White Hope

“There is only one way,” Yuui whispers, her voice trembling with the weight of what she is about to do. Her fingers tighten around her sword, but she knows steel alone isn’t enough to defeat Winter.

She watches too many of her comrades fall—too many lives lost, fueling the unholy storm that rages around them.

Winter stands at the center of the carnage, his cold eyes indifferent as the blood of the fallen continues to swirl into the sky, forming that monstrous cloud that rains death upon them.

His power, drawn from death itself, feels limitless. But Yuui knows now—it isn’t just blood that he controls. He is tapping into the very essence of life, bending the life force of the fallen to his will.

Yuui feels a flicker of resolve, a glimmer of something she hasn’t allowed herself to feel in hours—hope.

“If Winter can control blood,” she thinks, “then I can control the life force. The energy itself.”

Her pulse quickens. She has seen it before—the energy ules, the raw essence that exists within every living thing, connecting them to the magic of the world. Winter uses blood as a conduit for that power, turning life into death.

But if she can reverse it, take the ules—the life energy—from the fallen and turn it into something pure—perhaps she can create a force powerful enough to stand against Winter’s blood magic.

It is a dangerous idea, bordering on madness. But there is no other choice.

Closing her eyes, Yuui takes a deep breath and focuses. She feels the energy in the air, the remnants of life clinging to the bodies of her fallen comrades, their souls not yet fully gone. It pulses weakly, like faint embers waiting to be stoked into a flame. Winter is too focused on his blood cloud to notice what she is doing, but she has little time.

Her hand hovers above the body of a fallen friend, and she reaches out with her mind, feeling the ebb and flow of ules around her. She senses it—the raw, untapped energy of life, lingering in the remains of the dead and the dying. For a brief moment, her heart falters at the thought of using their essence, but she knows it is the only way.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers softly, as she wills the energy forward.

The air around her hums as the ules flow into her, filling her body with a strange, vibrating power. It is unlike anything she has ever felt before—pure, radiant life force, undiluted by pain or death. The energy swirls around her, and she gathers it with her will, shaping it into something tangible.

Just as Winter creates his blood cloud, Yuui forms a cloud of pure, shimmering energy above her. It glows with a soft, radiant light, like the very essence of life, the opposite of Winter’s dark storm. The energy pulses in time with her heartbeat, growing stronger as she pulls more ules from the surrounding dead and injured, weaving their life force together.

Her knees buckle under the sheer power of it, but she holds on, refusing to let go. She feels Winter’s attention shift toward her, his gaze cold and calculating as he senses the shift in the air.

Yuui opens her eyes, meeting his icy stare.
“This ends now,” she says, her voice steady. The energy cloud above her pulses, responding to her will.

For the first time, Winter falters, his expression darkening with the faintest trace of uncertainty.

With a shout, Yuui thrusts her hand forward, sending a beam of pure energy hurtling toward Winter. The air around her crackles with power as the radiant light surges from her, a concentrated attack born from the life force of her fallen comrades.

Her body trembles with the effort, but she pushes forward, determination etched in every fiber of her being.

Winter’s eyes narrow. He senses the raw, dangerous force coming his way. With a swift motion, he raises his hand, his voice cold and commanding.
“Blood Stream,” Winter intones.

The blood cloud hanging above him shudders in response to his command, and drops of crimson begin to coalesce, forming into a thick, flowing stream. It slithers through the air, dark and menacing, racing toward Yuui’s energy beam with deadly precision.

Winter directs the stream with a flick of his wrist, its crimson tendrils stretching toward her attack like the fangs of a predator.

For a moment, it seems as if the two forces might cancel each other out, but as soon as the first blood drops make contact with Yuui’s beam, they evaporate instantly.

The heat and purity of her energy disintegrate the blood upon impact, turning each droplet into a wisp of steam before it can even reach her.

Winter’s eyes widen in disbelief as the blood stream is vaporized bit by bit, unable to withstand the sheer force of Yuui’s attack.

The energy beam doesn’t slow, doesn’t waver—it continues forward, absorbing the blood and growing even more potent as it powers through Winter’s defense.

The collision is brief and brutal. Winter realizes too late that his counterattack is failing. His calm demeanor slips for a fraction of a second as he tries to shift his position, attempting to avoid the full brunt of Yuui’s strike.

But the beam moves too quickly, and in an instant, it tears through the space where Winter stands, catching him just as he tries to escape.

A sharp, searing pain shoots through Winter’s side, and he staggers backward, clutching the wound.