Taoreta's POV

  Deeper In The First Layer...

  The winter cold deepened as the three of us headed deeper toward the source of this weather.

  Whooosshhhh!!!

  The high wind blew coldness all over my body. From my face to my legs, nothing in this cold wastend could be considered safe. No matter where you looked, you could only see snow among snow. The desert-like location that we had once known was now repced by pure white.

  Step! Step! Step!

  Our footsteps could barely be heard thanks to how powerfully the wind was blowing.

  Not to mention, it was hard to see in the darkness of night. We could see our way around, although barely.

  The thickness of the snow was slowing down our current pace. Not only that, but the cold was also messing with our sense of direction as well. If we kept moving forward, then we MIGHT run into something, right? But then again, there was the fact that we might run into the monster and get killed off.

  Whhooossshhh!!!!

  "Stick with me! The snowstorm is getting thicker, but I can vaguely remember where Kuma and David are! The heat from our Super Code can hold off the cold for a while! But to tell you the truth, I'm not sure how long before it shuts down on us!" Jir shouted and started to take the lead.

  Left foot. Right foot. Repeat and do again.

  Having something like this did help at a time like this. It helped me think and not focus on the cold.

  But still, even with the heat, the cold was overcoming it. Still, it was better than freezing our butts off.

  At any rate, I turned to Kishi, who was trying his very best to keep up with Jir and me. Holding his hand, I pulled him ahead of me a bit and gave him a warm smile. "Go on ahead, Kishi."

  "Thank you, but we all should be on the same pace." Kishi pulled me next to him, and I blushed for a brief moment. But I regained my composure and my grip on his hand. "You're kind, Kishi."

  "No worries. Anyways, how far are we, Jir? At this rate, we will all freeze to death!" Kishi shouted while narrowing his eyes at Jir due to the wind blowing.

  "It shouldn't be that long, but please save your energy! All of this yelling will waste more of it!"

  As if that was the st thing to say, Jir became silent, and we both fell behind. I wanted to ask how many minutes until we got there, but Jir had already made it clear that she wouldn't be speaking for the rest of the trip.

  And to be honest, that was honestly a smart move. With this heavy wind, snow that seemed endless, and the darkness that made us look like mice in a maze, moving forward without anything that could spell doom for us was very smart.

  I doubted Jir was lying when she said that it shouldn't be that long, but due to the climate we were in right now, it was hard to think with a clear head. Of course, we were under the pressure of everything around us. But from what Jir had told us so far, we had to keep moving forward without any distractions.

  I pulled Kishi closer to me, and we both walked in unison.

  As I walked behind Jir with my best friend Kishi, I couldn't help but wonder about David and Kuma. I did hope that they were safe and out of harm's way. But to tell you the truth, it was hard to tell due to the current situation we were in. I hoped I was right and nothing bad was happening to them. I prayed for their safety. Please hold on a bit longer, you two.

  A few minutes ter...

  Whooossshhh!!!

  The wind was really picking up. From ear to ear, the pressure from the wind was barely bearable for a single person to listen to.

  Still gripping Kishi's hand, I saw Jir slowing down for some reason. I got curious so I decided to walk up a bit more with Kishi by my side. When I reached there, I found something shocking and unbelievable.

  "What the?!" Kishi shouted while gripping my hand tightly.

  What we were seeing was a pile of snow filling up like a skyscraper. Like an igloo, the structure seemed to be how a human would create it to keep themselves warm from the cold winter. This seemed manmade. I wondered what this was about.

  Jir slowly touched the snow and shivered.

  She then lowered her hand and turned serious. "Well, they're in there. Seems like the monster created this structure for some reason." Jir announced while pcing her hands on her hips.

  "Do you think it got cold?" Kishi asked curiously.

  "Then it would've been stupid to unleash its cold in the first pce." Jir countered Kishi.

  "..." I stared at the pile of snow.

  Maybe. Maybe Jir is right about that. Or... maybe Kishi is on to something. Otherwise, this pile of snow wouldn't be there in the first pce...

  "My bet is that since the snow was piling up, maybe Kuma and David took turns distracting the beast and used their time to create such a structure made out of snow. It is man-made after all." Jir concluded and then slowly started to walk towards the entrance.

  "Hmm... I suppose so..." Kishi muttered and followed Jir to the entrance.

  The entrance wasn't that far from where we were standing. But I suppose since the freezing wind was messing with our senses, we hadn't noticed it sooner.

  That aside, I was still puzzled about this pile of snow here.

  This thing still bugs me. Why does this exist in the first pce?

  "Come on, Tao. Let's get moving." Kishi grabbed onto my hands once more, making me lose my focus. The heat ran into my cheeks as I slowly nodded in agreement. As Kishi pulled me to follow him and Jir inside this igloo-type structure that was as tall as a skyscraper, I couldn't help but look back on the st time.

  Everything about this was very strange. Not only that, but this meant that if the monster was inside this pile of snow the whole time, the pressure and the cold would've been WAY worse if it was outside.

  Then that could mean that the monster could possibly have made this to have a home advantage despite the original design for an igloo. That thought aside, this wasn't your typical igloo either.

  Either way, we were about to find out for ourselves.