Aether Nexus: Curse of Love & Hatred

One step, two steps, three steps, four. Each one taken incremented in effort needed for Koul to traverse the rising snow.

“More damn snow… It just gets worse and worse the further we get.” Koul said under his breath, annoyance, worry, and confusion all trickling out from his voice as he walked beside Dorsey. Each step taken in the rising snow was slowly becoming a battle of stamina.

Seemingly in agreement, Dorsey snorted and nodded her head, causing Koul to smile. “Did you just agree with me girl? Man, little miss Kina was right! You are a smart girl, yes you are!” He chortled out whilst scratching Dorsey's neck, which was covered by her curtain-like golden mane.

Dorsey leaned in towards Koul touch in response as she exhaled out a contented snort, clearly enjoying the attention.

As Koul continued to shower Dorsey with compliments and scratches, she leaned in closer and closer to him, eventually nudging his entire body with her head in appreciation.

Though, while sweet, the bonding time only took their attention away from the road up ahead. Both of them didn't notice the coming uneven road, camouflaged by the snow blanketing the area.

Stepping into a small pitfall, Dorsey shrieked as she began to lose balance, causing the carriage to lurch and wobble. Liam, Dama, and Gus inside felt the effects.

Liam gripped Dorsey's reins as he tried to help stabilize, his whole body tensing up to keep himself rooted. “Woah!”

Dama, being the youngest and lightest, was the most affected, but with quick thinking, he grabbed onto Liam’s sleeve to help keep himself rooted as well. “Waaaah!”

Gus, on the other hand, was sleeping, his body leaning on the side carriage door. Caught off guard, he would be awoken by his head slamming into the door. “Ouch!! The hell!?”

Seeing the commotion, Mumu, who was walking behind the carriage with Nina, immediately assisted. Using his long arms, he hugged the back of the carriage, making sure to keep the wobbling to a minimum.

Nina herself went to go to the front and assist Koul by helping Dorsey stand back upright.

Poking his head outside of the carriage, Dama megaphoned for a status report from Koul. “Mr. Koul, are you okay? How are things up there?”

“It was just a small pitfall!” Koul yelled back as he tried to calm Dorsey down. “Dorsey's fine, though it seems we're gonna have to be more careful while walking in this snow. You can barely see a thing.”

“Want me to come out there with you?” Dama asked as he readied himself to jump out.

Koul nonchalantly waved his hand in response. “Nah, lad, appreciate it though! You stay in the carriage where it's warm and, most importantly, safe inside, alright?”

“Oh,” Dama slumped back into his seat, “alright, Mr. Koul…”

“Koul’s right,” Liam piped up with a finger, “it’s best you stay inside. Hey Gus, why don’t y—”

“Nah.” Gus said, cutting off Liam as he rested his head on the side of the carriage again.

An action Liam did not appreciate at all. “At least let me finish…”

While he felt some second hand embarrassment from Gus’ rather childish actions, Dama copied him by also resting his head on the side, looking out into the passing jagged, mountainous scenery, blanketed by snow.

Naturally, as Dama looked into the seemingly never-ending snow, all his drifting thoughts lead to the same destination—the shadowy figure he and Liam met. “Just what or who was that? According to Mr. Liam, it had the ability to conjure ice, it’s most definitely the source of all this snow… But why do this to such an extent?” Dama pondered, scratching his head as he tried to figure any answers with what little information they had, before locking in as he grasped his chin. “Wait a second, no way… Is this the effects of a Soulful Technique from a monster? Granny Tsu said anything with souls can be born with Soulful Techniques, even wild monsters and magical beasts!”

“You’re also thinking of that shadowy figure, eh?” Liam said out of nowhere, snapping Dama out of his own thoughts.

“Huh? Uh, y-yeah, how’d you know that?”

Liam chuckled a little. “It was written all over your face, pal. Don’t worry, something tells me once we arrive at Briarstone, we’ll get most of the answers we’re looking for. So relax for the time being,”

“I guess…” Dama murmured while resting on the side again, a slight blush beginning to form. “It’s kind of hard though, since I either think about the figure, or what we talked about last night…”

Remembering said talk from last night, Liam chuckled again, sympathizing with Dama. “Pfft, guess you’re right on that, I wouldn’t know what to focus on either, hehe!”

Dama tried to distract himself by looking out into the unnatural snow, letting both his eyes and mind wonder of their own accord. The unexpected snowfall had created an eerie, almost surreal landscape outside, a monochromatic contrast to the usual rugged and barren mountain terrain they were just in a few days ago.

As he stared out, something odd caught his eye. At first, it was a dark speck against the endless blanket of white. However, as Dama squinted, trying to make out what it was, the speck grew larger and more visible, revealing a small figure—a child, lying still in the snow.

Shooting up and rubbing his eyes, Dama poked his head out of the carriage to confirm what he saw. To his horror, his eyes did not deceive him. “Oh no!” He shouted, jumping out of the carriage and sprinting as fast as his legs could carry him through the high snow.

Liam pulled on the reins, bringing the carriage, and by proxy, Gus’ sleep, to a halt. “D-Dama!? Where are you going!?”

“I think I see someone in the snow!!” Dama yelled back.

“Someone in the snow!?” Koul said before sprinting full speed after Dama with Nina in tow. “This can’t be good…!”

Liam jumped down himself, his boots sinking into the snow, and followed, leaving Gus with Dorsey and Mumu.

Sure enough, they found a young boy lying motionless in the snow. He had olive-toned skin and black, spiky hair that stood out starkly against the white backdrop. His clothes were thin and tattered, offering little protection against the cold.

"He's still breathing," Dama said, crouching down to check the boy's pulse as Nina sniffed him. "But barely!"

“He looks to be about Dama’s age, maybe a little younger… He must be from Briarstone, but why is he all the way out here?” Liam murmured while studying the boy’s appearance.

"Either way, we need to get him to the carriage." Koul said urgently before picking up and dusting the boy off. "He won't last long out here."

“Yessir!” Dama and Liam said in unison.

Back at the carriage, the men moved swiftly, their breaths coming out in frosty puffs as they navigated the cramped space of the trunk of the carriage. While Koul carefully laid the boy down on a cleared patch among the supplies, Liam went to work moving the crates and barrels of produce around for more space.

"Dama! Can you get some of our blankets from that crate over there?" Koul instructed, his voice steady despite the urgency of the situation. "We need to warm him up fast."

“I’m already ahead of you!” Dama announced as he presented two wool blankets meant for their camps.

Koul smiled and grabbed both. He draped one over the boy and tucking it around him to trap in as much warmth as possible. He then took the other blanket and folded it, placing it under the boy's head for support. The boy's face was still, his eyes closed, and his breathing shallow but steady.

“Here you go,” Liam said, handing Koul a flask, "some water, it might help, he might be dehydrated.”

Koul nodded, gently lifting the boy's head to pour some of the water inside. The boy's lips parted slightly, allowing a small amount of water to trickle in. His throat moved in a faint reflexive swallow.

"Thank you, boys,” Liam said, rubbing the boy's cold hands between his own, "if we can get his body temperature up, he might wake up."

“We should also try to book it to Briarstone as soon as possible.” Liam suggested.

Koul nodded in agreement. “Indeed, but it’s best we also keep someone back here during the trip, so that nothing accidentally falls on him and to make sure he stays warm… Gus! Get your tail back here now!”

Waiting for a few seconds, the trio in the back could hear rustling in the front after Koul’s commanding yell. Shortly after, a groggy Gus came into view. “Wha…?”

“You come and stay with the boy back here to keep him warm. I don’t care how you do it, nor do I care if you have any objections. When a person’s life is on the line, especially a child’s, I don’t wanna hear not one of your usual excuses, understand me?” Koul sternly said, sending small shivers of fear down both Gus’ and Dama’s backs.

While his annoyance was obvious on his face, Gus sheepishly complied. “Jeez, gotcha… I’ll keep him safe…”

“Good,” Koul replied as he got out of the back, “come on Liam, lets hightail it to Briarstone.”

“You bet!” Liam said, in tow.

Dama though stood by Mumu and Nina’s side, lost in thought. “This sinking feeling of dread… It’s just like when I found Giona… Will he be alright?”

Before passing Dama, Koul noticed the grim look on his face, and gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “Don’t worry kid, he’ll be just fine. I would have gotten you to look after him, but you can’t do much with only one arm, and either way, you’re safest sitting beside Liam as I try to keep Dorsey level. Come on.”

As Koul and Liam walked off to the front of the carriage, Dama still sat there, a feeling of helplessness sweeping over his entire body. That is, until Mumu patted him on the head and Nina nudged him with her snout, snapping him out of his negative reverie.

Feeling the warmth of his two companions, Dama smiled as he turned around to hug Mumu. “Hahaa! Sorry guys, didn’t mean to get all down in the dumps like that, I really appreciate both of your support, and not to mention, warmth.” He exclaimed before patting Nina on her head. “If only you could fit in the back to share your warmth with the boy, Nina, while your brother helps keep the carriage steady…”

Nina’s ears twitched at the wish as she leaned more into Dama’s head rubbing. Shortly after, Dama could feel even more warmth in his hand, but only wrote it off as Nina’s own warmth. Focusing on that warmth before he followed Koul and Liam, Dama would open his eyes back up to a very puzzling sight.

“N-Nina…?” Dama uttered as Nina looked up at him. “Did… Did you get smaller?”

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Next: (Chapter 34) Briarstone Village’s Plea