Waiting in Metures's throne room, Oscar snapped his gaze up, still unable to see past the craggy ceiling of bumps and crevices, but he could sense the powerful Eins clashing far, far above, yet so clear all the way down here. He wiped off the sweat beading down his chin and suspected the two opposing Eins to be Gilbert and Lysander. Lysander's Ein was still fresh in his memories, having faced it head-on in a duel an hour ago, and he had experienced Gilbert's long ago in the library, the first taste of a Grade Nine's power that suppressed him in front of Celestina. It seemed the 'bastard' Lysander mentioned was Gilbert, who somehow drew the hostility of the Shattered Scion.
"Two Grade Nines clashing. That has not happened in ages; very few are born to Talos and even rarer since its gradual waning." Metures said, also looking up. "I can see the young one, Auren, the boy you have chosen for your plan. He has allied with the Grade Nine of Shattirma and is creating his formation. Your two adopted children are there too, safe and protected by the warriors of your home."
"Celestina and the others are there?" Oscar exhaled, relieved to hear that. After the short meeting, when he saw Celestina's exhausted appearance, he asked Serit to reach out and message her, asking her to fight alongside them. No response came, but it seemed she made up her mind, thankfully. With her and Lysander, there should be no more issues on Auren's end unless another variable messed up the balance. Emptying his mind of fear and doubt, he honed in on the two Eins, the Grade Nines, engaged in a violent clash, his torn body heaving in pain as simply grasping onto them worsened his wounds.
"Incredible. Aren't they? The foremost of the Exalts. The pinnacle of mastery of Ein. If that shard of mine, Lelith, had intended to kill you all swiftly, then there would be no contest. Pitifully, that shard lost all sense of logic and reason, wanting to sharpen itself through fear and pain. She enjoyed the torture and left you all alive to keep struggling." Metures grunted. "It was an enemy, but its loss is my own."
'Who in the blazes cares about your feelings, you metalhead?' Ignyres ignited in high flames. 'Your other precious candidate ran off with your shard? Why can't you clean up your own mess?'
"Technically, I will. Oscar will be the new me. Thus, he will recover the shard. In a way, I will recover it." Metures flipped the logic.
'Oh, I wish I could melt you down, but I don't see any good quality left in that rusted form of yours.' Ignyres spat a mouthful of magma and fiddled with his rainbow-flaming fingers.
"How is everyone else doing? Can you see them?" Oscar asked, cutting off the bickering of the Ancients, as amusing and weird it was to listen to.
"It is all falling into place," Metures answered. The Ancient of Metal didn't speak further, earning Oscar's irritation.
…….
Astrid breathed in and exhaled, spreading a tide of snow and ice that froze the ground in a wide distance around her. Cracks spread and split the frozen bodies that stood in a sprinting stance while facing away from her. Their gaping mouths that expressed fear and terror couldn't scream as they fell apart, shattering into chunks of flesh. These fools had intended to ambush her, a great offense and insult to her. Stepping and crushing the icy bits of flesh, she strode ahead, glancing over the strange room.
Small geysers exhausted hot jets of steam and water. Cinder cones, small volcanoes, erupted magma, rock, and ash. The two opposing elements mingled and meshed, falling down in a hot rain of smoldering obsidian that dropped at the speed of arrows and dug deep into the blackened earth. Disliking to sweat, Astrid kept her body cool, emanating a faint chilly air. She couldn't linger here any longer and spotted the exit a good distance away. Her disgust of the messy ground made her stay afloat, her toes a few inches from touching the scorched earth.
'Where are those ingrates?' Astrid closed her eyes as she floated forward, reflecting on the faces of everyone who served the Lord. The boy, Auren, was integral to their plan, but she found no sign of him or anyone else. A part of her wished to descend the dark tower and follow her Lord's path, but his orders were clear, and she had no reason to disobey, not any longer. Revenge was once again on their agenda, and with her Lord's help, it was certainly within reach. So, she obeyed since the promise hadn't been broken. Astrid smiled and ignored the sharp obsidian raining on her, deflected by her icy barrier that acted as an umbrella.
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Then, she felt the changes in the air, the heat rising to unnatural levels for this room. As the embodiment of cold, she was sensitive to these shifts and glanced around, spotting the source behind a cloud of steam and ash that hadn't combined yet. Someone was there and blatantly challenging her. She raised her hand and swept everything in that direction in a snowstorm, cold enough to freeze any ordinary Exalt. A burning sword blazed brightly in the storm of hail and icicles, a single slash silencing her move. Droplets of water showered on the area, and the clouds cleared, revealing the intruder, two in fact.
The swordsman gripped his sword in an offensive stance, placing his knee forward, ready to dash in. His red hair and eyes matched the nauseating flames burning on the blade. Beside him was a beautiful white horse bearing a pair of feathery wings and two horns lined down his forehead, one longer than the other, the features of the Mythical Beast, the Equismus. She recalled Auren mentioning a few persons of interest, including a man partnered with an Equismus. Her eyes radiated an icy glint, and her lips flattened, disgust and rage driving her Ein forward in a violent burst of ice and snow.
"Not even an introduction?" The man, whom she already knew to be Aiden Volten, the swordsman and former New Dawn, complained, yet his arm swung lazily, ending her strike in a single slash. The Equismus snorted and trotted forward with a yawn, spreading its wings. The feathers burned, and an inferno raged on in a red tide. They mocked her strength, and she'd make them pay for it.
"There is nothing to say to New Dawn," Astrid stomped her foot, turning the area around her into a frozen wasteland, the geysers and cinder cones shut and buried under several feet of ice. Frigid winds lashed at the inferno and scattered it as embers that flickered out of existence.
"Former. I'm no longer with them. I parted years ago with my…Well, I guess you can say she's a friend, though that term loses its meaning quite often. We can be allies if you're seeking revenge. Other than that, I have no wish to fight needlessly." Aiden said, looking composed and relaxed, not a hair out of place nor a bead of sweat on his brow. The sheer confidence with which he carried himself was insulting and irritated her. She clenched her hands into fists and breathed out a white breath that spread like a cloud and covered her figure.
"Former, you say? First, you were a New Dawn, and now you're a traitor. One I despise, the other I despise even more. A two-fold mix of scum, with a smidge of a foul bloodline." Astrid didn't relent on the insults, having heard of the Voltens and their ancestor from Oscar. These miscreants went against their ancestor's wishes and believed themselves to be better while committing the most vile acts for the sake of their progress. 'Foul' was the only way to describe the cursed blood in their veins. Aiden's face darkened and seethed hatred out of those scarlet pupils. Astrid smirked and said, "Really? Why is it that my Lord attained the one thing you all wished for? Perhaps your blood has become too muddled and tainted that he was chosen instead?"
A red arc closed in, the burning slash near her eyes. Astrid dodged and spun, scattering snowflakes that clung onto Aiden and the Equismus, slowing their movements. But their flames surged around their bodies and melted away her snow. Half of her frozen land bubbled and seeped into the blackened earth before hot magma plumed up. She couldn't allow her territory to be taken or else be constricted by the fires. Intensifying the chill, she froze and reclaimed part of her lost land, only to be melted and forced back to the halfway mark.
The endless seesaw game ensued between them, and they clashed in the middle. The burning sword plunged into her chest, pain striking her heart. She dodged their strikes by transforming into snowflakes and regathering herself, but the flames burned in her and melted parts of her snowy flesh. Of all the enemies she could have encountered, it had to be the one with fire. Frowning, Astrid layered sheets of ice, a hundred layers, and blocked the sword. The Equismus charged in and pierced her defenses with its two horns, flames exploding and forcing her back.
'How annoying. This is the worst environment against this enemy.' Astrid wondered how her string of bad luck never seemed to end. And it did end. A sharp caw shook the air in a powerful shockwave, and a black crow with six wings glided over, ramming right on the Equismus's flank. She recognized it before. It was the crow that was a good friend of the Lord's steed. Its name was lost to her, but she nodded and thanked it for its timely aid, and it perched itself by her side, lifting its beak in clear pride.
'At least this takes care of the numbers disadvantage.' Astrid sighed in relief and gathered her frost into a sphere in her hand. It exploded in great frigid gales and froze nearly half of the room, trapping it in her winter, the snow piling on and under her control. She looked at Aiden and scoffed, "I'll keep you as a nice sculpture."