'I guess that's that...'

That's all he could really think as he walked out of the cave.

So much had just happened within the last hour that he didn't know where to start thinking.

This cave was some sort of sacred area where people went to find their element. Delga didn't know what that meant at all, but Rusty recommended he visit if he wanted to get stronger.

That was the least of his concerns since he was worried about Aladar being in that cursed world, but Rusty tended to know what was best for him, so he gave it a go.

The cavern was supposed to be different for everyone that entered, and to no surprised, the setting appeared to be an icy cave, since Delga had started to learn Ice magic from his time in this world out of nowhere.

The cave wasn't as big as he thought it would be, but there was something awfully frightening about it that made him want to run away.

He knew he couldn't though.

Out of nowhere though, a wisp of light appeared from the ceiling in the main room of the cave.

The crunching ice at his feet began to grow louder as this wisp grew dark and began manifesting itself into a shape he knew all to well...

It was is biggest fear.

A demon floated before him, and an evil laugh rumbled though the cave as he literally felt himself freeze; like his feet slowly encased in ice.

Flashbacks of horror filled his mind as the demon slowly approached him.

He screamed.

This scream though wasn't just one of fear, but frustration and desperation. With that scream, hundreds of ice shards appeared in the air and were launched at the demon before him.

Not only was he shocked from the random surge of power, but this was first time that he had ever seen the demon injured; like bleeding various colors.

He wasn't sure if slime could bleed, but he wasn't ready to question things.

Those flashbacks that triggered, were soon suppressed by something else.

This was something that was familiar to him; the thing he felt when he killed Minotaur a few months ago.

Delga had no idea where it came from, but it had shattered the ice that had bound his feet to the ground, and he he felt his body drop in temperature heavily. This drop wasn't natural at all, since normally something like that would restrict your body from moving, but he only felt one thing...

Power.

The monster was stunned, as if was also shocked by its sudden injuries. He wasn't stopping there though, and shook the ice off, lunging towards the dragon like a giant octopus.

Delga didn't flinch though, as if his body had frozen any emotions he had in place. Doing the dragon thing, his next move was a breath of frost that he spewed from his mouth.

'I lost my ability to breath fire a long time ago. I guess I'm so broken that I just had no fire left in me; not just literally...'

That was something he had told Aladar a while ago, when he was trying to see if he could breath fire again, to which he couldn't.

His fire had left him, so it only made sense that he grew cold inside.

The slime tentacles that appeared before him were frozen in place after his chilly wave. He was pretty sure that his foe was trying to say something, but he couldn't understand it due to his focus being too deep, and the voice just too jumbled.

He had no intention of talking though.

Gritting his teeth, Delga summoned his Ice Axe, and gave it a whirling toss, shattering the frozen slime and earning what would be pained gargle of screams coming from the monster.

'I... I really like this axe. I used to have a chain for a weapon, but... In that world, having such an item wasn't any good. More than often it was used against me whenever I dropped it and it landed in their hands. What good was a weapon that didn't assist you, but hindered you? I tossed it to some random guy and never looked back. The only thing I was able to rely on was my fists...'

That was another thing he had told Aladar. His old weapon was nothing more than another tool people could use to put him down. Even if his axe were to take his life, Delga would never have to worry about it betraying him for someone's perverted ways.

With his axe boomeranging back to his hand, it happened.

That feeling of power that Aladar had used...

A power that could be used as a saving grace.

'One thing you should know about Overlimit, is that you're practically untouchable, and if anything were to be holding you down, you can blast it away!'

Those words came from Aladar, and the memory of him bursting through a set of ropes as an example.

The thought was absolutely crazy, but Delga knew he had to do it, as much as he detested the very thought of it.

He would going to break from that demons grasp, once and for all.

Taking a deep breath, he held his position and waited.

He was shivering as it got closer and closer, standing only a foot away from him and brandishing another wave of black, slimy tendrils to envelop him. His worst fear was coming to reality, but he knew it wouldn't make it, no matter how he was scared.

"I'm sick of you!"

Those words said, Delga's body flash, sending bits of the creature flying in different direction. Trails of light circled around the dragon, just as they did Aladar when he used his Overlimit.

He also knew what came next.

"Quicksilver!" He instant charged his spell. "Freeze Lancer!"

Large lances of ice flew towards the slime demon, but that was only the start.

Once again, the dragon's body flashed, and the world grew dim.

"Imprisoned by the coldest cold. The shards of a destroyed heart will form an icy crevasse that will freeze even Hell itself!"

That dim world didn't last long, as massive chunks of ice flew around the room, restoring the pale-blue colors of light. Each shard of ice crashed into the monster, stacking one after another, digging deep at every inch of the slime, forming what almost could be labeled as spiky pyramid.

Right as he was going to deal the final blow and speak the name of his new Arte, his body glowed, and he felt his shoulder and arms freeze, soon breaking away, and revealing a snowflake that had formed around his dragon tattoo, as well as another line that appeared underneith the one he already had on his biceps. Both were a light blue color; like ice.

The moment was now.

"Absolute Prison!"

Those words said, the giant ice pyramid shattered to pieces as a sphere of frozen energy was launched at it.

The world lightened to normal, and the monster seemed to have been flung against the wall. I looked rather dead, despite it's giant eye being wide open.

Delga wasn't able to check it out though, since ice began to form around it, encasing the monster within seconds.

His heart was pounding, and he was starting to regain control of himself as his deep focus dwindled.

Though his fear rose a little, he knew that he could be at ease.

After all, the monster he had just fought wasn't real; for it was just an apparition created from his memories.

He knew this because another wisp of light had appeared and explained everything he needed to know.

This wisp also took the shape of Aladar.

He almost teared up and hugged the false Zangoose.

"There's one thing you should know, Delga." The spirit said. "I may not be Aladar, but I am connected to everyone of this world. I can tell you that Aladar is safe for the time being. He is not alone in that world as you were, and has found a trustworthy ally to assist him."

Though Delga didn't like the sound of that at all, the only thing he could do was trust what he had just heard.

With his newfound power released, Delga went back, returning to his friends Rusty and Lewis, and hoped that he would reunited with his loved one soon.
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Yeah, just a little backstory as to how Delga got his new ice powers and look.

Art is by the wonderful:  Dracoice08 Glad I have a good ref of my Delga now. Expect to see him a lot in my Delga pics from now on.