach twisted. "Then they're here for the artifact."
The creatures edged closer, their elongated limbs allowing them to move unnaturally fast across the snow. One stepped into the firelight—a monstrous beast with thick, matted fur and unnervingly intelligent eyes. Its breath curled in the cold air, mist swirling around its massive head. Clawed hands, almost human-like, flexed as if testing their grip.
"We can't fight them all," Jack said through gritted teeth. "Not here."
Sigurd nodded. "Then we run."
Without hesitation, Jack grabbed the artifact and bolted deeper into the cave. The moment he moved, the Frost Stalkers lunged. The first beast crashed against the cave entrance, snarling as it tried to squeeze its massive frame inside. The second leaped, claws extended, but Sigurd intercepted it mid-air, driving his spear deep into its shoulder.
"Go!" Sigurd roared.
Jack sprinted deeper into the cave, his heart pounding. The tunnel narrowed, forcing him to duck beneath jagged icicles. Behind him, the sounds of snarling and clashing weapons filled the air. Sigurd fought like a man possessed, but Jack knew he couldn't hold them off forever.
Then, suddenly—the ground disappeared beneath him.
Jack tumbled forward, his body slamming onto a steep, icy slope. He slid uncontrollably, the artifact still clutched in his hands. The tunnel spiraled downward, deeper and deeper, until finally, he crashed into an open cavern.
He groaned, pushing himself up. The cavern was vast, its ceiling lined with glowing blue crystals that cast an eerie light across the space. At the center stood an enormous stone structure—an archway carved with the same symbols as the artifact. The portal.
A rumble echoed through the chamber. Jack turned to see Sigurd drop down from the tunnel above, blood staining his fur-lined cloak. "They're coming," he panted. "We don't have much time."
Jack turned back to the portal. The symbols on it were faint, lifeless. He lifted the artifact, and as he did, the carvings began to glow, pulsing in rhythm with his heartbeat.
A snarl echoed from the tunnel above. The Frost Stalkers had found them.
Sigurd raised his weapon. "Do it now, Jack!"
Jack pressed the artifact against the portal. A blinding light erupted from the archway, and suddenly, the ice beneath them cracked.
The portal was waking up—but so was something else beneath the ice.
The ground trembled violently, and the ice groaned as fractures spread outward in jagged lines. Jack staggered back, shielding his eyes from the piercing glow emanating from the portal. The cavern walls shook, sending shards of ice raining down like daggers. A low, echoing roar reverberated through the chamber, deeper and more ancient than anything Jack had ever heard.
Sigurd's eyes widened in horror. "That… is not just the portal waking up."
The fractures in the ice deepened, and from the widening abyss, a massive shadow emerged. It was unlike anything Jack had ever seen—a towering, primeval beast trapped beneath the glacier for millennia. Its thick, armored hide was coated in frost, its glowing blue eyes locking onto the intruders. A relic of an age even older than the Ice Age itself.
The Frost Stalkers hesitated, sensing the awakening of something greater, something beyond even their savage power. The momentary pause gave Jack and Sigurd the chance they needed.
"Run!" Jack shouted.
They bolted toward the portal as the beast let out a deafening roar. The cavern floor splintered, ice chunks the size of boulders crashing down around them. The portal pulsed wildly, the symbols flickering between life and death.
Jack took a final look at the artifact in his hands. He didn't understand its power, but he knew this was their only chance.
He took a deep breath and placed the artifact in the center of the portal's archway. The symbols flared to life, and with a deafening crack, the air itself seemed to split apart.
The portal was opening.
But so was the abyss beneath them.