The frozen lake cracked beneath his feet, breaking the silence of the winter forest. With each step, the sound of subtle fractures echoed, a sinister reminder that he was treading on treacherous ground. The cold air burned his lungs, and the wind snatched his breath away in gusts, but he had a firm purpose: to reach the center of that lake where, according to old stories, a portal to another world was hidden.


It was rumored that at the bottom of the lake lay the Dawn Stone, a mystical artifact that could grant a second chance to whoever dared to claim it. No one in their right mind had tried to cross the lake in decades; however, he had no other choice.


He had lost his younger sister only a few months ago, when a strange illness consumed her within days. His family blamed him, and he, though he didn't understand why, also felt responsible. When an old man in the market whispered to him about the Stone, his obsession with seeing her alive again pushed him to do the unthinkable.


He crossed the ice with determined steps, ignoring the growing cracks. Suddenly, something caught his attention: a figure took shape in the distance. It was a diffuse shadow, almost ethereal, floating over the ice in a rigid, inhuman posture. For an instant, he doubted if it was real or simply a hallucination caused by exhaustion and cold. But the figure turned its head, and he felt his insides twist.


The figure had empty, hollow, dark eyes, and it watched him as if waiting for something. It took a step toward him, then another, sliding like a specter that met no resistance.


The young man stepped back, feeling the ice tremble under his weight. The cracks intensified, and the frozen surface gave way in some places, fragmenting into concentric circles that surrounded him like a spiderweb. The figure kept advancing, closer with each second, until he could make out its face: it was a woman, pale as the ice itself, with an expression of infinite sadness etched into her features.


"Are you... human?" he murmured, barely able to believe what he was seeing.


She didn’t respond, but her lips trembled with an inaudible whisper. Captivated by the vision, the young man didn’t notice the dark water beginning to seep beneath his feet. When he finally realized it, the cold had already become unbearable; it stabbed into him like needles, freezing his blood. In a desperate attempt to retreat, he lost his balance and fell to his knees on the ice as the woman extended a hand toward him.


"Your desire is dangerous," she said in a muted voice, barely a whisper that the wind carried away.


He looked at her, feeling the words choke in his throat. He wanted to tell her he would do anything to get his sister back, that he didn’t care about the consequences, that the pain was too deep to go on without her. But instead, he managed only to say:


"Can you help me?"


She nodded slowly, and the ice beneath him shattered into pieces, giving way under the weight of his despair.


The cold water stole his breath in an instant, as though hundreds of icy needles pierced his skin. The young man struggled to stay afloat, clinging to the pieces of ice within his reach, but his hands kept slipping, and the ice cracked even more. The figure stood motionless, watching him from the edge of the hole where he had fallen.


“Please...” he managed to murmur, his voice weak and broken.


The woman, with an unsettling calmness, extended her hand toward him. As soon as he touched it, he felt an unusual warmth spreading through his skin, sparking a surge of energy. She pulled him up, lifting him with impossible strength and setting him on solid ice. As he tried to catch his breath, he noticed his entire body shaking, but not from the cold; she had left a trace of warmth on his skin, as if a small part of her essence had transferred to him.


“If you insist on finding the Dawn Stone, you must understand this,” the woman said, her voice drifting in the air like a distant melody. “Every wish has a price, and this is one you cannot foresee.”


He looked at her, feeling the weight of desperation pushing each word from his mouth.


“I don’t care about the price,” he responded, clenching his teeth. “I need it. I need to bring her back.”


The woman gazed at him with an expression that blended compassion and caution, a mixture of emotions reflected in her dark eyes.


“Very well. Then continue walking toward the center of the lake. There you’ll find the portal,” she instructed, pointing to a spot in the distance. “But remember this: what you seek may not be what you’ll find. The Dawn Stone does not grant wishes to those who simply want to turn back time. You must be willing to sacrifice what you fear losing the most.”


Without fully understanding her words, he nodded. The figure began to fade, as if she had never been there, and a fine mist wrapped around her until it dispersed into the icy air. Alone once more, he pressed onward with renewed determination.


With every step on the ice, an echo of his longing reverberated through his mind: “Bring her back.” The phrase repeated like a mantra, filling the emptiness in his thoughts as he moved toward the lake’s center. He felt the ice trembling beneath him with each step, but he ignored the warnings from the fragile surface, which seemed ready to give way at any moment.


Finally, he reached the spot the woman had pointed out. He looked around but saw nothing out of the ordinary—just ice, silence, and the vastness of the frozen surface. He began to wonder if it had all been an illusion brought on by the cold and exhaustion. But then, the ice beneath his feet started to glow. A soft light, like a hidden sunrise, filtered through the ice, illuminating everything around him.


"Is… is it the portal?" he wondered aloud.


Without thinking, he knelt down and touched the surface. Instantly, he felt a jolt through his body, as if he’d been hurled into another dimension. Light enveloped him completely, and when his eyes adjusted to the brightness, he found himself in a place he did not recognize.


All around him, a vast landscape of mountains and valleys stretched as far as the eye could see. The sky was tinted with shades of pink and gold, as if it were always dawn. It was a world trapped in an eternal moment, where time itself seemed to stand still.


He walked, exploring the strange terrain, until he reached a plain where a stone statue stood. It was a figure of a woman holding a sphere in her hands. In the center of the sphere, a pulsating glow emanated, like a heart beating in a continuous cycle.


He approached cautiously, immediately recognizing the Dawn Stone. There it was, within his reach. Every sacrifice, every dangerous step over the ice had led him to this precise moment.


Yet, as he reached out his hand, a voice echoed in his mind. It was the voice of the ice woman, repeating her words: “What you seek here is not necessarily what you’ll find.”


A chill ran through him, but he ignored the warning. He closed his fingers around the Stone, and immediately, a flood of memories and visions overwhelmed him. He saw his sister laughing, playing in their garden, then an image of her ill, his parents crying, and the crushing guilt in his eyes.


Then another vision appeared: himself, years in the future, with his sister back in his life. He saw her grow, smile, live as if nothing had happened. But there was something different in her gaze, as if she were only a shadow of the person he once knew.


Terrified, he withdrew his hand from the Stone. The landscape around him began to crumble, and a shadow appeared before him, the same female figure who had warned him earlier.


“I warned you,” she said, a tone of sorrow in her voice. “The Stone does not bring life back without a price. If you choose to go on, you must accept that your sister will never be the same, and neither will you.”


He took a deep breath, gazing at the Dawn Stone one last time. He knew the decision he was about to make would change his life forever.


The young man stared at the Dawn Stone with trembling hands. The sphere’s hypnotic glow seemed to call him, whispering promises of restoration and redemption. But the woman’s warnings still reverberated in his mind. “Your sister will never be the same, and neither will you.”


Despite everything, his desperation was stronger than his fear, and he reached out once more. The moment his fingers touched the Stone, the world around him changed.


The pink and golden landscape dissolved, replaced by a vast, dark abyss. Emerging from the shadows in front of him was a tall, hulking figure with eyes like burning embers and a twisted smile. Its features were grotesque, as if its face had been carved from stone and then distorted into a mocking sneer.


“So, you’re the reckless soul who dares to claim the Stone,” said the figure in a deep voice that rumbled like thunder. “Do you think you’re ready to pay the price?”


The young man took a step back, frightened by the imposing presence of the being before him. But he summoned what little courage he had left and stood firm.


“I would do anything,” he responded, unable to stop his voice from trembling. “I just want my sister back.”


The creature let out a mocking laugh that shook the ground beneath his feet.


“Anything? Humans always say the same thing. You think you know what you want, but when the price is too high, you lose your nerve.” The figure leaned closer, its breath cold as frost. “Before you decide, let me show you what your sister will become if you choose to use the Stone.”


With a wave of its hand, the darkness around them parted, revealing a scene that made the young man shudder. In the center of the void, he saw his sister standing there, but her expression was vacant, and her eyes, which used to sparkle with joy, were now dim and lifeless. Her skin looked translucent, as if part of her had been consumed by the very cold that had claimed her.


“She will be a lifeless reflection, an echo of who she once was,” the being said, savoring each word with cruel delight. “You’ll bring her back, yes, but she won’t be the girl you remember. She’ll be a shadow, trapped between life and death, and you’ll carry that burden forever.”


The young man bit his lip, his gaze fixed on that heartbreaking image. He knew he couldn’t bear to see his sister like that, caught in a half-existence, no longer herself. But at the same time, the thought of not having her tore at his soul. He wavered between despair and love, questioning if he was truly willing to sacrifice so much for such a selfish wish.


“You still have a choice, human,” the figure said, its voice dripping with menace. “You can desist and let your sister rest, or you can continue and face the consequences. But time is running out, and I must warn you: once you make your decision, there is no turning back.”


The young man closed his eyes, trying to steady himself, but the image of his sister, trapped in that gray, hollow existence, continued to haunt him. Would it be fair to bring her back only to ease his own grief? Could he really condemn her to a soulless life just to quell his own pain?


Finally, he opened his eyes and looked defiantly at the figure.


“If you insist on making me choose, then I will.” His voice sounded resolute, despite the pain in his chest. “She deserves to rest in peace. I can’t bring her back like that.”


The figure remained motionless for a moment, as if weighing his words. Then a smile, a blend of approval and disdain, spread across its face.


“A wise decision. Not all humans are capable of letting go.” The being straightened and stepped back, allowing the darkness around it to begin dissolving. “But remember, young mortal, this sacrifice will not be granted without a mark. The pain you carry in your soul will stay with you. The Stone has judged your sacrifice, and though you did not claim it, a part of you will always remain in this place.”


The landscape began to crumble, as if the shadows were being swept away by an invisible force. Before the world vanished completely, he felt a strange weight in his chest, a hollow sensation he had never experienced before.


He opened his eyes and found himself back on the frozen lake. The ice beneath him was intact, as if nothing had happened. Yet within him, something had changed. He knew he would never be the same after that encounter, and the price he had paid was the eternal memory of his sister, along with the scar of having chosen sacrifice over his own desire.


With a heavy heart, he looked toward the horizon. He still felt the sadness, but now there was also a new peace. He knew he had made the right choice, and though the pain remained, it was now a reminder of his love.


Without a final glance back, he began walking toward the shore, leaving behind the legend of the Dawn Stone and carrying with him the memory of the choice he had made.