Chapter 9: Ash and Snow [2]
Another day began with a sharp, cold breath that pierced my lungs. I covered the leftover embers with snow and stood up. The thick bearskin on my back was my only refuge in the midst of this brutal whiteness. Though it offered some warmth to my body, it couldn’t soothe the frost in my soul.
I didn’t know where I was going. Nor did I know what I would do. All I did was put one foot in front of the other. It was as if I felt that if I stopped moving, this endless white would swallow me whole and never let me go. My only hope was to find a faint wisp of smoke from a village or any other trace of humanity.
This was my fourth day in this cursed forest. I was starting to lose my sense of time. During the days, I hunted for prey, and at night, I wrestled with the void in my mind by the fire. Yet, I had learned some things in the process. How to command that indescribable energy within me—mana... I could now use it more efficiently, lightening my steps and delaying my fatigue. I could even form a thin, invisible shield of heat around my body to keep from freezing.
The fourteenth day... maybe I should have stopped counting by now. Each day was a snowy copy of the one before. As I continued my familiar, monotonous walk, a shriek from the depths of the forest startled me. It was not the sound of a hunted animal, but of pure terror. My instincts instantly screamed, "Stay away!" Entering a battle I couldn’t win was more than foolish; it was suicide.
I changed direction and began to move away from the sound. But ill-fortune wouldn’t leave me alone. That terrible sound was now coming towards me. In a matter of seconds, I saw colossal white silhouettes burst from the snow. Gorillas... four enormous, enraged, pure-white gorillas running towards me in a blind panic, as if the devil himself were at their heels. I had no intention of fighting them, but I was right in their path.
With the agility of a squirrel, I scrambled up the nearest pine tree. The icy energy in my fingers condensed, taking the shape of a sharp spear. I had just taken my position when the first gorilla charged the tree, as if to vent all its fury on me. There was a dry snap, and the trunk of the age-old tree split in two.
"Ahhh... I guess there’s no escape," I whispered to myself.
As I fell to the ground, I coated the ice spear with the static electricity I had gathered in my palm. With a crackle, I hurled the shimmering spear at the chest of the nearest gorilla. The spear found its target and shattered with a small explosion of ice. But it hadn’t created the effect I had expected. It had only opened a superficial scratch on the creature’s thick hide, enough to enrage it even further.
"Damn it! Their hides are so thick!"
The moment I hit the ground, another gorilla pounced on me. Its colossal, joined hands came down on me like a sledgehammer. At the last second, I used a wind spell to throw myself to the side, narrowly escaping the blow. But this did not buy me time. The third gorilla, as if having calculated my escape route, swung a blow from the side that sent me flying like a rag doll.
I heard my bones crack as my back slammed into a tree trunk. Despite the searing pain that exploded in my chest, my unique regenerative ability kicked in. My broken bones knitted back together with a painful crunch, and I gathered myself. But the gorillas gave me no chance to breathe.
This time, I raised a thick wall of earth in front of me. The gorilla’s punch tore through the wall as if it were made of cardboard, sending me reeling back once more. The force of the blow had diminished, but I was still wounded.
My ice couldn’t pierce them. My lightning consumed too much mana. At this rate, I would die. For a moment, that forbidden memory flashed in my mind. Kaiser’s Flames... I had no other choice.
As the gorilla lunged at me for a final blow, I gathered all my strength in my palms. This time, it wasn’t ice or wind. This was a pure, destructive flame. Daring to take the creature’s strike head-on, I unleashed the inferno in my palms at the exact moment of contact. Along with the blow that shook my body, flames engulfed the gorilla from head to toe. The monster screamed in agony, burning like a torch.
"It worked..." I whispered breathlessly.
The other three gorillas stared in fear at their burning companion and the flames that surrounded me. They hesitated for a moment.
And that’s when it happened.
In the blink of an eye, a purple streak tore through the air. A moment later, the heads of the three remaining gorillas were severed from their shoulders in a fountain of blood and fell onto the snowy ground.
"Huh? What was that?"
Before I could even comprehend what had happened, a woman in her early thirties appeared before me. Her bright purple hair, tied in a ponytail, fell over her shoulders. In her hand, she held a large sword, still dripping with blood. Her sharp eyes were fixed on me.
"Boy, are you alright? Are you hurt?"
For the first time since Dr. Aris, a human was speaking to me. I didn’t know what to say. My tongue was tied.
"Can you speak?" The woman took a small bottle from a pouch on her belt and held it out to me. "Take this. It’ll heal your wounds faster."
Hesitantly, with trembling hands, I took the potion. I had to stay calm. This woman could be my ticket out of this forest.
"Thank you..." My voice came out as a whisper.
"Ah, so you can speak," the woman said, giving my bearskin attire a condescending look. "I was starting to think you were one of the wild men."
Just then, a hurried voice came from a distance: "Elara! What happened? Why did you suddenly take off after the monsters?"
In the seconds that followed the voice, a tall, red-haired girl, about 13 or 14 years old, emerged from among the branches. She held a graceful sword in her hand. Her blue eyes widened in surprise when she saw me. She clearly hadn’t expected to see a child alone in the middle of this forest.
Elara, the purple-haired woman, said, "As you can see, Iris. The monsters we were chasing had cornered this boy."
Then she turned back to me. "So, boy, what are you doing all alone in this forest? Where is your family?"
I was expecting this question. The most convincing lie is one adorned with a piece of the truth. "I don’t remember. I woke up and was in this forest."
Elara’s gaze drifted to my incinerated gorilla. "Did you... do that to him?"
I tried to keep my composure as I answered. "Yes, I did."
Elara’s eyes narrowed. "So you’re telling me you used magic without a mana core? The creature you defeated was a 2-star Silverback. Even a warrior who has completed their Second Ascension would have a hard time taking down that monster. On top of that, your hair color is unheard of around here, you don’t remember your past, and you’re almost naked... And you expect us to believe all of that?"
My mind went blank. Every question was a spear pinning me down. If this continued, they would either abandon me to die here or see me as a threat and kill me themselves.
As I was plunged into silence, the red-haired girl named Iris stepped forward and reached her hand out to me. There was sincere concern on her face.
"I’m sorry you got hurt because of us. We were the ones who drove the monsters towards you. If you want... would you like to be my guest?"
Hearing the offer, Elara instantly protested. "Young Lady Iris! Taking someone so suspicious and of unknown identity to the Duchy could be dangerous!"
"But Elara!" Iris argued back. "What if he’s telling the truth? We’d be abandoning him here to die in this state!"
Elara let out a deep sigh and finally gave in. A triumphant smile appeared on Iris’s face.
"My name is Iris," she said cheerfully. "And this is my teacher, Elara. She’s a bit grumpy because she’s not married yet, so don’t mind her."
In response to this teasing comment, Elara lightly flicked Iris’s forehead. "I just haven’t found the right person to marry, that’s all!"
While Iris rubbed her forehead in pain, she turned to me. "So what’s your name? Do you remember?"
I hesitated for a moment.
There was only one name that came from the depths of my mind.
"Cassian... My name is Cassian."