White smoke rose into the air as Astel's breathing slowly calmed down. His sudden chest pain had disappeared almost as fast as it appeared. Fully opening his eyes, he was blinded by the light reflecting off his spear still stuck in the lizard monster.
Covering his eyes, he stood up and dragged his body closer to it. Placing his hand on the spear, it immediately dissolved into sparks of white light—ever so slightly brighter than the sun's golden glow.
His hand moved to the creature's head.
He softly closed the creature's eyes while closing his own and mumbling something.
'In the end you were just a pest.'
A grin formed on his face as he started laughing.
He opened his eyes, staring at the beast's dead corpse while raising one of his legs. With a swift stomp he crushed its skull, blood spraying everywhere. A jolt of pain spread through his tired body, making him shiver.
Looking at the bloody snow, he noticed something faintly sparkling.
It looked familiar.
Getting an idea, he summoned his spear back into existence, forcing out the last bits of energy he had. He stared at the white sparks surrounding his hand before the spear appeared, confirming his suspicion.
'Normal monsters don't just suddenly dissolve like notions…'
He released his hold of the spear, returning it back into his mind.
Crouching down, he rummaged through the shattered skull hoping to find a clue—something to help him understand. The longer he searched, however, the fewer white sparks remained.
Soon all of them disappeared, leaving him no closer to any answer.
He sighed.
'I bet that bastard would know.'
Images of Sev flashed across his mind.
He shook his head.
'No. I don't need him, I can be a hero on my own.'
His eyes drifted back onto the corpse lying before him, a suspicious look on his face.
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his stomach rumbling.
The smell of blood permeated the cold air as he stood there, contemplating for a moment. Shrugging, he reached toward the remains and tore an unappetizing chunk of meat from it.
'I guess your death did serve some purpose.'
He brought the meat to his mouth, finally smelling it up close. The stench almost made him throw up, but the famine was too great.
He took a large bite.
The taste of iron mixed with the horrible stench and the texture of clay flooded his taste buds. He chewed on it for a moment before spitting it out and puking out his empty gut.
The acid from his body flushed out the disgusting flavor.
"What the fuck is this, is it even edible?"
He said out loud, throwing the rest away.
His stomach grumbled again. Pain gripped the sides of his body, squeezing his lean muscles.
Reluctantly, he reached back down and picked up a piece of the monster's brain.
The thought of eating a creature's brain was already disgusting enough. He didn't even want to think about the horrid taste.
Closing his eyes, he took a small bite.
Chewing thoroughly, he swallowed.
For a moment everything was alright.
His stomach turned.
Everything was forced back out as Astel fell to his knees.
Covered in blood, snow, and his own vomit, he couldn't do anything but sit there in silence on the edge of tears.
'Perhaps I should cook it?'
He glanced back at the corpse, his stomach already rising again.
'Nope.'
He turned his head away, taking deep breaths. The feeling of air circulating in and out of his body calmed him down enough to at least stop the vomiting.
He stared into the distance, focusing on nothing in particular, eyes half closed.
Then something caught his attention.
Beyond the tall peaks he could just about make out grayish-black smoke rising into the air.
'People.'
His eyes shot open, laser-focused on where the smoke could be.
Without another thought he dashed toward it, leaving the corpse behind.
As he ran, he noticed the snow started getting deeper.
It was just a slight difference at first, but now it was almost like walking through mud.
Oddly enough, the snow was thick and heavy—unlike the light powder he had been walking on before.
The snow was already up to his knees, making it hard to take a single step, much less run.
With the snow up to his waist, he could barely move.
It felt like walking in water.
No.
More like walking through syrup.
He didn't feel any colder than before. Neither did he feel wet.
He stopped, scooping some of the odd snow into his hands. He was hoping to understand it better.
Walking through it, it felt like a liquid, but now that he was holding it, it didn't behave much like one.
In his hands was a solid chunk of pure white snow. It looked light, almost like foam.
He blew on it, trying to see how it would behave.
At first the snow didn't want to separate, so he blew harder.
It almost seemed like the snow had a mind of its own.
A small hole opened where Astel was blowing, allowing the air to pass through while leaving the rest connected.
With a frown, Astel blew again—this time even harder.
The foam-like snow almost flew from his hand in one piece before finally separating with a tearing sound.
The separated piece slowly glided down, unbothered by the wind.
When it finally reached the sea of snow it sank below the surface, passing through it like it wasn't even there.
With the corner of his eye Astel noticed the small hole where he had removed the snow had filled up about halfway.
'What the hell?'
He blinked in disbelief.
Returning his attention to the rest of the snow in his hand, he tightened his fist around it.
Straining his muscles, he could feel the snow's pillowy texture turn into a thicker, syrupy one before turning into a solid chunk.
He opened his fist and looked at it.
In his hand was a rough chunk of solid snow imprinted with his fingers.
He stared at it for a moment before chucking it away.
This time it flew in an arc and fell onto the snow with a soft thump before melting down into it.
The small hole from before was nowhere to be found.
'Huh, interesting.'
Astel shrugged, intending to continue moving toward the smoke.
He pushed, trying to move his leg.
It wouldn't budge.
Looking down at his submerged legs, he tried once more—this time using more strength.
Nothing.
He was stuck.
Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes, trying to calm down before quickly raising his fist and striking the snow.
It was like striking concrete.
He shook his hand, trying to calm the pain.
He tried turning his head to see how far he was from the corpse, but behind him was only a sea of snow.
Panicked, he spun back to look toward the smoke but was only met with endless white.
Reality slowly started setting in.
He might actually die here.