Ren steadied his breath, the cold air biting at his lungs. His sword glimmered with frost, the intricate designs along its handle glowing faintly. The forest itself seemed to bend to his will — each flurry of snow and shard of ice circling around him, as if drawn to the blade. Silas, in contrast, stood still, his dark armor a void against the pale world. Blood dripped from his freshly cut arm, sizzling as it met the snow.
They lunged at each other. Ren moved with the wind, his footsteps light, barely crunching the snow beneath him. Ice bloomed with every step, the temperature plummeting further. Silas's blade whistled through the air, but Ren twisted past, his cold aura slowing Silas's movements with every inch closer.
Ren slashed, a crescent arc of ice following the blade. Silas parried, the dark steel hissing against the frozen edge. The impact sent Ren skidding back, his boots cutting grooves into the snow.
Ren's eyes narrowed. He flicked his wrist, and ice erupted from the ground, jagged spikes racing toward Silas. Silas leapt aside, but even as he moved, his limbs felt heavier, slower. Frost clung to his armor, and his breath turned ragged.
"Clever," Silas mused. "You turn the very air into your weapon. A walking blizzard."
Ren ignored him. He thrust his palm forward, uttering a swift incantation. "Glacialis Aegis." Ice formed around his body, a protective layer of frost. Silas lunged, but his blade scraped harmlessly off the crystalline armor. Ren countered with a downward slash, ice erupting beneath Silas, freezing the ground solid.
Silas growled. His armor cracked, and blood seeped from the joints, tendrils of crimson snaking through the ice. He stretched out a hand. The blood quivered and coiled unnaturally, bending to his will.
The blood shot forward, tendrils lashing around Ren's limbs. Ren tried to move, but the blood held fast, sizzling against his ice. Silas yanked him forward, fist crashing into Ren's stomach. The ice armor shattered, and Ren was thrown back, skidding across the snow.
Ren coughed, blood staining the white ground. He gripped his sword tighter, feeling the cold seeping into his bones. The snow in the air had begun to thin, the wind dying down. His mana was draining, and with it, the storm that had been his shield.
Silas stood tall, his wounds already sealing, the blood flowing back into his body. "You're slowing down."
Ren wiped the blood from his mouth, his silver eyes locking onto Silas. "Then I'll just have to end this quickly."
He drove his sword into the ground. Ice erupted in all directions, a massive wave of frost sweeping through the forest. Silas braced himself as the cold surged forward, freezing the trees solid. The very air shimmered, frost crawling along Silas's armor.
Ren dashed forward, the ground freezing beneath his feet. His sword flickered with icy blue light, each swing creating a cascade of frost. Silas barely parried, each block slower than the last. The cold gnawed at him, his movements sluggish.
Ren spun, blade whistling through the air. The edge bit deep into Silas's side, cutting through armor and flesh. Silas snarled, stumbling back. Blood poured from the wound, but instead of falling to the snow, it twisted in the air, forming a crimson spear in his hand.
"Enough," Silas growled. "You're not the only one with tricks."
He hurled the spear. Ren barely managed to dodge, the crimson spike grazing his arm. Pain flared, and his blood crystallized instantly in the cold. Silas rushed forward, faster now, each movement smoother as the snow faded and the warmth of blood magic filled the air.
Ren's breath came in ragged gasps. The snowflakes around him slowed, the ice on the ground growing thinner. His mana was running out, and with it, his control over the cold.
Silas loomed over him, his dark blade raised high.
Ren gritted his teeth, pushing past the searing pain in his arm. The cold was slipping away, each breath heavier than the last. His mana waned, and the storm he once commanded faded into a fragile whisper of frost. Silas, unburdened by the cold, moved faster, each step more precise.
Ren raised his sword, ice forming sluggishly along its edge. Silas lunged, dark blade singing through the air. Ren barely managed to parry, the impact numbing his arm. He retaliated with a sweeping arc, ice trailing behind his blade, but Silas sidestepped, crimson tendrils snapping at Ren's legs.
The ground cracked beneath them as they clashed again, each blow shaking the frozen forest. Ren's breaths came in ragged gasps. The ice around him grew thin, no longer the blizzard he once wielded. Silas pressed the attack, his dark blade a blur.
Ren poured everything he had left into one final spell. "Ultimate Glacialis Lancea!" Ice surged up his arm, forming a massive spear of pure frost. He hurled it with all his might, the air freezing in its wake. Silas met it head-on, his blood forming a crimson shield.
The spear shattered, shards of ice scattering through the air. Silas emerged, blood dripping from a fresh cut across his face. He wiped it away, eyes narrowing.
"You're formidable," Silas admitted. "Few have pushed me this far."
Ren coughed, falling to one knee. "Not done... yet."
He lunged, sword flashing in the dim light. Silas sidestepped, his blade arcing downward. Ren twisted, barely avoiding a fatal blow. Ice crept along Silas's arm, slowing him just enough for Ren to land a glancing strike across his chest.
Silas staggered, blood pouring from the wound. He grimaced, then smiled.
Ren raised his sword for one last strike, but Silas moved faster. His dark blade sang through the air, cutting clean through Ren's right arm.
Ren screamed, collapsing to the ground. Blood sprayed across the snow, steam rising from the crimson stain. His sword fell from his severed hand, the ice flickering out. Silas stood over him, breathing heavily.
"You fought well," Silas said quietly. "Few earn my respect."
Ren's vision blurred as darkness crept in. The last thing he saw was Silas turning away, the cold fading into silence.
Where am I? Is this the end? Is my life going to flash before my eyes? I don't see anything. Is this really where I die?
Without fulfilling any of my goals? What was my goal?
Ren's mind drifted into darkness, but memories clawed their way to the surface. His mother. Her voice echoed in his head, sharp and cold. "Rentaro, become something. Be wealthy or famous. Ignore all obstacles and seek power. Friends aren't real; they won't help you achieve your goal. People only matter if they can get you closer to what you want." She'd spat those words with venom, not as advice but as a command. Even on her deathbed, her gaze had been hard, unyielding.
He remembered standing by her side, a boy barely old enough to understand loss, but old enough to feel the weight of her expectations. As she faded, the last thing she passed on wasn't love. It was a burden. "Don't waste time on people. Power is what matters. That's the only way you won't end up like me."
Ren clenched his jaw. "I don't wanna die. I hate you, Mother. You cursed me with a life of loneliness. I'll die this way."
Tears slipped down his cheeks, freezing against his skin.
I had friends, didn't I? Sosuke, Rin, and Lyra. I thought they weren't necessary, but the reality was that I needed them. I always cared.
His eyes flared, burning with icy blue mana. He rose from the ground, stumbling as his breath hitched, his body screaming in pain. He reached for his severed arm, ice surging from his fingers, knitting the flesh and bone together with jagged frost. His sword pulsed with power, frost crawling along the ground.
"I won't die here. Not to you, Silas!"
Arthur's eyes widened as he watched from afar. "It's mana amplification. Idiot. He'll burn himself out like this. He'll just end up dead."
"That's why we go and help," Reid stepped forward.
"Seriously…? Can't we wait a little?" Milo said, shivering.
Lyra was focused on the fight, her expression one of worry. "We have to help him."
Ren gripped his sword with both hands, his breath ragged, and stood in front of the towering Silas.
Silas turned, his dark blade rising once more, eyes narrowing as he sensed the surge of mana. Ren lunged, ice trailing behind him like a comet's tail. Silas swung down, black steel cutting the air — but Ren was faster.
Their swords collided, the impact cracking the ground beneath them. Ren roared, pushing forward with all his strength. Frost raced up Silas' weapon, spiderwebbing across the black metal. Silas' eyes widened as a deafening crack split the air.
Ren's blade shattered Silas's sword.
In a single fluid motion, Ren twisted his body, the ice-coated blade arcing through the air. Time slowed. The edge sliced clean through Silas's stomach, the dark armor fracturing under the force. Blood sprayed across the snow.
Silas staggered, eyes wide with disbelief. Ren stood frozen for a moment, the last flicker of mana draining from his body. His sword slipped from his fingers, embedding into the ground as his legs buckled.
He collapsed.
Silas clutched his stomach, crimson pooling around his fingers. He grimaced, dark tendrils of blood closing the wound, leaving behind a fresh scar. His armor hung in tatters, fractured and warped from the ice. He looked down at Ren's unconscious form, breathing heavily.