[Rough Draft] Chapter 61 {Part Two}: A Battle for Dominance
“Kirsi!” With a frantic gasp, Carina kicked herself back up towards the surface and reached towards the ledge of ice. She blinked at the empty plane of snow and ice and then spun around to search for the Scarlet Witch, who stood behind her. The immortal queen’s smile gleamed as she leaned down to press a hand on Carina’s damp hair.
“You must have realized, of course, that in the end, there can only be one of us,” Kirsi murmured with a pragmatic tone as she offered the shivering Duchess a condescending sneer. “I didn’t fight to survive a hundred lifetimes just so some shiny piece of my soul could claim the prize.”
“W-what prize?” Carina snapped as she gripped the wrist pressed against her scalp. “What are you trying to do? Become a god?”
“Ha. You’re so ignorant you haven’t even realized what Viktor’s been doing all this time. Finally, after waiting a thousand years for that fickle old bastard to transfer his power fully—he decides to give it to you?”
Carina flinched beneath the cold anger that rolled off Kirsi in waves of malice. “I don’t know what you—”
Bubbles of protest burst through Carina’s lips as she was pushed once more below the murky, frigid lake. She thrashed her arms and legs, clawing at the frozen surface and the Scarlet Witch’s hand, which kept her submerged. The cold seeped into her skin, bones, and eyes as Carina watched the gap above her head steadily close. By the time Kirsi released her grip, there was barely enough room for Carina to draw in one last desperate breath of air before she was sealed beneath the island of frost.
‘That bitch! Is she trying to imprison me or kill me? I’ll have to find another way up somewhere else.’
Carina turned and kicked against the surface as she swam down to scan the filtered surface above her for a steady beam of light that might indicate a weakness she could exploit to break through.
“Stay focused, Carina.”
Carina turned towards the glow of Viktor’s skeletal form and instinctively swam towards in. The darkness of the lake solidified around her even as the immortal’s welcome glow eased the pressure squeezing against her skull and lungs.
‘Viktor, what do I do? I think Kirsi’s trying to kill me!’
“Calm yourself, Carina. She cannot kill you in here, nor can she risk harming you outside.”
‘So she’s trying to trap me, is that it?!’
“Kirsi probably believes that taking dominance will ensure your survival in the weeks to come.”
‘So what? I should just let her take over?’
A weary sigh that seemed to resonate through the dragon’s bones sent a trickle of bubbles towards the surface. Carina floated down to rest on the giant dragon skull as she tried to suppress her panic and anger.
‘I know we are pieces of the same soul and that we would be stronger if we merged together, but I don’t trust Kirsi.’
“You are afraid that she will take your place permanently,” Viktor countered gently. “Kirsi is afraid of the same thing. Regardless of which path you choose, a sacrifice must be made.”
‘So, in the end, I must sacrifice myself for either you or Kirsi?’
“If you want another option, Carina, then you must fight for it. Here and now. This cortex of power can only belong to one of you. If you allow Kirsi to seal you away now—the victor is all but assured.”
Carina turned to gaze up at the island of ice that hovered above them. Slowly her racing heart slowed to a steady, methodic beat as she absorbed the immortal’s guidance.
‘I have no choice but to fight her then?’
“Why do you think Kirsi waited until now, Carina. Why did she have to wait until she had given you all the experience you would need to survive?”
The Duchess narrowed her eyes and shook her head. ‘I don’t know. She—needed me to strengthen her connection to your magic, to—’
“Finally, after waiting a thousand years for that fickle old bastard is transfer his power fully—he decides to give it to you?”
‘Kirsi wants to become a god, but she can’t do that until—’
Carina turned to stare at her right hand, which seemed to sink into Victor’s skull as if the bone had become soft like a sponge.
‘Viktor, what’s—happening to you? Are you—dying?’
“An immortal cannot die!” Viktor replied calmly.
‘But I’ve—weakened you—somehow.’
“You have given me strength, Carina.”
‘But the power you’ve given me—’
“Was given willingly to ensure your survival!”
A blast of air bubbles pushed the Duchess gently away from the dragon’s face as the immortal’s body seemed to sink deeper into the lake. Carina stretched out her hand but felt Viktor’s will held her back as the immortal’s words echoed in her ears.
“I was the one who let Kirsi enter here. I had hoped, foolishly, that you could both work together in harmony and become one soul again. But thanks to Arachne’s manipulation and influence, Kirsi has lost her way. Where once the Isbrand Queen sought only to protect the weak and enforce justice, now she hungers for power like any other mortal.”
‘But I don’t know how to beat her! Kirsi broke through the ice so easily—how do I get past her? Damn it, even after all this training, she is still so much stronger than I am!’
“Calm yourself, Carina. What Kirsi has lost, you still retain. What she has cast aside as weakness is your strength. I have given you all the tools you need to accomplish what must be done. This is but the first of many tests the gods will place before you.”
‘A test?’ Carina held back the urge to laugh as she turned to glare at the ice above her and summoned a bow.
“If you do not break free now, then Kirsi will claim the cortex for herself. She will take the power I have granted you and use it to subdue me and battle the gods themselves.”
‘But—can Kirsi—become a god herself?’
“It is not impossible. The gods themselves were once mortals after all.”
Carina blinked in surprise. Of all the mysteries Viktor had revealed to her, this was one she had not anticipated. ‘Then—it is possible?’
“Even if she succeeded in weakening me enough to sever my connection to this world, she would need the blessing of the other gods to ascend. Once I am gone, they will no longer have a reason to keep her alive, which means both of you will be in danger.”
The Duchess grimaced and formed an arrow as she raised her bow towards the surface.
‘So I’m standing in the way of Kirsi becoming a god? Even if I understand her desire to get revenge, I will not let her trap me like this willingly.’ The arrow beneath her hand burned with cold magic and multiplied as tendrils of Viktor’s magic wrapped themselves around Carina’s waist and arms. ‘I’m sick and tired of being pushed aside as if I don’t matter. I know that Maura’s body doesn’t belong to me and this frozen heart belongs to Viktor. Even the future that awaits me the moment I break free will only be plagued by those who want to rip this power from me. So what if I have memories of the future? The gods have already proven they can alter that future at will. What do I have that Kirsi has lost? How do I stop her? How can I take back this life which might be my very last?!’
The dark lake around her glowed as the burning star of the arrow she held vibrated with threatening intensity.
‘The only two things Kirsi respects are Power and the unshakable will to survive. I possess both of those, but more than that—I have a reason to keep fighting. I have people I need to protect and—if possible….’
Carina’s eyes fluttered closed. Within their enfolding darkness, she could see Viktor shining like a blazing cosmos of energy. The tendrils of his soul wrapped reverently around her legs, waist, and arms as he lent her even more strength. The bow and arrow were now a blurred star of chaotic energy aimed towards the floating island above. Somewhere beneath their blinding light, an answer she had not been looking for floated into view.
‘I don’t care if this makes me selfish. I’ll do whatever I have to do to keep you safe.’
Carina tightened her grip on the arrow and kept her eyes shut as she focused on the center of the island where Kirsi knelt, already forming her own connection to the cortex of Viktor’s power.
‘Viktor, do you—know what I’m about to do?”
“Yes.”
‘Haa…’ Carina could feel her fingers going numb as she strained to pull the arrow further back. ‘Will you be alright?’
‘Our time is not yet over, little ice witch.’
A smile crossed the Duchess’s face as she aimed the blazing star of cold energy directly beneath the Scarlet Witch. ‘You cornered me first, Kirsi. You had a hundred lifetimes to find a way to be happy. I don’t care if I remain mortal. I don’t care if I live to be twenty years old again. I just want to protect the happiness I finally found with….’
In the space of a breath that it took Carina to release her hold on the turbulent, destructive energy, she uttered a single word taken from Kirsi’s battle memories, “ᛞᛖᛋᛏᚱᚢᚲᛏᛁᛟᚾ.”
The linear plane of ice and water distorted beneath the explosion of stars that shattered through the island above without mercy. Carina spun beneath the backlash of her attack, but Viktor’s tendrils of magic corrected her course and launched her up towards the already cracking domes of ice that sank down into the bottomless lake.
Rays of sun skin splintered down through the turbulent, violent waters as the deafening, reverberating sound of ice booming, breaking, and splintering drowned out all other forms of noise.
Carina swam towards the surface, following the currents even as her bow shifted into a sword.
Through the chaos and deafening screams of elemental fury, the Duchess caught a glimpse of the Scarlet Witch’s crimson robes.
Kirsi appeared more annoyed than shaken as she clung to a spear pierced into one of the large blocks of sinking ice. Sensing Carina’s gaze, the immortal queen turned and focused her ice-blue eyes on the defiant Duchess. Then, with a wry smile, the Scarlet Witch extended her left hand and offered a beckoning gesture to Carina.
The Duchess smiled grimly as she swam towards the nearest chunk of ice and pressed her free hand against it.
‘Viktor’s always saying that magic in this place is limitless. It’s time to put that idea to the test.’
Ignoring the quiet whispers of doubt that tickled inside her chest, Carina closed her eyes and focused everything on her connection to the chaotic vortex of elements that swirled around her.
‘This is my domain, Kirsi. I will not be threatened or manipulated by you or anyone else here.’
Like a stone breaking through the surface of a calm, glassy lake, Carina slipped through the barrier of ice and disappeared.
A stunned look of surprise flickered across Kirsi’s face before she spun around quickly to search the dark, ice-clogged water for the tiniest glimpse of the Duchess.
Carina smiled from within the block of ice the Scarlet Witch perched upon. She pressed her hand against the barrier then reached through to wrap Kirsi’s ankle in a tendril of Viktor’s power. In an instant, the immortal’s magic locked itself around the Scarlet Witch’s ankle. Kirsi spun towards the block of ice beneath her feet and cursed as she yanked her spear free, then lunged it toward’s Carina’s victorious smile.
The spear shattered beneath the Scarlet Witch’s hands as the Duchess vanished from view.
Kirsi froze, then reached down to yank at the manacles which pinned her to the unbreakable block of ice. The immortal queen flinched as she recognized Viktor’s power and turned slowly towards the looming massive skeleton. The dragon’s hungry mouth of fangs opened up to receive her.
The Duchess watched silently as Viktor and Kirsi sink further beneath the ghostly blocks of ice. For a moment, she thought she saw a smile creep over the immortal queen’s face before it too was covered in shadows.
The howling winds of ice and snow greeted Carina as she broke through to the surface and climbed onto the tiny bobbing remains of the cortex’s island. The Duchess dropped awkwardly to her knees and crawled towards the already flickering light of the Frozen Heart’s power. Pushing aside the exhausting pounding behind her ears, Carina pressed her hands against the burning center of Viktor’s soul and filled it with her own blinding magic.
“ᚱᛖᚠᛟᚱᛗ.”
The small island below creaked and groaned as it gave way to her command. Orbs of wind and water scattered at her whim across the rocky waves, cluttered with ice, breaking down and rebuilding the demolished island with steady, methodical focus.
Only after the last lingering clump of snow vanished did Carina reach the limits of the frozen heart’s domain. The pale Duchess opened her eyes slowly as she took in the perfectly reformed island that stretched on endlessly around her. Beneath her steel-toed boots, etched engravings spread across its frozen, pristine surface. The words composed of the ancient language of immortals held power necessary to bind Kirsi for good.
“Is it—finally over?”
Carina let out a shaky, trembling breath as she sank down slowly to rest beneath the newly reinforced cortex of power. The burning glow inside her chest illuminated the single tendril of magic that still connected her to the floating immortal beneath.
“Thank you—Viktor.”
The Duchess’s ice-blue eyes fluttered shut as she slumped over. The glowing tendril of pure white magic silently shattered and was replaced by a golden thread connecting directly to the blazing light of the cortex itself.