Magna stared up at the ceiling of the frost dome for a moment, then turned to Faye, asking casually, "Can you carry me on your shoulders?"
"Huh?" Faye blinked, looking at him as though she’d heard him wrong.
His muscular build made him look rather heavy, and after his latest transformation, he’d clearly grown an inch or two taller too, now easily standing over her.
"You can’t?" Magna scratched the back of his head.
To pull off what he had in mind, he needed a way to reach the ceiling of the dome.
Reaching down to his waist, he unwrapped a bundle of thick leaves tucked into the red cape around his hips.
Revealing the sharp, crimson object hidden inside, he held it out for Faye to see as he laid out his plan.
"Right, then. You climb onto my shoulders, and I want you to reach the ceiling and cut through the ice with this."
Catching the doubtful look flickering across her face, or perhaps only assuming it was there, since her expression stayed as still as stone, he added quickly, "It’s very sharp. I’m sure it’ll cut straight through the frost."
To prove the point, Magna stepped up to the ice wall and pressed the crimson tip against the frozen surface.
Just as he’d guessed, it sliced through with ease, almost as though it were melting its way in.
’Huh. Doesn’t even feel that hot,’ Magna thought, rather surprised himself, watching the ice react as though carved by a hot blade.
Faye’s eyes widened slightly at the sight, nearly enough to knock her clean out of that emotionless state. She recovered quickly, though, standing up and stepping forward.
"I’ll do it." She held out her hand.
"Careful, don’t cut your fingers," Magna warned, wrapping the base of the object carefully in leaves for a safer grip, showing her the best angle as he handed it over.
Once she had it firmly in hand, Magna turned his back to her and crouched low, waiting for her to climb up.
Having been carried on her father’s shoulders plenty of times before, Faye showed no hesitation at all, preparing to climb on.
But Magna stopped her. "No, not like that. If you sit, you won’t reach the ceiling. You’ll need to stand right on my shoulders."
This time, Faye couldn’t hide her nerves. "I’ll fall if I stand," she murmured, having zero confidence in her own balance.
"Don’t worry, you’ve got this. Just trust me," Magna said, his voice carrying complete certainty. "If you slip, I’ll catch you. I promise."
With the lizards still hammering away outside, Faye knew they were fast running out of time and options both.
She stepped forward, placing her right foot firmly on his shoulder, pressing down to test whether he could really hold her weight.
Magna’s stance didn’t shift, not by so much as a hair, despite the pressure. To Faye, it felt rather like stepping onto solid stone.
"Go on, trust me," Magna repeated, reaching up to grip her ankle firmly.
With a small hop, Faye brought her other foot up onto his opposite shoulder.
Magna caught that ankle too, locking both feet firmly in place.
For a split second, dizziness swept over her as she wobbled, but between his two steady hands anchoring her, she found her footing again quickly enough.
"Standing up now," Magna said softly, and flexing his core, slowly straightened his legs.
As her height rose sharply, Faye felt a wave of vertigo pass through her, but she held her posture, refusing to sway. Once Magna reached his full height, her head hovered just inches beneath the icy ceiling.
"That’s high enough," she called down.
Gripping the crimson tool tight, she pressed its edge against the thick ice above.
"It really works," she reported, dragging the sharp tip across the surface, carving a deep, straight line as far in as she could manage.
"Good. Take it slow. There’s still time. Don’t rush," Magna said, keeping his voice low, trying to ease her nerves.
But as she kept tracing the square cut into the ice, another heavy slam from the lizards rattled the whole dome.
The impact shook the structure violently. The tremor threw Faye off balance from the waist up, her body swaying wildly until her feet tore right out of Magna’s grip, and she went tumbling down.
"Aaaah!"
She let out a sharp cry, real fear taking over. The sudden rush of terror shattered her emotionless state completely, her face twisting into pure panic as gravity dragged her down.
Bracing to slam into the hard, half frozen ground, she squeezed her eyes shut, only to land instead in a warm, surprisingly secure hold.
She slowly opened her eyes and looked up to find Magna gazing back down at her with a reassuring smile.
"Told you I’d catch you," Magna said calmly, setting her gently back on her feet.
"Um... Yes... I’m sorry," she answered meekly, her voice barely above a whisper.
Not long later tears welled up in her eyes as a wave of feeling finally broke through.
It wasn’t only that she’d failed the task. The sheer stress of everything, layered on top of the throbbing pain in her hurt hand, had simply become too much to hold back any longer.
Magna looked at her, seemingly folded back into her fragile, vulnerable self. And yet he didn’t see her as useless anymore, not after everything.
She’d done more than enough, and she’d saved his life earlier besides.
Still smiling gently, he rested a warm hand on her head, giving it a soft pat. "Don’t be sorry. You did great. Now leave the rest to me."
Between the warmth of his hand and the plain sincerity of his praise, the tears threatening to fall slowly receded.
Seeing her settle, Magna turned his attention back to the ceiling.
’I think I can break through now.’
The cut wasn’t finished, not entirely, but the deep grooves she’d carved had badly weakened the structure, melting away a good portion of the ice’s density.
Given enough time, the whole slab would likely collapse under its own weight, but time wasn’t exactly a luxury they had.
Turning back to Faye, he nodded toward the mother goblin’s body. "Can you watch over her for me?"
At her frantic, determined nod, Magna readied himself.
’Never tried this before...’ He lowered his stance, planting his feet firmly against the frozen stone.
’...but somehow, I think I can pull it off.’ Coiling his body like a tight steel spring, he drew on every muscle in his legs, core, and back.
His new strength surged to life, and with one violent burst of kinetic force, he launched himself straight up.
The sheer power tearing out of his legs cracked the half-frozen stone floor beneath his bare feet on impact, hurling him skyward like something fired from a catapult.
Raising his forearm to shield his head as he shot upward, he slammed into the weakened section of the icy ceiling with brute force.
The weakened section of ice shattered beneath the impact and was sent flying upward, with his body bursting through the opening a moment later and following it into the open air.
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