Darksiders: The Survivors

Chapter 16 - A Chill in the Dark

When the Serpent Hole opened, the cold struck Mathias Dimitrescu like a thousand daggers in his body that he felt immediately inert. His new surroundings were jagged mountains engulfed in the snow with an icy clear blue sky. He looked ahead shivering to see Death overlooking the Horizon with Dust perched on his shoulder.

Fury walked up beside the young man, "Ugh it's freezing here," she said grimacing and without blinking, her body her deep red hair suddenly glowed fiery orange again like Mathias had witnessed it when she melted the bars on his prison cell back at the Scar. He walked closer to her, unsure what "too close" qualified for the Horseman but he couldn't resist her beauty and mystery.

Death on the other hand was not too thrilled that they had to walk, since his sister was without a horse, but luckily the portal Vulgrim set up for them was just a short distance away from the Crowfather's home.

"Death, why are we going to visit the Crowfather if Rampage's soul might reside in the Kingdom of the Dead?" Fury asked impatiently,

Without turning to look at his sister, Death signalled Dust to scout ahead, "Because he knows everything, and with the Well of Souls and all that I've done, what we're looking for could be anywhere, only he would know. Trust me, Fury," he said calmly,

He strode forward and saw up ahead was a great icy spire covered in sharp jutting spikes and entryways on every level, like a skyscraper that had been caught in the middle of a blizzard. From afar Death could see the massive stairway leading to its cavernous opening at the base with ancient statues also covered in a thick blanket of snow. Mathias eyed the structure while sticking close to Fury and it looked like something he could see out of a Lovecraft story.

"Now I feel like this is from The Mountains of Madness, but without the ancient city," he remarked curiously,

Fury looked at him confused,

"It's from an eldritch story that's written by the author H.P. Lovecraft," Mathias replied, smiling at recalling the passion he had for these things and that he was close to Fury, the heat of her body and burning hair

Fury crossed her arms, "You have intriguing taste, do you humans go mad when you visit them?"

She's talking as if it's a real place, Mathias thought and then chuckled, "It's not real but yes you could say that they did. It's a theme the author implements. People see strange things that are hard to describe but they are scary in such a way that it drives them mad,"

Fury laughed as they walked together behind Death who didn't seem too thrilled that they had to walk. But it was only temporary, he hoped that soon they could resurrect Rampage and then they could all mount and ride together. He longed to pull out Despair and dash down the snowy path, but it would only upset Fury so he bit the bullet, for now.

The trio climbed the stairs passing and thankfully, Death saw no danger at first, but his hand clutched his scythe, ready for anything. Fury did the same with her whip while Mathias kept close to her. He couldn't stop thinking about the conversation he had with Fury back in the Void, how she had told him about her struggle with an identity crisis and to be accepted to a point where she began to embody her insecurities through anger and ruthlessness, alienated her brothers and desired to lead the Horsemen so she could feel better about herself.

Meanwhile, Mathias had faced a similar challenge of running away from people after dropping out of school and struggled to build a new reputation to that he wouldn't be judged. Being friends with Emily Victus gave him confidence, but there was something about Fury that he appreciated in someone that he never had before, he began to see her as someone he didn't want to lose.

"Warm enough?" Fury asked, interrupting the young man's deep thoughts,

"Close to you, yes I am," he said shivering and watching Fury's fiery hair sway with the wind,