​We were just about to run. Midnight had his muscles ready to spring us into the dark maintenance tunnels. Mimo was gasping for air. I was clinging to the fur on the cat’s neck.​We were a split second away from escape.​"Hahahahaha..." the Arch-Chancellor laughed evilly. The sound carried absolutely no warmth. It wrapped around us like a chain.​A wave of unnatural cold exploded from his palm. It did not travel like a gust of wind. It just appeared. One millisecond the hallway was filled with dusty smoke from the blown blast door. The next millisecond the air itself turned into dense crystal.​I did not even have time to blink.​A transparent block of blue ice shot up from the floorboards. It swallowed the ground, climbed up Midnight’s massive paws, completely engulfed Mimo and swallowed me whole.​The transition was instant. Midnight’s jaws were locked open in a silent frozen snarl. Mimo’s eyes were wide, stuck forever in an expression of unfiltered terror.​We were trapped inside a

Eighteen minutes," I whispered into the frozen cavern of Midnight’s mind."The clock is ticking, cat. If we don't find a way to smash this crystal tomb before that timer hits absolute zero, the Arch-Chancellor is going to stroll back into this room, pick us up like a couple of frozen relics and toss us directly into a magical furnace."​"You do not need to remind me of the passing seconds," Midnight grumbled back. "Every single hair on my spine feels like a tiny dagger piercing my skin. I am currently trying to figure out if I can even twitch the tip of my tail, but the space is too tight. This ice has molded itself perfectly to my shape. It is like being encased in solid, pressurized concrete."​"Do not try to force it using brute strength," I urged him. "Remember what the big boss was complaining about before he walked away? He was genuinely furious because his spell didn't instantly shatter our brain cells. He expected us to be completely dead the second the frost touched us. Why

"TARGET ACQUIRED. ABSOLUTE-ZERO LANCE CHARGING. FIRING."​"Midnight, pull back right now!" I screamed through our telepathic link watching in horror as the lead droid unleashed a blinding beam of electricity straight at the giant beast's chest."That lance is concentrated elemental magic, it is going to flash-freeze your internal organs before you even get close enough to strike!"​"I do not care about the cold anymore, Zilu!" Midnight’s voice roared back into my mind, completely devoid of his usual feline sarcasm."Let their pathetic toys try to bite me, because the darkness inside my blood is starving, and I am going to swallow their light whole!"​"UNIT ONE ENGAGED. BRACING FOR KINETIC IMPACT."​"Watch how easily your titanium shatters!" Midnight bellowed as his shoulder collided directly with the freezing beam. The absolute-zero energy instantly sizzled and evaporated the moment it touched his shifting fur. "You are nothing but hollow tin cans! Meowhahaha!"​"Zilu, he's actually

The silence of the hallway lasted for only a fraction of a second before the floor completely erupted.​"Look out!" I screamed, but the warning was entirely useless.​Black needle-thin threads exploded outward from beneath the massive double doors. They moved faster than a striking snake. They pierced directly through our clothes and fur, sinking deep into our flesh like hooks.​"Ahhhh!" Midnight's small body instantly pinned against the floor. Dozens of dark slithering strings wrapped around his throat and paws.​A cluster of threads slammed into my tiny chest, wrapping tightly around my wings and pulling me down. It felt like someone was pushing crushed ice directly into my heart. I could actually feel my life force, my energy being sucked out through the magical cords.​"Zilu, it burns!" Midnight's thrashed helplessly on the ground. "I can't breathe!"​I tried to use my strength but the dark magic was too heavy. The Arch-Chancellor was pulling our souls straight into his twisted m

The system screen hovered directly in front of my face, glowing with the ultimate promise. I held my breath waiting for the physical reconstruction to finally begin. The storm continued to rage outside. The heavy rain poured straight through the cracked ceiling of the control room.​[Processing stopped. Sorry host, the blood doesn't have enough taste. Need another more drop.]​My jaw literally dropped.​"What kinda hella lua system are you!" I yelled out loud throwing my hands up in the air in disbelief. "Taste? It is blood! It is not a strawberry smoothie! I just punched a dark sorcerer and you are complaining about the flavor of blood?"​The screen just blinked at me, completely unresponsive.​"Fine. One more drop," I muttered angrily, shaking my head.​I knelt back down over the unconscious battered body of the Arch-Chancellor. I reached out pressing my fingers against his busted lip once more to collect a second drop of blood.​But the second my skin touched his wet face, a shoc