The Weight of the Snow

Haku and Lily looked at each other and nodded. The oni charged toward the bear with incredible speed, her sword in hand. She grabbed Ren by the shirt and pulled him back, out of the animal's reach. At the same time, Lily pushed her hands into the air, causing the bear to fall backward.

"Do you think it's possessed?" Haku yelled to the other girl, who was squinting, analyzing the unknown creature. She must have been searching for something concrete, because she kept shaking her head until her face brightened.

"It's not!"

Haku grinned. She didn't have to hold back. Her eyes widened like a scanner zeroing in on its target. She committed the bear's movements to memory, every tiny twitch, and, pushing off the ground, she launched an attack. She was so fast that in Ren's eyes, her body blurred into a red streak. All he could see were long, shallow cuts appearing on the animal. It roared in pain and slammed its six arms onto the ground, sending a wave of energy toward the oni. She defensively held her greatsword horizontally, but the pressure still pushed her backward. Her shoes slid across the snow, and she almost fell.

Ren's hands were already burning from the cold snow. He raised his hand to attack, but the bear had already lunged, striking with all its paws at once. But just as Haku parried the final blow, a strange shimmering appeared in the air between her and the beast, accompanied by a faint, high-pitched hum. Before she could react, an unexplainable, invisible force hit her in the stomach, and her body flew lifelessly across the open field, falling into the soft snow.

"Haku!" Lily shouted, but the girl didn't move.

The snow began to fall thickly, as if being sifted. It became increasingly difficult to see the area and follow the white fur. Only the two red moving dots appeared occasionally.

Haku still hadn't responded, so Lily instructed him on which way to dodge the next attack. "Ren, go right!"

Lily's voice was echoing in his head. It took him a few moments to grasp what he had heard, and he dove sideways at the last second. The beast growled, showing its sharp fangs. The blood in Ren's veins froze. He had been threatened by animals before, but none this big. When he couldn't dodge the next attack, Lily pushed him back with a spell, but it took too much energy from her, and she began to cough badly.

He knew he had to do something, but he was terrified. He couldn't feel even a shred of his power in his body. It felt as if he had exhausted all of it. He jumped helplessly right and left, wondering what to do, when Lily's voice disappeared from his head. He was completely alone. He glanced back and saw the girl collapsed. Her blood painted the snow around her, like a sinister halo. Her cape covered her like a shroud. Her orange hair beautifully framed her peaceful-looking face.

Ren was too slow; the animal hit him, and he fell to his knees. The lump on the top of its head was moving at an incredible speed. It looked like that's where it stored its magical power.

This wasn't how it was supposed to go. He wanted to go home, but these people had become his family. He wouldn't let their journey end here. He wouldn't abandon them.

A lesson from his teacher, the prophet, surfaced in his memory: "Any kind of heightened emotion triggers your power."

Encouraged by this, he stood up with difficulty, clutching his side, and hobbled in front of the creature, which showed its disapproval by starting to sprint toward him.

He spread his arms wide and waited for it to reach him, then hugged it tightly. Its soft fur warmed him, and his blood began to boil. The bear aimed its next fatal blow at his head, but it simply bounced off. Lily, unconscious with her eyes closed, clenched her hand one last time, forming a shield around the boy.

Something began to churn within Ren, something he was consciously creating for the first time. The air around them began to heat up, which the poor animal felt. It roared in desperation and began to flail, trying to break free from his embrace.

Every hair on Ren's body stood on end as he was overcome with fear. His heart was beating faster and faster in his chest. Then his vision was blurred by the blue light that covered everything. The explosion pushed them back; his grip on the animal weakened until he finally let go.

The snowfall subsided. Its place was taken by drops of blood falling thickly from the dark sky. There was no trace of the bear. Not even a stray claw. Ren escaped with a scratch, and his side didn't even hurt because of the adrenaline.

He ran to Haku, who was almost completely buried in the snow. Her red skin was only visible here and there. He quickly swept the snow off her, relieved to find her breathing was stable. Her hair was spread out in the snow, and her arms and legs were spread apart. Her bare stomach seemed to have lost some of its red pigment.

He took her into his arms and gently examined her face. He tucked her hair behind her ear, squeezed her tiny hand, and closed his eyes. He thought that if he concentrated hard, he might be able to move something inside the girl with his own power.

Haku began to stir. Under her eyelids, her eyes moved frantically before she opened them. The thick snow caked on her eyelashes.

"Ren? What happened?" She took a long pause between words. Not to mention that the only time she says his name correctly is when she wakes up from some coma.

"You don't have to worry anymore. Everything's fine," he hummed gently and put the girl down, leaning her against a nearby tree, wrapping her in a warm blanket they used for sleeping.

Lily looked worse. Blood had already clotted from her ear and on her face. Her hand was still clenched, but she showed no signs of life. Her pulse was weak, but it was there.

Without any hesitation, he stepped back and shot another hole in the side of the mountain, making the one they came from bigger. He put the girls inside to protect them from the cold and rummaged through Haku's bag for a familiar bottle. He divided its contents between them, hoping it would be enough for them to recover.

He pulled his hood up, its collar covering his mouth, and set off alone into the unknown. A newfound determination hardened his gaze. Only one thing played in his mind: he must find help.

As his adrenaline ran out, Ren's body grew heavier, and his side began to ache with a fiery protest. Every ragged breath was a raw, cold burn in his lungs. His muscles felt like lead, screaming with each stumbling step. His vision started to blur at the edges, and a wave of dizziness threatened to consume him. He stumbled through the next few meters, each step a fresh torment, when he caught sight of something.

The sight was enough to make him feel alive again. Round tents and smaller huts peeked out from behind the hill where he stood. A sob of relief caught in his throat. People really did live here. A surge of renewed strength coursed through him, and he broke into a desperate sprint down the hill, his tired legs feeling alive once more.

But this was short-lived. He felt his legs give out and fell, tumbling head-over-heels down the steep slope. The world spun in a chaotic blur of white and brown. The cold wind roared in his ears, and he felt the sickening scrape of rocks and dead branches against his face and hands. With every bounce, a sharp jolt of pain shot through his body, and his bruised side screamed in pain. He just let it all happen. He was too tired to even hold on to the worry anymore.