The undead immediately became attracted to the disturbance occurring in the distance. Drawn by a curiosity that survived only as fragmented instinct, countless undead creatures began moving toward the battlefield.

For thousands of years, this dead world had lacked the one thing every former inhabitant had once possessed : Life.

Now the battlefield overflowed with it.

Dragonborn aura, living Magic, elemental energy, emotions, and battle intent flooded the wasteland like a beacon. To the undead, it was something unfamiliar yet deeply remembered. Something they had lost long ago.

Without hesitation, skeletons abandoned their endless wandering and turned toward the battle. The spectral figures drifted through ruined cities. Undead beasts emerged from ancient valleys and mountains. Entire hordes began converging toward the source of the living energy.

The fresh Magic fascinated them.

Perhaps some buried fragment of memory desired to feel it once more. Perhaps their souls remembered a time before death had consumed everything.

Meanwhile, the battle between Aesa and Nyssara continued.

Explosions of ice erupted across the battlefield one after another. Entire regions vanished beneath expanding glaciers. Small Dragons made of ice roared through the air while storms of frozen winds swept across hundreds of meters of wasteland.

Nyssara remained trapped repeatedly inside layers of Magical ice. The cosmic being was visibly becoming annoyed.

Because of the oath she had accepted, she could no longer freely unleash the overwhelming power that once allowed her to consume worlds. The restrictions forced her to remain within the agreed limitations, and Aesa ruthlessly exploited every opening she found.

The battlefield gradually transformed into a frozen kingdom. Mountains of ice rose from the black earth. Frozen rivers stretched across it. Giant crystalline structures pierced the sky.

At the center of it all stood Nyssara with multiple wounds covering her body.

Cuts lined her arms. Frost spread across her skin. Several deeper injuries slowly leaked dark crimson liquid.

But despite everything, she continued standing.

Far away, Erend and Eccar observed carefully.

"Are you sure that’s actually blood?" Eccar asked while keeping his eyes fixed on the battle.

"No," Erend answered honestly. "I think she’s still playing with us. Aesa hasn’t received a truly serious attack yet. That being is still holding back."

Eccar frowned. "Then we need to force her to reveal more. Tell Aesa to increase her attacks."

Erend nodded. A moment later he established a telepathic connection.

"Aesa. Increase the intensity. She’s still not serious."

"I know." The reply came immediately. "I’ll do it now."

Erend felt her frustration through their Dragonborn bond.

The Ice Dragonborn had been attacking relentlessly for a long time yet she still felt as though she was fighting a wall. Every wound she inflicted seemed insignificant compared to the mystery still surrounding Nyssara.

Fortunately, frustration often made Aesa even more dangerous.

The connection ended. Immediately afterward, an overwhelming wave of cold erupted from Aesa’s body.

The temperature of the battlefield plummeted dramatically.

Blue-white brilliant aura exploded around her like a storm. Ice spread across the ground at terrifying speed while freezing winds howled across the wasteland.

Even the green mist of death energy floating through the air began freezing into crystalline particles.

Not far away, Nyssara noticed the change. She glanced upward and slowly grinned. Her smile widened enough for her teeth to become visible.

In truth, the wounds covering her body were not meaningless.

The restrictions imposed by the oath had weakened her far more than she expected. Under normal circumstances, attacks of this level would have been beneath her notice. But now they actually hurt.

The realization annoyed her slightly. But not enough to make her feel threatened.

Even weakened, she remained Nyssara. Even when she was restricted, she still possessed incredible powers.

Then Aesa attacked.

An enormous sphere of freezing energy condensed above the battlefield before descending like a falling moon.

Nyssara raised one hand and dark energy gathered around her fingertips.

The surrounding shadows suddenly came alive.

Black tendrils erupted from the ground and twisted up like enormous serpents. They collided with the descending sphere and shattered it into countless frozen fragments.

Aesa immediately followed with hundreds of ice Dragons she created in the blink of an eye.

Nyssara’s eyes glowed. The darkness behind her expanded and transformed into a massive shadowy maw.

The gigantic mouth opened and devoured several ice Dragons whole before exploding with dark energy.

Then Nyssara finally moved. With a single step, dozens of dark copies emerged around her.

Each clone radiated power and carried a black sword. They charged toward Aesa simultaneously. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Nyssara stopped merely defending and started revealing fragments of her abilities.

Aesa’s eyes immediately locked onto the advancing clones and a smirk appeared across her face. "Finally."

At last, Nyssara had stopped standing still and started revealing more of her abilities.

Without hesitation, Aesa surged forward.

The battlefield exploded beneath her feet as she accelerated into the swarm of shadowy figures. Her ice sword swept through the first clone and shattered it instantly. The copy dissolved into fragments of darkness before disappearing completely.

Another clone attacked from the side and Aesa spun and cut through it.

More of them came. The frozen wasteland became a blur of movement as she charged through the army of copies. Every swing of her sword released waves of frost. Ice erupted while dark figures shattered one after another beneath her attacks.

The clones were strong enough to force her attention, but not strong enough to stop her.

Within moments dozens of them had already been destroyed.

But something felt wrong.

Aesa suddenly felt a chill run down her spine. She felt danger. A genuine danger.

Her instincts screamed at her.

Before she could react, a black blade erupted from her chest.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

Aesa’s eyes widened. She looked down and saw the tip of a dark sword protruding from her body. Blood splashed across the ground.

Then she slowly turned her head and saw Nyssara standing directly behind her.

The cosmic being smiled with a calm and amused smile.

"I never intended for those clones to defeat you," Nyssara said softly while leaning closer. "They were merely meant to distract you."

Aesa realized she had completely lost track of Nyssara’s real body.

Nyssara’s smile widened. "And they succeeded."

She suddenly twisted the sword, causing pain to explode through Aesa’s body.

Nyssara ripped the blade free. Aesa immediately unleashed an enormous burst of ice energy on pure instinct.

A colossal explosion of frost erupted from her body and swallowed hundreds of meters of battlefield. Glaciers surged up while greater freezing winds tore through the wasteland.

The force pushed Nyssara away.

Aesa dropped to one knee amidst the expanding ice. Blood dripped onto the ground.

Far away, Erend and Eccar immediately stiffened.

Their expressions changed at once, filled with concern flashed across both of their faces.

"That was bad," Eccar muttered.

Erend’s eyes remained fixed on Aesa.

The wound looked serious.

More importantly, Nyssara had finally demonstrated exactly why she was so dangerous. Even while restricted by the oath, she had managed to deceive an experienced Dragonborn and land a direct hit.

Judging from the amused expression still visible on her face Erend thought that she was only beginning to reveal what she could do.

—