4,974 years ago.

  Issa knew he couldn’t save the world; the only question was how he would die.

  The last three Guardians crashed through the ceiling into a chamber deep beneath Cryos’s ice fortress. Ruwa, the Wind Guardian, was up first. More than on his feet, he hovered off the floor, pointing his glowing cerulean bow at the hole in the ceiling, an arrow of pure wind aether nocked.

  Raichi, Guardian of Thunder, stood next, his gold-trimmed black armor clanking. He helped Issa to his feet. Issa formed a fireball in his hand, illuminating the area. There was an entrance at one end of the chamber with two guards, both ice zombies. Issa quickly dispatched one with a fireball, and Raichi killed the other with a lightning bolt. At the other end of the chamber, something glowed with aetheric power.

  “I don’t think he’s following yet,” said Ruwa. He dismissed his bow and slumped with fatigue. “It’ll take him a minute or two to figure out where we’ve gone. Best rest while you can. I’ll keep the air livable.” With that, he summoned his Wind Shield. Issa and Raichi immediately sighed with relief as the air warmed, glad for a moment of rest. But Ruwa was just as drained as the rest of them.

  Ember, Issa’s lecti spirit, appeared beside his head in the form of a beautiful, voluptuous hand-sized fire sprite. She spoke in his mind, giving him a status report in her usual sultry voice. [Sir, I am focusing on regenerating your most severe injuries and ignoring others. Currently, your three broken ribs.]

  ?Good girl,? Issa thought back at her. ?How much longer can we hold out??

  Ember’s tiny lips tightened. [You can hold off physical and aether fatigue for only a little longer. A few minutes at most. If you strain yourself much more, you will risk a core fracture.]

  Damn. It was over. They were too weak to fight on or escape. If they rested for even a moment, they would lapse into comas.

  And Ember was being optimistic. It would more likely be a full breach instead of a fracture. That would mean death, and not a pleasant one either. He’d be burned from the inside out by his own aether. Cryos wouldn’t even have to finish him off.

  “Well, gentlemen,” Issa said. “I think this is it. Unless a miracle occurs before Cryos finds us again, it’s been a pleasure working with you.”

  Ruwa merely nodded. “We tried. We didn’t die cowering like dogs. That’s what we came here to do, right?”

  “Should we try something different?” Raichi asked.

  Issa shrugged. “I'm open to suggestions.”

  Raichi stowed his helmet; it vanished from his head with a crackle of electricity. His yellow eyes and his blond hair both looked wild. “We abandon this fruitless hit-and-run. Use everything we have left in a full-on attack. Nothing held back.”

  “Raichi, we agreed that would be foolish,” Ruwa said gently.

  “Aye,” said Issa, “but that was before we realized fighting him at all was foolish, even three against one.”

  It was a very Raichi suggestion, of course. Just like lightning itself, Raichi could hardly resist spending all of his energy at once. Still, the idea wasn't entirely without merit. This battle of attrition only favored the enemy. The three of them could get lucky with a reckless last-ditch attack. At worst, this would all be over that much sooner.

  “What is this place?” Issa asked absently. He stowed his own helmet and squinted at the blue glow in the distance. His red eyes widened. “Shones beyond, lads,” he breathed. “I think that’s her. The bastard actually did it. He froze her.”

  Raichi looked up sharply. “That is something,” he said. Can we—”

  “Friends?” Ruwa said shakily. “He found us.” He extended his arms, pouring more aether into the wind shield to reinforce it. “Run, now!”

  For a mad moment, Issa considered running toward the blue glow. Toward what he was fairly certain was Cryos’s only true love. What their intelligence had dubbed The Frozen Lady. Now that would be leverage even the damn traitor couldn’t ignore. But no, the ceiling rumbled, and pieces of ice began to break from it and fall, blocking the approach to the Frozen Lady. Cryos was approaching rapidly, and he was cutting them off in the meantime.

  “Issa?” said Raichi.

  Ruwa groaned in pain. A layer of ice formed on the outside of the shield, like they were being trapped inside a snow globe.

  “Damn it.” Issa’s helm snapped back into place, and his flamberge appeared in his hand in a burst of flame. He and Raichi smashed through the thickening ice and ran into the hallway beyond the chamber. Issa glanced back.

  With a crash, the traitor landed on the floor of the chamber. Cryos, the Guardian of Ice–no, no longer a Guardian, but something corrupted and destructive–got to his feet and blasted Ruwa with a powerful Ice Beam. The shield absorbed the attack for mere seconds. Ruwa’s arms and legs jerked erratically. Frost grew thick on his armor.

  Then Ruwa, Guardian of Wind, lord of whirlwinds, and dear friend, died. Icy spikes erupted from the floor and ceiling, each angled directly toward him. His thrashing stopped and he slumped, skewered dozens of times over, his feet still dangling off the ground. Ice crusted his corpse over, making him look like nothing so much as one of Cryos’s beloved ice sculptures. Then the spikes withdrew and he fell to the floor. His frozen body cracked into three pieces, armor and all.

  The chamber grew quiet, as if time had stopped.

  Then thunder pierced the silence.

  “Ruwa!” Raichi bellowed. He summoned his own sword. Its jagged edge crackled with electricity.

  Cryos, Guardian of Ice, lord of the tundra, former friend, abomination, stepped over Ruwa’s remains. His cruelly spiked icy armor glowed, refracting in jagged lines and curves against the surfaces of the rooms around him like an underground pool. His eyes were searing white, glaring from the darkness of his helmet slit. Issa doubted there was any flesh remaining inside that suit. Cryos had fully and permanently transformed himself into ice.

  “Bastard!” Raichi slashed his sword through the air. An arc of electricity spread outward from the sword’s path. Cryos produced his own ice sword and casually deflected the attack. The room rumbled as the arcing electricity drew cracks in the icy walls. Raichi sliced again as he advanced, and again. Faster and more frantic. “Traitor! Vile monster!”

  Cryos blasted Raichi with a ball of ice. He grunted for a moment as he resisted the freezing effect of the attack, then broke free and engaged Cryos sword to sword. The room rang with the steel, buzzing electricity, and cracking ice. But Cryos’ terrible new strength won out, and he began to push Raichi back.

  Raichi’s body glowed. “If the Shones won’t strike you down for what you’ve done,” he rasped, “Then I will!”

  “Wait, Raichi!” Issa cried. “Stop! Don’t do this!”

  It was too late. The frigid air hummed with energy as Raichi’s body glowed brighter. Even beneath furs and steel, Issa felt the hair on his arms stand on end.

  “We make our stand now, Issa! Lend me fire!” Raichi extended his sword toward Cryos. A bright torrent of electricity blasted from the blade and poured into Cryos. The Ice Guardian growled and shielded himself with his sword.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Issa cursed. ?Heat Lightning!? he thought at Ember. A streamer of red light erupted from the tip of his blade and merged with Raichi’s attack. The lightning took on an orange glow, and flames flickered around the arcing electricity. Cryos doubled over, trying to block the attack with his own sword. He was overwhelmed. Stray arcs lanced into the walls, spilling melted water onto the floor and releasing steam into the air. The room rumbled again, and huge chunks of ice crashed to the floor. For the first time since Cryos had gained this terrible new power, he was actually on the back foot.

  Issa felt a terrible tension building inside him as his aethervoir stretched to its limit. It was like a muscle stretched close to tearing, only that muscle was his very soul. He tried to pace himself, to keep some smidgen in reserve for when this attack was finished.

  Was he still being a coward, like he’d been these past twenty years? Holding back, even at the end?

  [You are merely showing discretion, my lord.]

  ?There’s a first time for everything,? Issa thought ruefully.

  Raichi had no such inhibitions. “Come on, Issa! We can't hold back! This is our only chance!” He dismissed his sword, no longer relying on its energy and channeling more powerful, but more costly thunder aether from his own hands. The lightning intensified further, painfully bright even to look at.

  Raichi laughed.

  “Raichi?” Issa called. “Raichi, stop! You'll die!”

  [Oh dear,] Ember whispered.

  ?By the Shones,? Issa thought. ?He's doing this on purpose, isn’t he??

  Raichi’s laughter became frantic. Incredibly, the lightning became even hotter. Cryos screamed. “I have you now, Cryos!” Raichi bellowed. Yellow light leaked from his helmet. Electricity arced across his entire body. His gauntlets cracked and crumbled away, leaving his forearms exposed to the frigid air. His very flesh then cracked, and pieces flaked away like ash. He was dying, being consumed from within by his own power, yet his laughter only increased.

  “This is the end for you, traitor!” Raichi croaked. Cryos continued to writhe. Issa, mouth agape, dared to think his friend might be right. Could it be? Had Raichi’s insane sacrifice just saved–

  Suddenly Cryos lunged forward, raising his sword. Issa gasped, withdrew his fire aether from Raichi’s attack, and backed away.

  Shrieking with rage, Cryos slammed into Raichi and ran him straight through. “No!” Raichi gasped. His helmet had also crumbled away now, and his eyes glowed. He gripped Cryos’s shoulders and continued to electrocute him. “I have found the power to destroy you in death, Cryos! I—”

  But Cryos had more power in reserve as well. Still screaming, he channeled ice aether through both his sword and his body. Raichi grew still. His body crystallized, then overgrew with frost. Icicles formed on his body, their points facing away from Cryos as if blown by a wind. The arcing electricity stopped. Cryos had snuffed out both Raichi’s incredible attack and Raichi himself with power to spare.

  In fact, it was too much power. Cryos didn't stop the outpouring of ice aether. Perhaps he couldn't. His own movements became slower. His scream became strained. He struggled to pull away from Raichi, and his own armor crusted over with tiny spikes of frost.

  ?Do you see this?? Issa asked, continuing to back away lest he be caught up and frozen as well.

  Ember reappeared beside Issa’s head. [The Destroyer gives him more power than he can control, more than he can reabsorb. I believe he almost ended himself just now. Almost, but not quite.]

  ?Can we use that against him??

  [How?]

  At last the crackling stopped. Cryos was as still as Raichi, who was still impaled on the icy sword. For a moment, Issa dared think this might be over. Then Cryos yelled and burst free, shaking off the crust of frost that had formed on his armor.

  Ice tinkled like glass.

  Raichi, Guardian of Thunder, lord of electricity, best and last friend, shattered. Cryos glared at Issa, the last obstacle in his way.

  ?Could we provoke him into doing it again? Even worse??

  [The change has made him more reckless,] Ember mused. [But I doubt he’d make the same mistake again.]

  “And then there was one,” Cryos said. His voice was deep, resonant, and seemed to come from every direction at once. “I truly regret that I didn't kill you first, Issa. You’re nothing but a worthless hedonist, more deserving of death than any of the others. Your sins were always the greatest, and your people have suffered long. I'm glad I can finally set things right.”

  The comment stung with truth, but Issa’s mind was still working. ?What if,? he thought, ?I made myself easier to kill than he expects??

  [I'm not sure what you mean.]

  “I’ve already told you, Cryos,” Issa said, “I've seen the error of my ways. I've learned, and I've repented.”

  “You've done no such thing, The only thing you've learned about is your own mortality. It took this–” Cryos brandished his sword. “–to drag you away from your feasting and your women.”

  “No, Cryos, I have learned. You have taught me two things. First, that I never want to be what I was again. But second, and more importantly…” He spun his own sword with a flourish, “...that I never want to be what you have become.”

  Issa had hoped his comment would enrage Cryos. To his surprise, the other man’s shoulders slumped, and he spoke with genuine regret. “I am what is necessary, Issa. The old ways have failed. Our master has failed. I must forge this world anew to save mankind from itself, let alone its enemies.”

  “And by ‘forging the world anew,’ you of course mean freezing and killing most of it.”

  Cryos shrugged. “I could have preserved a larger remnant with the help of my brothers. As I told you when I tried to recruit you. I am a god now, Issa, but I am still merely a god of ice. And so, ice it shall be. But this I can promise you: those I allow to live will live in peace.” He shook his head, as if coming to himself, and assumed a combat stance.

  Issa took a deep breath. “Show me then, if I'm dead anyway. Really show me that you have the power to unmake the world and remake it. Come at me with everything you have. Let me at least die with the peace of knowing you have the world well in hand.”

  “Are you asking for a quick death? I can respect that. Perhaps even honor it.”

  ?This is what we're going to do, Ember.? Issa quickly explained his idea. ?Be ready.?

  [My lord, that is madness.]

  ?It's all I have left. Thank you for everything, my sweet.? Issa reached to his chest, where the Fire Guardian amulet, the source of his power, hung. He touched it affectionately.

  Ember sighed. [Very well. Thank you as well, Lord Issa. It has been a pleasure working with you.]

  Issa’s breath caught, and he nearly coughed. ?Has it? I've been a terrible Guardian.?

  [I’ve always remembered the hero you are, sir. Even when you forgot.]

  “Do it then!” Issa said out loud. He stoked his aethervoir. The tension inside his soul become taut. His power grew. His muscles became stronger. The heat of his fire became hotter. And then, horribly, the tension broke. He broke. His body and his mind both began to burn. He could only pray he'd stay lucid enough to finish this next part. “Repeat what you just did with Raichi! Come on!”

  Cryos’ glowing white eyes narrowed. “What?”

  “Can you do it? Or have you spent too much of your new power? Perhaps I shall yet finish what Raichi started!” He stowed his sword and raised his arms. His armor was already burning and crumbling away, just as Raichi’s had.

  Cryos stowed his own sword and raised a single hand, accepting a duel with raw aether. With his other hand, he pointedly reached behind him and conjured a wall of ice, blocking off the rest of the chamber and protecting what waited at the opposite end. Issa smirked. Yes, he knew what would provoke Cryos. What would make him reckless one last time.

  “And just like that,” the Ice Guardian said, “we are back to stupidity. Fine. I will keep your frozen body in my sculpture garden as a warning to would-be rebels.”

  “Come on, then!” Issa blasted Cryos, a white-hot beam of fire aether pouring out of him. Cryos countered with an ice beam, and for the moment he contented himself with matching Issa’s power, the two beams meeting between them and annihilating each other.

  Such power, and such control when he decided to exercise it. Cryos wasn't trying to overwhelm him yet. Did he suspect a trick? Issa’s vision blurred. He burned. Oh, he burned. It was a kind of pain he hadn't felt in decades. Fire had been only a source of strength and comfort for so long.

  Issa felt his soul rupturing, an unstoppable outpouring of aether that, he knew, wouldn’t stop until he was dead. How long did he have? Seconds? He imagined collapsing in front of the bemused Cryos, his dying gambit all for naught.

  [You need to say it now.]

  Issa opened cracked lips. “You never loved her.”

  Cryos hissed. “What did you say, wretch?”

  “You never loved her! You ignored her pleas for peace! You betrayed her and froze her, and we’re standing here right now because you NEVER LOVED HER!”

  That did it. Cryos roared, and the ice beam intensified. Frost formed on the walls, on the floor, on the ceiling, on Cryos himself.

  Issa reached out to Polkar, his patron. Something he hadn't done even when he repented, except to mouth the rote prayer for forgiveness. Please let this work, he sent to the Aetherverse. Please raise up a successor to finish my work. And please, please let him be a better man than me.

  Then he addressed Ember. ?Are you ready??

  [I am. Goodbye, Fire Guardian.]

  Issa grasped the red jewel of his amulet. “I forsake you!” he yelled.

  Cryos's eyes widened. “What are you—”

  “I forsake my artifact and my power!” Issa snapped the amulet’s chain. His power fled from him immediately, though not the burning pain within. With the last of his strength he threw the Amulet of the Fire Guardian as far as he could.

  “NOOOOOooooo—”

  Cryos’s scream was drowned out by a deafening crackling sound as the very gases in the air froze around them, but all other thoughts were driven from Issa’s head by the cold. Such bitter, excruciating cold. It was worse than the burning. It tore through Issa’s body before sensation fled him entirely. But he knew one thing, now: He knew how he'd die.

  The only question was whether it would save the world.