Snow began falling before they had even left the Azure Cloud Sect.
It was midsummer.
The valleys should have been green, the rivers flowing with melted mountain water.
Instead, white flakes drifted from a cloudless sky.
Elder Mu caught one on her fingertip.
It didn't melt.
Instead, it dissolved into tiny fragments of silver light.
Her expression darkened.
"This isn't ordinary snow."
Three days later, Lin Mo, Chen Yu, Han Qiu, and a small team of elite disciples reached the northern border of the **Kingdom of Frostveil**.
Or rather...
Where the kingdom had once stood.
The map showed bustling cities, fertile plains, and towering castles.
Reality showed none of them.
An endless field of snow stretched to the horizon.
No roads.
No villages.
No smoke from chimneys.
Only silence.
Even the wind refused to blow.
Chen Yu whispered,
"It's like the world forgot this place ever existed."
Lin Mo tightened his grip on the Chrono Compass.
The blue needle pointed straight ahead.
They crossed an invisible boundary.
The moment Lin Mo stepped through—
**Tick.**
The silver watch vibrated.
The Roman numeral **III** glowed faintly.
Snowflakes around him suddenly froze in midair.
Not falling.
Not floating.
Simply...
Paused.
Then they began moving again.
The Guardian's voice echoed softly.
> "You've entered the Domain of the Third Hour."
Han Qiu crouched beside an ancient stone marker buried beneath the snow.
He brushed away the frost.
Words slowly became visible.
**Welcome to Frostveil. Population: 2,847,631.**
Chen Yu frowned.
"But where is everyone?"
No one answered.
They continued walking.
Hours passed.
Then...
Buildings began emerging from the white mist.
A marketplace.
A fountain.
Rows of houses.
Everything was perfectly preserved beneath a layer of crystal-clear ice.
Fruit remained on market stalls.
Tea still steamed inside frozen cups.
Children stood laughing beside a fountain.
A blacksmith held his hammer halfway through a strike.
Every person...
Every animal...
Every falling leaf...
Had been frozen in a single instant.
Not dead.
Not alive.
Simply stopped.
Lin Mo slowly approached a young baker.
The man's eyes remained open.
Fear was frozen upon his face.
Lin Mo activated the **First Hour**.
Silver threads flowed through the baker's body.
Then he activated the **Second Hour**.
Memories surged into his mind.
For a brief moment, he saw the final seconds before the kingdom fell.
The sky had split apart.
A young girl cried,
"Please... stop!"
Then—
Everything became white.
The vision ended.
"So the Third Hour..."
Lin Mo whispered.
"...can stop an entire kingdom?"
The Guardian answered.
> "Not stop."
> "Suspend."
As they reached the city square, they found a gigantic clock tower.
Unlike everything else, its clock still moved.
Very slowly.
Its minute hand advanced only once every few minutes.
The Chrono Compass began shining brilliantly.
The blue needle pointed directly beneath the tower.
Suddenly—
Footsteps echoed through the empty streets.
Crunch...
Crunch...
Crunch...
Everyone turned.
A young girl emerged from the snow.
She appeared about sixteen years old.
Long silver-blue hair reached her waist.
Her pale blue cloak was covered in frost.
Around her neck hung a silver watch.
She looked exhausted.
Dark circles rested beneath her eyes.
Yet her gaze remained steady.
"So..."
"You finally came."
Lin Mo stepped forward.
"You're the heir."
The girl nodded once.
"My name is **Eira**."
"I've been waiting for thirty-seven days."
Lin Mo's eyes widened.
"How did you know we'd come?"
Eira lifted her watch.
"It told me."
Chen Yu smiled with relief.
"Then we're allies."
Eira didn't return the smile.
"No."
"We're running out of time."
Before anyone could ask what she meant—
A deafening crack echoed across the frozen city.
The giant clock tower trembled.
One of its massive gears fell to the ground.
**BOOM!**
The entire city shook.
Eira's expression turned grim.
"The seal is weakening."
Lin Mo frowned.
"What seal?"
Eira looked toward the tower.
"I didn't freeze this kingdom..."
"I trapped something beneath it."
The ground rumbled again.
This time, the snow split apart.
Dark mist seeped through the cracks.
From deep underground came a slow...
Heavy...
Heartbeat.
**THUMP.**
...
**THUMP.**
...
**THUMP.**
Every frozen citizen trembled with each pulse.
The Guardian's voice became urgent.
> "Impossible..."
Lin Mo's heart raced.
"What is it?"
For the first time since the journey began...
The Guardian sounded afraid.
> "A Prison."
> "One that should never have been opened."
The heartbeat grew louder.
The frozen earth cracked further.
Something ancient...
Was beginning to awaken beneath the Kingdom of Frostveil.