Seeing any man command beasts with only his word is a terrifying sight to behold. The moment Ifrit gave his order, both of the dragons stood up and charged right at me and my comrades. I might have gotten rid of my negative emotions, but seeing them approaching still terrified me. Hastily, I prepared my sword and eagerly awaited which of the two would deal the first blow. To my surprise, it was neither of the dragons. Before we could even clash, the ground started violently shaking, knocking all of us on the ground, with only one exception - Chester. He stood there, eyes closed, teeth clenched, and slowly lifted his hands to the sky. Mimicking their movements, countless massive black vines sprouted up from the ground around us. They grew taller and taller, getting higher than even some of the ruined buildings. And once they reached a certain height, they began twisting and turning towards the centre, closing up and trapping us all in a massive dark dome. It didn't take long and even more plants started growing from beneath our feet. They weaved together several thick walls and obstacles until the whole place looked like a giant maze. I couldn't even see the dragons anymore. Everything got buried in that massive dark jungle.

"How... Just how?!" I couldn't bring myself to form a better question.

"Well, while you guys were having your little chat, I let a few of my plants climb down into the ground. Nobody even noticed it. Then they spread across the whole area and grew, letting me create this trap of Darkness for the dragons." I admired Chester's magical powers. It was impressive, but most likely not very easy to control. He was breathing heavily as if he had just been exercising for at least an hour.

"Wait! Darkness trap? That's what this is for?!" The true purpose of this magic and Chester's plan suddenly clicked in my head. I didn't know why something like this didn't cross my mind sooner.

"Yeah. We'll trap the dragons in total darkness. Let the Darkness creatures tear them to pieces. And if they survive that, White will jump in to deal the finishing blow." It was admirable. So simple, yet so clever at the same time.

"But you need to be elsewhere. Protect the dome from the outside! We'll handle the enemy within!" Before I could say anything, a black tendril wrapped around my waist and tossed me at one of the dark walls of the dome. Just as I was about to hit it, it opened up, letting me fly straight through and onto the hard pavement outside. It was an uncomfortable landing, but one I could certainly shake off.

"Smart tactics. Shame they won't work. Fulgur can control the Burned, you know? Watch, the Divine Mark over there will soon blast that whole flower garden to bits. But I applaud your friend's efforts," Ifrit mocked me as soon as I got out.

I quickly sprung back up on my feet and turned around. Indeed, one of the biggest Burned in the area was heading right towards the dome, ready to destroy it. Swiftly, my mind looked for answers.

"Run! Get away!!!" I shouted at the dome, but it was unlikely that anyone inside would hear me.

"Ah, how disappointing. I was expecting you to do something cool like Vincent did. But I suppose that creative thinking has already left your mind. This is quite the irony, considering that your brain is responsible for the creation of everything you see here."

While Ifrit was talking, an idea went through my mind. For a second, I wondered if it would even work, but as soon as those doubts appeared, I erased them from my consciousness. I couldn't afford to doubt myself. Each time I did, my powers didn't work. Sometimes you just have to go with the first plan and hope for the best.

With a single movement, I turned around and tossed my sword at Ifrit. Judging by his widened eyes, such a move surprised him. But I was never betting on something so simple to kill him. No, that would be too perfect to happen. And sure enough, just as I expected, he deflected the sword with a small wave of fire, conjured up by waving his hand. It looked like a flashy way of swatting a fly. I saw the weapon fly into the sky. Ifrit started saying something again, most likely making fun of me, but I didn't have time to listen. My legs were running as fast as they could, heading for the closest building that could be used as a hiding place. Ifrit didn't even bother to try and stop me. He was so sure of himself that he didn't launch a single counterattack. That was my only luck. I knew far too well that if everything would work out, he would not grant me such an opportunity again. As soon as I ran into the building, I hid behind one of the walls, crouched, and covered my head. In my mind, I kept repeating a simple mantra: "It will break! It will break! It will break!" What followed a few seconds later was an explosion.

Divine creativity was an incredible power. In its full potential, it could allow me to reshape this world with a few waves of my arms. But I wasn't skilled enough to do that. Ifrit was right, I hadn't mastered the power quite yet. But I could still influence the small things in this world. For example, how my thrown and deflected sword would hit the ground. It could've fallen on its side, tip, or even the hilt. But that was all wrong. I focused all my thoughts on making it fall precisely onto its pommel. Pommel, which was originally missing from the weapon, and which I replaced with the powerful ice gem.

As the weapon hit the ground, the crystal shattered. At that moment, all of its magical power exploded out of the small container and flew in every direction. The unbearable heat of the place was quickly replaced with a bone-chilling cold, which eventually balanced out the climate and created slightly breezy weather, similar to that of an autumn night. When the sounds stopped and I finally gathered enough courage, I looked out of the window. The whole place was covered in ice. It was nothing like the time when I summoned the power in the store and used it against Fulgur. This was far more powerful. The ice shards created a bowl-like shape around the area, cutting us off from the rest of the city. Iceberg-sized shards were piercing the buildings, causing some to even collapse nearby. As I walked out of my hiding place, I nearly slipped on the thick layer of ice covering the street. Those Burned that previously headed towards the black dome were now either frozen solid or completely shattered on the ground. The sudden change in temperature didn't suit them. Most of them needed heat to survive, and when I took it away, it was their end. But my battle had barely begun. Ifrit managed to protect himself with his fire magic, but he still took at least some damage from the blast. Small chunks of frost were clinging to his trembling right arm.

"Now that, I did not expect, Edward. Finally, you made a smart move. Congratulations, you've earned my full attention."

Inside the dome, Chester and White had their own fair share of trouble. Fortunately, I managed to stop or at least slow down the threat of the Burned interfering from the outside. But that still didn't mean the fight against the dragons would be easy. The moment the dome closed on them, they both realized the danger they were in. Fulgur immediately tried burning the vines away with his flame breath. Under normal circumstances, this would've been very effective, but since their last encounter, Chester came up with a countermeasure. When the fire was about to hit the wall of the dome, several other vines sprouted from it, blocking the heat. And once they were set on fire and burning away, he simply used a spiked sharp tendril to cut them off and summoned new ones in their place. That way, he prevented the flames from spreading through the whole dome. Like this, Fulgur tried to burn his way out several times before finally realizing that he'll have to go for a different approach.

Viridi, on the other hand, had a different idea. He knew they had to fight and that Darkness would be their enemy. And so, with a long roar, he conjured up several detached shards of his shield magic, which he scattered all over the place. These were weaker than those he used before, but they shone brighter, keeping the area safe. But of course, Chester wouldn't let a single spell ruin all his plans. As soon as the glowing shards were put in their places, more tendrils started sprouting up, smashing the shields to bits. But even when destroyed, the tiny leftover fragments still floated around, not caring about gravity, and giving off at least a tiny bit of light. For a moment, Viridi felt satisfied with the outcome. It would keep them safe at least from the Darkness.

"Nice job. Now we just have to find the..." Fulgur didn't even get to finish his sentence.

"BEHIND YOU!" Viridi shouted. His brother turned his head around, only to see White's hand touch a bright yellow shield behind his back. If it wasn't for his sibling's magic, he would've been a goner. But this perfect defence was a great opportunity. The dragon prepared his claws and slashed against White, but she moved out of the way far quicker than he anticipated. A moment later, the dragons noticed a brand new problem. The black vines were throwing White around, pulling her away from any danger, and constantly changing her trajectory while she was in the air. Not on that, but they were also swinging her around, allowing her to approach the dragons much faster than on her own. It was like attaching her to the end of a massive whip. Fulgur, irritated by such annoying cooperation of his enemies, fired off several small fire blasts against White. Needless to say, all of them failed to connect. The tendrils were moving her around the place so fast, she was practically impossible to hit. On top of that, she was softly glowing, making her immune to the dangers of Darkness.

"Fucking plant mage. We'll have to kill him first. I'll start chopping my way through the vines, while you keep watching out for..."

"Brother!!" Viridi once again notified him of the coming danger.

Chester knew that his plants could be easily severed by Fulgur's claws, and handling his fire wasn't easy either. So he had to make sure that the dragons were always busy and under constant pressure. While they were occupied with White, other groups of plants slowly collected and hid away all of Viridi's glowing shield shards. The dragon noticed it just as the place was about to go pitch black.

In the meantime, one additional massive vine sprouted outside the dome and tore a large chunk of ice off of a nearby building. Then, it tossed the object into the dome, right at the dragons.

When the lights went out, Viridi panicked. Fulgur, on the other hand, knew he had to protect his sibling. As much as they hated each other, death was not something they would wish upon one another. The long dragon pushed his sibling to the ground and started breathing fire in all directions. Briefly, he could see claws and teeth disappearing back into the dark. The Darkness was here.

It didn't take long and Viridi recovered from his surprise. He pushed his brother's hand off of his back, stood up, and took a deep breath. He wanted to shield them with his barrier and thus create a place where they could at least discuss a strategy for a moment. But before he could use his magic, a bunch of dark plants emerged from the ground, pushing the dragons apart and standing between them like a wall. Viridi managed to shield himself, but couldn't reach Fulgur in time. His brother had to hold on on his own, at least until they could burn away the plants separating them. And in this very moment, while Fulgur was desperately trying to keep exhaling fire, in order to light the place up, the large ice shard found its mark. He didn't even notice it coming. It hit him in the head and pressed his whole body against the ground. The impact briefly forced Fulgur's mouth shut. And in that fleeting moment, Darkness filled his vicinity.