Naomi stared at her palm, watching the symbols fade into nothing. ‘It has activated,’ she murmured, lifting her gaze and looking at the location of Asher’s room.
All of a sudden, Asher appeared at the window, his sharp eyes locking with hers. A single thought flashed through his mind.
‘Frost mist.’
Instantaneously, the air transformed and a fierce blizzard engulfed the entire castle and Asher leaped out of the window, landing with a heavy thud.
Clack!
He heard the sound of wood hitting the paved ground and chains made of flames erupted from the ground and coiled around his arms. But the moment the chains touched him, they froze and shattered into fragments, drawing a startled gasp from someone nearby.
Asher turned toward the source of the sound and traced it back.
Swoosh!
In a flash, he closed the gap between himself and Naomi and placed his hand firmly holding Euodias. “You couldn’t hide your force signature well.”
Shing!
After uttering that, he thrust his left hand forward and massive shards of ice erupted from the ground. Each was as thick as a pillar, yet malleable as they curved and headed for Naomi with astonishing speed.
The tint of the ice was like pure sapphira, its brilliance not like any ice element, marking its purity!
Naomi uttered an incantation and slammed her staff against the ground. Flames roared forth, colliding with the ice head-on. But to her shock, the ice pillar—with its several sharp, triangular-shaped tips—assembled together and tore through her fire barrier without thawing even a bit.
In fact, her flames flickered and died because of the intense cold!
Naturally, fire was supposed to have the advantage over ice and water, yet this was an entirely different case. Although stunned, Naomi swiftly cast a teleportation spell, reappearing ten meters away, hoping to get out of the blizzard despite not knowing how far it really extended.
The moment she reappeared about meters away, she caught a glint of a crescent blade in the corner of her eyes. It was Asher, and he was already closing in!
Naomi swiftly teleported once more, but this time as she appeared another ten meters away, she felt a sting on her cheek. As she touched her face, she felt the warmth of blood trickling from the shallow cut on her cheek.
“You little brat!” she hissed, her nose flaring in anger.
She slammed her staff against the ground, forcing the blizzard to retreat fifty meters and exposing Asher. But he simply walked toward her as if he wasn’t bothered by her power to dispel the blizzard.
“I can feel your diabolic emotions of anger and vengeance,” she said coldly. “Your force has been corrupted. An unstable force means you might snap at any moment and for that, you are a threat—a danger to everyone around you!”
Naomi’s lips moved in a steady chant. But this time around, she didn’t stop chanting while massive chains of fire erupted from the ground, heading for Asher.
He evaded some and cut through the fiery chains with astonishing speed, his movements precise and fluid.
But upon noticing the fire tendrils around Naomi’s staff growing in increasing intensity as she lifted it, Asher’s eyes narrowed.
“Die!”
She shouted as she slammed her staff against the ground, golden flames billowing outward in a devastating wave.
Sensing the danger, Asher used his blade to slash upward, launching a tide of ice that sliced through the flames.
Naomi’s eyes widened in horror when she realized that the ice tide kept rising and rushing towards her.
This was death.
Naomi knew Asher could never match her—not with the Magi force being inherently superior to Battle Force, and with her being a rank higher! It was impossible for Asher to defeat her. And yet, what kind of crazy ice was this?
Why couldn’t it just melt?!
Just when the ice surged, threatening to engulf her, a figure grabbed her and pulled her out of its path. A sharp breath left her lips as the pain lanced through her as the ice grazed her shoulder, its freezing bite sending pricking pain straight to her brain, making her yelp.
“You should have never fought the most ruthless of the brothers,” Isaac spat with a solemn expression.
It was at that moment Noami realized that there were slim ice spikes around them!
Tapk! Tapk!
Through the swirling blizzard, she glimpsed a silhouette. Her breath caught and she subconsciously took a step back as recognition struck her—white hair and unnatural ice all this time. How could she not have seen it before?
Her lips trembled. She had refused to believe it, all this time but… now, the truth was undeniable.
“Kryos…!” Naomi whispered, her pupils trebling.
Asher stepped forward, his sword pointed at them. Even Isaac tensed when he realized that Asher was ready to go against him because he was on Naomi’s side.
Before he could speak, Asher retrieved his sword, pointing it toward the ground.
“So…” he began, his voice cutting through the dying storm.
Gradually, the blizzard dissipated.
“…is that the reason you wanted to kill me? Because you feel I’m a threat?”
His pupils narrowed.
Isaac frowned. Although Asher refrained from speaking further out of respect for his strength, he knew Naomi had to be careful around Asher. If he might have been a threat before, he was definitely one now!
“Lord Winter wants to see you,” Isaac said.
“What will be done to her?” Asher’s gaze flicked to Naomi.
“That will be for the council to decide. Lord Winter is waiting at the temple.”
Asher exhaled and sheathed his sword before leaving without uttering a word. Isaac looked at his right hand which was already around the hilt of his sword, his fingers slightly twitching and sighed in relief. Asher’s force was so jarring that he felt that the man might lunge at him any moment.
At a certain level of mastery, the force carried intent—it determined friend from foe. And to Isaac, Asher’s intent was unmistakably hostile!
This was why everyone who could sense Asher’s true force was wary of him. Continue reading at empire
“He’s Kryos vessel!”
Naomi gasped after Asher was far out of sight.
Isaac turned to her, his glare piercing. “It was foolish to act out of your feelings alone and you didn’t just make anyone your enemy… you made the one who inherited Kryos. That is the worst decision you have ever made in your life. You will regret it.”
Without waiting for a response, Isaac walked away.
_____
After Asher arrived at the temple, he breathed out and walked in only to find the old man, Lord Winter, on his knees before the altar, flanked by the two winged statues.
“You’re here,” Lord Winter said, his back still facing Asher.
“You called for me,” Asher replied, his gaze sweeping across the room.
Lord Winter smiled faintly. “I see you are growing familiar with the Kryos talent. But do you know its weight? Do you know that it lives? That it is tied to the very beginning of all races?”
Asher’s brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”
Slowly rising to his feet, Lord Winter kept looking at the altar and spoke, his voice carrying the weight of ages. “It all began 3,025 years ago, at the dawn of Boundless. Four brothers—Athanatos, Ilios, Aniketos and… Kryos—shaped the very fabric of our existence.”
….
[A/N: Power stones are growing lower. I know you might be furious because I missed a day but please… Support. We’re down to 5th when we used to be 3rd.]