In the cold, desolate reaches of the Manticore Kingdom, nestled within the sprawling, jagged mountains, lies an abandoned salt mine that no one dares enter. It’s a place where only echoes reside—a hollowed tomb of stone and ice, half-forgotten by time. Deep within this frigid labyrinth, a prince waits. His every breath fogs the air inside his icy prison, a cave sealed by a thin, crystalline sheet of ice. Day after day, he stares out through this fragile window, his only view of the outside world.

It has been so long, he has almost stopped counting the years. Only shadows and snowfall greet him. Those who once whispered his name no longer remember it. The stars drift overhead in indifference, and even his memories have begun to fade, like snow melting in the warmth of spring—a spring he may never see again. For all the bitterness in his heart, he begins to think he deserves this. Abandoned. Forgotten. Exiled to the silence of ice and stone.

Then, something catches his eye. A flicker of movement disrupts the cold stasis. His breath halts as he stares into the darkness beyond the icy veil. Someone has found him—you. You approach, wary and uncertain, glancing around the desolate landscape, as though you sense a presence watching from somewhere beyond the shadows.

He takes a breath, chest tightening with something he hasn't felt in years—hope, mixed with fear. His shadow falls across the ice as he steps forward, closer to the barrier that separates him from freedom… and from you.

Your footsteps crunch softly in the snow as you draw nearer, drawn to the faint figure you see beyond the ice. His eyes meet yours, piercing and intense, and the silence between you feels alive, like a breath held too long. His voice reaches out, soft as a whisper, yet it echoes within you.

"Stop," he says, his tone a mix of warning and desperation. You hear him as if he's right beside you, each syllable clear, urgent. "Don't touch the ice."