Three minutes. That's all the luck that Elyonari could give before the Bane retaliates.
Adelasta's Boon, Insight and Perception, gives her a prophetic understanding of people's desires, intentions and weaknesses. And right now, she could feel the Temporary Ascension wearing off. Casting the Overwrite must have exhausted it and three minutes is all they had. Permafrost knew about it as well.
They had three minutes for them to survive as Permafrost attacked them with everything before he became a Divine. Even he knew that he couldn't survive if he lost his Ascension. They were surviving even when he had it.
The air turned razor-sharp as Permafrost surged forward. The temperature plummeted further, shards of frost biting into their skin like needles. All the beast constructs vanished for him to conserve power.
The three women braced themselves as the full force of the Forgotten Rank dragon bore down on them, knowing these three minutes would feel like an eternity.
The first attack came without warning.
Permafrost opened his jaws, unleashing a concentrated beam of ice and frost so cold it froze the air itself, forming crystalline patterns mid-flight. Elyonari barely managed to react, her massive elf form throwing up a barrier of energy. The frost beam slammed into it with a deafening roar, shattering it like brittle glass.
She screamed as fragments of ice lodged into her arms and chest, emerald blood spraying against the ice-covered ground. Luck spared her life, redirecting the brunt of the blast just enough to leave her injured but not dead. She stumbled back, clutching at the shards embedded in her flesh, her breaths coming out in visible puffs.
"Keep moving!" She yelled, her voice strained. "Don't let him pin you down!"
Adelasta darted through the chaos, flames flickering weakly around her. The dragon's massive tail lashed out, smashing into the frost with enough force to create shockwaves. She rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the impact, but not without cost. A piece of ice, dislodged from the tail's destructive path, struck her thigh, tearing through flesh and muscle like paper.
She cried out, collapsing to one knee as blood poured from the wound, staining the snow-like ice beneath her. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to stand, the flames around her intensifying despite the searing pain in her leg.
"You'll have to do better than that!" She spat even as her body trembled.
Peroncerea wasn't as lucky. As she tried to cover Adelasta, shooting precise rounds into Permafrost's towering figure, the dragon whipped its massive claw toward her. She leaped back but the edge of the icy talons caught her arm. The sickening sound of flesh tearing filled the air as her left arm was ripped open from shoulder to elbow, exposing muscle and bone.
She let out a strangled scream, falling to the ground as blood gushed from the wound. Despite the agony, she gripped her pistol with her remaining hand, firing off shots that ricocheted harmlessly off the dragon's icy scales.
"Peroncerea!"
Elyonari shouted, desperation in her voice. She surged forward, ignoring her own injuries and slammed an energy arrow into Permafrost's side. The arrow exploded on impact, forcing the dragon to turn his attention away from the fallen demoness.
"You're not dying here!" Elyonari growled, planting herself between Peroncerea and the dragon.
Permafrost roared, his icy domain responding to his fury. Spikes of ice erupted from the ground, shooting toward the women with terrifying speed. Adelasta twisted her body, narrowly avoiding one that would have impaled her heart. Instead, it grazed her ribs, slicing deep enough to expose bone. She gritted her teeth, refusing to cry out and threw a flaming dagger at the dragon's head.
The weapon struck true, lodging itself in Permafrost's eye. He roared in pain, thrashing violently as the flames burned through the frozen orb. But the victory was short-lived. The dragon retaliated with a sweep of his wings, sending a gale of razor-sharp ice shards in all directions.
Elyonari took the brunt of the attack, her barrier shielding the others. Her luck kicked in again, sparing her vital organs. But the ice shredded her skin, leaving deep, bloody gashes across her torso and legs. She collapsed to one knee, panting heavily, her green blood pooling beneath her.
Adelasta crawled to Peroncerea, who was pale and trembling from blood loss.
"Stay awake!" She commanded, pressing her hand to the demoness's wound to staunch the bleeding. Flames flickered weakly around her fingers, trying to cauterize the torn flesh.
Peroncerea's lips twisted into a weak smile.
"You're… bossier than usual," she murmured, her voice faint.
Adelasta didn't respond, her focus entirely on keeping her companion alive.
Above them, Permafrost prepared another attack. His mouth opened wide, frost and energy coalescing into a swirling sphere of death. This would end them, luck or no luck. Elyonari forced herself to stand, her massive form trembling under the weight of her injuries.
"Not… yet," she muttered, pulling back her bowstring. Her energy wavered, the arrow flickering as she fought against the overwhelming pain.
As the dragon unleashed his attack, Elyonari fired. The energy arrow collided with the frost sphere mid-air, creating a blinding explosion of light and ice that threw all three women backward.
Elyonari hit the ground hard, her head spinning, her body screaming in protest. Adelasta and Peroncerea were sprawled nearby, bloodied and battered but alive.
And as the explosion's echoes faded, they realized they were still breathing. Permafrost staggered, his towering form shrinking as the glow of his Temporary Ascension began to fade.
Three minutes were up.
They had survived but the cost was etched into their bodies and minds, a brutal reminder of the line they had walked between life and death. And now, they had a few seconds to end this before he could come to them. He was uninjured and they were close to collapse.
The ice shattered around them, cascading into nothingness like fragile glass. The desert dunes re-emerged, stretching endlessly beneath a sky that was heavy and dark. Adelasta stood amidst the wreckage of their battlefield, bloodied and battered, the faint embers of her flames still flickering weakly around her. Every breath burned in her chest but her eyes were fixed on Permafrost.
He was back to his humanoid form, his dragon majesty stripped away, but he was uninjured. Meanwhile, Elyonari lay slumped against a crumbled dune. She had spent all her Nature Energy on that last arrow, her body now a shell of its former strength. Her skin was pale, her breaths shallow, the glow in her eyes dimmed.
Peroncerea was worse. Blood pooled beneath her as she leaned heavily against an ice shard, her pistol dangling uselessly from her trembling hand. She had poured everything into covering their blind spots and now her demonic resilience was at its limit. Her body quivered under the weight of her injuries, but her lips curled into a defiant smirk.
"That was... one hell of a fight," she whispered, though her voice barely reached Adelasta.
Adelasta clenched her fists, her flames sputtering as though they, too, were on the brink of extinguishing. Her companions couldn't move or fight. It was her turn now. She was the last one standing and they only had seconds before Permafrost recovered enough to obliterate them all.
"Looks like it's just you and me."
Permafrost turned his cold gaze on her, the faintest hint of frustration flickering across his face.
"You're done," he said. "You've burned out."
Adelasta smiled.
"Not yet."
She summoned her remaining strength, tapping into her pseudo-cores, one from being an Ascender and the one she got from Vastarael after his mother gave him his Godly Core. They flared to life, fiery orbs of molten energy forming in her hands. The heat was unbearable, even to her, but she didn't care. She launched herself forward, a streak of golden-orange light tearing through the air as she closed the distance between them in a heartbeat.
Permafrost barely had time to react before her fist, wreathed in golden orange-hot flames, slammed into his chest. The impact was catastrophic. A blinding light engulfed the battlefield, turning night into day for a split second. The ground beneath them cracked and shattered, dunes exploding outward in a tidal wave of sand.
The shockwave roared through the air, sending Permafrost hurtling upwards like a ragdoll. Adelasta didn't stop. She shot into the sky, looking like a blazing shooting star against the dark, eclipsed heavens. The golden-orange trail she left behind pulsed like the heartbeat of a dying star.
Higher and higher she flew, the wind tearing at her bloodied form, her body screaming in agony with every movement. Permafrost regained control, his figure flickering with icy energy as he pursued her, his expression twisted with rage.
"You can't stop me!" He roared, frost forming in a swirling vortex around him.
Adelasta didn't respond. She didn't look back. Her focus was singular. She gathered the last remnants of her flames, pulling the energy from her pseudo-cores into herself. The heat intensified, her body becoming a living sun amidst the dark sky.
And then she stopped. Hovering in the heavens, she turned to face Permafrost, her flames roaring to life one final time.
"This ends now."
With a final push, she collapsed her flames inward, turning her own body into a catalyst for destruction. The pseudo-cores shattered within her, releasing an unimaginable surge of energy.
The explosion erupted with a force that defied comprehension. It was as if the sun itself had descended upon the battlefield. The sky lit up with a brilliant, searing light, golden and orange flames consuming everything in their path. The sound was deafening. A sonic boom cracked through the heavens and rippled across the desert, flattening dunes and obliterating anything around it.
The shockwaves rolled outward, causing a tidal force of heat and pressure that sent Elyonari and Peroncerea tumbling, shielding their faces against the sheer intensity. The dark sky was no longer dark. It was a blinding, fiery inferno that painted the world in hues of gold and orange.
For a moment, there was nothing but light. And then, silence.
When the light faded, the desert was unrecognizable. The once-endless dunes were scorched and flattened, a barren, charred wasteland stretching as far as the eye could see.
And at the center of it all stood Adelasta, or what remained of her. Her body was a silhouette, flickering with the last remnants of her flames, her figure trembling but upright. Permafrost lay crumpled on the ground, his icy form shattered, his strength finally broken.
He was dead.
Adelasta let out a shuddering breath, her knees buckling as she collapsed to the ground. She had done it. They had survived.
"Vastarael is going to kill me for shattering the Godly Core he gave me..."
She fell onto the charred depression and saw a hologram above her. She could barely see the words but she smiled when she saw them.
[Congratulations! You have killed the Reincarnated Permafrost's Grasp! You have passed the Epoch Cycle!]
[Prepare for Ascension!]
[...]
[...]
[...]
[You have shattered your cores!]
[SYSTEM FAILURE.]
[ASCENSION CANNOT OCCUR DUE TO CORE DESTRUCTION.]
[Calculating...]
[Calculating...]
[...]
[THE UNIVERSAL LIBRARIAN HAS BEEN REQUESTED FOR ASSISTANCE.]
[...]
[...]
[Permission Granted. Omniscia System Rule 4,638 has been broken for Adelasta Vazakiel Viaca.]
[Adelasta experienced Reversal Ascension. She is connected to Vastarael Richinaria by marriage and through the ascension.]
[...]
[Forced Race Change from Half-Omniscient to full blood Aeterium in motion.]
["This is the only way to prevent a paradox in the system. Her destiny and fate does not allow her to die here."]
["This is necessary. I swear... Vazakiel really treasures her great granddaughter. This is bothersome..."]
[...]
[...]
[Accepted.]
[Race Change will happen in a few seconds. Welcome to Divine Rank, Adelasta Viaca.]
____
Those were the last word before Adelasta's eyes closed.