The severe running tore at Thorfinn's lungs, but he still dared not stop. The pressure of life and death fueled a burst of physical potential; the desperate will to live pushed him beyond his limits time and again.
Near the forest's edge, Thorfinn was close to collapse. After running flat out for more than two hours, a tidal wave of exhaustion washed over his body and mind. Seeing a figure in the distance near the trees... it was Merek. Finally, he was safe. This terrifying infiltration had drained Thorfinn of all his focus and strength. Coupled with the physical exhaustion, the taut string in his heart snapped, and his eyes closed. He passed out.
The mysterious power gained from the wight transformation carried a strange will. As time passed, the ice and death magic began to change Thorfinn. The most obvious change was that his body temperature began to drop. He sensed that the baby on the altar, now a newborn Other, was being controlled by a higher consciousness—a puppet of the magic. He felt the same thing was happening to him.
Merek was instantly thrown into a panic. When he first saw Thorfinn, he had been overjoyed, ready to believe in the New Gods, the Old Gods, or any gods at all, having prayed to every deity he knew. But when he saw the Others and Wights in hot pursuit, his joy died in his throat. If this was the gods' answer, it was enough to break his heart. Fortunately, brotherly affection conquered reason. Merek didn't abandon him. Though his first instinct was to run, he doubled back, hoisted the unconscious Thorfinn onto his back, and then began his own frantic, heavy-footed escape. In that moment, Merek was the mirror image of the desperate, fleeing Thorfinn from minutes before.
Running the winding forest path was Merek's specialty, but his speed grew slower and slower. Thorfinn's dead weight on his back was his greatest burden. The immense pressure of survival was the only thing keeping him going. Unlike Merek's panic and fear, Thorfinn, on his back, had completely relaxed.
In a daze, Thorfinn fell into a dream again, but this one was remarkably different. How so? Since Thorfinn had become a Skinchanger, dreaming was rare, but now, in the midst of a life-or-death crisis, a tranquil dream seemed utterly out of place. This time, the protagonist of the dream was an Ice Spider. All he could see was the icy cavern. A mysterious sense of familiarity gave Thorfinn a feeling of déjà vu—I've seen this before...
Stretching its body, with its segmented form, hard exoskeleton, and jointed legs and appendages, this long-lost sensation returned Thorfinn's thoughts to the tent of his childhood memories, as if he had never grown up. Feeling the vision of eight eyes and the eight legs that obeyed his command, Thorfinn felt a strange excitement. The presence of a top predator naturally radiated from him. No creature had ever given him such a feeling of power. He had only felt that strength in his dreams, and this familiar experience was long overdue.
After moving around for a while, Thorfinn finally felt a difference. His body seemed much larger than the Ice Spider in his memory; the things around him looked much smaller. A feeling of affection flowed into Thorfinn's mind. Thorfinn finally had his first communication with this spider-friend, even though they had only been the most familiar of "strangers" in his childhood dreams. It was hard to imagine that such powerful Ice Spiders could befriend a weak human. But would the friendship born in a dream come true in reality?
Thorfinn didn't know the answer, nor did he have time to think, as another dream took over his mind.
What a dream it was! Cold, desolate, all the memories and feelings that made him feel truly alive melted away like ice in summer, leaving behind only endless emptiness and loneliness. In a world of blackness and pale blue, frost and death seemed eternal. There was nothing around him, the ground was an ice plain paved with ancient cold, and the surroundings were the endless, abyss-like darkness.
Just then, a will descended like a god. Without warning, Thorfinn knew exactly what it was: it was a deity. In the words of the red priests, the true God, R'hllor, is called the Lord of Light, the god of heat and life. His arch-enemy, the Cold God, is the god of darkness, cold, and death. The one before Thorfinn was the ancient deity, the Cold God, the enemy of R'hllor—the Great Other.
The god, hidden in the darkness, was so tall Thorfinn couldn't see him clearly. From the dark, human-like silhouette, only a pair of pale blue eyes stared down at Thorfinn's body, which was as small as dust. The cold, aloof gaze was like a god high above the heavens, robbing him of the courage to look up.
Facing the deity known for bringing cold and death, Thorfinn bowed his proud head. How could he, a speck of dust, resist the terrifying, godlike pressure of this presence?
The cold, emotionless eyes watched Thorfinn for a long time. Finally, when Thorfinn was thoroughly uncomfortable, filled with nothing but awe and terror, the distant god spoke. "Priest, Priest... live on, bearing this title. You are destined to bring disaster and death to the world. Be my most loyal servant. From now on, you shall be the sole living 'Priest of the Cold God'..."
With that, the figure said no more and vanished.
At the same time, in this dream world, the darkness receded, revealing a glimmer of light. However, the ice beneath his feet began to crack, and the whole world shattered with a roar. Thorfinn tried to step onto the thicker ice to escape, but all his efforts were useless. A nerve-shredding cracking sound ran through the firm ice beneath him.
With a crash, Thorfinn, terrified and without footing, plunged into the bone-chilling sea. I want help, I want to call out, but who can save me? Submerged, sinking, the last bit of air in his lungs was squeezed out... Sinking in the dark, lightless deep, I want to say, Save me! I want to climb up, save me, I'm here... But when he opened his mouth, bitter, cold seawater rushed into his chest. The suffocating lack of air hit him, like losing everything you desperately want to hold onto, helpless and resigned.
At that moment, Thorfinn realized his own weakness and cowardice. Even though he knew that even if no one was there to help, and nothing was there to grab, he would still survive, he was still afraid. After truly experiencing the terrifying power of a deity, how could he not feel awe?
Sinking, a downward pull from the icy water. When Thorfinn's eyes could no longer see any light, he finally broke free of the illusion...
Merek used the traps he'd set to delay the pursuing Others. Though he didn't inflict any real damage, he slowed their advance. However, a hunter's traps could not stop the three Ice Spiders. The vicious Ice Spiders could essentially ignore terrain and keep chasing, but Merek, relying on his wit and knowledge of the land, still managed to outmaneuver them for a while and split them up.
Fleeing, Merek frantically called out to Thorfinn. The jolting of his run, as consciousness returned, was finally felt by Thorfinn. Opening his eyes, he heard Merek's ragged breathing and calls echoing in his ears. Speaking while running so hard had given Merek a stitch, and though enduring the pain, he knew he couldn't, dared not, stop.
Thorfinn slipped free of Merek's back. Merek finally stopped, gasping for a moment of rest. Thorfinn rubbed his head, which was throbbing, and asked, "How long was I out?" Merek, completely run ragged, replied while still panting, "Almost... two hours. Gods, I'm exhausted... Are you alright, Thorfinn?" Thorfinn offered a wry smile. "More or less." If his time in the Others' lair had been rolling along the edge of life and death, the nightmare had been a genuine death. Thankfully, he had broken free.
Merek asked strangely, "That's odd! Your eyes look even bluer, and your skin is paler. What happened, Thorfinn?" Thorfinn looked lost. "I don't know, I don't know..." Thorfinn stroked his chest, staring blankly. There was a diamond-shaped mark of the Cold God there, left behind by that shadowy figure. The Cold God had given Thorfinn no choice, choosing to violently subdue Thorfinn's body and mind directly. The overbearing nature of a god was plain to see.
Merek ignored everything else and cut in, "Forget that for now, we have to run. The Others are slow, but those three Ice Spiders are lightning fast. I've doubled back a few times, but I only managed to split them up. One is still right behind us!" Thorfinn remembered the huge trouble he still had to deal with and quickly rejoined Merek in their escape.
But after only a short distance, the two stopped. Standing before them was a single Ice Spider, waiting patiently. It was the size of a hound, with long, sharp legs, each nearly a yard long. Its menacing appearance, white with streaks of blue, held a strange beauty. Its eight mismatched eyes were filled with cold indifference. It made a sharp hiss sound to show its hostility.
Alpha restlessly paced behind Thorfinn. It was clearly terrified, and no one could blame the shadowcat; Whisper, Merek's shadowcat, had already fled and gotten separated from him. Alpha's presence proved its loyalty. Thorfinn's eyes flashed with ferocity. He was already filled with pent-up rage from his encounter with a certain evil god, and now he could finally vent his inner violence. Merek drew his sword, but Thorfinn pulled the bow and arrows from his back. Thorfinn knew how agile this seemingly small creature was, and because he knew, he understood this would be a battle of speed.
Thorfinn warned, "Better a leg-stab than a bite, Merek, that thing is venomous." Merek nodded grimly.
The hound-sized Ice Spider was unafraid of humans. It charged at the two men. Thorfinn rapidly fired an arrow, but the spider nimbly dodged it. Seeing the Ice Spider about to lunge at Merek, Thorfinn unleashed his own magic. Visible attacks could be dodged, but what about the invisible ones? Thorfinn extended his right hand, gathering magical power, and with a gesture, a Magic Missile shot out. This was Thorfinn's first time using this magic offensively, and the Ice Spider sensed the difference in this attack. It changed its charge path. Just then, the Magic Missile changed its trajectory as well. It was not hard for Thorfinn to redirect the missile with his control.
The Magic Missile exploded against the Ice Spider's body. A powerful force seemed to rip through it. The surprise attack worked; even the so-called magic-creature Ice Spider was hit.
However, the Ice Spider, though blasted back, landed without serious harm. This made Thorfinn realize the strength of the spider's exoskeleton armor. Merek seized the chance to slash with his sword, but only managed to lop off one of the spider's legs. It was unbelievable that his powerful strike could only cause such limited damage; a grown man struck like that would have been gravely injured.
The Ice Spider's eight eyes fixed on Merek. Stabilizing its body, one of its legs stabbed toward Merek's abdomen at a strange angle. An arrow flew just in time, striking the Ice Spider's body. The Dragonglass arrow, though it failed to pierce deep, had enough force to halt the stabbing motion of the leg. The Ice Spider's attack veered off its intended path, and Merek narrowly escaped.
Merek wouldn't let the chance to strike a wounded enemy pass. With a subtle crouch, he swung his sword in an upward arc, striking the Ice Spider's eyes where it couldn't evade. The severe pain stimulated a sharp shriek from the Ice Spider. This was probably one of its few weaknesses, and Merek's risky move had paid off handsomely.
The Ice Spider was in pain, its vision blocked—a godsend opportunity. Thorfinn seized the chance to deliver the killing blow. He released the arrow he had drawn to a full stop. The feather-shafted arrow flew instantly, carrying incredible force, and pierced the Ice Spider's head right through the wound Merek had created. With such a fatal injury, even the magic-creature Ice Spider could only die on the spot. Their synchronized and perfect teamwork had neutralized the Ice Spider's assault and ended its life.