Chapter 649: Misril Zephyris

Third Person’s POV

Not a single tree or a blade of grass could be seen; only endless white.

A pale celestial body hung high above the heavens, its dim light barely managing to pierce the suffocating cloud cover that permanently shrouded this forgotten world.

The entire realm felt ancient, silent, and lifeless.

The serenity, however, lasted only an instant.

Across the frozen plains, dozens of spatial tears suddenly appeared one after another.

Small whirlpools of distorted space silently opened at once, before scattering people throughout the endless snowfields.

Each vortex was separated by a fixed distance, like a formation, almost as though some unseen force had deliberately arranged where every newcomer would arrive.

Naturally, none of those entering the Glaciem Ice Abyss had any way of knowing that.

One of those spatial rifts opened high above a snow-covered plain, and a violet-haired young man fell through it.

Ethan’s body descended rapidly before crashing into the thick layer of snow beneath him, disappearing almost completely beneath its surface.

Around him, several more figures met similar fates.

The sudden transition between dimensions left nearly everyone suffering from intense dizziness and mental disorientation.

Some struggled to breathe, while many vomited their guts out.

Others remained lying motionless upon the snow, their minds still attempting to adapt to the abrupt change between worlds, yet Ethan barely noticed any of those aftereffects, as this was not the first time he had been teleported across spaces.

His crimson eyes remained wide open in shock and disbelief.

But along with that also came joy and anger.

For one fleeting moment, his thoughts became completely blank as that single frame replayed in his mind like a video.

He had truly found them again, his mother and Aurelia.

And this time they were not a dream born out of years of his longing, nor were they illusions created by his desperate heart.

They had been only a short distance away from him.

After searching for them across countless cities, enduring disappointment after disappointment over the past eight years, he had almost convinced himself to stop hoping.

Those feelings, and those expectations...

He had buried them so deeply within his heart that even he rarely allowed himself to think about them anymore.

Yet today, they had all erupted uncontrollably.

The overwhelming joy that accompanied finally seeing them again was something words couldn’t properly describe.

But accompanying that joy was an equally overwhelming frustration, as they had been separated once again, and in a similar manner to that incident all those years ago.

A bitter smile slowly appeared upon Ethan’s lips.

"...What an amusing joke."

He quietly mocked himself.

Sometimes, he genuinely wondered whether fate simply enjoyed playing with him.

First, it had torn him away from everyone precious to him.

Then, after finally allowing him to see them again, it immediately separated them once more.

For a brief moment, countless chaotic and negative emotions threatened to cloud his judgment.

Fortunately, years of hardship had long since taught him how to suppress unnecessary emotions.

He slowly closed his eyes.

Taking a deep breath, he forcefully pushed those turbulent thoughts back into the depths of his heart.

There would be another opportunity.

There had to be.

He had seen them during the moment he was about to vanish into that spatial vortex.

They had been just behind him, so it was obvious that they had also been teleported to this realm, and he would be able to find them in this ice abyss.

A sharp light flashed in his eyes as he hardened his resolve.

Only after calming himself did Ethan finally climb out from beneath the thick snow covering his body.

His crimson eyes calmly surveyed the surroundings.

The members of his group had landed nearby and were scattered randomly across the frozen plain.

Prince Erius was undoubtedly in the most embarrassing position.

Only his head remained visible above the surface.

The rest of his body had become firmly buried beneath dense, compacted snow and partially frozen ice, leaving him completely immobilized.

His furious expression alone almost made Ethan laugh.

In normal times, he probably would have laughed.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t in the mood.

Erius immediately noticed Ethan looking toward him.

Humiliation flashed across the prince’s face.

He struggled furiously, yet every movement only caused more snow to collapse around him.

Not far away, Aria had already managed to regain her footing.

Supporting herself with the lake-blue spear Ethan had gifted her yesterday, she quickly hurried toward Erius after noticing his helpless gaze.

Without wasting time, she thrust the spear into the surrounding ice before pulling him free with considerable effort.

Ethan merely watched the scene briefly before shifting his attention elsewhere.

The final member of their group had already composed himself.

A tall, slender young man with long green hair quietly stood several dozen meters away.

Unlike Erius, there wasn’t the slightest trace of panic upon his face.

His sharp green eyes silently examined the unfamiliar world surrounding them.

His name was Misril Zephyris, the fourth-ranked member of the New Moon Academy’s Purple Batch.

According to Aria, he belonged to the Zephyris Marquis Household, one of the Froststar Clan’s oldest allies.

From the very beginning, Ethan had sensed that this quiet young man differed greatly from the others.

Even now, rather than helping Erius or speaking unnecessarily, Misril remained focused upon observing his surroundings.

Almost as though he instinctively understood that information was more valuable than conversation.

Sensing Ethan’s gaze resting upon him, Misril slowly turned his head.

Their eyes met, but neither of them spoke or greeted each other.

For several silent seconds, the two simply observed one another.

Then, almost simultaneously, both turned their gazes toward the distant horizon, as a kilometer away, Ethan spotted two... no...three separate groups of students scattered across the endless plains.

Apparently, the same spatial vortex had transported multiple teams into roughly the same area.

His crimson eyes immediately swept through those distant figures with astonishing speed, as he instinctively started to search for the two familiar faces he wanted to see so badly.