Blazing Trails

  “Let's do this then.”

  ?Blade replied, and at the word, they began their team-up, with Indra releasing the flames he had been holding back to turn the area into an inferno.

  ?“Aren’t you afraid of burning your friend?”

  ?Raiden asked, mildly surprised at this new movement, though she quickly realized that the flames moved perfectly around Blade.

  ?Indra attacked her straightforwardly, matching her blue lightning with his blue flames, and melting the ice with the flames releasing from his body.

  ?Blade used Indra as cover as he attacked. The strategy was similar to the first one they used, but now Blade could actually contribute and be a steady part of this operation.

  ?Raiden was having a hard time. Blade was limiting her use of her ice authority

  ?So Raiden had to get creative. Copying what Iris did, she created thin layers of ice on the air under her shoe and used it to jump away, gliding on the air, as it was faster than normal flight.

  ?With it, she could give herself more room to work with as she fought them both.

  ?Using her superior mobility, she switched who she focused on frequently, ruining their coordination by moving back and forth between them, interrupting their synchronization.

  ?As she fought, she also learned more of her ice authority, now actually using it to hinder their movement with minor inconveniences that, when stacked, created openings.

  ?As Blade's leg got frozen, he was halted just for a moment, and Raiden used it to attack him, dodging Indra as she moved in to strike, something Blade managed to block.

  ?“You were never the target, outsider.”

  ?She said, noticing Indra approach as she created ice wires with her other hand, using them to block Indra’s attack. They tangled around his arm before she dragged the wires, and they shattered into lightning, biting into Indra’s flesh and cutting his arms severely, before he was kicked away.

  ?The moment Indra was debilitated, Raiden grabbed Blade by his shirt and tossed him away. The moment her hand touched him, dozens of ice spears appeared through his body.

  ?As she appeared above Indra, she tried to stab him with her sword, only for Indra to melt the ground under him before saying.

  ?“Dragon’s Maw

  ?A giant dragon head formed from the ground, covered by the melted earth to look like a melting dragon trying to swallow Raiden whole, only to be frozen as Raiden jumped up and said.

  ?“Eternal Bloom

  ?Frozen flowers bloomed around them, letting out a frozen pollen that froze anything that it came in contact with. Indra erupted from the ground a short distance away. When he was in the air, he created phoenix wings behind him before they dispersed in a storm of millions of feathers as he said.

  ?“Feathers of The Golden Sun

  ?As the feathers dispersed around him and stormed Raiden, she cut the feathers down. Each feather carried the heat of a thousand, empowered suns, yet by freezing them before cutting them, she could minimize the damage to her, even if she still got burned by the swarms.

  ?As she was busy, Indra ran around her before creating a sword of flames, flipping over her and trying to slash her, only for it to get blocked, and he was sent into the air. But that was the intention as he pointed an arm at her and closed his fist.

  ?At the gesture, the feathers swarmed around Raiden before becoming thousands of blades that pierced her from every direction.

  ?“You’re unfortunately too slow.”

  ?And at her words, Indra looked up, to see the moon being an ethereal blue, as Raiden said.

  ?“Frozen Sun”

  ?And at her words, everything that the light from the frozen sun touched turned to ice and shattered, as the phoenix feathers broke into pieces. The wound that the melted icicle created in the beginning suddenly coagulated and turned into a spiked mess of ice, piercing through the upper parts of his chest and shoulders, as Indra fell.

  ?Blade, who had finally managed to break the ice piercing him, found himself staring at the fallen Indra, whom Raiden caught in her arms.

  ?“Even now, I could only manage a draw against you, but I got what I was after.”

  ?As Blade strained to stand up and tried to run and attack her, Raiden released the icy winds Iris did, forcing him to stop, as breathing became much more labored, and freezing him in his tracks. As his breath began to freeze, Raiden told him.

  This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

  ?“You are not my target, outsider. Come after me, and I can't promise you a future where you live.”

  ?She said before tapping Indra’s chest, making more ice pierce the rest of his body, before piercing his chest and taking out his frozen heart, crushing it and his core along with each other.

  ?At the action, her sword gained the last symbol it needed, of fire, and Indra’s body dispersed into the air. The oppressive heat that had followed him since creation, died down to a breeze, signaling Raiden’s flee.

  ?“Wait!”

  ?Blade tried to stop her, but the frozen winds made taking a breath nothing but painful and struggling.

  ?But as she left, the winds disappeared, and he fell to his knees.

  ?Breathing labored, he planned to find out where she was going. It didn't make sense not to kill him now, unless she couldn't for some reason.

  ?After some time, he decided to set up camp as he thought over the information he had so far.

  ?The only reasonable reason she wouldn't kill him now is if she couldn't. Iris had told him that killing an authority holder would give one the possibility to add it to oneself. But what if there was more to it? She had also said that an Origin would revive afterward if their essence remained, but if their personality wasn't strong enough, they might change. So what would happen with their personality when they are absorbed? Indra seemed sure Iris would come back if they got back her authority, meaning personalities and absolute authorities were connected in some way. Would that mean that a strong enough personality could hinder and possibly slow down the assimilation of an absolute authority? Power could also play a part in it. Since Indra, Iris, and Raiden were all pretty much similar in strength, could that play a part in how fast it took before you fully got the authority?

  ?After thinking it over for a while, it seemed reasonable. Raiden couldn't fully utilize the absolute authority of ice, even if she acquired it. Could that have been the reason she was meditating when they got here?

  ?It was only a theory, but with no way of proving otherwise, and with the information he had on hand, it was the most logical conclusion.

  ?That would explain the reason for her precaution when getting Indra’s authority, as she made sure he was on the brink of death before taking his authority.

  ?But if that was the case, wouldn't trying to break him be better? As if authority assimilation speed relied on personality, wouldn't breaking him via some way be more efficient? Though after mulling it over, he realized that probably wouldn't work on Indra with how he was.

  ?Now the question was simple. Where could she have gone? Since she had absorbed Indra’s authority, what would make the most sense was to go to a place to assimilate it. She stayed here, a cold and frozen place to better master the authority of ice, so could she have done the same for Indra? No, that couldn't be it. With his personality, giving his authority a better place would only lead to worse consequences for whoever had gotten it. Instead, suppressing it to better control it would be smarter. And to do that, a place the opposite of the authority.

  ?“I have it!”

  ?Blade suddenly said out loud, to nobody but himself.

  ?The place she could most likely find Raiden would be a place colder than anywhere else. If it wasn't for him, she would probably have stayed here. And there could potentially be consequences for hosting an unstable authority, meaning the place couldn't be far from here, if she had left with as much haste as she did.

  ?After a night of sleep that was more thinking than resting, he was prepared to go after her.

  ?Following the direction she had left in, he tracked her down to the best of his abilities.

  ?His first day of tracking wasn't anything special. It was mostly just a bunch of running. He did see a lot of unique things though, like special herbs and material, though how valuable they were he had no idea of. Something that did intrigue him though was the variety of climate he saw and how the landscape changed. From long warm fields to cliff sides with shooting stars covering the sky. It also helped him realize how far he had gotten.

  ?On the second day, he realized the variety of creatures that lived there. The view was great. He made a mental note to see it again, once he was done with all of this. It did make a small smile grow on his face, having something good to look forward to for once.

  ?On his third day was when he finally saw it. A storm unlike any other, circling what was unmistakably the coldest mountain he had ever seen. A perfect place to suppress a fire authority, was the thought that crossed his mind as he ran towards it with new vigor. The mountain seemed almost entirely made of ice. Raiden would probably notice him the second he took his first step.

  ?Blade didn't like the thought of fighting her under the light of the moon, so after a bit of searching, he found a small village nearby where he could stay.

  ?While in the village, he learned some more about Raiden from the villagers there. From them, he found out that Raiden first appeared some time ago. She had no name back then, and only protected the villagers due to convenience. As she stayed longer, she came to know them better. She built her residence on the mountain, though back then it wasn't frozen. Eventually, she caught the interest of the overseer, and though their meeting was kept secret, in the end she became her servant, saying goodbye to the village. It was just three days ago she came back for the first time in ages, where she froze the mountain, and heightened it.

  ?As he laid in bed in the room he rented, his thoughts wandered. Indra had thankfully given him money, saying it was no big deal, but now his mind wandered. Just the next day, he would fight Raiden for what was the fourth time now. Not that he had a choice. Both Indra and Iris had done a lot for him, even though he was a stranger and someone both could easily end. If he didn't do at least this much, he would never get over it.

  ?As he woke up the next day, he greeted the innkeeper, and traveled back to the mountain. It was a heavy blizzard, and there was an intense lightning storm above, yet he had no choice but to climb.

  ?As he took his first step up, he felt the coldness hit his lungs, but by using mora, he got it to be bearable.

  ?As he continued to climb, the mountain only got steeper. He did make it easier for himself by creating weapons and driving them into the ice so that he had some sort of hold.

  ?After a while, he had to begin thinking about the lightning as well, as he was now within range of it. He was lucky it was random, meaning Raiden wasn't controlling it.

  ?Blade himself wasn't satisfied with the fact she had gotten three full days to get used to Indra's authority, but there was nothing he could do about it now. What he could do was fight Raiden with everything he had.

  ?It didn't take long, but after a long climb and dodging lightning, he reached the top. And there, a few paces away, lay the one he had arrived for. Raiden.

  ?He walked the path, and with each step, it became increasingly real. His mind became increasingly aware of the surroundings, but he ignored it. He was only here to defeat her, and that would be what he did.

  ?As he approached closer, he saw Raiden, who was meditating, her back facing him. It didn't take long before his steps were loud enough for her to notice him.

  ?Raiden finally acknowledged his presence, and with it came the lightning.

  ?A purple streak of lightning hit her where she lay, and when it did, she was standing, facing him fully, with sword in hand.

  ?Blade unsheathed his own sword as they circled each other.

  ?No words were said, not a voice heard, yet when the first rotation was done, they both knew the fight had begun.