Of Ice, Death & Monsters

As if someone pointed a flashlight at me, I shielded myself from the radiance, nearly stumbling away as I groaned from having my eyes nearly blinded. I actually fell on the ground after a powerful force akin to wind knocked me down, disorientating me momentarily.

“It’s been quite a while since I’ve received such an answer like that; the others weren’t as pleasing.” The woman’s voice was like a bow gently gliding on a violin, so soft and soothing, with a hint of something deeper below the surface, pulling me to its grasp.

“W-What?” Is all I could muster as I rubbed my eyes, still groggy from the transformation sequence I was forced to endure. Maybe this is why the bad guys didn’t do anything when they transformed; it was so bright and flashy.

“You have proved that you are more than just another barbarian seeking power and the means to help themselves. As such, you shall be spared and rewarded accordingly.”

My heart gave a few confused beats of relief as I finally calmed down and gazed upon one of the most beautiful women I’ve seen in my life. Tall, around Katya’s height, with long silvery hair, and skin as fine as porcelain. She wore a modest white robe, and on her head was a crown of… stones? With wings of crystal on her back.

“Uh-uh I-uh well you.” I stammered out a few words, pointing at her as she laughed.

“Aww, I think I may find this cuter than the ones who screamed for their lives~”

At that moment, I took a deep breath, wafting the air around me before I exhaled. My mind was racing with a million thoughts that might not even be hyperbole anymore with the amount of spirits in my mind.

“Okay, okay, l-let’s back up for a bit, Ms…” I looked at her, expecting a Name.

“I am the guardian of this mountain, and the moniker I go by is Shegora.” She gave a sweet smile that distracted me a bit before I recomposed myself again.

“S-So… you’re the guardian… guardian. Wings… crown… beautiful woman.” I snapped my fingers with each word to describe the being that stood before me. Then, it all clicked together. The weird test, being in a strange place, hidden away from most of the world. Of course, there was only one type of creature that could ever fit these descriptions.

“Aha! F-Fae! You’re a-”

“Fairy~ In the old language, that’s what I would be. Outstanding, would you want a hug for that?”

I blushed a little and looked around. “C-Can I?”

“Would you want to pass another test~” She sang out as coy as can be, sticking her tongue out as if she were a snake, causing an excited shiver through my back.

“O-On second thought no-, I have to find Matthias first.”

“Good, you passed the test.” She raised her arms out, and suddenly, my feet were moved by the earth beneath me as I was shoved right into her rather soft chest, my face buried within her bosom for a few brief moments before I looked up into the cave’s ceiling, taking a deep breath.

She smelled so much like lavender for some reason, but it was rather calming.

“I-If I failed that-”

“I would have eaten you whole, right after you hugged me.” She gave a wide grin and unhinged her jaw, showcasing a bloody maw full of rows of sharp teeth as if she were a shark.

‘That’s kinda hot not gonna lie…’

'...Yeah, I’m right, it’s kinda hot.’

'Am I crazy? What am I thinking?’

It took all my mental prowess to carefully let go of her while I shook myself again. “W-Wait, why do you guys eat people? What’s the purpose of it? Aren’t you all immortal or at least long-lived? Do you even need to eat people?” The answer to this question always eluded me when I thought about it for more than a few minutes, and now was my chance to know.

Her laugh echoed through the cave as her crystal wings fluttered. “We do it as punishment, and because you mortals taste so wonderful~ We love every part of you, never putting anything to waste.”

My stomach churned as I looked around the cave in horror, slowly realizing what that meant. “S-so… the screams begging for their lives… You ate other survivors?”

“Those who failed the test, yes. I ate them all up. But don’t worry, Matthias is safe, he is one of us after all.”

“He’s also a fairie?”

“No. But he is Fey enchanted. He was a remarkable boy, too; Baba Yaga raised him well. As your reward, I shall tell you that he went to the southern tunnel, but be warned, he has found himself near the outside of another cave, one where monsters tend to frequent.”

“Oh… alright, thanks for the heads up, but wait, what are you going to do now?”

“I’ll watch and see what happens~ this is my mountain after all. Take care on your journey, Peter Sai. Perhaps we may meet again, but until then, this is our goodbye~”

Then, without a second word, her body cracked, turning into stone before it broke apart into sand that scattered around the cave.

While it was annoying that she wouldn’t help us any more than that, I shouldn’t really expect much from those Fae; they’re whimsical creatures that delight in only what makes them happy. At least I wasn’t eaten, and at least I knew where to go now and, perhaps, what I needed to do.

“Alright… let’s not waste any more time!” I turned around and ran south, heading into the first tunnel I saw. After several minutes of running, I noticed the walls around me were growing, expanding in some way. I must be headed close to the entrance. I picked up my speed, going as fast as I could until I saw the rays of light coming from the outside.

And that’s when I heard it: quiet sobbing. Someone was sniffling all alone by the edge of the cave. I turned to look, and there he was: Matthias. He was all curled up, hugging himself like a cat in winter. My heart sank low as I approached him, and a deluge of thoughts circled within my head.

‘What should I do?’

‘How could I help him?’

‘He needs to be alone…’

‘No! The monsters are around here, we need to bring him inside!’

And so, I opened with a fake cough, causing Matthias to turn around and look at me with puffed-up eyes, which made him look like those kittens in winter videos that softened my heart a little.

“W-What are y-you doing here? Just… stay away, I deserve to be alone…” He raised his shaking hands and stared at his palms.

“The blood on my hands… I can’t wash it away. I killed them… And what’s worse is I saw it all happen around me… There was no way to stop it. Each person that died here… every single body we find, every hand that sticks out of the ground… Every ghoul that shambles before us... It’s because of me. We've been stuck here... for days because... of me."

‘There’s no denying that.’

There wasn’t. If he was the one who planned all of it, if he was the one who wanted to go through with it. Then he was right, it was all his fault, every single piece of blame goes to him. He was responsible…

‘But, I believe he knows that all too well, doesn’t he?’

‘Is there any reason that I should berate him even more?’

‘This is no time for tough love. No time to hammer it in.’

I took a deep breath and tried to sit beside him, but he scampered away out into the open like a cat. And so I quickly rolled over to his side once more into the snow, trying to catch up to him.

“Yeah, there’s no doubting that at all. You were the one to bring us all here… and you knew what was to come, or at least as much as possible… but.”

I reached out to pat his back. “We can’t exactly put all the responsibility on you now, can we?”

He peeked out of his hands, sniffling a little. “W-what do you mean?”

“You’re not the one who forced us to sign the Contract… We wanted to join, for whatever reason we had.” I stared up as the snow fell onto my face. How long ago was my birthday? Oh… it was more than two weeks ago. Huh, time flies fast when you aren't being chased by monsters.

“We had a choice. Some of us…” My mind instantly went to Jane, our conversation still fresh in my head as if we spoke just yesterday.

“Didn’t, but I hope to all there is in the world that you didn’t force them.”

“... The Choir… you mean?” He asked me as he wiped away his tears, which were slowly turning to ice.

“Yeah, them, I really hope you didn’t have any to do with that… did you?”

He shook his head quickly. “N-No, by Draco’s Tail no… they were essentially in the same bout as me, I was just given more privilege.”

Huh, that explained why Jane looked so angry at Matthias before.

“Well, good, because I would have really thought you were awful then.” I laughed awkwardly, and Matthias soon followed, cracking a smile.

“... Well, I know I just did it because I needed the money… I needed to have a win. I wanted to go out into the world and find my glorious victory. So that I can come back home happy.”

I just wanted to be happy. I wanted to be proud of myself. I wanted something to call my own and finally look back and smile at what I've accomplished. Could I do that now? No, certainly not.

'But I can try, and that's all some people need.'

'Maybe that's what I need...'

“I’ll… I’ll make sure we can get back home… happily. I just hope that I can do as much as I can… Because I don’t know what I’m doing at all. This wasn’t the plan. Everything crumbled so fast- I-I’m just going off of hunches right now. I think Baba Yaga could help, but I’m not so sure anymore… Especially since we still need to get to her, and that's not gonna be easy...” He curled up again, hugging his knees as his ears drooped down to the sides of his head.

“Just, don’t focus on that now. We have quite the ways to go. It’s my fault for bringing up all the questions for one thing.” I patted his back. It was strange to see him so vulnerable like this. He always looked so chipper and confident in himself, but now… it was actually kinda sad seeing him like this. I wanted to squish his cheeks and rub his ears like an actual cat to make him feel better.

“John always said you were a talkative one… He even said you did it in your sleep.”

I rolled my eyes hard as I heard a voice in my head laugh. “Did he bring out his phone and show you the recordings?”

He nodded and smiled a little more. “Everyone in the office laughed… And I was so surprised when you told me you were rejected. You seemed like a perfect fit… better than me, at least.”

I laughed a little from such kind words. “Heh, thanks, but you’re a great Magi too… I can’t think that fast on my feet, unlike you. I froze… I froze so hard against the Bes, against those hairy toddler things…”

“To be frank… they were super freaky looking. I actually wanted to punt them over to the next mountain.” Matthias muttered as he traced the snow on the ground with his finger.

I laughed at that and shook my head. “Well, same here… Let’s get back to the party, alright?” I stood up and raised my hand to Matthias, who took it and stood up right beside me.

“Sure… thanks for coming here.”

“Thank you for helping us.” I turned around to walk back into the cave. Finally, it was all over. We can finally go back and-

"Grrrr..."

A growl hummed in the air. A hungry and familiar growl that sent shivers down my spine.

Once more, I froze in place, turning around with Matthias as we both saw the lumbering presence that slowly closed in on us.

With a body the size of a small house, and a head much like that of a bull. Antlers like branches that stretched upwards, with the carcasses of the dead upon them.

Two, it was two Bes’s, and they were staring right at us.