Sylaphine – Perspective 1:31 AM, 31/12/2017
The air was still, unnaturally so. The kind of silence that only exists in the last breath before a storm.
It was quite the coincidence… the last night before the new year, and the darkest hour before dawn. A fitting time for a hunt—the Frost Crawler slumbered only in this window, buried deep beneath the frozen earth, unaware that its time had come.
I exhaled softly, fog curling from my lips like white smoke. My reflection in the glass stared back at me—emerald hair cascading past my shoulders, eyes glowing faintly with a luminescent green hue. My combat attire shimmered faintly under the moonlight—woven from enchanted silk, layered in pale leaves that hardened like crystal when I summoned mana.
It had ice resistance magic encrypted onto it.
The chest plate bore faint runic lines, pulsing softly in rhythm with my heartbeat. The design was elegant but deadly, made for movement, not intimidation.
The whisper of Caelum's voice broke through my thoughts.
"Your Majesty, it's time. Everyone is waiting."
I nodded, turning once more to the window. My labyrinth underneath was quiet, buried under winter's mist. I allowed myself one brief smile—another battle, another night to protect what's left of us.
As I stepped into the hall, the sound of my boots echoed lightly against the marbled floor. My wings—my most loyal guardians—were waiting.
Caelum stood tall and disciplined as ever, Aliana beside him with her quiet grace, Eryndor looking stoic as stone, Velith brushing her long midnight hair aside, and lastly, Luke himself—my prodigy of war.
Together, we marched through the labyrinth's exit where twenty trained Illusive Fairies awaited. Each shimmered faintly like candle flames, ready to distort light and create illusions strong enough to confuse the Frost Crawler.
It was Lucas's strategy—a clever one, I'll admit.
But as we stepped outside into the snow, I noticed them.
Kaiser and his group were already waiting.
Lucas wore his usual black undershirt beneath a half-buttoned dark coat, a small cape draped over his shoulder. His hair was a mess again, of course. Celia, ever the contrast, stood beside him in a flowing white dress, skirt dragging lightly across the snow like a whisper of ash.
And then there was Kaiser.
A long overcoat hung from his shoulders—too large, too heavy. Was he planning to fight a serpent that freezes its radius wearing that? Ridiculous. Disappointing, even.
Behind me, my wings exchanged barely suppressed giggles.
"E-rank," Lucas muttered under his breath. "Unbelievable. Why is he even coming?"
"Brother," Aliana said softly, placing a hand on his arm. "Calm down. Don't worry about him."
He exhaled sharply but nodded. "You're right."
Velith tilted her head slightly, her midnight hair brushing her cheek as she eyed Kaiser with curiosity.
"He's… oddly suspicious," she murmured with that sly little smirk of hers. "No sane person takes that kind of outfit in battle. He walks like someone who knows more than he's letting on."
Eryndor snorted, tone flat as ever.
"Maybe he wore three layers just to keep himself warm."
Laughter erupted immediately. Even Lucas chuckled, shaking his head.
"That's an E-rank's thinking for you. Primitive as ever."
I lifted a finger to my lips.
"Quiet. They're coming."
The mirth faded as quickly as it had bloomed. Kaiser's gaze flicked toward us—calm, unreadable. His eyebrow rose slightly, amusement glinting in his eyes as if he had heard every word.
Then, he walked forward—confident, almost lazy, until he stood a few steps away.
"You know," he began, that infuriatingly calm voice of his cutting through the cold, "your wings seemed rather happy to see me."
I raised a brow. "Oh? Is that so?"
"Yes," he said with a faint grin. "They fluttered the moment I arrived. I suppose even fairies can recognize charm when they see it."
My wings actually did tremble—half in annoyance, half in amusement.
"Perhaps they were shivering from the cold, not excitement," I replied coolly.
He smirked. "You wound me, your Majesty. And here I thought we shared a connection."
"Connection?" I echoed, stepping closer until the moonlight caught on the emerald threads of my armor. "The last time someone said that to me, I remember them being in my dungeon for days."
Celia stifled a laugh behind her hand. Lucas groaned. Even my wings couldn't hold it in; quiet giggles fluttered through the group like tinkling bells.
Kaiser merely shrugged.
"Too bad too sad. I'll have to keep trying."
He said it so casually—so boldly—that even I couldn't stop the corner of my mouth from twitching upward.
There was something about him—something reckless, something infuriatingly unafraid.
And for a fleeting second, under that pale moonlight, I caught myself wondering—Was he mocking me? Or taking my attention away from him?
Either way, he had no idea what kind of creature he was provoking.
Because tonight, beneath the frozen heavens… I would find out.
The labyrinth's last gate groaned open behind us, and a rush of cold air swept through the corridor—sharp, biting, and full of the scent of snow and pine. Beyond it lay the Forest of Wishes, a once-gentle land now suffocating under endless blizzards.
Every tree stood half-buried beneath crystalline frost; their branches bowed low, heavy with snow. The moonlight fractured across the white plains, casting faint halos that shimmered in the storm.
This place was beautiful once. Now, it was nothing but silence and snowy death.
I led them forward, wings flickering faintly to illuminate the path. The snow crunched beneath our boots, muffled by the storm's wails. Even the air seemed reluctant to move, thick and freezing, as if the Frost Crawler's influence had poisoned the very sky.
No one spoke for a while. Only the rhythmic sound of our steps and the occasional flutter of fairy wings echoed in the distance.
Then Velith's soft voice broke the quiet. She had turned back to the twenty Illusive Fairies trailing us, their small forms trembling, breaths shallow and uneven.
"Hey," she said gently, her voice like silk over frost. "Don't lose your composure. It's alright."
The fairies looked at her uncertainly, their wings flickering weakly.
"You're not alone," Velith continued, smiling faintly. "Sir Luke is with us—he can keep us safe from anything. And Her Majesty is here too."
At that, a spark of courage flickered in their eyes. One of the smaller fairies whispered, "If Mother Sylaphine is with us… then maybe we will be safe."
Velith nodded. "Exactly. We are fairies. We don't cower in our own forest."
The fairies straightened, their wings glowing a little brighter in the dark.
Luke gave a small approving smile, his voice calm but firm.
"I'll keep everyone safe. No one dies tonight."
But then his eyes cut sharply toward Kaiser, who had been walking a few paces behind, hands tucked casually into his coat pockets.
"That said," Luke added, his tone like a blade, "I'm not taking responsibility for useless liabilities."
The words hung cold in the air.
Kaiser didn't flinch. He didn't even look at him—just kept walking, slow and steady, boots pressing into the snow as if Luke hadn't spoken at all.
The silence that followed was awkward, heavy. Until—
Thwack.
Aliana slapped Luke on the back with a grin.
"You worry too much, brother. You'll get wrinkles."
Luke sighed, rubbing the spot where she hit him. "Okay okay."
"Happy to hear it," she said sweetly, then looked ahead again.
I exhaled quietly, watching them all.
Luke had always despised weakness. Born with more than just illusion magic—something rare even among our kind—he'd never truly understood fragility. To him, power was the only language that mattered. He respected only those who stood beside him… or above him. Arrogant, yes—but his arrogance was earned, sharpened through years of battles and victory.
Still… I turned my gaze to Kaiser's back.
What role do you truly have here, E-rank?
His steps were too calm for someone who didn't belong.
"I think we're close," Lucas said suddenly, scanning ahead.
"Yes," Aliana replied. "We should get into position."
I nodded once. "All fairies, follow my lead."
We emerged into a clearing—a wide, hollow space where the snow thinned, revealing a deep, circular pit. Freezing water churned slowly inside it, forming a miniature lake that steamed faintly under the frost. The edges glittered like glass, jagged and dangerous.
"That's it," Lucas murmured.
He and Celia exchanged a knowing glance before stepping forward, their eyes reflecting the pale glow of mana. Velith, Caelum, and Luke formed the vanguard beside them, wings flaring as the wind picked up.
The twenty Illusive Fairies stayed behind, hands clasped together as they began to channel mana—soft blue light pulsing between them in unison. Their power would bend the senses, create mirages to confuse the beast when it surfaced.
Aliana, Eryndor, and I remained in the middle line, ready to guard both the front and rear. That was my duty—not to lead the charge, but to make sure everyone came home.
The snow began to fall thicker, heavy flakes swirling like dying stars. My hair clung to my armor, shimmering faintly under the moon's cold light.
"Hmm… it's cold," came a lazy voice behind me.
Kaiser.
Eryndor turned his head slightly, one brow raised.
"Aren't you going to fight?"
Kaiser tilted his head, pretending to think.
"Nah, man. I could get hurt. I'll stay here and protect the others."
Eryndor sighed, the sound half-annoyed, half-defeated.
"Useless."
Aliana giggled quietly, covering her mouth with her hand.
I shot her a small glare, though amusement tugged at the corner of my lips.
Turning to Kaiser, I said evenly, "If that's your choice… then stay here. Keep watch."
He smiled, mock-saluting me with one hand.
"Aye aye, Your Majesty."
The snowstorm howled around us, and for a moment, as the group spread into formation, I caught the faintest glimmer of something in Kaiser's eyes—something abnormal.
He wasn't afraid.He wasn't lazy.
He was waiting.
But for what?
"Begin!" Luke's voice tore through the storm like a battle horn.
In a single motion, he slammed the base of his staff into the ground. The wooden shaft shimmered, leaves spiraling upward like embers in reverse, until the air itself bent. From the tip of that spiraled crest bloomed an emerald barrier that spread across the forest, its edges weaving into the treeline like living roots. The sound of it forming—a deep, resonant thrum—rolled through the earth, echoing for miles.
The wind died for a heartbeat. Then—
A distant roar shattered the stillness.
It wasn't just sound—it was pressure. The trees bent as if bowing to something ancient. The snow lifted from the ground and spiraled into the sky. Every wing, every breath, every heartbeat paused.
Lucas stepped forward, his expression calm yet electric. He raised his hand, and in an instant, blades of light bloomed between his fingers. The air rippled as mirrors—pure, glimmering, and perfectly formed—materialized around him, rotating like celestial orbs. Each reflected a different angle of him, each shimmered with holy precision.
Light mirrors…? No—these weren't ordinary Celestial constructs.
I had lived for millennia, seen magics lost to time. But this—this was something else. His mana didn't glow like the divine. It sang, humming like an untuned string on the verge of breaking yet never snapping. A strange boy indeed.
Beside him, Celia's expression remained steady, though her cursed aura leaked faintly from her fingertips like black mist curling in the snowlight. Her stillness was deceptive—it wasn't calm, it was containment.
Caelum, Velith, and Luke spread to form a half-circle, each radiating their element—wind, illusion, and nature—all ready to converge.
Then, the ground rumbled.
The pond at the center of the clearing began to ripple violently. Snow cracked and slid from the surrounding mounds as frost surged outward in spiderwebs. I could feel it—the mana density was overwhelming, old and hateful.
"Stay calm," I commanded, turning to the Illusive Fairies who trembled behind me, their glowing forms flickering weakly. "I am here with you."
One of the smaller ones looked up, eyes wide and glassy. "O-Okie… mother."
Their voices softened. The tremor in their wings stilled. They straightened once more.
And then—it rose.
From beneath the shattered ice, something vast and abhorrent slithered upward.
The Frost Crawler.
Its emergence devoured the silence.
It burst from the pond in a storm of frozen shards, its massive body coiling like a serpent woven from glaciers and nightmares. Its skin glistened like cracked marble, pale and ridged with veins of sapphire light that pulsed with every movement. Two burning crimson eyes ignited through the storm, their glow slicing through the blizzard's heart.
Each exhale was a curse upon the air—a mist so cold it turned the falling snow into knives of glass. Wherever it breathed, frost crawled outward in fractal webs, coating bark, stone, and flesh alike.
Its tongue—a translucent blade of ice—lashed and hissed, leaving behind trails that shimmered like broken mirrors before they solidified into crystalline veins across the ground.
When it moved, the earth screamed.
The snow didn't crunch beneath it—it shattered, as though the world itself refused to bear its weight.
Even after thousands of years of existence, I felt it—the primal instinct to flee.
But I couldn't afford fear. Not as their queen. Not as their mother.
I extended my hand, and the mana of the forest responded—roots stirring, winds rising, the snow bending to my will. The fairies behind me began their chant, their voices threading through the blizzard in ancient harmony.
The barrier above flickered faintly from Luke's strain, the air vibrating under the crawler's roar.
And in that chaos, I caught sight of him.
Kaiser stood there—coat flapping violently in the wind, hands in his pockets still. His face unreadable, his eyes focused not on the crawler but on its movements…
Did he not fear it...?
The storm howled like a dying god.And amidst it, my voice cut through—firm, commanding.
"Formation! Don't let its core stay stable! Luke, Caelum, Velith—frontline rotation! Lucas, Celia, engage with full power! Illusives, distort its vision!"
The fairies burst into motion at once, light scattering through the snowstorm like fireflies born of war.
The battle had begun.
Luke raised his staff first, his voice low but reverberating through the air, "Verdantus Terra—Root Bind!"
The ground split. From beneath the snow, colossal roots of ancient trees erupted upward, twisting together to form massive spears that lunged toward the Frost Crawler. The creature hissed, frost spilling from its scales as it met the wooden surge with a roar. Wherever its breath touched, the roots froze and shattered, yet Luke continued relentlessly—his eyes burning bright green as nature itself bent to his will.
He stomped once, and the earth rumbled. "Gaia's Maw!"
The terrain beneath the Crawler collapsed, a sinkhole of writhing thorns and molten earth opening wide. The beast screeched, tail lashing like a whip as it struggled to regain balance.
Velith was next—her long hair whipping like silk in the wind. "Illusoria Mirage."
From her fingertips bloomed dozens of spectral copies of the Frost Crawler, each perfectly mimicking its movements and size. The real one froze, confused for a heartbeat, thrashing wildly through its own illusions.
That heartbeat was all Caelum needed.
He appeared above the creature in a swirl of azure, his wings glowing faintly. "Tempest Rend!"
His halberd—crafted from celestial windstone—gleamed as he spun, unleashing a concentrated blade of wind so sharp it sliced through ice like silk, leaving a deep gash along the monster's side. Blue blood hissed into vapor as it struck the cold air.
It howled. The blizzard roared back in answer.
I raised my hand. "Maintain pressure!"
The Illusive Fairies began to chant in perfect synchrony, creating phantom armies of themselves. Thousands of glowing shapes danced in the storm, confusing the Frost Crawler's predatory senses. It lunged and bit at ghosts, each miss wasting its strength.
And then—light bent.
Lucas stepped forward, his smile faint, almost playful beneath the chaos. Mirrors shimmered into existence around him, floating in perfect geometry, refracting snowflakes into tiny prisms.
"Now… let's get ready."
He raised a single finger.
Each mirror aligned in fractal formation—angles folding into angles. The air itself began to hum.
"Lux Reflectorum: Prisma Barrage!"
A thousand lances of pure light refracted through the mirrors, striking from every conceivable direction. The Frost Crawler recoiled, scales glowing molten white from the barrage. It shrieked, writhing under the searing bombardment.
Celia took her cue. Her red eyes glowed faintly—like the burning fire.
Chains shot from her hair, glinting darkly as they wrapped around a broken tree, flinging her high into the air. Mid-spin, her hands ignited in cursed sigils.
"Vincta Spinarum Inferna!"
Thorned vines burst from her palms, glowing black with malice, lashing the air like serpents. Every strike they made hissed, and every place they touched began to rot—even the ice itself blackened.
Her body spun, upside-down, chains whipping her faster as her vines lashed like a storm of death. The Frost Crawler's back turned dark and cracked, the frost beneath it melting into a steaming pit of decay.
And then—her voice deepened, whispering something old, vile, hungry.
"Devorare Animae."
A pulse of cursed energy exploded outward—an invisible wave that ate away at the very air, stripping warmth, sound, and life from its path. The Frost Crawler screamed, its movements slowing, drained by the curse.
But—
"—Wait!" Caelum shouted.
Before anyone could react, the crawler's head turned. It inhaled sharply, its throat glowing blue.
I knew that glow.
"Brace—!"
Too late.
A shockwave of freezing mist exploded outward. Everything it touched turned to solid crystal.
Caelum was caught midair. His wings froze instantly—shattering like glass as his body crashed to the ground.
"Caelum!" I cried.
Lucas's eyes widened, and without hesitation, he snapped his fingers.
The mirrors reformed instantly, shifting to a crimson hue. "Reflect Burn!"
Flames burst through the frozen air, converging on Caelum's body, melting the frost encasing him. Steam hissed. He gasped weakly, alive—but barely.
Lucas crouched beside him, pulling a small vial from his coat and forcing it to his lips. "Don't die on me, bird boy."
The healing potion shimmered gold, his wounds sealing instantly.
Celia landed beside them, chains retracting into her hair as she turned to face the still-roaring crawler.
The ground cracked beneath it, frost spreading in spiderweb veins. Its strength… hadn't even halved.
I steadied myself, summoning my mana again, wings unfurling as emerald radiance surrounded me.
The Frost Crawler was wounded—but far from defeated.
It had only begun to take us seriously.
Then suddenly I noticed Kaiser near its frozen breath — a darker shade of white upon the snow, almost blending into it. The air there shimmered with unnatural stillness, like time had stopped breathing.
He knelt, calm as ever, dropping a single leaf upon the frost. The leaf drifted down, touched the icy layer—and in less than a heartbeat, it froze solid and shattered into silver dust.
Kaiser muttered under his breath, voice low, almost fascinated.
"Ahh… an Enzyme, huh? So that's the logic behind it."
"Enzyme? What even—" I started, confused.
"Kaiser! Get back here or you'll get hurt!" Aliana shouted, voice cracking under the cold.
Eryndor scoffed, eyes narrowing. "Losing him won't make a difference. Focus, Aliana—here it comes!"
The air howled. A rush of wind slammed forward, thick as needles, the frostcrawler exhaling a storm that could strip bark from trees.
Both Aliana and Eryndor raised their hands, voices overlapping—
"Aegis Frigora! Murus Ventus!"
Light and wind spiraled together, forming a crystalline barrier that shimmered against the blizzard's wrath. The impact rattled my bones, yet the barrier held—cracking, trembling—but not falling.
"Good work, you two," I said sharply, eyes locked on the beast. "Now hold that line."
The frostcrawler's roar made the air bleed frost. Its body pulsed with ancient power, eyes burning like dying suns. I tightened my grip on my staff.This was it.
"Luke, now!"
He responded instantly. The ground under his feet pulsed green, glowing with runes shaped like vines and spirals. His staff slammed into the earth—
"Verdantus Terrae, Pulse of the Wild!"
The soil convulsed. Towering roots and jagged boulders surged upward, coiling around the frostcrawler's limbs, anchoring it to the frozen ground. Nature itself moved like a living beast under Luke's command.
"Caelum, reinforce it!" I barked.
Caelum's hands glowed silver-blue. He whispered his incantation through clenched teeth,
"Aether Reverb, bind the resonance!"
Chains of light spiraled around the creature's neck and wings, shimmering like music in solid form. The air thrummed as his magic synchronized with Luke's, amplifying the bind.
Velith followed, his magic less showy but just as precise. Her arrows—formed from condensed sound—pierced through the cracks in the ice shell, each shot vibrating through the frostcrawler's core, destabilizing its structure.
Then—Celia moved.
Her hair fluttered, her eyes glowed red, and from her back, black chains erupted like serpents.
"Vincula Mortem, Obstringe."
The chains coiled, slicing through the blizzard like whips, wrapping around the creature's jaw and wings. She leapt into the air, spinning upside-down as cursed thorns burst from her palms—draining the life from the frostcrawler's wounds.
Her laughter was sharp and chilling as the chains pulled tight. "Squish squish."
Then she chanted something darker, something that made even the fairies shiver—
"Maledictus Decadentia… Cor Meum Devora."
The ground under her pulsed black. From the frostcrawler's skin, frost melted into steam—then into rot. The beast screamed, the sound tearing through my skull.
Mirrors swarmed above him, light bending in a perfect lattice.
"Photon Vector… converge."
Dozens of light daggers formed at once, bouncing between the mirrors, amplifying until they became beams of pure, burning energy. They hit the frostcrawler's chest—each one a small sun.
The air cracked. The creature wailed.
Celia's chains surged again, wrapping tighter—and at that moment, the illusive fairies joined in.
They scattered illusions of fake attackers through the fog—phantoms darting and leaping in every direction. The frostcrawler snapped its jaw and fired frost beams into nothing, disoriented by shadows.
"Now!" I shouted.
Luke raised his staff again. The vines twisted, thickening, then shot upward—A giant spike of crystallized earth tore through the ground, impaling the frostcrawler through the abdomen. The creature screeched, its entire form convulsing under the force.
Celia's chains yanked it upward, the monster thrashing in the air—and Lucas finished the sequence, his mirrors focusing one last, perfect reflection.
"Refractio Ultima."
A single ray of light shot forward—thin, soundless—piercing through the creature's skull like divine judgment.
The frostcrawler fell.
The ground shuddered as it hit, a storm of frost and blood erupting around its corpse. The illusive fairies' light dimmed, flickering out.
We all stood there, breathless. Steam and frost mingled in the air.
Then, silence—only broken by the faint sound of cracking ice, as the frostcrawler's body began to crystallize and fade.
I gripped my staff tighter, watching the last fragments vanish into snow."That was… too easy," I whispered.
Something deep beneath the frost moved.
A crack—not loud, not deep—but hollow, like ice breaking under the weight of something alive.
The frostcrawler twitched. Its crystal flesh shimmered faintly—like a dying ember flickering back to life.Then, its wounds began to close. Flesh and frost reformed, veins of blue crawling through white marble skin.
I muttered under my breath, voice trembling—
"Impossible…"
Everyone froze.Lucas's mirrors faded midair. Luke's staff dimmed. Celia's chains loosened.
No one breathed.
Velith was the first to move. She rushed forward, wings flickering with pale light, shouting,
"I'll end it—now! Finish it while I hold—"
And then—A blur. A flash of blue from the beast's mouth.
Thud.
An ice spear shot through her midair—clean, merciless, and cold. The impact spun her body in the air before gravity claimed her. She fell limp, her blood scattering into the snow like crimson petals.
"Velith!" Luke screamed, his voice breaking as Caelum caught her before she hit the ground.
Her eyes fluttered, faintly glowing. Blood seeped from her lips, staining Caelum's gloves as he whispered her name over and over, as if saying it could keep her here.
Her wings... they barely flickered. The light that had once painted the sky above us was now fading into nothing.
Luke roared, "You'll pay for this!" and bolted forward.
"No!" I shouted, feeling the shift—something wrong, something primal. "Don't go—!"
The frostcrawler screamed. The sound split the clouds. The air fractured.And from the heavens—snow began to fall again, heavier, denser, darker.
Then I saw it.It opened its mouth wide—and exhaled not frost, but a white signal fire.
It wasn't flame—it was liquid cold. A glowing, mist-like substance that spread across the sky, infecting the very air.
The temperature plummeted. The wind burned our lungs like knives.
Eryndor moved to step forward, but froze midstride.He looked down—his legs encased in glassy ice.
"It's… moisture," he hissed. "It's freezing the air itself—tiny particles—trapping us—"
I looked down. Frost spread across my legs too, biting deep.Even the fairies' wings slowed.
Celia, up close to the monster, gasped. Her legs had turned pale white—completely frozen from the knees down. Fear flickered in her crimson eyes for the first time.
Then the frostcrawler leapt.It soared above her, a blur of white and cold fury, heading straight toward us.
Behind me, I heard faint, stuttering voices—
"M-mother…"
I turned. The illusive fairies—my beautiful illusions—they were trembling, their small forms encased in frost mid-flight. Their delicate wings shattered like glass as they froze completely, suspended in the air like ornaments of death.
My throat closed."No… no, please…"
Lucas screamed from the distance,
"It's coming for you! WATCH OUT!"
The frostcrawler hit the barrier—shattered it.
How? That shouldn't be possible. It shouldn't understand magic—But it wasn't just a beast anymore. It had learned.
Its roar became a storm.The blizzard intensified, the sky cracking with white lightning.
"Mother!" My fairies screamed from all around me—the ones still alive. Their wings struggled, their voices cracked in fear.
I turned, trying to raise another shield—but my magic fizzled in the cold. The atmosphere itself was against us. The air felt heavy, suffocating, like my lungs were freezing from the inside out.
Then—the frostcrawler opened its mouth again.
I saw the light before I felt it.A thousand shards of ice, all aimed at me.
Time slowed.I could hear Luke shouting my name, Caelum still clutching Velith, Celia trying to break free from the ice trapping her legs, Lucas talking to himself in a panic—
But I couldn't move.Not fast enough.
For one fleeting second, I thought of them—my fairies, my family, my students, my people.
I wanted to protect them.That was all I ever wanted.
And then—the ice spears flew.
They tore through the air like silent judgment, gleaming with death's beauty.
I didn't even scream.The world simply… dimmed.
The world shifted in a heartbeat.
One moment, the blizzard screamed in my ears, a thousand shards of ice aimed like spears, and the next… warmth. Soft, almost too soft. Almost unreal.
I blinked. The white storm that had devoured everything was gone. The frostcrawler's roar faded into a distant echo, replaced by a calm silence that smelled of pine and sunlight—impossible here, in this frozen hell.
I tried to move. My body felt light… too light.
And then I saw her.
Aliana. Her wings, though battered, shimmered faintly, holding me like I was the only thing that mattered in the world. Blood trickled from her lips, staining her emerald armor, but her eyes… her eyes burned with an intensity I couldn't name.
She had shielded me.
Me.
"Mother… I'm here," she whispered, voice trembling but steady, her body shaking from the impact, yet she held me.
Luke's scream still rang in the distance—"Aliana!! NOO!!"—and the sound twisted inside me like a blade. His fear, his rage, the desperate hope that she would survive… it was all there, raw and jagged.
But then, darkness.
A blackness that swallowed everything—the wind, the frost, the cries, even the warmth—and I fell.
I didn't know how long I was suspended there, drifting between fear and pain.
And then… a presence. Something solid, safe, embracing me, pulling me away from the cold.
The frost no longer burned my skin. My lungs… could breathe. My chest… no longer ached.
The cold suddenly was gone.
"Why…" I whispered, voice shaking. "Why is it so warm here?"
Someone held me close....