Sophia remained silent; shocked to her knee. What was she watching?? Was it a dream?? Was it magic?? No matter which science she had studied she had never seen something like this??
Sophia's breath came in short, sharp bursts as the battle continued to grow bigger and bigger. Her hands trembled at her sides, her nails digging into her palms. Her legs felt weak, about to buckle beneath her, yet she remained standing, too paralyzed to move.
"They're going to kill each other," she realized, her stomach twisting in knots. And I'm standing here—watching, helpless. She didn't belong here. This wasn't her fight. Aris...Snap...they were something else, something more, something dangerous.
But even as the fear gnawed at her, something else stirred deep within. A small, nagging voice in the back of her mind whispered to her, Your part of this too.
No. No, I'm not. She shook her head, trying to push the thought away. She wasn't like them. She didn't have their power, their strength. She was just...ordinary.
But that voice, persistent and unyielding, pressed on. What if you're not?
Without warning, Snap unleashed a storm of feathers, each one cutting through the air again.
"WHIZZ"
They streaked toward Aris with a high-pitched, sharp and merciless.
Aris's eyes narrowed, his body reacting instinctively. He pivoted sharply, his foot digging into the ground as he twisted to the side, narrowly avoiding the barrage. The feathers passed him, mere inches from his sleeves, which fluttered in their wake. He rolled forward smoothly, coming up on one knee with his sword raised, the ice shimmering under the dim light.
CLANG through the air. He stepped forward into his strike, using the momentum to swing around with another wide arc, the blade slicing through the air as shards of ice scattered in every direction.
WHOOSE!! The feathers that touched the ice shattered instantly, breaking apart like brittle glass.
Snap didn't give him a moment's respite. Another flick of her wrist, and a second wave of feathers spiraled toward him, aiming for his legs and torso. Aris reacted swiftly, his boots hitting the floor with a THUD as he leapt into the air. His body twisted in mid-flight, the feathers passing just beneath him as he somersaulted over the barrage.
He landed lightly behind Snap, knees bent, sword raised. Seeing an opening, Aris launched himself forward, his body low to the ground as he sprinted toward Snap. His sword trailed behind him, "Gelida" glowing brighter and larger as he summoned his ice magic.
"AHH" Aris grunted slashing upward, aiming a powerful strike at Snap's chest. His blade cut through the air, a brilliant arc of snow trail tailing behind it.
Just as he though that the he had it in; his hopes had turned upside down when from a shadow wall of feathers materialized instantly, Blocking his sword.
CRACK The impact sent ice shards flying, Snap didn't flinch. She remained calm, composed, as if the attack was nothing more than a mild inconvenience.
Again suddenly, without warning, a spiral of feathers busted from behind Aris, forcing him to react.
He sensed them coming before they struck, He twisted his body mid-motion, his sword raised high to deflect the attack. The feathers CLANGED against his ice blade as he spun around, using the momentum to slide across the floor in a low, defensive crouch.
Mean while; Sophia was busy questioning herself; she had a gaping hole of information that she needed to filled in. "What am I even doing here?" she thought, biting her lip hard enough to draw blood. She could taste the metallic tang on her tongue, but it only made the world feel more surreal. "Aris...he doesn't need me. He's too focused on whatever this is. Snap...she doesn't even acknowledge me. Why was I dragged into this mess?"
Sophia's stomach twisted again she agreed with Snap's words. Aris had pulled her into this world without a second thought. She didn't belong here.
But... a thought crept into her mind, unbidden. Maybe I could.
The idea seemed absurd, yet it lingered. Despite the chaos, the danger, and her own rising fear, Sophia felt something shift inside her. I'm not completely useless...am I? Who are these people? Sophia thought, overwhelmed by her current reality.
But the battle kept on. Aris, now back on his feet, charged forward once more. His breathing was heavy, he swung low this time, aiming for her body trying to end all of it with a quick, cut slash. The ice sword glowed absorbing the shard ice crystals.
FWISH His feet blasted, as his low swing to the ground turned into a flight in an attempt to leap above the mess that Snap had caused, his body followed through with a spin, his coat fluttering behind him as he sent a wave of ice magic rippling across the ground. THWUMP!! The floor beneath him froze solid, frost spreading toward Snap's feet. Who immediately backed out to avoid the cracking ice.
Snap smirked. "You're trying so hard," she said with a mocking tone, and with a flick of her fingers, she summoned more feathers—hundreds of them. They hovered behind her, suspended in the air like a swarm of black blades.
The temperature in the room dropped even further, a suffocating coldness overcoming the space as the feathers glowed with a faint blue hue.
"Fanris Jogunard!" Snap declared, her voice bouncing on the swarm of feathers pointed toward Aris in the form of a massive, tidal wave.
Snap's eyes gleamed with a twisted sense of fun as she flicked her wrist, her feathers appearing in the air. This time, they were aimed at Sophia.
One noticing the sight of Snap staring at her body with her cold black eyes and aimed feathers; Sophia's heart immediately froze, her legs trembling as she stood rooted to the spot. The sharp, blue feathers whistled through the air, their heads pointing to puncture her body.
Her breath hitched. Time seemed to slow, as a cold sweat ran down her spine. Fear paralyzed her, her mind screaming at her to move, to dodge, to do anything. "This can't be happening" But her body refused to obey, her knees locking as terror gripped her. In the midst of that panic, her body warmed up with a warm liquid—the warm, humiliating sensation of wetness spread down her legs. Tears welled up in her eyes, both from fear and the overwhelming sense of embarrassment but what was embarrassment if all she was to die. "Am I going to die like this??"
Snap's grin widened. "Oops, looks like someone's scared."
FWOOOOSH!