Sarah: Watch your step, Mark. The snow on this eastern ridge is pretty deep.
Mark: I still cannot believe we are standing out here on the mountain... and everything that just happened down there was real.
They stepped out into the bright afternoon sunlight on the mountain slope. Below them lay miles of untouched pine forest, covered in a blanket of fresh winter snow. Behind them, the narrow tunnel exit slowly crumbled shut as heavy ice sheets slid down to block the entrance permanently.
Sarah: Look... the tunnel is completely hidden now. You would never know it was there unless you knew exactly where to dig.
Mark: Good. Let us keep it that way. What are we going to tell the expedition leader when we get back to base camp?
Sarah: Simple. We tell him the lower ice cave was unstable, thermal readings were a false alarm caused by hot spring gas, and we recommended sealing the upper shaft for safety reasons.
Mark: Works for me. I already wiped the video logs from my headcam while we were walking out through the tunnel.
Sarah smiled, reaching into her jacket pocket to touch the warm ice crystal the dragon had given her. The gentle heat radiating from it warmed her entire hand, even in the freezing mountain wind.
Sarah: You did the right thing, Mark. Some things in this world are meant to stay hidden.
Mark: Yeah... I guess they are. But man, no one is ever going to believe how cool my job actually is.
Sarah: And you are never going to tell them either.
They adjusted their snowshoes and began their long trek down the snow-covered mountain toward the research base. High above them on the icy peak, a soft, invisible plume of warm mist rose quietly into the clear sky—a subtle signal that deep below the frozen ground, a new generation of ice dragons was thriving in peace.
Sarah: Let's go home, Mark.
Mark: Lead the way, partner. Lead the way.
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