The blizzard is raging.
Halfway up the mountain, huge lumps of snow started slowing their pace down. Freyja admitted she overestimated her body. It's so cold, she can feel her entire body losing its feeling and strength. Her breaths grew more and more shallow. Having grown up in a tropical country, her first ever experience of snow is quite traumatic.
"Terrible luck. Why is there a blizzard right now!?" Kirin cursed, though expecting it to some extent. Mount Tristiss is well known for its harsh and deadly weather. Freyja is growing paler by the minute. "Hey, can you still go?"
Freyja nodded.
The sun is setting, and the temperature is getting even lower. They're consuming the heat-generating crystals they bought at the town faster than anticipated. "Let's go look for a cave. We can't go on with this blizzard. You look around too."
Freyja couldn't even hear him anymore. As she pushed herself to walk forward, something caught her attention. Up ahead the dark, snow-covered path, is a silhouette of a long-haired man. Freyja ran after him instinctively, stomping onto the thick sheets of snow, drawing out her energy even more. The silhouette started to get clearer and clearer, until it turned to a man pale as the snow, with long silver hair up to the back of his knees. He's naked, but the cold doesn't seem to get to him even a bit. Freyja reached her hands out to him, but they passed through his figure like a ghost. And then, Freyja lost consciousness.
"FREYJA! Hey!" Kirin quickly took the girl in his arms. "FREYJA!" He slapped her ice-cold face, but she made no response. The timing couldn't get any worse. Kirin ran around to find shelter, but a man wrapped in thick, brown cloak and face covered in wool scarf blocked his path. Kirin's heart raced in fear. He's never hoped that he's wrong this much before, but he knows that man and it means danger. Kirin turned around and escaped as fast as he could, the fainted girl in his arms.
Kirin's speed is inhuman. No ordinary human can even catch up to a half of his speed. However, the man effortlessly chased after him, closing in the gap little by little. "Goddammit!" Not for long, the man overtook Kirin, blocking his escape path completely.
"What do you want!?"
"Do not be so cruel, Kirin." The stranger removed the scarf covering his face, revealing a man in his late 20s. His shoulder-length, straight hair and eyes are of matching dark brown color. His aura, is colored exactly the same as Kirin's.
"Ahrin!" Kirin clicked his tongue.
The man in front of him was none other than his elder brother, Ahrin Aethemaer, one of the few people in the world Kirin didn't want to mess with. The successor to the Aethelmaer clan and an infamous warlord well known for his cold and cruelty. Kirin felt his heart pound. His unusually confident demeanor is gone. But, for Freyja to survive, he only have one option. That is, to finish his own brother...if he could.
Despite the weather, Kirin took his cloak off and wrapped it around the unconscious girl before laying her on the snow sheet on the ground. Kirin summoned his black aura blade.
"Are you going to fight me?" Ahrin, just like Kirin, summoned a sword from his black aura. Looking at Freyja, Kirin could tell they're at a disadvantage. If she's not evacuated to a warmer place, she'll die of Hypothermia. And in the event her white aura uncontrollably activates again in response to the danger, she might die of the strain it will take on her body. Unusually for Kirin, he made the first move and charged at his brother. Their blades clashed along with their goals.
"Why are you protecting her?"
"Who knows?"
Kirin couldn't concentrate very well. Ahrin pulled a knife out of his back pocket and quickly threw it at the girl. Kirin reacted just in time, quickly rushing to cover her, grazing his left arm in the process.
"I'm the one who taught you to CONCENTRATE." Ahrin clicked his tongue in frustration. He couldn't believe his prodigious brother did something as stupid as losing his focus because of someone else.
But all of a sudden, a third presence joined in. "FREEZE!" A rather familiar voice echoed from behind Ahrin. Having Ahrin off guard, the snow on the ground rapidly clumped together, forming a thick ice wall around Ahrin's feet, and then around his entire body. In just a few seconds, Ahrin was completely frozen in a thick, ice wall.
Their mysterious magician showed up. It was Alaric.
Despite knowing that Alaric is not your average runemaster, Kirin knows that his spells are not even close to completely restraining someone like his brother. Taking Freyja in his arms, he ran away as fast as he could. "Get out of here! He's not someone you can defeat with just that!" Tipping Alaric, the two of them abandoned the idea of reaching the peak and escaped.
Fortunately, on the way down, they found a cave they can all spend the night into.
"That was my most powerful freezing spell. Even if he lives, he'll surely freeze for a day!" Alaric couldn't believe what Kirin said about his brother. "Quite the opposite. I'm sure he's free by now. But with this blizzard, he's forced to seek shelter first." Kirin said as he laid the unconscious girl down. "Her body isn't used to cold weather at all."
"I will go and make something hot for us to eat." Alaric used a simple fire spell to make a bonfire. Then, he took out some canned goods from his bag and heated them up. Kirin on the other hand, removed Freyja's jacket and started undressing the shivering girl little by little.
"What are you doing!?" Alaric was bound to see them anyway. "Just leave her clothes on!"
"Don't be stupid! She'll die at this rate!" He continued undressing her, ignoring Alaric's protests. Alaric turned the other way. Kirin too, started undressing.
Kirin took the girl in his arms and embraced her ice cold body tightly. He pulled a thick mink cloak from his bag and covered them both with it. Slowly, he summoned his dark aura and tried to wrap it around Freyja.
Kirin's aura warmed her body. It's like she's suddenly submerged in a warm, comforting bath. Her color began to return and her body stopped shivering.
Freyja is having yet another vivid dream.
Just like the weather in mount Tristiss, that place is also brutally cold. Her hands shivering, but there's a man in white robes, with long jet black hair, holding her hands tightly. His hands were so warm and comfortable. She tried to look up at his face, but he's just like a shadow. And then all of a sudden, her hands were covered with thick crimson blood. Freyja shrieked. The man was then lying on the ground all of a sudden, bathing in a pool of blood. Freyja tried to reach out to him, but someone pulled her back. "Wait! Don't leave him!"
Her plea was ignored. "He's going to die!" She struggled. "Somebody! Save him!"
"Astrid!" She shouted her lungs out.
Freyja opened her eyes, her body covered in sweat. Beside her is a half-naked Kirin, his arms wrapped around her. "How are you feeling?" He asked, his left arm wounded.
Finally coming back to her senses, Freyja instinctively pulled away from him, covering herself with the mink cloak. "I.. um." She can't find the words to say.
"Good, You were about to die from hypothermia. So I wrapped you with my aura. I suppose it worked well." Kirin's unfazed expression bothered Freyja a bit. "That wound?"
"Just a scratch."
"Glad you're alright." Alaric approached them with three cans of hot soup. "Here, let's eat."
"Alaric! What are you doing here? Are you looking for Astrid too?"
"I guess we owe him one this time." Kirin mumbled.
Alaric sat on the ground, sipping the hot soup in the can. "Actually, I'm looking for you Freyja." He explained. "You see, because I helped you two, the council decided to expel me from the guild. I'm basically a homeless person now." He said with a rather excited face.
"What? But that's—" Freyja looked down, but Alaric shook his head, reassuring her that it isn't her fault. "This is the first time I've been out of Runerich. I'm actually thankful!"
"Before anything else," Kirin interrupted, "I want you two to know that we have an enemy lurking around. That person is very strong, even I can't match up to him that easily. We have to go back to town when the blizzard subsides."
"NO!" Freyja slammed the ground. "I can't go back! Astrid is waiting for me!"
"He's not like the others! He's stronger than me! He'll kill us three!" Kirin raised his voice.
"I won't go back!" She insisted. "Stop being stubborn and listen to me!" He didn't want to give in either.
"Kirin, I understand your worry but Freyja is right. There's no guarantee anyway that we'll be safe even if we did get to town." Alaric joined in.
"Give me one more day." Freyja's eyes met Kirin's. He could tell she's resolute. He could tell she's prepared to die. "Just one more day, I will surely find Astrid."
~o0o~
Freyja regained her strength, and the blizzard too, ceased. Kirin, Freyja and Alaric are on their way to the peak when the apparition of the silver haired man with crimson eyes appeared before Freyja once again. This time, she could see him clearly. "You're Astrid, aren't you?" She had a smile on her face, surprising the two.
"I can see Astrid... I can see him!" She cried, chasing after the apparition who started floating to somewhere up ahead. Kirin and Alaric followed.
A little more before they could reach the peak, the apparition took an unexpected turn leading them to a small cave entrance, just enough for one person to slide in. This entrance was not mentioned in the accounts of the journeymen in the archives, more than enough reason for them to explore it.
First, Alaric jumped into the hole. When he's in, he illuminated the dark cave by conjuring a simple 'light' spell. Freyja jumped in next, followed by Kirin. Surprisingly, the underground cave is much wider than they thought it would be. With utmost precaution, the three explored the cave, hardly missing any detail.
The cave looked normal. However, as they went deeper and deeper, they started noticing strange 'letters' engraved on the cave's walls. Alaric examined them closely, searching his memory for any accounts on these. Having spent his entire life in the tower of archives, he was surprised hasn't read a single thing about these. Pulling his pen and notebook out, he quickly made sketches as they went on.
"Kirin... Alaric..." Freyja stopped walking all of a sudden. "Can you feel it?" She closed her eyes.
"That's...." Alaric and Kirin heightened their senses, following her cue.
The young rune master recognized the aura leaking from ahead. He pulled his staff out, quite startled. "That's dark aura!"
"Ahrin? No... it's something different." Kirin felt it too, but he is sure it's not his brother's.
Freyja ran ahead, more and more certain that Astrid is somewhere inside the cave. The two followed.
In a few minutes, Freyja ended up leading them to a dead end.
"It's a dead end." Alaric examined the walls of the cave. "So there's nothing here?"
Kirin on the other hand, is positive that they're getting closer. He trusts Freyja's instincts, especially when it comes to Astrid. Like Alaric, he examined every corner of the place, looking for hidden entrances. And alas! He found a wall with strange inscriptions carved on it. Neither of them could read it, so he called Freyja and asked her to decide what to do next.
Unable to read the inscriptions, Freyja gently felt the carvings with her hands. While she is subconsciously feeling the letters, Kirin observed some of the letters illuminated by a very faint light, seconds after Freyja's hand brushed against it.
"Freyja, concentrate and try to transfer your energy to the inscriptions!" He knows they are getting closer and closer to the answer to this puzzle. Freyja didn't know how to do that, but Kirin and Alaric coached her. Kirin held her hand and put it over the inscriptions. "Close your eyes and imagine yourself being surrounded by a warm liquid." He instructed. "And then, imagine it concentrating on this hand."
Freyja did as Kirin instructed, but she can't release a drop of white aura. "Kirin, I can't."
"Come on, try harder." He urged.
"Relax your body Freyja. Don't try TOO HARD. Just find a comfortable state." Alaric advised.
Again, Freyja closed her eyes. This time, she recalled what happened the last time her white aura came out. And it came to her, finally. "The voice!" She remembered.
"Whoever you are, help me release the white aura, I'm begging you." She thought, hard.
Nothing's happening.
"Please! I'm prepared to see what's behind this wall!"
Nothing's happening.
"Who am I?" Finally, she heard it again.
"You are..."
"Who am I?" It repeated, she felt its presence getting closer and closer, almost wrapped around her.
"I am..."
"I am Freyja Lenfiare." They chorused.
Freyja opened her eyes.
Alaric and Kirin were wide eyed when they saw the letters glowing radiantly. Kirin felt Freyja's hand growing extremely hot, that his hand was burned. He backed off. Freyja felt as if the wall is sucking her energy. It won't let go of her had.
Soon, the entire wall crumbled, revealing an unexpected pathway. Freyja pulled her hand back. "Ouch. It stings."
"This is... This is..." Alaric couldn't believe what he is seeing. The accounts didn't contain any of what he's seeing. He felt his heart race in excitement. "Listen Freyja, we're near Astrid, aren't we? Can I see him?" He's almost jumping in excitement. The three of them followed the path, leading them to an unexpectedly large section of the cave. The ceiling is so high like a dome, you won't believe it's inside a mountain at all. "Is this even possible?" Kirin too, couldn't contain his amazement.
Freyja continued walking, to the center of the room, where an ice pillar stood by itself. Inside the pillar is a naked young man, with long silver hair reaching up to the back of his knees, frozen solid. He looked as if he's just sleeping.
Gently, Freyja touched the frozen pillar, tears streaming from her eyes.
"Astrid. I'm back."
~ o 0 o ~