[Aster]
Everything happened so quickly that Aster barely had time to process it all. In one terrifying moment, there was nothing but a raging fire, deafening screams, and an overwhelming sense of dread. Then, there was the screeching and wailing of a monster that had appeared out of nowhere. Unlike anything he had ever seen before, it had two long front limbs ending in thin, bony blades that slashed at him through the flames, moving so fast that they were nothing but a blur.
Somehow, every swipe missed him. Then he felt himself being dragged away, yanked back forcefully by a pair of strong, slender arms—his mother's. She pulled him deeper into the tunnel they had crawled through just moments before, despite the blinding flames still pouring out of his palms. The scorching heat washed over his face while the rough, sharp rocks of the narrow tunnel scraped against his tender, pale skin. He barely felt any of it. Protecting the girls was all that mattered at that moment, all he cared about.
Then came fear, unexpectedly. The moment his mana ran out, the flames died, and that thing was still there. He heard it, more clearly than his own heartbeat. He smelled it—the burnt flesh mixed with something unnaturally sweet, the kind of sweetness that made him want to gag.
Just as he was about to start panicking and hyperventilating, Silvia suddenly straddled his hips, her weight pressing against his lower back, causing him to groan in discomfort. She quickly began freezing everything in front of them, and just like Aster did a moment ago, she poured all of herself into her spell, her thighs trembling from the effort. "AAAAAAA!" A high-pitched, girlish scream echoed through the dark tunnel, mixing with the monster's screeches. Both were so loud that his ears rang.
It was also the moment when his brain decided to catch up to the pain he was supposed to feel from his scraped skin. Aster couldn't stop himself from letting out a stream of "ow ow oww," as Nivalis kept dragging them further and further away from the entrance, her grip on his ankles like steel. The temperature around them dropped so much that he started seeing his breath come out as a white mist.
When they finally popped out of the narrow tunnel, Aster landed hard on the cold, unforgiving ground, with Silvia awkwardly plopping down on his bum, their soft butts squishing together. "Ugh... ow..." he groaned, feeling the scratches on his thighs, hips, and tummy as if they were on fire, his cloak awkwardly pulled up all the way to his shoulders, leaving his lower half completely exposed.
Pinned beneath his sister, he could only lie there and whimper quietly from the pain, watching the girl seal off the tunnel's exit with as much ice as she could possibly create, even though the entire tunnel was nothing but ice at this point, all the way to the end where that creature was. She didn't stop until she felt she had no more to give.
"Did we kill it?" Nivalis asked breathlessly from behind them, her voice strained from exertion. Her hands were still shaking from the adrenaline rush, and she could hardly catch her breath, her chest heaving with each labored breath.
Brushing his scarred fingers through his messy silver hair, Aster gulped and whispered an ominous, "No." A heartbeat later, an incredibly angry screech pierced the air, distant and muffled by the layers upon layers of ice, followed by the sound of sharp claws slashing violently at it. Silvia's body tensed on top of him, her thighs pressing tighter against his sides.
Realizing that she was still sitting on top of him, the girl quickly jumped off his butt. "What the hell was that thing?!" she whispered in panic, adjusting his cloak and helping him sit up, her hands trembling on his shoulders. "Oh gods... That was so close... It's coming, isn't it? It looked so hungry..." she muttered, glancing at her mother with wide, terrified eyes.
Noticing that his hands trembled just as badly, Aster took a few deep, shaky breaths to calm himself. "I-I... I have no idea what that was," he mumbled out, looking back at the ice wall, his heart pounding in his chest like crazy. 'There is no way that thing is getting through. Right?'
Nivalis didn't say anything for a long moment, looking lost and helpless, which only added to the growing fear. Shaking her head, she snapped out of it and looked at the children, "It's going to be okay," she assured them, her knees shaking as she struggled to stand, grimacing from the pain in her bruised knees and hips. "It's going to be okay," she repeated, trying to sound confident, but the slight tremor in her voice gave her away. "Ignite as much mana as you can. We can kill that thing if it tries to get here; I know we can." Her breathing was heavy, panicked. "We're going to be fine, I promise."
Aster and Silvia both gave her a nervous nod in reply, their terrified eyes meeting for a moment, then quickly got up and did as she told them to. Standing side by side, the siblings began filling their chests with ignited mana, as much of it as their skinny bodies would allow.
While the kids busied themselves, Nivalis picked up her dagger from the ground, her knuckles turning white from how tightly she gripped it. Crouching to the left of the thick ice wall, she stared at it, her blue gaze so intense that it seemed almost animalistic. Like a cornered animal, desperate and scared, ready to do whatever it takes to survive.
The screeching and clawing at the ice didn't stop, and each time that thing struck, they all jumped a little in place, no matter how hard they tried not to.
...
"Hear anything?" Silvia softly whispered for what felt like the hundredth time already, her golden eyes flicking to her mother, who was still crouched in the same spot near the frozen tunnel. Nivalis just shook her head in response once again, strands of her long silver hair moving gently along her slender shoulders. She looked exhausted; dark circles under her eyes stood out against her pale skin, a result of hours spent sitting on the cold, sharp rocks and listening for any sign of the creature.
The first hour had been the most intense, though not the most terrifying—that title belonged to those that followed. At first, they were on high alert, unable to relax for even a second, their ears constantly picking up the muffled, hungry screeches and the sound of claws scraping against the ice. Whatever that creature was, it desperately wanted to get to them.
But what followed was somehow even worse: silence. The deafening kind that made even the quietest breath seem to echo around, in which they were left to wonder: did the creature finally give up and leave, or was it silently digging through the ice? Or maybe waiting for them to fall asleep? Not exactly a great feeling, to say the least.
Silvia sighed heavily, pressing her knees closer to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. Scattered around her were sharp icicles of all sizes, ready to be launched at anything that tried to break through the ice. More than she probably needed, but it made her feel better to have them. Beside her sat Aster, sweating like a pig despite the chilly air in the cave, posture straight, eyes glowing fiercely in the dimly lit space. "You okay?" Silvia whispered, brushing his damp forehead with her icy fingertips.
Briefly flicking his gaze to her face, Aster forced a small smile onto his lips and responded with a quiet, "Mhmmm." All this time, he continued to ignite his mana, trying to fit just a little more into his small chest. It was pure agony he put himself under; it felt like his ribs were about to snap under the pressure of his insides. Yet his face showed no discomfort, only the sweat and redness of his skin giving away the fact that the fire was raging inside him. It had been hours, but he didn't stop. He couldn't. Not until they were safe. "I'm okay," he lied.
Trembling from the cold, Silvia shuffled a little closer to her brother and pressed against his side, her icicles clanking against one another as she moved. "Don't overdo it, you dummy," she mumbled, resting her head on his shoulder and letting out a soft, tired sigh. Her chest hurt too, but not nearly as much as her brother's, of that she was sure. After a moment of silence, she whispered, "What do we do now?" as she stared into the darkness of the ice.
Aster had been trying his hardest not to let his thoughts wander to that question. 'Food. We're screwed, aren't we?' he answered to himself, his glowing eyes slowly drifting toward his mother. "How much food do we have left?" he asked, already knowing the answer. Not a lot.
"Maybe enough for two weeks at most," Nivalis replied while rubbing her forehead, worry etched deep lines across her face. "I think... we might have left too early?" she mumbled hesitantly, struggling to make sense of what the hell just happened. After a moment of thought, she added, "Yeah, that must be it. This place changes quite a bit in the winter... we saw that. Perhaps the creatures do too? We just need to wait for worms to return," she wondered aloud, biting her lip.
"Like..." Silvia began, scratching the back of her silver head in thought, "...they migrate to where it's warmer or something?"
Nivalis gave her a nod. "Yeah, birds do that all the time. I think we need to wait, maybe a few weeks..." she said, trying to convince herself just as much as Silvia and Aster, her gaze fixed on the icicles scattered around the girl. "If we stretch our food for as long as we can, perhaps things will return to normal by the time we need to go out."
There was a hint of hope in her voice that Aster wished he could share, but the image of that creature's face was still fresh in his mind—an ugly, hungry, scary-looking thing, eager to tear them to pieces. "We can't go there," he said somberly, staring into the dark, blurry nothing behind the ice. Of that, he was sure like never before. They will die there; it was only a matter of when, not if. "Or at least only go there for food, if you're right about that, Mom." His voice sounded quiet and distant, almost like someone else was speaking through his lips.
"We have to, sweetie..." Nivalis breathed sadly, shifting her gaze to her son.
Aster closed his eyes, letting out a long, shaky sigh. How else would they find a way out? He understood that, but... "Yeah," the boy mumbled, his voice so quiet that even Silvia next to him had trouble hearing him. A few moments of heavy, thoughtful silence passed, broken only by the gentle rustling of Silvia's cloak as she shifted in place, before Aster opened his eyes again and looked up, anger shimmering within the golden hue. 'Are you even there?' he thought fiercely to a particular goddess in his mind, grinding his teeth in frustration.
Naturally, no response came. Not that he had expected one, but the anger he felt at how unfair it all was was still just as intense, regardless. Aster really tried to believe that these tunnels were part of some plan of hers, that maybe, indeed, something awful was going on in the world outside, and that this was the safest place to be, despite the danger.
But now he was no longer sure. The more Aster thought about it, the more it seemed like she had simply abandoned them to their fate, no matter how cruel that fate might be. Or maybe she just couldn't do anything? That foolish part of him that sees only good in others desperately tried to convince him of that, no matter how many times it has been proven wrong.
Either way, they were on their own. Too much shit has happened to them for him to believe anything else. "World where my presence is stronger, my ass," Aster mumbled under his breath, earning him a sideways glance and a confused frown from his sister. As he struggled to stand, the pressure in his chest almost caused him to black out, his sight growing dark for a moment.
Silvia had to hold his arm to keep him from falling over. "Umm... do you need to pee?" she asked awkwardly, looking at him with concern. She got no answer, as the boy was too busy with something on his mind to pay her any attention.
'I don't need your help. Help someone who needs it, because I sure don't. I can do it myself,' Aster continued in his mind, letting out groans of pain as he began walking towards their bed, his face twisted with effort—one wobbling step at a time. 'I'll do it myself,' he repeated in his mind, trying to convince himself more than anything, sweat rolling down his... everything. 'I'll do it all by myself.'
"What are you doing?" Nivalis asked as she rose to her feet and hurried after him, her voice filled with worry. "Sweetie?" she called, grabbing his hand to help him walk, noticing how much he truly needed it. Silvia did the same from the other side, both of them looking at him with concern, the fear of that creature briefly forgotten.
Anger at everyone and everything fueled each of his steps, anger at his father for being the piece of shit that he was, at those monsters outside, at the gods, and the world. But mostly at himself, at how useless he was, how weak and pathetic. He was supposed to protect his mother and sister, yet here they were, about to starve themselves to death in a tiny cave, hoping for a miracle, and he could do shit about it. "I'm going to..." Aster whispered between clenched teeth, his voice strained from the effort of putting one foot before the other, "...to... melt us a way out." His glowing eyes fixed upon the rocky wall of their cave, and he nodded towards it.
"What?" Silvia exclaimed in surprise, tugging at his arm, but Aster just pulled her along, forcing her to follow. Nivalis didn't try to intervene, worried it might hurt him if she did with all that mana he had in him, but she gave him an unsure, concerned frown. "Didn't you try that once? You don't look well right now. It's better not to..." the girl tried to convince him, stumbling over rocks in their path.
Once they reached the wall, Aster stared at the endless mass of dark, cold rock in front of him, a childish drawing of a smiley face on it. He did try to burn through the stone once, a long time ago, during one of his and Silvia's magic practice, and despite his best efforts, his flames did absolutely nothing to it. "I'll do it," Aster stated simply, ignoring the fact that his legs were trembling heavily even as he stood there. He had no other choice but to succeed. 'Watch me,' he thought, directed at a goddess who might not have been watching at all. Aster pressed his sweaty, scarred palms against the rock and whispered a quiet, "Step back," to the two girls.
"Alright, sweetheart. If you're sure," Nivalis whispered as she released his hand and stepped back, gently pulling Silvia along with her. "Just... be careful, okay? Please don't hurt yourself over this. Try it, but if it doesn't work, we'll be alright..." she kept whispering, telling him to be safe and not to push himself too far, to which Aster just kept nodding.
Aster didn't hear most of it, only the first few words before the roaring blood in his ears drowned out the rest. When it seemed like she was done talking, Aster took a deep, shaky breath and began to channel the searing mana into his hands, taking a moment before releasing it into the wall. Instead of doing so, he cast his protective mist spell first, a spell meant to shield his already scarred hands from further burns.
Though it didn't feel very strong as it wrapped around his hands, thin and wispy like a morning haze, he knew it would work just fine. He spent a bit more than a week playing with it, and not once did he get burned.
To be sure that he did everything he could to make this work, Aster replenished some of the mana in him and even added a little extra; The pressure building in his chest nearly made him scream. It had to work. His heart thumped loudly in his ears, and every beat felt like a punch to his ribs, the fire inside him burning hotter than ever.
Only when he felt like he was about to pass out from the pain did he release the beast, pouring everything he had through his scarred palms and into the stone. A wave of flame exploded around his hands in that very instant, though it wasn't what he had in mind. His only command for his mana was to seep into the stone and heat it from within, much like how he used to heat water while helping his mom with cooking. After a few heartbeats of concentration, the flame disappeared, leaving only the mana behind.
Aster groaned a pained, "I'm... fine," in response to the concerned voices of his mother and sister behind him. He couldn't make out their words at all as the sound of his blood rushing through his veins was far too loud in his ears. However, the tone of their speech told him how worried they were.
It was agony. Pure, unfiltered agony coursed through every part of his skinny body as he was not used to dealing with this much mana at once. It was stupid. It was reckless. He didn't care. The anger and frustration drove him to push through the pain and keep going, no matter what. 'Burn you dumb piece of shit... BURN!' Aster's inner voice screamed, for it to result in even more pain.
His eyes began to hurt, his vision suddenly blurring from the intense, golden glow that filled them, tenfold brighter than usual, the heat of it becoming almost unbearable. Half of their cave was lit in a bright, warm glow that flickered constantly every time he blinked. For a moment, it felt like it was the fire controlling him, not the other way around, but he held strong against it. He was not weak.
A whole minute of giving it his all, and still nothing happened. Not a single crack, not a hiss, and no change in color whatsoever, no matter how hard he tried. "Come... on!" Aster growled through gritted teeth, feeling his mother's hand on his shoulder. She was trying to stop him; he felt her tugs and heard her muffled words. He kept going.
Then, she just kneeled right behind him and wrapped her arms around his tummy, hugging him tightly. "...enough, honey," her voice finally cut through the roaring blood in his ears. "You can stop now. It's okay, sweetie. You did your best," she whispered to him. And he did stop, but not because she asked him to; he simply had nothing left in him. He was empty, and the stone was still there, mocking him.
Tears welled up in his eyes as he stared at the wall, hissing away even before reaching his cheeks. "I'm sorry..." Aster croaked out, letting his arms fall to his sides, his legs giving in. If it weren't for Nivalis holding him, he would have collapsed onto the cold rocks beneath. "I'm... sorry. I tried, I really did," he sobbed, feeling his sister's comforting touch next.
Without saying a word, Silvia gently placed her hand on his chest, allowing a trickle of her mana to cool his flushed skin. It felt like heaven, one he knew he didn't deserve. "If you ever try something like that again, Mom and I will spank your sorry butt until it falls off. Got it?" she said softly between her sniffles, then wrapped her chilly arms around him. That felt even better.
— "Mhmmm," Aster hummed in agreement, trying to wipe the blurriness from his glowing eyes with his shaky hands. But the moment he blinked them open again, his eyes went wide with surprise. Right in the middle of that childish drawing, where his hand touched the dark stone, was a light imprint of his palm. Just barely visible, so faint that it looked like nothing had changed at all at first. He squinted and saw the second one a bit to the left, just as light and barely noticeable.
After checking that his hands weren't hurt, the boy smiled like a fool. "N-no way..." he breathed, suddenly bending down to pick up a rock from the ground, unintentionally bumping his soft butt against his mother's face, who was still holding him from behind. Ignoring her startled gasp and his sister's giggle, Aster grabbed a sharp black rock and pressed it against the wall. To his delight, it sank into the stone as if it were wet clay, the warmth radiating against his scarred fingers, now unprotected by his mist that dissipated away. 'Damn it's hot...'
Scooping out some of the stone with the sharp edge of his rock, Aster let out a disbelieving chuckle and showed it to the girls. "Look, it's... soft," he whispered, presenting a glob of dark goo as if it were the most precious thing in the world. "I... did it."
Nivalis curiously peeked from behind him, wiping her tears with her sleeve and sniffling. "Oh..." was all she said, staring at it in disbelief, her other hand still holding him in a hug.
Aster grinned at his sister, but his excitement quickly turned to alarm when she shrieked in panic, startled by half of his face being covered in blood; his nose dripping crimson onto the ground. He realized a bit too late that he shouldn't have bent down as fast as he did, not after all that. "Ugh... Can you start scooping a wall?" he asked as he gave the rock to the girl, his voice slightly muffled by the blood, a feeling of lightheadedness overtaking him. "I think... I need to lie down for a bit."
Just when Silvia called his name, Aster's vision went black, and he passed out in his mother's arms, dramatically so. A little snore followed shortly after, a tiny bubble of blood growing on his nose as he breathed.