Yamri stayed in place long after the echoes of Kyurem's steps faded. Her claws dug into the ice, heart pounding so loudly she was sure it would give her hiding place away even now.
Ran's eyes haunted her. That faint glow. It was the same kind of feeling that tugged at her chest—like there's a second soul that pulls her left and right. "That thing...felt the same.".
Her knees trembled as she crawled from behind the pillar. The shattered remains of the frozen statue glittered at her paws, jagged and sharp. She hurries herself up, avoiding the shattered pieces.
The Swan's pull tightened in her chest again, steadying her heartbeat. A light flared faintly ahead of her, opposite the direction Kyurem had gone. She swallowed the lump in her throat and stumbled toward it, clutching her sleeves like a shield.
The path carried her to the sound of running water. When she stepped out of the chamber, there was a stream, which was clearly visible, glittered like a silver wound across the dungeon floor. The faint light rippled along its surface, guiding her upstream.
As she trudged her way to the water, her reflection caught her eye. She lifts a hand up to her strange muzzle. Then she glides her paws against the soft fur on her face. The eyes that weren't hers seemed to be glowing faintly. For a moment she couldn't look away.
This can't be happening. I was in the hospital. I should be... I should be asleep. This dream feels too real.
The Swan's pull urged her forward. For a moment she ignored the strange instinct that served as her company. She shakes her head, "It's okay, I'll wake up soon...I think."
"I remember reading that depending on what you do in life, that determines what layer of hell you get sent to. This place is covered in snow...and there's a giant monster roaming around. Does that mean I died and went to hell? Am I in the ninth circle right now?" As she pondered to herself, the Swan's pull inside her became shrill and hard to ignore. She bites her lips, "This better be a dream. What sin could I possibly have committed to get here anyway...?"
She dragged her gaze up from the water and reluctantly followed the light until the stream bent and a broken bridge came into view.
Half the span had collapsed into the river below, jagged ends jutting like broken bones from the bridge's edge. Snow powdered the remaining stones, noticeably slick and treacherous. Across the gap, the light pulsed bright, beckoning.
Yamri's breath hitched. "No... no way." She shook her head. "Nuh uh."
But a warmth akin to a down of feathers filled her chest, pressing her harder now, insistent. "You have to cross," it seemed to be saying.
The dungeon groaned for a moment. Ice spikes and snow ring themselves loose from the ceiling, sending down a hailing Avalanche. Yamri ducks down slightly, heart racing once more. She hides herself along the edge of the bridge, clinging to the engraved parapet.
Covering her neck, she looks up slightly to see a large Ice Shard falling right above her. She gasps and dives for safety, barely dodging the ice, however the shard crashes down on the bridge, hammering straight into it like a knife to a cake. The bridge shatters into tiny pieces.
With no time to react this time, Yamri's stomach dropped as the world tilted around her. She clawed at empty air, the far ledge rushing past just beyond her reach. Her cry tore out of her throat as she plummeted into the river, covering herself as rubble scrapes against her skin through her fur.
The river struck her like a wall. Freezing water swallowed her whole, stealing the air from her lungs. She tumbled beneath the surface, the current dragging her into blackness.
The heat in her chest, weak against the torrent, but still there. Fighting for her life, the Swan's pull urged her to struggle against the rapids with all her might.
The river tumbled her like driftwood. Yamri's limbs flailed uselessly as the current dragged her down into froth and shadow. The cold knifed into her lungs, crushing breath from them.
Her paw struck something solid. With all her strength she latched onto a jagged rock jutting from the current. The water clawed at her fur, trying to wrench her free. She kicked, scrambled, pulled herself inch by inch onto the slick surface. Her body screamed with every movement, but finally she hauled herself up, coughing river water onto the ice-choked stone.
She lay there for a moment, shivering so hard her teeth rattled. The warmth of the Swan in her chest flickered, insistent, refusing to let her stop. She opens her eyes to see that she was a fair ways away from the bridge. A dim glow shimmered upstream, guiding her on.
She pressed her forehead to her paws. "Why... Why am I still struggling so hard? This is just a dream. It shouldn't be that hard to survive in a dream!"
Still, she staggered herself onto her knees, dragging her wet fur against the stone. She shakes her body of water, holding her chest to keep warm.
The forest thinned into a clearing where the dead trees loomed like skeletal sentries. Snow covered the ground in a pale blanket, and the light beckoned faintly on the far side.
Yamri stopped. Her whole body sagged with weariness. The guiding pull of the Swan pulsed again, but she pushed it down, sinking into the snow with a bitter laugh. "I'm tired of this dream."
She curled her arms around herself, eyelids drooping. The cold seeped deep, numbing her limbs, slowing her thoughts. She let her head fall back against the dead roots and whispered, "If this is it... then I wish I could've spent this time with Mom and Dad."
Her eyes closed. Breath slipped shallow. The dark crept in again.
But then—a warmth covered her like a coat made from a thick plumage of feathers.
A glow spread over her body, soft and steady. Feathers of light settled across her shoulders, a downy blanket against the frost. The forest groaned and the snow fell silent. Wrapped in light, Yamri drifted into sleep—safe for now.
Quiet drowned the air until the sound of soft jingles made Yamri's ears twitch.
She stirred, groaning faintly. The snow beneath her was no longer cold. "Mmm, finally the surgery is over." Her eyes fluttered open, and for a moment she simply lay there, staring at the pale ceiling of ice above.
Then she pushed herself up, blinking in disbelief. After a moment, she lifts a paw up to her face, turning it over for a double take.
Where she had collapsed, the frost had melted away. A perfect circle of fresh, living grass spread out beneath her, swaying gently in a nonexistent breeze. The blades were rich, sweet green, glowing as though kissed by starlight. The dead gray earth beyond the circle only made it more impossible.
Her paw brushed the grass and a shiver traveled through her. Warm. Real. Alive.
"Wait..." Her eyes swell up as memories of being bedridden and helpless swirl around her mind. Thoughts of her mother, feeding her medicine and thoughts of her father, tucking her into bed override the registry of the sound of loud jingle bells. "Did my surgery...fail? Mom?...Dad?"
The peace was shattered with the whizz of Ice Shards flying past her.
She froze, ears twitching left and right. The sounds multiplied and dozens of hollow, clashing bells rang true. Cryogonal.
Yamri scrambled upright, still sluggish from exhaustion. Her limbs shook and her chest burned. She spun toward the sounds, and the crystalline bodies refracted the pale light into shards.
"No, no, no–" she gasped, taking a few steps backward.
The Cryogonal swarmed, their discordant bells filling the clearing like a broken and ringing song. Before Yamri could run, a harsh vibration rumbled through the earth. The snow cracked and the dungeon growled like a living thing.
Suddenly the ground split open, and enormous stone platforms burst upward from the frost. Their surfaces glowing faintly, engraved with curling ancient text that shimmered from snow.
Yamri yelped as a platform surged up beneath her feet, lifting her out of the Cryogonal's reach.
She clutched the platform as it carried her higher, wind rushing past her ears.The swarm wheeled below, their jagged edges clinking against one another in frustrated cries.
The platform slowed, locking into place against a vast stairway carved from ice and stone. Each step visibly pulsing with a mysterious energy. The Swan's Pull ushered her towards the stairs with a haste.
Yamri swallowed hard. Gulping down the lumps in her throat and the fear along with it. "I guess that means up."
She sprinted up the stairs. Her paws pressed into the strange glyphs etched into every step, then she was suddenly transported to the threshold of another room. She braced herself, then hopped over the final step.
The world lurched.
She blinked. The air was colder, heavier. The walls were completely different, jagged and cavelike. A new dungeon floor.
The sound of more bells greeted her again. Fainter this time. As her eyes adjusted, Yamri realized that the chamber walls ahead were lined with Cryogonal—rows of them, hovering still as statues, their eyes glowing in the dim light.
Her breath was louder, and much more noticeable through the sound of jingles.
One Cryogonal turned its body slightly to notice her, then another, then one more, then the entire ceiling looked to be staring at her.
Yamri watches the ceiling as it watches her back, slowly backing herself to the stairs, but never finding them.
The realization sets and her body tenses into high alert.