Aether Nexus: Curse of Love & Hatred

“Keh-hehehe-ha!”

-

“What in tarnation!?” A voice boomed from outside Dama's tent, causing the boy inside to jolt straight up from his slumber.

Dama recognized Koul's distressed, yet rough voice, and without hesitation, leaped from within his tent, “Mr. Koul? What's wron—!?” only to trip face first into a sheet of snow.

Sitting up and shaking his head off of the snow, Dama at first thought of how embarrassing he just made himself out to be. That is, until the biting cold of the lingering snow on his cheeks made him realize. “Wait… S-Snow…!?”

Sitting on his knees, shellshocked, numerous questions started to pour into his mind. They were far from the height and regional requirements for snow to be present, yet he felt as if he was back home, high on top the Enohayen Mountains.

Continuing to ponder further as he felt the snow more, Dama would soon feel two plush arms wrap around him and lift him up. Even before turning around, he knew who it was. “Mumu!”

Mumu patted Dama on the head as he lowered the boy onto his feet, making sure to stay close by him to stave off the sudden chill. Not to mention, even though it was just a stuffed animal at the end of the day, something felt off to Mumu, like danger was only around the corner.

“Thanks pal! Though, I gotta say, Mumu, don't you think this is a bit odd? Snow? In a place like this?” Dama said as he took a look around the campsite, which was entirely covered by snow as well.

As if copying Dama, Mumu also turned his head to survey the area. Though, while Dama looked around for answers and the others, Mumu scanned the area primarily for any threats.

Eventually, Dama caught sight of Koul and Gus, standing over a tent that caved in by the weight of the snow on top of it.

Koul was equal amounts angry and confused, obvious by his scrunched up and irritated face. Gus on the other hand stood there awkwardly to the side, periodically yawning, which irritated Koul even more.

“What the hell caused such snow to appear out of thin air like this?” Koul thought to himself, tapping his foot in a way to encourage his thought process. “I know for a fact we're not in an area for snowfall. Not only that, if it WAS going to snow, there would have been some type of warning. Something's not quite so peachy ‘round here…”

“Mr. Koul! Mr. Gus!” Dama yelled as he ran up to them, interrupting Koul’s pondering, but was a welcome sight to see in the morning all the same, especially the sight of Mumu clumsily waddling behind Dama in an effort to keep up.

“Dama, my boy! You okay? Got some good sleep?”

“Yessir! Though, I didn't expect to wake up to snow… The amount is super weird.”

“Yeah, it's very much a bag of nails out at sea. Snowfall shouldn't be a thing in this area.. Though, I guess you feel right at home, huh lad?”

“Hehee, maybe…” Dama chuckled out before perking up. “Hey, where's Mr. Liam?”

“Oh, Liam?” Koul said as he rubbed his chin before pointing behind him. “He went to take care of Dorsey and the carriage. We decided we need to get out of here and to Briarstone as soon as possible, lest we get caught in another mysterious flash blizzard.”

“Dorsey? Nina was sleeping with her last night if i recall. Come on Mumu, let's go see how your sister is doing!” Dama exclaimed, patting Mumu's belly and taking off full speed. Mumu tried his best to keep pace and follow.

Running off and leaving the two men in a cloud of kicked up snow, Koul couldn't help but smile as he shouted, “Be careful you two! We'll be right with you once we get done packing!”

Running over to the path they were taking, Dama could see the carriage overhead. Dorsey was already reined to the front of the carriage, with Liam giving her a treat in the form of an apple in his hand.

Dama's face instantly lit up and started waving with vigor. “Mr. Liam! Hey!”

“Hm? Ah! Dama!” Liam waved back with his free hand while taking his attention off of Dorsey. “Seems you're good to go already!”

“Yep,” Dama responded, “I'm just a little confused as to where all this snow came from.”

“Same boat here,” Liam noted as Dorsey took another bite, “but at least none of the produce or the carriage itself seem to have been dama—YEOUCH!” He shouted, an apt reaction to Dorsey biting his hand as she ate the last of her treat.

Liam crumpled to the ground, holding his left hand as he silently cried at the pain. Though, his embarrassment quickly overpowered the pain when his pained shouts echoed within the ravine.

Dorsey, however, squealed, showing her happiness with the treat, yet oblivious to how she bit the hand that fed her.

Dama immediately rushed to Liam's side. “M-Mr. Liam! Are you alright!? That sounded pretty painful…”

Putting on the bravest face he could muster to mask the pain he felt, Liam answered, a lone tear going down his cheek. “I'm fine Dama, nothing I can't handle… I should have been paying attention, hehe…ha…”

Seeing through his mask though, Dama chuckled. “If you say so, Mr. Liam… By the way, did you see Nina around. She was with Dorsey last night.”

“Nina? Yeah, she was cuddling with Dorsey when I woke up this morning, she even followed me when I started setting up the carriage.” Liam replied as stood back up and scratched his head. “Though, I gotta say, she was acting a bit weird, like she was on edge. Before I knew it, she disappeared when I had my back turned. I thought she just went back to the campsite?”

Dama couldn’t help the shock and subtle fear that crossed his face as he started to sweat. “Huh? Wait…so no one knows where Nina is? Where could she be!?” He exclaimed while frantically looking around.

Watching as Dama's head slowly started to blur due to his his frantic-fueled speed, Liam gave a reassuring headpat to try and calm him down. “Hey, don't worry! We have time to go look for her, pretty sure Koul and Gus aren't quite done packing up. Dorsey and the carriage, on the other hand, are raring to go!”

Feeling reassured, Dama smiled gratefully as he pumped his fist in the air. “Ah! Thanks, Mr. Liam!”

“No problem kid. Come on, we got a toy to search for! Right Muuu...mu…?” Liam exclaimed as he looked up, expecting to meet the familiar, yet still uncanny gaze of Mumu—only to find no one. “Eh?”

Dama noticed Liam's blank stare and rapid blinking, as if shell shocked. “Hm? What’s wrong, Mr. Liam?”

“Well, uh, Dama…” Liam responded, scratching his head again while adopting a strained smile, hesitation overflowing the cup that was his voice. “Looks like we got two toys to look for…”

Turning around, Dama's face twisted in sheer bewilderment as he turned back around to find the space, where Mumu had stood, now empty.

His eyes widened, darting frantically across the landscape, hoping to catch any lingering sign of him. “Eh!? Mumu!? Where'd you go buddy!?” Dama shouted, his brows furrowing deeply, carving lines of confusion and disbelief across his forehead as his complexion paled, a sense of dread beginning to seep in.

“Ah! Over there, Dama, look!” Liam pointed in the direction of faded and rounded footprints, courtesy of Mumu, who could be seen waddling into the snowy distance. “Come on, let's follow!”

“Mumu!” Dama yelled as he ran, leaving Liam in the dust—or snow.

Taking a strong left foot first, as if he was about to sprint full speed himself, Liam turned around to do something before chasing after Dama and Mumu. “Dorsey, girl, just give me a second, alright?”

Dorsey’s ears twitched as Liam first took a bow-and-arrow from the carriage and got straight to work on quickly finishing strapping the reins of the carriage. Her large, brown, and expressive eyes followed Liam's every movement, reflecting a blend of curiosity and calm acceptance.

“There we go! Done.” Liam uttered to himself as he rushed after Dama, making sure to turn around and wave at Dorsey while doing so. “Now Dorsey, be a good girl and don't go anywhere! I'll be right back!”

Dorsey nickered while lowering her head, as if to nod in agreement, and shifted her weight to one side, settling into a relaxed stance. Her ears focused on Liam's departing and crunchy footsteps on the snow.

Back to Dama, he had finally caught up with Mumu, who waddled with a weird sense of determination in a seemingly random direction. “Mumu…? What's wrong? Where are you going?”

Mumu didn't answer, he didn't even pay any mind to Dama, as if he was invisible to him. Dama's face contorted even more with confusion, as he has never seen Mumu act this way.

Grabbing onto Mumu's back, Dama tried to see if he could elicit a reaction—to no avail. Mumu simply dragged Dama with him as he continued walking. Dama next pinched, and later punched Mumu—still nothing.

“Mumu! What's gotten into you pal? Please, tell me, you're scaring me!” Dama pleaded as he tugged on Mumu's left arm, tears starting to form from a mixture of fear, dread, and dejection.

Surprisingly, Mumu stopped, shocking Dama. At first, Dama thought he actually got through to Mumu, but realized Mumu didn't stop because of him—Mumu stopped because of the scene before them.

Nina stood only a few feet away in an agitated stance. The cause: a short and shadowy figure, obscured by a cloud of snowy mist levitating around them, standing ominously on a higher plateau.

As the figure laughed, Nina’s ears pricked up. They twitched with unease, the laughter they picked up sending chills throughout Nina’s body. Her black slits for eyes narrowed from a mixture of curiosity and alarm, trying to catch any glimpse of the figure through the mist.

“Nina!” Dama cried out, distracting both Nina and the shadowy figure, who both turned to look at Dama rushing their way.

With near-blinding speed, Nina streaked across the snow, crossing the distance between her and Dama in seconds. Before Dama knew it, Nina had coiled her entire body around him, squeezing him almost to the point of discomfort.

Dama could feel that Nina’s entire body was not only tense, but also rumbling from her core. Both things he never knew she could do.

The rumbling was the most confusing, as he thought she couldn't shiver, but that wasn't it. Listening more carefully, Dama heard it—Nina’s low growls, as if she was bearing teeth at a potential threat.

Mumu then got in front of both of them, acting like a barrier between them and the threat they seemingly both could sense.

“G-Guys…? W-What’s happening?” Dama said through faltering breaths.

Nina continued to growl while Mumu stood resolute—both of their gazes never leaving the shadowy figure.

“It's… It's getting harder to breathe!” Dama noted to himself as his gasps for air became more frequent. ”It's not Nina though, she's not squeezing me that hard, but the fact she's even squeezing me like this, and Mumu being this protective… They're both acting weird… No! They're both scared…of that thing!”

Staring down at the trio, the shadowy figure laughed again after a few moments, though to Dama, it sounded more mischievous and childish than outright malicious.

However, Dama’s feelings completely flipped when he realized why it was getting so hard to breathe. It was the shadowy figure, making the surrounding area colder.

As it continued laughing, it then raised a finger in the air, causing the sky above to darken. It was then that Dama felt a wave of true danger...

-

Next: (Chapter 32) The Shadowy Figure: Part 2