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[Chapter Size: 1800 Words.]
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"When can you do this?"
Ned firmly drove the large nail with the climbing rope into the cliff wall. He carefully descended the enormous ice ladder created by Cornélia, step by step. His daughter walked in the middle while Benjen followed behind.
He had never known that Cornélia's skill was so powerful.
"Right now! Actually, I couldn't do this even last night. Father, I feel like my power comes from here!"
And where is this place? It's the land of eternal winter, north of the Great Wall, the territory of the White Walkers!
So what is she?
Cornélia's hands tightly gripped the rope and the blind man's staff. This was a question that had never crossed her mind. There were many people with special abilities in this world, and she considered herself lucky to have hers. This is a dangerous world, so even though she dreamt of that snowy valley, she had never thought much about the origin of her powers.
But now, she had discovered that her ability indeed came from the land of eternal winter, north of the Great Wall.
"Ned, we've been thinking about this for so many years without reaching any conclusion. Now that we're here, maybe we'll find out when we get down there. It'll be interesting."
Benjen, who was at the back, shrugged helplessly. He couldn't help but be impressed as he looked at the ice ladder beneath his feet. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed that, just twenty minutes ago, not even a stone had been placed there.
It was simply a miracle!
Maybe Cornélia's problem really wasn't something they could find an answer to at that moment. Wasn't that why they came all the way here?
Everything was at the bottom of that valley.
Ned knew it would be pointless to ask Cornélia more, so he decided not to insist. He just reminded her to hold onto the rope and be careful. Despite the ladder, the cliff was extremely high. Besides, the steps were made of ice, making them easy to slip on.
Still, Cornélia had created that ice ladder, which saved them from the challenge of climbing down by hand.
The descent was slow, for safety. The cliff was very high, and they took quite some time. By the time they finally reached the bottom of the valley, it was already late at night.
Cornélia guided her father and Uncle Benjen in the direction she felt was right. After about an hour of walking, they reached the innermost part of the snowy valley. Dawn was still far away, and the darkness made it almost impossible to see what lay ahead.
"I'll go ahead, stay alert!" said Ned, giving a cautious glance at the entrance of a cave. He took the flint and steel from his bag, lighting the torch he carried. The light immediately illuminated the cave's entrance, revealing what was hidden inside.
They almost never lit torches during night travels north of the Great Wall. Doing so was extremely dangerous; a fire would reveal their position to any potential enemy. And in that region, enemies were a constant threat, far more adapted to the hostile environment of the north than any human could be.
There were almost no people in that snowy valley, and now they were about to enter the cave. A torch was essential, but Cornélia didn't mind. In fact, she could see even in such a dark cave. It wasn't perfect vision, but it was far better than her father and Benjen, who could barely see anything inside.
Ned took the torch and entered first. Cornélia followed right behind him, and Uncle Benjen, who had also lit a torch, closed the group. The silence was oppressive, and they moved cautiously, without making a sound.
The light of the torches revealed stone walls covered by a thick layer of ice. Sharp icicles hung from the ceiling, resembling crystal spears. From time to time, droplets of water fell, making a sound that echoed through the cave, creating an unsettling atmosphere.
Cornélia thought about her previous life. She had always been very scared, especially when it came to ghosts or horror movies. She never would have imagined exploring a deserted cave in the middle of the night, even with her father and uncle. It was something that would never have happened in that other life.
"People change!" she thought. And the environment around her was certainly responsible for this transformation.
They walked for a long time. The cave was wide and surprisingly regular, without many obstacles. Cornélia wasn't sure how much time had passed, but her father estimated they had been inside for about two hours.
Something, however, didn't feel right. Before entering the cave, Cornélia had looked at the sky. If they had really been walking for two hours, dawn should have already arrived. Her eyes should have been useless in the darkness.
But somehow, she still saw everything with impressive clarity. Every detail, every shadow, everything appeared sharp.
Something was wrong.
They continued walking for a long time. So long that even Ned and Benjen began to feel exhausted. They couldn't calculate the exact time that had passed, but the fatigue in their bodies was undeniable.
What was strange was that Cornélia didn't feel any sign of fatigue. Moreover, her vision remained perfect, despite the time passed.
Another oddity was that the cave had no curves or forks. It was just a straight, endless tunnel. Even after so much walking, there was no sign that they were approaching the end.
"There's something wrong! This place is strange," murmured Ned, stopping suddenly. He raised the torch and looked back, observing the path they had taken. He took two more steps forward, hesitated, and then turned back. The feeling of unease was growing.
Definitely, something was wrong.
"I'm as tired as if I had swum through the Neck!" grumbled Benjen, leaning against the stone wall. He held the torch with an expression of evident fatigue. Then he turned to Cornélia, surprised. Her face, illuminated by the firelight, seemed calm, almost pale, but with no signs of fatigue or heavy breathing.
"Aren't you tired, Lia?" he asked, wide-eyed.
"No. Actually, since we arrived at this snowy valley, it feels like my body has infinite energy. I can't explain it," Cornélia answered, shrugging, intrigued by her own endurance.
It was something she didn't understand. On other occasions, she had always been the weakest of the three, forcing her father and uncle to slow down to keep up with her. But here, everything had changed. It was as if the land itself had granted her strength and resilience.
Maybe that was why she didn't feel afraid of this place.
"Benjen, don't exaggerate. You've never swum through the Neck... actually, you don't even know how to swim," Ned teased, trying to ease the tension. He then turned again to the cave. "But what about this place? What do you think is going on here?"
When Ned heard Cornélia's words, he raised the torch and looked at her in silence. He then turned to Benjen, who was still leaning against the wall, ready to respond to the earlier tease. All the signs in Cornélia's body suggested that this journey north was necessary, but the mystery remained. They needed to find the Frozen Lake.
"I don't know what's going on either," said Benjen, sighing. "I just know we can't keep going like this. I need to rest. By the way, how do you think the Reed family survives in the swamps of the Neck?"
He sat down and leaned his back against the stone wall. Benjen had been to Moat Cailin, on the other side of the Neck. It was a place full of dangers, not visible swords or hidden arrows, but silent threats that devoured everything in the darkness. Wild creatures lurked everywhere. Only people like the Reeds could survive in such a place.
"Howland Reed and the others have their own ways," Ned replied seriously. "If you have no idea what's going on here, just rest. This place doesn't feel right, and the weather is strange."
Ned was usually reserved, but the tension made him more talkative. They all knew something was wrong. Benjen was right—they needed rest.
"Okay, okay, I got it!" Benjen raised his hands, surrendering. He closed his eyes, trying to relax, but stayed alert, ready to react to any sudden danger.
Cornélia broke the silence. "Father, do you think it's day or night now? My eyes… I can still see."
Ned sighed, looking at her with concern. "I'm not sure, Cornélia. But what if it's because of this place? Maybe you're seeing differently because we're here."
At that moment, a possibility struck him. What if, after finding the Frozen Lake, Cornélia's eyesight improved? What if she could see clearly, even in the daylight?
He didn't want to share that hope yet. He didn't want to raise false expectations.
"I hope so," he whispered, almost to himself.
Cornélia fell silent for a moment, nodding her head, resigned to the answer. After all, ever since arriving at this snowy valley, she had done extraordinary things. Having different vision seemed just another detail among so many mysteries. She decided not to think about it anymore.
However, just as she was about to close her eyes to rest, a violent hurricane suddenly erupted from the darkness ahead, with no warning whatsoever.
The wind blew so fiercely that it instantly extinguished Ned and Benjen's torches, plunging the cave into total darkness. In a matter of seconds, everything became invisible.
However, the wind disappeared as quickly as it had come. In just two or three seconds, silence returned, dominating the place. The situation had changed so suddenly that no one had time to react.
"Careful, Cornélia! Are you okay?" shouted Ned, his voice tense. "Benjen, light the torch, quickly!"
As soon as the wind stopped, Ned grabbed the extinguished torch at his side. While asking for his daughter, he hurriedly searched for the flint and steel and tried to reignite the flame.
But something was wrong. Cornélia didn't respond.
Her silence made Ned's heart race. He quickly turned to where she had been sitting, but there was no one there.
"Where is Cornélia? Benjen!" The panic in his voice was evident. Ned jumped to his feet and rushed to the spot where he had last seen his daughter. He found no trace of her.
Benjen had just reignited his torch when he heard Ned's desperate cry. He raised the torch and looked around, his gaze scanning the cave. There was no one.
"She disappeared?" he whispered, incredulous.
It was impossible. He would swear by the Old Gods and the New that, from the moment the wind extinguished the torch until he relit it, no more than ten seconds had passed. Ten seconds!
How could someone disappear like that?
Cornélia had been there, and then, suddenly, she wasn't.
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