Finally, they reached the summit. The snowstorm that had been raging around them seemed to calm as they stepped into a large, circular plateau, eerily silent despite the howling winds they had just endured.
At the center of the plateau stood a massive obelisk, ancient and weathered, its surface etched with runes that glowed faintly with a malevolent light.
And there, at the base of the obelisk, rested the final shard.
"It's right there," Cruzer said, his breath fogging in the cold air. "But where's the—"
Before he could finish his sentence, the ground beneath them began to tremble violently.
The snow shifted and cracked, and from the earth erupted a colossal figure—an elemental being of pure storm and fury, its body composed of swirling winds, crackling lightning, and shards of ice.
Its eyes burned with the same chaotic energy as the shards they had been collecting.
