Ragna’s wings flailed against the air. Hitting them as fast as she could while the winds swooshed past her, and she turned her head.

Skyfrost was sliding over an ice ramp that continued to grow. The Vice-captain’s grin had disappeared. They bared their teeth bared at her, and furrows drew through their face.

Why the Hel were they so fast? No matter what she did, she couldn’t escape.

Skyfrost swung their hand in an arc. Ice daggers appeared in front of their chest and sped through the air, their edges pointing at her. Ragna beat her wings and shot into the sky. She turned her head, clicking her tongue. Skyfrost’s ramp had extended in a vertical line, chasing after her.

That didn’t work. She hadn’t lost them.

Skyfrost morphed their arm into a chain and threw it at Ragna. She swung her tail, parried the chain, and threw it back at Skyfrost. Their arm morphed back, and Ragna tilted her body. She looped in the sky, diving into lower heights.

A skyscraper appeared in front of her. Ragna circled around it and shot into the sky again.

Ragna smirked. Let’s see how they’ll handle this.

But when she turned her head, Skyfrost was still chasing her. More daggers appeared in the air. Ragna growled, and in quick succession, she flew in lightning patterns. She looped anew and rotated around her axis.

The slide copied each of her movements, creating an artwork of ice that stretched across Heorot. Loops predated helixes and other forms, Skyfrost’s construct would take. Through the sky, it twisted and winded, not losing Ragna’s trail. Skyfrost’s speed increased as the Fehu rune on their earring flickered. Like on water, they slid over the ramp, shooting ice projectiles at their enemy.

Ragna arced around them, and the daggers swooshed past her. But when Ragna looked in front of her, her eyes widened. Crap.

A dome of glass blocked her path. Ragna shrieked. She tried to brake, but it was too late. In a reflex, she raised her arms to cushion the impact. Ragna burst through the glass and crashed into the floor. The shards fragmented, scattered over the room, and Ragna’s body chaffed over the ground. She flipped around herself and stopped when her back had hit against concrete.

Ragna groaned.

She gave her body a look and got back on her feet.

Thank Twice her Fylgja gave her an armor that protected her skin. Or else she would be bleeding out and could add another set of scars to her collection.

Her eyes scanned the dome’s interior. Metal rows and columns formed a second dome under the glass one. Together they created an image of hundreds of windows through which one could capture a panorama of the entire city while a circle handrail prevented visitors from crashing into the windows and falling to their deaths. Behind her, a construct shaped like half an egg took the building’s centerpiece.

Huh. She had crashed into Heorot’s Tower of Vainglory. If she remembered correctly the building resembled a giant hourglass and functioned as one of the city’s symbols. And atop of the tower, the architects had constructed a dome serving the as a viewing platform. Though, currently, only she occupied it since all the citizens had evacuated by now.

By now, Skyfrost’s ice ramp had reached the dome. It connected with the opening Ragna had created, and the Vice-captain landed on the floor.

“Don’t think discovering your Fylgja will change your fate.” Skyfrost swatted away their bangs, the pitch-black pupil staring at her armor. “Or should I remind you how much Sven’s Fylgja saved his ass?” Frozen daggers manifested between their knuckles. “You remember how he died like a crying bitch, right?”

Rory threw them at Ragna and spurted towards her in the same instance, their arm transforming into a scythe. Ragna didn’t react to the insults. She swiped away the projectiles with her tail and, with her saber, she parried Skyfrost’s arm.

“Speaking of family.” Skyfrost’s second arm transformed into a broadsword. They trusted it into Ragna’s skull. “Whose cock did you like more? Your daddy’s or your uncle’s?”

“What do you care?” Ragna drew her seax, blocked the sword, and threw a kick.

She couldn’t let Skyfrost’s taunts distract her.

Skyfrost jumped backward, and the sword elongated until it resembled a spear. “I just wanna know whom I should send your corpse for some good ol’ lovin’.”

Like a bullet shoved Skyfrost the weapon into Ragna’s face.

“Funny.” Ragna shot her tail, and the metals clashed. “I got a question on my own. Are you a man? A girl? Neither? Both?”

“I’m whatever I want to be.” Skyfrost attacked with their scythe. “What does it matter to ya?”

“Nothing. I just wanted to make sure that I don’t misgender you at your eulogy.” Ragna blocked the attack with her saber. Rory thrusted their spear arm when their eyes glanced at the ground and widened.

Ice had built on the floor, and stakes grew from the patch. They jumped in the air, and Ragna activated her gravity manipulator. Skyfrost lost their momentum and dropped to the ground. As they shrieked, their arms morphed back to their original, and fire streamed from their palms. It melted the ice to a puddle, extinguishing in the water.

Ragna smirked. A layer of ice grew over her boot. She threw a kick and hit Skyfrost’s temple. Their skull cracked, and they slammed into the floor. Before Skyfrost could stand up again, Ragna had summoned a wave of water. The liquid accumulated over Skyfrost’s body and torrented into them. As the barrage of water punched into Skyfrost, the liquid froze and trapped Skyfrost within an ice crystal that had swallowed Skyfrost.

Ragna hid her seax within her garter belt and created an icicle on the palm of her free hand. Pointing it at the Vice-captain’s forehead, she threw it with as much accuracy and strength as possible.

Fire erupted around Skyfrost. The ice melted, Skyfrost rolled to the side, and the projectile shattered on the floor. Then, Skyfrost jumped back on their feet and glared at Ragna.

Pressing their hand against their temple, Skyfrost growled. “How…the fuck can you use runes…?” They lunged forward. “Altera Xion. It was her, wasn’t it?” Skyfrost giggled. “That little, little piece of traitorous shit. Oh, she’ll regret that. I’ll beat her face to a bloody pulp and execute her in front of-”

Ragna beat her wings, and before Skyfrost could finish their sentence, her claw tore into their face.

Skyfrost screamed, their blood splattering on Ragna. They pressed their hand against the wound, and a ring of fire erupted around them. Ragna dashed backward, landing in front of the half-egg.

“This was for threatening Altera.” Ragna licked the blood from her nails and pointed her saber at him with a smirk on her face. “Your throat will be next.”

“You took the words out of my mouth.” Skyfrost gnashed their teeth. Their arm turned into a scythe, and they dashed forward. “I’ll make sure that I’ll never see your face again.”

Ragna beat her wings, ascending towards the roof. She formed her fingers into a gun. A water bullet formed around her fingertips and propelled against Skyfrost.

Skyfrost swung their scythe and sliced through the water as their other arm morphed into a rope of chains. The links rattled as Skyfrost rotated them.

Ragna flew backwars, readying herself for the attack when ice daggers torpedoed at her. Ragna swatted them away with her tails, but the chains caught her feet at the same time.

Dammit. Ragna tried to activate the gravity manipulator to no avail. The links wrapped around her ankle and dragged her to Skyfrost.

“It’s time we bring an end to your delusion of power.” Skyfrost grinned. Their pupils shrunk as they swung their scythe.

Fuck. She had to escape.

Ragna flailed her wings. She beat them with all her might. The metal links scrapped through her boots into her ankle, and the force of Skyfrost’s throw flipped her upside down. Their scythe cut through her wing. Ragna screamed, and blood gushed out of the wound. In the same motion, Skyfrost slammed Ragna into the floor.

Ragna ground her teeth. She was withering on the ground, her brain unable to focus on the sources of pain. Her skull was drumming, and the stump on her back burned.

“Ragna Griffin.” Skyfrost stepped forward, and as Ragna tried to crawl away, they rammed their boots into her hips, their voice hissing like steam. “When will you finally understand? You can’t win.” Malice and pity mixed with incredulous expiration as Ragna screeched, and her bones cracked under the weight. Skyfrost exerted the pressure, puncturing through her armor and skin. “Will you finally accept your destiny? You’ve lost” Skyfrost rammed their heel into her again, and under Ragna’s screams, they raised their scythes.

Its blade hovered above Ragna’s neck. Devoid of armor, couldn’t its bare skin defend against Skyfrost. And as a chuckle of relief, escaped their lips, Skyfrost let the scythe fall.