Chapter 21: We Bleed in Ice and Fire
The wind screamed across the white wasteland.
Elira stood at the center of it, drenched in snow and shivering, yet unyielding. Her stasis suit clung to her like second skin, wires still trailing from her back. She looked up, eyes glowing dimly, watching the black serpent helicopter hover like a vulture.
Beside her, Ares raised his rifle.
Noah checked their last explosive.
Soren's voice crackled in their earpieces from the ridge:
> "You've got thirty seconds before they drop."
And Nira stood silently, her silver eyes reflecting the morning light… and the blood that was about to be spilled.
---
The Serpent Descends
The transport opened.
Twelve soldiers dropped from the sky — not human anymore.
They moved with machine precision. Their limbs reinforced with carbon-steel implants. Their faces masked with bone-white visors. Each bore the mark of Vira: a serpent coiled around an eye.
"Don't fire until I say," Ares warned.
Elira looked to Nira. "Are they like you?"
"They're worse," Nira said flatly. "They were bred to follow. To obey. No heart. Just orders."
A voice echoed from the chopper's comms:
> "Return the Prototype. Or die here."
Ares stepped forward, flipping off the camera. "We choose door three."
---
The Battle Begins
A thunderous sound split the sky.
Bullets rained down.
The team scattered — Noah rolling behind a snowbank, Ares diving to Elira's side. Nira stood still, arms out, as bullets slowed… then stopped in the air.
Mid-air. Frozen.
"I can hold them," she hissed through clenched teeth. "But not forever."
"Then let's end this fast!" Elira shouted.
She launched herself into the chaos.
Despite the weakness in her limbs, her instincts blazed. She dodged a soldier's strike and spun, delivering a brutal elbow that shattered his visor. Sparks burst from his skull.
Another lunged at Ares — only to be met with a faceful of shotgun fire.
Boom.
Red sprayed the snow.
---
Noah's Last Line
On the ridge, Noah triggered the remote mine.
A soldier flying on a jetpack exploded midair — flaming debris scattering over the battlefield.
"I've got two more!" he shouted.
But a shadow dropped behind him.
Too fast.
Too quiet.
Noah turned just in time to see a steel blade flash toward his chest.
And then—
Nira screamed.
The air around her exploded outward.
A wave of frost burst from her body, rushing up the ridge in a silver storm. The attacker froze mid-motion—literally—then shattered.
Noah dropped to his knees, gasping. "I owe you one…"
---
Elira vs. The Commander
Down below, Elira faced off with the squad leader—a masked figure with glowing red eyes and twin energy daggers. Every move he made cut through air like a whisper.
"You're not going to win," Elira growled.
"I don't need to," the commander said. "I just need to buy time."
"For what?" she asked.
"For her."
Elira froze.
Behind him, Vira stepped out of the helicopter. Calm. Dressed in black silk robes, her pale skin untouched by wind.
Her eyes locked with Elira's.
"Hello again… Sister."
---
Vira's Offer
The fighting paused as both sides watched.
Vira walked calmly across the battlefield, hands folded behind her back. Bullets didn't touch her. Flames moved away from her.
"I gave you a chance, Elira," she said softly. "You chose pain."
Elira spat blood. "You stole everything from me."
"No," Vira said. "I built everything from you."
She turned to Nira.
"And you… you're a miracle."
Nira stiffened.
"I can help you unlock your full potential," Vira continued. "That storm you felt? That power? You're still just a flicker. I can make you burn."
Elira stepped between them. "Don't listen to her."
But Nira's face trembled.
"What if she's right?" she whispered.
---
The Choice
The air turned still.
Everyone waited.
Vira held out her hand. "Come with me. Become what you were made to be."
Ares raised his gun. "Don't even think about it."
Nira stared at the ground.
Tears fell.
"I don't want to be a weapon," she said. "I just wanted to be real."
She looked up, silver eyes glowing brighter than ever.
"But if you want a storm…"
She raised both arms.
"I'll give you hell!"
A scream ripped from her throat.
A blast of pure cryo-energy exploded outward in a perfect sphere. Vira was thrown backward. Her soldiers were ripped apart by ice and wind.
Even Elira and Ares had to shield their faces.
When the storm cleared…
Vira was gone.
---
The Aftermath
Bodies littered the field. The Serpent soldiers were gone or dead. The helicopter had vanished into the mountains.
Elira staggered.
Nira collapsed to her knees, her breath shallow. "I… can't hold that again…"
"You won't have to," Elira said, catching her.
Noah limped toward them. "We just became public enemy number one."
Soren's voice buzzed in again. "You've made her run. But she won't stay quiet long."
Ares looked to the mountains, jaw clenched.
"She'll come back stronger."
Elira nodded. "So will we."