Chapter Text
The wind howled like a prison full of forgotten souls.
The Arctic stretched endlessly beneath a sky choked with clouds, dark and swollen like bruises against the heavens. Snow drifted across the frozen sea in ghostly sheets, swallowing everything it touched. The cold was merciless here. It crept beneath layers of clothing and settled deep into the bones, patient and cruel.
The Akuta Express rocked uneasily against the black waters.
Captain Enjin stood at the wheel, his gloved hands firm despite the violent winds. Beside him, Riyo leaned against the railing with a look of pure annoyance while Rudo studied a weathered map.
"Ugh. How much longer will it fuckin' take?" Riyo groaned.
"If we continue north, we'll reach land soon." Rudo pointed toward the horizon.
Enjin raised an eyebrow.
"By land, ya mean actual land?"
Rudo glanced up.
"I mean ice."
"Close enough," Riyo muttered.
The boat creaked beneath them as another wave slammed against its side.
Above them, the sky rumbled.
Far away.
Like something breathing.
…
“Here you can stop here,” Rudo says as they pass a giant iceburg.
Enjin slows down the ship and moves to anchor it, keeping it in place.
“Oh, thank God!” Riyo says, relief hanging in her voice.
“All right, team! Let’s take a break, yeah! Go out and stretch our legs.” Enjin says.
“Way ahead of you, brother. If anyone needs me imma be in my room.” Riyo says as she makes her way off the deck.
Rudo stays alongside Enjin. This is the kid's first real mission, and he’s often been nervous this whole trip. Enjin found him abandoned by his family at a young age-he knew his father from a while back and took it upon himself to take the kid into his care. Honestly, he looks after the kid like his own son, despite everything. Enjin gently pats Rudo's shoulders, turning the kid's attention towards him.
“Hey, you doing alright, bud?” Rudo look as him fear handing at his eyes before drifting back down towards his feet. Rudo often had trouble communicating his emotions-unless it was anger, of course. After moving in with Enjin, he learned to express himself better; he learned to trust Enjin and Riyo with his emotions honestly, without losing control or hurting them in the process. Rudo shifts his feet for a moment before answering.
“I…I don’t know.” He looks up, scanning the area, and alongside everything else, it's dead.
No sight of life for miles but snow and ice, like a reminder of how death can creep on them at any moment.
“Something in the place feels…wrong. Like a mistake.” He mumbles out.
Enjin lets out a soft sigh, bringing the kid in for a little side hug. “Don’t think about it too much, yeah? It's only for a while we’re staying here, we’ll be on our way in no time.” He says while softly moving his arms up and down comfortably along the kid's shoulders.
Rudo nods his head, “Thank Enjin.”
Enjin smiles and lets go of the kid. “Why doncha scan the area for me. Would it make you feel a little bit more secure?”
Rudo nods, “Yeah, that will...” Enjin smiles and pulls out a cigar, as Rudo makes his way off the deck and heads off the boat.
“MAKE SURE TA MAKE IT BACK BEFORE NIGHTFALL.” Rudo turns his head and gives his captain a thumbs up in acknowledgement, “Will do!” Even after the talk and the reassurance from his captain. Rudo still couldn’t shake off the unsettling feeling he had in his stomach.
…
Rudo walks alongside the snow for a while. So far, there has been nothing out of the ordinary, just countless sights of snow and ice along the dark sky. Speaking of dark sky, the little sunlight they had available had been slowly disappearing as the weight of brisk air and harsh push of the wind against his skin signalled to the young man that nightfall was approaching. Rudo takes one last good look and starts to head back to the ship. Night arrived faster than expected.
The little sunlight he had vanished beneath thick clouds, plunging everything into darkness. The wind became violent, screaming across the frozen wasteland hard enough to steal breath from his lungs.
But Rudo pressed onward.
One step.
Then another.
Then another.
But no matter how far he walked, the ship never appeared.
Only darkness.
Only snow.
Only endless white stretching into black.
His stomach twisted.
Something was wrong.
The feeling had followed him since arriving here.
Like invisible eyes watching from somewhere beyond the horizon.
Then he saw it.
A cave.
Its mouth yawned open between two jagged cliffs.
Dark.
Silent.
It's a change to be taken. Waiting. Not the best option. But better than freezing to death miles away from his family.
Rudo swallowed hard and stepped inside.
The darkness swallowed him whole.
The temperature somehow felt colder within the cave than outside.
The walls glistened with ice. Water dripped from the ceiling in slow, uneven intervals.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Each sound echoed far deeper than it should have.
As though the cave stretched endlessly beneath the earth.
Rudo wrapped his arms around himself.
The air felt strange.
Heavy.
Like the cave was holding its breath.
He settled against a wall. He closed his eyes, inhaling the harsh breath of the cold around him. He was exhausted, burnt out, and weak at this moment.
Maybe if he rested until morning—
CRUNCH.
Rudo froze. His eyes shot open, looking around the dark, soulless cave to see what other than him could make a sound like that.
The sound hadn't come from outside.
It came from deeper within the cave.
Something had stepped on ice.
His heart hammered.
Slowly.
Carefully.
He stood.
"H-Hello?"
Silence.
Nothing answered.
Only the distant howl of the wind beyond the cave entrance.
Rudo swallowed.
Maybe it was just falling ice.
Maybe—
CRUNCH.
Closer this time.
Much closer.
The sound reverberated through the darkness.
His pulse quickened.
"Who's there?"
Nothing. He lets out a shaky breath of relief.
Then suddenly—
Two blue lights appeared.
Not reflections.
Not crystals.
Eyes.
Glowing.
Watching.
Far back within the darkness.
Rudo couldn't breathe.
The eyes didn't blink.
Didn't move.
They simply stared.
Ancient.
Hungry.
Wrong.
A cold sensation crawled up his spine.
The eyes rose higher.
Then higher.
Then higher.
Whatever owned them was standing up.
It was enormous.
THOOM.
The entire cave trembled.
Snow fell from the ceiling.
Rudo's blood turned to ice.
Another step.
THOOM.
The blue eyes moved closer.
A shape slowly emerged around them.
Not human.
Not an animal.
Something in between.
Something stitched together from nightmares.
The creature tilted its head.
Studying him.
Curious.
Like a predator examining prey.
Then it took another step forward.
And Rudo finally saw its smile.
His heart stopped.
For one terrible second, everything went silent.
Then, the survival instinct took over.
Rudo screamed.
And ran.
He didn’t stop, he couldn’t stop.
He didn’t know where he was running to or how long.
He just knew he had to get out of there, out of here.
He couldn't even focus, not because of the blinding storm or his watery eyes, but because the panic in his body flared up so much. He wasn't even aware of his own senses or his environment.
Then, all of a sudden, a hand reaches out, reaching for his hoodie, and he gets pulled from the side.
Rudo's eyes look up to see.
Enjin.
“RUDO! WHERE THE HELL WERE YA?! WHY WERE YOU RUNNING AWAY FROM THE SHIP!” He yelled with fear and anger pouring through his tone.
Rudo opened his mouth to answer, yet nothing was able to come out. His eyes filled with unshed tears. He couldn’t tell if it was from the harsh environment or his own fear of the thing living inside the cave. Yet Enjin caught on.
“Come on, we’re going NOW.” He says not looking back at the kid, but pulling his hand along onto the ship, Rudo lets him.
“OH, MY GOD! RUDO YOU'RE OKAY!” Riyo says her hand instantly wrapped around the boy.
Rudo hesitated before his trembling hand came to wrap around her back. Enjin sighed,
“Alright, it seemed we all had a pretty rough day. Let’s all get some sleep now, okay.”
Riyo, let’s go, and both nod at Enjin's words. Rudo turns to Riyo for a second.
“C-can I sleep with you tonight?” He asked her, his voice shaking in shock, relief, and fear.
Riyo hugs Rudo. “Yeah-okay, just grab your thing and head to my room, alright.”
Rudo shakes his head, not trusting his voice right now. Riyo softly smiles and heads to her room.
“Rudo, come here,” Enjin says firmly.
Rudo hesitantly makes his way toward the Captain.
“Don’t think you're off the hook, we’ll talk about what happened today tomorrow. Get some rest.”
“O-okay.”
Enjin softly brings the boy into a hug.
“I’m glad you're safe.”
Rudo lets his tears fall and rests his head against his captain's chest.
But deep down, beneath the relief and warmth, a terrible feeling twisted in his gut.
The thing in the cave was real.
And somehow, he knew this would not be the last time he saw those glowing blue eyes.
…
The morning light hit through the deck, waking up the boy earlier than he liked. He turned his head to see Riyo, their finger intertwined with one another. Rudo sighs, no matter what he did or thought of, he couldn’t get those blue glowing eyes outta his mind. The boy gets up carefully enough not to wake the girl out of her slumber. He brushes his teeth and puts on warm gear to head outside. When Rudo walked outside, surprisingly, the sun was out and shining. The air was still cold and crisp but light, not as hard as before.
“Glad to see you're awake.”
Rudo's head snapped as he turned to see Enjin behind him. He was in casual clothes, built for the weather of course, but casual enough for anyone to wear like they're not on a journey to Antarctica. He was smoking a cigarette and came to rest beside Rudo. They stayed like that for a while, nothing being said. Only the sound of the water rippling underneath them and the soft sound of the wind made up for the lack of conversation between them.
“Ya wanna tell me what happened back there?” Enjin says softly.
Rudo kept his eyes down, not wanting to look at his captain just yet. He takes a deep breath before explaining.
“I guess I lost track of time…I tried to head back, but I got caught up in the storm and looked for shelter in a cave.”
Enjin listened as Rudo explained slowly. “I see, but that doesn’t explain why you ran out like a manic in the snow like that.”
Rudo stiffens instantly. His thought ran back to the thing in the cave- its unnatural blue eyes and its thunderous stomp of its feet. His hand started to tremble, his eyes began to water, his heart began to speed up, and his throat became dry. The dark cave and the unholy eyes filled his mind again
Alone
Cold
Anxious
Fightening
*WOOF, WOOF*
Rudo's eyes shoot open, and Enjin's attention shifts from the boy. Dog. And it looks like they were carrying something, or rather...someone.
“Stay here,” Enjin says as he heads off the boat to check out what it is.
Rudo listened as he anxiously watched on.
“YO. ARE YOU OKAY OVER THERE?!”
A figure dressed head to toe in heavy winter gear on a sled looks up. The first thing Enjin sees is magenta eyes. Sickly and restless. At first, Rudo thought the man was already dead. His skin looked stretched thin beneath the frost, pale and sickly beneath the Arctic light. Dark circles hollowed his eyes, and his lips were cracked enough to bleed. Yet despite looking as though death had already claimed him, the stranger's magenta eyes remained wide awake.
Watching.
Waiting.
Like something that had forgotten how to die. The man was barely able to get a word out before collapsing. Enjin quickly runs over and catches him. “Shit!” He mutters. He takes the man and unchains the dogs as he carries them back to the ship.
Rudo runs up to Enjin to check if he’s alright. “Get some water, medicine, and food. We’ll continue this conversation later.” Rudo nods and heads to get what he needs. At this point, Riyo wakes and sees the dogs and chaos on the ship. She goes to question Rudo.
“What's going on?”
Rudo looks up at her, his face tense.
“I don’t know.”
…
After settling the stranger down, a few hours passed by. Rudo stays in the room looking after him. The man looked older up close. He had frostbite and dark spots stretched over sharp cheekbones, his face decorated with piercings running from the bridge of his nose to the bottom of his lip. Grey threaded through his locs, mixing with brown and black strands. He looked exhausted.
Almost dead.
Yet even asleep, there was something unsettling about him.
His brow twitched.
His fingers curled against the blanket.
Like he was chasing something through a dream.
"Zanka..."
The name slipped from his lips.
Soft.
Almost reverent.
"No... don't leave again..."
Rudo shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
The stranger's breathing quickened.
"Come back to me."
The words sent a chill down his spine.
Before Rudo could decide whether he should get Enjin, the stranger suddenly went still.
The room fell silent.
Then his eyes opened.
Not suddenly.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
Magenta eyes stared straight into Rudo's.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
One second.
Two.
Three.
The silence stretched so long that Rudo became painfully aware of his own heartbeat.
Then the stranger smiled.
It wasn't a friendly smile.
It wasn't even a threatening one.
It was the smile of someone who had just remembered a private joke.
“Where am I?” He asks calmly…to calm.
Rudo's mouth goes dry for a minute. “You're on the Akuta express in Antarctica…”
The stranger stares at Rudo for a moment. Rudo shrinks himself under the stranger's intense gaze.
The stranger moved to sit up in the bed. His eyes drifted around the room.
The walls.
The desk.
The window.
Then back to Rudo.
He watched him carefully.
Too carefully.
As if he were studying him.
Like a specimen.
Rudo swallowed.
Something about the man's gaze made him feel exposed. Like every thought in his head was being peeled apart layer by layer. An uncomfortable silence loomed over them. Rudo, trying to break the silence and the stranger's intense gaze, spoke up.
“Is your name Zanka?”
The smile vanished.
Instantly.
The name causes the stranger's once curious gaze into something darker...sharper.
“Where did you hear that name?”
“Y-you called out that name while you were waking up."
The stranger stared at him.
Then he laughed quietly to himself. A single breath of amusement. It gave Rudo an unpleasant feeling deep within his gut.
"No."
He shook his head.
"I'm not Zanka."
His fingers tightened around the blanket.
"I'm looking for him."
The way he said it made Rudo's stomach twist even further.
Not because of the words, no.
But because of the longing behind them.
Like a starving man talking about food.
Like a priest speaking of God.
Like a mourner standing over a grave.
The stranger leaned forward slightly.
"Tell me something."
His smile returned.
Gentle.
Patient.
Wrong.
"You didn't happen to find a cave while you were out there, did you?"
Rudo froze. He felt sweat drip down his temple, and his hands came to clutch his clothes unconsciously.
The stranger's eyes immediately notice it, and his smile widens.
"Ah."
His eyes gleamed.
"So you did."
"How did you know that?"
The stranger tilted his head.
For the first time, genuine emotion-excitement flickered across his face.
He glanced away, looking out the window at the room, "Because that's where he always hides when he runs away."
His eyes turned back to Rudo, staring at him again, "Did you see him?"
Rudo blinked.
"Wha-?"
"The cave."
The stranger's gaze never left him.
"The one you found during the storm."
Rudo's stomach dropped.
His body starts to tremble, not because of the cold but of the certainty behind the stranger's ominous voice.
How did he know about that?
"I..."
The stranger leaned forward.
"Did you see him?"
The question wasn't angry.
If anything, it sounded hopeful.
Like a child asking about a lost pet.
Rudo shifted uncomfortably.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
The smile slowly disappeared from Jabber's face.
Not out of anger.
Disappointment.
"That's unfortunate."
Before Rudo could react, Jabber grabbed him.
One moment, he was sitting in bed.
The next his hand was wrapped around Rudo's throat.
Firm.
Steady.
Almost gentle.
Rudo gasped.
His back slammed against the wall.
"Did."
Jabber tightened his grip slightly.
"You."
A little tighter.
"See."
His magenta eyes locked onto Rudo's.
"Him?"
Rudo's eyes widened, and his body froze, only making the stranger grip his throat harder.
“W-WAIT P-PLEASE.”
"You saw something." The stranger whispered.
"I can tell."
The excitement creeping into his voice was somehow worse than anger.
"You saw him, didn't you?"
"I-I DONT-UGH-KNOW...!"
Tears started to gather in the boy's eyes.
His breath agonizingly torn away at each moment.
Each passing second.
He can't breathe.
He's gonna die here.
Blue eyes flashed through his mind.
The cave.
The footsteps.
The thing standing in the darkness.
The stranger studies his face, Rudo's dying eyes.
Then his expression changed.
Pure relief.
As though a terrible burden had just been lifted from his shoulders.
A laugh escaped him. An actual laugh filled with Joy.
Soft.
Breathless.
"He survived?" he whispers to himself at first, like he's trying to believe his own words.
Rudo's vision blurred.
His lungs burned.
Only then did the stranger seem to realize what he was doing.
He glanced down.
Not at Rudo.
But at his own hand.
Almost confused.
As if he'd forgotten it was there.
Then he released him.
Rudo collapsed to the floor, coughing.
The stranger simply stared into space.
A strange smile spread across his face.
"He survived." This time, he said it more firmly, like stating a fact.
He laughed again, more to himself than anyone else.
"He survived!" This time, excitement and joy filled his voice, a soldier coming to see his wife after a war.
Rudo's hand instantly wraps around his throat, coughing.
“WHA THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU-” Rudo yells before coughing harder.
The man jumped and turned back to Rudo, as if he forgot that he was there, as if a second ago, he didn’t just try to kill Rudo for no reason.
“Where did you see him?” asked happily, but a stern force was present behind it.
“I…I DONT KNOW MAN? A WHILE BACK?!” The stranger sighs, settling himself back on the bed.
The man just stares at Rudo, then he turns to the window again and lets out a soft giggle.
Then silence filled the room again.
“Was that…thing a ‘Zanka’?”
“That thing is Zanka. And he belongs to me.”
Rudo turns his head to look at the stranger in shock.
“Wha-what is it?”
The stranger didn’t look at Rudo, his eyes still focused on the storm outside. But a smirk appeared on his face.
“My Adam.”
Rudo stares at the man in shock, fear, and almost admiration.
“Wha-who… are you?…”
The stranger's eyes finally turn to Rudo.
“Jabber. Jabber Wonger.”
…
“NO WAY, The Jabber Wonger?!”
Rudo looks between Enjin and Riyo confuse.
“Who is he exactly?” Rudo asks.
Enjin laughed, “Kid, you really live under a rock doncha, he’s one of the most famous scientists to have ever lived.”
No way that guy who almost killed him?
Rudo's hand came to caress his neck. The bruises from the man's grip started to form on his neck.
He thought back to his creepily obsessive magenta eyes once again.
“The question is, what is he doing all the way here in the Arctic for?” Ryio says.
Enjin shrugs his shoulder, lighting up another cigarette. “Don’t know, maybe collecting samples or discovering some type of scientific shit.” He inhales the nicotine for a minute, then softly releases it.
“Who knows?”
Rudo looks down at his gloves. He knows, he knows exactly. And he wants to find out.
“Say, the scientist has been pretty fond of ya kid’ since your band from goin outside for a minute, why doncha look after him?” Enjin says, turning his gaze to Rudo.
Rudo thinks for a moment, back to the cave where ‘Zanka’ was hiding and the scientist's words.
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll do it.”
…
It's been a couple of days since Jabber came on board the ship. Rudo took care of him, often coming to give him food and medicine. He didn’t yet question the man about ‘Zanka’ wanting him to explain it himself in full detail. He learned a lot from the man, mainly about science, like the structure of cells, chemistry, and how atoms react with each other. As much as the man lowkey creeped him out, he would give Jabber the props; he really was a genius. One day, as he was giving Jabber his medicine, the science list turned to him.
“You’re curious about Zanka, aren’t you? That's what ya been entertaining me, and my stories, huh.”
Rudo snapped up to the scientist. His face turned red in embarrassment at getting caught.
“Y-yeah.”
He hears Jabber softly chuckle.
“Alright, kid, ya won, I’ll tell you-only on one condition.”
Rudo nods.
“If you see Zanka again, I want you to bring him to me.”
Rudo froze. That thing-that monster, how the hell was he supposed to do that? He looked at Jabber's face to see a sign of his ‘playfulness’ or ‘jokes,’ but the man was dead serious. Yet the curiosity of wanting to know what ‘Zanka’ is was too big for Rudo to ignore.
He doesn’t want to see that monster or the risk of running into it.
He doesn’t want to chance for it to come after him or his family again.
He won’t allow it.
“Alright.”
“Alright?” The scientist says, raising an eyebrow.
Rudo swallows his spit for a second, his Adam's apple bobbing nervously. “I accept your conditions. What will you do when you have Zanka, though?”
The man smiles, for the first time, his smile meets his eyes.
“I’m going to kill it.” He says happily.
Sweat rolled down the side of Rudo's face. The man seemed strong enough, and again, he would rather not have a monster roaming around while he and his family were out on this expedition.
"What is it?" Rudo asked quietly.
For a moment, the stranger didn't answer.
His gaze remained fixed on the storm beyond the porthole window. Snow and darkness swallowed the horizon whole.
A strange smile slowly tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Not fond.
Not proud.
Possessive.
Like a man thinking about something that belonged to him, when he finally spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper.
"My greatest creation."
Then the room fell silent.
End of prologue