Once again, I tied myself with the cord and let out a sigh. I didn't know what happened back there. I was probably imagining things. I mean, yeah, that could be a possibility. There was no way she flustered back then. She was helping me as I had been helping her clan.
Anyway, the cave opening was near. Just a small distance then we'd be in a safe spot. We didn't see anything so far—neither did we sense the demon's presence too.
The dusk sky that was still alive and was now gradually turning black—probably to indicate the coming disaster.
"Hurry Zanthrix! The blizzard should be hitting us any minute." Shika called out as she reached the cave opening while I was still away from it.
"Don't worry. I'll be reaching any moment too."
Then I sensed something.
Perhaps it was the calmness that took the form of a disaster.
I was close to the cave, but the wind that appeared out of nowhere hit me fiercely. It exerted an immense force on me, pushing me from the mountain wall.
Thanks to the knot, I didn't fall, but I was hanging in the middle air—hardly keeping myself attached to the mountain.
The strong wind that clashed with me without a warning, was one thing. Now the snowfall was mixed with it. It wasn't as gentle as IRL. It felt like the particle of frost had been mixed with it.
In simple terms, the blizzard had arrived.
In any case, it was a dire situation. It blocked my vision. I lost my sense of determining the cave as well.
[Health drained]
[Health: 1830/1860]
This is bad. I can't undo the knot now. I'll be blown away. What should I do?
I pondered.
Suddenly I felt another force. It wasn't a push, but rather a pull. Yeah, it was Shika who pulled the rope from within the cave and I flew towards her.
Her strength was immense. I couldn't control my momentum and hit her inside the cave.
Consequently, our bodies rolled inside the cave.
A moment I was on top. The next moment, she was. Then with the last roll, we stopped.
She had turned to her usual Iceborn appearance. I saw that as she was atop me at the moment—and her face was closer.
A few strands of her bluish hair fell across my face, and I caught the soft, sweet scent it carried. It was soothing—subtle yet captivating. Something about it pulled me in, wrapping around my senses and it made me pause for a moment. I couldn't help but be taken by it.
Then her sapphire-like eyes kept staring at my divine-looking golden ones. Hers were dithering with a slight shyness to them while mine were still as if frozen at hers.
Yeah, her breaths were low again, but not as frequent as before. They were uneven. Her cheeks blushed.
Then again, I could hear them.
Ba-dum! Ba-dum! Ba-dum! Ba-dum! Ba-dum! Ba-dum! Ba-dum! Ba-dum!
The sound of our hearts pounding at an alarming rate.
The rapid, yet rhythmic sound of our hearts pounding.
Ba-dum! Ba-dum! Ba-dum! Ba-dum! Ba-dum! Ba-dum! Ba-dum! Ba-dum!
They continued pounding when it felt like the time around us had stopped all of a sudden. Even the dreadful blizzard out there felt soundless—and the hearts raced seamlessly.
"Umm…."
I heard another low voice. It was as if someone whispered to me. Oh, it was Shika. Her lips trembled as she tried speaking.
"Zan…thrix… could you move, please." She was shy. If everything didn't feel soundless to me, I probably might haven't heard that.
"But Shika… you are on my body," I mumbled, looking at those sapphire-like eyes that were fixed on my golden ones.
It was time she realized.
I wasn't on her. She was on my body.
She hurried and tried moving off of my body only to lose her balance and trample over the other side.
"Ouch!!" she exclaimed as she tried to stand. She was beyond embarrassed.
Her face was red—wait, it was entirely white as if a layer of soft snow had covered it. Although her impression was quite difficult for anyone to notice, I had the feeling of seeing through that. Hence, I could say that.
I was the same.
I, too, felt somewhat embarrassed. My cheeks reddened as well. A strange feeling was crawling over my mind.
At this rate, I may fall for her. I thought as I gently patted my head, and shook my electric-blue hair that hardly reached my shoulder.
****
We sat near the cave opening. The chilling breeze was becoming colder gradually. Even with the Ice Seraphyll's blessing protecting me, I could still feel the cold wind brushing through my hair, which kept falling over my forehead every time.
Shika sat at a distance from me. Perhaps, she was still flustered about what happened to us just a minute ago.
The wind reached her too, waving her long sleek hair gracefully. Those divine sleek stands then kept touching her shoulder gently—and occasionally she maintained the strands behind her ear, making her appearance like a Seraphyll as well. She was beautiful.
"Any idea when this will stop?"
The silence was becoming oddly irritating so I thought to break it.
"Not very soon I guess." She mumbled, her voice lower than before.
"You know? Getting trapped in this kind of environment with a friend isn't half bad." I chuckled, trying to add more words to continue the conversation. "When I was little, I once traveled to see the mountains too. We had fun. My mom and my dad loved to throw snowballs at me on purpose. It was irritating, but fun at the same time."
Okay, I lied. However, not the entire story was a lie. I had anhedonia—a sickness that had prevented me from taking pleasure when I was a kid.
I had given up on feeling happy, but my parents didn't. They took me to every possible corner of Japan to give me all kinds of excitement. Back then we only visited for skiing. However, I didn't have fun. I didn't know the relevance of fun or excitement.
My parents kept cheering me on and never stopped. Even though I gave them only disappointment, turning their efforts into a futile attempt. But in the end, they smiled.
"I see. So you loved snowballs to be thrown at you."
"That's not I—"
My words were incomplete as I felt a cold sensation on my face. She had made a soft snowball with her powers and thrown it at me. The sentience felt surprisingly exciting.
"Hay…" I was about to yell, but…
"Kyaa-hah-hah-hah. Look at your face, Zanthrix. You're just like children annoyed by their parents, hah-hah-hah."
She smiled. She kept smiling, a beautiful, cheering smile.
"Well, that's what I felt back then. It's annoying, but at the same time it's quite fun." I smiled gently.
Her smiling face gradually turned normal. Then there was another silence for a moment until she finally decided to break it.
"So, tell me about your parents. I'd like to know." She stared at me enthusiastically.
"They were a loving couple and loved their child more than anything. No matter the sickness, they were always with me—even ignoring their busy schedule. The loved me so much and I loved them as much."
"I see." She nodded, "It must've been very difficult, leaving them to start an adventure right?"
"I'm not sure about it though."
"Why's so?"
"When I left it was like I sneaked out without telling. I regret it now."
"It's sad. They might be worried about you."
"Knowing them, they're probably waiting for me to return. That kind of parents they were. If I had the opportunity, I'd surely take on that and meet them again. I miss them a lot."
Shika heard what I told her. She was confused for a moment and thought deeply before saying...
"Wait, but I thought the Fallen Heir—"
However, her words were cut short soon after. An evil and diabolic laughter had interjected.
"Keh-keh-keh-kehhhhhhh!!!!!!!!"
The laugh echoed through the cave and was headed towards us.