The snow kept falling in violent spirals, as if the wind had gone insane. Every gust carried shards of ice that scraped the skin. The frozen spirit advanced toward us — its translucent form flickering between icy vapor and solid frost, as if it were shifting between two states at once.
Rai'kanna spread her wings and stood in front of me, her scales glowing with a reddish hue as she fought against the cold trying to snuff out her natural flame.
"He's aiming at you," she repeated firmly. "Don't move away."
"I'm not planning to run," I answered, feeling the flame inside me tremble under the impact of the cold.
Liriel raised her grimoire. "This spirit… it isn't primitive. It responds to a command. A strong command."
"Elara," Vespera said, shielding her eyes from the wind, "can you shoot it? Or will your arrows turn into popsicles?"
"I can shoot," Elara replied, aiming. "But I can't guarantee they'll hit something solid."
The spirit advanced again.
The creature moved like condensed wind — too fast, too unpredictable. With every sudden shift in direction, it left a trail of frost in the air. It was beautiful… the lethal kind of beautiful.
Lyannis raised her spear and ran alongside her sister.
"Rai'kanna! From the right!"
"No," Rai'kanna replied. "From the left!"
Lyannis hesitated — and that single moment was enough for the spirit to strike.
It appeared behind her in a movement so fast that even I took a moment to process it. The ice blade coming down in a fatal arc.
"Lyannis!" I shouted.
I dashed forward, the flame bursting in my chest, and slashed the air with force. The energy dissipated like steam, but it opened just enough space for Lyannis to roll to the side.
She got up, trembling, but steady.
"Thank you," she said, looking at me with that intense glare that always left me speechless.
Behind us, three gazes burned through the wind: Liriel, Elara, and Vespera.
Rai'kanna exhaled deeply — more annoyed than concerned.
"Lyannis, if you die, my father kills me. Falling back is an order."
"No!" Lyannis replied, gripping her spear. "I'm not letting you face this alone."
"The problem," Vespera muttered, "is that the ones who can die are us…"
The frozen spirit rose into the air, dissolving half its body into icy mist, forming spirals that began circling the field.
"He's creating a vortex," Liriel warned. "We're going to be swallowed!"
"We can't let that happen! Rai'kanna, cut him!"
"Cut what? He doesn't have a fixed form!"
Even so, Rai'kanna leapt, beating her wings powerfully, releasing streaks of blue fire that slashed the sky.
The spirit dodged easily — turning into a thin jet of frozen air before reassuming its humanoid form.
Elara fired three arrows at once.
Vespera launched blades of wind.
Lyannis struck with her spear.
Rai'kanna slashed with flaming claws.
All of them passed through him — as if they were trying to hit mist.
"I'm telling you," Liriel murmured, analyzing quickly, "he alternates between spirit and matter. There's an interval between the forms."
"What?" I asked.
She looked straight at me.
"You can feel that interval. Your flame reacts when he becomes solid."
I swallowed hard.
Because… I had already noticed that.
The flame in my chest burned stronger at certain moments, as if pulsing in response to the spirit's transition between vapor and solid ice.
It was something instinctive. Animalistic. Almost primitive.
"Takumi," Liriel said, "you have to be the first to attack. We need you to set the rhythm."
"I'll set it," I replied. "But you have to follow it."
"We'll follow," Elara said firmly.
"I'll follow anything you want," Lyannis muttered — and immediately received a discreet elbow from Rai'kanna.
Vespera scoffed. "I hate that girl."
"I heard that," Lyannis said.
"Good," Vespera replied.
The frozen spirit roared — a roar that sounded like cracking ice.
The temperature dropped even further.
The mist condensed around him, and the ground cracked beneath our feet.
And then…
…the flame inside me burned fiercely. Like a warning.
"Now!" I shouted.
I leapt forward, cutting the air with my sword wrapped in red light.
The spirit solidified its right arm just moments before the impact — enough for the strike to hit something real.
The blade tore through the solid ice and opened a fissure in its arm.
The spirit screamed — and cracks began spreading across its form.
"It worked!" Liriel said.
Elara already had another arrow drawn.
Rai'kanna dove from above.
Vespera gathered wind.
Lyannis circled from the side.
But the spirit was fast.
It dissolved its wounded arm and appeared behind me.
"No!" Rai'kanna shouted.
The spirit raised an ice blade — larger than before, sharper, colder.
The flame inside me burned.
I spun at the last instant and struck the air with my fist wrapped in red light.
The impact was brutal — an explosion of hot steam and shattered ice.
The spirit was thrown backward, but it didn't dissipate.
"He's weakening," said Liriel. "But he still has enough energy to kill someone."
"Great," muttered Vespera. "Exactly what I wanted to hear…"
Rai'kanna landed beside me.
"Takumi," she said, "we go together now."
Lyannis positioned herself behind me — so close I could feel the heat of her breath on my back.
"I'm going too."
"No," replied Rai'kanna, Elara, Vespera, and Liriel all at once.
Lyannis puffed her cheeks. "You're unbearable!"
The spirit raised its arms.
A cutting wind swept across the field — but this time, something was different.
The cracks in its body began glowing blue.
"He's going to self-destruct," said Liriel. "A freezing explosion!"
"How many meters does it reach?" I asked.
"All of them."
Great. Perfect.
"Plans?" Vespera asked.
"Yes," I answered, taking a deep breath. "We stop the explosion."
"How?" Elara asked.
I raised my hand and pressed the flame inside me.
The sensation was instant — like a living heat spreading through my muscles and mind.
Rai'kanna's eyes widened.
"Takumi! Don't do that. That's dangerous for—"
"I know."
Liriel understood before everyone else.
"He's going to compress the flame," she said, shocked. "And use it as an impact core."
"That could kill him!" Rai'kanna shouted.
Vespera held her breath.
Elara's eyes widened.
Lyannis took a step forward. "Takumi, no!"
But it was already too late.
I charged — with everything I had.
The flame expanded, burning around my arm like a living arm of fire.
When I struck the spirit, I felt the freezing explosion trying to break free — and I pressed the flame around it, compressing and redirecting the force.
The impact shook the ground.
A red and blue flash lit up the field.
And then…
Silence.
When the light faded, I realized I was kneeling on the ground, struggling to breathe. The ice around us had completely melted — and the spirit was gone.
Rai'kanna ran to me.
"Takumi! Talk to me!"
"I… I'm fine," I murmured, trying to catch my breath.
"Lies," said Liriel. "You're exhausted."
"I'm great," I replied — almost fainting.
Lyannis knelt beside me, holding my hand tightly.
"Please… don't ever do that again."
I sighed.
"I didn't plan to. It just… happened."
Vespera crossed her arms. "I knew it. I knew this would happen someday."
"You always know," I whispered.
Elara placed a hand on Lyannis's shoulder.
"He'll be fine. Just calm down."
Rai'kanna closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "The flame reacted… abnormally. That's not normal."
"I noticed," I murmured.
Liriel got up, analyzing the air where the spirit had disappeared.
"That was just a fragment," she said. "Something much bigger is trying to get to us."
Vespera snorted. "Great. Keep talking and I'll get even happier."
Lyannis still held my hand.
Rai'kanna watched this — clearly irritated.
Elara looked away — clearly uncomfortable.
Liriel sighed — clearly tired of everything.
I just lay down on the damp grass, exhausted.
And as the wind blew, bringing back the natural warmth of the territory, I realized one thing:
This frozen spirit…
…was only the first part of the problem.