"No? What's the point in giving up now? Wouldn't you agree?" Cineris asked, her voice laced with defiance.
Theo looked toward her, brushing shattered ice chains from his armor. He didn't respond — again.
Cineris chuckled, though sweat trickled down her brow. Behind her, icy swords began forming, layer by layer, until one finally solidified.
"You're not that chatty… are you?" she asked, her voice faltering. She let out a quick, awkward laugh, suddenly unsure if she'd overstepped.
She reached for the icy sword and hurled it at Theo before darting into the shadows.
Theo swung his sword in a wide arc, cleaving through the blade midair — her attack shattered like brittle glass.
Then he charged.
The impact of his first step sent shards of stone and water into the air. Each chunk slammed into the surface midair with a splash.
Cineris's mouth twitched — the only warning before she unleashed a barrage of razor-sharp ice shards. Theo didn't flinch. His blade danced through the air, each swing a sharp woosh, each clash a ringing clang as he shattered the onslaught midflight.
She glanced back.
Spinning around with a heavy thud, she sent a wave of water flying into the air. Her hand dropped low, fingertips shimmering with blinding light. Every droplet she had launched froze midair — forming a towering, jagged ice wall between them.
She backed off, gaining precious distance.
But Theo wasn't fazed. With a thunderous stomp, he launched himself skyward, clearing the wall in one effortless leap — just as she'd hoped.
A loud thud echoed. Cineris turned sharply, raising her hand once more. Blue light surged along her arm as a spear of ice took shape in her grasp. She paused — then hurled it with ferocious force.
The spear cut through the air with a shriek.
Just as Theo soared over the wall, it struck. The impact hurled him backward. He crashed headfirst into the earth, carving a deep crater on impact. Water was thrown far past the crater's edge, the surrounding ground splintering beneath the shockwave.
"Tsk." He clicked his tongue, rising from the rubble.
"To use such tactics…" he muttered, voice dripping with disdain. "Such a shame."
Nothing wounded his chivalrous pride more than cheap tactics in battle.
He grabbed a sharp shard of debris lying nearby. A dark gray aura bled from his palm, coiling around the fragment. Without hesitation, he faced the barricade.
He shifted into stance, flicked his wrist—the shard vanished in a smear of shadow before erupting through the barricade like glass under pressure.
He gripped his swords and launched himself toward her.
She had no choice but to confront him.
Her palm shimmered with radiant blue light. Bit by bit, a sword formed in her grasp—human-height, its intricate design complementing her. She clenched the hilt and lunged forward, sending the water behind her exploding with a loud SPLA-THOOM.
They collided in a flash of motion.
Theo swung from above. Cineris from below.
KSHRANG!
Steel met frost. No struggle—she gave out first, and Theo followed with a ferocious flurry of strikes. Each was parried with effort.
Cineris's foot lit with bright blue light. The surrounding water froze solid. Even Theo's armor was frosted.
She leapt backward, gaining distance.
Yet it didn't faze him. He shattered the ice like it was nothing.
"One before was sturdier... giving up yet?" His monotone voice rang like a choir in a cathedral.
"Why would I?" she barked back, sprinting toward him.
The darkness swallowed her. He followed without hesitation, sure of his aim.
His sword glimmered even darker.
He swung countless times, sharp cries of impact echoing as each slash tore into the void.
Splashes marked her evasions—quick, narrow escapes.
He caught up.
They arrived at the corpses of his comrades—Cineris standing over them.
"How shameful, couldn't even face me properly. You run away in dismay and use cheap tricks to kill me?" His steps splashed the water , sound intensifying with each step.
"Killing my family wasn't enough for you? Like a roach you hide, scared to face reality of your actions," he spoke, voice condescending.
"Scared to confront the one you desperately run away from."
"I reluctantly forgive you. Barely. For my code of arms commands."
"Be so. Your death won't be long. I'll relieve you of your misery."
His sword flared with power.
Sweat trickled down her cheek. Her eyebrows twitched. Her mouth parted, then closed.
A thought formed behind her eyes.
"Weren't they precious?" Her voice carried a tinge of curiosity beneath the tension.
"Oh, of cours—"
Gone.
"What?" she burst out. "Where's she—?"
No sound. No trace.
"How's that?" he muttered, stepping toward the corpses.
"Isn't it the same as before?" he murmured, recalling a similar moment.
He struck his sword into the ground—light flared like a beacon, flooding the area.
Nothing. Only ankle-deep water.
He looked up. No ceiling.
"Huh," he breathed, the sound barely more than a whisper.
he retrieved his sword from the ground
A heavy sigh escaped him, weighed down by grief. Sorrow clung to his shoulders like a shroud as he looked over the lifeless forms of his fallen family, their faces still and pale in the fading light.