The snowy clearing crackled with tension.
Medusa's snake eyes glowed faintly as she glared at Tom, her breath misting in the cold air. Claudia's claws twitched impatiently, her sharp grin fading into something more serious.
They had been going at him for nearly ten minutes — and not once had Tom struck back. Not even a flicker of effort.
He just stood there, hands buried casually in his pockets, smiling, dodging everything they threw.
Medusa's brow twitched.
Claudia bared her fangs.
"Alright…" Claudia's voice dropped, dark and growling, as a deep red aura flared around her, pulsing like a heartbeat. Her shadow twisted, limbs stretching unnaturally as horns curled from her forehead and her mouth split wider, sharp jagged teeth gleaming. Her Wendigo form loomed — feral, monstrous, hungry.
Medusa's smile grew razor-sharp. A shimmering light red aura ignited around her, coiling like mist. Her body shimmered and stretched as stone and scales rippled across her skin, her lower half expanding outward into a massive serpent's tail. Her eyes blazed, and her hair — a writhing crown of living snakes — hissed sharply. Gorgon form unleashed.
Snow cracked beneath their feet.
Tom tilted his head slightly, watching them transform — and then, to their combined irritation, he… laughed. Softly. Calmly.
"Finally serious?" he murmured, eyes gleaming with quiet amusement.
"We're going to wipe that smile off your face," Claudia hissed, her claws pulsing with dark energy.
"Let's see if you're still so smug after this," Medusa added, voice low and echoing, her massive tail slamming against the frozen ground.
They charged.
Claudia moved like a blur, claws flashing, jaws snapping. Medusa's massive tail crashed down, cracking trees, sending snow and ice flying. Magic surged from both of them, twisting the air.
Tom?
Tom danced.
Effortlessly.
He slipped past Claudia's monstrous claws with a slight tilt of his head, ducked under Medusa's massive strikes with a graceful step back, spun through the blasts of energy and shattering ice like he was moving through music only he could hear.
Their full-powered attacks shook the clearing — trees shuddered, snow exploded into the air, the ground split open — but Tom never lost his balance, never pulled his hands from his pockets, never even blinked.
Every dodge was a whisper, every step a shadow.
His smile never faded.
Claudia growled in frustration, her claws tearing through empty air.
Medusa's serpentine eyes narrowed, her strikes becoming faster, wilder.
Yet no matter how fast they went, Tom remained just out of reach.
He wasn't just dodging.
He was playing.
And they knew it.
The snowy battlefield trembled, and above it all, Tom's soft, amused voice drifted through the chaos:
"Come on… is that really all you've got?"
The frozen clearing shook under the weight of Claudia's claws slamming into the earth, leaving jagged gouges in the ice. Medusa's massive serpent tail whipped through the trees, shattering trunks like they were matchsticks.
And still — still — Tom danced through it all.
Hands calmly in his pockets.
A faint, teasing smile on his lips.
"Tch…" Claudia snarled, her sharp teeth grinding together. The dark red aura around her pulsed brighter, jagged shadows writhing along her monstrous Wendigo form. Her claws sparked with dark magic now, each swipe sending shockwaves through the air.
"Why… won't… you… stand… still?!" she roared, launching herself forward in a blur of claws and teeth.
Tom leaned ever so slightly to the side. Claudia's attack sliced through thin air, missing him by a hair. His grin deepened, his eyes glinting with a mischievous gleam.
Medusa's glowing red aura thickened, magic coiling through the snow like a storm. Her serpent form towered above them, her eyes burning with light as she slammed her tail down with enough force to make the ground explode upward.
"Stop toying with us, Tom!" Medusa's voice echoed, sharper now, her patience cracking. The snakes on her head hissed furiously, mirroring their mistress's rising temper. "Fight back or I swear I'll crush you under this forest!"
Tom casually stepped out of the crater's edge, boots crunching softly in the snow. He didn't even look tired.
In fact, he stretched — lazily — like someone shaking off a nap.
"Crush me?" he repeated, amusement dripping from his voice. "Oh, Medusa… you're adorable when you're angry."
That did it.
"ADORABLE?!" Medusa's voice boomed, her massive tail lashing out with a snap that split the ground open.
Claudia's eyes flared darker, her monstrous form trembling with suppressed fury.
"I'LL RIP THAT SMILE OFF YOUR FACE!" Claudia howled, lunging again — her claws glowing, her aura pulsing like a heartbeat gone mad.
The two women surged together, their combined magic warping the air, shaking the trees, making the ground quake.
But Tom…
He dodged them both — again. Effortlessly.
He stepped sideways as Claudia's claws swiped by, ducked as Medusa's tail thundered past, then spun lightly between them, laughing softly. His hands stayed buried in his pockets, his scarf fluttering gently in the chaos.
Snow swirled around them, kicked up by their ferocious energy.
And Tom — the center of the storm — moved with perfect, mocking ease.
Medusa's jaw clenched, her eyes burning hotter.
Claudia's claws trembled, her breath coming faster.
"Damn it…!" Claudia hissed under her breath.
"He's making fun of us," Medusa growled, voice low and tight.
And they were right.
Tom's smile widened, his eyes flashing.
"Whenever you're ready," he said softly, his tone light — but carrying that teasing edge that made their blood boil. "Show me what you can really do."
The frozen forest was no longer quiet.
The ground cracked.
The air vibrated.
The snowstorm above seemed to hesitate, swirling slower as if the sky itself was watching.
Claudia let out a monstrous, guttural roar, her Wendigo form glowing with a vicious dark-red aura. Her claws shimmered, dripping with raw magic, eyes glowing like bloody moons.
Medusa's giant serpent body rose taller, her scales gleaming like crimson fire, a light-red aura whipping around her like a burning storm. The snakes on her head hissed wildly, their fangs bared, her own golden eyes narrowed to slits.
And Tom?
His smirk flickered. Just a little.
The playful dodging, the casual weaving through their attacks — suddenly it wasn't quite so easy.
Claudia lunged, faster now, her claws slicing through the air with a shriek.
Tom pivoted — but the tip of her claw grazed his sleeve, cutting the fabric.
Medusa's tail snapped toward him like a battering ram.
Tom ducked — but the ground exploded behind him, the shockwave knocking him slightly off balance.
He caught himself, sliding back on the ice with a smooth recovery. But the gleam in his eyes sharpened.
"Huh," he murmured under his breath, brushing the torn bit of cloth on his coat. "You're getting serious now, huh?"
Claudia's chest heaved, sharp breaths puffing in the cold air. "You think you're so clever…" she growled, her monstrous voice rough with frustration. "We're done playing!"
Medusa hissed, her massive coils tensing as magic flared even hotter around her. "You can't dodge forever, Tom." Her voice was smoother, but sharp — like a blade wrapped in silk.
They came at him together.
Claudia swiped low — Medusa struck from above.
Tom twisted sideways, barely slipping between the blows.
The wind from their combined attacks slammed into the trees, snapping ancient trunks in half.
Tom's boots skidded slightly, his balance tilting just a bit.
For the first time, his hands came halfway out of his pockets.
His smile?
Still there — but tight at the corners.
"Okay…" Tom exhaled softly, his eyes flickering between the two women as they circled him, their auras crackling with tension. "Now this is getting interesting."
Medusa's tail lashed the ground.
Claudia crouched low, her claws pulsing with magic.
Both of them, glaring.
Both of them, fully powered.
Both of them — furious.
And Tom, standing in the middle, smiled slightly sharper.
He wasn't out yet.
But for the first time…
He wasn't completely untouchable either.
The icy ground trembled under Medusa's massive coils and Claudia's clawed feet. Their auras flared violently — red, furious, hot.
Tom exhaled slowly, his boots crunching on the frost as he shifted his weight.
Then, with a faint smirk, he said calmly,
"By the way… that was just 1% of my power."
Silence.
Medusa blinked, her glowing serpent eyes widening slightly. The snakes on her head froze for a beat before hissing in surprise.
Claudia's monstrous Wendigo grin flickered into something else — her sharp teeth flashing in a smirk.
They both exchanged a brief glance.
And, weirdly, they felt… proud.
We picked the right one, Medusa thought.
Yeah… he's the one, Claudia smirked internally.
Suddenly, the air shifted.
A light dark blue aura began to shimmer around Tom's body, faint at first — like a glow under the skin — but quickly thickening into a pulsing, electric mist.
"Alright…" Tom chuckled softly, his eyes half-lidding. "Let's see how you handle… 2%."
He didn't move —
No, correction — he did, but it was almost impossible to see.
One second, Tom was standing casually, hands still relaxed.
The next, Claudia slashed at him, but her claws sliced through empty air.
A faint blue streak zipped past her.
Medusa lunged, her massive snake body smashing down — but Tom was already gone, leaving only a blue afterimage.
He was light.
He was wind.
He was everywhere and nowhere at once.
Claudia spun, snarling in frustration, her claws tearing through trees — only to feel a flick on her forehead.
She spun around — Tom stood there, grinning.
Medusa hissed, snapping her fangs forward — but suddenly her tail was gently tapped, making her stumble.
She whipped around — Tom was already standing behind her, hands in his pockets, smile cool and sharp.
"Faster…" Claudia growled.
"Stronger…" Medusa whispered.
But Tom —
He laughed softly under his breath, his blue aura humming in the air.
"This," he murmured, eyes glowing faintly,
"…is still just 2%."
And as the training fight roared back to life, Tom moved like a flicker of lightning — untouchable, dazzling, and still holding back.
Night time--
Night had draped the icy forest in silence, the moon casting pale silver over the snow-covered ground.
Inside the small, old wooden house, Tom sat on the couch, calmly flipping through the pages of a worn black book titled The Dark History of Dark Mages. His sharp eyes scanned the ancient scripts with quiet focus, the soft crackle of the fireplace the only sound.
On his left, Claudia lounged across the other side of the couch, lazily stretching, a faint smirk playing on her lips as she occasionally snuck glances at Tom.
On his right, Medusa sat comfortably coiled, resting her chin in her hand, her snake-hair gently swaying as she curiously leaned toward Tom.
"What are you reading, Tom?" Medusa asked, her voice smooth and slightly playful.
Before Tom could answer, Claudia stretched and yawned dramatically.
"Hey, Tom," she said with a grin, "do you have any family left? Like… any relatives or something?"
Tom didn't even look up from the page.
"No," he answered simply. "None."
The room went quiet for a moment, the fire crackling softly.
Neither girl pressed further, sensing Tom's cool, closed-off energy.
But far, far away…
In the depths of a frozen cemetery, under the pale light of the moon…
A figure stood silently among the old tombstones.
She was stunning.
Clad in jagged black armor, her long silver hair cascaded down her back, a dark crown of spikes resting on her head. Her sharp, regal features were half-hidden beneath her helmet, but her lips curved into a soft, bittersweet smile.
Before her, two graves rested side by side — weathered by time, yet still standing tall in the snow.
The names engraved faintly on the stones:
Marcus Riddle
Selene Riddle
The girl, her gloved hands brushing gently over the names, leaned in and whispered,
"I love you, Mom… I love you, Dad…"
The wind softly howled through the icy cemetery, swirling snowflakes around her dark figure.
And far away, back in the little house…
Tom, still reading, paused for just the faintest moment —
his golden eyes flickering slightly, as if something cold, something distant… had reached out toward him.
The icy wind howled across the frozen cemetery.
Standing alone between two frost-covered graves was a tall, striking girl clad in black, spiked armor.
Silver hair cascaded from under her jagged crown, her pale lips trembling with bitter words.
She knelt by the graves, running her fingers gently across the carved names —
their parents' names.
Her eyes filled with sharp, burning anger.
"I know you were just a baby back then," she whispered, voice shaking,
"…but you were useless."
Her breath steamed in the freezing night, her fists tightening on her knees.
"You let them die."
Her voice hardened.
"You lived. And they didn't."
She didn't even know his face.
She had never seen him — not even a portrait.
All she knew was his name.
Tom.
The brother she never met.
The brother who, in her mind, was the reason she'd grown up alone.
"I don't care what you look like. I don't care how strong you are now."
Her voice was venom.
"I will find you, Tom. And when I do…"
She rose slowly, the jagged armor creaking as she stood.
"…I'll make sure you regret everything."
A single snowflake drifted down onto her gauntlet as she turned,
walking away into the icy dark, a shadow among the tombstones.