Of Ice, Death & Monsters

Chapter 57 : For We Make Hope

I did not know what was happening at all. It was just yelling, screaming, roaring, and gunshots all around me.

Then there was the fact that every time a raindrop fell on me, I started to get flashes of memories and whispers from the dead. But at that point, I was kinda used to it from how much the other souls in me kept on attacking my mind over and over again, so I ignored it for the most part.

What I couldn’t really ignore was how much Andrei was forcing me to walk towards Koschei. I couldn’t really blame him. The architect of his home’s destruction and friend’s demise, and even his own demise, was here; might as well take them out.

I didn’t really know what to do with Jane and Marian over there either, and it felt wrong for me to take a side, even. One was trying to avenge her vegetable husband, and the other was avenging her torture. I’m not touching that moral dilemma with a pole of any length.

Plus, they got broken powers. I think I just saw Marian make weapons out of thin air. I’m sure that they were given those powers for a reason. All I got was not dying and some other stuff strapped to my body. I’m not cut out for fireballs and guided sword barrages.

But still…

I looked at Godwin and Matthias as they seemed to be getting into an argument with Rook, or even Henry and Charlie, who were yelling at each other in the distance. It felt wrong not to address them, but… I guess Koschei was the one to really look out for here.

“Well, here goes-“

I turned my head to face where the Keepers and Koschei were, my eyes widened as I saw Rodion thrown into the River Smorodina, quite literally disintegrating as he was consumed by its waters.

“No!” Andrei’s voice came out of my mouth as I jumped towards Koschei using my giant strength and grabbed him by the neck, pinning him to the ground with a massive thud. The Descendant’s eyes grew wide as he saw me, and even wider when he saw the antler blade on my right forearm that I shoved into his chest, literally impaling him.

“You bastard! You fucking bastard!” I yelled out, holding him down as I stared into his eyes. My Teni exploded from my body, sticking onto Koschei as they pierced him easily.

The other Keepers were saying things, but I couldn’t really focus. I had to kill the monster right in front of me before he hurt anyone else!

At this point, I agreed with Andrei. I could even feel Robert and Bartholomew come together. This wasn’t just revenge; this was Justice. We had the power, and now it was time to use it responsibly.

“Haha…” Koschei laughed. A shit eating grin formed on his face as he cackled like Baba Roga.

‘This motherfucker.’ I thought as I sneered in disgust.

‘Who does this guy think he is?’ Robert made me shake my head in disappointment.

Bartholomew and Andrew twisted the antler blade in Koschei’s chest even more, and even as he winced and wheezed in pain, he laughed.

“What’s so fucking funny?!” I yelled out as I narrowed my eyes.

“Oh, nothing… Just… I don’t know who you are, and yet you can attack me like this in the Nawia, especially with the antlers of a Bes. It makes me so curious as to who you could be…But alas… I’m not that curious.”

I felt a stabbing pain in my gut followed by a familiar burning sensation that covered my entire body, completely and utterly. It was like when the flames doused me on the ship, and when the flames smothered me in my grave. I felt my body fall apart, as if I was melting.

‘No… No! We will not die like this!’ My mind yelled out as I instinctively grabbed at what stabbed my gut, pulling it out with my left hand.

The minds and souls within me forced themselves together, fusing and merging back as I retained my sense of self and individuality.

Koschei’s jaw dropped as he stared at me with confusion that grew into a confused giggle. “No... What… What are you?”

He quickly sliced off my antler blade with his daggers, which cut through it like butter, back flipping away as if he were some acrobat, as the Teni receded thanks to the flames

“That would have dissolved your spirit and turned you into a less than comprehensible sludge of memories and ideals like your friend. Yet it looks like you’ve only just been…” He tilted his head in wonder.

“Staggered.”

Koschei tried to breach the distance between himself and I, but Katya dashed towards him, grabbing him by the arm as she tried to throw him into the River. However, Koschei simply twirled his daggers and raised them up to stab her in the back.

Karoya and Leonid then both threw wooden knives to intercept his blow; upon contact with Koschei’s flaming daggers, they disintegrated.

‘I need to get those out of his hands.’

I ran and slid beside Katya, grappling Koschei’s leg with my own and hooking him down to the ground. I reached out to his hands, pinning them down as I turned to Katya, about to yell what to do, but she was one step ahead. She grabbed both of his knives and threw them into the River Smorodina, yet instead of burning away, they merely skittered along the surface before landing on the shores seemingly unharmed.

“Blessed by the Harbinger, do not think it would be taken in that easily... Yet, who and what are you?"

Koschei made a crushing motion with his hand as I felt paralyzed by an invisible force. He then kicked me and Katya off his body before rolling and dodging Leonid’s sword slashes and Kariya’s dagger throws.

“Tch, why do you care so much? You should stop talking and get your ass out of our mind.” That was both Andrei and me. He didn’t care, but I did. Maybe he knew would could have made me special, but maybe I shouldn’t exactly ask the guy who just killed his friends. Yeah, no, that was definitely not the best idea I ever had.

“You’re a curious specimen. I know of nearly everyone here, their goals, their abilities, and how they could manifest. Every single note and knowledge, I made sure to at least try to understand and prepare for. But, this is new, even for someone like me.”

He turned towards Leonid, who was swinging wildly. “I’ll kill you… I’ll kill you!” He shouted out, practically frothing at the mouth, while Koschei grinned, carefully back-stepping before raising his hand up at Leonid’s face, flames forming in his palm.

But as he was about to fire, I noticed that I was free from his spell and raced in front of the fireball, making sure to push Leonid away as my body was engulfed in the flames.

“Aghhh!” I screamed in pain, wincing as I felt the souls inside of me bulge outwards as if I was going to rupture. I flailed around a bit, trying to catch my composure while the flames died down, before staring down at Koschei, who seemed to look very alarmed at my continued existence.

“You-“ He dodged a downward strike from Leonid before kneeing the poor man in the jaw and throwing him to the side.

“You not only survived the blade by the direct flames as well? Are you blessed by the Caretaker as they are-“

He dashed to the side as Kariya decided to take things into her own hands, lunging towards the Descendant with two daggers, one in each hand, swinging away at his neck and joints as Katya grabbed Leonid’s fallen sword, thrusting it towards Koschei to perform a pincer maneuver.

Yet, he easily rolled across the floor, aiming his hand up at both of them to unleash his blasts of flame. They were never going to stop, and while I couldn’t deny them their revenge, I knew he was far too powerful for them to engage with, even with my help.

I had to get him out of here. Maybe the Smorodina could kill him? Or would it? He said that the blade was blessed, and it didn’t get consumed, so maybe I needed to overwhelm him fully, like what I almost did to Bartholomew?

I then grew a few feet tall, slamming my hand into his back and onto the ground. I tried to connect with him, searching for an important memory, any memory from his mind. But all I found were glimpses of him and Matthias. The both of them, smiling together in gardening, or playing with each other by lakesides.

My hand began to burn as Koschei set it on fire, pushing it away after I was weakened.

“No, you couldn’t be of the Caretaker. This power is far beyond what they could grant at this moment. And it’s not their style either. They would bring things to life, not merge them. Could you be the Svaro-” Koschei’s eyes shifted as he spun around a three-way attack from Katya, Leonid, and Kariya.

As he did so, I took the opportunity to punch him in the face. Yet, he tilted his head, dodging it as he turned around, about to blast the others again, before I grappled both of his arms, once more activating my giant strength to throw him off to the side.

“It doesn’t matter who I am… I’m here to put a stop to you and whatever mad plot you’re touting about!” I regrew my antler blade once more, charging towards him.

Without a second to waste, Koschei rolled to the side, reaching out as he made a claw-like figure with his hand. From the corner of my eye, I spotted several glowing sprites that seemed to surround the knives' handles in the distance, lifting them up into the air.

He was using telekinesis, and I had to stop him before he managed to stab the others! I grabbed onto his robe and, while shifting my size to be bigger, threw him a football field away, sending him flying far enough that he wouldn’t be in range of the knives nor the others as he landed by a riverbank.

The other Keepers watched in awe, but I wouldn’t let him off that easily; even Katya was starting to run in his direction with the others following. I wanted to tell them to stop, but Andrei once more took over.

“Take his weapons! Hide them before we go! I’ll hold him off!” Kariya and Leonid both realized what I was talking about, rushing towards the knives while Katya and I ran towards Koschei.

Of course, I got there first, but Koschei had already recovered, raising his hand towards the weak link of Katya, while making a crushing gesture towards me. Instantly, I was paralyzed once more, my body felt as if I was being smushed.

He fired another fire blast at Katya, who, instead of rolling away or jumping behind some cover, leapt behind me, using my body as a human shield as I got a fireball against my chest for her.

It was smart, but also quite painful. The flames engulfed my skin once more, yet while it seared, I didn’t feel anything much after the initial blast like before. With that in mind, Katya gripped my back like a riot shield and moved forward while I was continually assaulted.

Koschei grinned and switched tactics, releasing me from his telekinetic crush before applying it to Katya, restraining her down.

“Big mistake!” I channeled the charging power of the Bes, barrelling my way towards the Descendant, unsheathing my antler blade and impaling him right in the stomach, mimicking how Robert and I died. I was about to lift him up into the air before he literally slammed himself further into my blade, now hugging my chest.

He stared at me right in the eyes and grinned. “I assure you… The mistake was calculated.” Without giving me time to respond, he used his own body as a weight, leaping off the edge of the bank as we both fell into the River Smorodina.