Primordial Heir: Nine Stars

Far from Nero’s location, another hunter had been making remarkable progress.

Khione moved through a forest covered in frost.

Unlike Nero, who relied on concealment and precise strikes, she made no attempt to hide her presence completely.

She didn’t need to.

The temperature around her had dropped so drastically that the surrounding vegetation was covered in a thin layer of ice. Frost spread across the roots, coated the rocks, and gathered along the edges of the leaves.

The air itself had become cold enough to make every breath visible.

Khione walked through the frozen forest with her usual composed expression.

Her white hair moved gently behind her, and her frosty blue eyes remained fixed on the path ahead.

A faint crystalline aura surrounded her body.

It was beautiful.

And merciless.

Several cadets had entered the area earlier, hoping to hunt monsters attracted by the terrain. They had noticed the sudden drop in temperature, but none had realized how quickly the environment was changing.

By the time they understood that something was wrong, Khione had already found them.

She stood on a ridge overlooking a small clearing.

Four cadets were gathered below.

Two knights guarded the entrance while two mages examined the remains of a monster they had defeated. Their weapons were drawn, and their mana circulated steadily through their bodies.

They were prepared for danger.

But they weren’t prepared for her.

Khione raised one hand.

Tiny particles of ice appeared in the air.

They were almost invisible, blending with the frost already drifting through the forest. The particles spread outward, passing between the trees and settling across the clearing.

The first knight noticed the cold.

He looked toward the ridge.

A pale figure stood above him.

Before he could raise his weapon, the ground beneath his feet froze.

Ice spread over his boots and climbed around his legs, locking him in place.

He tried to break free.

A crystalline formation rose around his body.

His bracelet flashed.

**Eliminated.**

The second knight reacted immediately.

He charged toward the ridge, his weapon coated in mana.

Khione lowered her hand.

A wall of ice erupted from the ground.

The knight struck it, shattering the outer layer, but the fragments remained suspended in the air for an instant before converging around him.

His movement slowed.

His weapon became heavier as frost spread across its surface.

He attempted to force his way through.

A narrow ice spear appeared before him.

It struck his armor.

His bracelet flashed.

**Eliminated.**

The two mages finally turned.

One raised a barrier, while the other gathered mana to launch a counterattack.

Khione descended from the ridge.

She moved without haste, stepping onto a staircase of ice that formed beneath her feet.

The first mage released his spell.

A wave of energy rushed toward her.

Khione tilted her head.

A transparent wall of ice appeared between them.

The attack struck the barrier and scattered into harmless sparks.

Before the mage could prepare another spell, the temperature around him plummeted.

His barrier froze from the outside inward.

Crystalline patterns spread across its surface, sealing the mana channels sustaining it.

The structure shattered.

Khione extended her hand.

A thin layer of ice formed around the mage’s armor, restricting his movements without allowing him to fall.

A pulse of mana followed.

His bracelet flashed.

The last cadet attempted to flee.

Khione turned toward him.

The frost beneath his feet spread.

He stumbled as the ground became slick, and a series of ice pillars rose around him, cutting off his escape.

He changed direction.

A second wall appeared.

He tried to climb over it.

Ice gathered around his boots.

His movement stopped.

Khione walked toward him.

A crystalline formation enveloped his armor, and his bracelet flashed.

**Eliminated.**

Four cadets.

Four eliminations.

The entire encounter had ended before they could mount a coordinated attack.

Khione lowered her hand.

The surrounding ice began to settle, and the temperature gradually stabilized.

She checked her bracelet.

Her score had increased once again.

There was no change in her expression.

She simply turned and continued through the forest.

***

Khione’s hunting style was fundamentally different from Nero’s.

Where Nero concealed his presence and waited for an opening, Khione controlled the environment until her opponents had nowhere left to move.

Her Law of Ice allowed her to manipulate temperature, create barriers, restrict movement, and construct weapons with extraordinary precision.

She didn’t need to chase her opponents.

She made escape impossible.

The longer someone remained within her range, the more the environment changed in her favor.

Moisture condensed.

The ground froze.

Ice particles spread through the air.

Even the smallest movement became an opportunity for her to interfere with an opponent’s balance or disrupt their technique.

Her domain was subtle at first.

A slight chill.

A thin layer of frost.

A few crystalline particles drifting through the air.

Then, without warning, the entire battlefield became a prison of ice.

She encountered another group shortly afterward.

This time, there were three cadets, all of whom possessed considerable combat experience.

They noticed the frost spreading across the trees and immediately prepared to defend themselves.

One erected an earth barrier.

Another summoned flames.

The third reinforced his body with mana and charged directly toward Khione.

She watched them approach.

The earth barrier rose.

The flames spread.

The knight accelerated.

Khione raised both hands.

A wave of cold swept through the clearing.

The flames flickered as the surrounding temperature dropped, while frost spread across the earth barrier and weakened its structure.

The charging knight reached her first.

Khione stepped aside.

An ice blade formed beside her hand and struck his armor.

His bracelet flashed.

The other two reacted simultaneously.

The Earth mage strengthened his barrier, while the Fire mage unleashed a concentrated blast.

Khione’s crystalline wings appeared behind her.

She rose into the air.

The fire passed beneath her.

The earth barrier cracked.

With a small movement of her fingers, she sent a rain of ice shards toward both mages.

The Earth mage reinforced his defenses.

The Fire mage attempted to melt the incoming projectiles.

Neither succeeded.

The ice shards changed direction in midair, guided by Khione’s control, and struck their armor from multiple angles.

Two bracelets flashed almost simultaneously.

The clearing fell silent.

Khione landed lightly on the frozen ground.

Her wings dissolved into glittering particles.

She glanced at her bracelet before moving onward.

Her score was climbing rapidly.

And she showed no sign of slowing down.

***

As the morning approached, the two hunters continued their separate pursuits.

Nero moved through the eastern region of the forest, blending Darkness and Wind into a seamless method of concealment and attack.

Khione hunted in the western region, turning the terrain into an extension of her Law of Ice and overwhelming opponents with precise, efficient techniques.

Neither knew exactly how much progress the other had made during the night.

Neither needed to.

They had both entered the trial with their own goals, and neither had any intention of wasting the remaining time.

Yet their actions were becoming strangely similar.

Both had initially focused on hunting monsters.

Both had accumulated enough points to establish themselves among the strongest participants.

And both had eventually discovered that hunting other cadets offered a different kind of challenge.

Now, their scores were climbing at an extraordinary rate.

The ranking system continued to update as more participants were eliminated.

Nero’s name remained near the top.

Khione’s position was rising rapidly.

Elsewhere, cadets who had spent the night fighting monsters began to notice the widening gap between themselves and the leading participants.

Some wondered how the two had accumulated so many points.

Others suspected they had discovered particularly valuable hunting grounds.

None could imagine the truth.

One hunter moved like a shadow carried by the wind.

The other advanced like winter itself, leaving frozen ground in her wake.

They had adopted different methods, but their efficiency was remarkably similar.

Neither wasted movement.

Neither hesitated once a target had been chosen.

Neither needed to utter a word.

***

The sun finally rose above the mountains.

Golden light spilled across the forest, illuminating the frost-covered trees in the western region and the rocky valleys of the east.

Nero stood on a high branch, looking toward the distant horizon.

After another long night of hunting, he had finally decided to take a short break.

His score had climbed well beyond what most participants could reasonably hope to achieve.

Yet he wasn’t particularly interested in the rankings themselves.

The hunt had been an opportunity to refine his abilities, and he had made considerable progress.

He was especially pleased with the synergy between Darkness and Wind.

With more practice, the combination could become even more dangerous.

For now, however, he needed a little rest.

He sat down and leaned against the trunk.

At roughly the same time, Khione reached a quiet clearing surrounded by frozen trees.

She stood motionless for several seconds, allowing the ice around her to dissolve gradually.

Her bracelet displayed another increase in points.

She turned toward the pale morning sky.

Then she continued walking.

Two hunters.

Two separate regions of the same trial ground.

And, without realizing it, both had spent the entire night pursuing the same idea.

The competition had become far more entertaining than either had expected.

With the trial still underway, neither intended to stop anytime soon.