Chapter Thirty Eight

The Witch's Endgame Part I

ELSA

Elsa listened, and as the truth began to dawn on her, she slowly swelled up with anger. Her heart thumped in her chest and the blood in her veins boiled, which was unusual for her, given her supernatural biology.

"Anna," Elsa said, her eyes welling up with furious tears. "Tell me this isn't true."

"It is." Her sister clasped her hands in her own. "It's in Father's journal, I swear. Back in Quodrun, the Pilgrim hinted that there was something about the past I didn't know about."

"Our father's crime." Elsa choked.

"Yes, that and the fact that Father had powers."

"That much the Pilgrim showed me. But our parents' deaths…"

"I told you, our parents went to learn how to use the Qa'nneth amulet," Anna gestured at the Qa'nneth in her coat pocket. "Their journey took them across the Southern Sea-"

"Where Ingrid drowned them before they could learn how to protect us." Elsa's voice broke. "She must have known, she-"

"Elsa," Anna held her shoulders firmly. "Do you understand why now? She's too dangerous to take on alone. She murdered our parents, and I… I can't lose you too. Please."

Elsa turned away, rubbing her eyes. She was not only furious that Ingrid had been the culprit of her parents' deaths, but at herself for not seeing the connection. She so badly wanted to kick herself. How could she not have seen it? Instead, she had followed her parents' killer like a fool, subjecting herself to her tyrannous command. But no more.

"Elsa."

"You're right." Elsa turned and looked at the Warriors and the Elemental Sorcerers before her. She drew a deep breath. "Tracy, we're still going to need two Crossing Points. One to Swynvort, and the other to the catacombs."

"Weren't you listening to-"

"Anna, I hear you." Elsa said firmly. "We're going to stop her together. The four of us." She glanced at the Warriors, and then at the four Elemental Sorcerers. "I need the rest of you to go back to Swynvort and wait for us."

Jade nodded. "Be careful, guys."

Elsa turned to Tracy. "Please."

Tracy pursed her lips. "Alright. I'll try." She raised a hand weakly, and squinted her eyes. With much difficulty, it all began with a spark of purple. And then a few particles.

"Come on, Tracy. You can do this." Maui said.

"You got this, Tracy." Anna added in support.

Tracy grunted and tensed her muscles. The particles of purple grew into a mist, and then a fully fledged portal opened, leading the way back to Swynvort.

"Go!" Elsa shouted, and the four Elemental Sorcerers stepped through the portal, vanishing out of the Crossing Zone. The moment they crossed it, the portal slammed shut, pulling in on itself.

"Whew." Tracy exhaled sharply.

"Good work," Elsa patted her on the back encouragingly. "Now for the catacombs."

"Her energy signature is weak." Tracy said. "But I can still feel it faintly."

Elsa nodded, and stepped back. "You can do it."

"Here goes." Tracy breathed in, and performed the same conjuration. Slowly, a portal manifested itself.

Elsa leapt through it quickly, landing on a narrow ledge of the catacombs. Before anyone else could move, Elsa spun round quickly and froze the entrance of the Crossing Point, blocking everyone else from passing through it.

"Elsa! What are you doing?" Anna yelled, pounding on the solid slab of ice that blocked the Crossing Point. "Let us through!"

"I'm sorry." Elsa turned and ran down the path that led into a winding stretch of tunnels. This was something she had to do on her own. Her personal vendetta. Or justice. It didn't matter at this point. All she wanted was to get to the Pilgrim and deal out her own measure of justice, whatever that was. Ingrid, she has to pay for everything she's done. What she put us through.

Elsa blinked back the tears and hurried down the narrow path. At the very least, the tunnels led down a singular long stretch, and all she had to do was follow it. She assumed that Tracy had dropped her off at a point close to where Ingrid was. She couldn't have gotten too far in her weakened state.

The way she was coughing out blood and shaking, Ingrid couldn't use her powers much more without risking succumbing to her condition. That meant her primary goal was getting to the prison of the Eternal King at all costs. Elsa was determined to not let that happen. First, the world's safety was at stake. And second…well, she owed Ingrid her comeuppance.

Reaching the end of the long stretch of tunnels, the passage opened into a wide cavern and Elsa stood at the entrance. The cavern had a ceiling so high that she could not see where it was since it was so dark, and the room was spacious, lit only by a single flaming torch that Elsa assumed was lit by Ingrid. It rested on the ground, casting a warm but faint glow across the cavern. On the other side was a singular cell with a massive wooden door that was ajar, and Ingrid knelt silently in front of it.

As Elsa inched closer quietly, she could see that Ingrid had not budged, still kneeling down before the cell with her cloak's hood pulled back and her head of grey hair bowed. Something was wrong.

"Ingrid!" Elsa called out, deciding to keep her anger in check for the moment so that she could find out what was going on. The witch ignored Elsa as if having not heard her, and Elsa walked across the uneven rocky ground cautiously toward the cell.

"Ingrid." She said again, hands at her hips just in case.

"He's gone." Ingrid rasped, and Elsa could see that she was absolutely devastated.

Elsa used her foot to push the ajar door wider so she could see for herself, and true enough, the cell was completely empty.

"He's gone," Ingrid echoed blankly, and looked up at Elsa in defeat.

"It's over." Elsa said. "Your campaign is a flop."

"No…" Ingrid gazed at the empty cell. "All this time…he was never here."

Elsa knew that wasn't true. The mythical Eternal King wasn't there presently, but it was evident that he had existed. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been a private prison cell hidden far beneath the depths of Ancient Hyutreno. She decided to chalk it up to Ingrid's growing insanity.

"My life's work. My only hope. Gone."

Elsa didn't know what to say. She had expected to find the Pilgrim in the midst of freeing the Eternal King from his centuries old prison, and having to battle the evil witch and the Eternal King to a gruesome finish…but she wasn't prepared for this. A part of her was just itching for a fight, to vent her anger and grief on the woman who had caused her so much pain.

"Gone. Gone. My time is running out." Ingrid began mumbling, clutching her head in her hands. "Dying. The Pilgrim is finished."

Standing above Ingrid, Elsa watched helplessly as the woman rambled on incoherently.

"No. NO." Ingrid suddenly shot Elsa a glance, her eyes wild. She blasted Elsa with dark red energy, causing her to crash against the wooden door of the cell. "It can't end like this!"

Getting up quickly and nursing an aching back, Elsa dove out of the way, circling round to the more spacious segment of the cavern, giving herself more room and a more favourable space for a fight. I should have seen this coming.

"You're insane." Elsa said in disgust. "You're done, Ingrid. Your sorcerers are free, Janus and the Knights have abandoned you, you have no more Herbs, and the Eternal King is gone. It's time to give up your mad quest for immortality."

"No! If I'm going to die like any other mortal human, I'm taking you with me." Ingrid snarled like a woman who had nothing left to lose. "If my days are numbered now, then what difference does it make?"

There it was. Ingrid had well and truly lost it. Elsa prepared herself for the inevitable showdown. At least now she had a chance to vent her anger. Maybe Ingrid was right all along. Opening herself up to her baser instincts would open up the flood gates and give her more power than she had ever dreamt of in the fight against her parents' killer.

And in this case, it would be justified. She watched Ingrid begin to chant incoherently in a foreign language and her green eyes glowed ominously. Elsa clenched her fists and cold particles of snow circled her hands. It's time to finish this once and for all.

Writer's Commentary:

This was intense. Here we have an equally if not more action packed sequence of events that unfolds the buildup to the final battle between Elsa and the Pilgrim. The exchange between Elsa and the Pilgrim at the end of the chapter is meant to be the most consuming and hot-blooded. After all, Elsa is furious to learn that Ingrid had her parents killed, and Ingrid is devastated to learn that her quest has been for naught.

How will it end? As usual, please do give me a review and let me know how I'm doing! Cheers friends