Sitting down in the grassy meadows, a fair distance from where Mia had positioned herself, Gerald let out a low whistle, his gaze fixed on the distant sky. Even from here, the stream of light piercing upward was unmistakable, accompanied by a warm hue that was steadily turning everything red. That alone was enough to give him a clue about what was happening, but the tremor that followed—so forceful it felt like the earth might split apart—confirmed it.
"Some signal you've got there, kid. Might be a little overkill, though..." Gerald mused with a quiet chuckle, pushing himself to his feet.
Elsewhere, not too far away, Marcos, Galven, and Hazel also noticed the light and felt the tremor. Like Gerald, they shifted from their positions of observation to readiness. The first part of the plan seemed to have worked, and if all went as expected, it would soon be their turn to act.
Back where Mia had relocated, she stood clear of the immediate danger zone, her gaze fixed on the aftermath. The sky was choked with ash and dust, and the roaring blaze consuming the earth painted the world in shades of red and heat. Embers danced through the air in chaotic, swirling patterns, while burning chunks of rock fell from above, their fiery trails streaking the sky before crashing into the ground.
Through the flames, the ground was no longer fractured with ravines or fissures; it had collapsed entirely, leaving behind a massive crater. As the blinding white light at the heart of the chaos began to fade, she could make out more details. The crater stretched a full kilometer across, its interior a molten hellscape. Everything—rock, rubble, and any remnants of the valley—had melted down into a viscous, glowing soup, with the crater itself forming a jagged bowl.
Despite the destruction, Mia's focus didn’t waver. Circling the edge of the crater, she kept her senses sharp, her every step accompanied by the crunch of charred grass and scorched earth. The acrid fumes stung her nose, and her face twisted in discomfort.
That’s when she felt it—before she even realized what it was. A sharp pain seared through her, as if bouncing from her eyes to her brain, while her body twisted in an agonizing, unnatural way. Her aura, curiously, remained silent—no reaction at all to the pain or its source.
So this is what Marcos and Magnus meant...
Holding her head, Mia forced herself to glance back toward where the sharp pain had originated, careful to keep it brief. That’s when she caught sight of the serpent slowly emerging from the walls of the boiling crater. Its long, sinuous form was hard to make out through the dense dust, smoke, and ash, but something felt off. Whatever Magnus had done had left the crater in a superheated state—the air was hot enough to sear your throat with a single breath, and the ground still glowed, partially molten.
Yet, to her confusion, she noticed a frosty mist creeping across the ground.
What in the...
Mia tilted her head, squinting to make sure she wasn’t imagining it. But after a moment, she was certain: frost was forming. Heavy frost, in the middle of what could only be described as the aftermath of a volcanic eruption.
Ice? Is it creating ice to shield itself from the heat? But... that doesn’t make sense. Magnus said its ability nullifies states from itself. What kind of state could it nullify that would let it create ice?
Her thoughts were interrupted as the frost began to dissipate, forcing her to avert her eyes again. With nothing left to obscure its form, the serpent’s static-like scales became fully visible—shimmering in more colors than human eyes could properly register. Slowly, the distortion faded, and the Nullfang’s body returned to a solid, textured appearance. It moved with an almost disoriented air, slithering over the now-cooled rock and fractured terrain.
Mia frowned, watching it carefully before reaching for the bow on her back and pulling an arrow from her quiver.
I don’t know what’s going on, but the plan hasn’t changed. After that massive explosion and the collapse of an entire underground chamber, it doesn’t look injured at all—aside from a few burns.
Her gaze briefly swept over the crater again, scanning the destruction, before returning to the Nullfang.
"I hope Magnus managed to shield himself from all this..." She murmured. Her eyes narrowed, her expression sharpening from detached observation to intense focus. Drawing her bowstring, she let the arrow fly. The wind around it twisted unnaturally, parting to clear its path and accelerating the arrow with no resistance. But that wasn’t all—compressed wind coiled around it, twisting in such a way that it emitted a piercing whistle. Even amid the chaotic bubbling of molten rock and the roar of flames, the sound was distinct and sharp. It was loud enough for any listener to hear—including the Nullfang.
The Nullfang spotted the arrow almost instantly, its body twisting as it dodged. The arrow struck the ground where its head had been just moments before. Its attention snapped to the path the arrow had cleared through the ash and smoke, a clear trail leading straight to Mia. She already had another arrow nocked and ready. As she released it, this one flew even faster, the air curving and compressing around it to boost its speed.
The Nullfang's confusion quickly turned to rage. With a loud hiss, it dove into the ground, disappearing from sight just before the arrow reached it.
"That’s right, come on," Mia murmured under her breath, turning on her heel and running. Her first step caused the ground beneath her to sink slightly before rebounding, launching her forward like a springboard. She cleared the scorched crater’s edge in a single bound, her leap more direct than arched, carrying her over the burning fields of dried grass. As her second footstep landed, the flames parted beneath her, creating a clear spot for her to push off again.
The world itself seemed to bend to her movements. The earth softened and sprang beneath her feet, the air flowed perfectly around her, flames pulled away as though afraid to touch her, and even water would solidify to serve as her footing. All of this was what made her the ideal choice for bait—when it came to speed and agility, no one could match her.
Darting across the meadows, Mia moved like she was carried by an unstoppable current. In mere minutes, the crater and the burning fields were far behind her. She had returned to the tall grassy meadows, her leaps and bounds seamless as she covered ground with ease. For a brief moment, it seemed as if she’d lost her pursuer. But as she reached the top of a small mound and her foot touched the dirt, it was as though she had triggered a trap.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Her expression remained calm as she launched herself upward, twisting into a rapid spin mid-air. A split second later, a massive gash tore through the hill where she had stood. The cut stretched over twenty meters, slicing through grass and earth as if an impossibly long blade had been dragged across it.
The attacks didn’t stop there. The instant she broke from her spin and her feet touched the ground again, Mia’s eyes darted around before she sprang forward again, performing a front flip while vaulting off her free arm with practiced precision. She flipped back to her feet just in time to see another slice carve through the hill behind her.
This time, she caught a glimpse of the attack.
So it’s using its tail... but keeping its body hidden underground.
Having figured it out, Mia knew she couldn’t afford to slow down. She continued leading the Nullfang, each step a calculated movement to stay ahead of its relentless strikes. Everywhere she had stood was torn apart a second later, the ground opening in precise, razor-sharp cuts. Grass, dirt, and even the occasional boulder she used as a foothold were sliced cleanly in half. It was like the Nullfang’s tail was a land shark, cutting through the terrain with terrifying speed.
Despite her agility, its underground movements were almost impossibly fast, forcing Mia to stay one step ahead at all times.
Just a little bit further. I’m almost at the ambush point.
Magnus had told Mia she needed to make it seem like she was struggling—on the backfoot—so the Nullfang wouldn’t give up the chase. But there was no need to pretend. The Nullfang’s attacks were growing sharper and deadlier with every second, leaving little room for error.
“Hm?” Mia hesitated mid-step, just as she was about to make another leap. Her sixth sense and the spirits that guided her both screamed that something was wrong. A moment later, the Nullfang’s tail slashed through the air, passing less than a meter in front of her face. The sharp hiss of the blade rang in her ears, accompanied by a sudden pull that felt like invisible hands were yanking her toward it. She steadied herself, rooting her stance to resist the pull. If she’d jumped, the blade would have struck her head-on.
It's predicting my movements now? And what’s with this chill?
That’s when she noticed the drop in temperature. The air ahead of her was unnaturally still. The tall grass, once swaying in the breeze, and the very dirt itself seemed frozen—not just in motion but literally encased in ice. The Nullfang’s tail had left a trail of frost in its wake, freezing everything it touched. Mia stared at the scene, taking a cautious step back. That single step triggered a cascade; in an instant, the frozen grass, dirt, and ground shattered. The sound was delicate, like glass breaking under a faint breeze, and shards of ice danced around her in the air.
As she watched the fragments swirl, an idea sparked in her mind—a theory about the source of the ice.
Wait... if the Nullfang can remove any state applied to it... does that mean it’s capable of removing the state of being able to conduct heat?
The thought clicked into place. The magma chamber the Nullfang lived in had been blisteringly hot, yet it had seemed perfectly at home. But the heat radiating from the crater was on a completely different level. If the Nullfang had recognized the danger and nulled its ability to conduct heat to protect itself, the logic held.
Hot and cold aren’t opposites—they’re two sides of the same coin. One exists because of the absence of the other. Remove heat entirely, and what’s left? The coldest of colds. But... what even is that?
In this world ruled by magic and supernatural forces, there was no word for such an impossible phenomenon. But back in Magnus’s reality, a term existed—one that perfectly described what Mia was witnessing.
Absolute Zero.
A state born from the near-complete absence of energy and motion, down to the very atoms themselves. It wasn’t just cold—it was the absolute stillness of all things.
Without hesitation, Mia bolted forward again, moving with even greater urgency. The Nullfang's tail followed her like a shadow, carving destruction in its wake. Everything it touched—grass, dirt, rocks—was instantly frozen, transformed into solid ice as though it had been supercooled to its core. A moment later, the frozen remnants shattered into fine shards, scattering like snowflakes. It didn’t matter what the material was—soft, hard, or otherwise—nothing could withstand the tail’s touch. If before it had cut through the world like a scalpel, now it left behind a trail of absolute cold, its power reducing everything in its path to fragile, frozen debris.
Even if Mia didn’t fully understand the concept of absolute zero, her instincts as a knight and her connection to the spirits made one thing clear: if that tail broke through her aura and touched her, she would die instantly. The danger was absolute, but it didn’t matter as long as she could keep moving. And she had managed to dodge its relentless attacks just long enough to reach her destination.
She arrived at a wide-open meadow nestled in the valley, surrounded on all sides by large mounds. The mounds weren’t unclimbable, but they were tall enough to form a natural barrier, isolating the central meadow from the surrounding terrain.
As soon as she reached the center, Mia skidded to a halt, pivoting on her heel to face her pursuer. The frost-coated tail of the Nullfang was still behind her, snaking through the air and flash-freezing everything it touched. Each swing of the tail created a strange vacuum, a rush of air that pulled at everything nearby. That same effect seemed to trigger the collapse of the frozen remains, reducing them to glimmering shards.
As the tail lunged again, Mia dodged, spinning on her right foot to evade. In the same fluid motion, she drew her bow and nocked an arrow. Without hesitation, she fired it straight into the sky. The air around the arrow shifted to assist it, clearing away resistance and accelerating it dramatically.
The arrow had barely been in flight for a second before it shattered with a deafening crack, breaking the sound barrier and unleashing a noise that echoed across the valley.
Alright, that’s the signal. Now I just need to lure it out of hiding.
Mia’s eyes narrowed as she considered her next move. The Nullfang was intelligent and cunning. The only way to draw it out from its hiding place essentially disconnected from the world would be to convince it she was vulnerable—a situation where it believed she couldn’t dodge and would need to expose itself to strike.
One chance.
Mia thought to herself, her grip tightening on her bow.
Crouching low, Mia focused her aura on her legs and leaped into the air. The sheer force of her launch sent a minor tremor rippling through the ground, amplified by the earth spirits working to aid her launch. She shot upward, soaring higher and higher, with no resistance to slow her ascent. The wind spirits carried her effortlessly, pushing her higher until she was nearly a hundred meters above the ground. Only then did she release herself from their aid, allowing air resistance to return and dramatically slow her ascent.
Within seconds, she shifted from a graceful rise to what appeared to be an uncontrolled free fall.
Right on cue, something erupted from the ground below. The Nullfang burst out, its body shedding the static distortion as it regained full texture, momentum propelling it upward. Its massive jaws opened wide, aimed directly at the falling Mia, as it raced to meet her in midair.
Mia made no effort to dodge or counter. She simply let herself fall.
That’s it. Stay just like that. You have to interact with the world if you want to catch me.
As that thought passed through her mind, she felt it—four distinct auras surging from the ground below. Gerald, Marcos, Hazel, and Galven emerged from their hiding spots in perfect synchronization. They darted across the grassy meadows, positioning themselves directly beneath the Nullfang and Mia in a precise diamond formation, their auras blazing brightly. The Nullfang had taken the bait, exposing itself completely. Now, the group had only this one chance to strike with everything they had. One shot to bring it down.
There was no room for mistakes.