I rolled to the side as a length of pitch-black chain flicked across the thickened water.

  “Setsuna, don’t get hit by the chains! Anything else is fine, but no matter what, not the chains! I won’t be able to hea-”

  I heard the splitting of water and the rattling of chains.

  I brought my staff up to block it, barely able to stand my ground as my arms were thrown to the side from the massive force.

  Just how heavy were those things?

  I bit my tongue, feeling my hands starting to shake as the stress mounted inside of me.

  What the hell was I supposed to do against a weapon like that?

  What was it all for?

  All those years studying.

  All those hopes and dreams.

  All for none of it to matter.

  No.

  I couldn’t think like that.

  Even if I wasn’t capable of healing, I had to find some way of being useful.

  Up ahead, Setsuna frowned upon hearing my words. I visibly noticed her slightly shift her stance and narrow her eyes as she focused on tracking the movement of the chains.

  Fenrir seemed to pay no attention to anything around him, losing himself in madness and fury as he howled, recklessly charging through the storm of lashing chains.

  Whatever his history and relationship with those chains was, it seemed like his rage wasn’t something we could calm him down from.

  If that was the case, I guess we would just have to work around it.

  “We’re pushing alongside Fenrir!” I called out, slowly inching forward as I welled mana into my staff, trying to push through the thick haze of murky waters beneath my feet.

  I grit my teeth, struggling to push my mana through the muddy darkness and penetrate into the earth beneath.

  I groaned, pushing my staff deeper into the pool until something finally gave way.

  The earth rumbled, as far ahead, the rocks underneath Fenrir and Setsuna burst apart, revealing thrashing roots and vines that absorbed the blows of the chains.

  Viscous plant matter and flesh were blown apart and scattered across the pool, only to be replaced by a new unnatural growth.

  It wasn’t much, but it gave the two ahead of me a small shield to run behind.

  The faceless man clicked his tongue in annoyance, shooting me a glare briefly before frowning at the gargantuan wolf closing in on him.

  Fenrir howled as he jumped high up into the air, unhinging its massive jaws.

  The faceless man just narrowed his eyes and scoffed.

  “What a foolish mutt.”

  By jumping, he might have given himself a burst of speed, but he had locked in his trajectory and stripped himself of defensive options.

  The man pulled back the black metal whip in his hands, staring the wolf down until he reached the perfect angle.

  A black spear shot forwards, aiming to puncture Fenrir straight through his throat.

  Setsuna roared, dashing forwards before shooting upwards to knock the chain off of its path.

  There, still climbing upwards through the air like a rising dragon, the two combatants locked eyes.

  She tightened her grip on her sword, pointing its rusty edge straight at his feet.

  “Ame-no-Nuboko!”

  She shot straight down, rupturing the earth beneath the dark river and splitting it apart, sending all of the water flying away, revealing bare stone beneath.

  I wobbled on my feet as I felt the world change shape, isolating us in a barren earthen arena free of the corrupted water.

  Not even a second later, Fenrir descended upon the faceless man, biting down and shooting up a cloud of dust and dirt as he landed.

  I knew it wasn’t going to end that easily though.

  In the meantime, while I had the chance, I picked myself back up and ran forwards.

  Suddenly, my arms started to shiver.

  I exhaled, and saw white fog disperse through my breath.

  The temperature dropped below zero.

  White mist burst through the cloud of dirt, sending crackling sheets of ice across the barren earth and painting the arena’s floor in a dull silvery, bluish white.

  My feet started to lose traction.

  Before I could slip, I skid to a halt and anchored myself to the ground with my staff.

  I saw Fenrir’s massive body flung away from the cloud high above me, followed quickly by Setsuna shooting by me as her sword tumbled away from her.

  I quickly drew an arc from the ground towards Fenrir’s flying body, a shrivelled vine barely punching through the sheet of ice to catch the wolf.

  I felt something bite back at my mana as I willed the vine to gently lower him back to the ground.

  Frost licked at my fingers.

  I winced at the pain, finding it progressively harder to keep my mana flowing.

  Almost immediately after Fenrir touched down on solid ground, the entire tendril froze over.

  I gasped, shaking my fingers and panting as I regained control of my body.

  My feet were already almost completely rooted to the spot, I had to get out quickly.

  I groaned, tugging at the encroaching ice piling up at my feet and wrenching myself free from its cold grasp, my entire body lurching into a tumbling roll alongside me.

  And as I tucked my body in to dive out of the icy patch, I saw something thin and black flicker towards me.

  I felt it smash into my stomach, driving the wind out of my lungs and blowing me away.

  I cried out in pain as my body flew away, my vision darkening and blurring.

  It was hard to breathe.

  Not just because of the pain from that blow.

  My heart thumped painfully.

  You are scared.

  It wasn’t freezing cold anymore, but I was still shivering.

  I hobbled back up onto my feet, reaching for my staff that had fallen alongside me.

  A black chain flashed towards me.

  A shadow descended on top of it, nailing the weapon to the ground through its loops precisely with a rusty blade.

  “T-thanks, S-Setsuna,” I coughed, grimacing.

  I could feel the bruises already starting to form, swelling with blood.

  Instinctively, I started circulating my mana, channelling a healing spell centred around my stomach, only to get no reaction from it.

  All that was left was the pain in my stomach, and a touch of hopelessness and despair.

  “Hath this scoundrel any further tricks?”

  I winced, nodding.

  “Fire. Can melt an entire street. A-and a sword… that… exists everywhere at once.”

  Setsuna frowned, confused by that second one.

  But she did not get to ponder the matter any further, as the sound of metal rattling underneath her feet drew our attention.

  I could not react in time.

  I was unable to pull her back in time, and could only watch helplessly as the black chain nailed underneath her blade suddenly lurched back, pulling her off her feet and towards the enemy.

  “I have heard enough of your grating voice, little girl,” the faceless man spat, pulling the chain back with one hand while thrusting his other one – a white mist emanating from it – forwards.

  Shattering ice echoed behind me.

  Fenrir leapt forwards, unperturbed by its mounting injuries, losing itself in its fury as it stomped towards the faceless man.

  And as always, that leaves you.

  I tried to fight off the growing frustration.

  Always powerless to change anything yourself.

  I felt something slowly start to gnaw inside of me, growing into a cold pit.

  You always had to be carried through your troubles by someone else.

  “Let this drivel end,” the faceless man narrowed his eyes, the world around him slowly rumbling.

  Has anything ever changed?

  “Shut up…” I mumbled, scowling as I staggered forward.

  I grit my teeth, tightening my grip as I slowly lost my temper.

  Even if I couldn’t do anything, I couldn’t just stand to the side and watch.

  Does it matter?

  I ignored the burning, aching, swelling bruise and the cold pit in my stomach and stepped forward.

  Setsuna unthreaded her blade from the holes in the chain’s links, preparing herself for a head-on collision, still stuck in her current trajectory.

  The faceless man flicked his ice-wreathed wrist, sending out a wave of white mist that immediately solidified and froze the air that passed its trail.

  He pulled his other hand back and immediately lashed downwards, sending the black chain high up into the air before letting it strike downwards and flail towards her.

  He regarded the elf with a cold stare, presenting her with an ultimatum; either fend off the chain and let herself be frozen still, or disperse the ice and be inflicted with an unhealing wound.

  Thankfully, I was close enough to alleviate that burden.

  I slid in as close as I could, haphazardly throwing my mana across the arena the moment I got within range, covering her with two spells simultaneously, one for instantaneous recovery and another for persistent healing.

  Setsuna swung upwards decisively, diverting the arc of the chain as she hit the ground and tucked herself into a roll, right into the roiling wave of ice.

  There wasn’t time to waste, even if I couldn’t see her beyond the white fog.

  I slid to a stop right at the edge of where the mist stopped expanding and closed my eyes, focusing on my friend’s familiar presence and tracking her position through shut eyelids.

  The moment I detected her familiar mana signature, I slammed my staff down and welled all the mana I could sustainably output, rooting myself to the spot as I continuously channeled a restoration spell.

  I felt bile creep up in my throat.

  My fingertips became numb, not from the chilling cold, but from the deprivation of mana.

  I had drained more than half of my mana before even reaching Yrd’s peak. At this point, I was probably guaranteed to collapse into a coma for a few days the moment I lost consciousness, so I might as well make it count.

  I heard steel clash against steel.

  A shower of sparks dragged along the ground as Setsuna’s blade cleaved through the heavy air, tracing out a path for a thousand manifested fireflies to shoot forth.

  My wrists started to shiver, tiny electric jolts dancing up and down my arm as I struggled to maintain my concentration with my waning reserves.

  I heard an ungodly howl almost break apart the steely fog as Fenrir smashed his head against the freezing air, shattering the ice underneath his feet as it leapt head-first into the mist, guided by the light of fire emanating from Setsuna’s attacks.

  The terrifying roar made me flinch as its shockwaves rumbled through my bones, breaking my already flimsy concentration.

  Shit, I forgot there were two meatheads I needed to support.

  I heard Setsuna groan at that exact moment, almost immediately succumbing to the frostbite the moment my focus lapsed.

  I heard a cry of pain as something red dripped onto the floor.

  Again.

  Right in front of you.

  And you can do nothing but watch.

  I couldn’t help but think about every time I almost failed Luna.

  “Shut up.”

  I growled, swallowing the pain and tensing my muscles, forcing myself into steadiness as I impatiently jabbed my staff back down.

  I almost yelled in anger as I tried to protect both Setsuna and Fenrir from a safe distance, splitting my focus as I maintained two channelling spells at once.

  Almost immediately, Setsuna’s blade audibly sped up, and I saw a flash of steel glimmering in the mist, accompanied by the roar of a great wolf as ice cracked and earth shattered beneath Fenrir’s claws.

  You hate it, don’t you?

  Standing back. Just watching.

  I did.

  I hated it more than anyone could ever imagine.

  I hated watching something just happen in front of me. I hated just letting things go.

  Every instinct in my body that was still yet to be conquered by fear or tiredness screamed at me to run in alongside them, barely held back by the rational part of my brain that told me that in my current drained state, I would have only been a hindrance to them.

  I could manage to stand at the front alongside Setsuna before this point because I knew that there was something that I could do, but now…

  Faced with those chains, nullifying everything I had spent the last nine years of my life working towards…

  I looked down briefly, looking at the dangling necklace that Mother had given me on my birthday.

  I recalled her face, the smile she wore, the tears in her eyes, on the night she opened her heart to me.

  The strength she had that I wanted to one day hold myself.

  Her dream, her ambitions, her work.

  The Paradox Engine, Samsara.

  A way to channel regrets and despair into hopes and dreams.

  Walls of ice ruptured through the barren earth underneath, almost breaking my focus again as they pierced upwards through the mist.

  I felt the air start to dry as even the clouds above us started to freeze, the water vapour in the air disappearing as it transformed into solid crystals of ice.

  It’s never enough, is it?

  It wasn’t enough.

  I had to give more.

  I heard Fenrir’s jaw crush through the pillars, toppling them over at the cost of freezing his own jaw, my mana draining at a rapid pace as it struggled to fight off the effects of the hellish frostbite.

  I heard chains rattle as the faceless man frantically drew back his weapon to avoid being crushed by his own ice.

  Sparks flicked upwards through the air again as Setsuna’s blade caught onto something and ignited, finally finding a vulnerability in his defences.

  “Nichibotsu!”

  The white mist was briefly enveloped by the blaze of a setting sun, managing to even melt some of the ice for just an instant before it froze again before I could even blink.

  The faceless man’s growl echoed towards me as he stumbled to the side.

  Through the shadow of the flame cast by Setsuna’s blade, I saw Fenrir descend onto him, forcing the man onto the back-foot for the first time.

  His robes waved slowly in the air as he tugged back on his chain, striking back at the wolf in annoyance.

  “Tsukinode!”

  A blinding white light disrupted him as Setsuna struck from the side, not giving him a chance to inflict any further unrecoverable damage with that chain of his.

  His other hand flicked upwards, shielding himself from Setsuna’s ‘Moonrise’ with a makeshift gauntlet of ice, only to be reminded of his other opponent by a jaw shadowing over his upper body, forcing him to back off entirely.

  However, the job was done, and the concentrated white-hot fire of Setsuna’s technique cleared the icy mist just enough to create a pocket of temperate air for a singular split-second.

  “Kumowari-Ao!”

  Sheets of frozen earth cracked and ruptured outwards as the mist was dispelled in a single blow.

  Still, because the technique was prepared hastily, only the haze itself was dispersed, while the encroaching frost stretched along the ground still slowly crept outwards.

  Once again, the battlefield in front of me became clear.

  I hesitantly looked down at the sheet of ice slowly crawling towards me as clashing steel continued to echo in front of me.

  I quickly ran through a few mental calculations.

  How much mana would it cost me to maintain a third spell on myself?

  How much would the strain be lessened on my output if I got within close range?

  I noticed something strange in that moment.

  Setsuna’s movements seemed… heavy.

  The sparks she was striking were taking far too long to ignite into flames. The air seemed to almost sew itself shut the moment her blade cut through it.

  And my own output… was it slower than usual?

  I realised what was going on.

  The ice was somehow managing to still not just the physical world, it was gripping onto mana itself.

  Shit, how the hell was I supposed to deal with this?

  The faceless man leaned back, swiping his hand outwards to call down a rain of shards of ice, which slammed into the ground, rendering even more of it unwalkable.

  With every attack he did, even if it was successfully blocked by Setsuna and Fenrir, he was still coming out victorious in every exchange solely by freezing more of the battlefield.

  The complete bleaching of the arena seemed inevitable at this point, and it wouldn’t be long before mana itself froze completely.

  I had to do something before then.

  How the hell did I get out of this alive the first time around?

  Oh, right.

  “Setsuna, get out of there! The ice is stemming the flow of mana!”

  A brief glance was all the acknowledgement I got.

  I inhaled.

  Something in the air shifted.

  Catching on that I was planning something, the faceless man immediately shifted his focus back to me, striking towards me with that chain.

  I ignored it and closed my eyes, running forwards and trusting my safety to Setsuna.

  I heard steel clash again above me as every nerve in my body was flooded with a hollow chill the moment I stepped onto the sheet of ice.

  My wrists started to twist to the left.

  There was something… odd I noticed, now that I had the chance to utilise Samsara’s first and second principles several times.

  Mana tended to somewhat have its own will, often ‘owned’ and guided by its controller and their intent.

  It was why over the course of history, people slowly started to gravitate towards spontaneous forms of spellcasting; ritual casting like Mother preferred had the implicit drawback of relinquishing control of your spells to the whims of nature, leaving you unable to control it in case things went awry.

  Compared to the foxfire of kitsune and to the darkened dew that dripped from Eikthyrnir’s antlers, despite its overwhelming intensity, the will of the ice surrounding us felt… weak and loose.

  It felt less like a spell the man was casting, and more like a magic tool or runic inscription.

  I vaguely remembered something about him talking about ‘gifts’ from his ‘brothers’ and ‘sisters’.

  Whatever, I didn’t have the time to think about what that meant.

  I was just glad that meant this would be a bit easier on myself.

  It was much easier than trying to take ownership of the ichor when we fought Eikthyrnir.

  Ice slowly leeched off the ground as I ran forward, gathering at the head of my twirling staff, clearing a safe haven as I travelled forward.

  I heard Setsuna land by my side, batting away the flickering chains as Fenrir continued to rampage away at the heart of the battle.

  I ignored the numb shivering in my fingers.

  Even underneath my control, the cold was no less twisted, no less potent. Trying to hold onto it for too long in its original form would backfire on me sooner or later.

  After having closed approximately half the distance, I slid to a halt, digging my feet into the ground as I chose to make my stand there.

  I slammed my staff into the ground to anchor myself as an icy vortex howled around me, untangling as it spun.

  Samsara’s third principle was still out of reach to me currently, so I would just have to make do with conversion for now.

  A wave of fire fanned out from me, sweeping across the ice.

  Still, despite the overwhelming density and intensity of the mana from which that fire was spun from, it could not melt that unnatural frost – so eerie and empty it felt almost wrong to call it ‘ice’.

  But nevertheless, it did its job.

  The flow of mana was restored.

  Setsuna followed behind it, leaping straight into the fire and disappearing beneath the flames.

  “Minamiken, Juukata…”

  The flame swelled, before condensing down into a singular point, tracing the edge of a rusted blade, shining as brightly as the sun.

  The faceless man stiffened, healing the unworldly heat radiating off to the side, looking away from his ongoing tussle with the giant wolf.

  Fury still blazed in the beast’s golden eyes.

  With one final howl, the countless chains that eternally bound the wolf – just as pitch-black and ancient as the one held in the man’s hand – rattled, flying away from Fenrir’s body and shackling the faceless man.

  “Suzaku no Hai-de-Fukkatsu!”

  'Vermillion Bird's Rebirth by Ash'

  The image of a phoenix soaring through the sky was painted as the world exploded into a brilliant blaze, the wings of a divine bird unfurling and flapping as the world was destroyed and recreated anew.

  All sight and sound disappeared for a moment, replaced a pure void of burning heat.

  I heard feet skidding along dirt as Setsuna landed besides me.

  The earth rumbled and chains rattled as Fenrir slammed down, hovering in front of us.

  I opened my eyes, finding the barren earth completely purified of frost.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  The creepy, hollow chill in the air completely disappeared, replaced once again by the thick and dreadful air of distorted mana.

  Even though it was out of sight, kept away by the arena of earth that Setsuna had erected, the lingering presence of the black ichor of Yrd’s corrupted waters was impossible to ignore.

  “Dost thou think the battle hath reached its end?”

  Setsuna narrowed her eyes at the raging pillar of inferno, tearing a hole through the heavens above.

  I bit my lip.

  “I doubt it, he’s lived through worse.”

  In response, Fenrir just lowered himself again, digging his claws into the earth, the madness and rage in his eyes still burning.

  It seemed like he agreed, based on whatever his previous experience with those strange chains was.

  I recalled how my first encounter with the faceless man ended.

  That final attack that Mother unleashed on him…

  I had never seen it used in person, nor had many other people, but it was impossible to escape the rumours as Belle’s daughter.

  Once, during winter break in my fifth year, she was called away to the Capital for a Mythic-level disaster, and was said to have ended the entire affair by herself in a single attack, with the only aid she required being a small encampment of mages lending her some mana to kickstart the Helios Engine.

  The priests of Sol spoke of her as the pinnacle of blasphemy; a heretic that dared to conquer and supplant even Sol’s divine will.

  The magi of the Citadel whispered of her as a mathematical impossibility; a thought demon made manifest, breaking their understanding of the world’s natural order, creating a spell whose effects could only be mirrored by the Void.

  Belle Symphonia, the ‘Black Matter Witch’, who conquered both Sol’s right hand that painted the Heavenly River and the sun, and the darkness of the Void that ended worlds.

  It was a spell that fractured dimensions, using that impossible rift between planes as a focal point to circle both Samsara and Logos to simultaneously create and collapse an artificial star within an instant.

  Somehow, the faceless man had survived an attack like that.

  Granted, the time Mother unleashed that on him, the output was far lesser compared to that time two years ago, using only the Helios Engine’s natural reserves instead of the combined mana of an entire battalion of magi along with the full might of Samsara’s complete ritual form, but it was still a baffling feat of resilience nonetheless.

  That was not to say Setsuna’s attack was not impressive; the final form of her Southern Blade was capable of cleansing all impurities and deformities, destroying and rebirthing the world anew, banishing its target’s defences with nigh-divine flames, but…

  Well, I wasn’t exactly hopeful, was all.

  A hellish roar snapped me out of my thoughts.

  I watched on as a second fire crept up Setsuna’s attack, almost swallowing it whole, creating the impossible image of fire devouring itself.

  The divine blaze of an ascending phoenix wavered as a second flame, darker, redder, hotter, licked and lashed at it, tearing it apart and absorbing it into itself.

  And almost immediately, the air dried again.

  But it wasn’t a cold dryness like before.

  Whereas before, the air was empty, scathing and uncaring, it now reeked of overwhelming vitriol and malevolence.

  The hellish flames seemed to almost whisper hateful words as the last of the light was finally devoured.

  Footsteps.

  I tensed.

  Just as we thought, he was still alive.

  At the very least, their rhythm was disturbed, meaning Setsuna had managed to actually inflict some lasting damage onto him.

  “Damned mutt…” the faceless man murmured.

  I froze.

  Even through the impenetrable wall of fire, I could still somehow make out his shapeless glare, burrowing into my soul.

  “Thousands of years have passed… and still, you still hold onto your old grudges. What else should I have expected from an old dog.”

  He scoffed.

  The air shifted again.

  The flame swelled.

  My eyes widened.

  “Get down!”

  My mind started with racing through every defensive spell contained in my meagre arsenal.

  I didn’t bother picking them out individually. I just layered as many on top of each other as I could the moment I thought of them.

  Hard light shields, walls of earth, runic barriers, repelling, dispelling, whatever the hell else I could think of – I stacked them all on top of each other as fast and hard as possible.

  I remembered what happened the last time I was faced with this fire, how close it all came to ending.

  “But you,” he spat.

  Roiling hatred thundered towards us, effortlessly melting and disintegrating every last barrier I set up.

  “I have not spent long knowing your face and voice, girl, but somehow, you are growing to annoy me even more than her.”

  “You two!” I screamed hoarsely, “get as far away as possible!”

  I just had to hope they listened, I didn’t have time to pay attention to them.

  I anchored myself down, banishing every other thought in my mind and focusing solely on layering as much defensive magic as I possibly could, trying to slow the flame that was pushing towards us.

  I felt my mana slowly drain and thin.

  A blinding light broke through the last flimsy wall of rock and dirt in front of me.

  I felt my skin start to char before the fire even touched me.

  I braced myself, flooding my body with as much healing magic as I could, holding on for literal dear life as I felt my body simultaneously melt and regrow itself continuously.

  There was not even enough energy left in my body for me to scream in pain.

  After what felt like a full minute of continuous burning, the fire finally subsided, and I collapsed to the floor, shivering, panting, charred and singed.

  Ash and soot covered every inch of my body as burnt skin fell to the almost-melting ground.

  I staggered back onto my feet, my nerves almost dead.

  I groaned, clutching onto my stomach, feeling the wound from earlier painfully pulse, almost tearing me from the inside as it refused to heal.

  I hacked and coughed.

  For a moment, my vision darkened as I almost felt my soul leave my body through my lungs.

  I blinked, looking down at my shaking hand as blood dribbled from my lips and splattered onto my palm.

  I wasn’t sure if applying healing magic to my lungs was going to help with that, but whatever, I did it anyways.

  I was already painfully low on reason and logic, and I didn’t feel like wasting more thought on something as unimportant as my body.

  I just needed to get Setsuna and Fenrir through this.

  Alive.

  A scoff.

  “Oh, look at that. You’re still alive. Of course you are. I would expect no less of a cockroach. No matter. Your resistance, your persistence… all of it is futile.”

  It will all end the same.

  I gnashed my teeth, still coughing.

  “Shut up.”

  Chains rattled again.

  I saw something sharp and black aimed right between my eyes.

  “Estelle!”

  Right before my life ended, sparks sputtered in front of my face as I fell backwards, the chain barely knocked away as Setsuna rushed to my side.

  I pulled myself back up shakily.

  “And you elves. A thorn in my side as always. No matter how much things change, it seems some things are always destined to stay the same.”

  A massive shadow passed us by, rushing towards the faceless man the moment his figure became visible again.

  “Such as this puny dog’s unrelenting, petty grudge.”

  A terrible light intensified.

  “Fenrir!” I yelled out.

  I clambered forwards, ignoring every signal of pain in my body as I rushed forwards, following behind the wolf as hellish flames enveloped his body.

  Even as he was consumed by that hateful heat, it seemed the hatred that burned in Fenrir’s ancient heart was even stronger than the flame's, as he seemed to be barely perturbed by the pain as he swiped and clawed at the man, his limbs still aflame.

  Blood spurted upwards.

  …What?

  My concentration almost lapsed in that moment, nearly destabilising the restoration spell I was maintaining to keep Fenrir stable through his rampage.

  Whose blood was that?

  No wounds had been inflicted on the wolf, so-

  My eyes widened as I finally saw the state of the faceless man’s body.

  A vicious gash almost completely split his body diagonally, blood pouring out from the massive wound and slowing his every movement.

  How?

  He had somehow survived Mother’s attack at point-blank, why was he injured now?

  The familiar sound of rattling chains and clashing steel broke my confusion, giving me my answer.

  The faceless man desperately swung at the feral creature with his chain, only to be met by the dangling chains around Fenrir’s swiping claw, completely matching it in appearance – just as black, just as dense, just as ancient and just as seemingly endless.

  To ensure that Setsuna’s attack had landed, Fenrir had rooted him with his own shackles.

  Fenrir’s unmatched hatred for that man, the faceless man’s vague mutterings about ancient grudges and previous owners.

  I still didn’t get the full picture, but something was clear.

  The chains they carried were the same, and the faceless man was just as vulnerable to its effects as we were.

  “Setsuna! We’re making progress! Fight around Fenrir and his own shackles!” I called out, rallying my friend and injecting whatever hope I could into this battle.

  A familiar shadow darted out to my right, honing in on the faceless man’s undefended back.

  Unfortunately, he was not ignorant of that flicker of movement.

  He scowled the moment he saw that annoying rusty sword arc towards him.

  He gave a brief glance down at the chain held in one of his hands, frowning distastefully.

  He flicked his wrist, withdrawing and dismissing it.

  I blinked.

  It seemed like he realised that there wasn’t a chance for him to match Setsuna in a battle of martial arts.

  That meant we still had hope.

  His sleeve puffed with white mist again.

  He roared, thrusting his arms out to the side, enveloping one side of the battlefield in red, and the other in white.

  One half melted into magma, and the other froze into solid ice.

  The left walls completely collapsed under the heat, withering into waves of lava that sloshed down, letting the darkened waters of Yrd’s heart collide back into them, reminding me where exactly we were.

  Miasma-like steam puffed up in massive explosions as the molten rock melded with the ichor, boiling and bubbling until the only thing that was left of either substance was thick, gross slag that slowly travelled inwards.

  Those chains weren’t in his hands anymore. This was our chance to push.

  But…

  I looked left and right, trapped in a small moment of indecision.

  Fenrir was directly engaging him in direct combat, trading blows recklessly as his fur froze and burned at the same time, the faceless man barely holding him back in his mad dance.

  Setsuna stared down a vortex of ice, lagging behind as a blizzard washed over her, raining hail down upon her.

  I think I just had to focus on getting Setsuna in, sorry, Fenrir.

  I just had to hope he wasn’t taken out before then.

  I ran head-first into the icy half of the field, immediately feeling the cold’s grasp on my mana, slowing its flow to a mere crawl.

  Shivering. Stillness. Emptiness.

  I felt that wretched old feeling bubble in my gut again.

  If only you could make a difference.

  I held onto my runed necklace as I felt the frenzy – or was that just the howling winds? – whisper in my ear, holding onto whatever dwindling energy I had left.

  Remember what Mother taught you.

  I reached out with my mana towards the ambient energy around me, drawing more heat away from my body.

  The migraine started to flare up.

  I felt my mind and body start to collapse under the pressure of maintaining healing on myself while running through the steps for Samsara at the same time.

  Just run away.

  Like you’ve always done.

  Shut up.

  I had enough of that for one lifetime.

  I’ve had enough of leaving everything behind, of lying to myself and looking for excuses.

  Even if I couldn’t change anything, I had to stand my ground and be there for them.

  I honed in on Setsuna’s presence as I trudged through the wailing blizzard, my previous hesitance about stepping into the mist banished by the disappearance of the chain from the faceless man’s hands.

  Shards of ice thundered down, scraping my skin, drawing blood that froze in an instant.

  The wound was slow to heal. The ice started to take its grip on whatever energy was left in my system.

  I didn’t have much more in me, maybe two more uses of Samsara if I was lucky, three if I was conservative with healing, which against this level of offensive output seemed like a tactic which would immediately result in our death.

  The frozen air around me began to push and swirl.

  I felt it spin furiously around me as I tugged it underneath my control.

  The sound of steel clashing against an endless hail grew louder and closer..

  “On me!” I called out, splitting my concentration even more as I linked my mana towards Setsuna, restoring her condition.

  It became harder and harder to push the air along with my dwindling mana.

  But slowly, the swirling mist began to push alongside me.

  A stray bolt of ice clipped my leg, almost rooting me to the spot as it exploded outwards and smothered my foot with freezing temperatures.

  Another flew straight towards me.

  I couldn’t get out of the way in time, I guess I would just have to take it.

  I prepared myself, readying to not lose connection to all three of my concurrent spells.

  There was a clang as it suddenly flew off to the side, followed by a shadow landing beside me.

  “Northwards!” Setsuna called out.

  I followed besides her as we charged forwards through to the end of the mist, the swirling air around me creating a safe current for us to march through as I slowly started the process of converting it all away.

  Explosions. Roaring blazes. Deathly howls and mad screams, boiling lava and rattling chains. Raining hail and clashing steel.

  The sound of it all rang in my ears.

  I made out a robed silhouette in the distance.

  I spun the head of my staff one last time as I swung my staff upwards and towards him.

  The icy mist condensed before disappearing, transforming into a gushing, raging current of water, carving out the earth beneath it into a small riverbed.

  The faceless man’s head snapped towards us.

  There was a small look of confusion on his face at the lack of ice on the battlefield, before he realised what had happened.

  He snarled.

  The white aura on his left hand disappeared as a familiar length of black steel slithered out from his sleeve.

  He spun around, beating Fenrir back with a lash of the chain as his other hand clawed towards us, erecting a wall of fire.

  The raging river smashed into the wall of fire, evaporating instantly upon contact.

  That was fine, though.

  I wasn’t expecting it to counter that hellish blaze, I just needed to give Setsuna the proper staging ground.

  “Kitaken, Kyukata…”

  Setsuna dragged her blade through the river, moving seamlessly alongside it, the rusted, chipped edge not causing a single disturbance in its flow.

  The sheet of ice at my feet dispersed as the faceless man switched out for the black chain.

  I didn’t need to maintain my own condition anymore, and I didn’t need to focus on Samsara.

  That meant everything was going back into healing.

  The wall of fire expanded outwards, eating everything that stood in its way.

  Golden light seeped into Setsuna’s skin as she drew ever closer to it, her skin beginning to char just from being near it.

  “Yawarakai-te!”

  The river disappeared, condensing along the edge of her sword.

  Her blade looked almost unrecognisable, transforming into a shimmering, pristine length of gentle, flowing silver.

  ‘Yawarakai-te’, Juuchi Fuyu’s counterpart and the second half of the technique. Where as Juuchi Fuyu was a merciless blade that cut through everything without concern, its counterpart was famed for its gentleness, cutting only what was needed, sparing the innocent and undeserving.

  The first half of the Ninth form was reckless – a momentary flash of uncontrolled violence – but the second was controlled; concentrated and sustained.

  The gleaming edge swept across the fire.

  And somehow, the hateful blaze gave way.

  A black chain lashed out.

  Silver cleaved through black.

  One half of the accursed chain fell limply to the ground behind her.

  The faceless man reeled backwards, flinching in surprise at that outcome, a movement that broke his guard for just long enough to not see the shadow of a wolf descending behind him.

  I had only left him for a dozen or two seconds at best, but Fenrir looked to be in dire condition already, much of his fur stripped away and burnt, and his hind leg completely frozen.

  I circled around the pit of fire, wincing as I stepped onto the other half of the arena, now a mess of burning hot coals and lava.

  Whatever, it was at least an ordinary kind of pain caused by an ordinary kind of heat. This burning was nothing compared to whatever mystical properties that fire and ice had.

  I had to focus on other things.

  The heat clawed at my feet as I anchored myself again.

  I quickly sent out my mana towards the wolf, slowly thawing his leg and patching his fur up.

  A robed figure was sent flying away as Fenrir smashed him away, straight towards Setsuna’s sword.

  The countless chains binding him vibrated, violently flying outwards as they snaked towards the faceless man, intending on piercing and binding him.

  The foe just regained his footing, quickly turning back to stop himself from being imprisoned by his own (?) weapon.

  But he wasn’t quick enough.

  Just as he fended off the last of Fenrir’s shackles with his own, a silver blade slashed downwards on his back.

  Even with his overwhelming firepower, a two-on-one was still too difficult to manage.

  Enraged, he swung around, dismissing his now-severed chain once more as he blocked Fenrir off with a wall of ice, reaching outwards with his other, flame-covered hand.

  A silver edge descended upon him once more.

  Instead of moving out of the way, he simply reached upwards, gripping the magical blade with his fingers, stopping it in its tracks.

  Setsuna grit her teeth and pushed.

  Blood dribbled from the man’s palm as his strength started to fail him.

  Then suddenly, the flame contained in his hand latched on to the blade, exploding outwards and consuming it whole.

  Surprise flashed on Setsuna’s face as she watched the projected silver gleam on her blade evaporate in an instant, exposing its naked, rusted edge.

  She scowled, twisting backwards and kicking him away for good measure as she disengaged, sliding backwards.

  The fire on her blade refused to go out.

  She could already see it glowing red-hot, weakening and softening its edge.

  Without a moment’s hesitation, she gripped the hilt with both hands and roared as she slammed it straight into the earth, smothering the blade completely as it descended into the ground, rupturing everything around us and quaking the mountain.

  The earth was sundered as everything shook, cracking as it destabilised, breaking the very arena she had set up with her earlier technique.

  The wall of ice blocking Fenrir off collapsed as it lost its foundations.

  Lava and rock overturned as the chaotic sundering submerged it.

  Setsuna withdrew her blade, intact but smoking.

  For a moment, there was silence.

  Then Fenrir’s body flew back towards us, once again half-frozen, half-charred.

  I ducked underneath his massive form, quickly turning around to chase him and help him back up.

  The corrupted ichor started flowing again, seeping beneath our feet.

  I shook Fenrir, almost vomiting as I healed him back up with mere wisps of mana.

  The gargantuan wolf limped and wobbled as he stood back up, my pitiful attempt at magic barely successful.

  I nearly tumbled to the floor just from that small amount of effort.

  I felt the world slowly turn hazy.

  I started to lose feeling, uncontrollably shivering.

  “What. A. Dreadful. Day.”

  That annoyed drawl snapped me awake.

  At the very least, he didn’t look to be in great condition himself.

  This wasn’t all for nothing, it seemed.

  This battle was hopefully drawing close to an end.

  “Unto thee,” he growled, his accent slipping again, “I truly, truly, truly wish a myriad curses. Thy petty circus trick… taking grasp of mine own weapons and turning it against me? How. Utterly. Dreadful. The memories thou bringest back…”

  I froze from the repugnant glare that pierced my soul.

  “I thought it a thousand years too early for memories of her to be resurfacing. Wretched Estelle Symphonia. A pathetic, tragic fate that has befallen thee. Thou hast drawn mine ire.”

  Setsuna narrowed her eyes silently, frowning as she entered a defensive stance.

  The faceless man continued to limp towards us, blood dripping from his wounds.

  “No matter. It affects our designs not. Thou hast done nothing to avert thy end.”

  My eyes flickered towards the object in the background, at the back of the pool, sitting at the source of all of Yrd’s pseudo-divine streams.

  A wicked altar, a deathly, bony claw rising from its centre, flanked by two pale wings, almost decaying into dirt.

  In the centre of the claw’s palm, an orb of pure muck and grime swirled, draining and leeching all the life and light from the mountain, a putrid aura rolling off of it.

  Just looking at it was enough to make me uncomfortable, almost making me vomit even more.

  I grinded my teeth.

  We still didn’t know what this was all for. What was the corruption of Yrd’s waters even meant to accomplish?

  “Thy time on this realm approaches its end,” he spat, “I would pity thee, as pitiful insects, and tell thee to enjoy what little time remains… but for you. Symphonia. I shalln’t ever wish thee a singular moment of peace.”

  He flicked his hand outwards.

  An impossible silver sword pointed towards us.

  “Let thy last moments be pathetic and painful. Die knowing that thou accomplished nothing, and my plans continue unimpeded. Arden will fall, and Manusyara after it.”

  He plunged it straight into the pool of ichor.

  There was a small bit of confusion on Setsuna’s face as he did so.

  My eyes widened in horror, as I realised what was coming next.

  “ABOVE!” I screamed, “WE HAVE TO FINISH THIS OFF NOW!”

  I stumbled forwards, breaking into a run.

  The strange pair of wolf and elf followed behind me, narrowly avoiding being impaled by an endless rain of steel from the heavens.

  The faceless man took his hands off the blade, letting it sit in the pool as the sword continued to descend from the sky in an infinite amount of places and times.

  He drew his left hand back.

  A hellish mockery of the sun gathered behind him, brewing with enough hatred to burn the sky itself.

  The sky turned red. If there were any clouds left, there weren’t any now.

  He drew his right hand back.

  An impenetrable void of white frost gathered.

  The earth beneath us trembled.

  What?

  A speckle of silver.

  I almost fell to the floor.

  Sharp silver pillars of steel erupted upwards.

  One nicked my feet, making me trip.

  I heard howls of pain from the side.

  Fenrir’s gargantuan body made it impossible to avoid being impaled by all of them.

  I reached out to heal him, but before I could, something grabbed onto my collar.

  Huh?

  I looked up, only to find that the wolf bit onto my clothes.

  No, he wasn’t going to-!?

  Wind rushed against my face as I was tossed forward out of range.

  “Fenrir!” I screamed in desperation, watching as the bloodied wolf fell to the floor, a hundred swords sticking out of his body.

  A singular tear – all that my body was capable of producing in its drained state – dribbled out from my eye, only to immediately evaporate under the blistering heat, reminding me of the situation.

  I felt everything start to slip into darkness.

  This is it.

  I was at my limit.

  I guess this was the end.

  Again.

  You weren’t ever enough to save anyone.

  Again, it would all just slip through my fingers.

  I don’t think I had enough left in me stop whatever that man was planning.

  Mother. Arden.

  Luna.

  Mother…

  Luna…

  The wheel will turn.

  It’s okay.

  You don’t need to worry.

  Just lie to yourself again.

  Just run away.

  Shut.

  Up.

  My heart gave one last pathetic thump, burning with whatever life was left in me.

  Adrenaline flooded my system.

  My feet slammed into the ground as I caught myself.

  My world was enveloped in hellish red and white.

  The ichor bubbling at my feet dragged me closer to death with its sickening, pestilent grip.

  I was already out of mana, but at this point, I didn’t care.

  One half of my body burnt to a crisp, the other half froze solid.

  I vaguely saw Setsuna roll off to the side, looking on in horror as I was consumed by the unnatural elements.

  It’s fine.

  Just give in.

  You were always weak anyways.

  This is how you were always meant to be.

  The ice freezing one of my hands cracked.

  Anger welled inside of me as I forced it into a fist.

  I broke free and trudged forwards, even as my flesh started to melt.

  The staff in my hand completely disintegrated under the full might of the fire.

  That’s fine.

  I didn’t need it. It was just a guide.

  Dying embers of mana wrapped around my body.

  A splitting headache pierced my skull as I divided one half of whatever pitiful dredges of mana I had left to heal myself, and the other to simply spiral around me.

  I stumbled forwards, barely capable of thought, and my nervous system completely fried.

  A charred hand rose around my neck, clutching that jewel necklace tightly.

  I wasn’t anyone special. I wasn’t a genius who deserved the tutelage of someone like Belle Symphonia. I was hardly able to get a passing grade at Nindo.

  But still, I couldn’t let her teachings which I barely understood go to waste.

  I wasn’t someone who deserved a second chance. I had no right to unconditional love, not after all I had done to squander it the first time around with my cowardice.

  But still.

  That woman who wanted to hold the stars in her hands.

  Despite everything, she still gave me my name.

  Despite everything, the world still gave me that little girl at that orphanage.

  I could not let it all disappear.

  Remember your Oath, Estelle.

  There was a low hum I could barely be bothered to notice emanating from my necklace.

  Two singular wisps of mana circled around me, each latching onto the flame and frost respectively.

  I felt my brain nearly split in half as I struggled to do the calculations simultaneously for both North and South.

  Those two wisps of mana slowly spun in a circle, forming a wheel.

  No one will blame you.

  It’s okay.

  Samsara.

  A way to channel regrets and despair into hopes and dreams.

  The runes etched deep into the jewellery started to glow.

  West and East.

  Blood dribbled out of every orifice.

  South and North.

  I approached my limit.

  East and West.

  The Great Wheel creaked and groaned as I neared the end of the first cycle.

  Everything blackened.

  I stared into the void.

  A selfish voice whispered in my ear.

  I recognised it as my own.

  The person I used to be.

  Far out in front of me, the faceless man just looked at me in disgust.

  “Still standing. How far will this pathetic resistance last? Fall to thy feet already, wretched Symphonia.”

  He scoffed.

  “Give up.”

  Just give up.

  I snarled, baring my teeth.

  My eyes snapped open, meeting his glare with just as much ferocity and hatred.

  “SHUT UP!” I roared hoarsely.

  I didn’t care that I had nothing left.

  I didn’t care that I wasn’t enough.

  I was sick and tired of all of this.

  I screamed at the top of my lungs, summoning everything I had remaining.

  The Great Wheel groaned in resistance, cracking with every single degree I pushed it.

  If what I had left inside of me wasn’t enough…

  Then fine.

  Whatever I didn’t have, that would do as well.

  Whatever everyone who had stood beside me up until now gave me.

  I would use it all.

  Setsuna’s blade, which she solemnly swore to wield alongside me.

  Fenrir, who broke his rampage for just a moment to protect me.

  Mother’s love, and her dream of the moon and the stars, giving me my very name.

  I gathered all of it into my hand, and I tugged at the wheel.

  The dam broke, and the Great Wheel gave way.

  The fire and ice swirled around me, revving into a blur as it formed a spiral.

  One transformation after another. Fire to Wind to Water to Earth to Fire and all the way around and around.

  It started to flicker in and out of existence as each transformation grew faster and faster.

  Its form became meaningless.

  I gripped even more tightly onto the necklace, drawing blood from my palm as my nails dug into the fragile skin.

  From nothing to something. Something to everything. Grind down hopelessness and spin the thread of despair into the brightest of stars. Take your nightmares and crush them, until the pressure of your heart crystallises it into a hopeful dream.

  “SAMSARA!”

  The energy around me unwound, spun into threads of pure mana.

  A storm of brilliant blue erupted around me, piercing the heavens.

  The faceless man flinched at the sight, his face twisting in anger as he realised what he was looking at.

  The endless field of fire and ice around me completely disappeared, swept away in the storm as I used it as simple fuel for the spell, letting the twister of pure energy spasm as it grew and grew.

  “That…”

  Shapeless eyes widened in disbelief at the sight as he muttered to himself.

  “No, impossible. Belle Symphonia… is her work really capable of replicating…?”

  Setsuna herself almost stumbled, barely able to keep her eyes open at the sheer radiance of the vortex.

  She looked down at her rusty blade, and bit her lip.

  “A manastorm, an impossible miracle. Sensei, thy…”

  The sound of shifting steel broke her train of thought.

  The faceless man withdrew the silver blade from its place in the pool, flicking it straight to the centre of the storm.

  The sword shot forward a thousand times.

  There was no time for her to hesitate any longer.

  The elven swordswoman dived forwards, circling the edge of the manastorm and letting the energy caress the tip of her blade.

  In that split-second, she closed her eyes and meditated, dispelling whatever doubt she was feeling in that moment.

  The mana swelled around her blade, disappearing into nothing as it transformed into something beyond perception.

  She started to tremble, her arms twitching in pain as she struggled to control it.

  She tried to speak the name of the technique through grit teeth.

  “Sora…ken…”

  She wasn’t fast enough.

  The sword was about to reach its target.

  There wasn’t a choice.

  Setsuna let out a roar as she swung her blade forwards, letting the incomplete technique loose.

  Everything in the blade’s path seemed to twist and bend, distorting out of reality.

  Space itself was cleaved in half.

  The faceless man’s eyes widened in panic.

  He hurriedly dropped his weapon and spun around, leaping for the altar.

  His fingers touched the ball of pure death and evil in the skeletal claw’s palm.

  Everything went silent.

  The storm of mana around me disappeared.

  I fell to my knees, almost submerging myself in the black pool.

  I held onto whatever tendrils of mana I could, taking it back to slowly knit up the damage done to my body.

  I vomited blood into the pool of ichor.

  I felt hurried footsteps close in on me, splashing through the black liquid.

  I-...

  Did we stop him?

  “Estelle!”

  Someone shook my shoulders.

  The world blurred.

  I tried to focus on the pool’s edge, ignoring whoever was shaking me.

  I couldn’t see the altar anymore.

  That… was… good…

  Right?

  “Hold on!”

  I grew limp.

  I was tired.

  I-...

  I wanted to go to sleep.

  Good night… everyone.

  …

  Good night, Luna.

  Don’t worry about your big sister, I’m just a bit tired… that’s all.

  I’ll still wake up in time to make breakfast for the both of us.

  Motivation was a bit rough for this chapter.

  I wanted to insert a few moments into the chapter where I would update the boss’s HP like ‘100% HP > 93.2% HP’ but I think it was a bit clunky from specifically Estelle’s perspective.

  There’s a few moments later where bits of the game HUD or whatever will definitely show up, but it felt a bit offputting to read it from Estelle’s first-person perspective.

  I would say we’re about ? done with this arc. Next two chapters will be a small break until we hit the climax and then it’s just one big push until the end.