Story's picking up. The ending isn't too far off now.

Hope you all enjoy the read.

Small thanks to tesselcraig for proofreading through the chapter to fix my usual typos.

"Alan, I honestly don't think you should do whatever it is you're planning on doing." Lissandra said uneasily as she stared up at the sight in front of them. Ashe's mouth was agape, Reinhart and Analia both looked very surprised and even Raziel had a grim expression on his face.

"This storm… now that I come this close, it doesn't feel… natural." Reinhart said as Alan stared in front of him. The winds were already whipping around them, but upfront they could see a massive wall of ice and snow rapidly blowing to the side, whipping around like a hurricane, going as wide as the eye could see, which in the storm's visibility condition, wasn't that much.

"I thought snowstorms didn't affect iceborn." Alan said, his eyes determined on the storm ahead of him.

"A flying shard of ice can affect anyone if it hits them hard enough, Alan." Ashe said as her eyes came back onto Alan. "What are you even planning on doing?

Alan's hand went back to the handle of Frig Ascutis, as he reached into his own mana reserves. Ever since he underwent the champion's trial, his small lake of mana had suddenly multiplied into an ocean. And as he probed into Frig Ascutis' mana reserves, the mana that had been stored there by generation after generation of warriors who wielded it, he felt like he was a speck in space compared to it.

No… Not now… I can manage myself. He thought as he looked over at Lissandra, and then at Ashe. "I'm going to redirect the winds."

"That's madness Alan." Lissandra said calmly. "I'm the most powerful in cryomancy here and even I cannot achieve that against a storm of this magnitude. You can't stop winds that strong and even if you can, it'll eat through your mana so fast it won't even last a few seconds, much less the hours we need to get through this storm."

"You're thinking against the wind, Liss." Alan said as he looked back at the storm, his azurite eyes glowing as the color shifted within the confines of his irises ever so slowly, as it always did now. He raised a hand at the storm. "The winds are going towards the right, which means it's not directly against us. We're not going to stop the wind, we're gonna redirect it to flow over us like a shield. The wind will be our shield against itself." Alan said as Lissandra thought about his idea. "That… Wow, that might just work." Lissandra said.
"You do know some things after all, Alan Frost." Ashe said as Alan flashed her a grin.

He then began walking forward. After a small delay, the army behind him followed. Once he got close enough to feel the wind's force, Alan focused his power. He honed in on the ice particles that littered the winds abundantly around him. He felt their presence, and slowly nudged them above, curving them upwards like a tunnel with a gentle slope on both sides. The wind obeyed as the snow followed his directions. That was easier than he thought it would be. He flashed a thumbs up back.

There was some collective cheers as the army saw that his idea had been a success. And thus, everyone began trudging through the storm, led by Alan.

…

An hour had passed. They had definitely gone very deep into the storm now. It was as dark as night and visibility was low. Ice and snow howled over and around them, so thick that light couldn't get through. Soldiers had already brought out Dark Azurite, dark ice infused with power which emits light. Alan was definitely feeling the heat of effort as he trudged forward. His skin felt feverish in contrast to the bitter cold around him, even though he didn't feel the cold. He kept most of the wind, and mainly the deadly shards of ice, away from them, but some of the wind was still seeping into them, just enough to blow their hair to the side. Though the wind wasn't that strong inside, it was definitely very, very cold. He could feel it even though it didn't affect him.

Behind Alan was Lissandra and Ashe, along with their royal guards, behind whom were Raziel, Analia and Reinhart. Reinhart spared a sideways glance at Analia and was surprised to see she looked worse for wear. Her eyes were weary as they stared ahead, her steps were slightly sluggish and her chin was quivering… Or rather, her teeth were chattering. She was shivering too.

"Analia, are you alright?" Reinhart asked in a low voice as Analia glanced at him, a short exhale coming out of her mouth in the form of a mist. Now that Reinhart saw, she was also breathing in short, quick pumps.
"I'm… F-f-fine…. J-just… N-not as i-immune to the c-c-cold as A-Alan is… M-maybe t-t-that's why I c-c-can't tou-touch iceborn s-s-skin... like h-he can without g-g-getting burned." She muttered as Reinhart looked her over. She was in her champion's armor, which was basically cold metal, under which she already had some good padding and clothes underneath that. Still, she wasn't prepared to face such a harsh storm, so ofcourse she was feeling the freeze. She quickly gathered up her cape, unclipping it from her back and wrapping it around her neck and lower mouth as a makeshift muffler. Analia had lost her helmet long ago back when she had first fought Alan.

He quickly grabbed Analia, holding her against him as he gave her some support. He also grabbed the edge of his cape and brought it around, wrapping it around her to give some kind of protection against the wind.
"T-thanks." She muttered, as she graciously wrapped one around around him to aid herself to stay standing. That's when Reinhart knew she was really cold, since she didn't even respond in her usual way at his help.

"D-don't…" She said before Reinhart could think. "Don't what?" He asked.

"I know w-what y-your t-t-t-thinking… Don't t-tell Alan t-t st-stop… We n-n-need to get there." She said, her skin pale but her eyes strong. Reinhart wanted to protest but he only nodded. "Try to use your mana like an inner furnace to heat yourself." Raziel said from the side as Analia glanced at him. "But keep it low, or you'll burn through it too fast." He said as Analia nodded, taking in a deep breath as she did what he suggested. It spread a bit of warmth through her insides, but didn't do much to take away the cold. It would keep her alive, however, and going. That was all that mattered right now.

Another hour passed. Alan was definitely beginning to struggle with the burden now. He was panting slightly and his eyes were glowing strongly as he kept the barrier up. At one point he stumbled a bit and a cutting arc of wind managed to get past his defences. It hit far back in the column of troops, but aside from some surprised cries and a few soldiers falling from the sudden wind, no one was hurt. But Lissandra definitely saw him falter. She walked forward, catching up with him as she grabbed his hand. Alan glanced at her, surprised.

"Alan. Let me help." She said as she linked her mana pool with his. Alan felt like he took a breath of fresh air after holding his breath under water for a long time. Linked to her mana reserves, which was so much more than his could be, his barrier regained its strength and he regained some color to his face. "Thanks." He muttered as Lissandra nodded, her mask hiding whatever expression she might have on her face.

As they walked, the wind suddenly stopped. Surprised, Alan looked behind him to see the wind still blowing, but they seemed to have crossed a threshold into an area of calm… The eye of the storm. He waited as the army made their way into the clearing before letting go of the barrier. The tunnel in the wind behind him collapsed back into the unpassable wall of ice and wind. He looked forward again. They were on some kind of large clearing, and very far ahead, he could see what looked like a bridge made of ice. He walked forward to the point where the bridge met the land and stared over the edge into the darkness below.

"Is that…?"

"It is. It's the Frozen Abyss." Lissandra confirmed, who had followed him.

And then, a deep, distorted voice vibrated through the air, sending shivers down into Alan's very bones.

"Alan… Frost… We finally meet."

Alan froze as the voice emanated from the darkness below, yet he saw nothing. And then, a great purple circle became visible below, and all the hairs on the back of Alan's neck stood up.

"LOOK OUT!" He shouted, instantly diving at Lissandra and shoving her out of the way. A second later, an explosive blast ripped through the air, a searing purple laser disintegrating away the ground they had been standing on as it shot up into the air. It ripped a hole through the storm clouds too, a circular hole forming in the weather as a shaft of sunlight managed to find its way down.

He looked back but didn't see anyone coming over the cliff face yet. The voice… It was definitely void related, because of how inhuman it sounded. It echoed on itself, and sounded grating like nails on a chalkboard... But it didn't sound like Vel'koz. It was too… Distorted. Human. And a different pitch and accent.

And then, a man floated up over the edge of the cliff. He wore purple and violet clothes similar to what a Shuriman would wear, extremely ill suited to this kind of weather. However, the cold didn't seem to bother him at all. A face mask and hood covered most of his head and lower face, yet his eyes were visible. They glowed bright purple; His hands glowed with void energy, arcs of purple plasma sparking occasionally.

Good news, it wasn't the bloody watcher himself. Bad news, Vel'koz wasn't the only cunt who could use lasers. Alan thought as he stood up. "Lissandra, stay behind me!" He said as Lissandra stood up as well.
"Do you take me for some kind of damsel!?" Lissandra said aggressively, but her aggression was more directed at the man, even though her words were at Alan. And then she spoke to the man.

"Who are you?"

"Feast your eyes, mortals! For I am the prophet of the Void, Malzahar. And I bring you a foreshadow of the future." Malzahar said as he pointed his finger at Alan. "You will all fail your quest to stop the watchers. That, I know, but have not seen. But right now, one of you will die. That, I have seen and I know. And the killer will be you, Alan Frost." Malzahar said as he aimed a hand at Lissandra. A laser of pure void energy erupted from his hand as Lissandra instantly rose a great pillar of dark ice in front of them to shield herself.

And then the laser shot through the dark ice like it was butter. "LISSANDRA!" Alan screamed, using all the speed he had to move and put himself in front of the laser.

It slammed into him and Alan screamed. He felt like he was back in the void, in that expanse of land where the rain was acid, the ground was razors and the air was fire on his skin. He felt his very molecules screaming as the laser did its damage to him, yet his champion's bond forcibly holding the very particles that made him together. He was blasted back, slamming into Lissandra, both of them flying back into Ashe, Reinhart, Analia and Raziel, and some of the royal guards, who had surged forward to assist. Everyone fell as Alan and Lissandra crashed into them.

Alan was back on his feet the instant he could, his entire body steaming as void energy crackled around him. His body felt fine, but the spot on his back… His own little Achilles heel, felt boiling hot. He wasn't sure if he could survive another hit like that.

He looked at Lissandra and found her groaning in pain on the ground. He had slammed into her quite hard and he was wearing armor. Everyone else had fallen back too, and was in various states of recovery. Reinhart had been right behind them, and was right under Lissandra, and from the looks of it, was out cold. Analia rose to her feet, but almost instantly fell back down to her knees after taking an unsteady step. Her lips were blue and her skin was paper white. "I-I-I… Can't… Too c-c-cold… Sorry A-A-Alan…"
But it was the sight of Lissandra, whose pain leaked from her mind into his throught the bond, that really mattered. Rage filled him, fueled by seeing her hurt, and power flooded into him through the Champion's bond.

"ALAN!" Lydia shouted as she ran forward at all the commotion. "Are you alright?"

"Lydia, take care of Lissandra." Alan said as he drew Frig Ascutis. "WAIT!" Lydia shouted, but Alan didn't stop to listen. The ice blade formed the second he drew it, and with a burst of energy, Alan darted forward. His eyes glowed as he felt the very blood in his body, the ice blood, thrum with power, making him much faster and stronger.

And then a figure darted up from the abyss, landed in front of Malzahar and dashed forward, slamming his own blade into Alan's and stopping Alan in his tracks.

Alan's eyes widened as he found himself staring into the face of… himself? It was him. The warrior who had jumped out of the abyss was him. But there were differences. For one thing, his eyes were vivid purple and inhuman.

"Hello, Me." The Void Alan said as he shoved Alan back. It was then that Alan realized that his void self was using a blade that looked like a crude copy of Frig Ascutis. "Who… What are you?"
Alan said as the Void Alan grinned. "I'm you. You didn't think you came out of the void completely whole, did you? A part of your essence was left behind and that part is me." Void Alan said as he raised his sword.

Alan didn't even waste a second. He surged forward again, almost too fast for the eye to see, and slammed Frig Ascutis into the imposter's sword. He engaged in an onslaught of slashes and strikes with his sword, each being parried or deflected by his shadow self, sparks of blue and purple energy raining from each clash of their blades. Alan fought like a demon possessed, but apparently his demon self had the same skills, for they were trading blows for blows.

"Give up Alan Frost! You cannot beat yourself… Like you, he is also invincible. The champion's bond flows through him too!" Malzahar said, his arms crossed as he hovered behind them, obviously enjoying the fight. Alan slashed his blade horizontally at his void self, an arc of ice blasting out to follow the path. Void Alan simply backflipped back to avoid it, landing several feet away. Void Alan retaliated by aiming a hand at Alan's feet, where a pillar of ice suddenly shot up, slamming Alan in the gut and sending him flying back into the ground.

"Alan. Let me take over." Raziel said as he walked up next to Alan, who managed to get back up on one knee, growling as he shook off the disorientation. "He is right, you cannot beat yourself. But I can beat you." He said.
"Fine… Don't lose." Alan said, grimacing in pain.

"Well well… If it isn't the Sentinel himself." Malzahar said as Alan stepped back, Raziel drawing the short broken staff from his hip. Dark ice formed on both sides of the staff, elongating into the deadly scythe/spear combo that was Frig Secerator.

"You think you can beat me? Don't you remember how Alan defeated you in the test, Sentinel? That was me while I was still inside of him!" Void Alan said triumphantly. "You taught him how to utilize the iceblood in him and it shall be your undoing, for I will use it once more to defeat you! This time, I will kill you."

Raziel simply shook his head, a small smile on his face as a low chuckle came from his throat. Void Alan looked confused. "Laughing at the face of death, Sentinel? That is unlike you."

"No…" Raziel said as he planted the spear-end of Frig Secerator into the ground, a hum of power suddenly surrounding him. Ice crystals formed behind him, forming a pair of large wings made completely of razor sharp crystals. "I'm simply laughing at the fact that you think I taught Alan something that I don't know, much less haven't mastered." He said. And then he exploded forward at Void Alan with speed that seemed impossible. Void Alan's smile was wiped off in that exact instant as Raziel appeared in front of him in the blink of an eye, his scythe curving through the air. Void Alan's sword rose up to deflect it, but as the scythe blade was deflected back, Raziel used the momentum to bring the other side of Frig Secerator up. His weapon's ice shifted, the scythe blade disintegrating and instantly forming again on the opposite side as it came up and slashed at Void Alan's unprotected side.

Raziel's weapon was unorthodox and absolutely deadly. A flurry of slashes came at Void Alan from every angle and side. Everytime Void Alan deflected a strike, another one was already coming at him from another angle, the scythe rapidly reforming itself with every new motion to suit itself. Every strike slashed at Void Alan, but drew no blood due to the Champion's bond. Yet, Raziel wasn't harmed in the least. His movements were unique. Unlike Alan and Void Alan's fighting style, which was impulsive and explosive, Raziel's movements was like a deadly dance, perfected in a way that only the immortal had the time to perfect. Each little motion was precise, every slash emphasized in its deadliness, every movement and shift lethal in its effectiveness. Void Alan's armor was already shredded to pieces. Raziel was striking at Void Alan in every spot imaginable to find that one spot of the champion's bond.

Screaming in rage, Void Alan surged forward, slashing wildly. And then Raziel suddenly turned, spinning around Void Alan's charge as his ice wings slapped the attack aside. "NO-" Was all Void Alan managed to scream as Raziel, with a clear shot at Void Alan's back, arced the scythe blade right at Void Alan's back. It cut through his armor, not scratching his skin as usual, except at one point at the small of his back, the same spot where Alan had his weakspot… Blood welled there and Void Alan instantly froze, arching up in pain.

Before he could even scream, however, Raziel's scythe came spinning back around as it completed a deadly circle for a second slash, this one easily slicing through Void Alan's mid-riff, completely bifurcating the shadow copy. Blood didn't spill. Instead, Void Alan instantly turned to dark ice and shattered right as he separated into two halves. Raziel exhaled harshly as he took a moment to look at his fallen foe, before turning around to look at Malzahar's expression of shock.

Malzahar screamed in outrage as he blasted a laser at Raziel, who deflected it into the ground with Frig Secerator and flew up to attack Malzahar.

"WITNESS THE VOID!" Malzahar said, his eyes glowing bright as Raziel's eyes suddenly turned violet as well, a vision of the void assaulting him. Before he could shake it off, Malzahar shot another laser at him, which hit him square in the center of his chest, blasting him back into the ground, where he landed with an explosive impact. Alan was already running forward and got blasted back by the explosion, landing on his back. Alan quickly got back up again however, hearing someone scream his name, but ignoring it as Malzahar shot a laser at him. Alan quickly deflected it off to the side… And then something flew past him and landed on the ground a few feet from him. He looked down and suddenly felt his heart freeze, his eyes widening.

It was an arm, severed right below the elbow, light blue in skin coloration. Alan slowly turned his head to the side, where his name had been screamed from a few seconds prior.

"A...lan…" Lydia said as she took a stumbling step backward, her right arm missing from just above the elbow… Along with most of her right torso. A clean half circle had blown through her, taking out most of her right midriff from halfway down her ribs to her waist, the other half of the circle taking her arm at the elbow, which had flown past him. A wound caused by the laser he had so hastily deflected. Lydia fell to the ground just as Raziel suddenly flew up from the hole he had been in, chucking his weapon spear-end first at Malzahar. The weapon crossed through the distance between them in the same time it took for Lydia to fall to the ground.

It pierced Malzahar right through the chest as the prophet screamed in pain, his scream cut short when the scythe blade passed through him as well, cutting him almost in half at the chest. Blood erupted from him as he fell back into the abyss while Raziel held his arm out at his weapon, which flew back to his hand. Alan, however, focused only on Lydia, who had fallen to the ground. He ran over to her, falling onto his knees beside her.

"Lydia… Oh god… Lydia, what have I done… " He said, panicking at her state. There was no way she could survive this. She had a huge hole in her, which was rapidly bleeding out, along with things poking out which he couldn't even look at without feeling sick. "Alan… I…." Lydia gasped, her voice weak as tears escaped her eyes. "I don't wanna die Alan… I don't… wanna die… Alan… please…." She cried, a weak sob escaping her as Alan, his hands hovering above her yet not touching her, didn't know what to do. "A...lan…. save me… please…" She whimpered as more tears cascaded down her cheeks, her remaining arm weakly and shakily rising to just barely touch Alan's left cheek before sliding down, leaving four bloody tracks. With one more shuddering gasp, Lydia's eyes glassed over as her arm fell to the ground, leaving Alan crouching beside her body.

He raised his head to the clouds and screamed.

Wow such death, many surprise, such shocking
guess that's what you call a plot hole. GEDDIT, CUZ SHE HAS A HOLE IN HER NOW? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAhahaha yes I'm insane.

but yeah leave reviews, I really wanna know how the plot twist made you react.

~ Wings