Tales From The Kronos

The fire was burning in the middle of the cave, while Sepide and the leader were deeply sleeping. The new member and Silva stayed awake, ensuring no one would attack them when they weren't expecting it. Silva was tired too, but she wanted to stay awake for a moment to think about everything that happened and ask some questions to Uriel.

"So, Uriel, how do you feel in the group so far?"

Uriel seemed surprised but still answered with politeness.

"I feel like I am pretty lucky, it could have been worse. Your... Leader seems a bit cold, but Sepide is a really nice person."

"Yeah, I can understand." Chuckled Silva "Our leader is quite weird usually, I guess she just takes it seriously, as everyone here does."

"Yes, it is true." Answered Uriel "Sepide told me that you were here for your friend, I hope you will be able to help him."

"I'm sure we will, and even if we don't, he'll find a way to save himself. What I'm worried about is Sepide, she seems pretty invested in you."

Uriel looked toward the ground before answering, visibly ashamed.

"Yes... I just explained that I was built for war and she suddenly felt bad for me. I told her that the reason for my existence doesn't matter anymore, but she still is worried for me."

"I guess she sees herself in you."

"How so?" Asked Uriel, confused.

"I think that she has some trouble accepting a life without duty, that she feels like it's her entire life." Silva suddenly realized that she wasn't supposed to talk about their identities and stopped in her tracks. All this situation was so weird that it was still a bit unusual for her.

"So anyway, what wish will you make if you win?"

"I want to be alive again."

"Alive? Again?" Silva wondered, extremely confused by the sentence.

"Yes, I died before. But as long as my core is intact, I can be alive again. This Ada said she can fix my core, it is the reason I am here, without her, I would still be dead."

"But if you lose, you'll die again..."

"I know." Uriel stayed silent for a moment, trying to find the right words "I have a reason to live. I want to see my friend again, it is my deepest wish. And even if I have to play in the game of a twisted person, I will."

Silva reflected on her own situation, they too were trying to save Neige after all. But in the end, only one of them could win. And if they won, Uriel would probably return to the afterlife. The robot girl seemed to notice Silva's internal conundrum, as she spoke in a very soft voice, trying to be reassuring.

"I have lived a good life, I don't regret anything that happens now. I know that she is living a good life, even without me... You should probably sleep now, you seem tired."

Silva didn't want to admit it, but she felt exhausted. She agreed with Uriel and went to sleep.

"Yeah, maybe I should."

The night passed silently, as the wind outside continued its eternal activity.

Most of the group woke up, Silva was still in a deep sleep until Sepide woke her up. The snowstorm outside was still harsh, but they had no choice but to continue. They had two days left and they needed to still find two treasures. Once they were ready, they left toward the ocean.

After a few hours of walking, they finally reached the ocean. But instead of the calming blue waves, the only thing that stretched to the horizon was a long and flat surface of ice. Silva walked on it, not realizing it was frozen water, and instantly took a step back.

"Ice?! I'm not going on that! I can feel every single vibration on that! It will mess me up!"

"Come on, it's not that bad." Answered the leader while stepping on the ice "I don't feel anything."

"Unlike you, my other senses are heightened!"

"Oh right... You're blind..." The leader turned her head in embarrassment.

Trying to find a solution, Sepide took Silva's hand and accompanied her on the ice.

"I'll guide you, don't worry."

Silva nodded her head, still visibly scared. Together, they followed the leader, and the group headed to the middle of the ocean.

The group walked for a while, the snowstorm was getting so dense that the sunlight didn't even pass through. They had difficulties progressing, not only because of the weather but also because of Silva's slow pace and the leader's difficulties to locate their position on the map. Silva suddenly stopped, shaking tremendously, and it seemed like it wasn't only because of the cold.

"It's coming..." Silva said ominously "It's getting closer..."

"What is?" Asked Sepide.

"I don't know... It's huge..."

The leader tried to look around but failed to see farther than a few meters.

"It's probably not a big deal, you said that you didn't feel comfortable on the ice, maybe it's why."

"Yes... I'm sorry for worrying you."

The group continued their march but was stopped by Uriel's voice after only a few meters.

"I can feel it too, but I can neither locate it nor understand what it is."

"I'm sure it's someone having fun with fireworks." Answered the leader. The cold and the slow pace was starting to annoy her more and more, and she only wanted to end it as soon as possible

"You're not imagining that there would be a monster under the ice trying to get us, it only happens in video games."

The leader took a few steps forward. Acting by reflex, Silva ran to stop her leader before it was too late. She managed to grab her and pull her away from going further.

"Silva? What are you-"

Before she could finish her sentence, the ice in front of them broke and a giant serpent-looking creature emerged from the newly made hole. The monster was as ginormous as an iceberg and jumped back into the frozen lake.

"That's the thing!" Yelled Silva, pointing at where the creature emerged "That's what I felt!"

"How did I not hear or feel it?" The leader looked confused at the hole the monster came from. Under the thick layer of ice, there was still water. But even despite that, it was still impossible to see the creature in the water because of the lack of light.

"I think it can hear our footsteps."

Everyone stayed silent upon hearing Silva's words, afraid that the creature would come back. The wind was freezing, even more than it was before, annoying the leader even more.

"Are we supposed to wait here until our death? I have other things to do!"

"Shh! It's still here."

The group was stuck in the icy desert, waiting for the monster to get bored. But a long time passed and Silva still felt the creature roaming around. after a few hours passed, Sepide took a small ice shard she found on the ground, and an idea came to her mind.

"Hey, if we throw that, it will come out to grab it, then, we just have to shoot it!"

"Shoot it with what?" Asked Silva "We don't have our weapons, and I doubt one bullet will be enough. I don't even think I could aim at it."

"Well, one bullet is better than nothing. If we don't do anything, saving Neige will be the last of our problems."

Sepide and Silva argued about the idea. Getting impatient, the leader took the ice shard and threw it at a decent distance. As they expected, the creature came out of the ground to jump back in again

"What have you done?" Asked Silva "Now it knows for sure that we're here, it's never going to leave!"

"It's a leviathan."

"A what?" Asked Silva with curiosity.

"I've seen some on other worlds, but usually they're deep in the ocean. I know from experience that classic weaponry won't be useful against them."

"So what can we do?" Asked Sepide.

"Neige is the one that takes care of giant monsters usually, I think it's in our best interest to run away, we'll never be able to beat that thing."

"But what about the treasure? We need, or else we'll lose." Sepide had a worried tone, she probably was thinking about what would happen to Neige if they failed here,

"We've been here for three hours if I'm correct, this isn't sustainable."

"How can you tell how much time it has been?" Asked Silva with a doubtful tone.

"She is right." Answered Uriel "My internal clock says that we are stuck here for 3 hours, 3 minutes, and 43 seconds."

"See!" Said the leader with a smug smile "You youngsters have watches and phones, but we didn't have that at the time."

"But..."

The leader put her finger on Sepide's mouth before she could say anything. It was obvious that Sepide felt bad to leave without getting the treasure.

"You remember what I told you when you joined the team? Your safety comes first. If you have to choose between yourself and the world, choose yourself. If you die there, no one will be able to carry on with your mission. I know that we're not here to save a world, but the rule still applies."

Sepide still seemed worried despite her words. The leader took a deep breath and whispered softly to her.

"Sepide, we need to run away from here, forget about the treasure for now. This is your new mission, do you understand?"

"Yes, leader," Sepide answered with a serious tone and nodded her head. Silva looked surprised that she was convinced so easily but decided to focus on the more pressing matter instead.

"Good, so now we need to find a way to get away from it. It can only live in water, and I think that if we run, we could reach the land in half an hour."

With their new objective in mind, the group was prepared to find a way out of the frozen ocean and escape the monster swimming around.