The Destructive Adventures of the Lovers-Chapter 72: Saviors vs. Destroyers

Zeze, Xyrille, and Owen stumbled through the blizzard, their breaths freezing in the fierce wind. The snow stung their faces like shards of glass, and the world around them howled with the fury of Aeiwou's power.

"There! Over there!" Xyrille pointed, her voice trembling as she caught sight of a faint, glowing blue light flickering in the storm. She pushed through the knee-deep snow, her boots crunching through the icy crust. Owen followed, his sword drawn, the blade humming with his strained energy.

As they approached the eerie glow, they saw them – Ella and Aeiwou, standing atop a jagged hill of frozen stone. Snow whipped around them, forming a swirling barrier that seemed almost alive, crackling with sharp whispers and chilling promises. Ella was laughing, her voice sharp and unnatural, echoing in the icy wasteland. Aeiwou's head tilted back as her own cruel laughter joined Ella's, their voices twisting together in the roaring wind.

Zeze stepped forward, her fists clenched, her heart racing. "Ella! What are you doing? Snap out of it!"

Ella's eyes turned to Zeze, glowing with a fierce, unnatural blue. She smiled, her lips curling into a wicked grin. "Zeze... you finally caught up. Did you come to watch the world freeze?"

"Stop it!" Xyrille shouted, her hands already crackling with energy, rocks trembling beneath the snow. "This isn't you, Ella! You have to fight it!"

Ella's head tilted, her eyes narrowing. "Fight it? Why would I want to? This power... it's pure. It's beautiful." She raised her hand, the snow around her swirling faster, forming sharp, jagged spikes that hovered around her like fangs. "Maybe you should feel it too."

Zeze took a step back, her pulse hammering in her chest. She saw movement above them and her eyes shot upward. Raven hovered there, his eyes vacant, limbs twisted in the air like a broken marionette. His wings were spread wide, their feathers sharp with frost, his head lolling to one side as if his neck had snapped. The ice around him crackled and spiked, the ground beneath his shadow shattering into a thousand shards.

"R-Raven...?" Owen whispered, his grip tightening on his sword. "No... not him too..."

Aeiwou's cold, sharp voice cut through the howling wind. "Did you really think you could stand against me?" She stepped forward, the snow beneath her feet freezing solid, forming a path of jagged crystals. "This world is mine now. You are nothing but fleeting warmth, soon to be extinguished."

Ella giggled, her head thrown back, the sound high and twisted. "Yes! Watch as your hope dies, as your world shatters!"

Zeze gritted her teeth, her body trembling. She felt the cold seeping into her bones, the fear creeping up her spine. But she took another step forward, her eyes locked on Ella. "Ella... please. You're stronger than this. You have to break free."

Aeiwou's eyes flashed, and Raven's wings snapped open, sending a burst of icy wind that whipped at their faces. The snow beneath them turned sharp, crystalline spikes emerging from the ground, threatening to pierce their legs if they moved too quickly.

Ella's grin faded for a moment, her eyes flickering, her lips parting as if something inside her was struggling to break free. But Aeiwou's hand landed on her shoulder, and the glow in Ella's eyes intensified. She let out a shrill, unhinged laugh, her head snapping back toward Zeze.

"Run, if you can," Aeiwou hissed, her breath turning the air around her into spiraling mist. "Or stay, and watch your world freeze."

Snow whipped around them, slicing through the frozen air like shards of broken glass. Zeze, Xyrille, and Owen faced Aeiwou, Ella, and Raven in a field of shattered ice and twisted trees, the cold seeping into their bones as if the world itself had turned against them.

Zeze stepped forward, fists clenched, her breath coming out in frosty clouds. She met Aeiwou's piercing blue gaze, eyes like glacial pits. "Ella, snap out of it! You're stronger than this. Don't let her control you."

Ella tilted her head, a twisted grin spreading across her face. She took a step forward, her feet crackling against the ice. "Stronger? You don't know anything about me, Zeze." She laughed, the sound echoing off the frozen peaks like a scream in a dark hallway. "I feel powerful. Free."

Xyrille's eyes darted to Raven, who hovered above them, his long black cloak billowing in the bitter wind. His face was blank, his eyes hollow, as if his soul had been drained. She whispered to Owen, "Something's wrong. He's not...himself."

Owen's jaw tightened. "I know. We have to break Aeiwou's control. But first, we survive this."

Aeiwou spread her arms, the air around her spiraling into a blizzard, shards of ice forming around her fingers. "Come then, little heroes. Let's see if you can survive my storm."

Zeze's body blurred as she lunged forward, lightning-fast, a streak of white against the darkened snow. She aimed a sharp kick at Aeiwou's chest, but Ella intercepted her, slamming her to the ground with a shockwave of ice that cracked the earth beneath them.

"Ella!" Zeze gasped, pushing herself up, her vision blurring. "This isn't you!"

Ella only grinned, her eyes glowing with an unnatural blue light as she formed a spear of ice in her hand, tossing it with brutal precision. Zeze twisted to the side, the spear slicing past her cheek, leaving a stinging trail of cold fire.

Owen drew his sword, its blade gleaming with a faint, warm light that cut through the haze. He leaped at Raven, their swords clashing with a metallic scream. Sparks flew as metal met metal, Owen's blade deflecting Raven's vicious strikes. He could see the flicker of doubt in Raven's eyes, the ghost of his former self buried beneath Aeiwou's control.

"Fight it, Raven!" Owen grunted, parrying a brutal downward slash. "Don't let her twist you like this!"

Raven's eyes narrowed, his movements growing more erratic, his strikes wilder. For a brief moment, his hand shook, his blade hesitating. But then Aeiwou's voice cut through the storm.

"Finish them, my puppets!" Aeiwou screamed, her voice sharp as shattered glass. She raised her arms, and the ground around her erupted in jagged spikes of ice, trapping Xyrille in a deadly circle.

Xyrille's hands glowed with raw, earth-shaking power. She slammed her palms into the ground, sending a shockwave through the ice. The spikes shattered, splintering into a thousand frozen shards. She stepped forward, eyes blazing, fists wrapped in swirling stone. "You won't break us, Aeiwou!"

Aeiwou's lips twisted into a snarl. "Then I'll shatter you!" She flicked her wrist, and a tidal wave of ice surged forward, crashing into Xyrille, sending her sprawling.

Zeze shot forward, grabbing Xyrille's arm and yanking her to her feet. "Stay with me!"

"Don't... worry about me." Xyrille coughed, blood staining the snow at her feet. "Just... just keep fighting."

Ella stepped closer, her ice spear reforming in her hand, sharp and wicked. She locked eyes with Zeze, a flicker of her old self surfacing, just for a heartbeat. "Zeze... run."

Zeze's heart twisted. "Ella..."

But then the moment passed, and Ella's face twisted back into that cruel, twisted mask as she hurled the spear. Zeze ducked, the spear shattering against the rocks behind her.

Owen roared, breaking free from his duel with Raven, his blade slicing through the icy air as he threw himself at Aeiwou, his fury a blazing fire against her unending winter. "You'll pay for this!"

Aeiwou caught his blade with a wall of frozen air, her laughter echoing in the storm. "Pathetic." She flicked her wrist, and the ice exploded, sending Owen crashing into the rocks, his sword clattering beside him.

Zeze dropped to his side, eyes wide with fear. "Owen! Get up! Don't you dare quit now!"

Xyrille crawled beside them, her breath coming in sharp, icy gasps. "We... we have to keep fighting. We can't let her win."

Aeiwou hovered above them, her eyes glowing with unearthly power, her arms spread wide as the storm raged around her. "Is this all the Creation World has to offer? A few broken warriors clinging to their last breaths?"

Zeze clenched her fists, blood trickling down her chin. She met Aeiwou's icy stare and spat into the snow. "We're not broken. And we're not done."