Chapter 14 :: Alone

"Ugh!" Mithos pushed the last boulder into place on the other side of the room. "I think I feel stronger."

"Okay, ready to fight now, kid?" Gnome asked.

"Ready!" exclaimed Mithos. Starsword in one hand, Mithos took flight and clashed with Gnome's shovel. "I'll start off by playing my trump card. Guardians of the heavens, I summon thee! Come, Sylph!"

"Whoa! Sylph, I haven't seen you gals in a while," Gnome responded. Sephie, Yutis, and Fairess circled around Gnome sending a pulse of strong wind into the earth spirit.

"How was that?" Mithos taunted.

"Better than expected. You ready for this?" Gnome replied, jumping high into the ceiling and diving down for Mithos. Mithos did a back flip and leaped out of Gnome's range. However, Gnome had one more surprise waiting for him. The ribbon on his head started spinning like a propeller, trapping Mithos in its rotation. It spun Mithos around and tossed him aside dazed.

"Ow... who knew ribbons could do so much damage," Mithos remarked.

"This is my Super Awesome Custom Ribbon of Death," Gnome said. Mithos bounced off the walls to the ceiling and embedded his sword into the ceiling.

"If this whole area has brittle ceilings, maybe this'll work," Mithos said to himself. "Sonic Thrust!"

"Whoa! Not my ceiling!" Gnome yelled. Cracks shot out of the place that Mithos hit and sent several tons of stone tumbling down on Gnome. Buried under the rocks, Gnome got back up on his feet some time later. "I'm okay. I'm okay. You seem strong, kid, so go ahead and say your vow."

"So that nobody will ever suffer from the terrors of war again, I ask that you grant me your power," Mithos said.

"You got it, kiddo."

"By the way, thanks for all that training."

"Training? Oh, that was just my furniture that I didn't feel like moving. My arm's been stiff lately so I could have used some help."

"So..."

"Yup, pushing boulders around did nothing. Listen, Mithos, all the training in the world won't help you at all if you believe you can't do anything alone. Let's see. How does this work again?" Gnome turned into a golden light, changing into a bracelet that fit perfectly around Mithos' arm. His jewel served to light the caves in which there were no glowing crystals. "This tunnel should lead to the place where your friends are."

The only passage out of the cavern was filled with icy blue crystals, and the air suddenly got colder. Mithos buttoned up his coat and pulled the hood up as he shivered from the chill.

"He should be here somewhere," a voice in the distance said.

"Alice!" Mithos shouted, breaking into a dash down the tunnel as the freezing air whipped across his face.

"Mithos! Where are you?" Kratos' voice hollered.

"I'm over here, master!" Mithos called back. The tunnel suddenly came to an end at the top of a glacial shelf. Never seeing the cliff, Mithos slid right off and fell down into a larger cavern below. WHAM!

"Ack," Kratos said, crushed as Mithos fell on him.

"As I said, Kratos, he would be fine," Alice said.

"Sorry, master. I didn't realize you were there," Mithos said, getting up on his feet.

"Mithos, you have a very strong master," Alice said.

"Where are we, exactly?" asked Mithos.

"Celsius' cavern. Somewhere," Kratos answered.

"AWOOOOO!" They turned to see the shadow of a wolf against the ice wall. The figure vanished as it headed down another passage.

"I guess it wants us to follow," Mithos said. The temperature within the caverns fell with each step they took deeper into Celsius' cave. Stopping periodically, the wolf's shadow brought them to an open chamber where an underground river was flowing amidst the ice around it.

"The river is moving too fast to freeze. Crossing it will be very difficult for you," Alice said.

"Well, not for me." Mithos called his wings and with a running start, leaped across.

"Kratos, you will have to jump with me," Alice instructed. "Follow my movements exactly and do not waste a moment." Alice pointed the end of her scythe at the river and called "Fearful Raven!" By slowing the flow of water at that point, she created a stepping-stone of ice. "Go!"

"Divine Storm Blade!"

"Go!"

Jumping from one piece of ice to another, Kratos and Alice almost reached Mithos. Suddenly, the frozen water broke beneath Alice's foot, drawing it into the ice cold water. Kratos quickly took hold of her and used another Divine Storm Blade to reach the other side.

"Your foot!" Mithos said, taking out his healing gels. He knew that even for a split second, touching the water would freeze a limb to the bone.

"I will be fine, Mithos," Alice said. She rolled down her sock a little to show that her foot was already crystallized.

"It seems you were saved by the exact illness we seek to cure again," Kratos remarked. Not far down the next tunnel, they finally saw the wolf itself. It had a white coat with some blue streaks. Growling, the wolf bared a set of sharp teeth. The magic seal in the middle of the room exploded with light as a human figure emerged. Her skin was pale and she had a snow-white tunic on. Extremely agile, Celsius froze anything she touched.

"It has been a while since I have received visitors," a voice said.

"You are Celsius, spirit of ice and snow," Alice said.