The memory shattered just as fast as it came. My body shook violently. My skin cracked, tiny fractures forming along my arms and chest. Frost filled the cracks like liquid crystal, sealing them again with a hiss. My bones felt like stone wrapped in cold steel. Every nerve grew sharper, more responsive. The green flame tried to break me, but the flower answered each assault with a burst of frost that pushed back.
Beelzebub drifted closer, wrapped in his own cocoon of cold fire. His small body glowed faintly green, and the change inside him felt almost identical to mine. I could sense how much frost he was channeling. It was overwhelming, enough to make even me uneasy. Was he growing stronger than me? How much power could a tiny hamster even endure before something snapped?
I prayed he would survive this, and maybe even grow from it. The flame did not feel like it wanted to kill us. It only wanted to reshape us through pain, forcing strength into every corner of our beings.
