'We won’t cope with them using steel only...' Keira murmured, looking at Hope Eater slowly growing out of the ash. It had reached the twenty-third level... no, the twenty-fourth.
'Uh-huh, it’s impossible to win,’ I nodded just in case without really understanding her idea. ‘But if you want, we can try to break through. They are not attacking purposefully so far, but soon everything will change for the worse.’
'No. Everything is fine.’
'Really?’
‘Yup!’
‘Are you sure?’
'Ros!’ Keira sighed wearily. ‘I told you everything is fine. Do not attack them, it is useless. So, this is an obstacle born of grief and loneliness. Those two did not know or did not realize... they tried to break by force.’
'Grume and Myrtle? What didn’t they know?’
'Never mind.’
'Well, yes, of course, it does not matter.
'So... they started moving.’
Turning my head, I faced a continuous spin of hodgepodges, paws, tails and tentacles. And all this mass was moving towards us steadily increasing in size. This tidal wave, tsunami, the ninth wave... it was going to overflow us...
'Ros.’
‘What?’ I mumbled, keeping my enchanted eyes on the hither swarms of monsters, most of which reached two human heights.
‘Hug me tightly and kiss!’
'Ugh... What did you say?!’
'Hug me and kiss! Come on!’
‘Wait... is it one of the conditions of the quest?’ I was amazed.
'Sure! What did you think about? Hurry up, Ros! Do girls always have to persuade you for a kiss?’
'If a girl looks like a bleeding character from a horror movie - yes! You don’t have a mouth to kiss!’
'Ros! Kiss!!! Faster!’
'Okay, you persuaded me,’ I stepped to the girl, awkwardly grabbed her, pursed my lips a pipe like a an awkward first-grader, tightly closed my eyes, kissed her and... and at that point we hit the silence - no other way to describe such a suddenly disappearance of all the sounds. The dull murmur accompanied us relentlessly from the start of Madness location went quiet. The soft rustle of the ash stopped, a cold wind was replaced by a warm flow gently ruffling our hair, soft light made its way through the closed eyelids.
I shuddered involuntarily - the sound of the ocean surf was heard somewhere very far away, and a barely audible singing. A woman was singing, something very sad and aching.
We were standing hugging at least for a minute, I risked opening one eye and found that Keira clinging to me, had closed as well. We were like first-graders, exactly, damn...
Without stopping the kiss, I looked around. The monsters that had surrounded us by a wide ring were slowly guttering and crumbling, merging into a single mass of ash and the billowing waves slowly rolled away. Even the smallest speck of dust disappeared from the air, returning its crystal clarity. The heavy overcast clouds parted and we found ourselves were inside a column of bright sunlight. What a wonderful…
'Iiira...' I mumbled, not opening the kiss. ‘Iira!’
'Mm?’
'..in movet-avita... moftry uffli...’
It seemed to me that Keira reluctantly opened her eyes, looked around and slowly pulled away. Sniffed angrily wiping her eyes. Then the barely audible voice said, 'The endless ocean.’
'What?’
'Nothing... Why are you looking like that?’
'My kiss healed your wounds,’ I smiled.
All the horrific wounds disappeared from Keira's face, there was no slightest drop of blood.
'And my kiss removed that infamous smile from your face, chuckled Keira. ‘Well, come on. We are almost there.’
Looking into the girl’s eyes, I thought for a moment, then shrugged and nodded, 'Let's go. It is time to finish the quest’
'Armor is no longer falling apart,’ my partner added abruptly turning away from me. ‘So you can put on your pants.’
'And this is good news,’ I was delighted, taking the bag off my shoulder.
After getting dressed in my old things, I nodded again,
'I’m ready. Oh... Ash...’
'I see. Let’ go!’
The ash completely drained to sides and there was clean sand under our feet. It formed a narrow path leading to the snowy hills crowned with the icy peak.
'No ash, no dust, no cold, no gloom,’ the girl walking in front of me was muttering in a muffled voice hugging her shivering shoulders, ‘can to close the gates on the lovers’ way...’
'Keira! Are you okay?!’ I could not stand it anymore. ‘What are you doing?! Do you feel well?’
'I’m fine, Ross, just go ahead,’ Keira shrugged, not turning her face to me. ‘Go ahead...’
Anxiously glancing at my partner's retreating back, I reluctantly walked behind. Keira was not alright. Hurry up, let’s finish everything and send the girl to the "real world". Then I would call Gosha and ask him to check if she is fine...
With each step sand was covered with frost and started crunching underfoot. The path as straight as an arrow was brightly lit by sunlight. It brought us to the foot of the hill, where the sand disappeared completely, replaced by white snow. The path disappeared too and we faced pristine virgin snow. The muttering girl didn’t stop, she didn’t even slow down.
I was silent, persistently following Keira and trying to repeat her actions. Even advancing at the same place where she stepped. Who knows what the quest conditions are. It's a shame to screw up everything at the end, after all those tests. But I failed to notice any system in my partner’s actions. She was just striding straight stubbornly climbing a steeper slope. I was following her. And with every step I felt more uncomfortable.
Snow and ice surrounded us. Somewhere in the wide cracks over ice cold dark water was splashing, veiled by a thin crust of ice. The cleared sky darkened again. There were some snowflakes in the air. Shrugging, I paused for a moment, but still managed to control myself and walk on. It will be over soon. And then we will leave this realm of cold and ice forever.
In forty steps we reached the foot of the icy peak, hidden by snow tornado spinning around.
'You came...' a quiet voice came from the icy peak and snow tornado began to fall silently away, opening the transparent thickness of the ice.
'I came,’ Keira said quietly without looking up.
No one mentioned me and I was happy about that fact. I was happy not to have any part in this weird performance. But it was cold there... and did it seem to me? I don’t like snow and cold... But I was not alone here...
Recent snowflakes silently fell on our heads, and it was difficult to keep a poker face. A woman was frozen into the thickness of the ice. And it was frozen so that it seemed as if she was floating, or even soaring inside her icy sarcophagus. Soaring to the height of two humans over us. It was easy to read the inscription above her head: Myrtle the Smashing Blade. We were standing at the icy grave of the legend.
The body was not completely frozen - the head and hands were helplessly stretched out, the rest of the body was in the ice. I couldn’t see the face - it was hidden under the locks of the frosted hair. But I could clearly see drops falling from the chin on the ice and coloring it in a bright red color. Blood. Myrtle was bleeding...
'Get closer, child,’ Myrtle’s hissing voice said ignoring me. ‘Stand inside the defined circle.’
A bright blue luminous line ran over the base of the icy peak drawing a circle. Once Keira stepped inside the body of the snow hill shivered, there was a barely audible crackling and a circle with the girl standing inside went up. And a billowing column with a perfectly flat top surface soared into the air. There was a big hole left in the snow, and there was nobody but me nearby. I was looking up in surprise.
Myrtle waited until Keira was raised high enough, and murmured, 'You know what to do. You know what I want...’
'I know what to do,’ Keira agreed, reaching for her collar. The gold chain flashed dimly, the pearly stone glitt
ered. ‘I know what you want...’
'You went through my soul... you could feel the flames of my rage...’
'I felt...’
'You felt my sorrow... experienced the bitterness of my tears...’
'I did…
'Have you seen my unfulfilled dreams and shattered love...’
'I saw…
‘You defeated the gathering gloom of my madness...’
‘I did it...’
'So are you giving the oath?..’
'I am giving the oath.
'Well... then accept my rage...’
The girl slightly bent forward, held up the stone under a drop of blood ripping off in Myrtle’s face. The red flash glare forcing me to cover my eyes. Enchanting? The same ritual as in the temple above us... The stone hanging on a chain changed its color from milky white to pale pink with red veins.
'Take my sorrow...’
Once again, Keira held up the stone under a drop of blood. Flash. The stone changed color again flushing menacing red.
'Take my love...’
Flash. Azure appeared in the pulsating heat…
'Take my darkness...’
Flash. An ugly black blot burst inside the stone. A cold wave struck my chest, made me shake and step back.
'My feelings are with you. My soul is always nearby...’
'Yes…’
Myrtle moved her head heavily aside. I couldn’t see her face, but felt her eyes on me. The heavy and evil eyes of the female once betrayed by a man.
‘Once I believed too. I trusted my man with all my heart. He was always at my side... my support... my love...... my hope... but it was only an illusion, it was just a hoax!’ Rage came awakening in her cool voice. ‘Cheating!’
'Cheating...' Keira echoed quietly.
Myrtle turned her head to the girl again and whispered softly, ‘They're all the same. A spark of betrayal is smoldering in the chest of every man... I can give you a real strength... I can entrust it to my favorite. But my favorite mustn’t be a blind toy in the hands of others... my favorite must recant. Abandon him forever... Make your choice here and now...’
There was a heavy silence, at the growing concern I looked at frozen Keira, then looked back, where at the foot of the snowy hill an ash wave began billowing again. I wanted to call the girl, but restrained myself – what if it should be that way and I could break the course of events by my intervention.
Awaken Keira gave me a glance from the top down. it seemed to me that she was quietly sobbing, I smiled reassuringly and waved. Everything will be alright…
The party has been dismissed!
What the hell…
'I’m abandoning him!’ Keira exhaled huskily, looking at Myrtle’s bowed head. ‘I am abandoning!’
'It’s hard... but you made the right choice!’ Myrtle’s voice rasped and she jerked up her head, revealing scarred, wrinkled blood-streaked face claw marks. ‘Now you are free! No one will betray you!’
'I am free. No one will betray me, Keira nodded.
What the hell is going on?!
'Take my strength,’ Myrtle thundered and I saw a gold hoop covering her head almost invisible because of the blood stuck to I and hidden under snowy strands of the hair.
Stretching her hands out, Keira carefully removed the hoop and after hesitating for a moment, put it on her head. No visible effect, but the hoop immediately cleansed of the stains of blood and started shining brightly.
'And now it’s time to set off, my child! My darling!’ One fragment of ice started and a patterned ice crust began growing rapidly from its edges to form a dome over Keira’s head.
In a second Keira appeared as if inside a glass dome. Like a glass ball that can be bought in any shop. Shake it and enjoy swirling snowflakes falling inside... what the fuck is going on? Damn... it’s so cold...
A piece of ice gently cranked around and slowly began rising into the sky. And I was left at the bottom. I was left all alone.
Keira standing with her back to was partly concealed by the layer of ice. I heard barely audible voice that said, 'I'm sorry, Ros... sorry... let kill you and you’ll be thrown away to...’
'Keira?’
'I'm sorry, Ros...’
'Keira?!’
'Don’t look back, my child. You made the right choice...’
'Keira!!!’ I shouted. ‘Are you leaving me here?!Are you leaving me?! Among snow and ice?! Next to a revived corpse?! Kei-ra-a!!!
'Oh, my God... My God...’ Keira’s back was shaking. ‘Ros!’
For a moment, the piece of ice billowing into the sky was covered in mist and I saw a ghosty helicopter with chirping propeller... I shook my head, I shouted in a rage, 'Keira!
Keira was too high and instead of screaming, a message came to me:
"I'm sorry, Ros! I did not want! It’s Gosha… '
Shit! What a bitch! Without reading up to the end, I shut the message and pressed the appropriate pictogram to send the author of the letter to the ignore list.
Hardly resisting howling tearing from my throat, but unable to calm down the shiver I spun around and shouted, ‘Fucking snow again and black water again! And the body behind the glass... Damn... where is the way out! Where is the exit?!’
A malevolent, crazy laughter rushed into the sky. Turning the bloodied mask of her face, Myrtle rasped, 'There is no exit. You will die here... turn into a bit of ash...’
'I won’t die here!’ I yelled back, abruptly opening the bag and shaking a teleport scroll from it.
I pressed my nail against the empty box, and shouted, ‘Algora!’
Nothing... no flash, no movement. I was still standing in the middle of snow and ice... it was still very cold...
'Algora!’
Nothing…
'Selen!’
Nothing…
It is impossible to use teleport scrolls in this location.
'No!’
'You will die here,’ Myrtle echoed alternating short words with gurgling laugh and bowing her head added, ‘Look... Turn around and look at your death...’
Turning around on the spot, I saw an avalanche sweeping over the snowy hill. Monsters... formed from ash and snow… monsters were rolling to me. Hundreds and thousands were looming from all the sides, I was inside the ring... the animated snow was coming to me in silence... it will overwhelm me in a moment and...
Go out? Log out? And when reenter Valdira I’ll find myself here again?! The icy dead end... die... Oh, no! Not here! Not here...
'Here? No way! I’m not going to die!’ My furious shout echoed against the ice.
The bag dropped to the ground, I threw up my hand and yelled furiously, "Fire flow!"
Roaring fire wave crashed into the gray-white monsters, burning a smoking clearing in their ranks.
You got a new level!
You got a new level!...
'I'm not here to die,’ I gasped again. ‘I’m not going to give up! Diamond studs!’
Snow is swelling by a huge hump scattering snowballs in all directions. Glittering jagged spikes are growing from the ground spitting dozens of monsters.
You got a new level!
You got a new level!...
Pulling out the next couple of scrolls of the bag, I raised them over my head and roared, 'Rotten swamp! Hailstones!’
I found myself in the middle of hell. Huge boulders were howling and crumbling on the ground hammering monsters in the murky swamp water.
'Blizzard! Poisonous mist! Black Whirlwind!’
You got a new level!
You got a new level!...
Because of the thickened green dusk and the roaring blizzard almost nothing was visible. I did not care... Monsters were everywhere, it was impossible to miss a hit...
I reached the fifty-first level in several seconds.
One move and I had a steel rod of the Thunder-bearer in my hand.
'Take it!’
Blinding lightning furiously bit the enemy, knocking them through, causing
them to writhe in agony...
I swung again and got frozen as I heard an animal howling somewhere above my head. And once again, but now much closer to the sound source.
The horde of ash monsters that had nearly swallowed almost got frozen and raised the blind muzzles up to the heavy skies. I looked up to see a bright spot dashing in the air with a roar collapsing on the ground, raising a whirl of snowy dust around it.
The deaf howl repeated, a huge smeared shadow flashed behind the snowy veil and one shifted to another side of the open space in one leap. The icy snow crust gritted and lowered under the mass of the monstrous clawed paws.
'Grim...’ I gasped backing away from the white giant wolf with a glowing bright red sign above the huge snout with eyes burning with hatred “Grim the Werewolf".
'Griiiiiiiim!’ Myrtle went mad in the unbearably loud howling, trembling furiously all over inside her icy prison. ‘Griiiiiiiiim!!!’
A dark crack ran rapidly expanding at the icy peak. The monsters slowly turned away from me, directing their ugly snouts at the monstrous invader.
'Griiiiiiiim!’
'Wow...' I whispered constantly backing away keeping my eyes on the werewolf. Only the nickname without a slightest hint of a level.
'Griiiiiiiiiiiim! raging Myrtle was miserably pulling away from the ice prison and managed to release one arm. ‘Aa-aa-ght... agh!’
The monstrous wolf turned to me, jerked its snout in the direction of Myrtle tearing free, and... retreated... pressed its belly to the snow for a moment, emitted a strange growl, more like a strangled sob or scream strangled by the beast.
At the next step my back bumped into an obstacle. Glancing back, I got frozen - my back was resting against the leg of the seventy-ninth-level Hope Eater looming over me... no. it was already the eightieth... The body cobbled from scrap material was absorbing snow, ash and ice medley with a quiet rustling… purple lights flared up inside the empty eye sockets... the eighty-third level of... Hope Eater was not even looking at me. As well as the rest of the ash monsters standing next to it. Now there were a few of them. Not hundreds, but dozens. But their levels were much higher than before rapidly reaching the hundredth level.
My mind gradually cleared up, I could hardly recover from suffering the shock... I failed to calm down the shiver. Keira... why? My partner... how did it happen…
The Way of the Clan 2 (World of Valdira) Page 27