The foot came down.

Not slammed.

Came down.

Like the world deciding it was done holding itself up.

The impact erased everything.

The ground vanished beneath us in a deafening, bone-rattling detonation as the ice-plated foot struck, pulverizing earth, stone, roots, and frozen debris into nothing. A massive crater exploded outward, swallowing us whole as shockwaves rippled through the forest in every direction.

I didn't jump.

I didn't dodge.

I was gone.

The impact punched the air out of my lungs so violently that I forgot how to breathe for a split second. My body was hurled sideways like a discarded toy, tumbling through dust and ice shards as the world blurred into white noise and chaos. Massive shockwaves erupted from the blast, blurring at super sonic speeds, destroying everything in sight.

Kent vanished beside me in the storm.

The crater kept expanding, the earth screaming as it collapsed inward. Dust plumed upward in a colossal cloud, blotting out the sky entirely. Ice fragments rained down like shrapnel, embedding themselves deep into the ground with sharp, violent cracks.

I hit something hard.

Rolled.

Hit again.

Then stopped.

For a moment, I didn't move.

Couldn't.

My ears rang so loudly it drowned out everything else. My vision swam, shapes barely resolving through the haze of dirt and frozen vapor. I tasted blood. My ribs screamed in protest as I forced air back into my lungs.

Then instinct kicked in.

Hide.

I pressed myself flat against the ground, letting Death mana crawl tighter around my body, swallowing what little presence I still had. The dust helped, thick, choking clouds that masked scent, sound, heat.

Perfect.

The golem's foot lifted again, ice grinding against ice as it withdrew from the crater it had just made. I felt the pressure of it even without seeing it, a suffocating weight that pressed down on my spine and rattled my teeth.

This was our chance.

I pushed myself up, coughing silently, and scanned through the haze.

"Kent," I hissed.

Nothing.

I reached out with perception, short range only, careful not to flare anything that might get me erased from existence.

There.

A flicker of familiar mana, buried under debris not far from me.

I scrambled over shattered ground, ducking low as chunks of ice and earth still slid down the crater walls. I found Kent crouched behind a fractured slab of frozen stone, one hand braced against it, the other gripping his scythe tightly.

He looked up as I approached.

Alive.

Good.

No time for relief.

The golem moved again, its massive form shifting somewhere above us, ice plates grinding together with a sound like mountains colliding. Each step sent tremors through the ground, loose debris raining down into the crater.

We were ants hiding under rubble.

But ants with teeth.

I tightened my grip on the ice blade in my hand.

"Alright," I muttered. "Hit-and-run. We blind it, cripple a joint, then—"

I lunged.

Before Kent could even respond, I burst from cover, Death mana flaring as I shot up the crater wall toward the towering leg above. My blade hummed as I poured power into it, drawing on a form I hadn't used in far too long.

Nyxian Dirge.

First form, Breath of Renewal. My breathing steadied, by wounds healing, stamina replenishing.

I slashed upward, blackened Death energy screaming from the blade in a sharp arc that carved into the ice plating around the golem's ankle. The impact rang like a bell struck underwater.

Cracks formed.

Tiny.

Insignificant.

I didn't stop.

Second Form, Pulse Trance. My muscles strengthened, speed increasing.

Another slash, faster, heavier, Death mana layering over itself, biting deeper into the ice. The cracks spread, veins of darkness spiderwebbing outward.

Still not enough.

I gritted my teeth. I needed to use something that could actually damage the damn golem.

Fourth Form, Hollow Thrust.

I twisted, brought the blade down with everything I had, pouring power into the strike until my bones screamed. The blade shrieked in protest as the force traveled through it—

—and then it shattered.

The ice sword collapsed in my hands, exploding into useless shards that scattered across the crater floor like broken glass.

I froze.

For half a heartbeat, I just stared at the empty space where my weapon had been.

"…You have got to be kidding me."

The golem didn't even react.

My attack might as well have been a mild inconvenience.

Behind me, Kent stared.

Not in awe.

Not in panic.

In pure, unfiltered disbelief.

"You," he said slowly, dangerously, "are a stupid bastard."

I blinked.

"What?"

He stepped closer, scythe lowering slightly as he glared at me like he was deciding whether to kill the golem or me first. "Do you have any idea how bad that was?"

I bristled instantly. "Excuse me?"

"Do you have even a single brain cell under all that bravado?" he snapped. "Because I'm starting to think it's all just empty space."

For a second, I was too stunned to speak.

The audacity.

The sheer, unmitigated gall.

I stared at him. "I'm sorry, you are calling me an idiot?"

"Yes," he shot back without hesitation. "I am."

I scoffed. "You're the one who tried to teleport us in a straight line from an ice god."

"And you're the one who just tried to cut a Dualflow-reinforced golem with a fragile ice sword!"

"It was reinforced!"

"It shattered!"

"That's semantics!"

Kent's eyes flashed. "If you're so great, Sebastian," he said sharply, "then why haven't you used your Soulflames?"

I stopped.

He stepped closer, jabbing a finger at my chest. "Huh? Why are you swinging ice at an ice monster? You want to explain that to me?"

He leaned in, voice low and furious. "You have the complete opposite element at your disposal. So why the hell aren't you using it?"

Silence.

The battlefield seemed to hush around us, the distant grinding of the golem momentarily fading into the background.

I opened my mouth.

Closed it.

My jaw tightened.

"…Ungrateful bastard," I muttered.

Kent stared. "What?"

"Nothing."

I looked down at the shattered remains of the ice sword in my hand.

Then I let it fall.

The fragments hit the ground with soft, meaningless clinks.

I exhaled slowly.

Fine.

If that's how it was going to be.

Purple fire erupted from my palms.

Not a spark.

Not a flicker.

A storm.

Soulflames roared to life, violent and majestic, spiraling upward in a torrent of violet and indigo light. The heat punched outward, instantly melting frost around my feet, steam hissing violently as ice surrendered to flame.

The fire didn't burn wildly.

It obeyed.

The flames twisted, stretched, condensed, shaping themselves into a blade of pure Soulflame, its edge shimmering with impossible color. The sword hummed with power, heat warping the air around it, the purple fire licking eagerly at the world as if desperate to consume something worthy.

I lifted it.

The weight felt right.

Dangerous.

Alive.

Kent stared at the weapon, then at me.

"…About time," he muttered.

I smirked despite myself, rolling my shoulders as the Soulflame sword flared brighter in my grip.

"Alright," I said, eyes locking onto the towering silhouette above us as the golem turned once more, ice-blue eyes glowing through the dust. "Let's try this again."

The fire sang.

And this time....

I was done holding anything back.

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