The silence before the next clash was almost unbearable. Mei and the princess faced each other across the devastation, each erect as a pillar, yet carrying entire worlds of calculation and arrogance in their eyes.
Mei took a deep breath as her mind spun in rapid spirals.
I need to be more explosive… more efficient. If this fight drags on, I don't know how far the princes can go. The Abyssal Arsenal might expand. The princess could grow even stronger. The prince might re-emerge. Or even Dante could come.
Every variable was an abyss.
And only one way out shone: immediate victory.
Then, the world shook.
From the Tree of Life, torn by the conflict, a cosmic explosion rose like a roar. The night sky split in an energetic flash that turned night into a distorted, corrupted day. For alternating seconds, the darkness ceded by the cosmos was tinged in absolute white, as if the fabric of reality had been ripped out and forcibly stitched back together. The ground vibrated, the ruins shattered completely, and even the ashes in the air burned under that glare.
But none of this diverted their gazes.
The two still studied each other, as if they were the only beings worthy of existing in that instant.
This energy explosion strengthened Seraphyne, who was being deleted with the absorbed energy.
It was she who broke the tension.
Her body gleamed in icy blue, like living crystal, and an arrogant smile dawned on her lips.
— Behold, terrestrial Empress… the Abyss will swallow your world, starting with you.
And then the frozen hell took form.
Ice emerged from all sides—cyclopean columns rising like walls, transparent blades sprouting from the air, stakes erupting from the ground in a deadly symphony. The blue prison of the Abyssal Arsenal closed in to crush, slice, and bury Mei.
She merely sighed.
From her mouth came white vapor, as if even the fire within her was being challenged by the cold.
But instead of yielding, she ascended.
If the Abyss was growing, Mei would become a living sun.
Her fiery energy exploded into gold, her hair waving like flames, her eyes burning like stars in fury.
And the sun would not be frozen.
Mei advanced like a meteor. Each step was a thunderclap, each movement a devouring blaze. The ice columns turned to vapor in seconds, blue walls were burned and pulverized as if they had never existed. Murderous structures fell before they could touch her, carbonized into flaming shards.
Amid the carnage of fire against ice, her mind was reduced to a single truth:
I need to reach her.
I need to be precise.
I need to end this.
Every blow, every dodge, every explosion from her body was the perfect translation of that unshakable decision: Mei Nuhay had no other option but to win.
The crater no longer seemed part of the world. It was a stage of pure destruction, flat and vast, where every grain of dust vibrated under the tension of the two presences. In the center, Mei burned like a human sun, her fiery aura illuminating the chaos. Before her, the princess rose like an ice goddess, her body wrapped in bluish crystals that grew and twisted, as if the Abyss itself fed her, absorbing every spark of Mei's fire and transforming the heat into absolute cold.
The air vibrated. The ground cracked. And the two launched themselves.
BOOM!
The first impact was a cataclysm. Fist against palm, fire against ice. The collision sent a shockwave that swept the crater, lifting concrete towers and stone blocks as if they were toys, dragging colossal rocks that spun in the air. A cloud of vapor and pulverized crystals enveloped everything, distorting space and making the ground tremble.
Mei wasted no time. She spun, releasing a blast of concentrated flames that looked like a living solar spear. The princess raised a crystal wall that absorbed part of the impact but cracked into thousands of fragments that fell like sharp blades. Mei advanced through the whirlwind, burning everything in mid-air.
— You are fire… but fire can also be extinguished. — the princess taunted, extending her arm and making entire towers of ice appear, spinning in a spiral like gears of a titanic machine trying to crush Mei.
— Then try to extinguish me! — Mei replied, laughing even while panting.
She leaped between the towers, dodging by millimeters, kicking one until it was reduced to vapor, piercing through another like a flaming missile. The cold bit her skin, but her spirit roared louder. Every step was calculated, every movement thought out in fractions of a second, turning the crater into an impossible battlefield to measure.
When they finally met again in the center, the blows became a symphony of destruction. Fist against fist, flame against ice. Each exchange generated explosions of heat and freezing waves, melting and recreating the terrain in an infernal cycle. Rocks flew, the ground shattered, and the sky, torn by the Tree's glare, illuminated each collision with cosmic flashes.
Mei pivoted, concentrating the pressure of her stellar core into a kick that hit the princess's flank, throwing her meters back. The earth gave way, forming a new trench within the crater itself. But before she could breathe, the cold returned, more intense, more lethal.
From the princess, waves of Abysmal Frost expanded, instantly freezing the vapor from Mei's flames and erecting walls of bluish crystal around the Empress of Fire. Ice stakes shot like arrows, and Mei exploded in an incandescent aura to avoid being pierced.
She moved fast, every dodge accompanied by desperate calculations.
She grows in combat… each technique is more lethal than the last. Gravity, pressure, ice… what is the limit?
The princess smiled coldly, snapping her fingers. From the sky, thousands of ice spears fell like meteors, covering the entire crater in an absolute attack. Mei lifted her head, sweat streaming, chest heaving.
Then she roared. Her body exploded in gold, becoming a true pillar of flame. She leaped, breaking the gravity around her, and punched the air. The accumulated pressure concentrated into a luminous sphere that consumed all the spears simultaneously, turning the frozen sky into a rain of scalding vapor.
The thousands of blades melted into vapor, consumed by the human sun that was Mei. The sky was covered by a thick, heavy smoke that spread over the crater like an opaque mantle. Everything was obscured, and only the silhouettes of the two figures were visible, motionless, floating above the torn and broken ground. The contrast between Mei's heat and the princess's gelid presence created an almost palpable tension in the air.
A deathly silence dominated the field. And then, a clear, ironic sound cut through the haze:
— Bravo, bravo! — the princess began to clap slowly, echoing in the void. — Impressive, terrestrial Empress… your power is explosive, latent… almost musical.
Mei stiffened her posture, even while invisible. — Musical? Are you mocking me?
— Ah, in a way… — the princess replied, her voice feminine and cold, but laden with sarcasm. — You would be perfect for a… circus. In the Abyss, of course. A fire show… explosions… unpredictable.
Mei scoffed, the heat around her body vibrating with contained anger. — A circus? I am no one's entertainment. I am the sun that devours!
The princess smiled beneath the veil of smoke. — Well… then let us test if the sun can survive the true cold of the Abyss.
With an elegant gesture, the princess snapped her fingers. Immediately, the smoke covering the crater froze instantaneously, becoming a solid field of translucent ice. Every suspended particle seemed to crystallize in seconds, reflecting the residual light from Mei's core like thousands of cutting diamonds.
— Hmph… — Mei gritted her teeth, her fiery aura trembling against the absolute cold. The vapor from her breath froze before rising, creating small icicles that burst with the heat around her. — What a cheap trick…
— A trick? — the princess laughed, her voice cutting. — This is the Abyss. Here, every breath of air can kill, every fragment of energy can imprison. See, Empress… even you can be frozen.
The ice began to compress, trapping Mei's arms and legs for an instant, almost blocking her movement. But Mei's fire roared even louder, and in fractions of a second she exploded, shattering the ice into thousands of fragments that flew like flaming meteors, scattering sparks in all directions.
— Hahaha! — Mei shouted, releasing a wave of heat that melted everything around her. — Don't underestimate me! I don't fall for provocations!
The princess retreated a few meters, emerging through the mist of vapor and broken crystal, and smiled with genuine respect. — Hm… I didn't expect you to be so resilient. Truly impressive.
— Respect won't save you! — Mei responded, advancing again, her body a column of golden light, burning everything in her path. — Now let's see what you really have!
— With pleasure. — The princess clapped her hands again, but this time each clap seemed to summon a storm of ice and wind, partially freezing the crater and forcing Mei to turn every step into explosions of heat to keep advancing.
The two stared at each other through smoke and vapor, heat and ice. Every movement was calculated, yet explosive; every exchange of attacks was a dance of destruction on a grand scale, with the crater being remade every second. The tension between fire and ice created an almost living atmosphere, where every breath, every impact, dictated the narrative of the battle.
— So… you like to play at being the sun? — the princess said, with a cold smile. — In the Abyss, the cold always wins if the fire grows tired.
— Perhaps… — Mei murmured, her eyes burning with determination — But I am not tired yet. And in my world… fire always wins.
Silence settled once more for an instant, before both launched themselves again, an explosion of fire against a wave of ice, marking the beginning of the next chapter of the titanic struggle.
The drone hovered above the crater, capturing every detail of the devastation. Flattened streets, buildings reduced to rubble, and deep craters scarred the city. A dust cloud still hung, partially obscuring the sun, while fragments of concrete floated, held by fields of residual energy.
In a secure building, away from the destruction, Elise adjusted the controls of several drones, observing the chaos scenario in real time. Around her, other surviving researchers analyzed data, coordinating emergency signals and reinforcements.
Before her, a pulsating hologram materialized: Danteus, imposing even in his luminous projection, observed the crater through the feeds transmitted by the drones. Every line of his face reflected decades of leadership and cold calculation.
— Mon Dieu… — murmured Elise, her voice laden with tension. — It's worse than we imagined.
Danteus remained silent for a few seconds, studying every detail of the images, his eyes reflecting the magnitude of the destruction.
— 24 hours — he said, his voice firm and resonant through the communication system. — That is the time we have before the chaos spreads beyond control.
Elise furrowed her brow, clicking a sequence of commands that analyzed energy fluctuations. — The energy spikes are still abnormal, sir. Some leaders have detected strange signals. If they learn the true scale… —
— Sooner or later, they will find out — interrupted Danteus, his voice firm and sure. — But not now. Not yet. The focus must be elsewhere. Mei Nuhay… — he paused, his eyes shining as if he could see through the distance separating them — she is no ordinary Sif. She knows what is at stake. And she will act.
Elise took a deep breath, transmitting the data for reinforcements and rescue already being prepared. — Command authorized, sir. Reinforcements and survivor rescue are underway. The operation will begin immediately.
— Excellent — replied Danteus, the projection brightening slightly to indicate approval. — But maintain secrecy about the true scale. Only those involved need to know. Mei needs to buy time. And, Elise… — his voice softened, almost a whisper crossing the distance — pray that our Empress of Flames can win and give hope to everyone once more.
Elise nodded, her eyes fixed on the hologram, feeling the weight of responsibility. Every second counted, every decision could cost lives. As drones flew over the crater and transmitted images of destruction and residual heat, Danteus remained a constant presence, guiding them from afar.
— I trust in her — Danteus added, almost to himself — but every second lost is a risk. Mei Nuhay will be the difference between survival and the abyss.
After all, she is the successor of tomorrow, the new world elder.
And even from a distance, between screens and blinking lights, the urgency was palpable: the battle in the crater still raged, and the entire world depended on a single Empress.
To be continued…