The cold intensified, and the mist around them began to freeze mid-air with crystalline motes that drifted slowly downward.
Astrid attacked again.
This time, she did not aim for the core.
She aimed for joints.
The golem copied her.
Blades of frost flashed, and its limbs deflected.
Ice shattered and reformed instantly.
The platform was now layered in fractured ice, with each crack glowing faintly blue before sealing itself again.
Neither combatant spoke.
Neither showed strain.
And the score continued to climb.
Astrid exhaled slowly
Then she stopped trying to end it quickly.
She began to control the space between them.
Ice spread outward in widening circles, and the air thickened.
Her movement became heavier.
The golem followed.
But that was the problem, and Astrid changed nothing.
She simply continued.
But the Cold deepened.
And her breath crystallized.
The platform groaned faintly under the accumulating frost, and the golem's movements remained flawless.
