It’s too hot. Summer is always bad, but this summer is the worst summer.

  Is it because last winter was the best winter?

  White jumped across the shades of the forest, trying to avoid the sunlight. It didn’t make much difference, but White thought it might annoy the sun.

  Serves it right for melting all the snow.

  White leaped forward at a quick pace, before he suddenly stopped to look around.

  Where should I go now? King Owl- No, his name is Fellion. Right.

  But King Owl is a much better name?

  I’m so far away from him, so I’ll call him King Owl for now.

  White glanced to the side and noticed the aura of a few beasts, but they were Silver beasts, so White wasn’t interested in fighting them.

  Of course, White is the best name. It’s the color of snow! And the color of me!

  Adion must be a genius to think of such a name.

  It’s a shame his name is so bad…Maybe I can name him! I can’t believe I didn’t think about that. I need to pick something good, something as good as White.

  White arrived below a giant tree, the biggest he had seen for days. The terrain had been getting rockier, and it had been harder to find patches of forest for the past weeks. He conjured up some snow in its shadow and laid down to take a short rest.

  It’s been so long, and I still haven’t found where the humans are. King Owl said they were to the east, and he pointed to…I can’t remember. I’ll just keep going the same way. It’s been cooler since it got rockier. Maybe there is winter further ahead?

  I really hope the worst summer ends soon. I miss best winter.

  Will next winter be best winter again? Maybe even better? Impossible. How can it be better than best winter?

  White soon closed his eyes and fell asleep.

  He woke up a few hours later, the snow below him had melted, and White couldn’t help but feel aggrieved.

  Stupid summer melted my snow when I wasn’t looking.

  Just wait until winter comes back. I’ll see if you dare melt my snow then.

  White took off once more, continuing to head in the direction where it seemed to be rockier.

  King Owl said I can make my snow colder if I figure something out. His words were really complicated, though…Why couldn’t he just explain it simpler?

  White stopped and conjured a patch of snow.

  Colder! Be colder, snow!

  White looked at his conjured snow for a few minutes to see if there were any results.

  Did it work?

  White walked up to the snow and felt it with his paws.

  It’s really cold! As expected of me.

  But what if it was colder?

  White refused to give up and continued to conjure snow while trying to convince it to be colder. After a few hours, White couldn’t help but feel exhausted, however.

  It’s this feeling again. King Owl said I should rest when I feel like this and continue when I feel better.

  White once again found a small tree to rest in its shade. He didn’t always spend his days trying out new ways to use his magic, only when he felt like it. Most days were just for traveling and fighting other Gold beasts.

  A few hours later, White woke up to find that it had gotten dark.

  Not even when the sun is gone does it feel cold. This really is the worst summer. I knew I wasn’t wrong!

  White got up and continued traveling, forgetting about his goal of making his snow colder.

  He continued traveling, and the terrain was getting rockier and rockier. After a few more days, White couldn’t even find trees anymore.

  White wasn’t in a hurry, though. He had been traveling for years already. When Adion had left a few years ago, White decided to wait for him, because he had told him that he would come visit. But he had waited for a whole month without seeing him!

  King Owl said I had to be patient. But even after two months, Adion didn’t come to visit. Was King Owl wrong? But he is really smart…

  Maybe he can be wrong and smart.

  Either way, Adion will have to make it up to me for making me wait so long. If he gives me something good to eat, I’ll give him a good name.

  …Okay, I’ll give him a good name either way because he gave me such a good name.

  Hehe, I wonder if he has any new stories. I’ll surprise him with my own story! I’m sure he’ll be happy. I’ve thought about it for a long time. Even King Owl thought it was a good story. I defeated so many Draconis Squirrels that he is bound to be impressed!

  White forgot his grievances quickly as he thought about meeting Adion again.

  Days came and went, and the terrain kept changing. It wasn’t long before White realized that not only was the terrain now completely mountainous, it was even starting to get slightly colder.

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  It’s really winter over there!

  White hurried on, forgetting all else except going toward the place he felt the cold from at the fastest possible speed. Only when he was exhausted did he conjure some snow and lay down to rest. And it wasn’t long before the snow remained when he woke up.

  The sun has been so arrogant lately. What about now! Can’t melt my snow even when I keep my eyes off you.

  White continued his journey. Soon enough, he noticed that snow was starting to cover the ground in a thin layer, and it got deeper and deeper as he continued.

  He also realized that the beasts in the surrounding area had become fewer and fewer, and now he hadn’t felt the presence of another beast for days.

  How come no one is here? This is obviously the best place to be.

  Could it be the strange feeling?

  There was a strange feeling in the air, but White didn’t think it was bad. It reminded him of the feeling surrounding a mountain close to where he was born, but this feeling was a lot stronger.

  Strange feeling or not. Coldness can never be bad!

  White continued his journey as it got colder and colder, and after a few more days journey, he could finally sense that he had arrived at the coldest place. If he continued in any direction, it would get warmer again.

  No one would believe it was the middle of a record-hot summer at this place. Snow covered the ground as far as he could see.

  White looked up into the sky and then down toward the ground.

  Is it colder down there? I should look! Maybe it’s something even colder than my snow. If so, I’ll tell my snow to be more like that, and I won’t have to think so hard.

  White immediately started digging. Even if the ground was frozen hard, it was nothing in front of a Gold beast.

  It wasn’t long before White’s body couldn’t be seen any longer, as he dug deeper and deeper and could feel that the ground below him was colder and colder.

  It’s so cold!

  White dug in with another paw, but this time, something different happened. The ground began to shake, and White felt it was on the verge of collapsing.

  How can this be?

  Suddenly, White felt that there was nothing to support his weight anymore as the ground gave way, and he started falling into the darkness below.

  Another sky below the ground!

  Fortunately, he didn’t fall very far, and even if he suffered some pain as he crashed on the cave floor, he wasn’t injured.

  It’s just a cave…Whatever, when I tell this story to Adion, I’ll say there is a second sky below the ground, and a second ground below that! I’m sure he’ll love the story more that way!

  But…I shouldn’t lie, either.

  Whatever. A cave is also a story. Especially one this cold!

  The whole cave was covered in ice, so it was obviously cold. But what was strange was that no matter how White thought about it, it shouldn’t be cold to this extent. It was like the ice, and even the air around him was filled to the brim with some sort of coldness that it didn’t usually have.

  This cold reminds me of the cold around the snow that the elders conjure…

  Is this what King Owl was talking about? Can I make my snow cold like this?

  White slowly stepped forward. He glanced around the cave, but besides the ice, he couldn’t see anything to explain why it was so cold.

  The cave was dark, but thanks to the hole that White had arrived through, there was enough light for him to see.

  He felt that the source of the coldness came from something further inside the cave, so he approached it. But this time, he didn’t rush forward. He took one slow step at a time.

  The strangeness in the air is even stranger…Is this what it feels like for those other beasts who don’t dare come here?

  I think I understand now. This strangeness isn’t bad, but…it’s not good either. It almost makes me shiver for some reason.

  Should I approach?

  White stopped. He was in a dilemma.

  Should I listen to the strangeness, or to the coldness?

  It didn’t take long for White to decide. He continued walking forward.

  The strangeness isn’t that bad! It’s at least not as bad as the coldness is good!

  Step by step. Even with his determination, White still took it slowly. He could only see ice all around him. After a while, he could see the outline of the back of the cave.

  Strangely enough, there was no ice there. It had come to an abrupt halt, and the back of the cave was covered only in rocks. But White didn’t think that meant it wasn’t cold there. He could feel that it was a lot colder there than the ice he was currently stepping on.

  But White didn’t pay any attention to that, because in the back of the cave was the strangest sight White had ever seen.

  It was a huge ribcage.

  Even a hundred Snow White Wolves could fit inside.

  That’s…a big beast. That strangeness makes sense now. It is the strangest thing I’ve ever seen.

  White’s legs were shivering, the strangeness in the air seemed to tell him not to advance. But White didn’t want to stop. He continued walking forward.

  When he got to the area where the ice no longer covered the ground, something shocking happened. White felt cold for the first time in his life.

  Is this…what it feels like to be cold?

  It’s…unpleasant. It’s almost like being warm. How can coldness not be comfortable? Is there such a coldness?

  White was still trembling from the strangeness in the air, but he was suddenly a lot more excited.

  This…this is coldness!

  White continued walking forward, step by step. Frost covered his fur. It didn’t take long until he was shivering from the cold. When he arrived under the rib cage, the cold had seeped into his bones. His body was in pain from the cold. But that only made him more excited.

  So…cold.

  I am trembling from strangeness. I am trembling from cold. I am trembling from excitement.

  Which one is strongest?

  White looked up at the ribcage that formed a dome around him. But he knew that most of the coldness he felt didn’t come from the bones.

  He looked down on the ground. A few feet in front of him was a small puddle. Barely the size of his paw. It was the color of the strangest blue he had ever seen, and he somehow felt that it was the true color of coldness.

  Just looking at it might make someone assume it was a strange kind of water, but White felt the vitality from it. He knew it was blood.

  Is this blood? From this giant creature?

  How could it be so cold?

  White stared at the puddle of blood for a few moments before he took another step forward.

  I want it.

  I want to have that coldness.

  Not even the sun would be a problem if I have this coldness.

  Step by step, White approached the puddle.

  When he finally got there, his body had stopped shivering. The cold he felt was far past shivering.

  He bent down and slowly reached out with his tongue.

  I will become colder than the sun is warm!