The frozen forest remained silent.
Stellar stood opposite her reflection, both surrounded by an endless field of ice. Frost covered the ground beneath their feet, and the branches of the nearby trees had become pale beneath layers of frozen air.
Neither moved for a while then Stellar raised her hand. The temperature around her dropped sharply.
Multiple ice spears formed above her head, each one perfectly shaped and shining beneath the dim light filtering through the forest. Her reflection responded immediately. The same number of spears appeared above its head Stellar narrowed her eyes. For a brief moment, neither side moved.
Then both launched their attacks. The spears shot forward. They collided in the middle of the battlefield. A massive cloud of ice dust exploded outward.
Stellar immediately disappeared into it. Her reflection searched through the cloud, but before it could react, frost suddenly wrapped around its feet. Stellar appeared directly in front of it. She drove her right foot into its face.
The impact sent the reflection backward. Stellar followed immediately, striking its right ribs with another kick. Ice spread across the exact points where her attacks landed before the reflection could recover, Stellar spun.
Her left leg came around with tremendous force. The kick struck the side of the reflection's head and sent it crashing into the frozen ground. The impact shattered the ice beneath it. For a moment, Stellar remained standing above it.
Then the reflection's body collapsed. Not into flesh or the ice. Into black liquid. The strange substance spread across the ground before gathering itself together.
A moment later, it transformed back into Stellar's reflection. Stellar's expression became serious.
"I need a way to stop its regeneration… or affect its very being."
The reflection disappeared.
"Ice Step."
It appeared directly in front of Stellar. Its palm was already moving.
"Ice Palm."
Stellar raised both hands. The attack came fast. She blocked some of the strikes, redirected others, and avoided the rest by moving just outside their range.
Neither fighter gave the other time to breathe. The reflection suddenly jumped backward. Stellar's eyes widened. An enormous wall of ice appeared behind her. She was trapped. The reflection immediately rushed forward.
Its foot struck Stellar and sent her through the frozen wall. She flew across the battlefield, crashing through several trees before finally hitting the ground. Stellar remained there for a moment. Her breathing was heavy.
She slowly tried to push herself up.
"I don't even know how long I've been in Elemental Embodiment." Her body felt incredibly heavy. The reflection appeared above her then it fell. Its foot struck Stellar and pinned her against the ground.
Stellar coughed, a small trace of blood escaping her mouth, before her strength finally gave out. Her consciousness faded. The reflection stood over her. An ice spear formed in its hand. It raised the weapon.
Far away from the Lost Forest, inside a golden chamber, David sat before the enormous golden orb that displayed the remaining battles.
His eyes remained fixed on Stellar. For the first time in a while, his relaxed expression changed. He leaned forward slightly.
"Do I have to intervene, Stellar?" David asked quietly. "Is this too much for you?"
The image of Stellar remained motionless. David's eyes narrowed.
"The reflection represents everything you've accomplished."
He rested his elbows against his knees.
"So facing this challenge means you'll have to surpass everything you've accomplished before."
Back in the Lost Forest, the reflection brought the spear down.
The weapon descended toward Stellar but just before it reached her face It stopped. The reflection's eyes widened. Something had changed. The reflection immediately jumped backward.
A wave of ice spikes erupted from the ground. One of them struck the spear. Frost traveled through the weapon and reached the reflection's right hand. The hand instantly froze. The reflection looked down.
Then, without hesitation, it broke the frozen arm away but something was wrong the arm wasn't regenerating. Instead, the remaining ice around the wound began burning with an intense cold. The reflection stared at it. For the first time, it seemed confused. Then it looked toward the ground.
Stellar was gone. The reflection suddenly turned in midair. Stellar stood behind it. She was barely conscious. Her breathing was faint. Yet her eyes were open. The reflection stared at her. Then something began happening to its body. Ice spears started forming from within it.
Not merely within the reflection's appearance of Stellar. They were forming within its original form. Black liquid split around the growing weapons as six ice spears appeared simultaneously throughout its body.
The reflection tried to move. Stellar raised her right hand. Her index finger pointed downward. Her voice was quiet but the authority behind it filled the entire forest.
"Authority of the Frozen Queen—Frost Avatar."
The sky changed. A gigantic shape appeared above the Lost Forest.
An enormous ice finger descended from the heavens. The reflection looked upward. It had no time to react the gigantic finger struck. BOOM! The ground collapsed. A tremendous sinkhole formed beneath the impact, sending a shockwave through the forest. Trees across the surrounding area froze instantly.
The battlefield disappeared beneath an enormous mass of ice. For several seconds, nothing moved. Then Stellar's body slowly began falling from the sky. She had exhausted everything she had left. Her eyes closed.
Her body descended toward the frozen ground. Before she could reach it, a figure appeared beside her. Sera caught Stellar in her arms. She looked down at the unconscious girl for a moment.
A small smile appeared on her face.
"You've worked hard, Stellar."
Sera glanced toward the massive frozen crater.
"Your Authority is impressive."
She carried Stellar away from the battlefield and gently laid her down in another section of the Lost Forest, where the surrounding trees remained untouched.
Back inside the golden chamber, David watched the scene through the golden orb. For several seconds, he remained silent. Then he smiled. He leaned back in his seat.
"Good."
His eyes moved toward the other battles still taking place throughout the forest.
"This group of gods is always full of surprises."
David folded his arms behind his head.
"I shouldn't be worrying about them… right?"
His smile remained but his eyes returned to the golden orb. Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Lost Forest, Darius stood before his reflection. His eyes faintly glowed purple.
The surrounding forest had already suffered from hours of combat. Darius had been fighting his reflection for what felt like an eternity. Strike after strike had been exchanged. Every strategy he attempted was answered.
Every ability he used was copied. Yet there was one thing that had remained consistent throughout the entire battle. Darius stared at the reflection. His expression became thoughtful.
"One thing is obvious…."
He looked down then at the reflection. The figure standing before him had no shadow. Darius's purple eyes narrowed.
"But that doesn't automatically mean it's resistant to darkness."
The reflection shifted its stance. Darius smiled faintly.
"Even if its true form is that black liquid… darkness is still darkness, shadow is still shadow."
His fingers tightened around his weapon and for the first time in hours, Darius stopped trying to overpower his reflection. He started thinking about what it actually meant to control darkness or to be more specific…the shadows