Extra's POV: My Obsessive Villainous Fiancee Is The Game's Final Boss

One year later.

Three cloaked figures trudged up a narrow, snow covered path, the wind howling like a living beast around them.

Snow flurried heavily, thick enough to make even nearby boulders vanish in the haze, but the figures moved forward with the purpose of one who knew their way even through darkness.

Their boots crunched over the frosted stone, each step leaving behind footprints that are quickly erased by the snow, deleting every sign of their passage.

At the front was Ren, his cloak pulled tightly around him, and his hood up, shadowing his face. A thin aura of warmth shimmered faintly around his body, a skill he'd gotten from maxing his Cold Resistance up to level 100.

His breath came slow and even, barely visible despite the cold. It had been a year of harsh training, and its effect could be felt, if not seen. He'd also worked on his Soulbinding, and now, he stood as a Rank 6 Knight.

Walking on his left side was Thorn, who was grumbling loudly as he shivered, his arms crossed under his heavy cloak. During the year, he'd grown out a thick beard to protect himself from the elements, and with his now long dark hair tied in a ponytail, his cold blue eyes stood out on his face.

"Three charges." He muttered. "Three. In cold resistance, no less. And I still feel like my nose is going to freeze and fall off."

"You put too much faith in your nose." Ren said without turning. "Maybe next time, add a charge to brain resistance."

"Nah, I put that charge into my nuts." Thorn grinned. "Even if I lose my nose, I can't risk losing my bits. They're the source of the only bit of joy I've gotten in the last year."

He turned, glaring at Ren. "You lucky bastard."

"Don't worry." Ren grinned at him. "Maybe you'll find your own lucky woman in this wasteland of snow and rocks."

"Fuck off." Thorn gritted his teeth in pain. "But seriously, Ren. Are you sure the Primordial Flame is in a place like this? A frozen hellhole of a peak and the city built upon it?"

Ren gave a small nod. "It is. The cold is just the outer shell. The Flame is buried beneath Carthage."

Lilith, walking silently at Ren's right hand side, finally spoke. "Then why hasn't it been found before? Surely someone in Carthage noticed something like a world changing flame under their feet."

"They've suspected." Ren replied. "And they've searched. But the Flame isn't in our reality. At least not this one we can see. It's folded into a second one, deep within the mountain."

He stepped over a jagged rock and paused, letting the others catch up. His voice was calm, even with the wind shrieking past them.

"They never found it because it hides well. But some of its heat bleeds through. That's why the city built on the peak, Carthage itself, is warm. It is the reason it has natural hot springs. The snow never sticks to its walls for long."

Lilith tilted her head. "And they never thought to dig deeper? Are they idiots?"

"They did dig deeper." Ren said. "They dug tunnels, expanded caverns, but they always came up short. The tunnels and caverns they dug make up the city today. But the reality the Flame is in… it's out of sync. To reach it, we need to find the exact faultline where the two layers touch."

Thorn snorted. "So we're looking for an invisible fire in a fake pocket dimension buried under a city filled with the most powerful people in the world. Sounds great."

"They're not just powerful." Ren said. "They're deliberate in what they do. Carthage doesn't open its gates to just anyone. If you want to live there, you have to pass their entry exam. And it's not a written one."

"Let me guess." Thorn said. "They want blood."

"They want strength." Ren said. "Clean bloodlines, strong genes. They test everyone before letting them in. Only the best stay. The rest are sent back down the mountain."

"They sound fun." Lilith murmured.

"They're not. But the city is a fortress. Built directly into the mountainside of the 27th Peak. It didn't start as a city, but as a site of excavations to find the Primordial Flame. And when they couldn't find it, they decided to just sit on it till it revealed itself, and the city was born."

"Of course, the population doesn't know about all this. The smart ones suspect, but the stories and true reason behind the excavations are closely kept secrets of the Council that rules the city and their trusted heirs."

"The Council wants only the best of the best in their city, not just to protect themselves from the horrors of the Arondale mountain range, but to keep those who have the power to find the Flame where they could see them. And of course, remove them if need be."

"Aren't we one of those people that could be removed if need be? And yet we're going in." Thorn said.

"We're not just going in." Ren said. "We're going to pass their exam, gain their trust, and steal the Flame from under their noses."

They crested the top of the path.

And there it was.

Through the swirling snow, nestled against the mountain like a sleeping giant, stood the city of Carthage.

Massive gates stood before it, made of dark iron framed with obsidian. Behind those gates, half hidden by snow draped stone, rose tall towers and jagged spires, half their bodies merged with the mountainside.

The walls were wide enough to march an army along their top. Warm steam curled from vents and carved aqueducts, evidence of the hot springs running beneath the city's skin.

Even in the blizzard, Carthage glowed.

It did not look like a city built for comfort. It looked like a fortress built to survive.

Ren stared at it for a long moment. "We're here."

Thorn let out a low whistle. "Guess the easy part's over, huh?"

Lilith smiled faintly. "It never was easy."

Snow drifted down around them as they began the final walk toward the gate.

Three figures trudging through the snowfall, stepping into the jaws of the city that had never been conquered.