Liches did have phylacteries. Essentially a container where they kept their soul. If their body was destroyed they could form a new one, in time.

  As far as I knew no archfey had ever succeeded in becoming a lich, while keeping their original powers. Beira was clearly controlling the cold to some extent. Then again, it might be a lich power. I did remember liches being at least resistant to frost, or maybe outright immune.

  It is also possible that her research into soul manipulation allowed her to create something new. Or maybe the crown allowed her to do it. It certainly was an artefact of some sort. I was considering using devour magic on it. But it would be good if we could find out where her phylactery was before that. Maybe we could taunt her into revealing something.

  “Any idea how we are going to find the phylactery?” I asked Lilith.

  She shook her head. “Sadly I do not possess any magic to trace it. But it could be the crown.”

  “The crown? Why would she bring the phylactery to a fight?” I wondered.

  “Being too far away weakens her. And she might not have a secure place to hide it.” Lilith replied.

  That was an interesting thought. I had never considered that keeping your body too far from your soul would weaken you. Actually, thinking back to the game, liches were never that far from their phylactery. I was not aware of any lore reasons and had always assumed it was due to gameplay. You defeated a lich, then searched their tomb or stronghold for the phylactery. It might be similar to the dryads who could not move too far from their trees. Although I expected a lich to have far more range.

  Then there was the safety aspect. How easy would it be to keep your phylactery safe if you were far away? If you trusted your own power, keeping it close might be the way to go. Especially if it was a hard to destroy magical artefact.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  While pondering such things the fight continued. I had to dodge several dark bolts flying my way and Beira was now surrounded by a black mist that did not look healthy. Lilith was answering with fire bolts which were blocked by a shield of ice.

  Maybe I was overthinking things. The crown seemed important, time to destroy it. I focused on it and cast devour magic.

  The familiar black smoke appeared. It felt hungry as it started devouring… But it failed to reach the crown. A turquoise magical shield flared to life and was slowly eaten. But while the shield was devoured the magic had failed to reach the crown, for now.

  “Argh! That magic again! This time it will fail, this time I will show you my true power!” Beira shouted and raised her staff. Her shield was still being chewed while a giant black circle appeared in the sky.

  “This looks bad.” I observed.

  My magic was eating her defense, so maybe I could hurt her a little. Her spell did not seem to be the fastest. I decided to go big and cast Storm’s Judgement. I poured my aura into it, willing the storm around us to fuel my magic.

  Meanwhile a massive ghostly figure was forming above Beira, right underneath the giant circle. It looked like an old woman in a torn black dress. My lightning bolt raced towards Beira as the ghostly figure opened its mouth.

  Then came a scream. It was the most horrific sound I had ever heard. I could feel it attacking my very soul. I closed my eyes and focused inward, not looking at the result of my lightning. Our entire bond was suffering. I poured my aura into it, trying to strengthen us.

  Death was natural. It was the ultimate fate of every living thing. What attacked us was death, but it felt wrong. This was not part of nature. This was an enemy of all life, not a part of the cycle. This was wrong, foul. And it would not win.

  I was the storm. I was a force of nature. I would never yield. Magic poured from the plane of air pushing against the foulness. The storm in the real world intensified as more lightning flooded the sky. Deafening thunder drowned out the scream of Beira’s magic. I felt Lucy’s determination as her power joined my own.

  I opened my eyes and they were glowing. Lightning surrounded my body and I could feel my hair levitating.

  “You have challenged the storm. You have defied nature. You have violated the souls of countless beings. For your crimes you have been judged and found wanting. Your sentence is death. True death, not the failed existence you now embrace.” I raised my hand as I kept talking. Beira looked a bit singed. Her shield had collapsed. The ghostly figure above her was slowly fading away. I raised my hand and pointed at her.

  “Storm’s Judgement.” There was no need to say the name of a spell out loud. But it felt right. The biggest bolt of lightning I had ever conjured fell from the sky. Beira screamed as her whole body was electrocuted. I could see her skin being burned.

  Then my eyes widened. Devour magic was still going. And it had now started chewing the crown.