Day 7895
I've finally found it, the source of that affinity.
When I return to Vzerhthild they will welcome me as though I have returned their savior.
Durssel will be forced to grovel beneath me, he will be labeled an unbeliever. Though I can not place fault in his doubts, who would ever think that across endless snow laid such a beautiful place?
A garden of knowledge, bearing endless fruit ripe for the taking by any brave wanderer who will travel far and wide, crossing violent seas and deadlier storms of frost. Should I thank my resilience, believe myself an untold prophet, or am I merely a consequence of immense luck?
Day 7896
I basked in the pools of gentle snow and faint invisible draw. My entire body was compelled by a force unknown, the scholars of our empire likened this to the bolts of lightning sent from the sky. I could not comprehend this comparison, but I had no proper rationale to deny it.
After I exasperated the light, and the sky was no longer covered I found a painting on a white-dotted violet canvas. Thin colored clouds danced through the sky, vibrant variations of green and blue that I could only attempt to describe in all their beauty.
I had come to expect a reward for my troubles, but this is far beyond my wildest imagination. This is far beyond the very realm I exist in, I did not know, no, I could never know that such a pure representation of beauty would show its face to a life form such as I.
I fell asleep as this beautiful sight danced elegantly in front of my closed eyes. Had I not tired myself from days of travel I would engrave every crevice of this sight into my very soul.
Day 7897
I began my journey from whence I came.
I saw a vague figure approaching as I struggled to inch through the endless barrage of wind and needles composed of ice.
As the figure became more clear to me, a large gale swept away my belongings, and most of the items I had used to maintain my own warmth. However, when my eyes emerged from the blinding gust of wind I was no longer cold, it was as though everything around me had agreed to pause for the moment I was experiencing.
One figure turned into seven, all of them with great allure. The form of Durssel's lover appeared in front of me seven-fold. Perhaps this is a dream, but it also serves a reminder of my unrequited love for her.
The figures exchanged glances, and only one of them remained. She approached me slowly and placed her hand on my cheek. I felt her velvet skin caress mine, and the scenery around me shifted to that of my own home.
She hid her figure under the fur covering my bed, and looked at me with eyes of incomparable compassion. She glanced at a figure beside me, and I turned in kind to view this intruder. It was Durssel himself, tied to a chair sat unmistakably center. In my hand emerged a weapon, a tool for this purpose. She need not make any request, for I understood well what she wanted of me. We were both in want of the same occurrence.
I returned the head of this man to nothing but a collection of unsightly flesh and bone ground to dust. Each blow stronger than the next, each sight of his immense pain inviting me to rejoice.
She whispered sweet words in my ear, and affirmed my actions. She felt the same joy as I, we shared our happiness in this declaration of our love. His screams and cries were met with uncontrollable laughter, until he could scream and cry no more. What remained was a headless husk of his being, and with my part complete she invited me to rest with her.
When I viewed her divine figure once more it was just as I had imagined. She was covered by entirely in the flesh and blood of the competitor I had slaughtered in her honor, and with my own figure being similarly covered she invited me into her embrace. Her skin felt as though it was constructed of silk, as if she were a goddess returned to the world merely so I may be rewarded for my noble deeds. As we entered into harmony together, I thought of his cries. I wished for his eternal suffering. I hoped that he watched on as I took that which never belonged to him, and I hoped that he would suffocate on his own tears of rage and want.
I raised my head to view her face, and I saw the most precious smile I would ever witness. Thousands of teeth aligned to express her joy, her face stretched widely enough so she could truly show her emotion in all its entirety. I enjoyed an endless slumber in her arms.
...
Day 1422
Our return journey had just began when we came across the corpse of a man nearly buried in the snow. We initially viewed a portion of his foot, and uncovered the rest of his body later. Perhaps calling this thing a "man," is far too generous, for it was more a monster than any life I would have the misfortune of laying eyes upon. Both of its arms had been removed from his body, they were lying elsewhere, torn into pieces, as though some beast had eaten them. It was unclothed, and covered in long-frozen blood and flesh. Its skin had blackened nearly to the point that we would not be able to discern any of its facial features, but one part of it stood apart. Its eyes remained wide open, and stained with an unforgettable shade of red. After we took the proper amount of time to erase that horrific sight from our minds, we continued on our return.
Day 1423
Seven figures appeared before me.