Moon hime

Chapter 6

Sandra's POV

"Water snake!" I commanded, and my water serpent lunged at the dragon, coiling around it.

I noticed that the dragon seemed to be out of control, unable to fight back against my water serpent.

But then, suddenly, the dragon stopped. Its scales were covered in frost. Relief washed over me; I almost closed my eyes from the cold and exhaustion. But it was only for a moment. From the dragon's shattered mouth, a creature made entirely of shadow emerged. Its form shimmered and danced like a destructive flame.

Fear struck me, cold and sharp, to the bone. This thing... it was unlike anything I had ever faced. Its eyes, burning with an infernal fire, were fixed on us, and a shiver ran down my spine. I gripped my hands tightly, the icy vines that were part of my power coiling around my arms, a comforting, familiar weight.

"Who... who are you?" Aira stammered, her voice trembling.

The creature let out a chilling laugh, its voice echoing through the cave. "I am the guardian of this volcano, and you have disturbed my slumber. Prepare to face my wrath!"

And with that, it attacked. Shadowy vines reached out, snaking towards us. I reacted instinctively, conjuring a wall of ice to protect us. The vines struck the barrier, shattering into shards of ice.

"Dustine!" I shouted, "Create a barrier! Liander, protect Aira!"

Dustine responded immediately, his hands glowing with an earthy light. A wall of stone erupted from the ground, encasing us in a protective cocoon. Aira, her eyes flickering between an intense darkness and a blinding light, unleashed a torrent of both, disrupting the shadow creature's form and momentarily disorienting it.

Liander saw his chance and summoned a whirlwind of metal shards, deflecting the creature's disoriented attacks.

Enraged, the creature hardened its form. It struck out with a wave of pure shadow, consuming Dustine's earthen barrier. The barrier crumbled, and Dustine stumbled back, coughing.

"Aira!" I shouted, "We need to do something!"

Fear consumed me. Could we really defeat this creature? But then, I remembered the power flowing through me, the power of the water that created the world. I drew on it, calling upon all the icy fury within me. The cave grew bitterly cold, the air thick with the scent of ozone. A massive wave of water, frozen in mid-air, crashed down on the creature, encasing it in an icy prison.

The creature howled, its form contorting in agony. It struggled against the icy bonds, but my grip was absolute. Finally, with a deafening roar, the creature exploded, vanishing into nothingness.

Exhausted but victorious, we stared at the empty space where the creature had once stood. A heavy silence fell over the cave, broken only by our ragged breaths.

Then, we all turned to look at Alira.

I frowned. She hadn't helped us fight at all.

"Alira, where were you?" Dustine asked.

"Inside the cave," she replied, sounding confused. "I was studying the map to find a way out while you were all fighting. And... why are there so many loaves of bread here? Where did you get them?"

"Bread?" we all echoed in unison.

"Yeah, right there," Alira said, pointing at what we had just fought.

We all looked at each other, puzzled.

"Those weren't loaves of bread, Alira," I said slowly. "That was the dragon we just fought."

"Huh?" Alira's expression was one of complete disbelief.

"Yes, and you were here the whole time?" Liander asked, incredulous.

Suddenly, Alira's eyes widened. "Wait a minute... 'loaves of bread'? Did I really say that?"

A shiver ran down my spine. "You did."

Liander's eyes narrowed. "Could it be... an illusion?"

The realization hit me like a wave. The dragon, the shadow creature, the entire fight... it had all felt so real, so intense. But Alira's innocent question, her use of the word "bread" instead of "dragon," had shattered the illusion.

The surroundings began to shimmer and distort. We blinked, and everything looked different.

"What the...?"

And there, bound and covered in blood, was Ice.

"Ice!" we all shouted.

No one's point of view

Te entire royalty felt an intense

eakness upon seeing Ice, their leader, almost lifeless. "Ice!" they cried, but an unseen force pushed them back, away from Ice.

They saw a barrier-like structure surrounding Ice. "Who did this?" Dustin angrily asked. They tried to break the barrier, but not a single crack formed. Ice just looked at them, filled with sadness and disappointment.

Aira was confused, "What kind of look is that, Ice? Where's Sabrina?" Only then did they notice that Sabrina was indeed missing. They started to panic, asking what was happening and begging Ice to speak. But no words came out from their leader.

Suddenly, someone clapped their hands, and they saw Sabrina standing by the wall. "Sabrina!" they all shouted. But Sabrina's face was devoid of emotion. "Who did this?" Dustin asked, but Sabrina still did not answer.

Ali shouted angrily, "Sabrina, what are you doing? We're talking to you! Did you do this to Ice? Are you the reason why he's like this?"

Sabrina answered coldly, "Do you really want to know who did this to Ice?"

"Yes! So answer properly!" Sandra shouted.

Don't tell me you're involved in this!" Aira added.

Sabrina smirked, "If I am involved in this, what will you do?"

"We'll face you, royalty or not!" Dustin shouted. "We won't lose to you, Sabrina!"

"Good that you understand that," said Sabrina. "But before you face me, you should know the truth."

Sabrina spoke again, "Before you started training, I gave you ten minutes to finish the obstacles. But what happened? You were 30 minutes late! And worse, you used your powers even though it was forbidden!"

Everyone was shocked by Sabrina's words. They didn't know what to say. Sabrina continued, "Every time you used your powers to cheat, Ice felt the pain. His wounds, even the barrier around him, it's all because of you."

The royalty began to process what Sabrina had said.

Alira, Aira, and Sandra were almost speechless at what they heard from Sabrina. They realized their mistake and slapped their own hands, feeling ashamed of what they had done.

"Even before the sun rises, this is what you have done. Should you even be called royalty? You cheated yourselves. How can you be trusted by the entire Crystal Academy if you did something like that?" Sabrina said bitterly, shaking her head.

"What should we do to save him?" Leander asked.

Sabrina smirked at Leander's question.

"Are you willing to die now to save Ice?" Sabrina asked Leander in a cold tone. Leander was speechless, not knowing what to say.

"You, Aira, are you willing to give your life for Ice? You and Lira, are you willing to sacrifice your own lives for someone else? You, Dustin, are you brave enough to sacrifice your life? You, Sandra?" Sabrina asked the royalty challengingly.

Almost everyone was speechless.

"Why did it have to come to this?"

Alira said, crying.

"It's because you are weak and cowardly. You're all just full of pride. You think that just because you possess powerful elements, you're already great. It's only the first day of your training, yet you're already disappointing.

"The use of powers was forbidden, yet you, cowards, didn't know what to do. You didn't think about the consequences of cheating during your training. Now, you see the result of your cheating.

"You don't deserve to be called royalty."

Sabrina said in her coldest voice.

The royalty were hurt by Sabrina's words.

They lowered their heads, feeling ashamed of what they had done.

"Do you know the importance of your training arlier?"

Sabrina asked again.

No one spoke because all they could think about was finishing the training.

"Tsk, none of you can answer my question because all of you were focused on finishing your obstacle training. But you don't know its importance. Its importance is to use your intelligence, to observe your surroundings, to feel everything that happens, and most importantly, to use your physical strength. You don't always rely on your powers, and to work together as a group. You won't cooperate if you only use your powers.

The royalty seemed to be quiet and thinking about everything Sabrina said. Sabrina noticed that the royalty seemed to regret what they had said.

Now you know what the consequences of your weakness and cowardice are. If you want to save Ice's life, do your training right.

The royalty seemed to look up at Sabrina, hope in their eyes.

"Is there any hope that we can s

ave Ice?" Alira asked eagerly.

"Yes, if you can finish your test,"

Sabrina said coldly.

"We're ready to do it,"

Dustin said determinedly.

Sabrina looked at them coldly and slowly pointed to a part of the training ground where there were five very small stones lined up.

"You will stand facing those stones, using only one of your feet. If one of you falls, Ice will die.

And you will do this for ten hours."

Sabrina said coldly.

"Remember, you cannot use your powers,"

Sabrina added.

The royalty were nervous because they knew that their next test would not be easy, especially since the life of their leader depended on it.

Without hesitation, the royalty accepted Sabrina's challenge. Despite their fear, they proceeded.

Almost five hours had passed, and their bodies were trembling from exhaustion. They had been balancing for five hours, and Sabrina had left them without a word. They had no idea where she had gone.

One hour later, the door to the training ground suddenly opened, and Sabrina entered carrying a lot of food.

The royalty felt their stomachs growl, especially since the food Sabrina brought was all their favorites.

Sabrina sat in front of the struggling royalty, almost teasing them. She spread out all the food and began to eat, enjoying their envious stares.

The royalty swallowed hard, their stomachs rumbling with hunger. They couldn't help but avert their gaze.

"This is torture," Alira groaned.

They hadn't had a proper meal since morning and were exhausted.

Suddenly, Sabrina stood up and left, leaving all the food behind.

The royalty were all thinking the same thing - they wanted to stop balancing and eat the food Sabrina had left.

They were tempted to cheat, but then they looked at Ice, who was weak and fading. They remembered that if they fell or gave up, Ice would die.

So they all averted their gaze, determined to continue.

Hours passed, and they didn't even realize that ten hours had already gone by. They could have stopped balancing but they continued to struggle, their bodies numb from the exertion.

Suddenly, Sabrina reappeared, grinning at them.