Neo and Nevers

Ilya and Never were sent on a new mission to the Arctic, where, as Alice had said, ice monsters had appeared. Boarding a helicopter, Never and Ilya set off. The journey was long, far too long. Towards nightfall, their helicopter landed on a snowy plain, dotted with glaciers, snowdrifts, enormous icebergs, and, most importantly, some kind of non-human civilization.

Ice houses were visible in the distance, dozens of icicles hanging from the roofs, and the blizzard made it difficult to see the fine details. Ilya and Never, taking up arms, headed toward this civilization.

As they approached, they encountered astonishing creatures that resembled humans. There, in houses or on the streets, were adults and children, men and women. These subhumans nicknamed their race "Haar Dyon." Their skin was made of snow, their hair and eyes of ice, and their clothing of animal skins.

“Well, at least they’re not naked... ” Ilya thought, watching the little snow-and-ice children stare at him with curiosity from around the corner of the ice house.

"Have you... attacked... people like you with beige skin? " Never asked one of the snow-ice sages.

"No, it wasn't us. Even if we had, the queen would have punished us. It was probably the 'Haar Haramaydars'—ice monsters that wreak havoc and destruction," the sage replied, stroking his icy beard.

"Queen? Haar haram-a...- what?! " Ilya exclaimed without even saying the word.

“We’ll deal with the monsters later, but now we need to find their queen...” Never growled at Ilya.