When Severance emerged from the House looking like a fat black furry creature, Bian let out a loud guffaw. Her earlier irritation was gone, but in its place was sheer amusement.

"You look cozy, Severance," she chortled.

Severance scowled. He felt incredibly overheated and overdressed, to the point he wondered if Maun was playing a trick on him. Dressed in three layers, he had on a heavy set of black furs that weren't that different from the ones the Fang wore. One of the scarves was wrapped around his head, covering his ears, forehead and lower face much like a balaclava. The second scarf protected his neck.

"Very cozy," Eusebius the Madi agreed. He grinned as he looked Severance up and down. "You might survive more than a few minutes with that."

"Great," Severance resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He looked down at Vast who was still rumbling with deep displeasure. "What about Vast?"

Maun went over to stand near the other Veiled members. "He'll be fine, Sev. He's meant for snowy mountaintops. And if not, he's got his Amaurite collar."

Meaning that if he did die, at least Severance could Revive him. Or let him return to the clan House, where he'd probably go into a frenzy and bite Maun. Severance nodded slowly. Not a bad situation all around.

"If you're ready?" Lothaire the Worm spoke up quietly. "I will bring us to the closest waystation."

Severance nodded and stepped forward. Even if the place they were going to was brutal and unforgiving, he was sure he could manage. He'd been to more than a few terrible places in Eliona, after all. How much worse could this one be?

Once he was close enough, Lothaire rested a hand on Eusebius and Aeneas the Vast's arms. In turn, the silent Fang in gray furs reached out and gripped Severance's shoulder. It was tight enough that Severance actually winced.

Predictably, Vast snarled at this, and Severance had to hold him back from biting Aeneas. "Stop it," he told the beast. "If you don't want to be left behind, you will behave yourself."

To that, Vast bared his teeth, but his ears went back and he gave a low whine. He sat on one of Severance's feet, his rumbling sounding a lot like complaining.

There was no warning. The world flashed white and there was a dizzying sensation of being wrenched away from reality. When everything stabilized around him again, Severance found himself in a very strange place.

The first thing he noticed was the tree.

It was completely dead, a silent behemoth with a frost-covered trunk wide enough to hide several buses. Its twisted branches reached out like skeletal fingers grasping at the sky. At one time, it would have been an incredible sight, for it was as wide as it was tall. Now it was ominous, looming over the raised stone platform like a hungry beast.

Severance tilted his head back, gazing up through the sprawl of frosted dead branches. There was no sun, no moon, or any stars here; there was only a permanent kind of dusk. It felt unsettling, like the last bit of light could be snuffed out at any second and leave them completely in the dark.

When Severance turned to find his companions, he was shivering. Despite all the furs and layers, he could feel his fingers already going numb. This place was bitterly cold.

A gray fog just sat in the air, blending with the sky and ground to create a disorienting grayness that made it hard to tell where the ground ended and the sky began.

The three Fang brothers were close by, adjusting their heavy furs to better cover themselves. Hoods were pulled up, soft fur-lined masks were placed over their lower half of their faces, and opened coats were tied shut. There was no urgency in their actions, and none of them appeared to be all that cold.

Severance thought they were insane. Winters on Earth were bad enough, but this place had a humid, bone-chilling bite that was positively unbearable. How could they stand it? Didn't frostbite exist in this world?

A low whine made him look down. Vast gazed up at him with a wide doggy grin. Every breath that came out of the vastlhidan turned into an icy little cloud. Frost was already beginning to coat the fur around his muzzle. Like the Fang, Vast didn't seem to mind the bitter temperatures.

It wasn't fair.

"Come, cibel." Eusebius the Madi slapped a heavy hand on Severance's back, jolting him forward a step. The scarred wildman lifted an arm and pointed off into the distance. "We go there."

To Severance's eyes, there was nothing there but gray fog. Even so, the Fang began to walk into it, and Severance immediately realized that if he didn't keep up, he'd lose sight of them within seconds. He fell into place at Eusebius' shoulder, keeping close. He could barely make out the tall figures of Lothaire and Aeneas just a few paces ahead.

"How far do we have to go?" Severance asked. He tucked his mitts under his arms to try and keep his hands warm.

"Not far," Eusebius answered. "We have a camp set up near the ruins."

"Okay." Severance hoped there was a campfire or something there, because his health bar was actually starting to lose a small trickle of health. Probably because he couldn't feel his fingers anymore. Or his toes.

The frozen ground crunched beneath their feet. Beneath the layer of ice crystals was barren ground. It was a gray ashy earth very much like the place where Mouna and Zillah had found the Valkyries.

The System suddenly chimed, startling Severance.

You have received a message from Chad. Would you like to Open Message?

"Ah, crap." He'd forgotten to send a message to Chad about staying over the agreed-upon time limit. "Yes."

Eusebius slightly turned his head, no doubt having heard him, but Severance ignored him. He was busy listening to Chadley's message, which was short and to the point:

"Okay?"

It made Severance snort softly. He quickly composed a quick reply, keeping his voice low.
"Hi Chad. Everything's fine. Just running late. I'll be done in an hour or so. I'll see you all tomorrow. Bye."

Message Sent.

Severance closed the System windows, hissing softly as his hands didn't really seem to respond much to his orders. They'd gone completely numb.

His health bar was down by a quarter. "Crap."

"You talk to yourself frequently?" Eusebius looked over at him in amusement.

"No." Severance silently summoned his war fans out of his Inventory. He almost dropped them, his fingers too stiff to get a proper grasp on them, but he managed to pin them against his chest with his forearms. "Just sending a message out to a friend."

"Ah, Outsider business."

There was a somewhat mocking lilt to the wildman's voice. Severance frowned, but turned his attention to his war fans. With a quiet thought, he invoked Earth Dance. A swirl of green wind appeared around him, and with it, came a very welcome warmth that flowed throughout him.

His fingers and toes immediately began to smart fiercely. He gritted his teeth.

"Why is this place so cold?"

Eusebius flashed his teeth. "This is nothing, cibel. This is just the edge of the Untold. But look. There's the ruins." He nodded ahead.

At first, Severance saw nothing. But after a few more steps, the fog ahead darkened and absolutely colossal shapes began to appear. They rose straight up, great towering structures that nearly blotted out the sky, for they were hundreds of feet high.

They gradually became more visible as Severance and the Fang drew closer. Severance could just make out that the structures were round, like someone had fashioned enormous posts and driven them into the ground. But that wasn't the strangest thing about them; they were made out of what looked like enormous stone bricks, cut and smoothed and rounded to fit into place. These bricks were stacked on top of each other, with the biggest ones—larger than his entire apartment complex—at the base of each megalithic structure.

Smaller single- and two-story buildings soon flanked Severance and the Fang as they reached the outer edge of the ruins. These smaller buildings were also rounded and made out of the same stone bricks. Severance glimpsed little round holes for windows and open, rounded doorways.

"Our camp is just ahead," Eusebius said. His voice sounded oddly muffled now, as if the fog and stone structures were smothering all sound.

The tall figures of Lothaire and Aeneas moved like silent wraiths ahead. Neither has spoken a single word nor looked back the time. Now, they finally stopped before a small stone structure that had a section of its stone exterior smashed apart. Inside was the frosted-over remnants of a fire, as well as several heavy rucksacks leaning against the wall.

They stepped inside, and Aeneas immediately went to one of the rucksacks. He opened it and pulled out several logs of dried firewood. Severance's brows lifted as Aeneas wasted no time building a fire.

Weren't they supposed to be exploring the ruin? This whole situation wasn't making sense. Severance looked out into the bitter fog, catching a glimpse of silver as Vast laid down just outside the stone shelter. The beast was quiet, no longer rumbling, but he was fully alert and keeping an eye on the surroundings.

The fire was soon crackling merrily, and the space became warm enough that Severance turned off Earth Dance. The little green wisps of wind faded into nothing, earning him a brief glance from Lothaire the Worm.

No one said anything. They all kneeled around the fire, watching its crackling flames. Weirdly, the usual vibrant yellows and oranges were muted, as if much of the color had been washed out.

Curiosity ate at Severance. Why weren't they doing anything? Why were they just sitting here? Still, he said nothing, holding his tongue.

Eventually, Lothaire rose. He dusted off his white furs, pulled up his hood, and walked outside. Neither Eusebius or Aeneas followed him. Severance tensed, uncertain.

"What's he doing?"

Aeneas didn't answer. He didn't even look up from the fire, simply staring into it with a grim expression. Thankfully, Eusebius took pity on him.

"He is going into the ruins."

Severance blinked. "By himself?"

"Yes."

"...why?" Shouldn't they be going together? Wasn't that the whole purpose of this?

A quiet chuckle came from Eusebius. The wildman reached out with the toe of his boot and nudged a log further into the fire.

"That is how it's done. We go into the ruins one at a time. If we are all successful, then we will be permitted to reach the next waystation."

Severance turned to look at the bearded Fang. There was more than one disturbing thing about that statement and he didn't like it. "Successful at what?"

Eusebius shrugged. "It's different for everyone. You'll see when you get your turn, cibel. Let's hope you are not a coward, hm?"

Severance narrowed his eyes at the comment. "What's in the ruins?"

All he got was a twisted grin and silence. Eusebius was done talking.

The only sound to be heard was the crackling of the flames. The world beyond their little shelter was absolutely still and silent. Severance found himself watching Vast, taking comfort in the beast's presence. It hadn't escaped him how quiet Vast was, either, as if the vastlhidan sensed that this was a land of silence.

Severance kept his eye on his System's timer, watching as the minutes elapsed. It seemed like an eternity, but after only six minutes, footsteps crunched outside. Vast pricked his ears, letting out a warning huff. But he didn't move, and soon, Lothaire's tall figure returned.

He was covered in blood, his white furs almost painted crimson. Severance gasped and stood up, alarmed. He could see terrible gashes all over the Fang man, tearing furs and flesh apart. Yet Lothaire simply kneeled down by the fire, his expression calm, his eyes dark. His blood splattered across the frost-covered ground.

Severance immediately invoked Earth Dance. He put up a Radiant Dome, the shimmering bubble enveloping the entire stone shelter. A slight breeze stirred the air, spreading warmth.

Mend, Severance thought, and watched as his healing wind swirl around Lothaire's rigid form. There was no reaction from the man at all.

"No?" Eusebius asked gruffly, his gaze on Lothaire.

Lothaire finally spoke. "No."

"Ah." Eusebius exhaled, then stood. "Well, I'll go next."

Severance watched him leave, his brow furrowed. Just what the heck was out there? What was happening? His jaw tightened, and he threw another Mend towards Lothaire.

The silence in the shelter had never been more deafening.