In a dark corner of a cold, forgotten room, a boy sat curled up in upon himself. His short black hair hung over eyes red from endless tears. In his trembling hands, he clutched a broken doll—its name etched faintly in fading ink across the cloth: Trinda.
"Nox… Why are you crying?" a gentle voice echoed through the silence.
The boy flinched as the sound of footsteps approached. "I can't take it anymore!" he wailed. "The bullying… the cruelty of this place… I just want it to stop! It's unbearable!"
His voice cracked as he held the doll tighter, as though it were the last anchor to a world crumbling around him.
"Mother… Save me! Please! I don't want to live in this pain anymore!"
A woman knelt beside him, her embrace warm and firm. She cradled him with all the tenderness a broken soul could ever need. Her hand ran through his hair, soothing the tremors in his body as she kissed his forehead.
"I know it hurts, my little one. But if you leave this world now… it won't just break you—it will break those who love you too."
Her voice was like sunlight through mist—soft, yet impossible to ignore.
"Pain is a teacher," she whispered. "And one day, you'll choose what can hurt you… and what cannot."
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Nox's body crashed hard against the rotting walls of an abandoned house deep within the forest. Debris rained around him as he lay still, the memories echoing in his ears.
I was weak once… but now?
He rose, slowly, fists clenched at his side. Power surged outward from his body like a tidal wave of black flame. The forest shuddered in response, and a suffocating aura settled over the land.
He would not falter.
"Heh…not bad." The demon princess emerged from the shadows, charging forward without a moment's hesitation.
But she staggered, choking on the sheer density of the air.
"What is this?!" she gasped, collapsing to her knees as the pressure mounted. "The magic—it's too thick—!"
Nox's eyes opened slowly, his irises burning like twin stars in the darkness. "You're in my world now."
He vanished, only to appear beside her in a flash. His fist connected with her jaw, sending her reeling.
"How are you seeing me?! What are you using?!" she screamed.
Nox answered with another blow to her gut, followed by a vicious upward kick to her jaw.
"I'm using Dense Sphere. A magic field so thick it devours your senses. You won't win in here."
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Snarling, the demon princess plunged her hand into her own chest, ripping her heart free as blood splattered across the ground.
"Blood Manipulation: The Second Coming."
She hurled her heart to the earth. "Come forth, my clone!" It pulsed, sprouting vessels, muscle, and sinew—constructing a grotesque doppelgänger in her image.
"I won't let you!" Nox screamed.
"You won't stop me!" she shrieked.
Nox launched forward, aiming a brutal kick at the forming clone, but her hand shot out—grabbing his leg and slamming him down like a ragdoll.
"She must finish manifesting!"
Above them, the air groaned as a giant axe formed above Nox's head. He gritted his teeth.
"Downfall!"
The massive axe descended like divine judgment, cleaving the clone cleanly in two. The ground split beneath it, sending a quake through the earth.
"No… NO!" the princess screamed. She knelt beside the dismembered clone, clutching its limp form with trembling hands.
"My plan… it was almost… perfect…"
But even through her tears, a twisted smile crept across her lips.
"It's still in motion."
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Meanwhile, within the throne room, the door slammed open—blown wide by a concussive blast.
Achlys stumbled in, wide-eyed. Something had just rocketed past him into the hall. Inside, Persephone stood tall, her whip glimmering with molten spikes, her breath slow and deliberate.
At her feet lay Saria—bloodied, broken, but not beaten.
With a furious cry, Saria leapt to her feet, rebounding from wall to wall, momentum spiraling into a slash. Her sword clashed against Persephone's whip in a blaze of sparks.
"You're wasting your time with these tricks!" Persephone snapped, her voice like volcanic glass.
She lashed her whip, magma spikes shooting in every direction. One struck Saria's leg. Another grazed Achlys's arm.
"You call this justice?" Saria spat. "You're blinded, Persy!"
"DON'T call me that!"
A titanic magma spike surged from her weapon, colliding with Saria's blade. The explosion blasted through the chamber, forcing Achlys to stab his own sword into the ground to anchor himself.
"You're chasing peace through destruction," Saria hissed. "You want a world of balance, but not all life wants balance. You'd tear down everything for a dream built on fire."
"And yet," Persephone's eyes gleamed with pain, "I fight to destroy the roots that strangle us—the Trees that have ruled for eons! Time vs Order. Light vs Dark. Life vs Death. There is no balance. Only control. I would set the people free."
She surged forward, smashing Saria to the ground, blood dripping from her temple.
"The trees have ruled long enough…I wanted you at my side," she said softly. "But now…"
Mist crept across the floor like a silent promise.
A figure stepped from the hall, sword glowing with green sigils, cheek marked by ethereal light.
"That's enough," Achlys said.
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High in the storm-stained sky, fire met frost.
"Why do you obey humans, Cryo?" Adonis roared.
Cryo flared his wings, snow and ice coiling in the air around him. "I could ask the same, Adonis."
With that, he spread his wings wide, forming a colossal ice sphere lined with wings—his ultimate defense and battlefield.
"This ends with one of us dead."
"Then die!" Adonis bellowed, unleashing a column of flame—Fire Blast—scorching the air as it surged toward Cryo.
"Arms of Glacier!"
From Cryo's sphere burst massive, clawed limbs of solid frost. They slammed into Adonis's face, breaking his attack and hurling him backward.
"Fire Gatling!" Adonis howled, peppering the battlefield with rapid-fire blasts. Cryo dodged, mocking.
"You missed, flame-brain!"
"Did I?"
Adonis divebombed through the broken sphere, piercing its core and ramming Cryo into the ground.
"ICE BOMB!"
The detonation was catastrophic. A blizzard erupted from beneath the earth, freezing half the city in moments. Silence fell.
From the crater, a figure emerged—frost-covered, breath steaming. His blue hair fluttered, a phoenix tattoo glowing on his hand.
"It's been a while since I had to use this form," Cryo muttered.
Adonis flew down, scanning the area. "Did you see a Cryophoenix?"
"Yeah," Cryo lied. "He flew north."
Cryo waved as Adonis flew away… but then Adonis paused.
"You think I'm that stupid?"
He spun—only to see Cryo smirking, a shield behind his back.
"Well," Cryo shrugged. "Worth a try."
The two clashed again—this time with no mercy.
"You're strong, Adonis," Cryo said between blows, "but I'm stronger."
"Damn you!" Adonis shrieked.
"Give you, I'll at least spare your life." Cryo charged at him, smirking.
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Amid broken stone and bloodstained grass, Tiabishi stirred. Her breath ragged, her limbs trembling.
"Nox…?"
She looked toward the blackened horizon, where the Dense Sphere still loomed.
She stood up, stabbing the ground and balancing herself with her sword.
A sudden jerk and a violet flash pulsed from within.
"I'm coming… Princess…"
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<| Ability Book |>
Spellbook: Universal
Spell: Dense Sphere
Tier: High Angelic
Strength: Creates a 100-meter-wide zone where the user can perceive everything, while enemies are disoriented and weakened.
Weakness: Consumes all the user's mana regardless of reserves; effectiveness determined by duration.
Origin: Created by Mathienne Ianharice, the weakest elf in history… who became the strongest by mastering this technique.
Evolution:Event Horizon
Spellbook: Ice Manipulation
Spell: Cryogen
Tier: High Mage
Strength: It can nullify every magic up to angelic tier. It can be infused with various other attacks to boost its magic output.
Weakness: Every attack this spell tanks, the more mana it requires for its control.
Explanation: It's a sphere spanning 5 meters in radius and a meter in thickness. It is said that mages with high-level proficiency have a hard time dealing with or controlling this type of magic.
Spellbook: Fire Manipulation
Spell: Fire Blast
Tier: Low Mage
Strength: The longer the cast time, the stronger the spell. The user can hold the spell and absorb more mana to increase its strength.
Weakness: Recoil damage.
Explanation: A long barrage of fireballs that destroy everything in its path if strong enough.
Spellbook: Ice Manipulation
Spell: Arms of Glacier
Tier: Low angelic
Strength: Arms made up of ice at your service.
Weakness: Usage is restricted to cryogen. On getting cut off, it cannot be regenerated.
Explanation: Found by Cryo during his years of training.
Spellbook: Ice Manipulation
Spell: Ice Bomb
Tier: High Mage
Strength: Can destroy anything within a radius of 2.5 kilometers.
Weakness: The Cooldown period is about a week.
Explanation: Spell used during ancient times.
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