The black creature was getting closer. Darian's back was pressed to the cliff's edge, his legs trembling, the still ocean churning far below. His breathing grew sharp and quick. He could hear the steady, deliberate steps of the monster closing in, its blade-like arm glinting in the pale light.
The black creature's steps sounded like steel driving into stone, each one making the cliff tremble beneath Darian's feet. The air felt heavier, colder, as if the monster carried a storm with it. His fingers twitched toward the knife he no longer trusted. Beside him, Snowy's fur stood on end, its nine tails lashing as if sensing the only way out.
The little fox stood at his feet, fur bristling, letting out a sharp, urgent cry before turning its gaze up at him.
Darian's eyes widened. He knew that look. It was the same as the day Snowy had fused with his arm. He didn't know how to control it, but right now, it was their only hope.
"I… I don't know if this will work… but we have no other choice!"
Darian freed his right arm, and the fox immediately leapt into it.
The magic began again. Right after Snowy jumped into his arm, it was as if Snowy's entire body disappeared... once again fusing inside Darian's right arm. This was the first time it had happened in six years.
The moment Snowy's body vanished into his arm, Darian felt a crushing weight in his chest, like winter itself had taken root in his lungs. His heartbeat slowed, each thud echoing through ice-filled veins. For a split second, he swore he heard Snowy's voice, not words, but a sharp, urging thought. The cold didn't just crawl under his skin; it became him.
His whole body began turning white... not just his right arm. Now, he looked like a snowman, except the snow was inside his body… flowing in his blood. His body temperature dropped to around -28°C. No normal human could survive that, but Darian could, thanks to Snowy's powers.
His veins turned blue, but there was no blood in them anymore. There wasn't even snow, instead, solid ice flowed through his veins. Darian's hair had turned white as well, but it wasn't like any normal hair. It was harder than ice.
"Woah… it looks so different from last time…"
He didn't have time to check all the changes, especially with the monster now just seven feet away. Darian couldn't think, he just had to act. He raised his right arm, and it felt as if he could cast some kind of powerful spell.
"GO, ICE SHARDDD!!!"
After shouting, an ice shard shot out from his right arm. It wasn't huge, about 1.6 feet long, but it was fired at an incredible speed. But it was usless, the monster was able to parry it.
The shard shattered into glittering pieces, scattering across the frozen ground. The creature tilted its head, emitting a grinding, metallic hiss that scraped against Darian's ears. The air around him swirled with frost, his every breath a white plume.
Darian didn't even have time to speak before the enemy, realizing the danger, swung again to strike him. But Darian's transformed body was faster now. He managed to dodge by rolling on the ground.
His muscles moved faster than his mind could follow, one second he was rolling to the side, the next he was upright again, firing another shard. The cliffside groaned under the sudden burst of cold.
The monster, after the second shard, didn't have enough time to react, this spell was much stronger now, and the impact pushed the creature to the cliff's edge.
Darian had another idea. He pointed his arm at the ground.
"RADIAL FREEZEEE!!!"
The ground beneath him instantly froze. The monster didn't seem to know what to do, it was as if it had never encountered anything like this before. It lost its balance and fell from the cliff.
"BOOMMM!!!"
Darian was relieved because he was still alive. He didn't understand everything that had just happened, but his only thought now was to get away.
He began walking stealthily, aware that there were many more monsters like the one he had just defeated. They all had different forms, some shaped like snails, others like spiders with an horn on top of their head, but all of them were at least half his height, extremely tall, and probably very dangerous, but they were all black, it was their only similiarity.
Darian avoided them as best as he could… until he heard something that froze him in place.
It was like an earthquake, but not from the ground. It was more like the sound of footsteps… enormous ones.
The ground shook in long, heavy pulses, each one rattling his teeth. At first, he thought it was an earthquake, but then a shadow began to stretch across the ruined land. It moved with purpose. When the thing came into view, Darian's knees nearly buckled... it was like a mountain tearing itself free from the earth. Plates of black armor shifted and cracked, revealing glimpses of writhing mouths within. Every step sent a deep vibration through his bones, a rhythm that seemed to echo in his chest like a second heartbeat.
He turned around, fear gripping him. What he saw made him scream.
"WHAT IS THATTT?!?!"
Before him stood something massive. It was all black like the other creatures, but unlike them, it was completely different. Darian had never imagined a monster this huge, it had to be at least 164 feet tall.
It was like an alive mountain, he thought. Its body was bizarre, dense and muscular, covered in twisted plates and lined with teeth everywhere. Its main mouth never stopped moving, opening and closing constantly. Inside it, Darian could see even more mouths, claws, and writhing tongues.
He noticed that the creature had two completely different arms. One was enormously strong, muscular, and tipped with massive claws. The other was a chaotic mess of tentacles, twisting and wriggling like maddened serpents.
Then he saw something glowing faintly in its chest. He didn't know what it was, but the giant was getting closer.
The giant took another step, the ground shaking so hard that Darian nearly lost his balance. His heartbeat thundered in his ears, breath coming in sharp bursts.
Snowy stirred inside his arm, the cold in his body spiking without warning. Before he could think, his arm lashed out on its own. A wave of frost exploded from his hand, racing across the ground toward the monster's legs.
The ice struck, then shattered instantly, like fragile glass against stone. The giant didn't even flinch.
Darian's stomach dropped. If that couldn't hurt it, there was only one option left. He turned and ran.