Chapter 2

❄ A Battle for Survival ❄

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They had managed to evade the armed men that had attacked their house. Rime knew it was only a matter of time before they were caught.

"We can't keep running forever," He said, his voice laced with frustration. "We need to face them head-on."

Mia looked at him, concern etched on her face.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? We don't know who we're up against. They could have powerful gifters."

Rime knew she was right, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he needed to take a stand. He couldn't keep living in fear.

"I have to try, we can't keep hiding forever. And I can't keep running from who I am. I have to embrace my gift and use it to protect us."

Mia nodded, a look of understanding in her eyes.

"Okay. But be careful. And if things go south, we run."

Rime nodded, standing up as he prepared to face whatever lay ahead.

They didn't have to wait long. A few hours later, they were surrounded by a group of heavily armed soldiers.

"Rime and Mia Kruger," a familiar voice boomed through a megaphone. "You are wanted for questioning by the government. Surrender now and no harm will come to you...maybe."

Rime and Mia exchanged a determined glance before stepping forward. They both unleashed their aura causing the soldiers to hesitate. Now they were unsure of how to deal with the two teenagers who were clearly not afraid of them.

The voice on the megaphone warned in an irritated tone, "Don't make this a hassle. We're getting close to overtime. I don't want to be here any longer than I have to be, but we've been ordered to bring you in, by any means necessary."

Rime raised his hand while gathering icy energy. "We're not going anywhere with you."

After a moment of hesitation, the soldiers began shooting. Rime swiftly creates an ice barrier to safeguard himself, while Mia destroys the incoming bullets with flames.

The battle raged on, with neither side gaining the upper hand. That is until a figure emerged from the shadows. It was the man speaking on the megaphone. He was a young man of average height and build, with black hair and striking green eyes. He had an air of arrogance about him. "Rime Kruger!" the man said, with a hint of amusement in his voice. "I have been informed that you possess ice abilities, let's see if you are worth my time."

Rime's heart raced as he realized who he was facing. Arthur, the most feared member of the Vindicta. He was known for his Esper abilities.

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"I- I'm not afraid of you," Rime said, trying to hide the fear in his voice.

Arthur chuckled. "You should be."

He said with a sinister smile.

Rime grit his teeth determined to prove him wrong. He summoned all the icy energy he could muster and sent it towards Arthur.

But to his surprise, Arthur didn't even flinch. He simply raised his hand and Rime felt an invisible weight pressing down on him.

"Kneel," Arthur said, in a cold tone.

Rime was having a hard time breaking free from the invisible force that Arthur had used to bind him. He watched as his sister, Mia, stepped forward to confront Arthur. Her red aura was ablaze with anger as she prepared to fight. Mia began to attack Arthur but he easily dodged her large stream of fire.

Arthur speed blitz her and kicked her in the stomach, causing her to double over in pain. He laughed, "You're strong, but not strong enough to defeat me."

Mia gritted her teeth and stood back up. She knew she had to protect her brother, and she wouldn't give up. Rime, meanwhile, was still struggling against the force holding him down. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his head and started to grunt in pain.

Arthur was still dodging Mia's attacks. But he noticed that Rime's aura was growing stronger. Arthur's expression grew more serious. Mia unleashed her most powerful technique, a huge homing fire blast. Arthur tried to dodge it, but it hit him and caused a huge explosion. Mia was relieved that it was over and went to check on Rime.

But as she got closer to her brother, she saw that something was wrong. Rime was still being held by the invisible force that Arthur had placed on him. She looked back at the explosion and saw that Arthur had survived with only minor injuries. But his hoodie had been torn.

Arthur looked at the siblings with an angry expression, "This hoodie was not cheap you little shit, I had to spend a lot of money on it!"

While unleashing his dark green aura. The sight of it scared Mia, and she fell to the ground, exhausted. She looked over at Rime with a desperate look.

Rime started to think back to the first time he got his powers and the fear he felt when he froze the police officers. He was reliving that moment over and over again. As Arthur was getting close to the siblings, Rime's energy levels were going through the roof. His blue and icy aura was all over the place, freezing the area around him.

As Rime stood up from the ground, breaking free from the invisible force that held him down. Rime's aura was so powerful that it froze his sister's leg, causing her to scream in agony. Rime was not in control of himself at that moment. His eyes were shining bright blue, and he began to absorb the ice and snow around him at an alarming rate.

Arthur, visibly tense and worried, exclaimed, "This guy is out of control!"

Suddenly, Rime stopped absorbing and his aura died down. Mia had a feeling it was not over yet, she quickly unfroze herself using her fire and ran to safety. Arthur yelled at his soldiers " Take cover, you fools!"

After a brief pause, Rime unleashed a wave of ice and snow around him, causing massive destruction. The soldiers started to survey the destruction left in the wake of Rime's attack. One of them said with a worried expression, "I can't believe what just happened." Arthur looked at Rime with a worried smile and said, "Yeah...This guy is crazy, he turned the area into an icy wasteland."

Rime collapsed and lost consciousness. He had used so much energy in his attack that his body couldn't handle it. The intense blue light in his eyes faded and he lay motionless on the ground. The soldiers, realizing that Rime was no longer a threat, approached him cautiously. Arthur, visibly relieved, ordered his soldiers to take Rime and Mia into custody.

[ The battle was over but Rime and Mia are in custody! ]