He laughed, satisfied:

"I'll admit, you're the first one to make me bleed," he snorted. "I had to use a healing potion, you bitch!"

He took a deep breath and another step closer, then sighed. "You know your mission. Free the idiot bastard from jail and bring him to Silver Town. You have two days; the countdown is on your collar. Ha ha ha!"

Fuck! At least I do not have to follow him now.

“And Alice?”

He shrugged. “You lost!”

My lower lip started trembling, and I was rendered speechless for a few moments. Why would he do such a thing? How could I possibly change his mind? What could I do?

"Please... Fucking bastard!!!”

The gnome and his companions had already vanished into thin air. I let out a primal scream, filled with anger and frustration, directed at the collapsing portal. I strained with all my might to free my frozen leg, the ice slowly cracking under pressure. As the ice shattered, pieces of my boot and even some of my skin remained stuck to the frozen ground, while chunks of ice and debris hung from my injured leg.

Suddenly everything returned to normal, and soldiers came running toward me from all sides. They stopped in bewilderment and watched me scream my anger amid the devastation.

“What happened? Did you win? Where are they?”

I sighed and pointed somewhere in the air where the portal had been. “The fucking bastards are gone!”

They assumed I was victorious upon seeing I was the only one to emerge from the darkness; however, I had no desire and no patience to explain the extent of my defeat.

I felt devastated and weak, and my right leg was driving me crazy with the defrosting pain and the additional weight of blocks of ice and detritus I was dragging with me. I started to blast the ice with my katars to free myself as if I was going to chop my foot.

I must have been a nightmarish sight with my burned equipment and torn clothes, walking like a zombie through the devastated area and hacking at my foot.

The marketplace was in shambles as if a tornado had torn through it.

The once-beautiful stone columns had suffered destruction, whether by fire blast or broken by ice, while the tiled roof was missing in several areas.

The sales booths that had been neatly arranged before were now a sight of chaos, either pulverized, burned, or ripped apart with the goods strewn all around, in varying stages of ruin.

Even the rectangular stones covering the market's floor were cracked or blown out.

The booth owners followed hesitantly behind the soldiers, hoping to salvage some of their belongings. As they surveyed the damage, a few of them approached the spot where Alice lay, shattered into blocks of ice.

I took a bottle of healing potion from my belt and drank.

That was a minor healing potion, but at least it would fix some wounds. As I searched for another one, I found a scroll in my bag.

My heartbeat went up a notch. What if I try it on Alice? Only a super high-level druid could have saved her now, and there was no chance I could get one here within the next minute. There was no more time for anything else. I do have an anti-freeze potion, but that would not work in this situation. Now, normally she is dead; however, if she were frozen in one block, not split apart, I should be able to bring her back to life with my potion. The damn idiot had to break her! Only if she would not be broken! Or only a leg or a hand broken, but her torso and neck broken!? What if I put the ice pieces back together? How does it matter if the ice is broken or not? Especially if I put it back together and heal the rupture? What if?

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“Don’t break the ice. Don't touch her,” - I told the soldiers who were gathering around her - “that ice breaks easily, and this could further hurt her.”

“But, but she is dead? She cannot survive this!?”

I heard angry voices. NPCs were starting to wail and scream about their lost goods, with the soldiers trying to calm them down. Oh fuck, this devolves in the end into a revolt. I need to hurry up and get out of here. I could try to spin it up as if I fought to defend the town; that would be my only chance if it gets ugly, or else… kill and run… but first save Alice, try what still can be tried.

“I want to try something.”

One soldier asked me, shocked:

“Necromancy?”

“No!”

I cleaned a tear. I don't want to cry! I am angry. Mad. They should not try to stop me. Nobody should try to stop me. Luckily she is only broken into a couple of big pieces. I put her main body back on its feet and then took the upper part.

Will this work? I have to try!

I think they felt my mood as the angry voices went to make noise a little bit further away. I still heard some nasty comments, but I concentrated on my work.

Maybe it's a result of magic; several times, I had the impression that the spawns felt the feelings: when I was angry, happy, or ready to go crazy. Now I was ready to go wild if anyone tried to interrupt me.

I blew over the broken part to remove any impurities, poured some heal potion over the ice, and put the upper block over it. My fingers trembled, and I needed to be fast and precise. I controlled my breathing, concentrating on what I was doing. The trembling ceased.

The ice melted on the surface where the healing potion was spread and froze partially again as cold spread from the block, welding the pieces together.

The NPCs around me started to comment low voice:

“She is crazy!”

“What is she trying to do? Make an ice statue of the dead rogue?”

This is the downside of having improved hearing: they were whispering to each other but still I could hear them. Improved assassins' senses...

I ignored them. I continued to gather further pieces, washed them in a healing potion, and put them together. The healing potion was fighting the ice, trying to rebuild the scarred tissue. There must still be living cells in there, as it seemed to work partially. Living cells? Are these avatars made of living cells?

Fuck don't overthink it, Dolores; hurry up before it melts altogether. Even if not perfect, the healing potions should do the work.

This needs a lot more healing potion than it would be needed if she would drink it. I hope I have enough.

Now she is almost done, there are still missing some small parts, but she starts to crumble. What do I do, the restore scroll or the anti-freeze potion? Does the restore scroll make any sense? It is used for greater healing and can restore limbs, but I never saw one used in such a case. What if I use them concomitantly?

I put her gently on her back, carefully not to break my construct. I was so damn afraid she would break. I took the potion and uncorked it, then held it in one hand and the scroll in the other then started to pour the potion over her at the same moment as I shook the scroll open. I need to try now or forget it.

“Restore Alice!” - I mumbled whilst the magic unfolded from the scroll. I heard her lungs emptying as the unfreezing potion started to work. I kneed on one knee and poured my last healing potion over her face and body.

Nothing happened.

For a couple of seconds, I looked petrified at her face, then started to do reanimation movements.

I knew how to do it; I'd had my first aid training not so long ago. I blew air into her lungs and pressed her heart in rhythmic movements.

I put my weight on her sternum, repeatedly pushing with my arms. It has to work!

But… nothing. I was getting desperate. Electro shocks? Would that work? This is an avatar in a game; why would that work?

Fuck, I have to try; I do have a pair of stars that produce electric shocks. To be used against cattle and the kind to chase them away. I swooped in my inventory, took two out, and planted them to her sides near her breasts.

Her upper body jumped from the shock, her mouth opened, and air entered the lungs with a sound as if absorbed into a vacuum.

“Alice!”

I pressed her, then put my mouth against her and blew air into her lungs again. Again and again.

I felt a movement under my hand. Her eyes were open. Our eyes met. I pressed her lungs once more.

She mumbled, trying to look around, and started coughing miserably.

“Gargle-cough-cough-grunt-heave-cough”

I hugged her.

“Huh… Cala? What happened?”

I closed my eyes holding her tight to my breast.