And then it swirled in the air falling right into the hands of its owner.

---

​​

As Mun darted towards Adrianna's wand that she had hurled in the air, Adrianna stared at him in awe. She admired how one so strong and lithe could be so mesmerizing. He leapt towards the wand with so much grace that it seemed as though he was pouring a surge of emotions through his nimble movements. Not only his body in motion was beautiful, but him moving against the backdrop of white pristine snow was pure amazement. Adrianna's gaze went to his eyes and that was when she shuddered. They were filled with tears and pain—pain that was focused on alleviating hers rather than his own.

She couldn't understand his outburst of emotions at first. She thought that Mun would hold her wand in his beak and her wand would get some of his magic powers but what happened next was completely unexpected. Suddenly, it dawned on her. "Noooooooo!" she screamed in the knowledge of what was going to happen next. Her tension became a blinding pain of realization.

In that last leap of faith, Mun conveyed to her, "It is my honor to give away my perfect immortality to you and be with you always Adrianna. I cannot practice my magic the way you do even though I am the most powerful beast of these lands. And that is why I am bounding my body and soul into your wand so that you can unravel my magical potential through your inner energy. Use my power in tandem with yours. Now your wand is going to be effective in every nook and corner of this realm and others. Accept me Adrianna and I shall remain loyal to you forever." And Mun converged into her wand leaving a thin wisp of white smoke trailing behind it.

Adrianna's mind became numb for that moment. She went completely still. Seeing Mun merge in her wand reminded her of her pet Dmitri who had become her wand. That was the most painful episode of her life and now this. It opened an emotional wound. Her mouth fell open and her skin tingled with goose bumps. Tears glazed her eyes. He had sacrificed himself for her sake. She remembered how much he had helped her in difficult times. He had been at her side protecting her against odd conditions. He had saved her once and this time he had forfeited his life for a greater cause.

As the coiled beneath her skin, she extended her hand up. The wand twirled through the air and came to her. She caught it with burning grace—with fire that smoldered deep inside her, which was visible through the glaze of her golden yellow eyes.

This was the cost to defeat Ziu. The air was silent. She was silent. Nothing moved.

She clutched the wand firmly close to her chest. She stuttered, "Mu- Mun." There was a knot in her stomach. Amazement, heartache—that didn't even cover what she felt inside. It was as if someone had extracted the spark of those emotions from her and poured kerosene on them. Her tears ran down her cheeks.

The sun bloomed on the horizon. Its rays stretched into the clear blue sky and filtered through the shoals of clouds to kiss the snowy slopes, which were now streaked with yellow and gold. Nature seemed to pay its last respects to Mun.

Wiping her tears, Adrianna went after Ziu as she looked ahead with animosity and burning rage. There was no time to waste and she wouldn't let Mun's sacrifice be of no avail. She explored the ridge of the slope above her but he wasn't there. So she climbed up there. She noticed him walking far in the distance. He had run down the slope of the mountain on the other side.

She closed her eyes and felt the energy of the wand reverberating through her body. When she opened her eyes, instead of pointing it at him, Adrianna pointed to the peak of the mountain. A thin swish of wind gushed out her wand and it drifted up. Within a few seconds, the snow on the peak moved. It started coalescing and taking the shape of a beast. And then the animal rose. It looked like Mun. More of those rose from the snow as though waking from a slumber. The herd roared in union and then they started racing downwards on the mountain slope in the form of an avalanche. It was incredible. She watched them with deep focus as they bolted down with a rumble. It was a sight to behold—it was a tribute to Mun.

---

After he had sent a lethal spell her way, Ziu was almost sure that it had damaged Adrianna and the beast she was riding to some extent because they did not retaliate for a long time from their side. He took the chance and fled from there. This side of the slope was downhill and he could traverse fast. He hoped to find another shelter to hide as soon as possible. In the distance down the slope, he saw there were more conifers. His aspirations raised and he made his way to them as if he had found a lifeline. His hands were numb with pain because of the deep slashes that Adrianna had given, but at least his life was intact. If he managed to hide from her even for a day, he thought he would heal.

While he was running ahead weaving his thoughts on what to do next, he heard a soft rumble. It sounded as if the mountain was razing down far away. He looked up at the source of noise and to his horror he saw snow tumbling—no racing towards him. But he was all the more shocked when the rumble became a roar and the snow was in the form of animals. He narrowed his eyes to see it. He could distinctly make out the antlers. When he realized, his eyes were wide with awe and fear. Was this possible that the snow had taken the shape of the animal he had tried to kill a while back?

The avalanche moved down at a great speed, roaring and thundering. Ziu was shocked. He spun around and tried to increase his speed but he could go only as much. He panted and huffed looking backwards. The icy beasts sprinted towards him like hungry predators. There were hundreds of them – all coming down to him with pointed antlers.

Ziu brought his wand to send a wave of the sun's energy their way. But the moment few were destroyed, more took their place. It was never ending. He couldn't manage the pace of casting spells and running at the same time. Soon the beasts approached him. They tossed him on their horns. He was flung in the air. He did not know how this happened. His eyes went to a figure standing on the ridge of the mountain - Adrianna.

"Stop!" Ziu shouted. "Stop!"

The animals leapt at him. "Spare me, please!" he shouted his plea.

But the creatures took him down the slope with them for several meters and then they all merged with the snow, scattering like dust over it as though nothing had ever happened. Ziu was nowhere to be seen.