Of Ice, Death & Monsters

Chapter 69 : For A Song

I stood up, confused, walking towards him. “Uh, hello? Who are-”

Katya raised her hand to me, walking ahead to the man as she unsheathed her spear.

“W-Woah, can you explain what’s happening before you go and spear fishing?”

“That’s a Vodnik, and it just tried to drown us by luring us with its music.” She began to aim before tossing the spear at the old man, who swiftly paddled away from the throw as the polearm landed on the other side of the riverbank.

'Man, what is up with all the monsters that drown...'

“A-Ah, a helper of the Keeper? With the Echo? So you will save us from the Harbinger and her ways?” The Vodnik played a happy little jingle on his flute.

“Alas, our savior has arrived! Thank you for your decision!”

“Wait, it's a girl too?” I turned to Katya, who gave a shrug. Man, I'll deal with the ideas of that later.

“Well- Let’s not get too hasty now, sir! I don’t really know what you’re talking about. I’m not an ally of the Caretaker nor the Harbinger. I just want to go home.”

The Vodnik stopped his flute playing, and it felt like he was staring at me judgmentally through his hat of reeds. “Then you are in grave danger… Or perhaps it is more fitting to say that you are the danger! Baba Yaga can’t keep you here forever; you have to leave now, before worse dangers come. The Caretaker can ensure your safety.”

I scoffed. “Okay, I had my fair share of salesmen try to sell me shit, but like you almost got me. No, I think I’m safe here for now. It’s Baba Yaga. She’s like on a different level compared to anything that’s not like some ultimate power. She’s like, at least five stars or A Class.”

Both the Vodnik and Katya stared at me, confused, as I laughed awkwardly. 

The old man-like monster stared at me, his eyes turning red as he began to play a haunting melody that started to bubble the waters. At that, Katya’s Teni rose from the ground, becoming a collection of weapons in the air.

“If you don’t choose, then others will choose for you. We cannot allow someone like you to be in the hands of those who wish to destroy us. You’ve seen it, what they can do. Please, you would have to come with us.” 

“Us?” I asked as I looked down onto the river, finding numerous eyes staring back at me, slithering through the waters.

“I get what you’re trying to say, but I don’t want any trouble. I just want to get out of here, and I won’t pick…” Should I pick? Do I need to pick a side? Well, I do, especially if he’s right and people would go after me.

“I’ll pick later, I don’t have all the pieces now, and I can’t focus right now. I just woke up, dude, please just let me have this.”

“You do not understand at all-“ He began before I raised my hand to stop him.

“I get it. Lives are at stake, but I don’t have the big picture! I don’t know what to do. Just leave us alone while I think.”

“I’m afraid if we were to leave you alone, others will come, and I do not wish for them to have your power by their side.”

He raised his flute and began to play an invigorating melody. Suddenly, my body felt as if I wanted to cross the river, as if to follow along with the tune and dance right towards the currents. However, I gritted my teeth and stood my ground, turning to see if it had the same effect on Katya, only to see she’s entirely unbothered.

Instead, she grabbed another spear and began to jump into the water, hooking herself down with the Teni before she raised her polearm towards the Vodnik as if to throw it at him again, but instead of at him, she aimed straight down, as in that moment, a massive sea serpent emerged from the depths to try and swallow her whole only for her to pierce through its head.

At that moment, a new feeling surfaced within my body and spirit, as if I were a phone being charged and zapped to life. A small grin came across my face as I began to think.

‘Is it back?’ 

“Run! Get to the others, I’ll hold them off.”

“Nah.” I shook my head, stepping up to the river as I raised my hand towards the Vodnik. “I needed a test subject for this anyway.” I gave a grin, trying to hide the fact that I was terrified as all fuck and didn’t know what was going to happen.

“Peter Sai, what are you doing?! You have told me-” Another sea serpent came up, trying to wrap around and crush her, but she swiftly placed the spear into the serpent’s mouth before it sliced it apart entirely.

Once again, that strange zap came to me as my grin widened.

“That your powers stopped working!’

“Yeah, kinda… But I’m thinking I was wrong, and plus, I wanted to test out a new power.” With immense focus, I reached out, my mind zooming forth as I then latched onto my target: the Vodnik.

I managed to enter a worm and a rock, but now it’s time to see what I could do with an actual being alive and well. I focused on myself, my entire existence turning dark before suddenly…

I opened my eyes. I found myself on a floating branch, carefully riding out in the middle of the river. In my hands was a little flute made of some kind of plant, while on my head was a hat of reeds. 

I felt both slow yet nimble, old yet young at heart. I tried to move my body as I played the flute, but to no avail, as the Vodnik had complete control. I was relegated to watching everything happening like I was stuck behind a TV screen.

The flute held up to my lips as I began to play a rousing song, one you would hear in the background of war, as large fish-like monsters emerged from below the river, rising up to strike at Katya, only to get impaled by her Teni.

However, it seems that I wasn’t done, simply playing a different tune now, one that called and ensnared the senses as I felt the desire to summon more of the monsters by my side.

The Vodnik was looking for quantity and not quality; no matter how many times Katya could defend my body, she would eventually grow tired. And there was also a chance he could call more like him.

‘Alright buddy… Let’s see how you tick.’

I imagined a hand reaching forward and grabbing a hold of his memories, of his life, of who this monster was, seeping inside his very spirit as rows of memories shot from every angle.

I focused myself, like I did with Zmey, manifesting myself in a corridor of memories. Instead of a bridge, I found myself in a river, floating on a boat alone as I moved downstream, gently watching the fish go by. 

“Huh… This is peaceful.” I looked at my surroundings, it seemed way sunnier, with much brighter trees and more wildlife. I think I could even spot a few deer prancing around in the forest.

Then, I heard the voice of an old man right behind me.

“Hah… It looks like they’re biting more than usual…”

I turned around to find some old man on the same boat I was, holding a fishing rod as he was trying to catch some of the fish that were passing by, with plenty of them nipping at the bait. 

”Hey! Sir Regi! Why are you in another river?” The old man and I turned to the river banks as we found several kids on the shore, waving their hands as they smiled.

“Oh, kids… What are you doing out here? You should be with your parents.”

“We wanted to come play with you, sir!” They walked to the river, nearly about to wade in it.

“N-N,o it’s far too dangerous, you should be back home before you could slip and fall! Many creatures can come in and pull you under.”

Yeah, I had to agree with him, there are like so many monsters in Galfania that just drown you for no reason whatsoever. Like, I get that the water is dangerous, but it’s like having fifteen different monsters whose entire way of life is to bury you alive. Scary, but so many.

“But you’re doing okay, sir!”

Regi laughed. “That’s because I have a boat, and I know my ways around these waters! If you wish to join, you’d have to make your own boats.”

“We will! We will ask the others for their boats to come join you!” They ran off into the distance and left the old man alone, who laughed to himself before turning ahead to find something slithering his way. Something with beady red eyes, glowing in the water.

The old man grabbed a small harpoon by his side, throwing it towards the strange beast, who recoiled away in terror before slithering back. “Go on now… Ugh, my back.” He rubbed his sides and then his spine, sighing as he sat back down. 

He then grabbed a small jar engraved with the letters G and I. Opening it up revealed ashes, and he began to gently sprinkle them across the river. “…Ah, Galina, if only you were here… The kids, they’re everywhere… If I didn’t stop the,m they would have been eaten alive…”

A small chuckle came out of his mouth as he stared at the children in the distance. They were accompanied by a young man who helped them get on as they slowly paddled to him.

“Eh? What are you doing out here? You should be out there working.” The old man scoffed silently as the young man paddled towards him. 

“I am working, working to help you out.” His eyes shifted to the jar as he gave the old man a small knowing smile. “Now come on then, race you to the other end!”

He began to paddle away as Regi sighed and grumbled, but when he saw the kids wave their arms in delight and smile at the fish, the smile on his face returned, and he soon joined the endeavor.

“… If only I could have protected them more.”

The Vodnik’s voice spoke out behind me as I turned to find the fat old man like a monster sitting on the edge of the riverbank.

“Why? Did something bad happen to the others? To them?”

“Oh? Them? I don’t know, I died a few weeks later. I couldn’t bear being separated from Galina, but I couldn’t bear leaving the others alone…” Regi rubbed his pot belly and sighed.

“So that’s why you’re here, to always warn the others. That’s… That’s nice, but I don’t need any warnings.”

“Everyone needs a warning, little one. Everyone does, especially since there are always monsters lurking in the waters, waiting to devour you alive. Except for these monsters, nobody can stop. Baba Yaga can only deal with so much at a time. There’s only so many sea serpents you can shake a stick at before they begin to overwhelm you.”

He looked at me, dead in the eye, as the scene changed. Now we were deep in a wide forest with several hundred monsters, all of which were rushing forth, as if scouting for something… Or well, I should know they were scouting for someone.

“You, the Echo of the Original Spirit, from which came forth and birthed the world. I ask of you to join us and fight so that we may not lose ourselves in the fires.”