“This Shadow Demon stories praise,
To defeat him is no simple thing.
The Pestilence and I bested him once,
Long before I became the King.”
- The Poet, A Ghost in the Frost: Diaries of the Lost
By the time they arrived the Prince had already broken through the ice. However, the Shadow Demon was still yet to emerge. It seemed as though more than just the thick ice was keeping his body from escaping. Perhaps some sort of sturdy chain or magical seal was also a part of the imprisonment that bound him to the bottom of the pond. The way the Prince was staring blankly into the water seemed to indicate such was the case. The Shadow Demon was searching for away to break himself loose. The Ranger, Martyr, and Witch meanwhile came to an agreement that they couldn’t allow him to succeed, no matter the cost. If they had to forfeit their lives then so be it. They’d do what they had to in order to stop countless others from losing theirs. And so with that thought in mind they approached the Prince, ready for the fate that awaited them.
What happened next was a blur of madness and chaos. Some of it was anticipated, some not so much. It began with the predictable move of the Shadow Demon using the Prince to fight the others off, but before they even had him subdued the demon changed his tactics, transferring his possessive spirit into the Martyr. The Prince’s body fell lifeless yet again, and now the Witch and the Ranger had to work together to restrain the Martyr. But then he jumped again. Now inside the body of the Witch, the Ranger and bruised Martyr had to try to hold her down. But of course, he leapt into the Ranger at this point. And then back into the Prince after that and so forth. It was a desperate act by the Shadow Demon to be sure, but then again he was in a desperate situation and it’s not like it wasn’t working. They were all becoming tired and exhausted, not to mention beaten and bruised. Having all come to the same dire conclusion, they resorted to the Witch’s plan.
During her time in the Frozen Abyss the Witch had only managed to find one Purple Ice Lotus, but that was still enough to make one paralysis potion. Known for its numbing and paralyzing properties the Purple Ice Lotus was said to make the strongest paralysis potion around, lasting a full twenty four hours. And so the Witch had used her training in alchemy to concoct such a potion with the sole flower she had found. Now this last resort plan of hers was simple. All they had to do was each take a sip of the potion and jump into the icy labyrinth before them. Yes, it would cost them their lives, but such was inevitable as it was. They had already lost their food and lodging, not to mention the Shadow Demon was pretty much having his way with them. And besides, at least this way they could stop the demon, if their assertions were correct. The first of these being that he had no other operable bodies to jump into. The second assumption was that by the time the potion wore off, the pond would have completely frozen over. So if he were then to control their drowned bodies they would be too weak to break through the ice from below, if even be able to swim up to it at all.
And so fairly confident with those assertions they went ahead with the plan, each taking a sip of the potion and passing it on to the next in line who wasn’t currently possessed by the demon. Knowing it would fully take effect in only a matter of seconds, they quickly poured the rest of it down the Prince’s mouth, grabbed hands, and jumped into their icy tomb, joining the tormented prisoner at the bottom.
The Shadow Demon was a bit perplexed by their actions but he could tell what they were trying to do. Now to be fair, if he had his full power such a tactic would have never worked. But as it was he could only use his possessive spirit to act as his host’s heart and use his corruptive powers to manipulate their brain. He could not control their body parts any better than they could. Thus paralysis and broken bones for example were impossible for him to overcome. Where, if he had his full strength, they would not have been a problem. But seeing as for now they were, he withdrew his possession spirit from their bodies and sent it forth into the snowy tundra above, hoping to find a functional body before the ice froze back up and sealed him off from the world above once more. However, even he knew his chances of finding a new host were slim. After all, he had lived in the Frozen Abyss longer than anyone else. He knew just how unkind it was to misfortune such as his. Although to be fair, it was just as unkind to fortune. Such is what made it such a desolate place, a place he couldn’t say he wasn’t deserving of. After all, a fiery soul is destined to feel cold. And right now, he felt more than a little cold…
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