RTYY 140 – Frozen Sleep
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“What the … who are you??” a rough, angry voice demanded, and ZaiWin1Literally zai (blade) + win (chaos). immediately held his breath, trying his best to raise his head and look up at the man talking to him.

Old and bent, covered by a dirty blanket, the man kept glaring at him with threatening, sharp blue eyes.

Splaying his hands on the icy ground, ZaiWin grunted from the effort to simply push himself up. Only when his hands slipped beneath him did he realize that something wasn’t quite right. Unlike the cavern he had seen through the darkness’ memory, the ground under him wasn’t made of dark stone, but was covered by a thick layer of ice instead.

Blinking his vision into focus, he couldn’t help look around in complete disbelief. Everything had been completely frozen solid, from the walls to the high ceiling above his head, sharp spikes of ice rising from the ground and descending from the ceiling everywhere, looking very much as if an ice bomb had been detonated in that place. ZaiWin knew that scenery and that pattern all too well, and he immediately sat up, urgently looking around, searching for him.

“Where is he …?”

“Hey! You! Are you deaf? Who are you and how did you get here? Better yet, do you know how to get out of this place?” the old man insisted and ZaiWin looked back at him, frowning from lack of patience. He was hurting all over and so damn weak he could barley hold his head up. As things stood he could lose consciousness at any moment. He had no time to waste!

“Where is he?” he repeated, his breath forming thick, white clouds in front of his mouth and nose, and the old man took a small step back, averting his gaze.

“What are you talking about, young man? I’ve been stuck here for half a day, now. We should try and leave this place as soon as possible, before we end up freezing to death.”

Searching the depths of his being for whatever piece of strength he might still possess, ZaiWin managed to conjure one of his dark swords and sent it flying towards the old man, merciless stabbing him on the right shoulder and successfully pinning him to the ice wall at the same time. Screams of fear and pain echoed all over the cavern, making him dizzy, forcing him to shake his head just to make sure he remained awake.

Looking up, he forced himself to focus on the panic-stricken image of the old man. Still screaming in pain, his hands shaking convulsively, he tried to pull out the sword, only to realize that he wasn’t even able to touch it to begin with.

“I am not going to ask again. Where is he?”

“Th-th-there!” the old man stuttered, pointing to his left, even though all ZaiWin could see was a forest of sharp columns of ice.

“That damned kid is a freak!” the man spat, his blue eyes looking half-crazed, and ZaiWin glared at him, knowing that, should he had had the strength, he would most certainly have killed him right there and then.

Bracing himself against the ice wall, he tried his best to get back on his feet. His head was swimming, making him loose balance from time to time, forcing him to halt every other step just so he could simply breathe.

ZenTar2Literally zen (silent) + tar (wind). would kill him, if he knew he had depleted his inner energy like this, he winced, his right knee hurting more than it should, from when he’d tumbled across the ice floor.

Focusing on his target, ZaiWin released the wall and forced himself to drag his feet towards the direction the old man had pointed out.

“What are you going to do? Just let him be! He’s quiet now! What if he wakes up?” the man urgently spewed, dread lacing his pained voice.

ZaiWin clenched his teeth, ignoring the pain, and stretched out an arm, eager to reach the closest ice spike.

“Do you have any idea of what you’re doing? This isn’t something you should meddle with!”

“Shut up!!”

He stumbled, almost falling, but was able to reach the first ice column in time. With a sigh of relief, he leaned against it for a moment, trying to catch his breath, the cold quickly seeping through his clothes until his arm was almost numb. Taking a deep breath, he dragged himself towards the next column, and from there to the next one.

By the sheer number of them, and by how sharp they were, ZaiWin couldn’t help conclude that either the old man had some hidden abilities or he had been extremely lucky to have survived all that. If he knew anything about how Snow’s markings worked, all that ice had probably been formed all at once. Like a huge, deadly forest growing out of nowhere, the smaller, sharper ice formations around his feet able to easily cut through fabric and flesh.

And then there he was, right in front of him, and for an instant ZaiWin could hardly believe his own eyes. Even without the link to guide him, he had been able to find him!, though he had no idea of where they were. But then he immediately knew. Something was extremely wrong. He could feel it on his own skin, as if something cold and slimy were crawling all over him.

Stumbling forward, ZaiWin allowed himself to fall on his knees over the cold, ice slab. Snow was lying on his side, his back turned to him, his wild silver hair spread over the ice, his face hidden from his view.

“What have you done to him?” he asked, not even bothering to raise his voice, knowing that in that huge, open space there was no way the old man couldn’t hear him. Since he didn't want to have to wait too long for a reply, he commanded his sword to bury itself deeper into the old man’s shoulder, which immediately got him screaming again.

“Nothing!! Nothing at all!”

Raising a shaky hand, ZaiWin did his best to control his tremors and softly pulled down the collar of Snow’s tunic, so he could peer down his neck. The rotten, putrid smell that reached his nose made him immediately pull back, dark miasma raising from his equally darkened skin.

His fury was so deep, so visceral, so overwhelming, that another four dark swords appeared right in front of the old man, ready to stab him to death.

“I swear I didn’t do anything to him! He wanted this! He asked me this!!” the man immediately shouted and screamed some more when three of the four swords pierced his other shoulder and both his knees, effectively nailing him to the wall. The other sword just stood there, floating right in front of him, pointing straight to his heart.

“You corrupted his markings!”

“It was the only way!” immediately came the reply, cut by desperate sobs. “He wanted to get rid of the bond that held him prisoner! I clearly explained what would happen!”

Lightly touching Snow's soft, silver hair, ZaiWin dragged himself across the ice platform and straddled his unmoving body, so he could see his face. Both his hands were completely encased in ice, as were his feet, he noticed. And the ice was still expanding, slowly covering his arms. The half part of his face that was against the ground was also starting to freeze. If left alone, he’d soon be completely frozen, covered by a thick layer of ice. And yet he was still breathing, his expression surprisingly calm, making him look even younger than ZaiWin knew him to be.

Had he really wanted this? Han he really wanted to just fall asleep in this cavern, in the middle of nowhere, and never wake up again? He couldn’t believe that! The Snow he knew loved to walk under the sun, even when it hurt his sensitive eyes. He always forgot about everything and everyone, while staring at the flowers growing by the side of the road, or at the birds playing on the trees. He was a curious kid, always eager to learn new things, even though he was too shy to ask others about them. Above all, he loved and respected life, his own included. He had wanted to live, and had had the strength of heart to fight for what he wanted, even if that meant having to face a scary monster like him.

“Undo it!” ZaiWin commanded, raising his voice, and the crying sobs that filled the cavern halted abruptly.

“Undo it? That’s impossible! He took …” ZaiWin commanded his sword to pierce the man’s heart and a sharp scream filled his ears. “Wait!! Wait!! Let me explain!!” the man begged just in time, and ZaiWin halted the sword, searching the small pouch VinWei3Literally vin (hard) + wei (crystal) had given him with trembling hands, taking out three red crystals and placing them next to Snow's frozen hands. The crystals' heat immediately started to melt the ice, small drops of water forming over its frozen surface.

“Once the process has started … there’s no way to undo it!” the man was sobbing urgently, and ZaiWin gently brushed a lock of silver hair away from Snow’s face. He would give that bastard until the ice melted, he decided.

“He drank a special concoction that will alter the nature of his daitai4Literally dai (light) + tai (mark), or holy Markings, considered Heavenly Blessings. They’re the source of power., effectively breaking the bond between him and his Chosen One. It’s not like he’s going to die!” the old man argued in his defense, but ZaiWin knew better.

Of course he was going to die. Even though his markings could be fierce, even deadly, Snow had a pure, kind heart. He would never be able to bear the darkness now growing inside him. It would drive him insane.

“Your time is running out,” he simply announced, finally able to touch Snow's reddened hand. His skin was so cold that he couldn’t tell the difference between it and the ice around him.

“Wai-wait!! It’s true that no one can undo it! But maybe … maybe it can be reversed?”

Finally able to release his hand, ZaiWin held it carefully and brought it to his lips, blowing a warm breath of air over his frozen skin, while he waited for the ice to melt and release his other hand.

“I’m still waiting …”

“I-I-I’m guessing you’re his ... Chosen One?”

ZaiWin didn’t even bother answering that.

“Erm … may-maybe if you could reestablish the bond? If you’re familiar with his daitai’s nature, maybe through the the link between you two he will be able to cleanse and-and-and restore them …? But I-I-I can’t be sure! No one can! It has never been tried, much less done! Because if his Chosen One isn’t strong enough, the Chosen One may end up being corrupted as well! No one would ever be willingly risk such a thing. They all rather lose their Tien’Elhar5Literally tien (Heaven) + el (supreme) + har (girl child). The Heavenly Beings also known as Celestials in the common language.!”

ZaiWin couldn’t help smile ironically, gently releasing Snow’s face from the melted ice, finally able to turn his head. His cheek and eyebrow were also burned by the cold, and his lips were chipped and dry.

Ah! Wasn’t the damn brat lucky, he thought, gathering his crystals and placing them around his feet.

“How am I suppose to reestablish this bond?” he asked, gently raising Snow’s other hand from the ice and finally turning him on his back, so he could take a better look at him.

Placing two fingers in front of his nose, he felt for his breath and sighed in relief again. If he ignored the frostbite marks on his face and hands, he seemed well enough, almost as if he’d simply fallen asleep. But ZaiWin knew better than that. He also knew that waking him up from that ‘sleep’ was probably the cruelest thing anyone could do to him.

“That … that I wouldn’t know … Your bond was an incomplete one to begin with. But it was already as strong as if he’d found his Chosen One years ago, even though he told me it had only been two months or so,” the old man replied, his voice broken and pained.

ZaiWin held Snow’s hands against his chest, trying to warm them. His own hands were equally cold, and so he hoped his body temperature would be enough to restore the blood flow to his fingers. Looking at his small hands, he noticed that Snow kept one of his hands firmly closed.

“I think that … if you repeat what was done before … that should be enough …”

So, did he have to make him kneel in front of him again?, ZaiWin wondered, carefully prying his fingers open, and then he suddenly couldn’t hear the old man’s voice anymore.

Good work, baka-ZaiWin! ? Now that you finally found him again, make sure you never let go! Or I'm sure lots of people will want to smack you silly! ?

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