3RD POV
Water shattered stone, grinding it down to dust. Sand rose to meet the torrents, merging into thick mud. Frost swept across the hall, locking the earth in a prison of ice. But now....the ice hissed, split, and melted under a heat so fierce it warped the air itself, birthing fire's brother, molten stone. Lava.
King Asher's eyes blazed like twin furnaces, his body steaming from the heat that radiated around him. The once-frozen mud beneath his feet glowed red and began to bubble, spreading like veins of fire across the hall. Azuren stumbled back a step, his breath caught.
Azuren: - What is this...?! You're a stone mage!! H-How can you use fire magic!!
King Asher: - It's not fire magic. Just how you can turn water to ice, I can turn stone into lava.
The king raised a hand, and the ground obeyed. A wave of glowing lava surged upward, spilling like a crimson tide toward Azuren. The assassin thrusted his hands forward desperately, causing walls of ice to erupt, jagged and reinforced with torrents of water. The lava hit them head-on, hissing and cracking violently, steam exploding into the air. The entire training hall became a battlefield of opposing forces, lava roaring against ice, steam filling the chamber, heat and frost gnawing at each other. Azuren's bracelet of blue stones pulsed frantically, feeding more mana into his body as veins of cold light spread further up his arm and chest. He bared his teeth, both frantic and furious.
Azuren: - You.... you dared to twist your own magic this far?! This is madness! An atrocity!!
King Asher: - No. This is ingenuity.
The lava surged again, this time splitting into multiple streams that slithered forward like molten serpents, each one aiming to devour the assassin whole. The assassin tried to block it, but the ice shattered and the water evaporated immediately. He jumped back several meters, sweat coating his entire body.
King Asher: - Azuren, was it?
The king asked, calmly walking out of the dust, his mana flowing inside his veins like the stones and lava around his frame. The injuries on his body were severe, yet he walked with calm and graceful steps, each one carrying such power and authority, that even the assassin felt overwhelmed.
King Asher: - I ought to thank you. Without you pushing me to my limits, I would have never achieved this breakthrough.
He let out a small chuckle.
King Asher: - Stone mages usually have larger, stronger physiques, which grants them greater control and mastery over the earth. Unfortunately, I was never able to reach such heights, and even with sand spells I was always far behind. But now....After so long... I've finally, truly connected with my magic.
Azuren: - BLASPHEMY!! This is an affront to the Celestials!!!
He raised his hands, more ice and water gathering around him.
Azuren: - You think you're so high and mighty?! You're a disgrace to Saxum for corrupting the magic he gave you!!
King Asher: - No. You're a disgrace to Lacus for using the gift you were granted to fulfill your own selfish purposes.
YOU ARE READING
Adventures beyond the void
FantasyNicholas Blackwood is a fifteen year old boy who always thought his life would be deprived of any form of happiness, condemned to be constantly neglected by his parents, bullied by his peers and uncared for by the world. One day his parents decide...
