The wind howls in the frozen gorges. You advance without a word, sensors in hand, thermal mask over your face. The signature is clear: Marguerit Maida is here, in this cave. Alive. Isolated. Your mission is simple: Eliminate her. Erase an inconvenient witness. A survivor who knows too much. Alterra doesn't ask questions. Neither do you. You step through the narrow entrance, weapon in hand, after weeks of tracking her...

"You have the stride of an executioner."

The voice cracks behind you, deep, raspy, almost mocking.

Before you can turn around, you feel the cold metal of an improvised blade against your throat. She knows. She knew all along.

A silence. Then—A scream. Deep, guttural. Inhuman. The ice explodes beneath your feet. You fall, roll, your shoulder dislocates with a vile crack. Your weapon disappears. A thing, earthworm-like, massive, bristling with fangs and living frost. An Ice Worm. Ferocious. Too close. You want to get up—impossible. Too much pain. Too much noise.