Burning Embers Part II: Conspiracy [Arc 6-10]

Arc 9 Chapter 2

—Findaris' Perspective—

What came over me?

He clutched his head, trying to block out the distracting thoughts. Since the incident with the barbarian patrol, he had felt like he was in a sort of daze, as if everything weren't real. Furthermore, he could not get over the utter failure he had experienced during the time, completely unable to attack just because Belés wasn't there. There was still his control over ice, and even if that weren't a thing, he could've defeated them with his bare hands. Yet, he had left Kotori to fend for herself.

As they got further up the mountain, it had progressively gotten colder, judging purely by Kotori's reaction. Of course, being immune to extreme temperatures didn't mean Findaris couldn't tell if it were cold or hot, but it was difficult for him to notice subtle changes. However, as the altitude increased, and the further north they travelled, Kotori had gotten slower and slower, and at this point, she was almost sluggish. Furthermore, they had needed to make more and more frequent stops, to the point where they had to stop and make a fire at least twice in an hour for Kotori to warm up and rest.

As such, progress had been considerably slower than Findaris had initially anticipated it would be. What made it worse was that now it had started to snow, which made stopping even more complicated. As such, Findaris was sticking close to Kotori, making sure she wouldn't just collapse. He looked back at her, and noticed that she was shaking from head to toe, with her hands wrapping the cloak tightly around her shoulders.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I-I-I'm o-o-okay..." she replied, her teeth clattering due to the cold.

Looking around, he tried to find a place where they could wait out the snowfall, but couldn't see any. Visibility was getting lower and lower, and this reminded him of back when he and Vector had fought that wandering samurai spirit in similar conditions. However, Dagunland was far colder than anything Terrasia or Lanexi had to offer, so it was hardly comparable.

He kept looking frantically, knowing they were running out of time fast as the snow fell down heavier. If he had Belés, this would hardly have been an issue, as he could've used the sword's mastery of fire to keep them warm and melt the snowflakes before they even reached them. That was naturally no longer an option, so he had to do things the hard way.

Damn you, Alseiv.

"Kotori?" He looked back, as she still trudged along, shivering. The wind was getting faster and more violent, and the snowfall became harsher. There was no chance of her surviving for much longer if they kept going, and he had to find shelter no matter what, or else—

"Or else, what?" It was that persistent voice in his head. "She'll die? So what? You can leave her here to rot. She betrayed you after all. This is the best chance to get rid of her without sullying your hands."

"Shut up. No one asked you what to do."

"Cold, aren't you? What, I thought you hated her? Isn't that what you kept insisting to her?"

"I..."

Findaris clutched his head, gritting his teeth as he tried to get rid of the invasive voice. Unbeknown to him, while he was distracted by his internal conflict, things had taken a sudden turn for the worse. The wind was much faster, almost violet, and the snowfall was so thick he could barely see, and over the howling of the wind, it was difficult to hear even with his enhanced senses.