Sub-Zero: Origins

The Cave of Ice

"Hello, Kuai Liang. Hello, Tomas," Xiao-Ping greeted in plain English, stepping closer. "I'm glad to see you."

"But...you're dead," Kuai Liang protested in confusion. "I saw Oniro kill you."

"Wait," Tomas interrupted. "Are we dead?" At first, the Cryomancer thought his friend was cracking a joke, but when he glanced at him, he saw only a deadpan expression on his face. His question was sincere.

Xiao-Ping raised his hands to quiet them both, flashing a knowing grin. "No, my son, you're not dead. Neither am I."

"But I saw Oniro kill you," Kuai Liang repeated in earnest.

"Yes, yes," he answered impatiently. "I have a lot of explaining to do, but if I'm not mistaken, Sektor has quickly figured out that there was a cave-in, and he's already halfway cleared the rubble. Since I've taken great pains to ensure your escape from the Lin Kuei, it would be a shame to let him catch you while I tell you a story right here and now."

"Well, where are we going to go?" Tomas wheezed. "It's a dead end."

"As is the case with a great many things, appearances are deceiving, young Tomas."

He waved a hand that glowed with electric blue energy before the wall, and immediately the stone faded into nothingness. Beyond the wall was a magnificent cavern made entirely from ice. Far below, a river of water flowed over frozen rocks. Snow lined the banks on both sides. Brilliant white light glowed beneath the current, refracted off the giant ice crystals growing like stalactites and stalagmites throughout the cavern, and scattered like millions of tiny diamonds onto the walls. Swirling in a perfectly smooth wall at the front of the cavern was a silver mirror that almost seemed alive. Even from this distance, perhaps a few hundred feet, Kuai Liang saw bluish-black arms of cloudy energy rotating counterclockwise like a spiral galaxy through a watery quicksilver liquid inside the mirror. Both he and Tomas were speechless.

Xiao-Ping stepped through the opening but both warriors remained still, entranced by this spectacular sight. "Are you waiting for an invitation?" he asked them in amusement. "Come!"

Kuai Liang shook his head and obeyed, silently dragging along his open-mouthed friend. As the pair limped through the doorway, the stone that was originally there gradually crept back into place and sealed them into the icy cavern. Though the Cryomancer would've expected coldness in the atmosphere, the air around them felt remarkably temperate. "What is this place?" he asked.

"My home," he answered cheerfully.

"Your home?" he repeated. "Your home is in Tingri."

Xiao-Ping nodded. "Well, yes and no. I wanted to keep a better eye on you, so I carved out this little niche for myself."

"A niche?" Tomas muttered before he burst into a coughing fit. He clawed at his chest and let go of his friend's shoulder, collapsing to his knees. 

"Oh, this will never do," Xiao-Ping declared. "Your Achilles' tendon is torn, Kuai Liang, and Tomas' ribs are threatening to puncture his lungs. At this rate, you two will never make it to where you're supposed to be!" He knelt beside the warrior on the ground.

Anger suddenly simmered in Kuai Liang's blood. He felt its fiery warmth overpower the ice. "A mountain just fell on us," he scowled. He knelt beside Tomas and rested his hand on his back as if doing so would help his friend recover his breath.

"I know," Xiao-Ping smiled as if he hadn't really heard the fury in the younger man's voice. Then he pinched Kuai Liang's cheek and patted it hard. The Cryomancer blinked in confusion. It wasn't an act of aggression, but an act of...admiration? Like...something a loving patriarch would do to his children or grandchildren.