Chapter 58 THE CITY OF SHARDS
The black ice beneath their feet was indistinguishable from a mirror.
As they walked, it felt like they weren't seeing their reflections, but the trembling of their souls. Lukas stumbled, clutching Atlas. Under the baby's weight, he was hunched over, his breath steaming and freezing instantly. But Atlas... he was smiling in this cold. His silver eyes were locked on the floating crystal city in the distance.
"It's not slippery," Kael said, stomping his boot on the ice. "This isn't ice. It's... like friction-less stone. Where the hell did they fall?"
"Quiet," Dorian said. His hand hovered over his sword hilt, though he didn't draw it. "They are being watched. He can feel it."
As they approached the crystal city, the details of the architecture emerged. The buildings weren't made of brick, but carved from massive, single pieces of diamond and quartz. Light passed through the structures, refracting like prisms to create rainbows. But there was no warmth in these colors; only a sharp, cold beauty.
When they reached the city gate—a massive archway made of ice—the path ended.
Dorian stopped. "We have arrived!" he shouted. His voice didn't echo. The ice absorbed the sound. "I am Dorian, Alpha of Volcan, and this is my family! We request passage!"
No answer.
But then, there was movement inside the ice.
Shapes emerged not from underground, but from within the ice itself. First, they were transparent, like water. Then they solidified.
Twelve wolves.
But these weren't furry, flesh-and-blood wolves. Their skin was made of transparent, frosted glass. Instead of internal organs, a blue light pulsed within their ribcages. They had no eyes; only faceted surfaces.
The Crystal Wolves.
They didn't growl. They just stood there. And that silence was more terrifying than a thousand howls.
(THE KING OF ICE)
The largest wolf in the center rose onto its hind legs. Its form shifted, melted, and refroze. It transformed into a tall, pale man with no hair, his body covered in thin crystal armor.
"Warm-bloods," the man said. His voice was melodic but emotionless, like wind hitting chimes. "Why have you disturbed the silence of the core?"
Dorian stepped forward. His golden seal shone like a sun in this blue world. "He came for his son. They told him... that someone equal to the boy was born in your lands."
The man’s crystal face held no expression. "Equal?" His gaze drifted to Atlas in Lukas's arms. When he saw Atlas's silver light, the blue light in his own chest flickered.
"I see," the man said. "The Star Child. The one who rejects gravity."
"They need to bind him," Serra said. "Or he will float away."
"And you want our 'Missing One'," the man said. "Our princess. Lyra."
Dorian frowned. "The Missing One?"
"Your son is too much," the man said, making a gesture with his icy hand. "Our daughter is too little. Her soul is too small for her body. She is freezing. Her heart doesn't beat; it only shivers. If your son's fire doesn't burn her... perhaps they can complete each other."
The man turned his back. "Follow me. But be warned: If the harmony fails, your son's energy will shatter our city. In that case, I will encase you in ice. Forever."
(THE TOMB OF SLEEPING BEAUTY)
As they entered the city, Lukas collapsed. "He can't carry him anymore," he groaned. "His legs..."
Dorian scooped up both Lukas and Atlas. They entered a massive palace—a completely transparent pyramid.
In the center of the pyramid, a block of ice floated in mid-air. And inside the block lay a tiny baby girl.
She was so pale she was almost invisible. Her skin had a blue tint. She wasn't moving.
"This is Lyra," the Crystal Leader said. "She has slept inside this ice since the day she was born. Because if she comes out, the weight of existence will crush her. Her soul cannot hold on to the world."
Dorian looked at Atlas in his arms. The moment Atlas saw that block of ice, he began to squirm. His silver eyes glowed. He reached his tiny hands toward the ice.
"There," Atlas's mental voice echoed in Dorian's head. "My piece is there."
"What do we do?" Serra asked.
"We unite them," the Crystal Leader said. He waved his hand, and the ice block lowered to the ground and began to melt.
The Leader picked up Lyra. Dorian brought Atlas closer.
The two babies were laid side by side on the cold palace floor.
One, a star radiating silver light, trying to break free from the world.
The other, a ghost made of ice, unable to exist in the world.
Atlas reached out. He grabbed Lyra’s cold, motionless hand.
(THE BREAKING POINT)
At the moment of contact, a high-pitched sound rang through the palace. PING.
Like a giant goblet cracking.
Atlas's silver light flowed from his arm into Lyra’s hand. But it didn't burn her. Lyra’s transparent skin absorbed the light. The blue tint faded, replaced by a healthy pink flush.
And Lyra... took a breath.
At the same time, Atlas's weightless quality vanished. His body became heavy. His back settled firmly onto the stone floor.
The two babies, holding hands, looked into each other's eyes.
Lyra’s eyes opened. They were crystal blue. When they met Atlas's silver eyes, the tense energy in the room balanced out.
"It happened," Lukas whispered, watching from the floor. "The weight is gone. He can feel it."
The Crystal Leader showed a sign of emotion for the first time. He fell to his knees. "He gave life to the Princess," he said. "Their fates are now bound. Where one goes, the other will follow."
Dorian hugged Serra. Serra was weeping.
"They did it," Serra said.
But Atlas and Lyra didn't let go of each other's hands. The babies looked at each other and smiled as if they had known each other for a thousand years.
This wasn't an end. It was the beginning of the universe's strongest alliance.