The dark corridor leading into the fortress was cold enough to make the guardians' breath freeze in the air. Ice crystals hung from the ceiling like sharp teeth, and the walls were covered in the same blue runes that glowed with cold magic. The air was still and silent, save for the sound of their footsteps on the frozen ground.
As they walked deeper into the fortress, the runes on the walls glowed brighter. The cold grew more intense, and even Leo's Fire sphere began to flicker. Mai's Light and Ashreign's Darkness merged into a protective bubble around the group, keeping the worst of the chill at bay.
"This way," Aeris said, floating ahead of the others. "I can feel the tyrant's power coming from the center of the fortress. That is where its heart is."
They turned down a narrow corridor that opened into a massive chamber. It was the heart of the fortress a vast, circular room with a ceiling that rose high into darkness. In the center of the room stood a platform made of black stone, and on the platform sat a figure wrapped in ice and shadow.
The Frost Tyrant.
It was not a giant like its guardian. It was tall and thin, with skin as white as snow and hair like frozen mist. Its eyes were deep blue, like ice caves, and they glowed with ancient anger. It wore a crown made of solid ice, and its hands were wrapped in shadow that moved like living things. It sat on a throne of ice, and behind it stood a wall of frozen crystals that glowed with cold blue light.
"Eight guardians," the Frost Tyrant said, its voice like wind blowing through ice. "You have come far to die. The first eight trapped me here. The last eight died trying to keep me here. Now you will join them."
"We are not here to die," Mai said, stepping forward with Sol's spear raised. "We are here to make sure you never hurt anyone again."
The Frost Tyrant laughed a sound like ice cracking. "You think your little powers can stop me? I have watched the world change for thousands of years. I have seen guardians rise and fall. You are no different."
It stood up from its throne, and the shadow from its hands spread across the floor. The ice crystals behind it began to glow brighter, and cold energy filled the room. "I will show you the power of true darkness. The power of ice that never melts. The power that will cover your world in peace."
"Peace?" Kidlatina said, her Lightning sparking in her hands. "Freezing everything is not peace. It is death."
The Frost Tyrant raised its hands, and a wave of cold energy shot toward the guardians. Terrax stepped forward, his Earth power glowing. He slammed his hands into the ground, and a wall of stone rose up to block the wave. The cold hit the wall, turning it to ice in seconds.
"Attack!" Mai yelled.
The guardians charged forward. Leo's Fire shot toward the tyrant, but the cold energy around it froze the flames before they could hit. Kidlatina's Lightning struck the ice crystals behind the throne, but they absorbed the energy and glowed brighter. Lira's Water flowed toward the tyrant, but it turned to ice in midair and shot back at her. Elara's vines grew from the ground, but the shadow from the tyrant's hands wrapped around them and pulled them apart.
The Frost Tyrant waved its hand, and a storm of ice shards shot toward the group. Aeris summoned a wind to push them away, but some still made it through, cutting into their skin. Terrax pulled boulders from the ground and threw them at the tyrant, but the ice crystals behind it blocked them.
"This is not working," Ashreign said, his Darkness power glowing. "We need to work together. All eight of us."
Mai nodded, and she held out her hand. "Join me. Merge our powers into one. Just like the first guardians did."
One by one, the guardians took each other's hands. Leo took Kidlatina's hand. Lira took Elara's hand. Terrax took Aeris's hand. Ashreign took Mai's hand. Their powers began to flow together Fire and Lightning, Water and Wood, Earth and Air, Light and Darkness. A brilliant light filled the room, eight colors swirling together like a rainbow.
The Frost Tyrant stepped back, its eyes wide with surprise. "No. You cannot do that. Only the first guardians could merge their powers so completely."
"We are the new guardians," Mai said, her voice strong with the power of all eight elements. "And we are stronger than you know."
The eight colored light shot toward the Frost Tyrant. It hit the ice crystals behind the throne, shattering them into millions of pieces. The cold energy in the room began to fade, and the shadow from the tyrant's hands grew weaker.
The Frost Tyrant roared in anger, and it raised its hands to strike. But Ashreign and Mai stepped forward together, their Light and Darkness merging into the center of the eight-colored light. The light grew brighter, and it shot toward the tyrant's chest right where its heart was.
The light hit the tyrant, and it let out a scream that echoed across the fortress. Its ice crown shattered, and its skin began to melt. The shadow from its hands faded away, and the cold energy in the room disappeared completely.
With a final, quiet cry, the Frost Tyrant collapsed to the ground. It dissolved into water and snow that seeped into the black stone platform, leaving nothing behind but its ice crown.
The room grew warm, and the blue runes on the walls began to fade. The ice on the ceiling and walls melted, turning into water that dripped onto the ground. The fortress began to shake, and pieces of ice and stone fell from the ceiling.
"We need to get out of here," Terrax said, his Earth power feeling the vibrations. "The fortress is going to collapse now that the tyrant is gone."
The group ran back through the corridors, the fortress shaking more and more with every step. They reached the entrance just as the walls began to crumble. They ran out into the valley, and behind them, the massive fortress collapsed into a pile of ice and stone that melted away into the ground.
As the last piece of the fortress fell, the sun broke through the dark storm clouds above. Its light warmed the valley, and the ice on the ground began to melt. Green grass pushed through the snow, and small flowers began to grow. The Frostveil Valley was no longer frozen. It was alive again.
The eight guardians stood in the middle of the valley, breathless but smiling. They had done it. They had defeated the Frost Tyrant and restored peace to the Frostpeaks.
"We did it," Lira said, tears of joy in her eyes. "We really did it."
Mai looked at Ashreign, her hand still in his. "We did it together. All eight of us. Just like the first guardians. Just like Sol and Nyx."
Ashreign squeezed her hand, his eyes soft with love. "Our legacy has just begun. And we will face whatever comes next together."
As they stood there, the sun's light shone down on them, and they could feel the presence of all the guardians who had come before. The first eight who trapped the tyrant. Sol and Nyx who died for the balance. All of them who had fought to protect the world.
Their legacy was safe. The balance was strong. And the eight new guardians were ready for whatever the future held.