Deep in a bug-infested lair on the nearby island, Venox lounged comfortably on a spiky throne made from the exoskeletons of fallen creatures. His wings buzzed softly in the dim light.
Peggy hung suspended by thick, sticky threads of bug silk, her golden armor dulled by the goo clinging to her body. Her wings — once a brilliant, radiant gold — were tattered and weighed down by the filth.
Her breathing was ragged, but her eyes still burned with defiance.
Venox chuckled, tapping his long, clawed fingers on the armrest. "Look at you — the shining little fairy, reduced to a struggling bug caught in a web."
Peggy didn't respond — her jaw clenched tight.
"I wonder… how long will your precious ice-demon last without you?" Venox sneered. "He acted so cold… so uncaring… but I saw it. The way his eyes lingered when I took you. The flicker of fury."
Peggy's heart thudded — not from fear, but from frustration.
She didn't want to hope — not for someone like Glacius. He wasn't the type to care about anyone.
He was a demon of ice — frozen to the core.
"You're delusional," Peggy finally rasped, her voice hoarse. "He doesn't care about me. To him, I'm just a… pest who gets in the way."
Venox's smile only widened. "Then why is he coming for you?"
Peggy's eyes widened. "What?"
The faintest crackling sound echoed through the tunnels — a sound like ice creeping along the walls.
The temperature began to drop, cold mist slithering into the lair like a serpent.
Venox's smug smile faltered. "He's here."
Peggy's heart jumped, both with relief and panic.
Glacius.
He actually came.
Not for her — she told herself — for the fight. For the game.
But still…
He came.
The walls of the bug lair began to frost over — thin sheets of ice spreading like veins, creeping closer and closer to the throne.
"I told you, Venox…" a cold, familiar voice echoed through the cavern, "you should have run when you had the chance."
A sharp gust of freezing wind blasted through the entrance — and there he was.
Glacius.
Tall, imposing, and calm as ever — his icy blue eyes locked onto Venox, and then… flickered for the briefest moment toward Peggy.
Her golden light dulled but still there seemed to irritate him in a way that was too complicated for words.
Venox hissed, his wings buzzing anxiously. "You're too late, Ice Demon. She's already—"
But before he could finish, a sharp icicle spear shot from Glacius' hand — impaling the wall just an inch from Venox's face.
"I didn't come to talk."
His gaze shifted again to Peggy — cold, but steady.
"You're a mess, fairy," Glacius said bluntly. "You couldn't even last a second without me."
Peggy, still suspended by bug silk, managed a weak glare. "I didn't ask you to come."
Glacius clicked his tongue, more annoyed at himself than at her.
"Shut up. I only came because it's boring without you."
Venox growled, snapping his fingers sending a wave of bug soldiers charging at Glacius.
The air grew colder.
Glacius didn't blink.
"Stay there, Peggy," he said flatly. "I'll deal with this."
Peggy scoffed. "Not like I have a choice."
And just like that — the battle began again.
But this time… there was something different in the air.
Something colder and maybe, just maybe, something warmer too.