Shinsou watched as Felicity’s arrows bounced harmlessly off of Drexel’s tough, permafrost coated scales, and shook his head at the girl to signify to stop. The howl of the wind and the race of freezing air that rushed towards them, generated only from the heaving lungs of the dragon, made mockery of the temperate surroundings and covered the leaves, dying grass and concrete parapets in a film of glistening white. The Telgradian, shivering slightly, noticed erratically shifting illumination of Drexel’s aura through his spirit sense, the only tangible sign that something else was in play; the dragon’s control of the frigid air was effectively creating a barrier of cold between it and its enemies.

“Projectiles won’t work here, Felicity,” He said as his eyes fixated upon the grounded behemoth, searching for a weakness, “Look closely. Every time it breaths, it huffs out a powerful cloud of icy vapor. That vapor turns frigid and creates a distortion of air around it. Anything we throw or fire at it will simply bend around it, or drop. At least at the front.”

Suddenly, the huge beasts eyes flashed open, and stared right at the Telgradian, as if suddenly aware of the threat. Bloodshot, lifeless and dull, they swiveled around as a clawed foot dug into the earth, scuffed ivory talons digging into the barren soil. It sought to entrench itself, and Shinsou knew exactly why. The dragon’s mouth, filled with thousands of razor sharp teeth, gaped open grimly. An icy, frozen light maintained itself for a moment of stony silence.

Shit.

Shinsou somehow regained control over his body and thought quickly, moving his hands in a frenzied dance and his lips in a series of incantations. The magic he wove leaked in erratic waves and pulses from his beleaguered mind to his hands, finishing with his palms outstretched as if he were pushing against a wall.

There was a gargantuan cyan flash from Drexel’s maw as a powerful torrent of ice ripped up the earth in front of the dragon and tore towards the pair. As the beam smashed against the translucent surface of Shinsou’s Severing Void, it was difficult to distinguish between which of the two magics had prevailed; merging as they did into a meaningless, senseless blender of light and noise. It was only when the harsh, subzero deluge dissipated that anyone could differentiate between the two. Shinsou stood, albeit breathless, in front of a shattered magic barrier; one that crumbled into dust as its arcane structure failed. The Telgradian felt a flare of pain; cramped legs complaining at the abusive force of Drexel’s vicious attack.

The young man clung to the pain as a drowning man clutched at driftwood. That pain meant he was still alive.

“We have to get through that barrier. We have to get it to stop breathing…or melt that ice.”

Gingerly Shinsou shifted his weight, feeling the inherent chill biting at his ears and attempting to seep through his clothing. He looked at Felicity, who looked back at him forlornly.

“That power of yours, that heat you generate. We need it, kid. My dark matter won’t penetrate that cold, and my sword and arm will freeze in it long before it reaches those scales.”