"And this is the Glacial Basin! What do you think?"

Seungyoun ooh-ed and ahh-ed at anything he could see from where he was seated behind Hongjoong on the Snow Fox. The sleek vehicle hovered a meter over the ground and sped over the icy plains with a breakneck tempo. It was similar to ride like a motorcycle, so Hongjoong could steer it around with casual ease while Seungyoun held onto his hips tightly.

They had Seonghwa and Wooyoung with them to join them at the Frozen Leviathan. They would drop the two off there after showing Seungyoun the beast, and then Hongjoong and Seonghwa would continue to the Arctic Spires. San was already waiting for them with new information on what they were searching for this time.

"It's great! So bright!"

"There's also Snow Stalkers over there! Look, right!"

Seungyoun did, his head shifting over to lean against Hongjoong's other shoulder. Their speed made the lazily falling snow seem like little stabs of needles in their faces, so he made sure to avert his eyes as he watched them roam.

"They are Yohan's friends! Hello, friends!" Seungyoun waved at a Snow Stalker in the distance that was slinking around its young while they were searching for food on the ice. Hongjoong didn't even need to look over to the other duo to know that Seonghwa was pouting at the moment. Hongjoong would try to find a way to make it up to him soon.

"I've never been so far up on the ice! It's gorgeous!" Seungyoun's happy yell in Hongjoong's ear made the man smile cheerfully as he steered them around some icy boulders.

Seungyoun had fallen in love with the surface of the planet right away. He had missed being under the blue sky for a longer amount of time without having to worry about anything, and now, that he didn't have to return to that forsaken cave for safety, his liveliness had bloomed. After only a few days of having him around, he already looked far healthier than he had done before. His hair was clean and in order, and the dark circles around his eyes had disappeared.

Seonghwa was watching the man's health closely, and he was positive that Seungyoun would be able to heal well. Finding his way back into society would be less of a problem than they had feared.

Their journey to the Excavation Site was accompanied by Seungyoun's enthusiastic voice that asked a hundred and one questions, and also didn't miss out on cracking a joke or two. Hongjoong indulged him, explaining to the best of his ability and giggling at the stupid puns. It made Seungyoun positively glow, and seeing how much it helped him, Hongjoong felt proud at being a catalyst. If they hadn't found the man, he would still be down there in the cold and dark ocean, brooding about whatever. This was where he belonged. To the sun, and the fresh and clear air.

Hongjoong didn't care for a break until they reached the cave. He zoomed right inside, the whirring of the hovering craft echoing off the icy blue walls. In a fun little dance, he rounded the corners and dodged some more rocks until they arrived in the chilly cave.

Just like last time, an unpleasant shiver ran down Hongjoong's spine as soon as he found himself nearby the Frozen Leviathan. To fight it off, he shrugged his shoulders and tried to ignore its undeniable presence for as long as possible as he climbed off the Snow Fox.

Seungyoun, too, was now quiet with shock. As Hongjoong turned to help the man off the vehicle, he did so in time to see the man's eyes widen and lips form a soundless curse.

A little smile danced over Hongjoong's lips. He waited with him as Seonghwa and Wooyoung arrived, too. The latter immediately ran towards San, who was sitting on the scaffold and working on something, while Seonghwa came over calmly.

"This is what we are currently working on. Seeing that you are a biologist, too, your help here is very much appreciated, especially given your circumstances and extensive knowledge on the planet. San and Wooyoung will be able to answer any question that might come up."

Seonghwa motioned Seungyoun to look around with a polite gesture of his hand. As the man wandered off to explore in amazement, Hongjoong rubbed his arms in hopes of getting rid of the goosebumps covering them.

"I'm glad that he's fine with this."

"We can leave right away. San sent me a transmission right now, so we can let them work everything out by themselves."

Hongjoong nodded gladly. He just wanted to cuddle up against his lover and leave this terrible place that looked eerie in the artificial light.

"Hey, Seungyoun! We're leaving! Look after the two kids!"

Seungyoun turned from where he was studying some plans to look right at Hongjoong. His smile was bright as he waved at him.

"Alright, see you later!"

That was enough. Hongjoong turned to look between Seonghwa and the Snow Fox, undecisive. Did he want to have Seonghwa hold onto him, or the other way around? A decision with difficult proportions.

"Let me drive since we are going into unknown territories." Seonghwa offered with a chuckle, and Hongjoong nodded. He wouldn't say no to that.

So they climbed atop the machine again and took off. Every meter more between Hongjoong and the leviathan in the ice was a blessing.

"So where are we going?"

Hongjoong cuddled up tightly against Seonghwa's back, holding him closer than needed. His android felt warm in his grip, and his waist was the perfect size to hug.

"The Arctic Spires. It's a biome in the north that has the largest landscape in our area. We are there to see if there is anything worthy of noting around. If there isn't, it might become the place for the first settlements. The only thing messing with that might be the weather, so I will keep a close eye on that."

So it was indeed just a day for exploring. Hongjoong figured that if there had been anything important, they would have checked it out sooner, but he was glad about the distraction. He had already heard from Yeosang that they would need to return to the ocean and check out that Shadow Leviathan. Taking a break first before going right back was a breather.

Satisfied with that answer, Hongjoong leaned against Seonghwa as the white planes flew past them. Seonghwa was a skilled driver that Hongjoong could trust blindly, so he used the comfortable silence between them to think for a while. He would have to ask his team soon when they should bring Seungyoun back. Eden would want to meet him as soon as possible, and stalling his departure might get risky with time. They were here for the government, so it was expected of them to report anything to them. Right now, they were doing a favour to Seungyoun, but they couldn't keep up the facades for too long.

Their ride took them through the Glacial Bay that was full of Alterra equipment that might be needed for the ocean that connected to it. It looked inviting today, and as Hongjoong saw the greyish glint of the Communications Tower on Delta Island in the distance, he felt inclined to go there again. Seonghwa took them over a bridge further up north, though, and into the large area, they hadn't explored so far.

"This is the biome. From here on, there are several kilometres of ice that waits to be explored. I will begin with my scans."

Hongjoong left him to it while he looked around. The speciality of this biome was the spires it was named after. They were huge icebergs that were formed like sharp cones that seemed to break through the thick layer of ice from underneath. They loomed above them like the teeth of an ancient monster, and were beyond impressive.

Seonghwa passed them with calculating eyes as they drove around the area. It was surrounded by some cliffs and signs of erosions that layered it to some extent, making it a worse living area than the Basin, but a safer one concerning the lack of predators. Hongjoong saw a meteorite crate, and another frozen river.

They were speeding down from a canyon they had found between two cliffs onto another flat when Seonghwa suddenly slowed the Snow Fox down. His eyes were set on something in front of them, so Hongjoong shifted to spy over his shoulder.

At first, he wasn't sure what he was seeing. It was something pale that nearly disappeared against the stark white of the snow. Hongjoong would have mistaken it as some plant until Seonghwa brought them to a halt next to it.

It was bones. Bones of something that looked like a big snake or lizard from how the ribcage looked. Its long spine was scattered over the ground and partly stuck to the ice.

Hongjoong assumed it to be rather old. No signs of flesh or newer flora that clung to it. It was positively frozen blank bone.

"Is that one of the leviathans? I bet the water rose and took some more with them that died by not being able to break free rather than being preserved like the frozen one." Hongjoong used one hand to push his hair back while the other still gently pressed against Seonghwa's stomach.

The man slowly shook his head.

"It doesn't fit any of my scans. Of course, I also haven't seen any creature that exists on this planet yet, but the pieces don't resemble anything familiar. It must be another lifeform, most likely extinct, that we haven't encountered so far."

Hongjoong hummed pensively as he looked around. In the distance, he could spot a Snow Stalker slowly trotting over the ice. Its snout was searching the ground for anything of interest.

"Look, they are here, too."

Maybe it wasn't the best place to settle, after all.

However, just as Seonghwa turned to look at where Hongjoong pointed, a loud rumbling akin to thunder was heard. Confused, Hongjoong looked up in the slightly grey sky while Seonghwa looked downwards.

Then, the the ground beneath their feet started to shake.

It was subtle, nothing too dramatic like an earthquake or erosion would have been. Yet, it seemed to move and shift with some deafening cracks. It made the one foot that Hongjoong had planted on the snow vibrate, and a bone near them snap in half.

And suddenly, completely out of nowhere, the ice broke open.

There was some gigantic thing that made its way through, using a huge sharp beak. As it rose into the sky more than a dozen meters above, Hongjoong's mouth dropped open at the sheer size of it. A huge leviathan had just made its way through the ice and now looked around completely fine while boulders of ice dropped from it.

What the hell.

It resembled some worm that had thick greyish-blue scales on its back that protected the otherwise white body. They rose like spikes at its sides until giving view to the white underbelly that reflected the pure snow.

From a distance the coil its body formed looked like a snake poised to strike.

Belatedly, Hongjoong noticed how the Snow Stalker had turned to flee. Its senses had not sufficed to detect the monster beneath, but it had worked the other way around.

Shivering, Hongjoong watched as the leviathan lunged forwards with a resounding screech that made Hongjoong's blood run cold. Its movements were quick and smooth, scarily so, as it dipped down and snatched the comparably small Snow Stalker. It lifted him with its huge beak as if throwing around a plaything. With the Snow Stalker soaring through the air as if it weighed nothing, the worm leaned in to swallow it. Its mouth opened in three directions like a flower unfolding and with one terrible crunch of bones bursting the Snow Stalker was gone.

Hongjoong stood frozen still in shock.

They were far from the centre of attention and hidden in the overhang of the spires, but the idea of moving anywhere near that thing made his stomach twist.

They had just come that exact same way without knowing what was underneath.

Hongjoong quickly stumbled off the Snow Fox when he felt his lunch resurface.

Seonghwa worriedly reached for his trembling shoulder when Hongjoong vomited on the side, his eyes getting watery. He felt sick with fear.

Not even above the ice. There was not a single safe spot.

When Hongjoong rose his eyes next time, he could see the leviathan slide back under the ice again. It disappeared as if it had never been there, and it only left a gaping hole where it had ripped through the ice.

"It has extreme similarities with Earth's Bobbit Worms. The shape and ambush-related lifestyle fit."

"Bobbit worms reach up to three meters, Seonghwa. That- Was a damn big one."

The android tapped away at his wrist until he could pull up a holographic version of it. A large worm, ended by the same pair of long and thin spines some bugs had.

"The Ice Worm travels just below the surface of the ice, producing a distinct trail of pushed-up snow accompanied by a jet of steam. It is attracted to noise and vibration and will surface to attack whatever produces these things. They use their horn to get through the ice. That horn is super-heated and allows the Ice Worm to melt through ice in order to burrow."

Seonghwa glanced worriedly at Hongjoong.

"It's 95 meters long."

"Damn big for a Bobbit Worm."