The sight of Frank looking in my direction, with the husk that was the dead body of Frost’s ally, was an awe-inspiring sight, to say the least. Before my very eyes, the large hole in Frank’s abdomen seemed to close itself up, as if someone was sewing it shut!

I was in a daze as I kept feeling the pressure of Frank’s ability. His ability didn’t seem to discriminate between friend or foe, only caring to satisfy its own hunger for energy. Like a scene straight out of a horror movie, his body completely reversed the physical damage on itself.

I could only watch in horrific fascination as Frank’s body seemed to regain its colour, making me realise that his ability was replenishing his blood, all the while gathering energy from his surroundings. I was getting really alarmed by these proceedings because if things continued to go the way it had, the Untethered with smaller cores would be in serious danger of perishing.

Frank’s eyes were unfocused and he appeared to be in a daze. It was almost as if he wasn’t aware of the fact that he was unconsciously siphoning off the energy of the Untethered around him. When he came closer to my position where I was kneeling, I realised that he had eyes for only one man. Frost.

“Frank.”, I shouted out, hoping to break him out of his reverie but it was to no avail. He paid my words no heed as he made his way to Frost, who was standing with some difficulty, his energy still being siphoned off by Frank. He was on guard for any imminent attack by Frank, no doubt wanting to avoid the fate that had befallen his ally.

Frank had passed me by without so much as a single glance and I could feel my state deteriorating by the minute. Just when it seemed like Frank would walk all the way to Frost, Frank broke out in a dash. Before Frost could react in his weakened state, Frank already had him by the throat.

Frost was not a veteran in name only though. Before Frank could use his ability on Frost to make him meet his maker, Frost had already kicked Frank with all the force he could muster in his exhausted state. This served to create some separation between him and Frank, a fact he took quick advantage of, retreating a long way back so that Frank could not catch him unawares again.

Frost was forced into a corner where his only option was defence and evasion. Frank made sure to give Frost no chance for respite as he quickly rushed after him, intent on finishing this as quickly as possible. He quickly made his way towards Frost’s direction, with Frost still retreating with every ounce of speed he had in his legs. It was a shocking sight to witness, especially after he had demolished both Frank and me just a few minutes before with startling ease.

The more Frank made his way away from me, the less tired I felt, almost as if my core was finally replenishing my energy faster than Frank could drain it. That was when I realised the limits of Frank’s power and also the reason for Frost’s constant retreat.

Although Frank couldn’t control whose energy he absorbed, he was still limited in the area his ability could affect people. In that aspect, it was similar to how my time control ability worked. And it seemed like Frost had also deduced this fact about Frank’s ability. He wanted to buy time to replenish his own energy so that he could take out Frank in one blow. Because no matter how much energy Frank could absorb, it would all be useless if the people he was absorbing power from were all dead and he himself lay on death’s feet.

That was the absolute destruction Frost’s move which he called, ‘Absolute Zero’, could wreak on its surroundings. A pure force of nature that had covered the whole city in ice with everyone in its way encased in a tomb of ice. I had been a witness to the calamity that Frost’s trump card and I couldn’t help but wonder if Frank would be quick enough to stop Frost from employing said trump card.

That was when it became clear in my mind that Frank needed my aid in capturing Frost. I needed to help Frank box Frost, so to speak so that he didn’t have an avenue of escaping. The only problem was that my core wasn’t reenergizing me as quickly as I’d like. I could barely stand up and even that had my body hurting. My body seemed to be stuck in a quagmire and the situation wasn’t improving rapidly enough that I could aid Frank in his quest to catch Frost. My involvement in this fight at this time would only result in me being a liability that Frost could take advantage of, especially since I would once again be with Frank’s ability’s influence once I decided to insert myself into the fight.

My main goal when I did decide to make a move was to make use of my ability to slow down time where Frank was not affected so that Frank would have a window of opportunity to catch Frost. But even my ability would be hindered by Frank’s ability, meaning I could only use my ability for a short period of time.

That meant I would have to execute my plan perfectly, all without knowing what Frank was going to do and also without Frank not knowing my own motives. The timing had to be perfect as my window of opportunity would be too narrow for the allowance of too much deviation from my plan.

While I was still waiting for my energy to be replenished, Frank and Frost were still in my general vicinity, still involved in the game of cat and mouse. Frank seemed to be closing the distance somewhat but Frost’s tenacity and guile still rendered all of Frank’s efforts to get hold of Frost useless.

I had finally had enough of just sitting on the side-lines and decided to make my move, having judged that my current energy was enough for me to carry out my plan. I made sure to stay as far from Frank as possible so that he didn’t involuntarily interfere in my scheme. One thing that was working in my favour was that Frost was completely concentrated on Frank, having long dismissed everyone else as a legitimate threat, his whole focus now being on stopping Frank’s onslaught.

He never realised when I started making my move and I made sure not to tip him off. I didn’t rush in blindly, instead of making my way slowly to wherever Frost was moving, trying to note if there was any discernible pattern in his seemingly unpredictable movements. I needed to predict Frost’s movements so that I could move to a spot just before Frost reached, giving me more than enough time to do my part.

After some time observing the movement of Frost, I noticed that he always used moves at four different points in the area in succession, almost as if they were checkpoints. It might have something to do with the area of effect of Frank’s ability but I couldn’t be too sure. Maybe Frost had noticed the slight windows in the battlefield where Frank’s abilities didn’t work, blind spots if you will.

I didn’t have much time to think about the reason behind Frost’s movement, as I already had what I needed to execute my hastily thrown together plan. I moved to the general vicinity of the battle and waited for Frost to go one of his preferred spots, so I that I could move towards the next spot which he would target.

Finally, Frost had done what I had anticipated and reached one of his preferred spots which made me react and I rushed towards the next area he would try to occupy. After that, it was just a matter of waiting for Frost to come where I anticipated him to be and then hopefully execute my plan well.

I expected myself to feel nervous like I would normally do in these situations. Surprisingly though, I found myself feeling calm and free of jitters, and full of belief. I just knew that I wasn’t the protagonist of this play at all. instead, the entire onus was on Frank and I found myself having a surprising amount of confidence in him.

The scope of his powers and the damage it had already done to Frost had me feeling that the outcome was inevitable. I felt that I was just hastening what was destined to happen. Frost would fall at the hands of Frank and the disciple would surpass the master.

I was finally broken out of my own introspection when I saw that Frost was finally moving. My calculations had paid off and he was moving right where I was waiting for him, unaware of the trap he was willingly walking to. I activated my powers just when I felt that he had entered my own ability’s area of effect.

I took him by surprise and the sudden change in speed made him stumble, as he wasn’t aware that I was behind him and had finally sprung my trap. Before he could even comprehend what was happening, he found himself falling backwards in slow motion. That was all the invitation I needed as I kicked him in the back with all the force I could muster, making his entire balance shift in the direction of Frank’s approach. He couldn’t do anything about it as the element of surprise combined with my own ability had overwhelmed his already weakened mind.

That was all I was good for, as I found myself rapidly drained out of my energy, indicating that I had come under the effects of Frank’s ability once again. But I had provided Frank with enough opportunity and he wasn’t about to let it go this time. Before Frost could adjust his balance and prepare himself for Frank’s impeding approach, he found himself in Frank’s grasp.

And that was game over! Unlike last time, Frank did not wait for Frost’s reaction. Instead, he activated his ability almost as soon as Frost was caught by him, rendering Frost completely defenceless. Before Frost could mount any retaliation, he found himself rapidly drained of his powers. Before long, he was gasping for breath and I found myself wondering if the demise of Frost would follow the same pattern as that of the last victim of Frank’s ability.

My questions were answered soon enough when I noticed no signs of any struggle leaving Frost’s body, leaving him helpless. He couldn’t help but just feel himself dying from within as he basically aged right before my eyes.

It was a true testament to his power and endurance that the process of his own ageing seemed to be moving at a snail’s pace compared to the last guy who Frank had actively used his powers on. It was even hard to tell whether Frost was ageing at first before clear signs appeared on his face.

It was still surreal to see someone pass through the various stages of his life in what was necessarily a blink of an eye compared to the vast lifespans of the Untethered, especially one as powerful as Frost.

Before Frank could truly finish off Frost and leave him as the same dead husk as his last victim, something stopped him. All around us, shadows of the various objects and even our own shadows began moving of their volition, almost as if they had gained a mind of their own. This strange event caught me off guard for a moment before I relaxed, realising that I had actually seen this phenomenon before.

Frank though had never experienced something like this before as he released Frost, who collapsed into a heap on the ground, before looking around at the new threat that had supposedly popped up. Before he could act though, both he and Frost were wrapped in shadows which enveloped them, acting like cocoons made of unbreakable steel. Frank struggled but I knew that it was futile.

Just then, a voice I expected to hear behind me said, “It seems like you didn’t need our help after all.” Turning around, I saw Shadow, Light and a few other Untethered I recognised standing in some sort of formation, with Shadow at the head. Behind all of them stood Samuel, who had a gobsmacked look on his face.

It seemed like the Council had arrived, after all, but an inopportune moment, just when Frank had almost exacted his revenge on his former mentor.