Firewood hissed and crackled, scattering bright, glowing embers against the cave walls. Kiv unpacked what few supplies he had onto the stone floor: a dagger, a bow and arrow, a bed sack, flint and steel, and a torch. Traveling through the Yuki’Onna mountains, one had to make sure to pack lightly or run the risk of dying from exhaustion in the midst of the snowy wasteland. Most people avoided the land altogether, preferring the month-long trip around it than to hazard its perilous terrain. Many claimed the land to be cursed, full of man-eating creatures and evil spirits that sought to devour the souls of travelers. Kiv didn’t believe these tales–silly stories crafted by mothers to scare children. He was no longer a child frightened by false spirits. There were only men and beasts, and both could bleed.
He pulled closer to the fire, wrapping his wolf's pelt tighter around himself and taking out the little dried fruit that marked the last of his food rations. The year’s harvest had been a failure. Most of the crops were struck with a mysterious blight that made them fatal to any creature who consumed them. Only the rice and animals who had not eaten the poisoned crops were spared, and with winter fast approaching, the village was quickly thrust into a state of famine. Not willing to slowly die of starvation like the rest, Kiv ignored the warnings made by the villagers and entered the mountains in search of food.
Three sunrises had come and gone since he had left and entered the mountains, and he had still yet to find man. beast, or spirit. In fact, he had seen no creatures whatsoever, finding the mountain to be an endless stretch of dead trees, snow, and silence. He had seen no dirt, no leaves; just stone and ice. Though always cold, he had never felt a breeze on the mountain. In the midst of nature surrounding him, he hadn’t seen or felt any movement, any life. It was as if the very land had long ago ceased to breathe.
He gazed at the faint orange glow of the setting sun through the skeletal arms of the trees, slowly nibbling on the dried fruit as if it would make it more filling. Despite being his reason for entering the mountains in the first place, he had found no food and was likely to starve if he didn’t find any food before the sun set tomorrow. Pushing the thought from his mind, Kiv spread the bed sack beside the fire and climbed inside; he would catch something come morning. He had to.
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He awoke to the sound of wailing. It was low, agonized, and unlike any sound a living creature was capable of–like that of thousands of souls drowning beneath icy white water. It awoke a fear from deep within him, ancient and primal; those felt by prey in the final moments of being cornered.
Springing up, it took a second for his eyes to adjust. The fire had died down significantly, with only a few glowing pieces left to struggle against the wind that blew in. Kiv looked to the entrance to see that it was now snowing heavily, the world outside now shielded behind a veil of white. He felt his stomach groan and wondered how long he had been resting; there was no way to tell the time through the thick clouds that now blotted the sky.
The wailing began again as the wind picked up, the ancient trees bending under its force. As hungry as he was, Kiv decided there was little chance of catching anything in such weather and decided to rekindle the fire and return to sleep.
Placing new wood onto the fireplace, he set a new blaze. As he lay down, a large shadow glided past the cave’s entrance, beyond the curtain of snow. Kiv leaped to his feet, crouched on his haunches, ready to run or fight. “What was that?” he wondered. “ A monster? A demon?” Before quickly chastising himself for his juvenile thoughts. It was probably just a deer. He had no right to call himself a man if all it took was a little bit of wind and shadow to shake him. If what he had seen was a beast, then like all creatures it was made of blood and flesh. Food. He placed his torch into the fire, the oil-soaked rag catching quickly. Placing his dagger into his belt, he grabbed his bow and quiver and stepped into the howling wind to search for signs of the animal.
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Reaching the spot where he had spotted the creature, Kiv was unable to spot any tracks in the snow. The snowfall had somehow gotten heavier in the short time he had left the cave. Perhaps it had covered the beast’s tracks? Kiv glanced up at the faint orange glow that signified the entrance to his cave and considered returning. No. It had taken him three days to find any animals, and if there was indeed a blizzard starting his only chance to find the beast was now, before the snow-covered all signs of its existence.
Pulling his cloak tightly against himself, he quickly made his way towards where he thought he’d seen the beast run. Always making sure that he was in sight of the cave’s entrance, his eyes strained to find any sign of the beast in the darkness, the wind’s eerie wailing shutting out all other sounds. Just like the last three days, the land seemed bereft of life. The cave’s glow continued to fade the further he traveled, and after a while Kiv considered turning back.
Then the shadow appeared in front of him! A dark blur in the bright snow, it seemed to glide atop its surface, darting between trees with ease and grace. Kiv’s instincts screamed to flee, to run back to the cave without looking back.
Gripping his bow tightly, he followed the figure, hoping the howling tempest would mask the sounds of his pursuit. He chased the creature, struggling to get in range to shoot it, but it proved too fast, too nimble. It paused periodically, waiting till just before he caught up before setting off again. As though it were aware of his presence, leading him somewhere.
The chase began to drag on, the muscles of his arms and legs burning from the strain of keeping up. Suddenly the figure paused again, turning around to face him. And charged.
Forgetting the beast had been his objective, instinct seized Kiv’s body. Dropping his torch, he turned him to flee from the charging creature, the deep snow making it nearly impossible for him to move. Though the creature made no sound, he could feel it’s presence behind him, gaining ground. Realizing he couldn’t outrun it, he was left with only one other choice. Fight.
Drawing his dagger, he turned to face the figure’s charging form. The shadow was upon him in moments and he desperately struck out at the creature, hoping to at least wound it before it killed him.
His dagger met empty air as the shadow vanished, its form simply melting into the swirling blizzard winds. Kiv stood still for a moment, chest heaving as he struggled to breathe again, amazed that he was still alive, yet uncomprehending as to how. His stomach gave a deep groan, waking him from his stunned state and reminding him that his last hope of food had just blown away into the wind. Kiv sank to his knees and let out a cry of frustration.
Defeated, he stood and turned to make his way back only to find he could no longer spot the fire’s glow from the cave. He must have lost track of the cave’s entrance during the chase with the beast!
Looking down, Kiv was astonished to find the snowstorm had covered both his and the beast’s tracks. The wind picked up once again, blowing snow and ice into his face and filling the air with its tortured howl. Kiv felt himself being erased, swallowed by the white noise.
Using his best sense, Kiv picked the direction he believed to be the way to the cave and began marching steadily. The heavy blizzard made it so he could hardly see two yards ahead of him, gale winds slamming into his body, willing him to submit. He continued to push on, determined not to die in a place so cold and desolate.
Suddenly his foot caught something and he found himself hurtling face-first into the snow. Rising up he searched for the source of his fall. At first, he saw nothing but snow, but upon looking closer he discovered a small body curled up on the ground. A woman.
Her skin was pure white and smooth, and yet somehow cracked underneath, like eggshells beneath ice, and freezing to the touch. A pale blue kimono hung loosely off her shoulders, her face hidden behind a curtain of long midnight hair. Her chest slowly rose and fell with her breath, the only sign that she was still alive. Who was this woman? What was she even doing here? Kiv didn’t know what to do. Should he take her with him? He was already overburdened as it was, and with no food what could he possibly do for her? He didn’t even know the way back to his ca--
He spotted it. A faint light beyond the swirling chaos that had swallowed the world. The cave! It had to be. Taking it as a sign, he picked up the woman and placed her on his back, before making his way towards the light. The trek seemed to take an eternity as he stumbled blindly through the trees, making his way towards the steady light. On a couple of occasions he could swear he felt the woman’s cold arms tighten around his neck, but when he would call out to her, she never responded.
Finally reaching the cave, he quickly threw the woman onto his bed sack and fell down beside the fire. Now that he had stopped he felt the ache of his exhausted muscles and wondered if he would be able to rise again. He had used up the last of his energy to reach the cave, and with no food, he was likely to perish soon. While he contemplated what to do next, he heard something shift across the fire.
Looking up he saw the woman’s hunched form slowly rise up, her frost-covered kimono slipping from her shoulders and pooling at her feet. Where the light of the fire hit her skin it seemed to refract as if she were made of crystal. Was he hallucinating? Was she even real?
Her pale blue lips twisting up into a sinister smile as she turned to face him. Her eyes were two hollow pools of obsidian watching him from behind her veil of hair; Kiv’s body froze as when he realized what he had carried into the cave with him.
This was no woman. It was the one said to prey upon souls of travelers, summoning blizzards and snowstorms to lead them astray. A beautiful being made of ice and malice that could freeze any man in his tracks with her gaze. The demon that gave these mountains their name. The Woman of the Snow. The Yuki-Onna.
Kiv attempted to escape but only made it a few feet away before collapsing again, finding that his tired body no longer responded to him. Gliding around the fire, Yuki-Onna's eyes seemed to swallow the warmth and light from the air.
Looking at her, Kiv knew that there had been no beast. That the sudden blizzard had not started by chance, nor was his finding her in the snow. He had been lured. Hunted.
Kiv’s panic climbed as he struggled to move, his body growing more and more numb the longer he gazed into her eyes, losing the feeling in his arms, legs, face, heart. A strong gust of air blew in through the cave’s entrance, extinguishing the fire and casting the cave into darkness.
Tears fell down Kiv’s cheeks where they froze as he waited helplessly in the dark for the demon to reach him. He felt its delicate hands press lightly against his chest, gliding across till it rested above his heart, before sharply plunging in.
Bright spots filled his vision as the demon’s cold hand wrapped around his heart, sucking the warmth from it. An iciness he had never felt spread throughout his body, and a scream of agony wrenched itself from his throat as he felt his soul being forcibly ripped away.
He continued to scream as his whole body was consumed by the burning cold sensation as if the Yuki-Onna was pouring ice water through his veins. He felt his flesh begin to crystallize, starting at his feet and moving up over his legs, abdomen, chest, neck. His voice finally choked off as the cold spread over his head, his final cries echoing faintly through the hollow tunnels of his throat before finally being snatched away by the wind.
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