Water and ice: eyes of the elements

It took Mortis hours to process and consciously use the information he had received. Meanwhile, his body began to glow golden, and the voice of his Reaper system rang out, "Healer subclass recognized, Soul Priest has been unlocked. This brings healing abilities and a better understanding of how the soul can heal the body."

When Mortis opened his eyes, he noticed that the sun was just rising. He was in a tent in Helius' camp. Mortis checked his condition and then stepped out of the tent, where soldiers and highborn were waiting for him. Algrim greeted him kindly and handed him a drinking tube. "You must be thirsty. I'm glad you're feeling better. The healers gave it their all, but couldn't remove the tainted blood from your body or heal the wounds. But I knew something like that wouldn't knock you out for long."

Mortis accepted the drinking tube gratefully and patted Algrim on the shoulder before moving on to the captives. The soldiers had taken care of the prisoners by giving them healing potions, but they were still tied up and in a deplorable condition. Mortis proudly stepped in front of them and introduced himself, but the prisoners did not recognize him because they had no opportunity to see the tournament. They had endured torment and humiliation. But one thing was clear: this man was a powerful leader.

Mortis put his pride aside, looked sad, and then bowed. "I am sorry for not being there for you sooner. I am sorry that you had to endure all of this, and that I could not save each of you. But I promise that your lives and the lives of the people will improve under my reign. 

Now let us dine together, and tell me about your places of origin, so we can find out what is going on there and why people are disappearing."

The people wept, accepted Mortis' sincere words, and made room for him. They offered him a seat by the fire. Some soldiers were indignant, and one of them even tried to stop Mortis, saying, "But sir, these people are dirty and could be sick."

But Mortis looked at the soldier and replied with seriousness, "Don't you dare come between me and my people, as if such a thing would bother me, and as if I were not capable of handling it." The soldier and the others bowed their heads in shame and withdrew.

Mortis took his place and shared food and drink with the prisoners from his magic ring. As he did so, he asked them about their ancestry and details about their counties to learn more about the barons and counts of this land.

In the lizards' dungeon, the women seemed to slowly wake up, and Marina had color back in her face. The women noticed that Marina now had two different eye colors: one eye like clear water and the other almost white like ice. Marina thought back to how the women had worried about her, and she felt a lump in her throat. She didn't know what to say to the others, but was deeply grateful that she had such supportive sisters.

The other women noticed that Marina, who was usually quiet but direct, obviously had something to say, but couldn't. They decided to pretend that nothing special had happened. Instead, they began to pack their things and prepare to advance further into the dungeon to finish their adventure.

While wading through the swamp, they were attacked by snakes and crocodiles, but they were able to defeat them without any problems. After a few meters, they found a path that led them back to the cave where they had previously fallen into a trap. This time they skilfully avoided the trap and continued on their way.

They entered an even darker swamp, where the air was so stuffy that it was difficult to breathe. One could almost think that the air here was poisonous. The lizards and other creatures here already seemed more dead than alive.

Suddenly they saw the shadow of several huge trees, followed by a mighty roar. "It's a dragon," Kathrin said.

Elysia turned to Edna and said, "Edna, I choose you. Finish the other dragon." In her dragon form, Edna tried to give Elysia the middle finger, which made the others laugh.

The group continued on their way, eventually reaching a large open area in the swamp. No sooner had they reached this spot than the dragon flew over the trees towards them and landed in front of them. With a mighty roar it announced its presence.

The dragon, which looked as if acid had been poured over it and was infested with disease, looked questioningly at Edna. But the dragon sensed that something was wrong and immediately used a poisonous breath attack against the group.

Marina reacted in a flash, creating an icy barrier that repelled the attack. When the attack ended, Edna used her own dragon breath to attack the sick dragon and draw its attention. The other women scattered to protect themselves from possible area attacks.

It was a long and hard fight. The dragon did everything it could to defeat the women, but they skillfully played around him and kept moving to avoid his attacks. Finally, on the verge of collapse, the dragon rose up and the swamp around them began to stir. Waves formed and threatened to wash the women away as the dragon lowered its dragon breath on them from above.

Something suddenly lit up in Marina's eyes, and she heard a voice saying, "Today is the day my chains were loosed, and my vengeance approaches." A strange sign appeared on her wrist, and a huge ice crystal formed in front of her hand. The crystal grew larger and larger until Marina raised it above her head and hurled it toward the dragon. The ice crystal picked up tremendous speed and pierced the dragon's heart.

An eerie laugh could be heard in Marina's mind, accompanied by a voice that said, "Yes, vengeance is mine."

The women cheered as the dragon crashed into a tree and dissolved into golden glitter, a golden chest appearing in its place. Kathrin could hardly believe her luck and rushed to the chest, hoping to find some valuable items. Indeed, she was lucky and discovered a pair of trousers with a skirt decorated with dark green scales and matching gloves in the same color.

Kathrin looked at herself in the new outfit and said, beaming, "Look, I'm a Lumina dragon. I'm sure our witch will like that." The other women congratulated her warmly, but they pressed on to finally escape the dungeon. They approached the portal, which had also appeared.

Marina stopped short of the teleporter and turned around once more. A tear rolled from her eye, which was as clear as the sea.