They kept their guard up as they walked through the snow-covered land. Tiny flurries of snow began to fall from the sky. The mighty beast's roars echoed through the land once again.
The intense winds combined with the snow made it almost impossible to see ahead.
For a brief moment, Agni lost sight of Vartan walking in front of him. He tried yelling out for him but heard no response. Vartan suddenly appeared from the shadows and grabbed Agni.
“I got you, kid,” He reassured him. Vartan held Agni close and raised his staff. Within a second, it filled with golden energy, which acted as a small light to guide their way.
While walking, Vartan noticed a small cavern entrance further in the distance and tried yelling out to Agni. “ I think I see the entr-” Before he could finish, a black energy ball blasted the ground beneath them. Agni quickly regained consciousness and deflected a phantom dagger hurling toward him. Phoebus immediately revealed himself and shot countless daggers toward Agni, which he disintegrated by slashing his sword outward and creating a fire barrier.
Phoebus teleported behind him and slashed through part of his armor. Agni yelled in pain and hacked off part of the phantom's arm. He kicked it down into the ground and began looking for Vartan.
He has to be fighting Deimos, Agni thought to himself. He tried lighting a flame to help him see, but it proved ineffective. The storm made it impossible to see more than a few feet ahead. He wandered around, hoping to hear or see something that would help him locate Vartan.
He heard Phoebus teleport away behind him and began to panic.
“VARTAN!!” he yelled, but it knew it was pointless. He almost lost hope. Then he saw a brief flash of Golden Light explode in the distance. He immediately began running toward the source despite his injuries.
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After the sudden blast, Vartan got thrown against a tree. He had separated from Agni during the blast, and the storm was at its peak. He calmly got up and began looking around for Agni. A shadow jumped out and tried to attack Vartan. He quickly stepped back and tried grabbing onto them, but they instantly went away from his grab and reappeared a few feet from him.
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Both stood still, waiting for the other to make a move. Vartan’s eyes widened when he faintly heard his name being called out. Deimos immediately threw a black orb and knocked Vartan down. It teleported closer to Vartan and tried stabbing him in the eye.
Vartan just barely stopped the blade. He could see its sharp end edging closer. The area around them exploded in golden light, and the phantom retreated. After a moment, Both Phoebus and Deimos stood in front of Vartan. His fists began to glow with Golden Light as he charged them with magic. Vartan quickly overwhelmed them as he constantly bombarded them with golden comets.
He dodged their attacks and closed the distance between himself and the phantoms. He threw his fist into Phoebus’s stomach and went through. The phantom screeched in agony and teleported away. He turned his attention to Deimos and tried attacking him. He managed to shield himself from Vartan. Vartan tried pushing through the shield, but Deimos resisted. Vartan got closer and closer to him until he was face to face. In a last effort, the Phantom threw out his hand. Vartan’s mind began to flood with visions of a red-haired woman. He instantly recognized the mysterious person.
“VARTAN, HELP ME!!” She cried out. The woman appeared to be trapped in an endless abyss inside the soul of the Phantom.
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Agni suddenly jumped out. He tried hacking through the Phantom, but it quickly teleported away from sight.
Agni breathed out heavily as he realized that Vartan was injured. Blood was dripping from his stomach. He tried walking forward but stumbled until Agni caught him.
“I got you,” he said. Agni helped Vartan walk through the woods when they both suddenly heard the roars of the mighty beast. They stopped and heard its loud footsteps near them. After a moment, It roared into the air, sending frozen mist shooting upward and ran deep into the forest.
“We have to get out of here,” Vartan told Agni. After walking further still, they stumbled upon a small cavern entrance.
“Does this look familiar?” Vartan asked.
“No, this can’t be where Annie is,” Agni said. “Let’s take a break here, though.”
Agni gently sat Vartan, being careful not to injure him further.
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He cried as he held Vartan up, awaiting a miracle that would never happen, for the last scholar of Arosia had perished.