The moment Grey's eyelids fluttered shut, the rune on his neck pulsed—once, twice—like a caged beast testing its chains.
Elsa leaned back against the cavern wall, jagged stone biting into her shoulders despite her thick coat. Her breath curled in the frigid air as she watched, lips twisting into that familiar razor-edged smirk.
"Alright," she murmured, voice dripping with amusement. "Let's see if you're worth the oxygen you're wasting."
At first, nothing happened.
Grey's chest rose and fell in steady rhythm, dark lashes casting spiderweb shadows across his pallid cheeks. The rune flickered weakly, its golden light barely illuminating the hollow of his throat.
Then—
A twitch.
The faintest tremor in his fingers.
Elsa's smirk faltered.
Her silver-blue eyes—sharp as winter frost—narrowed.
"Oh?"
The rune writhed, its markings twisting like living embers beneath Grey's flesh. His breath hitched—a wet, choked sound—and suddenly his fingers were clawing at his knees, tendons standing out like drawn bowstrings.
"Tch. Rejecting him already?"
She pushed off the wall, boots crunching on frost as she stepped closer. The scent of burning flesh and ozone filled the air.
Grey's body jerked violently. His head snapped back, exposing the pulsing rune as veins bulged along his neck like dark rivers. A sound tore from his throat—not a scream, but something primal. The guttural cry of an animal caught in a snare.
Elsa tilted her head, crimson strands of hair brushing her jawline.
"Huh. Lasted longer than I thought."
A flicker of approval danced in her icy gaze. He was doing better than expected.
Most men would be screaming by now.
If this continued, maybe he really could—
The thought shattered as the rune flared violently.
Flames erupted along Grey's collarbones, licking hungrily at his skin. The gold darkened to molten crimson, casting hellish shadows across his contorted features. His back arched impossibly, every muscle locked in agony.
"Tch."
Elsa clicked her tongue, watching his body tremble at the edge of its limits.
With a flick of her wrist, winter answered.
The temperature plummeted.
Her breath frosted in the suddenly arctic air as a glacial wind howled through the cavern. Frost spiderwebbed across the stone, creeping toward Grey with predatory intent. Ice wrapped around his ankles and wrists—pale, grasping fingers squeezing.
"Breathe, you idiot."
Grey didn't.
His chest heaved, ribs straining against skin as the rune's fire warred with her ice. Steam hissed where the forces met, curling around his trembling form like ghostly hands.
Elsa's nostrils flared.
"Stubborn little—"
She clenched her fist.
CRACK.
The ice surged, climbing Grey's legs in jagged waves. His skin paled to corpse-white, lips tinged blue. The rune's flames dimmed—just for a heartbeat—
Then—
BOOM.
The explosion sent Elsa skidding back, boots carving grooves in the ice.
Fire.
Not mere flames—a living, breathing entity—erupted from Grey's body in a shockwave. The cavern walls trembled, stalactites shattering as heat warped the very air.
Elsa's eyes widened.
"What the—"
Grey's head lolled forward, body limp. Unconscious.
But the rune wasn't done.
It raged.
Flames twisted around him like serpents, their glow shifting from crimson to gold to an eerie, unnatural white. The air itself screamed, superheated, distorting space like a desert mirage.
Elsa exhaled sharply, her breath a cloud of steam in the blistering air.
"Fine."
Lifting her palm in the air she murmured.
"FREEZE."
The world turned to ice.
Her mana surged—a tidal wave of glacial fury. Jagged pillars erupted like spears, walls encasing in seconds, air crystallizing into razor shards. The fire recoiled—
For a heartbeat.
Then it fought back.
Flames roared, twisting into a vortex around Grey's limp form. Her ice melted faster than she could summon it, water vaporizing before hitting the ground.
Elsa gritted her teeth, canines flashing in the hellish light.
"Damn it—!"
She poured more mana into the assault, breath coming in short, frost-laden pants. Grey's body shuddered violently—frost creeping up his left arm while flames devoured the right.
"Wake up, Grey!"
But Grey didn't move.
Elsa frowned. At this rate, he'd be cinders before awakening.
The rune's fire grew wilder, hungrier.
No longer rejecting—now consuming him whole.
Elsa's fingers tensed, frost gathering at her fingertips as she prepared to intervene.
But then—
A shift.
The raging flames around Grey's body suddenly stilled, their chaotic dance transforming into something deliberate. The fire didn't diminish—it changed. The wild, lashing tongues of flame now moved with purpose, swirling around Grey's form in perfect synchronization.
Elsa's breath caught in her throat.
'He's controlling it.'
Her silver-blue eyes widened slightly as realization struck. The rune wasn't rejecting him anymore—it had accepted him. The Fire of Sacrifice, one of the most temperamental high-rank runes, had yielded to this ragged boy.
'But what did he sacrifice?' The question burned in her mind sharper than any flame.
The Fire of Sacrifice was unique among runes. It didn't respond to mana or strength of will alone. It demanded payment—a piece of one's very being. Memories, emotions, fragments of the soul—it could be anything of value. And if the offering wasn't sufficient, or if the user failed to control it...
The rune would consume them instead.
Her analytical thoughts shattered as Grey's eyelids trembled—a subtle movement that nonetheless sent a ripple through the flames surrounding him. Every instinct screamed at Elsa to focus completely on what was about to happen.
Then—
Grey's eyes snapped open.
Gold.
Not just irises. His entire eyes burned with molten light, pupils swallowed by fire.
And then—
BOOM.
The cavern ignited.
A wave of yellow flame detonated outward, swallowing everything—her ice, the walls, the very air—in an instant. Elsa barely threw up a barrier before the inferno slammed into her, hurling her against the far wall.
The heat was unreal.
Her barrier cracked, ice melting faster than she could reinforce. The Voidspawn didn't even scream—its body turned to ash mid-movement, particles burning away before hitting the ground.
And at the center—
Grey.
Still kneeling. Still burning.
Alive.
Elsa exhaled, breath steaming in the blistering air. A slow, feral grin split her face, sharp canines glinting.
"Well, shit."
She couldn't help it.
She laughed.
"Guess you are worth the trouble after all."