“So the journey begins, right, everyone?” Marla asked.

“Yep,” Svenja confirmed. “I got Draley, Ahina an’ Trix with me, an’ we got a long way to go.”

“I see. But what about the Memory Portal, can't you just use that?”

“Eh, well, ya see… I needa have a strong memory of a location an’ have a deep, personal tie to it in order for it to work, unless it's a place I've been to in the past twenty-four hours. I ain't all that familiar with Snowclover, so I'm screwed on that one.”

“Well darn… Then what's your plan?”

“There's a cave on Mt. Horn that I crashed at when I was in a bind long ago. From there, we can go to Solhenge, an' finally, Snowclover City right next door.”

“Understood… Mt. Horn is nothing to play with, but I can trust you to make it safely.”

“We're the freakin' Alliance, after all! No worries, we'll be back in a flash!”

“Very well. Good luck, Svenja, everyone!”

“Mhm!” Svenja replied.

“Will do, we won't let you down,” Trixie added, her eyes simmering with resolve.

…

The air stood still within the mountains surrounding Mt. Horn, with Svenja and the others sandwiched by white stone with edges as sharp as blades.

“This place...sucks…” Trixie moaned, quivering as she traversed the ragged land.

Svenja looked back at Trixie with a smirk and shook her head. “Bah, where's ye sense of adventure all ‘a sudden, Trix?”

"I have an adventure like every dang day. I just don't want to die on this silly mountain." Trixie shot back.

"Huh, fine. Ye keep complainin’ an’ we'll be here forever. Just watch ya step an’ we'll be fine."

"Fine. But don't you dare laugh when I fall off the side."

"Ya know me, Trixie."

"...Don't you dare...”

The Alliance fought their way through the treacherous landscape, the group's minds focused on the difficult task of climbing the steep mountain.

"We gotta be almost there by now..." Ahina panted as she continued to struggle against the relentless terrain, knowing how dangerous these sharp rocky steps could be.

…

The Alliance powered through the most perilous part of Mt. Horn, the peak having been surmounted. Now, they found themselves planted on the flatter part of the mountain, which was still dangerous in its own way, but at least the most jagged edges of the mountain were behind them.

The air was still silent, with the wind howling in the distance as the sunset colored the skies above in oranges and deep reds.

"That was tough," Draley said, letting out a sigh of relief.

“Hey guys, look!” Trixie announced, pointing below at the lights from two distant cities back on the ground level.

“Aha! There's Solhenge an' Snowclover right there! Let's keep it movin'!”

Before anyone could make another move, a deep roar could be heard approaching them. Turning around, they were met with a lizard-like Depraved flying to them, launching a beam of Darkness from its mouth. Everyone jumped out of the way and readied themselves as they stared the creature down.

“Oh boy, right when we were doing good…” Draley sighed, summoning her staff while Svenja brandished her sword.

“Well, ya gals know what we do best!” Svenja said, her aura surrounding her body as she used Enfold on her blade.

The monster continued to fire more beams of Darkness at the group, forcing them to dodge and block the attacks.

"Look out!" Draley yelled as she summoned a force shield around Ahina to protect her from another beam of Darkness.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Oof, thanks,” Ahina said, conjuring Earthquaker and creating a Barrier.

Draley used her magic powers to summon walls of water to fend off the incoming beams, and Trixie used her aura to freeze several of the beams of Darkness in place. Svenja unleashed slash after slash upon the creature, which bounced off of its scales like nothing.

In a bout of frustration, Draley trapped the Depraved in a translucent magical cube. The Depraved slammed against the wall with its horned head in an attempt to break out, the cube's strength weakening with each impact.

“Y'know what?” Svenja said, sheathing her sword. Her aura swelled to astonishing heights as a malicious grin spread across her features. “As much as I hate goin' into this form, I'm gonna do it ‘cause ye're bein' a real pain in me arse!”

Svenja closed her eyes for a second, and upon opening them, her eyes glowed with intensity as her aura flared up and took the shape of a dragon around her body.

“Your Dragon Sovereign form…” Draley said, watching Svenja's transformation with a raised brow.

“Damn straight!”

Woah, that's a cool form… Trixie thought as she watched her leader with her mouth agape in awe.

“Trixie,” Piper said. “Remember that time I told you about the special transformation you can enter when your Aura reserves are high? I think it's time you try it out.”

I see, Trixie replied mentally. So how do I transform?

“Just focus… Act as if all of your Aura is alight with incredible power. Think of something that makes you angry if it helps you.”

“So it's like Increase, right?”

“Well, yes. But take it a step further than that.”

“Say no more.”

Trixie then turned to Draley, “Um, Draley, may I have some of your Aura for a moment?”

Huh?” Draley's brows rose in response before giving her a slow nod. “Well, sure.”

Draley walked up to Trixie and put a hand on her head, sharing her Aura. Trixie felt life bursting into her body, giving Draley a thumbs up after several moments passed.

“All right, that's enough I think. Thanks, Draley.”

“No problem. Now, what are you going to do with it?”

“You're about to see right now.”

Trixie shut her eyes and went into a deep focus, delving into the deepest depths of her Aura's potential. The air around her began to grow colder by the second as Trixie used Increase like she never have before.

“It's getting very chilly all of a sudden…” Draley said, using Barrier to shield her body from the cold, as the others did the same.

Ahina nodded. “Yeah, it is. Wait, what's going on with Trix?”

Trixie opened her eyes, which were a blinding blue as her Aura froze the ground beneath her.

“Yes…that's it!” Piper cheered.

“Oh shit,” Svenja exclaimed, looking over at the new Trixie. “I've never seen this side ‘a ya!”

Trixie looked at her hands, which were encased in a thick coat of ice-like gloves. Her hair also glittered, resembling snow twinkling in sunlight. She looked back up at her companions, who all stared at her with wonder.

“You're full of surprises, aren't you, Trix?” Ahina said with a grin.

“I mean…This is my first time doing this,” Trixie replied, looking back at her friends with the same surprise.

“Welp, there's no time to waste, let's get this over with!” Ahina replied.

With one final headbutt, the Depraved broke free of its magical prison, the Alliance standing guard.

Svenja got into an offensive position and looked back at the others with a determined smile. “All right, ya gals ready?!”

“Yeah!!!!” Everyone replied.

Svenja dived in headfirst, swinging her claws of Aura at the Depraved, slicing through the Depraved's scales and dealing a crushing blow.

Trixie followed through with a pillar of ice from the ground, which struck the Depraved where Svenja attacked.

“Hey, NOW we're dealing real damage to that thing!” Ahina said before jumping up to swing Earthquaker at the creature, sending it down to the ground.

The air was filled with the sounds of battle as the Alliance battled the Depraved, each one of their attacks striking true on the Depraved who was now left with severe injuries, leaving it on thin ice.

Trixie couldn't keep up her transformation any longer and returned to normal. The creature's eyes then turned red, making everyone stand back and watch in confusion.

“Hold on, what's up with it now?!” Svenja asked.

“From what I see, it's losing its strength,” Draley answered. “I reckon it's nearing its death now.”

The Depraved did the opposite and disappeared into a portal it created on the ground.

“Damn! The bloody bastard disappeared!” Svenja complained.

“Come, we must follow it and finish the job,” Draley suggested.

“I think we should just leave it there and keep moving,” Trixie replied.

“No,” Draley protested. “Depraved can remember Auras and appearances. It will come back to fight us again after it recovers, so it's better to kill it off…”

“Well, I'm in, let's go!” Ahina said before jumping into the portal.

“Ahina, wait-!” Draley said before heading into the portal without haste.

Svenja and Trixie exchanged a nod with each other before heading in as well.

…

Ahina fell down the portal into a dark void, screaming out to her friends as she did. Svenja dived in at quick speeds to catch her friend by the ankle, flapping her dragon wings of aura to remain afloat. Then came Trixie, who Svenja also caught by the arm. Draley caught up to them in a safe, slow descent as she floated down using levitation. She placed a magic floor underneath them, and Svenja used this as an opportunity to put Trixie down, then flipping Ahina right-side up and putting her down as well. Draley landed beside them.

“Woo! Thanks, Draley, you saved our lives!” Ahina praised.

“Eh?!” Svenja spat, giving a playful glare at her. “I saved YOUR life!”

“Yeah, yeah, you did…” Ahina said with a smirk as she rolled her eyes. “I also caught'cha checking me out back there,” she added with a knowing expression.

“Ahh, feck off!!” Svenja replied as her cheeks became a soft pink. “Who wouldn't when they're as big as yours an' bouncin' all over the place?!”

Ahina's eyes narrowed in mischief. “So now you're seeing where I get my nickname from…?”

“Everyone, stand on guard! I can sense its presence coming…” Draley announced.

The Depraved flew up and stared down at them, keeping at a distance.

“Well shoot…I can't reach it from here,” Ahina said.

“You can leave it to Draley and I, then,” Svenja assured. “Now let's kick this thing's bum already!”

The Depraved fired a wide beam of Darkness, which struck everyone as the attack left no room for anyone to dodge.

“Damn… This thing is gettin' on me last nerve now, I can't take much more…”

Pfft, talk about instant loss, Trixie thought.

“Then let's finish it!” Ahina responded, conjuring Earthquaker once again. “I've been building it up all this time and wanted to keep it going, but if it means getting this over with…I don't mind starting over again.”

“But how will you reach it from here?” Trixie inquired.

“I can help with that,” Draley replied, extending the platform to reach the Depraved.

“Just what I needed,” Ahina said, using Enfold on her claymore before taking a big leap towards the Depraved.

The Depraved tried to catch her off guard by launching a ball of Darkness at her, but the attack was faked out by a swift kick to its head. Ahina barrelled upward after her attack, and upon crashing back down, she unleashed her attack.

“Volcanic Rage!”

With all of her Aura focused into Earthquaker, Ahina slammed it on the Depraved, creating an explosion that shook the mountain itself.

The remaining bits and pieces of the Depraved fell down into the empty void below, leaving the Alliance alone in the realm. With the thread now gone, Svenja turned back to normal from her Dragon Sovereign form.

“Oh my, she's quite powerful, isn't she?” Piper asked, her tone full of shock and disbelief.

“Yeah, no kidding, Pipes,” Trixie replied.

“Goddess almighty,” Svenja boomed, watching the scene with her eyes wide.

“Ha, for the leader of the Alliance, you sure are surprised.” Trixie said in a taunting voice.

“Ay, that ain't shit to play with, Trix. One ‘a those at full power could put me in a bind.”

“Yeesh! You're serious about that?”

“Yep, I wouldn't lie to ya ‘bout that.”

Ahina smirked with pride as she chuckled. “Well at least you heard that for yourself, Trix,” she said.

“What even was that, though? Such incredible power in one strike!”

“That's Volcanic Rage. Any punishment my body receives goes straight into my Aura reserves. I can keep racking up more and more damage, and once I finally use it, all the damage I received turns into a huge eruption, like a Volcano.”

“Well damn, that sounds useful! Is there a limit to it?”

“Eh, I never reached it, and I'm not enough of a masochist to find out for myself.”

“Huh… So anyways, how are we getting out of here?”

“I can just use the Memory Portal to get back to Mount Horn, easy work!” Svenja replied, taking the initiative and teleporting herself and everyone else out of the dark realm.