Born in apocalypse

Dhruv looked at the Queen with a determined expression, the wind whipping through his hair as he readied himself for the battle.

Like the opposite they were, Ice and Fire tried to win over each other but for the time being, both were in a stalemate. Dhruv had the stronger fire because of [Phoenixborn], while the Queen had the advantage of tier.

Both domains countered each other perfectly.

Manipulating his mana Dhruv inspects the queen.

The Queen stood tall and regal, her icy aura chilling the very air around her... even the fire didn’t dare to reach her.

’I can’t just face her with magic...’ Just from her casting of the icy field, Dhruv had seen her mana manipulation speed. He knew he couldn’t hope to match the speed.

Dhruv understood he had to rely on both his magical and physical skills to stand a chance against her. Sighing, he quickly withdrew his spear from his inventory.

He could feel the temperature dropping rapidly as she prepared her magic.

Dropping the battle of domains, the Queen summoned a barrage of ice shards, each one glinting menacingly in the pale light.

Dhruv reacted instantly, conjuring a wall of fire to intercept the projectiles. The flames roared to life, melting the ice upon contact. The first batch got destroyed but Queen’s assault was relentless as more shards followed each second.

Seeing that the fire wasn’t enough, Dhruv was forced to dodge. He ran with all his might, but some of the shards still managed to hit him. The moment the shards touched his skin, a frown appeared on his face.

’Fuck! What was that?’ Dhruv found the damage he received from the shards a bit abnormal. The moment the shards touched him, he felt pain, but not on the skin.

He felt pain deep inside of him.

’Don’t tell me...’ Dhruv thought as he found the pain somewhat familiar. He was able to remember it as he had experienced this type of pain before.

’...she has soul affinity as well.’ A chill ran down his spine as he realized what other affinity the Queen possessed.

Dhruv wasn’t certain of what would happen if he were to continuously face damage to his soul, but he was sure it wouldn’t be something pleasant.

Increasing his speed, Dhruv sent a stream of fireballs toward her, but the Queen effortlessly raised a barrier of ice that absorbed the impact. He continued attacking, but all of them met the same fate.

No matter what spell he tried, they couldn’t get past the Queen’s defense.

Frustration gnawed at him as Dhruv realized any spell of his was barely making a dent in her defenses. She was a tier above him in magical prowess, and it showed.

After some thinking, Dhruv realized that to get past her, he either had to use enhanced attacks or combine two types of magic in one... there was no third option.

Shifting tactics, he summoned spikes of metal enchanted with fire from the ground, aiming to catch her off guard. But the Queen danced across the field, evading each spike with flawless grace.

Not giving Dhruv a second to breathe, she summoned a powerful blast of frost that surged toward him like a tidal wave. He barely managed to conjure a shield of metal in time to deflect the worst of it, but the force of the impact sent him stumbling backward.

’Shit...’

Realizing he needed to keep moving to avoid being overwhelmed, Dhruv quickly manipulated his illusion mana and created multiple copies of himself to confuse the Queen.

For a brief moment, she hesitated, but the hesitation quickly vanished as a white fire danced inside her eyes. With soul sense, she quickly found the real Dhruv among the multiple soulless clones of his.

Finding the target, she still showed confusion and began manipulating mana.

The Queen’s next attack came swiftly, a pure lance of ice dancing through the air as it reached Dhruv in a moment. Without any mercy, it pierced through his shoulder and pinned him to the ground.

"Argghhhh!" Pain exploded through his body as Dhruv gritted his teeth and forced himself to stand. Looking straight into her eyes, he yanked the icy spear from his flesh.

Blood continued dripping onto the snow, but he couldn’t afford to falter now.

Activating his skill, Dhruv dashed forward, closing the distance between them with a burst of speed. He swung his spear at her, aiming for the core, but she deflected the blow with a conjured ice shield.

A hint of confusion appeared on the Queen’s face as she looked at him strangely. She was trying to figure out why her attack, infused with soul harm, wasn’t doing any proper damage.

If everything were normal, the holy ice lance should have brought him to death’s door... at least stunned him for a few seconds. But nothing had happened; the human continued to fight.

As her senses inspected every bit of Dhruv’s being, she got her answer.

Looking at Dhruv’s armor, she clicked her tongue. She could sense the armor blocking her soul damage.

’There is no point in using soul magic... sigh! This will drag on longer,’ A thought appeared as she continued to focus on the fight, which had turned into a physical contest for some reason.

As time passed, their combat became a deadly dance, Dhruv using his agility and strength to keep up with the Queen’s relentless attacks, while the Queen used her ice to protect herself from his spear.

’What the hell, why is there no loophole in her defense? This isn’t going anywhere... if I continue to waste time, the fight will only drag on, making my chance of winning even lower,’ as the fight continued Dhruv quickly found himself in a losing position.

Despite his best efforts, he continued getting pushed back, the cold sapping his strength with each passing moment.

The Queen’s expression remained cold and impassive as she unleashed another wave of ice spikes. Dhruv dodged and rolled, using his spear to deflect those he couldn’t avoid.

He tried to create an opening, summoning flames to encircle her, but the Queen extinguished them with a blast of frost, the air crackling with the sudden temperature shift.

Gasp! Gasp! Dhruv’s breaths came in ragged gasps, his energy waning as the battle dragged on.

He knew he couldn’t keep this up much longer. The Queen’s magic and her control over it were just too powerful. She controlled ice like an extension of her body.

Every move Dhruv made seemed to be countered effortlessly.

Seeing him getting weaker by the second, the Queen raised her hands, summoning a massive ice storm that swirled around him, the winds howling and whipping snow and ice in every direction.

Dhruv tried to escape, but his leg froze for a moment and he was caught in the maelstrom. In just a second, his movements slowed by the biting cold... any fire he tried to summon was easily extinguished by the wind.

’Fuck...’ Activating his sense he tried to see past the storm.

Dhruv could barely see the Queen through the blizzard, her form a dark silhouette in the storm.

"Tempest Charge!" Activating his ability, he charged through the storm, spear in hand, and aimed a powerful thrust at the Queen.

His attack failed once again as she sidestepped gracefully, countering with a blast of ice that Dhruv could barely deflect.

Gasp! Gasp!

The spear’s shaft began to crack under the strain; Dhruv knew it wouldn’t hold much longer. With a final, desperate effort, he summoned the last of his strength and leaped at the Queen, his spear glowing with fiery mana.

The Queen met his attack head-on, an ice rapier appearing as it clashed with the lance in a resounding boom. For a moment, they were locked in a deadly stalemate, their eyes locked in a fierce gaze.

Being this close to the Queen was a mistake... and she knew it very well.

Looking at the human with a smile, she opened her mouth. A chilling cloud of mist escaped from it and raced toward him.

Dhruv tried to escape, but fatigue had caught up to him. His hand began to freeze, as the spear dropped to the ground.

"%#$ #$@ #$@"

Before he could do anything, five lances appeared in front of him.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

They traveled at incredible speed and reached Dhruv in an instant.

"Arghhhh!" A pained sound left his mouth as he found himself pinned to the ground.

Dhruv had only dodged the lance targeting his head. While the other four were stabbed in his four limbs. Dhruv wailed as he found even moving his muscles a challenge at the moment.

’Shit!... Shit!... shit!’

Dhruv cursed as he felt his strength fading. The Queen’s icy aura pressed in on him, freezing his limbs and numbing his senses. He understood he couldn’t survive in this state for long.

As the ice storm raged around them, Dhruv made a decision. He couldn’t afford to hold back any longer. He had to reveal the card he was so afraid to pull.

Looking into the Queen’s eyes, he whispers, "Metamorph."