Both Beta and Wind appeared behind the Ice Goddess, their backstab nearly mirroring each other.

[Dual Chain][Backstab]

Combination Successful.

Wind has followed up Ronnie's attack with a Significant Strike.

[Backstab][First Strike]

Combination partially successful.

Beta has landed a critical strike on Khione.

Beta has landed a normal attack on Khione.

/Dagger: Nix: Release your grip and push her hard!

Morti unclamped his jaws and slammed both paws into the chest of the Ice Goddess; at the same time, Nix pulled in the opposite direction.

/Dagger: Nix: Now!

Sharl charged in when the Ice Goddess collapsed to the ground. Unfortunately, it lasted only an instant. A wave of Khione's staff turned the charging tank into a solid block of ice.

Nix cussed loudly and jumped to one side as the Ice Goddess targeted him.

[Tainted Ice Spikes: Salvo][Ice Domain]

[Critical Interrupt!]

Thousands of foot-long pins were blasted apart in a blur of silver and gold. Her blades moved faster than the eye could follow as the peerless blademaster blocked all the spikes that had been heading toward Nix.

[A second domain may not be established while with the confines of another. Thus, Semmi's Shadow Domain takes precedence.]

Chiba stared across the distance at the Ice Goddess while swiping her blade in the air. "You're not allowed to touch my lovely Apprentice, ugly woman."

Sharl has been poisoned.

Donri has been poisoned.

Beta has been poisoned.

Semmi has been poisoned.

Fajii has been poisoned.

Wind has been poisoned.

Morti has resisted Khione's attack.

Pon has resisted Khione's attack.

Nix morphed into his Archon form and pushed Emerald Fury Flames into his bone hilts.

/Family: Nix: Do it now.

The Ice under Khione erupted upward; the Ice Goddess was tossed into the air as several feet of frozen water was blasted into a mist.

[Sonic Boom][Water Shackles]

Combination Successful.

Four strands of water rose up out of the lake before wrapping themselves around the arms and legs of the Ice Goddess. A jade-colored figure with quills on her head stood calmly with both arms outstretched.

[Balefire: Hex][Dread Fire: Inferno]

Combination Successful!

Pon has landed a Significant Strike on Khione.

Pon has landed a Mortal blow on Khione.

Nix banked towards the Ice Goddess just as Khione was chanting another spell. "Too late!"

[Execution: Advanced]

Nix's blades sliced in a complex x-shape as his form blurred past the Ice Goddess.

Nix has slain Khione. [Fourth Avatar].

/Dagger: Nix: She's down. How's the poison?

/Dagger: Sharl: It has a paralytic effect, but it runs out in a few more minutes.

/Dagger: Nix: Those unaffected, stay here and guard the others.

Soup emerged from the cold depths of Lake Bachoni; the quills on her head were glowing with a deep aquamarine color. She immediately spotted Morti and Nix and ran towards them.

Eron cleansed Fajii of the Tainted Ice poison and then proceeded to cure the rest of Dagger group. The addition of the rat army quickly proved too much for the depleted forces of the Ice Goddess and, with the help of the allied Titans, quickly dispatched the rest of them. The black fox leaped nimbly onto Nix's shoulder while its dark eyes scanned the battlefield. "Killing Khione didn't change Deep Winter."

Nix rubbed the tiny fox's head out of habit, his sharp eyes picking up Del as she bounded toward them. "We couldn't target her General. Maybe Vorn is still alive?"

/Family: Nix: Where did Vorn go?

/Family: Fey: He's dead.

/Family: Nix: He is? Where's the corpse?

/Family: Fey: His legs are somewhere on the battlefield; the rest of him is in my stomach. When Khione died, he tried to escape.

Pon stood next to Nix, both of them wearing sour expressions when the number of casualties became apparent.

/Inferno: Jun Li: Did we come to a dead-end in this quest?

The silver dragon landed a few meters away from Nix before quickly changing into her human mage form. She smiled pleasantly at her friends before hugging Nix.

/Inferno: Nansu: There's a light near the trading post.

/Breach Commander Nix: Breach our Air Forces back to Haven. We'll address our casualties after we investigate.

/Breach Commander Mtui: Right away.

/Breach Commander Nix: Break off into groups of twenty or so and spread out. We have to figure out our next step.

/Inferno: Nix: Alpha team with me.

A nudge from a soft nose told Nix that Del had arrived; instead of using his Archon form, he slipped onto her back and leaned forward. "To the trading post, Del." The Inferno leader could have flown or summoned one of his flying mounts, but in the tense and mysterious atmosphere that was steadily growing, he didn't want to leave Del exposed.

The speed of the slayer easily matched the rest of Alpha that was flying overhead. Finally, after a quarter of an hour, they arrived at the trading post.

/Alpha: Semmi: Huh... That's a bit odd.

/Alpha: Pon: What's odd about an archway in the middle of nowhere?

/Breach Commander Nix: Breach all of the casualties to Haven. Inferno Officers report back to the Iron Pike trading post.

Less than a dozen meters from the entrance to the Iron Pike stood a marble archway. Unfortunately, the entry was shrouded with a translucent barrier, making it impossible to make out any shapes or forms. Nevertheless, Alpha stopped directly in front of it.

Donri joined Pon and Nix as the two of them studied the archway. "Going to enter?"

Nix shared a glanced with Pon. "Well... We were just thinking that you should give it a try."

Pon nodded in agreement. "Given that you were as useless as a headless chicken in the Khione fight."

Nix bit down on a grin. "Not true... at least headless chickens can be eaten... Go ahead unless you're scared."

Donri frowned at the two mages that were staring at him expectantly. "Who is scared?" Then, without speaking further, he attempted to step through the archway. However, when he contacted the entrance, a waved of power burst forth, tossing him a handful of meters into the air, causing both Nix and Pon to laugh shamelessly.

[Only the Cora'Zai may enter here.]

The mood near the archway instantly darkened as the members of Alpha looked at each other.

/Inferno: Semmi: The Officer meeting will be at the archway.

Nix morphed into his salamander form and headed toward the Trading post. "Going to make sure old Hoot is okay. Let me know when the rest of the officers get here."

Pon nodded. "Let me see that Enigma thing; he should know what this is."

The salamander handed the old mage the black ball. "Be sure to shake it really hard. He loves that."

***********

/Officer: Pon: Waiting on you, Punk Bastard!

/Officer: Nix: On my way.

Nix walked through the sturdy wooden door that Hoot was holding open for him. "Just stay inside and keep an eye on things."

The old man nodded in agreement. "Going to lock this door behind you and wait for Deep Winter to break."

The Emerald Salamander scurried out of the warm trading post, not bothered at all by the sudden change of temperature. By the time he returned to Pon, the small group of Inferno officers were standing in a circle around the arch.

Fajii and Shae both had their arms crossed in front of them. Apparently, they were unhappy about something. Del stood next to them; her blue eyes continually scanned her tracking hud for the enemy.

The salamander joined the group, its yellow eyes staring at the glowing archway. "Let me guess... None of you can enter?"

Shae's pretty face twisted into a scowl. "Enigma says the 5th and last avatar is waiting here. The entrance is on a countdown."

[If the Cora'Zai doesn't enter the archway before sundown, the 5th avatar and Khione's real self will switch places.]

/Officer: Semmi: Meaning that we'll face her last Avatar in the final battle, and she will slip through our fingers even if we win.

Fajii leaned closer to Semmi and removed Enigma from the blonde officer's hand. She rubbed a brown hand across its surface. "Where does this archway lead?"

[To Khione's 5th Avatar.]

Fajii shared a glance with Shae before continuing. "This is a trap?"

[Without a doubt, it's a trap. Whoever enters will not come back.]

Nix moved closer to the door, studying it while his closest friends watched. "Everyone else has tried to enter?"

Semmi shook her head slightly. "Most of us have, but there are one or two who haven't."

A sudden roar shook the skies as a plume of silver fire erupted into the sky over Lake Bachoni. The sudden event turned the heads of everyone in the allied forces.

/Officer: Pon: The fuck...

Despite only having turned away for a moment, Nix had disappeared from sight. The Inferno Officers stared at each other for a long moment before Shae leaped at the entrance only to be instantly repelled. Wind stepped in front of Fajii before she could make the same attempt.

/Officer: Wind: It's too late. He went in.

***************

The room was unfamiliar. Two wooden chairs with thick seat cushions were placed in front of a warm fireplace. A white-robed figure sat comfortably in one of the seats; her ice-blue eyes reflected her disappointment when she saw the emerald salamander. "You've come..."

"Of course." The salamander ignored the opposite chair and moved closer to the fire. "Why would the Ice Goddess have a fireplace?"

A pale, slender hand waved slightly, making the fireplace disappear. Despite the action, the warmth and smell of smoke hung comfortingly in the air. "I wish you wouldn't have."

"Hmm?" Nix backed away slightly while keeping a close eye on her. "You didn't want me to come?"

Khione shook her head slightly. "You're failure to appear here would have given me more options."

"Right. By showing up, I removed your safety net for the final battle." Nix understood her point; in a way, she was forced along the path in front of her, much the same as he was.

Khione smiled slightly, her normally serene face showing the tiniest fraction of amusement. "Indeed. This isn't a bad consolation. With you removed from the fight, I will emerge victoriously."

Yellow eyes scanned the rest of the room, looking for any signs of a door or exit. "Pon will be able to finish the job if something happens to me. Quit wasting my time, spring your trap and let's get to it."

Khione nodded and stood slowly. "I know you believe that somehow you will live through this. The Cora'Zair dies; this has already been foretold."

Nix backed away a few steps and then circled around her. "Is that right?"

"The fact is, neither of us gets to leave here." She moved her right foot slightly, eliciting a loud metallic click that echoed in the room. An instant later, dozens of spheres emerged from the walls. Nix dodged to one side when they moved toward him. Instead of adjusting, the spheres collided in the center of the room with a wave of power that sent both occupants flying against the wall.

*Cough, cough.*

The white hair woman moved herself up to a seated position, wiping blood from her mouth while trying to resist the sudden force pulling against her. The emerald salamander had fared slightly better; his reflexes enabled him to land on the wall.

Nix watched the spatial disturbance but didn't bother to fight it. He could feel the power of it pulling him. But, unfortunately, there was literally nothing to hang on to. The Ice Goddess's resistance broke, and she was yanked into the blackness, her body gruesomely torn apart while she screamed in frustrated anger.

"Shit..." Nix muttered a curse when he was plucked off the wall and pulled in.