'No... not yet. I still have a card to play.'
Within the shards of a consciousness punctuated by agony, I desperately seized the final thread of reason. My body was screaming, but the instinct of a King, warped by the act of godslaying, refused to surrender. Amidst the oppressive heat and pressure crushing the life out of me, I searched for a single path to survival.
As if mocking my wretched struggles, Pele gathered the magma of the crater once more. This time, it wasn't a simple wave. Dozens of massive arms of fire reached out from all directions to seize me, like a legion from the depths of hell. There was nowhere to run.
'Damn it, move!'
I squeezed out every last drop of my remaining magical energy. I tried to manifest my will through the Authority of the Earth, attempting to force the bedrock beneath my feet to erupt. But there was no response. The earth of this island had already become her 'forge' in its entirety. There was no room for my power to interfere; my only weapon had been perfectly neutralized within the enemy's grasp.
The moment the fiery arms wrapped around my body, the world went white as the horrific pain of burning flesh took over. I thought it was all over.
That was the exact moment.
Within the searing heat of Pele that was incinerating me, my senses paradoxically dragged up a memory of the polar opposite: the freezing seawater from when I was caught in a rip current, and the memory of the rain, wind, and lightning brought by the Storm God, Tāwhirimātea, which had chilled me to the bone.
...Coldness....
It wasn't just a memory. The moment the power of the 'Earth' was completely overwhelmed by the 'Earth's Wrath,' the power of the 'Sky'—residing at the opposite extreme—recognized this searing catastrophe as an 'Enemy' and began to pulse on its own. This wasn't pain. It was a massive 'quickening,' another beast within me finally awakening from its slumber.
"Ho?"
The arms of flame holding me faltered. For the first time, Pele displayed bewilderment at the alien pulse of cold blooming within her own heat. Taking advantage of the moment her restraint weakened, I barely managed to wrench my body free and retreat.
'The Earth and the Sky... using two opposing powers simultaneously...?'
It was an insane thought. A mental pressure that felt like it would crack my skull open descended upon me. The Authority of the Earth, representing stability and order, and the Authority of the Sky, representing chaos and change. It was like having to conduct two completely different orchestras at the same time. If I focused on one melody, the other would veer off course of its own accord, creating a hideous dissonance.
I realized then that it was impossible to forcibly mix or suppress these two powers. If so, there was only one thing I could do.
'...I have to let them flow.'
If I couldn't block it, I would open a path. I would acknowledge each of the two orchestras and vent their flow directly outward, acting simply as the 'conductor.'
Beyond the red-hot rock walls, I looked at the burning goddess. And above her, I looked at the sky shrouded in black smoke.
Wringing out my last remaining strength, I reached my hand toward the heavens. I whispered low, yet hoping my voice would echo throughout the entire sky.
"O grieving heavens, hide my form with your tears. Let the mist be my veil, and the downpour erase the sound of my footsteps. Behind the curtain of silent rain, let my enemies lose their way and wander."
This wasn't an incantation meant for battle. It was merely a lament that burst out of me unconsciously in this desperate situation—a call to the other self that had been sleeping.
And the sky answered.
Pitter-patter.
Cold droplets of water fell onto my cheek. At the summit of a boiling atmosphere filled with volcanic ash and sulfur, an impossible rain began to fall.
"...Rain?"
Displeasure colored Pele's voice for the first time. Cold, foreign matter began to mix into the searing hell her Authority had created. The raindrops evaporated with a sharp hiss the moment they touched her body of flames, but the rain did not stop. One drop became two, and soon it turned into a torrential downpour.
The falling rain met the boiling lava and created a massive volume of water vapor. In an instant, the entire crater was shrouded in thick fog and steam, making it impossible to see an inch ahead.
"Do you think this can stop my creation!"
Pele erupted more lava in her fury, but the fog did not clear. This wasn't simple rain. It was a divine domain created by the Authority of the Sky.
I breathed heavily while hiding within the dense fog. My body was a wreck, but thanks to the pouring rain, the terrible heat had lessened somewhat. And within this chaos, I found the perfect answer.
In my right hand, I felt the cold torrent of the storm; in my left, the solid sensation of the earth. Two powers, two roles.
Suppression, and the killing blow.
I began to manipulate the two opposing Authorities simultaneously.
"Hear my voice, O Sky! Your breath shall become blades, and your tears shall become the lightning that strikes my foe! I command a storm upon this place!"
The heavens howled. Blue lightning flashed within the rain clouds, striking down incessantly toward Pele's massive form. This was not the killing blow; it was a constant disturbance meant to pin her gaze and will to the sky.
"You wench...! You dare use the power of the Sky as well...!"
The very moment Pele exploded her flames toward the lightning in her rage, I did not miss that split-second opening.
"All who gaze upon me, all who face me. Turn to stone and fall into silence."
An ashen curse extended from my left hand. This was my true 'attack.' The destination of that power was not Pele's body, but the ground beneath her feet—the earth connected to her, faltering momentarily from the lightning strikes.
CRACK-RUMBLE!
It was different from before. Not Pele's body, but the part of the 'Earth' from which she drew her power began to petrify. When the actual ground, rather than the lava, hardened into stone, Pele let out a scream of pain for the first time. It was the sensation of a part of her own body becoming paralyzed.
From the heavens, the storm and lightning constantly drew her attention; in the gaps, the curse of petrification gnawed away at the earth beneath her feet.
But Pele was no easy opponent. After a moment of agony, she unleashed a roar of fury and exploded lava in every direction. It was a desperate, extreme struggle to simultaneously push back the lightning falling from the sky and the petrification rising from the ground.
"Gah!"
Unable to dodge the unexpected omnidirectional attack, I was swept up in the explosion and blown away. I managed to land on the ground, but my entire body was engulfed in searing pain once more. Pele also seemed to have consumed a significant amount of magical energy with that reckless release of power, as her massive form flickered more faintly than before.
A suffocating standoff. She had grasped my new pattern, and I had caught a glimpse of the limits of her power.
Now, finally, was the prelude to the counterattack.
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