In a desolate snowy forest named Artis, where snow falls harshly during the day, something bizarre that probably has never happened occurred.
A young pale male with brownish hair was wearing a white coat hung from his shoulders, long and tailored, its cut precise enough to feel intentional rather than fashionable. It fell just below his knees, the fabric catching the low light and revealing every crease, every fold. A high collar framed his neck, the shoulders squared and structured, lending him a composed silhouette he did not feel.
Beneath it, black fabric showed through at the seams. A fitted inner layer. Practical and severe. Dark buttons ran in a neat line down the front of the coat, understated and exact. His gloves were black, smooth, concealing his hands entirely. No skin visible.
'Oh, at least I have flashy clothes. Quite the intricate design I'd say myself. AGH! What the hell am I saying? It's cold as hell—wait… it's actually not that cold… AAGHHH! I'm definitely going crazy to think that it's not cold while I was… half buried in snow.'
Ren struggled to stand up from the weight of the snow. For some reason the snow seemed to be heavier than Ren himself.
"Why the hell is my body so weak? AGHH! I probably have a foot in the grave already, don't I?"
"Yes you do, and start running your legs instead of running your mouth, you idiot!"
Sitting on a branch from a tall tree was Ken, who was gazing down on Ren with disdain. Before he could come up with a retort to Ken, he heard a growl far away but not too far.
"Run you idiot, if you die I die too! How many times are you going to make me repeat myself!?"
Coming back to his senses, he felt a small sense of fear clutching his chest as he stood up. His legs wobbled and yet still stood resolute, and before he knew it he was already sprinting in the opposite direction of the growls. He would have preferred to say that he was running with stunning speed and yet… it was more like he was wobbling at a quick pace while breathing heavily, with his heart almost popping out of his chest.
"You disgrace! You can't even run with proper form! You look like a toddler swaying his hands around with zero coordination. At this point the monster might as well kill us!"
Ren's eyes popped at the word monster, almost as if he couldn't believe what he just heard.
"Idiot! We share the same mind and body, and as such I can hear your thoughts. Also, when I mean monster, I meant monster literally. What you're probably thinking is ten times more optimistic than what reality is. This monster is more like a bear but three times bigger, drool and foam coming from its mouth, razor-sharp teeth that can break through these trees with ease. Hell, it could probably eat a boulder. Its fur is typically black, drenched in crimson blood smeared from its mouth and paws, sometimes even the eyes. Its hide is as strong as steel. Its claws aren't as strong as its bite force, and yet it could very much kill you with just a teensy weensy scratch."
"Stop trying to scare me. At this point you might give me a heart attack and I might die before that damn creature can even kill us."
Ken chuckled before whispering:
"That's probably the weakest creature in this forest, and worse for you is that they typically come in packs of dozens."
"Just shut up already! You're putting thoughts into my mind."
A sly smile reached Ken's face.
"I think you mean our mind."
'I swear I might need to invest in a ghost killing business…. Wait, would that mean wanting to kill myself? No? Yes?'
Ren ran as fast as he could, the growls of the creature creeping closer with every passing minute. His heart was still beating out of his chest, his lungs were on fire, his legs were wobbling from exhaustion, and his back had an arch from supporting his body.
"Damn it Ken, why is my body so WEAK!?"
"Hey don't blame me just because you didn't exercise."
"Damn it, what was I doing before now!"
'I need to run faster but for some goddamn reason my body isn't moving as fast as my vision! It's like my mind isn't in tempo with my weak-ass body. At this point I might end up running into a—'
"TREE!"
As his face plummeted into the tree he slipped and fell with a groan. The bear, or whatever it was, somehow flew past and over his head. Strangely enough it made the same mistake as Ren, crashing into the tree and completely dislodging from its trunk. Both of them sank into the snow, well mostly Ren due to the bear having its head stuck in the tree, which the bear clawed at.
Ren was about a foot into the snow. His face only grew colder. His body was groaning from the pain, yet his clothes, the only protection from the cold he had, kept his body surprisingly warm.
'Damn it all,' Ren coughed. 'My body hurts so goddamn much.'
Yet the only thing he could do was keep pushing his body further to its limits. Ren desperately pushed himself up, only to no avail. He quickly changed tactics and pushed the snow off his body. Slowly but surely he was back on his feet.
The bear almost seemed finished thoroughly destroying the tree, the one which kept it at bay from chewing into Ren like some discarded play toy. Ren was horrified at the thought.
Ren used the little strength he had left to push his body, quickening his pace almost as if racing the bear in which one could escape faster.
The wind hissed at that moment. It had come from the snow, flashing before his eyes.
'What the hell—'
An axe penetrated the monster's head. Blood gushed out of the wound. The bear's claws slowly came to a crawl, and then eventually to a complete stop.
There was a crunch that followed. It got louder with each second, the sound of something rustling followed suit to the crunching. They mixed together, creating a symphony of sounds.
The sounds came closer and closer. Each second made Ren more tense. Ken was just grinning from ear to ear without a care in the world.
'Why is this scumbag smiling? He knows that if I die he dies! Wait, doesn't that mean I'm safe? Yeah surely I'm safe right?'
A masked person suddenly came into view in the snow, the snow covering his… hers? shoulders. It was hard to tell the gender, or even if it was a human being behind the mask.
The person came closer and closer. Each step they made only made the fear grow larger in Ren's heart. The person was unarmed and yet they emanated a presence of chilling death. It could have been from the blood that was falling from the coat or rather from their simply calm nature.
Now mere meters away from the person, Ren finally was able to gain control over his body from paralyzing fear.
His mouth still quaked a little, his arms and legs were shaking, his ears were burning while his face grew pale.
The person did not speak nor did they acknowledge Ren's existence. They simply stood over the bear and grabbed the axe, placing it back in their belt while pulling out a knife to skin the bear. The work was meticulous and precise. It was without error and done in a timely manner. After they were done they put the pelt into their large bag.
The person simply stood up and started walking back into the snow where they came from. Without muttering a word they gestured for Ren to follow.
Ren walked begrudgingly behind the person. As they walked further into the forest Ren threw a glance at the remaining carcass of the monster. It was rather complete besides its rib eye and the bear's claws missing. It would look like it was simply asleep… well if you removed the wound and all the dark crimson blood from the pristine white snow.
They walked for hours without rest. The sound of their footsteps sounded like impending doom creeping closer.
"What's wrong? Are you going to just follow a complete stranger who was able to easily kill a monster with a single strike? You don't even know where you're going."
Ren glared at Ken, noticing that he seemed rather calm.
"Why should I worry? It just means I'm safe with them," Ren said shakily as his lips trembled from the cold.
They both came to a stop, not just Ren and Ken but also the masked being.
'I said that out loud didn't I?'
A small quiet voice came through, almost answering his question.
"Who are you talking to? Is someone following us?"
'Damn.'
Ren quickly came up with an excuse.
"Sorry, old habit of talking to myself."
He didn't want to seem like an insane person, but was still deeply embarrassed for that to be the mysterious stranger's first impression of him.
"Sorry but may I ask where we are going?"
"To a village called Gilberk."
"May I ask who you are…"
"Yeah smooth line, idiot. You think you'll charm someone with that?"
'What is this idiot talking about?'
The masked being continued to stare at Ren with what seemed to be confusion. Now that Ren was closer he could see the jade green eyes hidden behind the mask.
"Rose …"
"Beautiful."
"…"
'Lived life for a few hours and I already hate it.'
Ken was laughing in the back, heard only by Ren while the person shook her head and started to remove the mask. Dropping the bag of meat and claws to the floor, the stranger's face was revealed.