⚠ Content Warning:
This chapter contains themes of death and suicidal acts. Reader discretion is advised.
The cold fast winds created cuts throughout Roman's skin, the backpack full of food only made it worse, the heavy weight trembled his small body down into the snow as he continued to fight back up, step after step he walked, lips turned blue, eyes started closing, one hand froze griping into its straps while the other held the talisman full of strength, thought it was fading slowly as he shuffled forward
From the distance he glanced a dark object, going forward it was the side of a mountain, he backed into it, it was double his size, but it was obvious the rest of the mountain was covered in the depths of dark
Sitting down he put the backpack in took out of his coat his little friend, "meal time squishy" he whispered as the rat came out using the cold boy's hand to keep itself warm
From the backpack the boy took out some bread and fruits, he cut them with a knife that was in there to make himself a sandwich, while giving his friend some meat
He breathed out warm air taking a bite, one after another, the winds harassed them, but resolve was written all over their faces, finishing their meal they walked by the side of the rockslide they backed into earlier
As they walked more and more the hight of it grew closer to the ground, it was a walking path up the mountain, that is what they discovered as they reached the end
"This might be where the statue is at, lets walk forward squishy" said Roman taking his first step
Back at the village the people voices and opinions did not calm down, they protested in front of the guarded chief's house
Shouting loud and clear they went on saying "We want change"
One yelled "It's the laws fault, all of it, no kid is deserving of such punishment"
The chief setting in his dark room, palms flat on each other, both of them going from his mouth and up to his nose, staring at the ground, no spit of light on his demonic look, as if regret swallowed him whole
Marry sitting down putting her head on the table she looked at the open book beside her, "Purple mushrooms, hallucinations, deadly" was wrote down on it, by her side a bottle full of them was opened, she was about to grasp into them as she heard the voices of people shouting the fall of the old laws
She looked back at a furnace behind her, beside it laid the bowl where she mixed the honey butter bread materials, with a sad smile she said "There is where you used to bake those buttery bread and honey bread pieces, I wish I did them good enough for him, it is the last thing I could do"
She walked to her chair and sat down watching the window
Back in the chief's room his door opened, he looked up at him, it was the leader of the expedition team, hands behind his back as if giving a salute he closed the door behind him and stood straight
"If you are here to end it be quick with it, my head should bring you into the chair," said the chief looking back down
"I am not here to kill you" said the leader of the expedition team taking the interest of the chief once more as he looked back up "I want you to fix it
"Fix it? I wish it's as easy as it being said" replied the chief
"It is" said the leader of the expedition team his voice getting louder "All you need to do is rais the age of adultery back to 15"
Calming down he continued "I don't blame you for writing such a law, at your time of rule not enough working hands were around, you took the village at death's door, but times change"
"And then what? The kid is already dying somewhere in the storm" replied the chief
"You saw how much food was thrown to him by the people, I bet enough of them would volunteer to go bring him back, re write the laws and send a team I will gladly walk in front of them"
He sighed before he continued "You don't have to die as the bad guy; with this you will calm them down" pointing at the window meaning the crowd with it "And you will have enough time to choose who to rule after you"
"You, can still fix this" he said in a desperate voice
The room went silent, no answer was given as hope was lost, when desperation kicked in the chief spoke in a low voice
"I will speak to my daughter, afterwards you will be given full authority, for I will resign the position"
"This is not an answer- "said the leader of the expedition team as the chief cut him
"This is the only way I will chose" covering his eyes with one hand and raising the other stopping him from talking
"I am tired of it all, I just want to rest, give me a moment, please" that was the chief's words
In the storm Roman Ascended up the mountain, step by step he climbed forward, from the distance he heard a sheep bleating from a far as a munching sound was heard alongside it
"There must be grass nearby, come on squishy we have a chance" said Roman as he walked faster dragging his feet across the snow
Walking closer he saw two shadows, one laying on the ground with a normal shadow size, the other way bigger standing upon him
"They must be a couple, let's hope they are friendly" said Roman pushing forward
Getting closer his view cleared up, blood stained the whites red, the sheep was pouring out his last breath, he was being devoured, by a wild wolf, Roman terrified met the gaze of the predator, with shaking legs walked back slowly, his leg failed him as he fell down, growling the wolf jumped at him but Roman started running , he first tried to stand up using both his legs and hands, but while he was at the it the wolf ripped apart his backpack
He started falling down the mountain crawling into a ball as he hit the side of it one of the backpack straps was already cut, and with this hit it fell on it on baiting the wolf behind it
Injured with many small and big scratches he checked himself for any fatales, then said to himself "Squishy!" as he opened the coat, in it, crawling on himself his little buddy was sleeping, as the cold winds sneaked on him, he woke up climbing into Roman's neck and setting there
As Roman smiled on him the shock woke him up as he remembered "Aunt Marry's bread"
He started ascending back up, checking the fallen food one after another, until he reached the dead sheep, before it was the honey butter bread, he picked it up removing all signs of ice and walked forward avoiding the blood
Exhausted, eyes failing him he found by the side a hole, he crawled into it and put down his little friend, cutting the bread in half they both shared it as a meal as they went to sleep
Roman woke up from the sound of his little rat friend running around climbing up and down at him
Laughing he said "What is wrong with you squishy", light was coming from outside the hole
He took his energetic rat friend back inside the coat, walking out the storm has already stopped he saw a vast beautiful land; it wasn't his own, icy trees that grows all the way to the sky going through the cloud, big and small creatures of ice walking down there, he was too far away from the land beneath to go and check it out
After admiring the view for a while, with determination he slapped both his hands onto his cheeks and walked up wards
Although his mindset was strong, his body did not share the same opinion, injuries, lack of water and food caught up to him, as he was about to fall down and sleep for good, a strange light came out of his coat stopping his face from falling flat and sitting him down
As he sat down, he looked at the light, his little rat friend was the source as he stepped out of his coat
"What is that" Roman asked in shock
The light shaped itself into a woman while the rat began to decompose over time
"Squishy?" said Roman scared for his friend's life
As he reached forward inside the light he only went throw it, all that he could grasp was the snow beneath him as he fell down, lifting his hands he began to stutter, the light not wasting time surrounded him as he warmed up and his injuries were healed
"Who are you" asked roman as the light moved back
"I am, the rat, and so I am not" relied the light
"Where squishy" replied Roman
"Squishy, is nothing but a form I took to travel to your lands" replied the light
"Why?" asked Roman
"We both need to remove winter, your people need food, and my people" said the light as he pointed at the icy creatures "Need a cure, with winter gone, both our goals will be reached"
"And you want me to do it?" replied Roman
"I can't transcend past a certain level, and you hold the talisman, I ask of you to finish your journey with my aid, no more, no less" replied the light
"I don't see a reason to disagree, after all that was my goal anyway" replied Roman as he stood up waving away the snow from his clothes
The light shrank back into the rat form, falling to the ground as Roman watched impressed, squishy Aunt once more was back, climbing onto Roman as they both continued their march
His feet fought against the winds, as he climbed upwards it got hotter and hotter, he started removing his clothes one piece after another
"I guess this is no normal mountain" said Roman looking at the frail path above the boiling lava
"Past this point is where my power fails, I can barely hold on in this form" said Squishy
"No need to trouble yourself, just hang on tight" said Roman as he walked forward, hot air pushed him back, it tried to burn him down, light protected his face as he looked at squishy
"Don't stop! I can't hold on for much longer "said his little friend burning out from the winds, his fur falling off to the boiling beneath him
Roman rushed forward, fighting the winds, fighting the mountain, fighting his own body, then he fell, on a frozen grass, it was as hard as rocks, looking at his little friend on his shoulder he saw him fading
"What is wrong?" Roman asked
"I forced myself too much, only with the talisman on its forehead will the land repairs itself and myself alongside it" said the rat as he pointed at the woman statue in the field, its hands as if praying, it was made of pure stone of grey, Roman gathered his strength and walked forward, pushing and being pushed he fought violently
He finally reached the statue, and there he placed the white talisman on its forehead, the cloudy skies split apart as the blue covered it all, all the hard glassy grass turned green around him, as a wave of this went through out the land
The icy creature turned back into normal animals, deer, wolves, sheep, mammoths, and all that is in between, the glassy towers broke down and crumbled into dust, as from its remains grew trees and flowers, rivers started running again, the lands were as beautiful as it could possibly be
Back in his village the storm was still as hard as ever, the chief walking down stairs he opened the door, there his daughter was a sleep on the chair, her hands beneath her head, hesitant he walked forward
"My daughter, you have always been right, I chose power over family, it was my own greed that brought us down, but if you are to find in your heart forgiveness, we can still fix this" said her father as he looked at the furnace
Beside he saw the bowl, on it sides he saw little cut down pieces of purple mushrooms, he rushed towards his daughter moving her aside, the purple mushrooms still in her hand, though she devoured most, her mouth painted with foam, her eyes went all the way back, she was a dead body there
He fell back down as the leader came to check what is going on inside, he saw the dead body, and for the first time, the chief was afraid, his fear did not last long, he walked defeated out the room and upstairs as the leader of the expedition stood silent not noticing him
Back at the mountain Roman sat than lied down, his rat who was healed sat on his chest as they watched the sky
Smiling he said" why does the grass still…. Hurts"
Roman mouth full of foam, and so is his rat's they are laying down on snow, without any means of warmth, for he removed his own clothes off earlier, with one hand he covered half of his dead rat, and the other was flat with some purple mushroom remains on it
He died in hell, thinking it was heaven
And so did his aunt, but his grandfather hadn't the same fate, the leader of the expedition running upstairs saw him hanging in his room, dead silent
The streets full of chaos broke the storages down, the houses burnt, people were stepped on, some of them left with what they could hold, others weren't as lucky, the stormy covered the village for a moment, and in the next it was a town of ghosts
The End.