Ivory Chronicles

Act I - Catalyst Revolt Part 8

INFERNAL BLIZZARD

It was Nicholas, bursting out from the darkness and lunging at Max, who barely had time to react before they were locked in a furious struggle on the wet ground. Nicholas kept yelling, "MURDERER!" his voice hoarse with anger and desperation, demanding to know how he could live with himself.

I knew I had to act fast before things got out of hand. I tried to pull them apart, but they were too strong and too focused on their fight to listen to reason. As I scanned the area for something to separate them, I realized we were deep in the rainforest with nothing but trees and bushes around us.

In one of my efforts to stop the fight, I resorted to yelling at the top of my lungs, hoping to distract them, "GUYS, STOP IT!" I pleaded, trying to reason with them. "NICHOLAS, JUST TAKE A SECOND TO LISTEN TO MAX!" To my relief, my plan worked, and both Nicholas and Max turned their attention towards me.

Nicholas' disappointed expression hardly changed as he turned back to face Max, who had lowered his head, but a small smirk played across his lips, and then he spoke calmly, almost too calmly. "We have something in common, Nicholas. We both have an unfair path to walk on. I have to do this, just as you are obligated to do what you have to do." As he spoke, flames began to leap from the nearby burned logs and engulfed the surrounding greenery. It seemed as if the very flames were preparing itself for an imminent battle.

"I didn't want things to end like this, but if it has to be this way, so be it." Nicholas stood firm, his eyes determined, as if he knew what was coming.

I had planned to intervene by running towards them and grabbing their arms to stop the fight, but before I could get too close, a blast of ice from Nicholas and a burst of flames from Max shot past me, almost hitting me. I stopped in shock, realizing that I was powerless in the face of their abilities, I could only watch in awe.

The occasional rain of the forest started to pour as Nicholas and Max faced each other. Nicholas conjured an ice shard from the droplets of the rain and flung it towards Max, who quickly countered with a ball of flames created from the surrounding fire that was burning the forest and casting an eerie light on their fight. The ice and fire collided, creating a loud hissing sound and a cloud of steam that obscured their vision.

As the steam cleared, Nicholas slid on an ice path he created beneath his feet, swiftly moving towards Max. Max created a wall of fire that blocked Nicholas' path, but Nicholas summoned a gust of icy wind from his hand, extinguishing the flames, and continued his approach. Max retaliated with a barrage of fireballs, but Nicholas, without hesitation, created an ice shield that deflected the fiery projectiles.

Max charged towards Nicholas, continuing his fiery assault on Nicholas's ice shield leaving a trail of flames behind him. As the rain grew heavier, the flames began to sputter and weaken, but Nicholas used the downpour to strengthen his shield. Suddenly, Nicholas shifted his focus and caused the ice shield to explode into a shower of razor-sharp ice shards, heading straight for Max. 

Quickly, Max created a wall of flames to block the shards, but the hissing and dissipating of the dozens of shards, coupled with the rain, left Max vulnerable. He put his arms up to block the oncoming attacks, feeling the shards quickly pass him, cutting him with their sharp edges, and a few of them managed to stab his hands and feet, but they quickly melted.

Without giving Max a chance to recover, Nicholas charged forward, his fist glowing with icy blue. Surprisingly, Max met him head-on, his fists surrounded by flickering flames. Just like the steam that quickly appears and disappears as their fists clash, Nicholas darted to the side, sending a blast of icy wind from his palm. Max countered instantly, his hands shooting out intense flames like flamethrowers, turning Nicholas' icy wind into vapor.