Snow Witch'S Journey
Mysterious figure in the storm

It was not yet dark, I rushed off towards the direction that the compass was heading. A forest, 10 minutes from the city. As far as I could see, there was nothing strange or suspicious except trees and snow. I didn't tell Rowan where I was going. I realized my actions were rash and selfish, but that was all I could think of.

If all the townspeople, including Rowan hate Elfor. I believe Elfor is the opposite. Therefore, those who are lost are a form of retaliation from what the citizens gave him. Bringing the one who hated him to meet Elfor would make the situation worse.

Moments later, I found a dark hole. It is formed in higher snow ground. In the center, the hole was gaping, like an entrance to the depths of hell. Even the beautiful color of snow was eroded around its entrance with a jetty liquid.

The stench stung my nose. Stabbing it like a little needle. I had to clamp my nose when I entered the cave.

The black liquid filled the entire length of the cave pathway, as black as its damp and slippery walls. The deeper I go, the more I can't open my mouth to reply to Aeron's babble. I use my magic when the light has left me alone. Walk into the darkness.

It really feels like another world. I kept feeling a strange and horrified feeling about this place. My heart keeps pumping blood all over my body to keep me aware of the worst. The stench grew sharp, it even pierced to the back of my head. Over and over again I felt like spewing out all my lunch.

Just before that, the end of the cave was deadlocked. In a room wider than the hallway, bones were scattered. I don't even want to think about what bone it is. Some of the bones were out of shape and almost drowned my boots.

Not only the bones, I also found something else, which instantly made my neck shudder. Painting of a man in a hat with a stick and a bag. It was painted from the same black substance as the writing I found in Elfor's house. Only, there was another red streak crossing in the man's painting.

“Who exactly is this man?” manya guessed.

“That painting, can you explain more to me,” Aeron urges. He seemed to care more about the painting than my weird-sounding voice.

“Nothing else, just a high hat, a stick and a bag in both hands. There is also a cross,” I re-explain.

After finding the painting, I thought, there might be other traces hidden in the grave of this cave. The light at the end of the stick turned blue, then I swung it in the air, from left to right. The light fills the room. Darkness hides anything, but blue light reveals everything.

Everything is visible to the naked eye. The walls were filled with all scratches and blue glowing writing. Up to the ceiling of the cave, the creature hiding in the darkness jumped at me. Exposed by the light, the creature immediately left after pushing me into a pile of bones. I could feel her sharp claws trying to stab me while pushing my body. Even though my robe is impenetrable, it still feels very painful.

“What happened? I heard a growl and the sound of broken bones,” said Aeron who panicked.

“I don't know, but obviously, not my bones,” I groan in pain.

In the snowy field, I stopped. Traces of the creature just disappeared here. If I let it go, the casualties would be even more. I repeatedly swung the staff in the air, dismantling the disguise of the creature hiding in the darkness.

I looked up at the now pale sky. Blurring the shoots of trees as if swallowing them. The snow was getting heavier, and I knew by then that the blizzard was coming. My eyes were getting blurry, I had no choice but to use a compass. The pointer on the compass kept shifting to the right clockwise, I followed it. Then, it quickly turns to the left, counter-clockwise. I immediately pulled my wand.

That thing's after me. Wanted me from the shadows of snowstorms and thick trees. I can feel it, the same feeling that Elis' lover said. The creature was around me, moving very agilely past my point of view. If my eyes can't keep up with the creature's movements, then I have to trust Aeron.

The pointer is now heading south, right behind me. I took a breath for a while, then quickly turned around and pointed the chunk of ice right into the stomach of the creature that was leaping towards me. The creature was still able to move despite having received my attack and hit the tree violently.

I grew some kind of ice thorn along his path, with his extremely quick reflexes, the creature managed to dodge it. I could see his long claws dangling from his arms. His claws were directed at me like he was wielding a sword. The wind and snowflakes turned into a current as I quickly turned my wand. The creature was instantly bobbing in the air like being carried by the ocean currents, turning around, and falling past me.

My only chance is before the creature escapes. I made the snow around it into a puddle of water. Then, with my magic, I froze the puddle, including the creature, into a large chunk of ice.

Even in the cold of the ice, which froze time, the air around it still stung my throat. If only I were weaker, I might not be able to stand up again to see this thing finish me off. At first glance, the creature did indeed look like an ordinary human, but its body was thin dry, and its skin was black. His eyes were as red as blood, round and bulging out, his gaze full of bloodthirsty lust. His teeth were not like humans, more like beasts.

His body is shorter than mine, but more agile. During the battle, I thought that this creature came from the darkness itself. However, after finding a piece of paper that had frozen in the ice, I drew back my conclusions. The paper contained the names of the townspeople who were reported missing and were crossed out in red. The evidence led me to believe that the creature was Elfor.

Elfor is a witch. I assume he used some kind of magic that turned him into a monster, and killed anyone who had been rude to him. If true, that kind of magic was truly incredible, but it was also so terrifying. Or perhaps, it was the figure of the man in black who turned him into this. I remember the blue scribbles on the cave walls, inscribed with warnings and messages so as not to deal with the man in black.

“Are you going to tell that guard about this?”

“Nobody likes Elfor. They won't care about him, or they'll hate him more. I'm not going to say this was Elfor, I'm just going to tell you about the discovery of the bones. That way, they can bury the victims properly,” I replied.

“Then, how about that creature ... Elfor. What are you gonna do to him?”

“I will end it and remove all traces of it.”