Bound At Heart

Breaking

In the meantime, Ilyana, though fatigued, she was drowning in a pool of feelings that left her in a status of shock. The first feeling was a worry for Elmora and her parents' safety. Then an even worse feeling made her stomach churn with dread when it came to telling Elmora the news.

'How can I ever come up with the strength to tell her that Jean... is dead? How will Ronan react?!' Ilyana panicked. Her soul endured fractures in grief of Jean's passing – to which she wanted to thrash and scream. Her blood boiled in fury in wanting to end Archimedes once in for all. But most of all, she felt regret. Regret that she wasn't able to convince both brothers to stop because it was too late. They equally deserved to know the truth... Even though Archimedes was the only one who saw reason, Ronan was left absolutely clueless. He deserved to realize that they were true siblings related by blood. Maybe things would have gone differently if they would've known as soon as she did – which was something Ilyana strongly believed.

However, she knew she only had minutes but conjuring her powers were utterly useless. She – heavily influenced by all the emotions and in tears – punched the bark of trees till her knuckles bled, and even slammed her fists onto the ashen floor in frustration as she helplessly watched the dogfight between Ronan and Archimedes from the snow-covered forests. With Archimedes fueled through determination and the aid of Ilyana's power to increase his magical capabilities by ten-fold, it was a matter of time before Ronan's will begins to be tested.

Clash after clash, they took their fight to the skies. They bounced off of each other, creating explosions of purples, greens, reds, and oranges. Ronan breathed his fire and Archimedes put them out through by practically vomiting hot acid. Although not being physical, it was hard for Ilyana to see if it was. Their bodies weren't too distinguishable as they were enveloped by their respective element. Ronan dodged oncoming spears then lunged forth, making Ilyana clench the bark despite her bleeding hands. Archimedes caught on and he, too, lunged but Ronan dodged, curving his body as his tail got sharper, whipping around as it landed a hit on Archimedes' chest. The crack mimicked lightning but a fiery blast took place instead. A body was flung back down to the earth as the ripple made Ilyana fall on her bosom. A dome-like flash and sudden heatwave made her shield her eyes.

Lowering her arm, she was left to look upon the land in horror. The pale plains full of purple and scarlet flames from opposing sides of the battle continued to further burn the land. It was as if enough damage had been done and the land seems to sob, breaking into cracks before its soul, too, breaks and dies and the earth will no longer be fit for anyone.

The beasts continued to battle, and Ilyana couldn't take being the bystander anymore. She whipped around as she was on her knees, rummaging the snow to retrieve her bow and quiver, throwing them over her shoulder. Breaking into a sprint, she fled from the treeline and skidded on the unstable lake, falling forward a few times and stayed down against the freezing ice whenever the Ronan flew past in fiery attempts to attack Archimedes. A new instability grew on the icy platform, making Ilyana clench up. A new worry came to mind. The land grew in heat and Ronan was not helping. She got up attempted to scurry as the adrenaline kicked in but ended up slipping again as the cracks in the ice grew at a rapid pace.

Ilyana's labored panting grew shorter in panic but attempted to get herself back up slowly. Dragging her feet, she scooted forward. Taking the bow off of her back, she stabbed it against the ice and pulled herself forth until she got close to solid ground.

Another clash shook the earth as Ilyana slipped and fell on her back, knocking the air from her. She gasped and coughed as her lungs were sent into a spasm. From behind the mountain ledge, a blast of black launched Ronan back as excess shrapnel that came from the rocks that fell from the hills and mountains. Ilyana covered her eyes as pebbles and dust came raining down. She violently dusted herself off, coughing as the stench of smoke got thicker. Looking back up, she reached for her bow and tried to unwedge it whilst lying down but it proved to be a difficult task. A labored whimper came from her clenched jaw as her worry grew immensely. She had this gut feeling that she was being tried for time. The effort to dislodge the tip was successful as she pulled herself back up and this time backed up in a sitting position since she was so close to land but was left to look on in suspense on the oncoming cracks at the ice of the lake broke apart quickly. Just when it reached her, she felt ashen grass as her legs fell subject to the freezing waters. She yelled in reaction towards the new and intensely refreshing temperature.