Chapter 8: Memories Beneath the Ice
The morning air was calm, deceptively peaceful.
But the arena—an elevated floating ring—was brimming with tension. All eyes were fixed on the two figures standing within it: Lamia and Tushar.
One wielded razor-sharp, prehensile hair.
The other, a storm of frost and silence.
---
Tushar stepped forward slowly. His silver-white hair fluttered slightly in the breeze. His breath was visible, cold like a mountain's sigh.
"You don't remember me," he said softly.
"But I remember everything."
Lamia blinked. "…What?"
"We were in the same orphanage," Tushar said.
"You never spoke. I called you 'the quiet girl with wild hair.'"
---
Lamia's eyes widened.
A memory flashed — a dim, wooden room… a girl curled in a corner, her long hair a tangled mess. A boy sitting beside her, sketching snowflakes on torn paper.
"You…" she whispered.
"You're that boy?"
Tushar nodded.
"But today, we're no longer allies. We're opponents."
---
The bell rang. Match 2 — Begin!
Tushar wasted no time. He lowered his palm, and a blanket of frost swept across the ring.
"This is my domain," he said, voice level.
"Here, your speed means nothing."
Lamia slowly unraveled her hair. Long strands extended like blades, floating with eerie precision.
"I didn't come to run," she said.
"I came to bind."
---
Tushar launched a flurry of ice spikes — sharp, rapid.
Lamia dodged mid-air, her hair intercepting the ice mid-flight with loud cracks. The crowd murmured in awe.
She landed lightly and whispered, "Still throwing snowflakes, huh?"
---
Tushar summoned a shield of pure ice around him.
"You're still the same," he replied, "angry and reckless."
Lamia's expression sharpened.
"And you're still hiding behind walls."
Her hair coiled around the shield from all sides—then with a sharp twist, it shattered.
---
Tushar stepped back, a hint of surprise in his calm eyes.
"You've… changed."
Lamia exhaled.
"And you've grown colder."
---
Tushar suddenly touched the ground again.
The ring's floor cracked and froze over.
> "Snow Trap."
From beneath, spikes of ice erupted upward.
Lamia tried to dodge—but one spike grazed her leg. Blood dripped onto the frost.
She winced, then narrowed her eyes. "That's enough."
---
She tightened her fists.
Her hair flared outward in all directions, like a spider web made of silver blades.
> "Hair Web: Total Bind!"
Tushar moved to react—but it was too late.
Her hair wrapped around his arms, legs, neck—binding him mid-motion.
He couldn't escape.
"You lost," Lamia said quietly.
---
Tushar closed his eyes.
"You're no longer that quiet little girl."
Lamia didn't reply. She didn't need to.
---
> "Winner: Lamia!"
The screen flashed the result.
The crowd erupted.
---
From a distance, Sohan was watching silently.
Tushar… from her past?
He felt a strange unease.
Beside him, Nose muttered,
"If your name comes up next… what will you do?"
Sohan looked up at the screen.
And there it was.
> [Match 3]
Sohan ⚔️ vs Hridoy 🔥
---
[End of Chapter 8]