Bella fought the Winter Queen on the ground as Zoe plummeted from above. The clanging of icy claws against the howling runeblade rang out and echoed off the walls. Their blows swept shockwaves through the molten stone, and though Bella couldnât pierce the gigantic Mantises intricate defense, she kept the monster too distracted to pull free the arm strapped to the ground by the long black anchors of Bellaâs body path.
At the same instant, Zoe fell like a meteor. Her Mirrored hand expanded, and a bell formed inside her fist. She had never done a technique like this, but it felt natural, and Moth moved without thought.
The world narrowed until there was nothing but the center of the Winter Queenâs forehead and her first rushing toward it. Reality curled around her as she entered [The Bell at the Center of the World].
It all happened in a moment, Zoeâs relentless momentum crashed into the Winter Queenâs head. Exoskeleton shattered like thin ice. Legs splayed out wide from the shock as the Winter Queen collapsed in on herself. An explosion of force rang out, cracked the marble walls, and splashed molten rock into high waves.
The entire mantis shattered as the exoskeleton collapsed into so many shards of ice. A wind howled forth from the broken mess and blew with deathly frigidity. The liquid rock cooled and fractured. Deep chasms opened up in the walls and the floor and the hallucinogenic sky swirled beneath them in blotches of burgundy and canary whorls. Black water dripped from the ceiling and hissed where it hit the stone. The droplets froze as the frigid wind continued to howl. A midnight blizzard circled and swept the shards of slag off the edges of the broken platforms. In the inky cycloneâs eye, sat the mess of the colossal Winter Queen, and from her corpse, a woman rose.
Her skin glowed like sunlight on snow. She stood nine feet tall and with an ethereal, titanic presence. Muscles adorned her body, but she carried herself with the lithe grace of a lioness. Long blonde hair flowed away from her head and eyes of the purest white fixed themselves upon Zoe.
A jolt ran through Zoeâs soul as she met that gaze. Deadliness swirled around her, filled her throat, and forced the air from her lungs. This was the gaze of a predator, and for all Zoeâs bravado, all her rage, all her strength, she felt the weight of the Winter Queenâs will straining her bones.
â
As the regal woman straightened her back, 27 wings spread out behind her like blades of translucent ice. She stepped forward with a thrum of her wings and instantly appeared in front of Zoe. Ice sheathed her fingers into claws.
Zoe raised a Mirrored arm to defend. She struck the Winter Queenâs arm, but it felt like trying to knock away a mountain. Another blow came, grasping motions trying to gouge into Zoeâs flesh, and Zoe was forced to step back as she defended. Only a few levels separated them, but the Winter Queen had surpassed the level 50 threshold. Her body was more energy than matter, and this was clear in the terrible grace and power with which she moved. The assault continued like an avalanche, and Zoeâs feet crunched over brittle stone as she gave up ground.
Even as Zoeâs Mirrored armor deflected force, it merely bounced and pinged off the Winter Queenâs seemingly impenetrable skin. Though the woman appeared pale and cold, her lips touched with a shivering blue, and her veins like frozen rivers beneath her skin, a fiery glow grew in her eyes.
The tempo of blows was erratic, and just when Zoe thought she might predict an attack and collapse the harmony into a portal, a blow broke through her defenses and caused her to stumble in pain.
Bella charged, sword howling, and added her efforts to the fight. Black rifts followed the runeblade as she swung in a frenzy, but the Winter Queen avoided the blows. Zoe struck at the weaving giantess, and for a moment the momentum of the fight halted, but then an ice-sheathed foot struck Bellaâs stomach and sent her tumbling away. With the same spinning motion, the Winter Queen thrust a hand coated in icicles at Zoe and forced her to retreat. Again and again, she attacked until Zoe backed up against a rift in the ground.
The sky glowed like the pits of hell. If Zoe gave up any more ground she would fall, and there was no knowing what bottom â if any â waited to receive her.
The Winter Queen leaped forward and raised her foot high. Her long leg swung her ankle toward Zoeâs braced arms like an executionerâs axe. It all happened so fast. There was no way to escape, but Zoe knew catching the blow could break her arms.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Zoe gritted her teeth. She had no choice but to take the blow and hopefully twist away some momentum. [Our Hearts Toll as One] pumped her heart rate to excessive heights as she prepared all her Might.
No, she wouldnât let this attack destroy her. She would become unbreakable!
All this happened in the space of an inhale, and as the moment passed on the Winter Queenâs ankle slammed down into Zoeâs braced arms. Zoe roared her defiance as the shock traveled through her body and into the ground. Her arms creaked, and her defense collapsed. The Mirrored armor along her skin cracked as fractures ran through her bones. Pain flared, and as her body broke so too did the stone beneath her. A pit collapsed and the swirling lights of the apocalypse sky flared as Zoe fell.
But standing and defending gave her the split second she needed to feel the harmony of the blow. With a force of will, she fought past the pain and collapsed the shockwave. A pink tear in reality appeared, but Zoe let it collapse. The brief suction pulled her back up through the air before it evaporated.
She spun, and her Mirrored feet lengthened and extended out into chains. One foot wrapped around the Winter Queen. She pulled herself forward and brought her elbow against the tough-skinned abdomen.
Her blow cracked hard and pain flared from the damage to the bones, but she had one more chance to collapse the harmony of her blow. A small tear opened up in the Winter Queenâs frosty skin as an ice-covered fist collided with Zoeâs head.
The blow shattered Zoeâs Mirror and flung her through the air. Her vision dimmed, and she sat up on the ground, blinking, having lost consciousness for the moment it took her to hit the ground. Everything ached, but when she saw the Winter Queen, she knew her sacrifice had been worthwhile.
Blood flowed from a gouge in the Winter Queenâs stomach. Thick, gurgling blood splashed against the ground and froze in a spreading lattice of ruby crystals. The once mantis, now human woman staggered and stared in dumb shock at her injury. Until now, neither Zoe nor Bella had landed a single blow upon her, but now her blood flowed.
Despite the pain wracking her body, Zoe couldnât help grinning. Her blood barked in response to the wound she caused: panting, baying, as the smell of offal and injury reached her nostrils.
âHow does it feel to be mortal?â she asked.
But the Winter Queenâs expression of horror quickly shifted into one of fascination. She probed at her wound with a finger and pulled it out sheathed in frozen gore.
âis is the loss of essence,â she spoke to herself, but Zoe could hear. âThis is the bite of winter, and the loss of life as the cold hand grasps at the warmth of the worldâ¦So thâ
A wind picked up in the shattered chamber. Not the frigid wind that escaped the shattered cocoon, and not the destructive howl of Bellaâs runeblade, but a third wind that whispered as softly as dawnâs light upon the nocturnal horizon. A tremble passed through the air, the stone, and Zoe herself. She gazed around in confusion and tried to stand, but fell.
Bella caught her and held her up. Though Bellaâs grip was strong, she leaned on her sword and favored one side. The blows from the Winter Queen were shocking in their power.
âYou alright?â Bella asked. âYouâre missing something.â
Zoe glanced down at her feet⦠at where her feet should be. The Mirror that made her hands and feet had vanished. Shattered after the last attack from the Winter Queen. In a panic, Zoe reached inside her heart for Moth, but she found her sister. Asleep, but alive.
âIâll be alright,â Zoe said with a conviction she forced herself to believe.
If she couldnât have faith she would survive, why even bother?
âWhatâs going on with her?â Bella asked.
âI donât know,â Zoe said.
âThis is a moment of opportunity, right? We should attack her?â
âYeah.â
But both women stood there, staring at the Winter Queen, reluctant to push forward, and secretly hoping the wound would worsen. Zoe felt exhausted from the battle â how long had it taken? â so she grasped every second to recover, even if it gave the Winter Queen the same chance.
But the monstrous womanâs skin grew paler, though the look on her face was one of wonder.
âI hear it,â the Winter Queen whispered. âI begin to understand.â
âWhat is she blabbering about?â Bella said, but there was more fear in her voice than derision.
The world trembled, and that third wind grew. What had whispered, now chanted, and a spiced incense filled the air.
[A Mountain approaches]
The Systemâs voice sent a wave of shock through Zoe. A Mountain? Oriz had never explained how they worked, but Zoe knew it would be impossible to defeat the Winter Queen if her power became amplified fivefold.
âWe have to stop her,â Zoe said.
Bella nodded.
âSure, sure, or⦠we escape? I create a portal, you stabilize it, and we leave. This isnât a fight we can win, so why bother?â
âWe can win,â Zoe said. âI hurt her, we can do it again. I donât want to flee.â
The Winter Queenâs gaze snapped toward them. She raised a hand.
âI need you two,â she said. âYou have brought me so close, and I must understand.â
She snapped her elegant fingers, and the sound rang like a crack of ice. Blue light flared from the tip of her fingers and rushed out into a dome of energy. It spread across the floor and walls and coated Zoe and Bella. It felt as cold as the death energy of a kill but without the invigorating rush. The blue light faded, but the chill remained.
[You are affected by a boss debuff: Aura of the Winter Queen]
[You are more susceptible to ice damage by 100%]
[You cannot flee the Winter Queen]
[Aura countdown: 15 minutes]
Zoe and Bell exchanged a glance. The same question in their eyes: can we last 15 minutes?
Before either of them could speak, the Winter Queen attacked.