Chapter Text
I clutched into the abyss. Aimless grasping at handfuls of cold powder. It was cold… So cold. Where was I? I didn’t even know or care; I just kept digging. A warmth trickled down my nose and mouth as my lungs were slowly crushed by the cold darkness, threatening to drag me into the said abyss. I felt the warm drip up, not down. Was I upside down?
I tried wiggling my legs; they were numb, like two sticks of flesh attached uselessly to me. I squeezed the snow surrounding me, and with each passing second, it felt as though it was cementing around me, squeezing my fractured ribs after each breath. I couldn’t even remember how I ended up here… Running, escaping, then cold and dark. It was so fast. My body convulsed as I thrashed with all my rationed energy; the cold blanket suffocating me eased, loosening around my soaked legs.
Finally, I could breathe. I gasped and choked, the cemented snow loosening around my body as I rolled deeper into it. At least I was no longer upside down. My eyes were frozen closed, my fingers so cold they felt hot. I grasped at the powder below me, coughing furiously as my fractured ribs dug into each other, making my body scream in agony. I collapsed into the snow, my eyes finally opening to see darkness. Did I even open them? I weakly raised a hand, seemingly waving into the abyss. A sudden shock of warmth made my torso jolt. I reached down, my fingers touching into the warmth, my frozen skin grasping at the silky liquid below me, my own blood. I thought of crying, but what would be the point? So my ribs would squeeze after each sob? I let my head drop, my mouth wide open as I gasped for my lost breath; each gust of air pushing the snow crystals away from my mouth.
Everything was dark, and I truly couldn’t tell if I still had my limbs attached or if I was already dead or in the process. No one would be coming for me; that was for sure. This was my problem and my fault for ending up here. I’m truly a coward. A soft creak knocked me away from my deprecating thoughts. Wind scratched at my head, the small snow particles feeling like shards of glass against my exposed skin as I realized I was moving. The snow shifted under my prone form, and I started sliding.
I tried to grab onto something, but I could hardly move my hands anymore, if I even had any. I nearly felt like laughing. Now, what was happening? Was I descending the drop to Hell, or was I just going to slide forever? Maybe some part inside of me wanted to die. Imagine falling, not knowing pain anymore? Coward.
I finally came to a stop, my body sliding across the snow like sandpaper, causing a grunt to escape my throat. I tried to open my eyes again, and this time, there was a small blue light glowing in the corner of my vision, drawing my blurry gaze like a moth to flames. I remember trying to drag my limp body, I couldn’t even tell if there was progress in my movements. I was a fish in the sand after all. I blink again, everything feeling like a fever dream or an overdose, maybe both. Do I remember reading that before death, one would relive their memories? If so, then I’m still alive, still crawling. I reach up, batting my arm around, using the useless appendage to scratch away at the glowing snow until it broke free, blinding my entire soul.
I blinked, seeing a vast scene of white and blue, a frozen landscape; like Hell froze over and I was the new recruit. My eyes were watering, my body wasn’t cold anymore, and there was no pain… Maybe I truly was ascending? A second time? Is that even possible? I’ve already fallen once, a laughingstock for the gods above. Who ascends and then falls in the same century? Perhaps I deserve this, maybe I was meant to feel this pain, the pain only a mortal could experience The white filling my vision was clouded as a figure came from the distance. Even in my delirious state, I could tell who was walking towards me, and I can say with certainty that death would be better than them. I blink, maybe I even went unconscious for a minute, and I see a pair of sleek leather boots standing inches from my face. The pointed tip of the boot lifted my chin, forcing another pained grunt from my throat, my bloodied teeth clenching as I glared up the man’s body, his face blocked out by shadows and blurred vision. His voice was worse than any pain I’ve encountered before; it was sickeningly sweet, making me want to throw up my organs.
“The descended god… You look pretty rough for a supposed prince.” I wanted to retort, grab his boot, and throw him a lake of oil, but I coughed, spitting blood onto the sleek boot. His foot left my chin, letting my face fall into the snow. “Do that again, and I’ll make you choke down your own blood,” He said, his boots crunching in the snow and rebounding the sound throughout my brain.
Snow filled my nose, and I tilted my head to the side, snorting the cold from my brain without staining the snow with more of my blood. I watch him circle my prone form, his steps reminding me of a vulture inevitably waiting for its prey to die before it can rip it apart. I want to laugh again, but he grabs my limp arms, pulling me out from the snow coffin and letting me slide down the small slope as he calmly walks after me.
I roll on my side, my blurred vision finally seeing where I had been trapped: an ice cave. I must’ve fallen into an avalanche while trying to escape and then got buried in a cave– Made sense, just my luck. Before I realized what I was saying, it was already spoken,
“Kill me—” I croaked out. Coward.
I watched him walk down the slope, the wool furs hanging from his shoulder and swaying as he approached. Even if I couldn’t see his face, I knew he was smiling. That same smile I’ve seen a hundred times over. It held no reassurance, only fake pity and full of malice.
“Oh, you know I can’t do that. They prefer a live god rather than a dead one.” He cooed down at me like I was some child laying in the snow for fun. I gritted my teeth, more blood flecking the ground. ‘I’m not a god, you idiot! They won’t pay you, I’m just dead weight.’ I wanted to yell at him, but I just grunted, my chin swiping across the snow. My eyes flicked to the fingers lying in front of me, and I assumed they were mine: red sticks dotted with white blisters seemingly forming on my palms. My eyes tore away from the sickening sight, looking at the boots standing a few feet away. The blood I had spat on them was already gone, wiped off in the snow before it could stain.
“I’m- not,” I tried to seeth through my clenched teeth, the pain in my ribs slowly coming back as I tried to talk– the splintered bones rubbing against my insides like a blade. The next thing I know, he crouches, and I see the thin gloves covering his slender fingers hold the snow to keep himself up as he leans towards me. I stiffened, still unable to feel anything besides the pain in my body and the knowledge that I couldn’t run away again. My mind conjures his face before I see it: sharp brown eyes, tanned freckles over that stupidly perfect nose, and that signature scar on his bottom lip. I panted against the snow, refusing to look at him any longer. I hear him snort, making him seem amused.
“You want the easy way or the hard way? You’ve already tried the hard way, and I guess you learned,” He hummed, his gloved hands wrapping around my arm. I let out a pained grunt as he swung me over his shoulder, my face pushed into the furs covering his back. My eyes landed on a dagger stowed in his waistline. My frostbitten fingers dangled close to the hilt, and I tried to reach for it, but my arms refused to move, just swaying over his back. My ribs dug harder into me, his broad shoulder painfully wedging into my stomach. I tried to move further, wanting to get his shoulder out from my ribs, but he grabbed my hip with one hand and my adjacent thigh in the other. I felt my nose crease, and I wanted to kill this asshole so bad; I promised myself I would one day. I inched my shoulder to the side, my pointer finger grazing over the blade's handle. My blurred vision honed in on my only chance of escape as I tried to reach again. My body was so numb I hardly could tell how heavy my arm truly was until he spoke,
“You have broken ribs, collapsed lungs, probably covered in bruises, and you’re still trying to fight me?” My arm stopped swinging against his back, and I watched hopelessly as he pulled out the blade, twisting it to rest in his front out of my view. I sucked in my breath, bracing myself to speak,
“I’ll never– stop,” I whispered hoarsely against his back, my blood dripping from my lip onto the furs. I couldn’t tell if he laughed or scoffed; my ears were ringing now, so it was hard to hear anything. He was probably laughing. Why wouldn't he? It was a truly hilarious situation. My thoughts kept on getting interrupted by small blackouts. I slowly dip in and out of consciousness, the pain getting pushed to the back of my brain like a bad memory as I helplessly sway against my captor’s shoulder.
—X—X—X—
My eyes flick open, yet I no longer see snow. My body instantly felt on fire, burning fiercely in the coals. I gritted my teeth, tasting blood before I let out a pained gasp, my back suddenly hitting a hard surface. I was indoors, and now that the heat surged through my frozen skin, the numbed pain came back in full force. It was like nothing I’d ever experienced; all that time in the heavens must have made me soft. I winced and gasped, my burning fingers feeling the wooden planks I lay on. Then my panicked eyes lock onto that damn vulture, crossing his arms as he watched me with a blank expression. I sat up slightly, my ribs instantly squeezing into my lungs; I groaned in pain. My eyes finally take in the scene around me: I am laid on a pile of wood, firewood, and we are in a small building, probably some shed.
“Where is this?” I croaked, the sound of my strained voice shocking me. His leather boots clicked on the dusty boards as he leaned.
“Somewhere.” He straightened his posture, and a smug grin on his lips made me blanche. Somewhere? Anywhere? How more obscure could a mortal be? Then again, I’m technically a mortal now, too…
“Huh?” Once again, words spewed from my mouth without a second thought. His grin only widened, “Shouldn’t you be more concerned about your condition? It’s quite surprising you even made the trip down the mountain.” The tall man loosened the furs wrapped around his shoulders, and I saw a hidden blade flash in my direction.
“They won’t pay,” I hissed, my blistered palms rubbing on the bark of the woodpile I sat on. His onyx eyes darkened like storms gathering on mountain peaks, yet I didn’t look away. I held my ground, glaring at him.
“You heard me,” I added on for good measure. That last sentence ticked him off, and his form moved closer to me.
“For someone who’s been coughing blood for hours, you sure can run your fucking mouth,” He spat. The man towered over me, but I didn’t flinch; he knew I was right. I straightened up, ignoring the piercing agony in my chest.
“Yeah? We both know-” I sucked in a pained breath. “I’m just as normal as you.” He scoffed, turning back around to lean against his wall again.
“They pay for my services, not my cargo,” He said quietly, almost like he was trying to calm himself like some reckless teen.
“I’m cargo now, huh?” I started, “Remember when you were younger? I do, and I know you remember me too, because I saved you—”
“Shut up,” He snapped, opening the door to the small shed we were stuffed inside. The wind howled, making my eyes close as the blinding white flooded in. The cold instantly tore through my tattered tunic like a vicious beast, sending chills down me. I raised my arm through the pain, blocking the wind from hitting my face. I pushed my palms into the harsh wood, struggling to stand up straight. He was right about one thing: Surprisingly, I lasted this long. Any normal man would’ve died, surely. That’s what I am now, just some normal commoner. No relations to the heavens above or the demons and ghouls that most mortals don’t believe in…
“Walk. Either you do it, or I make you.” He rested his hands on his hip, showing a small roll of rope, and I knew he would gladly use that on me if given the chance. A sudden scent hit my nose. Of course, the mortal senses dulled it; there was no mistaking it was a demon. I stiffened, my eyes widening as I looked around, still leaning against the wall for balance. The smell was vague but extremely familiar, making my nose burn and wrinkle. It reeked of metal and sulfur, and it was obvious that he didn’t catch on. I suddenly threw myself at him, his onyx eyes widening in shock as I shoved him out the small shack, his form crashing into the snow. The man’s furs sprawled out, and he almost instantly drew out a concealed dagger, attempting to get out the powder. I winced, managing to pull myself to the door and close it. The entire shack shook under the man’s wrath as he tried to break the door down,
“You really think you can fight back?!” His shoulder jarred into the brittle door, causing a cloud of dust to spit in. Suddenly, a dagger cracked through the wood, inches away from my face. I let out a gasp, my body snapping back to avoid a second strike until the door flew open. “Idiot,” I gritted. His enraged face came into my view, but so did the otherworldly spirit. Its face was a blur of darkness, like ink spilt across a canvas. It let out an eerie scream, making him spin around with his dagger, the weapon raised like a scorpion’s barb. I watched the creature screech again, swinging an arm toward my captor. My hands gripped a log of firewood as I watched the two throw meaningless attacks: his knife would cut through the abyss of the ghoul, and the creature’s swings would miss nearly every time.
I pulled the log to my chest, wincing through the pain as I threw the blunt object towards him. His eyes widened, and he rolled back in a blur of fur, his gloved finger digging into the snow as he caught himself. The ghoul took advantage of his downfall, and it charged him, swinging in an arc of slashes with its inhuman fingers. I grabbed another log and threw it again. It shifted through the creature’s body but hit the man square in the chest, knocking him back into the snow.
I pushed the broken door out, finally slipping out of the small shack and stepping into the snow. His pained grunts echoed in the background while he attempted to fight off the ghoul while lying on his back, the dagger shifting and morphing through the creature uselessly. Just as I was about to limp away, my chest exploded in pain, causing me to collapse, my blistered fingers clawing at the snow. I cried out in pain, my hands shaking as they glowed unnaturally, drawing the ghoul’s attention. My fingers glowed, and then it stopped; my fingers were almost perfectly healed. The creature roared, seemingly targeting me now that it saw me as an equal match. Immortal.