A wall of water shot upward, blocking the paths of the tendrils.
But that wasn't enough to block them, as the water wall evaporated upon contact with the black flame tendrils.
It shot forward towards Alaric with the intent to pull him out of there, but the Spirit wasn't going to allow it.
Its figure disassembled and fell like the water it was.
Another form immediately materialized in front of Alaric, blocking the tendrils that were a few inches from him.
Aiden clicked his tongue in frustration. He couldn't save his son until he dealt with the entity.
He turned his gaze downwards.
The water mass had considerably decreased, steam rising, bubbles popping as it boiled with the intensity of his flames.
He noticed a giant wall of earth at the far end of the room, behind it most, if not all, of those present, though a few were already outside.
The wall served as a blockage to the water.
Those behind had their barriers up as well, as Aiden's flames, which usually differentiated friend from foe, were searing their flesh, even making the earth wall brittle.
The Earth mages present had to reinforce it from time to time.
He wasn't known as the strongest fifth resonance mage for nothing.
"Raika, I need your help..." He turned to Raika.
The latter, behind the wall, looked up at him with tear-filled eyes, her expression one of helplessness, arms opened as if to say, I have nothing.
Her magic still wasn't activating, no matter how much she circulated her mana.
Aiden looked at her with raised eyebrows, unable to comprehend what was going on.
How come Raika couldn't use her magic? But this wasn't the time to ponder that.
He turned to Valentin, the latter levitating above the water mass, flames erupting from his feet to keep himself afloat, his arms folded, a grin on his lips.
Before he could even speak, Valentin spoke, "How can I help you? We are rivals, you know. Save him yourself."
Aiden's eyes widened at his words.
He knew they were at odds, but never to this degree.
"You!" He glared at Valentin. The latter shrugged.
He wasn't obligated to help.
Aiden gritted his teeth in fury, brows furrowed in helplessness.
What the heck was going on?
He wanted to attack, wanted to reprimand the guy who only sought power, but that wouldn't do any good now.
He had to save Alaric.
He turned his gaze away from the scoundrel of a man, his gaze to the rest of the people present, but no one was strong enough to aid him, not even powerful enough to stand by his side without getting burnt by his full power, which no longer differentiated friend from foe.
Aiden was left alone to save his son against an entity three times stronger than himself.
His son's fate unknown, enveloped by a subtle blue hue, the water pulling into his small frame, his bright red hair visibly turning blue.
Aiden's heart ached, not knowing what to do.
He couldn't stand there and just watch whatever was happening happen.
"I will stop you myself," he resolved, his black flames intensifying.
The boiling water mass intensified, the room filled with vapor.
Several fire arrows materialized behind him, and just as quickly as they were formed, they flashed through the air at tremendous speed, each targeted at the entity.
With practiced ease, beams of water surged from the water mass below.
The entity blocked each strike, or at least it thought it did.
Some of the arrows tore through the beams of water, striking its form.
The points of impact evaporated.
The part that had vaporized instantly healed, Aiden already preparing his next attack.
A ball of flames, not his usual black but orange, rotated above his head, increasing with each spin.
The entity looked on. It wasn't going to attack; its job was to protect Alaric, whom it believed to be the tear of Poseidon.
The same way it had protected it in the tower, though it was ultimately defeated by a group of fifth resonance mages.
Aiden's rotating flames had become a miniature sun, its radius the length of a bus.
The ceiling erupted in flames, its majestic carving reduced to charcoal, which quickly caved in, a giant hole giving way to the heat of the sun.
The surging tides below thrashed around, steam filling the entirety of the room, blocking the vision of most.
The scene looked like a painting of yin and yang, but in this case, fire and water.
Flames above, water below.
Satisfied with the size and power, Aiden threw it at the entity.
In response to the attack, a king tide wave erupted from the water below, taking up all the mass of water.
The tide of water met the sun.
And with a sizzling sound, both elements were extinguished, hot white steam filling the entirety of the room.
The entity was reduced to rising steam, a barely noticeable silhouette of its form swaying with the gentle breeze of the night.
Crackle! Lightning briefly flashed as Aiden flashed past the entity, employing a skill he had learned from his wife, though he could only use it briefly.
And to him, that was enough, but...
it wasn't.
Within centimeters of Alaric, he froze in place, his leg held by the steam silhouette of the entity.
"DIE ALREADY!" Enraged, Aiden's body burst into flame.
His signature black, mixed with hotter, more potent blue flames.
His frustration at the entity's almost immortal nature, the helplessness he felt in his power, and the desperation to save Alaric created a new variant of the fire element.
Blue flames, the hottest form of fire magic to exist, a mythical variant that can be imbued with laws later on, like his black flames.
The entity's steamy body quaked, its form dispersing, the intense heat pushing it upwards with tremendous force.
He turned to it, the entity nowhere to be found, all the steam and water in the air gone, not pushed by his power, but all converged around Alaric, not a single molecule escaping.
All the water that had poured out had somehow also found their way back to him, as if they were returning to where they truly belonged.
The entity was finally defeated.
Yet Aiden didn't celebrate.
He couldn't.
As Alaric was surrounded by the scorching steam, cocooned by the white boiling mist.
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A/N
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