Sylvia ran.

Her long white hair swayed as she ran. She was like the icy wind.

Her violet eyes were wide open and it was the only speck of color one would see from afar. A white figure with vivid violet eyes.

She looked like a white wolf as she ran and leaped on the snowy rocks, running without gasping for air.

Then she stopped.

Not to take a rest but to look down on the snowy terrain.

It was as if she could not feel the snow. She showed no signs of being cold.

It was as if she was the snow.

Hundreds of years ago, White Peaks was not under perpetual winter.

Hundreds of years ago, The Land of the Red Sun was not under a perpetual red sky.

Hundreds of years ago, White Peaks was also stained with blood.

"Come out," Sylvia said in her raspy whispery voice.

She stood still, waiting, her stance that of ready to fight. She had no weapon but just as King Raegan said, Sylvia would not be killed.

Well, not easily.

"No use in sneaking up on me. Come out now so we can end this quickly," Sylvia said.

It wasn't because she was in a rush to go back in fear of dying from Yuzan's poison. In fact, she was not poisoned. He did place a poison in her but her body just purified itself.

The boy did not need to know that. She could go back before the time limit he set on her anyway.

Sylvia was surrounded by trees that had been covered with snow for God knows how long, yet they were still standing. Perhaps they had already been frozen in time.

Sylvia was becoming impatient. She knew they were there. She could feel them.

Then the shadows stretched.

The shadows of the trees stretched out on the ground then upwards. It looked like black liquid or black smoke. It was darkness solidifying, taking form, and getting out the confines of the shadows.

Sylvia's lips curved up in anticipation.

"Disgusting as always," Sylvia murmured.

The shadows began to take on shapes.

Human shapes.

Or what used to be humans.

Sylvia leaned down a bit and bent her knee a bit. She was ready to strike.

The shadows took on a much solid form. They had human features now.

Noses. Gaping holes for mouths. Pure black eyes with no trace of white.

Pure black armors.

In their heads, weapons made of shadow materialized. Swords, spears, and some even had shields.

And they were complete.

It was an infantry of a shadow army. There were fourteen of them. Pure black soldiers with human shapes but were no longer human. They had no shadows as they were made of shadows.

Then their bowed heads looked up and all of them had their pure black eyes on Sylvia.

Sylvia was now full on grinning.

"Took you long enough. Now, it's my turn," Sylvia said.

She dashed towards the shadow army. A shadow soldier swung its black sword on her but she avoided its attack, bending her body to the side. It was about to attempt to strike her again but she attacked it first. With her fingers outstretched, her palm open, she struck its stomach, her arm going through it like a spear.

"WRRRrrrrreeeeeeEEEEkkkkkkkrrrrrrr!!!!"

The shadow soldier let out a monstrous scream.

Its death cry.

Sylvia swiftly moved her arm up, slashing it from the stomach up to its head.

THUD.

Its black head landed on the white snowy ground.

PSSSSHHHHHH!

The shadow head vanished like smoke.

"RRREEeeekkkKk!!!"

"WURReeekkkKK!!!"

The other shadow soldiers seemed to have gotten angry at Sylvia.

Sylvia raised an eyebrow at them.

"What? You still haven't gotten used to this? Or pertains you've forgotten this little yearly dance of ours? Tsk tsk. Let me remind you then!" Sylvia said.

Ah . . .

She shouldn't be enjoying this.

She charged towards the soldiers. She swung her right hand towards them, slashing them as she ran. They tried to hit her with their weapons but she avoided them elegantly.

She truly looked like she was dancing.

Bending her body, her silvery white hair swinging with the sway of her body like she was being swung around by a partner. Her feet light as she side stepped, ran, and slid on the snowy ground.

More shadow soldiers collapsed and vanished but there were still some remaining and they all charged at her at the same time.

She smirked.

As if that would work.

She slashed on the snowy ground, the force of her attack, made the snow leap from the ground as though a strong wind had cut it.

The snow concealed her like a curtain but the shadow soldiers knew she was just there behind that snow. Their swords swung towards the snow but they pierced nothing. The snow fell on the ground and revealed that she was not there.

The shadow soldiers looked around left and right in confusion. But she was nowehere to be seen in either direction.

She was behind them.

In mid air.

She looked like an angel falling down from the sky. Her white coat was flapping wide open like wings and her silvery white hair gave her an ethereal otherworldly aura.

She swung her leg downward in a slashing motion.

WOOOOOOOOOOSH!!!

She didn't hit their heads with her foot but her movement, created a strong wind and that strong wind slashed the heads of the shadow soldiers and gave off a crunching sound as through their skills were cracking from the sheer force of her attack.

She landed gracefully on the ground. Behind her, the shadows vanished like smoke.

There were none left.

At this part of the mountain anyway.

*Rustle

Her violet eyes darted towards the trees.

There was a white boar. A snow boar with pure white fur. It was an animal that had become a winter beast when the perpetual winter began in White Peaks.

Ah. Right.

She had to feed the two boys in the cave.

Without moving her feet from where she was standing, she simply raised her hand up in the sky then brought it down swiftly.

The boar didn't sense the danger.

WOOOSH!

A sudden gust of air hit the boar and instantly ended its life.

There.

Meal for the boys.

She must have only been gone for less than an hour. She had left the two boys in a cave and they had a camp fire with them so they must not have freezed to death yet, right?

*

*

*

"W-why?" Azmir asked nervously.

"So we can go inside. It will be warmer," Yuzan said.

"I do not wish to. I'm contented with the warmth of the fire," Azmir said.

"Mir, please," Yuzan said and squeezed Azmir's shoulder.

Azmir's cheeks reddened.

Well, it was going to be warmer in a sleeping bag. Yuzan was right. Azmir took out a sleeping bag from his magic pouch. He could feel Yuzan's stare behind him, waiting for him.

Azmir was about to take out another sleeping bag from his magic pouch but Yuzan's hand touched his hand.

"No need. We can share it," Yuzan said.

Azmir's eyes widened.

"But we have our own sleeping bag. I can just take it out now," Azmir said.

"Trust me. It will be warmer this way," Yuzan said.

Azmir wetted his lower lip nervously. Why the hell was he feeling nervous anyway? It wasn't like it was the first time they were going to sleep together. What was wrong with him?

Yuzan got in the sleeping bag first.

"Come here, Mir. You'll be warmed up in no time," Yuzan said.

Azmir nodded and quietly got in the sleeping bag too.

It was warm.

He closed his eyes and began to relax. Azmir's back was facing Yuzan so he could not see Yuzan's face. He wasn't sure if Yuzan had his eyes closed too.

Then Yuzan's arm went around him, hugging him tight around the waist.

"Y-Yuzan what are you d-"

"Shush," Yuzan whispered close to his ear.

Azmir could feel Yuzan's warm breath on his nape.

"I'm warming you up," Yuzan said.

"I'm warm enough. I'm not cold," Azmir said.

"No, you still are. Your skin is cold," Yuzan said.

His lips nuzzled Azmir's nape.

"Cold," Yuzan murmured.

"I-I'm not," Azmir said.

Yuzan's hand went under Azmir's shirt. Azmir's eyes widened. Yuzan touched Azmir's stomach.

"You're cold here too," Yuzan said, caressing Azmir's stomach.

"Why are you doing this?" Azmir asked.

"Skin to skin contact is the best way to warm up, Mir. Don't you know that? Actually, the best way for this to work is both of us should be naked," Yuzan said.

Azmir's ears were red now too.

"If we get naked, it's going to be colder!" Azmir protested.

"Not if our skins touch each other," Yuzan said with a grin.

Before Azmir could retort, Yuzan sat up and took off his jacket then pulled off his shirt from his head, revealing his snow white skin and perfectly sculpted abs.

Azmir stared at him in shock.

Yuzan smiled at him.

"Mir, I'm going to freeze if I'm the only one with my top off. Take off yours too," Yuzan said.

Azmir couldn't answer.

"Ah you want me to take it off for you? Sure," Yuzan said and began to take off Azmir's jacket.