I regressed and became the Sword Ice King

Sophie's eyes flared open.

An evident shock played coy with her expression as she glanced at Thalia and the skill summoned.

The spell was eerily familiar. Almost like she had seen it a moment ago – almost.

But for some unclear reason, she seemed to have convinced herself otherwise.

It was, in fact, familiar. That, she concluded.

And not just to any skill, but the one that literally seemed to have a presence of its own.

Pulsing with life, like the heartbeat of a living, sentient being.

The power.

The energy.

The subtle ripple of effect is caused by simply existing.

Everything was the same as the spell cast by Mila a moment ago.

Not just any skill – a transcendent skill.

Something of that remarkable product of mana, elemental properties, and world science was simply unheard of.

It was one of those skills Sophie was sure would take everything out of her to protect herself from it. She would survive though – more than just barely, too.

However, she was concerned with the question of how it got there.

The manner of its transport.

And perhaps, more importantly, how was Thalia completely calm while she controlled a skill far beyond her capabilities?

Her gaze was glued to Thalia now. Watching and observing.

Taking prior notice of the little changes she could make out.

There were a few things other than that specific question that bugged her, and Thalia's composure topped the list.

The surge of the wind and air in the atmosphere had continued to rise.

It slammed against their faces. Their figures. Their entire human being was pushed.

Sophie and Thalia weren't ones to move on someone else's will, though.

They stood. Anchored to the ground. Unrelenting.

The wind and heat that rose from the incoming clash of blast and the mass of irregular shapes that burned with a vibrant pulse seemed nothing but a common film show for them.

Composure was at its highest.

Yet, their minds were anything but.

Thalia had her own thoughts. Questions that bugged her. Theories that stimulated her, and better still, her plan for taking care of the current mess.

For a moment, she let the tension hang.

Escaping away from the present for just a second.

Though that second provided every bit of space she required to finalise her thoughts.

Soon, she shifted her head to the side, catching Sophie's glance with a subtle one of hers.

They froze.

A second passed and they blinked in unison.

Thalia shook her head evidently. Clearing side thoughts from covering what was already laid out clearly for her.

"Have you been taught Mana Overlap? It's a topic in Advanced Magery."

Sophie raised a brow. Then shook her head.

"Never heard of it."

"Oh," Thalia muttered as she glanced away. "Well, the theory is quite simple." She stated. A slow sigh escaped her lips as she did so.

"You see, when two equal skills or spells cast by mana clash on itself. They don't just cancel out."

Sophie's gaze narrowed. Her lips parted as she licked them dry.

"Well, of course. It first strikes against each other. Enlarges in size….then explodes. Cancelling each other in the process."

Thalia chuckled. "Yeah." She said as she glanced at her. "I guess you know a bit of the theory, but there are a few missing points."

Sophie's expression shifted.

Her thoughts reeled in as she glanced at the incoming blast, and then at Thalia.

'Is she seriously giving me a lecture at a time like this?'

What bullshit was this?

"What am I missing?" She asked.

A sigh escaped her lips as she did so.

Sophie eased the wariness in her chest and decided to see where her questions would lead.

Not because she wanted to, but simply because her curiosity spiked.

"It's not just the size. There's the mana wavelength as well." Thalia concluded with a nod.

"You see, mana is unstable on its own and that makes it volatile."

She scoffed at her own statement.

"Honestly, all forms of energy are unstable when used alone. Especially in concentrated form.

What makes it usable is when used with elemental properties…."

She closed her eyes for a moment.

Retrieving her thoughts as a slight chuckle escaped her lips.

"Hah….I nearly went off topic there." She stated as she glanced at Sophie.

A small smile spread across her face.

Sophie tilted her head back.

Confusion was taking root in her core.

Evolving to suspicion in bits, yet unable to completely find evolutionary reasons to do so.

She simply lessened.

"Okay, here's the thing about Mana overlap," Thalia stated.

A sudden quake spread through the ground at that moment. A subtle blast that spread through the ground and shook it upwards to the surface.

The sudden quake startled the girls, but not enough to jolt an immediate response.

"When a skill clashes with another of the same tier, especially the high-tier ones.

The mana overlaps. Size increases. Increases in wavelengths. And reaches its peak state of instability."

Sophie's eyes slowly widened with a spark, but she stayed silent while Thalia continued.

"When it reaches its peak state, it explodes. Twice as powerful as the initial skill, and yet that depended entirely on the skill."

Sophie glanced at the incoming blast one more time.

Its rushing edges nearing the spring mass of destruction which simply hovered in their presence.

A blend of crimson and darkness encroaches its insides like a bright black hole.

"If it were to be two Transcendent skills?" Sophie asked.

"Skill?" Thalia chuckled. "If it were two skills, then I wouldn't have to lecture you like this."

Sophie turned to her.

Her brows furrowed in confusion as her thoughts reeled in.

'A self-explosion from a Level 100 is capable of surpassing any form of Transcendent skill.

It's possible to wipe an entire town with a level 100 self-explosion, but perhaps a city with the Transcendent skill….'

Then, it struck her.

Her head whipped to the mass of doom.

"This….this is far superior to any Transcendent skill." She muttered.

Thalia nodded in agreement.

"Exactly." She said, "What effects could occur when these two strike? Well, let's just say it won't be a pretty result."

'A mana overlap? An explosion when they collide? It could tear off the Territorial Space?'

Sophie thought. It wasn't a conclusion.

More or less a theory that threatened to occur. A possibility.

"But it's only in theory, right?" She asked.

Thalia hummed silently. Pouting her lips as she looked upwards.

For a moment, something stirred in her eyes.

A glint of amusement.

Just a pang of it not worth noticing.

But for her, it meant a world of difference.

"Well." She stated after much thought. Her voice turns syrupy sweet in the next sentence. A high-pitched tone draping at the end of each word. "We're about to have a Practical."

Sophie felt her body flinch. Just a slight goosebumps from her tone.

She arched her brows. Confusion evident, as she glanced Thalia over before turning away.

"Let's find out. Shall we?"

Before they could come to a consensus, Thalia released the mass with an outburst of strength. A concentric wave of blue erupted behind the mass as it projected towards the collision.

The air around it cracked. Bent. Warped.

A thug between reality and something more.

Tearing through foundations that weren't meant to be touched. Laws that were taboo to be seen, felt, or heard.

It felt like a collapse. Metaphorically.

Hopefully, it stays that way.

The mass rushed towards and in a heartbeat, it collided with the incoming blast of fiery explosion.

The effect. Immediate.

Sophie and Thalia felt a ripple in the air.

Not a subtle one.

Not even a silent one.

Loud. Thunderous. A quake.

The world seemed to have bent. Forcefully.

The mix of mana was evident.

The crackling of the air. The slicing of the air. The shimmering vibration that hummed with a cry.

A desperate cry that hung deeply.

The blast of wind increased. At least twentyfold.

It burst with a powerful magnitude.

Far superior to anything they had ever felt.

Thalia slipped. Sophie slipped.

And the wind picked them into the air.

An insurgence of crimson and white.

Wrapped together. An uncanny mixture of doom.

Sophie pulled and tugged. Summoning a door next to her in protest against the strength of the wind.

It opened. Forged a way for her to escape what came next.

She could tell.

The collision had only just begun.

This was merely the beginning of something more. Something much more.

Without wasting a single breath, she prepared to hop through the door, but a firm grasp on her arm held her back.

Glancing to the side with a sudden snap. Wariness was taking root in her chest.

She met the gaze of Thalia.

Her body froze.

The wind spun. It roared. It screamed.

So much so that silence was impossible to hand between them. What stood was simply….nothing.

The sound of the wind spun with intensity.

The quaking of both the air and the earth.

The pulse that hummed with life. Shaking what little anchor stood between them.

Sophie gasped. A short one.

But Thalia spoke first.

"That thing." She pointed at the ongoing explosion.

The source where two abominations mixed to make an appalling creature.

It bred destruction.

Sophie glanced at it and back at her.

Her gaze narrowed slightly.

"Take it to the skies." Thalia pointed straight up.

Her tone, flat as an asphalt road.

She didn't need more context. Neither did Sophie want to know more.

That statement alone told her everything and perhaps hid them as well.

How much truly, did Thalia see?

At first, reluctance took the better part of her.

After all, this wasn't her problem. She doesn't have to fold for someone simply because they asked her to.

No. She wanted to back out. Herself alone.

Just like it had always been.

But something tugged at it. Something human.

The image flashed once. The subtle smile and white hair. The pale, blind eyes.

It came like a flash beam, and everything with it.

The emotions she seemed to have trapped under her hunger to capture a Champion.

She bit her lips. Pulled her arm away and walked through the door.

Closing it shut behind her.

Thalia stood amazed. Perhaps perplexed.

Her expression shifted to the explosions. Thoughts reeling in.

'Well, this is a mess. I really thought that would work.' She sighed.

Shaking her head, she focused on the moment.

'I need another few minutes to recharge my trait. Taking a Transcendent skill right off the map of reality was one of the most difficult things I had ever had to do….and my mana levels are still down after I brought it back.'

She sighed yet again. A gnawing feeling dropped in her guts. 'Is this the end?'

It was easy to imagine that. After all, she had tried her best and they did just defeat an Executive of the Red Peacemakers.

They accomplished something. Definitely.

And their deaths may be worth it.

With that in mind, a slow acceptance began to creep in.

Until a door shimmered to life above her.

She glanced up in confusion when her peripheral vision caught another. And another. And another.

Multiple doors opening all at once.

Undead emerging with a talisman.

With a puff of her breath, Thalia looked up.

And there she stood. The Lilac haired.

Annoyed, but nonetheless there.

Thalia smirked. 'What am I saying? Like hell my death is gonna be worth it? Hell no.'