Chapter 78 – Thorns Against the Tides

The open space was tense, the only sound being the rustling of petals and the low murmurs of Thyra’s gardeners standing silently in the corners, their presence foreboding. Without a word, Selena and Thyra charged at each other, the clash of their weapons sparking a flurry of light and falling petals.

Thyra’s movements were almost hypnotic—elegant, fluid, and precise. She wielded her fan like an extension of herself, opening and closing it with deliberate grace as though she were performing a deadly dance. Each swipe was calculated, arcs of red rose petals trailing through the air as if slicing through the very fabric of the wind. Selena, in contrast, spun her spear defensively, its longer reach providing her an advantage. She struck forward with calculated thrusts, keeping Thyra on her toes and aiming to break through her relentless assault.

Thyra, however, was no ordinary opponent. Her strikes came with an unpredictability that kept Selena guessing. With a sudden spin, Thyra glided inside the spear’s arc, the fan’s edge slashing through the air. Selena barely managed to twist away, the fan narrowly missing her neck but grazing her shoulder instead, leaving a sharp, stinging gash.

“Impressive,” Thyra remarked, her voice calm, almost amused, as if she were toying with Selena. “But elegance and strength combined… that’s what separates us. You’ll find that skill alone isn’t enough to defeat me.”

Selena didn’t respond, her jaw set with determination. She lunged forward, her spear a blur as it sought to pierce Thyra’s defenses. But the Azurian princess sidestepped effortlessly, her fan snapping closed in her hand. With a sudden, powerful motion, she struck the spear mid-shaft, disarming Selena with such force that the weapon flew out of her hands and embedded itself in the ground several paces behind her.

Before Selena could recover, Thyra spun on her heel, summoning a second fan identical to the first. Armed with both fans now, her movements became impossibly fast, each step and leap like a choreographed piece of art. She spun, leapt, and struck with devastating speed, her fans slicing through the air in blurring arcs. Selena had no choice but to retreat, flipping and dodging with all the agility she could muster, struggling to keep up with the overwhelming onslaught.

Her breath came in shallow gasps, her body marked with cuts and gashes from Thyra’s relentless assault. She kept glancing toward her spear, calculating the distance to retrieve it. But Thyra, as though reading her intentions, kept up the pressure, forcing Selena to stay on the move.

The fight reached a crescendo, Thyra’s fans slicing dangerously close, the sound of air splitting around them. Selena saw her chance. In one desperate motion, she stepped inside Thyra’s guard, catching the princess’s wrists mid-swing, halting the fans.

For a brief moment, their eyes locked. Thyra smiled, an expression of both approval and malice. “I was wondering when you’d try that,” she said softly.

Before Selena could react, a massive vine burst from the ground, its gnarled tendrils twisting with unnatural speed. It slammed into Selena’s side with the force of a charging beast, sending her flying across the clearing. She hit the ground hard, tumbling several feet before coming to a stop. Pain shot through her body as she struggled to breathe, her vision blurring momentarily.

Through the haze, she saw one of Thyra’s gardeners standing where the vine had emerged. But as Selena’s eyes focused, she rembered the truth—the gardener’s form was distorting, its body unraveling into writhing plant matter. The humanoid shape morphed away entirely, replaced by a hulking mass of twisted, living vines.

Selena coughed, pushing herself up on trembling arms. She looked toward Thyra, who stood unbothered, her fans now folded and resting lightly in her hands. “Is that all, princess?” Thyra said, her voice echoing coldly.

Selena wiped blood from the corner of her mouth, glaring at the Azurian princess. “I held back,” she said, her voice steady despite the pain. “I didn’t want to use my blood magic. But since you’ve chosen to use yours, let me show you what I’m capable of.”

Thyra tilted her head, intrigued but unimpressed. “Oh? By all means, show me what you think will make a difference.”

Selena rose to her feet, her body trembling but resolute. She closed her eyes, her arms drawing inward, mimicking the motion of holding her spear. A strange wind began to stir around her, faint at first but quickly growing stronger. Water from the surrounding plants—dew from petals, moisture in the air—began to gather around her, swirling into a sphere within her cupped palms. The energy coalesced, glowing faintly, as the water seemed to take on a life of its own.

Thyra raised an eyebrow, her expression finally shifting to one of mild curiosity. “That’s an interesting,” she said, spinning her fans idly.

She spun her fans outward, their motion commanding the gardeners in the corners to transform. Their humanoid forms dissolved, replaced by monstrous vines, each one writhing and slithering toward Selena with violent intent.

Selena tightened her grip on the sphere of water, the air around her shimmering faintly as an invisible force radiated from the energy she held.

Selena’s fingers tightened around the spinning sphere of water, its energy radiating outward in a pulsating hum. The water orb transformed, elongating into an invisible circular blade that rotated at blinding speed around her. The sound of its motion was sharp, a slicing hiss that cut through the air like an unrelenting saw.

The first vine lunged, thick and gnarled, aiming directly for her chest. It barely grazed the perimeter of the spinning barrier before being sliced cleanly in two. The severed sections fell to the ground with a lifeless thud, their vibrant green already fading to a brittle gray.

More vines came at her, faster and more aggressive, whipping from all directions. Some lashed out like whips, while others curled and surged forward like striking serpents. Each one met the same fate. The high-speed water blade tore through them effortlessly, leaving shards and fragments of plant matter littered around Selena.

The vines didn’t relent. They multiplied, swarming toward her in a chaotic frenzy. Selena stood firm, her eyes locked on Thyra across the clearing. The relentless onslaught collided with her spinning barrier, the sound of shredding vines mixing with the eerie hum of her magic. In moments, the last vine was reduced to lifeless shreds, the field around her clear once more.

Selena continued walking slowly with the water sphere on her hand and mockingly replied “Is that all, princess?” she said coldly, her gaze piercing Thyra.

Princess Thyra’s voice rang out with chilling clarity, each word deliberate, commanding, and filled with quiet menace. “You’ve shown me your water, and you’ve destroyed my gardners. It’s only fair,” she said, her lips curling into a sinister smile, “that I respond in kindness by revealing my power.”

Selena watched as Thyra threw her fans one after another that sailed through the air, each like deadly projectiles. Her water sphere spun faster, obliterating the fans into splintered fragments before they could reach her. The remnants fell to the ground with dull thuds, leaving the battlefield eerily silent. Selena’s gaze flicked from the shredded fans back to Thyra, her grip on her spear tightening.

The silence was shattered as the earth beneath Thyra began to quake, trembling with a life of its own. The soil cracked open, and thick, serpentine vines erupted violently, coiling and twisting in a chaotic frenzy. They encased Thyra in an organic cocoon, forming an impenetrable barrier of thorns and vibrant greenery. Selena unsure of what lay within.

The cocoon pulsed once—a deep, resonant beat that sent a ripple through the air. Then, with agonizing slowness, the vines began to unravel like a door.

When Princess Thyra emerged, Selena froze, her breath catching in her throat. Thyra had transformed into something terrifying, a perfect blend of elegance and menace.

Standing at an imposing 12 feet, she no longer looked entirely human. Her flowing gown had become an intricate armor crafted from rose petals and verdant vines. The armor gleamed as though kissed by moonlight, the blue roses blooming along her shoulders and cascading down her back in a breathtaking display.

Thyra’s arms were sheathed in living vines, the thorns along them glinting like polished steel. Her hands were adorned with delicate, petal-like gloves, but each finger ended in a dagger-like thorn that glimmered with a lethal sharpness. Her movements were fluid, almost hypnotic, as if she were a predator toying with its prey.

Her hair, once neat and regal, now flowed wildly down her back, threaded with roses that swayed with an unsettling grace, as if moved by an unseen wind. Her eyes, though still the same deep shade, now held a piercing intensity, a predatory glint that sent chills down Selena’s spine.

Selena swallowed hard, gripping her sphear so tightly her knuckles turned white. She forced herself to hold her ground despite the primal fear creeping up her spine. This was beyond her training, beyond the enemies she had faced before. Yet, as the Princess of Atlantis, retreat was not an option.

Thyra tilted her head slightly, her expression cold and unyielding. “You look stunned, princess,” she said softly, while looking at her arm held up. “I never took this form and this is first time I am seeing it myself like you.”

Selena stood her ground despite the fear clawing at her and thought to herself ‘As long as I hold this sphear, nothing can touch me.’

Thyra’s lips curled into a faint smile, her thorn-tipped fingers flexing. “Shall we continue, princess?”

The air grew colder still, heavy with an almost suffocating weight. Selena tightened her grip on her sphere, her muscles tensed as she braced for what was to come. The ground beneath her feet trembled violently, cracks spidering out as Princess Thyra’s power reached its peak. Vines burst forth from every direction, creating a massive, writhing swarm that seemed alive with malice as princess raised her hands gracefully.

The vines responded to her command, twisting and surging upward until they formed a towering wave of greens, their thorns glinting like blades under an unseen light. She rose into the air, standing admist of tightly coiled vines as they lifted her above the ground, her azure gown flowing like liquid silk.

From her elevated position, Thyra gazed down at Selena, her voice ringing out with quiet authority. “Your little sphere may shield you, but let’s see how long you can hold your ground, Atlantean princess.”

Selena clenched her teeth, sweat dripping from her brow as she poured every ounce of focus into maintaining her spinning water sphere. The invisible blade of water whirred with relentless speed, carving through any vine that dared to approach. But Thyra’s swarm was vast, an unrelenting tide poised to swallow Selena whole.

The clash was inevitable, the tension unbearable, when suddenly, a massive vertical slash wave tore through the battlefield. The wave, shimmering with raw energy, surged between the two women, slicing through ground and continuing its path through the grass maze. The sheer force of it sent shockwaves rippling through the ground, shaking the earth beneath their feet.

Selena staggered, her concentration broken as the water sphere dissipated into a fine mist. Thyra froze mid-air, her vines retreating slightly as her sharp eyes tracked the path of destruction. The wave had missed the exact center of the maze, carving a path slightly off to the side before continuing its trajectory by cutting into the mountain beyond. Thyra exhaled softly, a fleeting moment of relief crossing her face.

Both women turned toward the origin of the slash wave, their gazes locking onto the figure walking in the far end. Then suddnely an another figure dropped out from the sky.

Selena’s heart skipped a beat as she recognized Makara, landing heavily beside her. He was visibly drained, his chest rising and falling with labored breaths, his weapon clutched tightly in his hand. Dirt and blood stained in his dress, but his resolve was unshaken.

Before either could speak, their attention was drawn to a second figure in the distance. A tall, slender silhouette emerged from the haze of destruction. A dark blue cloak billowed behind him, stretching impossibly long, as though it were a shadow given form. The figure dragged a massive, glowing sword across the ground, its blade pulsing with ominous energy.

Selena’s throat tightened as she turned to Makara, her voice low and uncertain. “Who… who is that?”Makara’s expression darkened, and he barely managed to whisper, “It’s Shawn. He is… consumed by his power.”