The air was thick with frost, the cold biting deep into their skin, seeping into their bones. Each breath came out in ragged puffs of mist, the bitter chill gnawing at their lungs. The world around them had fallen deathly still, save for the slow, deliberate steps of the woman before them.
Aunt Sora stood at the heart of the frozen wasteland she had created. The once-raging beasts—those savage creatures that had filled the forest with snarls and howls—were now nothing more than ice-carved statues, their twisted forms trapped mid-lunge. A Kraggor's jagged mandibles were locked open in a silent scream, its eyes wide with terror beneath the frozen glaze. A hellhound remained mid-sprint, its muscles tensed, its claws just inches from the ground—suspended in its final, futile charge. The frost had devoured them all, leaving nothing but eerie, lifeless sculptures where ferocity had once thrived.
A slow, suffocating pressure settled over the battlefield. Kibo's grip tightened around his katana, his fingers slick with sweat and fear. His heartbeat pounded against his ribs, every instinct screaming at him to move—to run—but his body refused to obey.
Syl fought against the ice gripping her ankles, her twin blades hacking with increasing desperation. Each strike sent shards scattering into the air, but the frost reformed just as fast, creeping back up her boots like living chains. Her breath hitched. She was stuck.
To his right, Lily moved with chilling precision. She worked the edge of her dagger into the frozen binds around her legs, twisting just enough to crack them apart without wasting strength. No frustration, no panic—just quiet, relentless determination.
Aunt Sora's gaze swept over them, unreadable, the depths of her irises like glacial waters—still, yet concealing something unfathomable beneath the surface.
Then, she spoke.
"I see you three have improved," she murmured, her voice calm, almost soothing. But the air around them grew heavier with every word, like unseen hands pressing against their throats. "Yet this is not enough… You are still nothing before me."
A sharp chill licked down Kibo's spine. His muscles tensed, his instincts sharpening.
The frost at Sora's feet deepened, the ground beneath her cracking as a pulse of frozen mana rolled outward. It slithered across the battlefield, curling around their limbs like unseen tendrils, weighing them down. The frozen beasts groaned under the pressure, their statuesque forms beginning to crack apart—fracturing, splintering.
Then, with a sound like breaking glass, they shattered.
Shards of ice and frozen flesh rained down, scattering across the battlefield like brittle remains of a failed hunt. Where once there had been creatures of raw, untamed power, now there was nothing but dust and frost.
Kibo's breath caught.
The message was clear.
Aunt Sora did not freeze her prey to capture them.
She froze them to erase them.
And now, her gaze fell upon them once more.
"Come," she whispered. "Show me if you are worthy to exist beyond me."
Kibo exhaled sharply. A flicker of raw instinct screamed at him to move.
"Quit gawking, brat! Fight!" Ignis's voice snapped like a whip in his mind.
Kibo lunged forward, katana flashing toward Sora's chest.
With a flick of her wrist, a jagged wall of ice erupted between them, the impact sending a sharp crack through the air. His blade slammed against it, the force rattling his arms like he'd struck solid steel. He gritted his teeth, shifting into a downward slash, aiming to carve through—
A frigid blast struck him like a battering ram.
The wind howled as Kibo was thrown backward, his body hitting the ground with a brutal skid. Frost clawed at his skin, ice biting through his clothes. Blood dripped from his split lip, staining the frozen dirt beneath him. But even as pain shot through his ribs, he pushed himself up, katana still gripped tight.
He didn't have time to think. He had to move.
To his left, Syl struggled against the ice wrapped around her ankles, her dual blades hacking with frantic determination. Faint green light flickered at the edges of her weapons, an attempt to summon vines—but the frost snuffed them out like candle flames, killing her mana before it could take shape.
"Damn it—!" She slammed her blade down harder, frustration sharpening her voice. Her head snapped toward Kibo, watching him get back up, bleeding and still fighting. "Come on, come on—damn it, I need to help him!" Her strikes became wilder, more desperate. She knew—if she didn't get free now, Kibo would be fighting Sora alone.
Lily, her expression calm despite the chaos, had nearly freed herself. Her dagger dug under the ice, twisting with sharp, precise movements until a crack splintered through. The moment she broke free, she turned to Syl, dropping to her knees. Without hesitation, she started carving at the frozen bonds trapping Syl's legs.
"Don't worry," Lily said, her voice soft yet steady. "I'll help you." She pressed her small hands against the ice, chipping away bit by bit. Her breath came in quiet puffs of mist, her fingers red from the cold, but she didn't waver.
Syl clenched her jaw, looking down at her. "Lily—"
"I know," Lily said simply, not stopping. "We need to hurry."
Another crack split through the ice. Then another. Finally, with one last twist of Lily's dagger, the frost shattered.
Syl wrenched herself free, stumbling slightly before gripping her blades tight. She and Lily turned as one, weapons raised. Their breath was uneven, their bodies aching from the cold, but neither hesitated.
They weren't out yet.
Kibo charged again, his katana weaving through the air—high slashes, low sweeps, a feint before a thrust aimed at Sora's throat. She met each attack with effortless precision, conjuring ice to parry his strikes. A jagged shard slashed across his arm, blood welling up. He snarled and pressed on.
He ducked beneath an ice spear, rolling forward to slash at her legs, but she leapt back, a wave of frost exploding from her fingertips. The cold slammed into his chest, hurling him off his feet. He crashed through a tree, bark splintering on impact.
"Brat—what in the damn hell are you even doing?!" Ignis's voice snarled in his mind, razor-sharp with disgust. "Your pacing is sluggish, your stance is a mess, and your movements—sloppy! Sloppy! I've seen corpses with better footwork!"
Kibo spat blood, chest heaving, hands trembling against the frozen dirt. His katana felt heavier than before. He clenched his jaw. "Then what the hell do you want me to do?!" he roared, voice ragged with desperation and fury. "She's too fast, too strong—what am I supposed to—"
"Accept it."
Kibo froze. His breath hitched, eyes widening as Ignis's voice lowered into something colder, darker—like a whisper seeping into his very bones.
"Stop fighting it. Stop pretending. You feel it, don't you? The bloodlust clawing inside you, screaming to be let loose. But you keep shackling it, keep running from it like a coward. You think you're holding back for their sake?" Ignis's laugh was a guttural, savage thing. "No. You're holding back because you're afraid. Afraid of what you'll become if you let go."
Kibo's grip tightened on his katana, nails digging into the handle. His breaths were uneven, a storm raging in his chest.
Ignis's voice slithered through his thoughts, relentless. "If you want to win—stop hesitating. Stop thinking. Give in. Let the bloodlust guide you, let it devour every shred of doubt. Or stay as you are."
A beat of silence.
"And die."
Kibo wiped blood from his mouth and growled, driving himself forward again. He slashed upward, katana aimed for Sora's shoulder. A wall of ice blocked his strike, and before he could react, her frozen fist smashed into his gut. He coughed blood as his body soared back—slamming through another tree before hitting the ground hard.
Syl and Lily rushed in, their attacks desperate but uncoordinated. Syl's dual blades carved through the air in wild arcs, her footing uneven from exhaustion. Sora raised a curved shield of ice, deflecting the strikes with ease. A razor-thin shard lashed out, cutting Syl's knuckles.
Lily ducked low, her dagger flashing toward Sora's ribs. A flick of the wrist—then crack!
An icy backhand slammed into her face.
She barely had time to react before the force sent her flying. She crashed onto the frozen dirt, a sharp gasp escaping her lips as pain shot through her. A bruise already darkened her jaw, but she didn't stay down. Gritting her teeth, she scrambled to her feet, dagger still clutched tight.
Kibo's breath hitched. His vision narrowed.
A storm of rage surged through his veins. That hit was too hard. Too brutal. The sight of Lily sprawled on the ground, struggling to get up, sent something snapping inside him.
Something dark.
A slow, wicked chuckle echoed in his skull.
"Ahhh… finally." Ignis's voice slithered through his mind, thick with amusement. "That's it. Let it in. Let it fill you."
Kibo's grip tightened around his katana. The air around him felt… sharper. The pounding in his chest wasn't just anger—it was hunger. His lips curled, the edges of a grin threatening to break free.
But—no. Not now.
He swallowed it down, shaking off the creeping madness before it could consume him. His head snapped toward Syl just in time to see an ice spike hurtling for her.
He moved on instinct.
A blur of steel—his katana cleaved through the ice, shattering it mid-air. Jagged shards sliced his cheek, warm blood dripping down his face.
"Stay behind me!" he barked, katana sweeping forward.
But the growl in his voice was lower than before.
And somewhere, deep in his mind, Ignis was still laughing.
The three of them fought together now—a storm of steel and determination. Kibo led the charge, his strikes relentless, carving paths through Sora's defenses. Syl flanked him, her blades a chaotic flurry, and Lily darted between them, striking at any opening.
Their rhythm faltered. Syl's wild swing nearly clipped Kibo, forcing him to twist awkwardly. Lily dodged too late, an ice shard piercing her shoulder. Blood darkened her sleeve, but she gritted her teeth and kept moving.
Sora remained untouchable. A sweep of her hand, and a hailstorm of ice spikes rained down. Kibo deflected two, but a third lodged into his thigh. He gritted his teeth against the pain, shoving Syl aside before another could hit her.
Syl lunged back in, her dual blades spinning, but Sora sidestepped, sending a gust of frost that slammed her against a boulder. A gash split her forehead, blood trickling down her temple.
Lily sprang at Sora's unguarded side, dagger aimed for her ribs. Sora conjured a sheet of ice mid-swing, and Lily's dagger skidded off the surface harmlessly. A sharp blast of wind sent Lily tumbling.
Kibo barely managed to catch her before she hit the ground. His katana blocked an ice spear that would have pierced her head. His arms trembled from exhaustion, blood pooling beneath him as he let her go on the ground.
"We can't win!" Lily gasped. "Kibo, Syl—split up! I'll distract her, you run opposite ways!"
Kibo's jaw tightened. "No. I'm not abandoning you."
"Idiot. Hesitate any longer, and you won't have a 'you' to cling to—just a corpse at your feet," Ignis sneered. "Your 'precious' lover is sharper than you. She sees the obvious—yet here you are, playing hero, dragging all of you into the grave. You want to save them? Then stop acting like a damn fool and listen to her!"
Kibo gritted his teeth, blood pounding in his ears. He hated it—but Ignis was right. Lily and Syl weren't waiting around for him to decide. "Fine. Syl, go!"
Syl hesitated, her fingers clenching around her blades. "Lily—"
Sora lunged. Kibo blocked, katana locking against a frozen blade. "Syl, we need to do it!"
Lily rushed towards Syl grabbing her arm, her voice steady despite the blood on her face. "I'll be fine. Move!"
Syl cursed under her breath but nodded.
Then they ran.
Lily darted forward, dagger flashing as she smirked. "Scared to look my way, Aunt Sora?"
Kibo and Syl bolted—Kibo crashing through underbrush, Syl vaulting over fallen logs.
Sora's lips curled ever so slightly.
She raised both hands.
A deafening boom shook the air.
A vortex of ice mana detonated from Sora's stance, a shockwave ripping through the battlefield like a living storm. The very air fractured under the force.
Kibo barely had time to react.
Then—impact.
The blast slammed into him like a warhammer, hurling him like a ragdoll. His body smashed through trees, the bark exploding into shards as he tumbled violently into the darkness beyond.
Syl's feet left the ground.
The force launched her backward, her body spinning wildly before she slammed against the rocky terrain. She gasped, pain bursting through her ribs, but the momentum didn't stop—she was sliding, skidding down the shattered battlefield—until her back hit something.
The ground beneath her cracked.
Her breath hitched. Her fingers dug into the dirt—no use. The edge collapsed.
She reached, desperate—fingertips scraping against loose stone—before gravity claimed her.
"KIBO—!!"
Her scream was ripped away as she plunged into the abyss.
Lily staggered, heart pounding.
One second—they were fighting. The next—gone.
Her dagger trembled in her grip.
Everywhere was silent.
She was alone.
Sora stepped forward.
Ice slithered across the ground, creeping toward Lily's feet.
Lily didn't move.
Her dagger wavered in her grip, her chest rising and falling in ragged breaths. Every muscle in her body screamed, her vision blurred at the edges, but she stood.
The battle was over.
And yet, Lily stood.
Sora exhaled softly.
Not out of frustration. Not pity. Something else—something quiet. She knelt before the girl, her presence impossibly calm against the chaos that had just unfolded.
A single hand reached out.
Lily barely flinched as cool fingers brushed against her cheek, wiping away the smear of blood. Sora's touch lingered, just for a moment—silent, steady. A presence that grounded instead of crushed.
"Shh." The sound was barely more than a breath, yet it cut through the heavy silence like a whisper through frost.
Lily's grip on her dagger slackened.
"You did well Lily." Sora's voice was lower now, quieter, like speaking any louder might shatter something delicate. "Even when your body fails you, you refuse to kneel."
The ice melted.
Lily's legs wobbled. The moment the cold receded, so did her last shred of strength. Her knees buckled. Her breath hitched as the world tilted.
Sora caught her before she could hit the ground.
She barely even had to try.
Lily's head lolled against her shoulder, breath shuddering, but her fingers twitched weakly—still trying to fight, still trying to move.
Sora sighed, shifting her grip.
"Enough," she murmured. "You did well. Now... let's fix you up."