CHAPTER XCVI:Song of Ice and Fire

Khione drew closer, the dagger in her hand glinting in the very little light. She practically slid across the ice, and I laid there stunned. She got close enough that I could see the strikes of bold white color in her ice blue eyes. Her hand moved and I felt a cold pressure against my chest. Was this it? Was this all I was destined for? Dying to a piece of ice?

My thoughts were cut short when a arrow broke through the ice above, placing itself in Khiones shoulder. A burst a of silver light exploded forth, sending Khione back. It broke the spell on me, and I looked up to see Luna trying to break through the ice that kept refreezing. I stood up and drew my dagger, ready for a fight.

"When I'm done here, I'm coming for you Daughter of Artemis," Khione said standing up.

Khione's dress was tattered and burned at her left shoulder, ash dropped from the white fabric and fell like snow from the burned edges. She ripped the arrow out, white ichor and snow spurting from the wound, and ice started rising from the ground. Large ice walls formed blocking me in from all sides. I lost track of my friends, I prayed they were safe.

"I'm a goddess! Puny mortals like you are beneath me!" Khione shouted, her voice bouncing off the walls and scraping against my ears.

A wall opened in front of me showing a labyrinth of ice, I peaked into the never ending hallways and saw an ice cell next to me. The light blue wall descended into the snowy white ground, white hell is more comparable though, and Seth stepped through. He still looked dazed, and was trying to grasp his surroundings. His sword was drawn and he held his mini crossbow, arrow at the ready, meaning he was ready for any fight.

"How are you feeling?" I asked running to him.

"Ready to send an unknown goddess to her grave," Seth answered, white knuckling his sword. "You?"

I drew my sword to pair with my dagger, quickly brandishing the blade as I did. "Ready to lock this bitch in Tartarus."

Seth smiled and started running, "Try and keep up!"

I ran after him, quickly gaining. We turned right, and bumped into the last thing I thought we would (Or rather could in this icy hell). Standing infront of us was a seven foot bull-man, The Minotaur. Not the real one, but an ice replica that looked as terrible as I remember him. He turned towards us, and seemed to recognize me. Neither of those two things spelled out the words 'GREAT!' or 'PERFECT!' in my head. Within a moment the Ice Minotaur aimed his horns at us and scraped his hooves on the ground, soon charging. Seth pressed himself against the wall, and I dived into the snow in the previous hallway.

I heard a loud crash, that sounded glasslike, and yelled, "RUN!"

Seth and I joined eachother once more, and ran faster. I had pure adrenaline running through my veins, keeping my feet moving. I turned a corner and slipped on ice crashing into a wall, I stumbled trying to get moving and Seth yanked me to my feet. We ran once more and met a deep chasm, with ice spikes to match, with an impossible jump.

"Nowhere to go, what will you two do?" Khione yelled through the Labyrinth.

"Only one thing do to," I smiled at Seth.

Seth smiled and we both hit our hand on the ground, a single circle formed and Theseus rose from the ground. He knelt as he rose, sword placed in front of him. Theseus rose and looked ahead, the Minotaur was drawing closer.

"Send me back," Theseus said, his tone even and calm.

"Help us now, and I promise I will hunt down your sword!" Seth shouted.

Thesseus sighed, and took a look at his sword. "Deal."

The Minotaur turned the corner, and immediately saw Thesseus. His eyes glowed red, and Thesseus stood his ground. The Minotaur seemed to grumble out something, almost like he was calling out 'Thesseus'. The Minotaur scraped his hooves against the ground, I could practically see the steam blowing through his nose.

"Hello old friend! It's been many a millennia since we last met! How about a rematch?" Theseus boasted, twirling his blade from hand to hand.

The Minotaur and Theseus charged towards eachother. The Minotaur, ready to impale Theseus, was dragged off course by Theseus grabbing one of his horns. The Minotaur crashed through the wall and Theseus followed after him. In the same instant Theseus was thrown back through the hole into another wall. The Minotaur roared and ran back towards Theseus, who rolled out of the way, and charged into the wall. His horns got stuck as Theseus brushed his armor off.

"Fucking bull in a China shop," Theseus grunted out. "See you in The Underworld," Theseus plunged his sword into The Minotaurs skull.

The Minotaur roared and kicked before going limp and melting into a puddle on the floor. Theseus knelt and descended into the ground, his duty complete. Khione turned the corner of the Labyrinth, smiling and giving a glare colder than the ice surrounding us.

The puddle froze at Khione's feet as she stepped forward, "Congratulations, you have completed your first challenge."

The walls melted away as Khione vanished, Seth and I were still boxed in by four walls. Another figure rose from the snow, rising in the form of ice was a cyclops. It was a cyclops I knew rather well from sketches and stories, Polyphemus. Seth aimed his crossbow and I readied my weapons. The beast towered over us, only about two meters from the ceiling.

"Seth?" I called.

"Yeah?" Seth asked, Polyphemus drawing close.

I smiled as I ran forward, "Poke his fucking eye out!"

Crossbow bolts flew over me, as Polyphemus slammed his club on the ground. I shadow hopped away near a wall, and watched as a crossbow bolt flew into Polyphemus' eyes and he blindly swung. I threw my dagger into a wall and Polyphemus turned towards it and bashed his club into the wall.

"Where are you!" Polyphemus roared.

"Right here!" Seth shouted firing crossbow bolts into opposite walls, a rope between them.

Polyphemus stumbled forward towards Seth, I watched as the rope was pulled. The bolts dug into the walls, and Polyphemus tripped. I ran forward to Polyphemus and opened a portal under him dragging half of his body through, I shut it and chopped the snow Polyphemus in half. The rest of the snow melted away and I ran towards Seth. All the walls dropped and we were back with our companions. Khione stood at the end of the room, her dress changed for a blue tank top and white cargo pants.

"Welcome to your final challenge! Me!" Khione announced to the temple.