Facing off against someone you know is much more powerful than you in every regard is an experience that is difficult to put into words. Your head is in turmoil while your heart is calm as if it has already accepted the inevitable loss you seem destined for. You observe every movement of the opponent, unable to anticipate what the next moment will bring.

Every flick of the finger, every twitch of the eyebrow seems like a personal assault on your well-being, threatening to overwhelm your mental defences and urging you to submit. You find yourself unsure of the strategy you should follow in the upcoming fight, unable to hedge on your bets on either your underwhelming offence or your shaky defence.

I was vaguely aware of the chilling air around me as I noticed that Frost seemed to truly be focused for the first time that fight. The air seemed to shift around him as he manifested his ability and gathered his power, the temperature dropping all around us rapidly to dangerous lows. There was no doubt in any of our minds that this Frost’s arena, his home field and that he could and would shift even the environment around us into his favour.

Frank, it seemed wasn’t one to be fazed though. Despite the fatigue he undoubtedly felt, he fired off an attack towards Frost which was promptly dodged by Frost by a mere sidestep. Frank had anticipated this though as he charged at Frost before his attack had even reached its destination, his palms ablaze in flames similar to the time he had first shown me his abilities.

It was time for me to also take the initiative and I did that as soon as Frank reached Frost with the sole intention of killing him. Frank’s attack was parried by Frost with ease but I wasn’t about to give him the upper hand. I quickly followed up Frank’s attack, swinging my scythe in the air in a neat arc aimed at his neck.

Frost had anticipated my move though, as he ducked below my attack casually, almost as if I was too slow for him. I quickly decided to remedy that though, slowing down time around him. I was hesitant to do this I wasn’t yet able to control who it affected personally. It resulted in Frank also being affected by my ability. It wouldn’t impede his ability to fight Frost as they would be stuck in the same flow of time. But it also didn’t give him much of an advantage when confronting Frost while also impeding my own attacks as I had to time my own attacks perfectly to make up for the different speeds.

We quickly got into a rhythm though, each of us confronting Frost with a barrage of attacks. We developed a pattern where I would take on Frost in close combat, using my scythe and ability to full effect while Frank basically peppered Frost with long-range beams and blasts, forming an effective combination to hold off Frost.

To a casual observer looking in from the outside, it would seem like we had the upper hand, that we had backed Frost into a corner and it was only a matter of time before we broke through his defences and struck the final blow. But the truth was much different and it was scary as hell. We weren’t fooled by his seeming reluctance to attack. He was navigating this fight with complete ease as if he were in a spar rather than a battle to the death.

We had no doubts about the fact we were able to attack him for such long periods of time only because he wanted us to. The tide of the battle could be turned at any possible moment seeming on Frost’s whims. His inaction was infuriating while our own inability to shatter his seemingly impenetrable defences were bearing no fruits.

This weird, almost choreographed battle went on for a few more minutes before it seemed like Frost had finally had enough. And me being the one nearest to him made me his first target. His pace increased in the blink of an eye, almost as if he had negated my very ability. He was in front of me with a burst of speed, penetrating my defence before I even knew what was happening. I was caught in a moment of panic and surprise and he took full advantage, punching me with ice-covered fists. The attack served to launch me across the battlefield while I was nearly knocked out by the pain.

My ability immediately shut down as Frost was almost immediately upon me as soon as I hit the ground. A quick punch to my gut with the same force had me seeing stars and I found myself unable to move. Frank, meanwhile, had caught up to us and struck Frost in his back with the most force he could muster, buoyed by his ability.

Frost was immediately sent flying in much the same as I was a few moments ago. Before Frost could even comprehend the stunning fact that he had been hit, Frank was on top of him again, raining down a volley of punches on him. This sequence of events when Frost quickly retreated, trying to create separation between Frank and himself.

That did not hold back Frank though. Before Frost could gather his bearings, Frank had gathered a large sphere of pure energy in his palms which was magnificently bright and blinding in its appearance. Before Frost even had a chance to look up to the imminent danger he was in, Frank had launched the attack upon him. The attack was too quick for Frost to dodge as the light fully engulfed him. This had me hoping that the attack had done its job and we had seen the end of Frost.

My prayers weren’t answered though, as Frost emerged from the light in a blaze of glory, humiliation and rage written all over his visage. The fact we had somehow managed to land a hit on him made him completely change his focus and temperament. Before Frank could fully regain his bearings after having relaxed somewhat after his supposed killing blow, Frost was in front of him, arms in ice which seemed to end on a sharp edge, almost as his arm was a longsword.

Frank somehow managed to avoid the first attack, with Frost’s blow barely missing him by inches. But he was not lucky the second time around though, as Frost was quick to follow up. Frank had barely had time to watch Frost’s attack before he found pierced in the abdomen by the sharp icicle, his countenance displaying nothing but shock.

He slowly looked down to see where Frost’s hand had penetrated his body before Frost extracted his arm from Frank’s abdomen. The icicle which had been a pure white before was now drenched in Frank’s blood, dripping it all over the ground.

Frank seemed to be struggling to comprehend the sight of the massive hole where his abdomen was supposed to be. He collapsed to the ground in slow motion, almost as if my ability had stopped affecting him. I could only look on his daze as my best friend lay on the ground, his breath coming in gasps and his life visibly living his body.

Before the final breath could truly leave Frank’s body though, he was encased in a tomb of ice, with Frost moving towards me now that he had taken care of Frank.

“Can’t have our friend dying on us now, can we, not while he has yet to serve his true purpose. Did I tell you that my targets needed to be alive for me to steal their powers, the last time you living this defeat? Ice is a great preservative; you’ve got to agree.” Frost said all with a smile on his face as if we were discussing our homework.

I was overcome by grief and rage, unwilling to admit that all of this had been for nothing. That I couldn’t save Frank in the end. That I couldn’t stop Frost’s nefarious plans. That my going back in time and getting a do-over was all for nothing. I had gotten another chance at saving the life of my friends and essentially avoiding the dark fate that Frost would doom us all to. A chance which I had seemingly tossed down the drain.

Some inner part had accepted defeat before I even knew it. The inevitability of what was happening finally seemed to hit me with full force, seeming to drown me from all directions. All hope gave out as somewhere in the deep recesses of my mind, I couldn’t help but think that this outcome wouldn’t change even if I had a million more chances. I might make it more difficult for Frost in any subsequent tries, maybe, but I couldn’t affect the ultimate outcome.

Without thinking, I had closed my eyes, waiting for the coming embrace of death. I couldn’t help but lament the fact that I had had such a short time as an Untethered. I hadn’t experienced even a tiny fraction of whatever this life had in store for me.

Before long, I could feel my strength leaving my body, almost as if sucking the very life out of me. I could feel my strength being sapped out. But something was strange this time around. This transfer of power, it just seemed very different from the last time I had experienced this process. The last time around, I could feel that Frost was draining my core, forcibly taking what rightfully belonged to me.

This time, though, it felt like I was getting exhausted as Frost used his ability. All of this was made even stranger when I heard a strangled voice near me, “What’s happening?” followed by staggered steps and the eventual collapse of someone near me.

I still hadn’t found the courage to open my eyes and face the reality of what was happening before things suddenly seemed to stop. It seemed that whatever was tiring me out had seemingly halted in its entirely, leaving me to wonder what was going on.

I opened my eyes expecting to see Frost looking down on me with that insufferable, smug grin on his face. Instead, the sight that greeted me when I opened my eyes had me dumbfounded. All around me, the battle seemed to have stopped as Untethered had frozen and were collapsing to the turf for apparently no reason. One by one, they all fell down like flies until no one was left standing.

I was left puzzled by this development as I hadn’t this facet of Frost’s power before. Looking around to see in the direction where I expected Frost to be, I was greeted by an even more mind-blowing sight.

It seemed like even Frost had become a victim of whatever ailment the other Untethered in the battlefield had become afflicted too. He was kneeling down and using his arms to support himself. He totally had his guard down and I couldn’t help but want to take advantage of the situation.

I tried to get up but my body groaned and complained about the tribulation I was making it suffer through. I could barely get in the same position as Frost before I had to give up on standing up, my body completely unwilling to follow my instructions.

I looked up to see the cause of this strange occurrence, hoping to find the arrival of council members. But to my utter dismay, I couldn't see any trace of any council member, which had me searching for the true cause of everyone’s dire condition and determining whether they were friend or foe.

I surveyed the whole battlefield, not finding anyone new to the scene before I spotted a bright light from the corner of my eyes. Looking in the direction of the light, I realised that it was coming from the ice that Frank had been encased in, the whole block of ice shining like a ruby.

Before I could fathom the cause of that light, there was a crack in the air before the whole shattered into pieces. I was taken aback by the turn of events, holding on to the vague hope that Frank was alive. Although the ice had cracked, the red glow hadn’t subsided yet.

I squinted to see the cause of the light when I saw that the mutilated body of Frank was rising. He stood up straight before walking towards us. When he was near enough for me to look at him properly, I was horrified to see that the hole in his abdomen was still present, although I could swear that it had grown smaller.

It seemed that Frost had also taken notice of Frank approaching us as he looked at him, eyes filled with shock but helpless to do anything about the events unfolding before his eyes.

To my utter befuddlement, Frank walked straight past us with glazed eyes, taking no notice of us or acknowledging our troubled condition. He kept walking with staggered steps before he reached an Untethered who seemed to be trying to get up too.

I recognised him as one of Frost’s people, in fact, I was almost sure that he was one of the three closest aides of Frost, the one who I had knocked unconscious with a punch. He was clearly struggling in his efforts to stand up before Frank, in his mutilated state, reached him.

Frank caught the head of the Untethered in the palm of his hands, before lifting him, forcing the Untethered to assume a kneeling position. And then the strangest thing happened.

The man seemed to age before my very eyes, as if he was living his whole life while skipping all the events. I could only watch on in horrified fascination as I saw his skin became wrinkled, his hair lost its colour and his eyes lost their shine. He seemed to grow pale and gaunt almost instantly before all that was left was a dry husk, a mere bag of meat and bones.

Frank let him go after that and the dead body of the man hit the ground with a crunch as if the leftover bones had broken on impact. Then, Frank turned to look at us and for a split second, I was fearful of my best friend.

I could vaguely hear Frost muttering under his daze, seemingly unaware that I could hear him. What I heard shook me to my very core.

“It’s the same power. The ability of the legendary council member. The being of legend who drove back the miasma monsters. The capability to absorb life force. This can't be happening. I can't fail now, not after I have waited for so long, not like this.” Frost seemed to be in a daze as Frank approached us, unable to believe that this might spell his unlikely doom.

It seemed like Frank had unlocked his second ability, the betrayal of his mentor and the subsequent attempt to kill him by the mentioned mentor serving as a powerful enough catalyst.

And it was an ability so powerful that it had one of the strongest Untethered on the face of this planet shaking in his boots, cursing his ill fate!