New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

Although, in their case, elusive would be the best term to use. Even with her elevated stats, Phoenix couldn't land as many clean hits as she wanted.

She had foregone melee after two minutes, having tested her new capabilities enough. But even while kitting them as a mage, the players seemed to always be a step ahead of her.

It was easy to tell they had a lot of combat experience, be it in a game or out of it. But this annoyed Phoenix.

She wasn't sure how exhausted the status effect would make her once it hit, and how much more combat she could put up then. And even though Violette was a great mage, she doubted she could handle thirty melee players on her own.

She needed to confirm something with her.

'Violette. Can you access Aether?' Phoenix asked through a private message.

Violette kept pushing back players as she responded.

'Astaroth taught me how to sense it. But I don't know how to make or use it yet. Why?'

'When this transformation ends, I fear I won't be of much use. Now would be a good time for you to learn how to tap into that power.'

'I don't think I can do it under the circumstances here…'

Phoenix looked at her timer. Only thirty seconds remained.

'You will have to. I'll try to guide you.'

'But I can't use fire, like you. How will you guide me?'

'I'll explain my thought process to you. Start focusing. I'll handle the enemies while you do.'

Violette nodded her head, jumping back and closing her eyes. Phoenix became more aggressive, taking the few players on Violette's back and launching them away with gouts of flame.

'Good. Now, the way I use mana to form Aether is simple, but I don't know if it'll work for water. I use compression. By pressing the fire together stronger and tighter, it burns hotter until it purifies itself, becoming fire Aether.'

Phoenix sensed Violette trying to do the same, but the water mana compressed and compressed, until it turned into vapour and vanished. It was easy to understand that a process for one element didn't mean it would work for another.

But they had to make this work. Only Twenty seconds remained.

'Violette focus. What does the element feel like, to you, when you use it?'

'I don't know how to explain it. It's like trying to make waves in a pool. I'm not really ordering it around, only guiding it. It's like water mana has a life of its own.'

Phoenix thought about this hard, trying to make sense of it, and use it to make Aether. But her time was running out.

Ten seconds remained.

'Then try to guide as many water particles as you can, try binding them together, but unforcefully.'

Violette's closed eyes pinched closed tighter. It was easy to guess she was focusing extremely hard.

Phoenix could feel the mana accumulating around the girl at an extremely rapid pace, but no water was being created.

'I don't think this is going to work… We'll need to find another,' she thought.

Five seconds.

Phoenix pumped out as much fire as she could, trying to push away the enemies, so she would have time to get Violette and retreat inside the palace. If they were lucky, it would be easier to defend against them in cramped corridors.

As her Royal Protection skill ended, a wave of fatigue hit her, making her drop to her knees.

'This is bad,' she thought, as her arms dangled to her side.

She could barely move a muscle, and even breathing had become arduous. Looking at her status, she saw the timer on the effect.

*Exhausted / 4:59*

The assailants that had been swarming her suddenly stopped. The smirks on their faces spoke lengths about their mocking.

She was propped there, on her knees, completely defenceless, while in the back, Violette was almost backed up against the iced-up doors, her eyes shut tight.

They must have thought she was simply too terrified to act anymore, and they mentally decided they had won this fight.

Only twenty of them remained.

But in the next moment, Phoenix felt a surge in energy behind her, reminisce to Aether. She could barely turn her head to see what was happening, but the shocked faces of the enemy were quite telling.

But the next moment, they started laughing loudly.

"Hahaha! Look at her, she tried doing something, and now she lost control of her magic!"

"I think she might just kill herself like this! Ahahaha! Nante chīsana bakananda!"

What they were seeing right now was the terrified Violette, her eyes wide open, as her body was rapidly changing into water and dropping to the ground. She wasn't sure where she had gone wrong, but it was unmistakable that she no longer controlled the magic.

"Phoenix, I think I messed up!"

Phoenix, hearing the panic in her eyes, forced herself to fall on her back, getting in a position where she could look at Violette. The panic in the little girl's eyes was clear as day, but Phoenix only smiled widely.

Violette couldn't understand the woman's smile as the last part of her finally turned to liquid and dripped to the ground.

The enemies were still laughing their asses off until Phoenix started laughing, too.

"Hahaha! You idiots!"

Their laughing stopped abruptly. Had she lost her mind? They wondered.

"Why are you laughing? Your friend killed herself trying to help you, and now we will kill you, too"

"You imbeciles! You should be running. Violette didn't die. She sublimated, and now you are all dead men!"

Frowns appeared on their faces, as they started moving closer to Phoenix, to end her rambling. But one of them, the vice leader, caught some movement on the ground.

The puddle of water that used to be the little girl was gathering in one spot. As it gathered, more and more water started bubbling out of the ground, joining together.

His face paled.

"Run! Run, now!"

But it was too late.