Close to sunset, the frozen landscape still glowed as the light reflected from the glaze of ice that adorned the valley. The land sparkled. There was no sound. The duvet of snow that smothered the earth seemed to drown out all noise, as if filling up every inch of space were sound could possibly be. Even the struggling footsteps of a small figure moving through the blanket of snowfall, were unheard. Three-toed footprints decorated the snow as the asura scurried onward, nearly knee deep in the sea of white.
After only progressing a short way, the asura stopped breathlessly to rest against a tree crystallized with ice. It's bark was polished with a sparkling silver and appeared almost ghostly. The asura, rubbing her hands together desperately, looked out over the beautiful yet hypothermic landscape. There was no one. She cast her eyes down at her feet, which were painfully swollen from the merciless cold and were turning a bright red in contrast with her near-white skin.
In all her excitement from the idea of travelling, despite her genius, she had forgotten to take the climate of the area into consideration. Thus she had worn traditional asuran footwear, which offered virtually no protection as the shoe was mainly on top of the foot rather than under. Frustrated at her unnatural act of stupidity, she trudged on, pulling her hood over her face to try and gain even the smallest hint of warmth. She could feel the cold infecting her chest and knew that if she didn't find somewhere warm soon, she would shortly become a frozen corpse.
The young asura continued her agonizing trek for what seemed like hours, her body getting weaker as the cold penetrated and spread through her small body. Her feet were numb now and a pressing feeling in her chest left her struggling for breath. The trees glowed around her, the silence becoming increasingly more eerie.
Keep moving. Keep moving.
Her eyes were half shut now and unfocused, Streaks of ice had formed on her eyelashes. With the pain blinding her and her mind becoming hazy, all she could do was move forward. Snow had stated to crash down against her weak, ice crusted body. The cruel weather then summoned a powerful gust of wind, forcing her hood back and freeing her turquoise her which flew out behind her. The knock back from the wind alerted her to the fact it was already pitch black. This realisation gave her mind a jolt, enough to give her worn body a kick to carry on.
Despite her pain, she desperately moved faster, pushing herself against the wind and the snow. All was black ahead of her, as if she were in a tunnel. Suddenly her stomach lurched and her mind froze in panic as her body tumbled down a small hill. She frantically clawed at the ground for purchase but it was too slippery to stop her painful fall. Her head hit the ground violently and her arms and legs were clawed and bleeding when she crashed into the cold ditch at the bottom of the hill. Face first in the snow, her muscles weak and tense, she could only summon enough strength to look up. In her pain, her mind could barely comprehend the situation. She didn't think 'I'm going to die' or even contemplate her loss of life and the things she could have done. She just stared blankly up at the falling snow. It was landing softer now and coated the asura in a gentle layer of white. Her breathing grew calm and quiet and soon she was still. There was no sound. Her eyes began to close slowly in defeat, the snow-covered lashes drooping. No-one in her mind to remember, nothing in her mind to miss, emotionless.
Just as her consciousness was slipping, she thought she could hear something. Her ears pricked up weakly, trying to pick up the sound. A simple, low noise and rhythmic like a heartbeat.
or footsteps.
A large silhouette rose into her vision. She could feel the vibrations of its rumbling footsteps on her tortured body. It was closer now, and much larger. The figure's appearance managed to clear enough fog in her brain to allow the frozen asura to feel fear. She stared helplessly at this larger than life creature, looming over her like a nightmare. A creature with bear-like fur, the horns of a stag and the body of a man. Was it real? Trembling in terror and realising this was the end, she took one last look at the beast and then squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for her consciousness to vanish at any moment.
Everything went black.