The laboratory was a tomb of shattered glass and hissing frost. The air tasted of ozone and betrayal, a bitter cocktail that burned worse than the cryogenic wind swirling around Bi-Han.

​You were slumped against a jagged piece of machinery, the translucent shaft of an ice spear pinning your shoulder to the steel. The cold was absolute—it didn't just freeze your skin; it numbed your very soul. Every ragged breath you drew felt like swallowing needles. To your left, Kuai Liang was struggling to find his footing, his face a mask of devastated disbelief, while Tomas gripped his side, his smoke dissipating into the frigid air as his strength failed. ​ Bi-Han stood ten paces away, the Grandmaster’s mantle heavy on his shoulders, his eyes like glacial chips behind his mask. He didn't move to finish the kill. He didn't move to help.

​"You chose the side of weakness," Bi-Han said, his voice a low, hollow rumble that vibrated through the floor. He didn't look at the blood blooming like a dark carnation across your chest where the ice pierced you. He didn't look at the way your hand shook as you tried to grasp the frozen weapon. ​ "Bi-Han... please," Kuai Liang rasped, holding out a hand trembling with both exhaustion and grief. "She’s dying. Our sister is dying. Look at what you’ve done!"

​Bi-Han’s gaze remained fixed on a point just above Kuai Liang’s head. His posture was rigid, a statue of perfection and iron will. To the world, he was the cold-hearted leader who had traded his family for power. Inside, however, the sight of your pale face was a screaming static, a pressure behind his ribs that threatened to crack his sternum. He hadn't meant the strike to be vital. He had meant to stop you, to keep you from following them into the fire—but his own shadow had grown too long, too sharp. ​But the Lin Kuei did not yield. The Grandmaster did not apologize. ​ "A soldier who cannot defend themselves is of no use to the clan," he stated, the lie tasting like ash in his mouth. He took a single step back into the shadows of the corridor, his cape fluttering like the wings of a scavenger bird. "If she perishes, it is because she was not strong enough to stand beside me." ​ "You monster!" Tomas hissed, forcing a cloud of soot toward the Grandmaster.