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Chapter 341 - Consequences
🕑 Added 2025-07-25 22:55:56 +0000 UTCChris
A cold so deep and primal exploded out of the Rift and quickly gathered everything nearby in its grasp. The entire city block that had quickly been set alight was now snuffed out with prejudice.
There would be no flame in the face of what came out of the rift.
The snow dumped through like an avalanche, coating the ground and spreading further and further as the winds pushed it out. I hadn't meant to cause such mayhem. I hadn't meant to call on such forces.
All I wanted was to put out the fire and save the people from burning to death.
Instead, I condemned them to it just the same. The only mercy was that it was a less painful way to go.
The fire that had spewed uncaringly from the Mage's staff was choked out and snuffed out in its entirety. The gem itself was struggling to fight off the pervading chill.
"What? How?" The Mage questioned aloud, even though I had no better answers than he.
Sure, it was my skill, but it had never activated like this before. Winter helped, as it did most of my skills, but it had never caused [Frozen Rift] to change like it had.
The mana?
We were standing in the heart of the city, and directly under us was the entrance to the dungeon. It was pulling in mana from all around the area, and based on the strength of the pull and from how far away it reached, it was a deep one.
D-rank, if I had to guess, if only barely so.
The pull concentrated the mana where we were standing, but that still wasn't enough. There was something else going on that caused it. There had to be. Winter and an abundance of mana weren't enough.
Any chance of further thought on the subject was ripped away as the man I came to kill kicked himself into motion. He'd been stunned at what I'd done just the same as I had, but he was the first to get moving once more.
Instead of staying in an area so obviously against him, he ran. Fled from the Rift spewing forth what amounted to a localized blizzard into the city.
Forcing the rift open had taken a great deal of mana, and it was slowly siphoning more from me to keep it open, but not as much as it usually did. Not only was the size of it much bigger, but it was taking less mana to sustain it as well.
The mana costs of all my actions in the day were catching up with me, and I didn't have much left in me. I still had my Bloodline, Spirit, and Law, but my mana was nearly tapped out.
The Mana Heart in my chest thumped with a deep and powerful tempo, but it could only do so much to replenish it. The density of mana helped, along with its affinity, but I was on a timer.
Seeing my foe running angered me. [Frozen Leach] still sucked away at what mana it could, but it wasn't doing anything to hinder movement. The snow did that, but without a will behind it, it didn't do it well.
Instead, I did the second thing I knew I would most likely regret later.
I reached out with [Ice Manipulation] and took hold of all the snow and ice being flung from the portal I could and directed it. My Bloodline sang in my veins and worked in concert with my skill to grasp a truly terrifying amount of it.
Once I got a firm hold, I threw it. All of it. I even grabbed the screaming winds with [Wind Manipulation] to propel it along at the fleeing man.
Everywhere the snow and ice touched, it frosted over instantly or froze completely. Buildings creaked ominously, glass shattered, and wood burst from what little water content it contained, freezing in a flash.
The rift had torn open space between me and the fleeing Mage, but that didn't stop me from leaping off after him. I dove through the curtain of white, and I could feel its cold start to seep into me.
Both my Wood refining and Stone refining were done with ice and cold mana, but even that didn't stop my body from shivering. I didn't have the mana to use on [Jotun's Resistance], and if my body were any lesser, frostbite would have set in immediately.
Connected to the lands of Eternal Winter. The line from [Frozen Rift]'s description rang in my head as I tore further through the streets of Lakeshore. It wasn't that line specifically, but the last line that appeared in mind. To connect deeper to the lands of Eternal Winter, further your path in its direction. If that was just a glimpse of the lands of Eternal Winter, I shuddered to think what lay deeper inside.
The man was fast, I would give him that.
Either a spell, his Agility, or something else was at play because he was keeping pace in front of me remarkably well.
I dragged the snow and ice of a completely different world as I chased him down. I would not let him go so easily.
___
Hal
Getting into a marksmanship duel with arguably one of the best bowmen Hal had ever come across was not on his list of things to do, but neither was this entire trip. He understood the necessity behind it, but that didn't mean he took pleasure in the actions themselves.
The Ranger was good, his arrows carried a power near to his own, but they weren't enough, and Hal wasn't alone.
Some might claim it was dishonorable or other such nonsense, but Hal would leave such chivalry to Chris, as it had no bearing on him. War was war, and battle was battle. So what if his mother roasted the man alive while Hal distracted him with arrow after arrow?
The job was done, and the man was dead. It wasn't the how that mattered; it was the result.
After he was freed up from his impromptu duel, he applied his efforts more nobly. Or as noble as one's actions could be in war. He took out strong targets or placed a well-timed arrow at someone who needed it.
Elliot's Order was filled with battle-hardened Warriors, but that didn't make them omniscient or infallible.
He stayed along the Wall for the height advantage, and after uprooting the local defense, it gave him a perfect viewpoint to oversee the battle.
The front line had been pushed out from the gate in an arc paid for in blood. Chris had forged straight ahead after the bloody... altercation, and Elliot and Anders were on either side doing their work.
Elliot, for as much as he called Chris a monster, was quickly becoming one in his own right. The metal around him was masterfully put to use, both in defense and offense. His D-rank evolution had forged him into a Champion like no other.
Anders, similarly, was wreaking his own style of havoc. His great axe tore through all resistance, and while the man was bloodied, he wasn't close to falling. Hugo and Valerie both pushed forth respectably well.
Abigail, for as much as Hal knew she didn't wish for this battle, didn't hesitate when the time came. Her battle with a powerful mage was swift, brutal, and destructive in a way Hal found unexplainable.
He liked to think of himself as up there in terms of the power rankings of Frostheim, and it was surprisingly easy to forget about her power, but it came out every once in a while. When it was needed. Then seamlessly shifted to the back burner when the exacting Mayor was needed.
It wasn't only she who stood above him. A debate could be had for Jon, but that was subjective. His defensive capabilities were leagues beyond what Hal could do, but so too were Hal's offensive prowess above what he could do.
No, the other obvious person above him was his own Mother. Rachel was a whirlwind of magical might that rained death by fire on anyone who came near. She and Abigail were both fonts of power that easily commanded the battlefield near and around them.
Another arrow was loosed from his bow when something changed. He could feel it. There was a fountain of power deeper inside the city that set him on edge. His instincts were warning him, urging him to turn and run, but he fought them off.
"What's happening?" Hal yelled to the others along the wall.
Abigail looked befuddled, and his mother was confused, "Chris... he did something..."
"How do you know it was Chris?" Hal asked, "That could have been the other guy."
"No," Rachel said, "It was Chris. Never in my life have I felt such... desolating cold."
Desolating Cold? What did that even mean? Hal had trained with Chris; he knew his style and skills, and nothing should have done what they were describing.
"It's spreading," Rachel claimed, her spells slowing as she focused further into the city.
Hal wanted to question further, but was stopped dead when a second well of power bloomed and it was much, much different than the first.
"Demons!" Hal knew that feeling. The sinister dread, the dark foreboding. Whatever was going on, there was a strong demonic energy Chris was fighting.
Let's hope he doesn't lose an arm this time.
___
Chris
Chasing the man down was tedious and destructive. Tedious, for speed was never my strong suit, and destructive because of the collateral damage that happened along the way.
The fleeing Leader went back to setting his fires, and the snow I was dragging with me snuffed them out, but that didn't describe the sheer destruction both of us left in our wake.
Street after street was left burned and then frozen as I chased, and while I was gaining on him, it wasn't quickly.
I don't want to throw my hammer. The urge to chuck it at him was high, but that would leave me weaponless. Instead, I resorted to compacting spears of ice from the snow I had within my grasp.
My Law and Spirit filled them with might, and I shot them out as I ran. They dug into stone, demolished buildings, and broke through walls like they weren't even there. Spear after spear flew at him, but he evaded every one.
Until he didn't.
A lucky shot clipped his leg, and the man went tumbling down. Blood sprayed from the wound, and he immediately set himself on fire to keep the cold at bay.
But it was enough.
I caught up and, with a generous portion of my remaining mana, four [Icy Bastions] sprang up and cornered the rat. The walls of ice rose and trapped the two of us inside.
There would be no more running.
Seeing he was finally trapped, the Mage halted his attempts to run away. Instead, he turned to face me with a face of fury.
"You asshole! Absolute asshole! All I did was steal some crystals! Why are you acting like I killed your mother!" That was not what I expected. "Fine, since you're so fucking hellbent, fine! I'll show you true fire!" He raised both hands and gripped his staff so hard his fingers turned white.
I expected a reaction and a violent one at that, but this felt deeper than that. Like I had pushed him into a corner. As true or untrue as that was, it didn't stop what needed to be done.
I advanced once more but didn't get far.
A fire ignited, but it was like nothing I'd ever seen before. The flames weren't red, or orange, or yellow. They weren't blue or white.
They were a sinister black. They induced fear, and I felt the threat in them instantly. I also sensed what they were, even before he screamed their name.
"Demon Fire!" With only that as a warning, he threw the flame directly at me.
There was no room to dodge and nowhere to go. I had cut off space for him to run, but I had also cut off space to maneuver. The flames hit my chest and burned through [Glacial Heavy Plate] like it wasn't even there.
The metal underneath the ice turned black, and I could feel my skin burning. The searing pain forced me to grit my teeth. The flames affected more than just the physical, and I felt my very Spirit being burned.
It didn't end with only one bolt. Another flew at me even before the first was extinguished. And then another.
The black flames sprouted even in the face of the snow I carried with me. My hold over it was diminishing, melting away.
"Fire always beats Ice!"
At this rate, I was going to lose. The flames licked my skin, and I could feel it burning. My armor, forged from metal steeped in cold energy, started to heat up and melt. My Law and Spirit fought off as best they could, but I was losing.
The option to throw mana into [Jotun's Resistance] was there, but I ignored it. It would blunt the fire, but that path didn't lead to victory. No, that path led to a different option.
A repeat of my past actions played out once more. My hammer came alight, and the runes along its length flared brightly. Less power than before went into it, but it flew through the air all the same.
"[Frozen Rift]!" I screamed, as if to empower it with my voice.
For the second time, I condemned the area to a frosty death.
The rift was smaller than before, less in diameter and only a few feet wide, compared to the veritable doorway the last one was, but I aimed to fix that.
The mage turned frantic in the face of the same skill and threw everything he could at me. The mana gushing out of him and toward me was astronomical, and all of it was in the form of demon fire.
It burned like no other, but I ignored the pain. Ignored the flamethrower pointed directly at me.
My hammer thudded to the ground as I raised both hands toward the rift. My Spirit wrapped around them protectively as I grasped hold of something that should never be held, and pulled.
I yanked it wider with all my might. The rift fought me, but it succumbed quickly.
Eternal Winter dumped forth once more, and being inside a cage of ice, there was nowhere for it to go. It buried me in an avalanche of ice and snow, but it also buried him.
The constant spewing of flames fought it off... for a time. The leading edge of the avalanche melted, and so did the edge after that, but he could no sooner melt through it all than he could hold back the tide.
Screaming obscenities and curses, the man and his flames were buried under the snow. Small tongues of dark flame escaped out, but never for long and never very powerful.
My hands dropped from the portal with barely any feeling left in them. The tips of my fingers were black, and a sensation I had never known stung them.
Frostbite.
They protested my movements to pick up my hammer once more, but that didn't stop me.
It was time to end this.
The snow fought me, and I could feel a similar sensation in my feet as I could my hands, but I waded through the snow like a man that couldn't be denied.
I broke through the snow drift to see the mage shivering on his back in a small cocoon, safe from the snow, but not unmarred by it. He'd melted a small area to protect himself from it.
But that didn't protect him from me.
His face fell as he saw me break through his cocoon, and in it were traces of resignation. His mana was empty. There were no more spells to throw.
"Why?" He shivered, "Why go through so much trouble?"
The dead man didn't need an answer, but I gave it to him anyway.
"Consequences."
My hammer fell and ended it. A satisfying chime rang in my ears, and I fell back into the snow.
It was finished. I was in pain, my body both burned and frozen, but it was finished.
The rift dissipated as the last of my mana ran out and the fuel used to sustain it ran dry, but the ice stayed. I figured it would stay for a while to come. I didn't see it melting any time soon.
I sat and rested. Hammer by my side and a headless man at my feet, with only one question on my mind.
Was it worth it?
I didn't know the answer. I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer.
Comments
Thomas Issa
Wonder how the rifts will affect the dungeons
be ho
Good chap penguin, will always e joy this story
