“Olga,” I repeated for what must’ve been the hundredth time as we trudged through the snow, towards the looming titanic shadow in the distance, vaguely in the shape of a human, except taller than the sky itself. “I think this is a terrible idea. And, if we die, I’m blaming you.”

“Don’t worry,” She said, again. There was no annoyance in her eyes or her tone as she spoke, only a tiredness that was all too familiar. She turned and smiled, again, as she’d always done whenever I asked that same question. And, again, she gave me the same answer she’d given me the last hundred times. “It’ll work; trust me.”

I gulped, unconvinced, before glancing at the distant shadow of the troll. Somehow, despite how small I was compared to it, smaller than an ant would’ve been to me, I knew that it was looking at me; I felt its gaze over me, over Olga and I. And I shuddered at the thought; braving a battlefield of Japanese and American troops seemed almost easier. But, truly, if the giant wanted us dead, then we’d already be dead. No amount of magic was going to stop a foot that was larger than any building, capable of crushing and stomping cities into dust and rubble. Olga and I were just two kids. What could we do if the troll wanted to kill us? Nothing. Perhaps, if I was on the same magnitude of power as the Ice Queen herself or Lady Victoria, my mentor, then perhaps I would’ve had the strength to bring down the mighty creature. But that was neither here nor there.

We walked towards the shadow for nearly half an hour. It seemed only to grow larger as we approached. Every step I took, the shadow seemed to loom taller and taller. Its immense bulk was still shrouded by the fog of snow and white smoke. There was little to make of it, other than the slight tinge of blue that marred its skin and its pointy nose.

“So,” I began. We walked hand-in-hand. Olga led the way, lighting up the shadowed woods with her rainbow flames. Her hand was warm. And, I noticed then, the weather seemed oddly calm – at least, compared to what it had been a few hours ago. The winds merely whistled now, no longer howling as they once did. That… didn’t reassure me as much as it should have; the elements were a part of the test, were they not? The other part of the test was to survive the monsters. If the elemental factor was removed, then didn’t that simply mean that we’d be facing the monsters twice over? I hoped I was wrong. But, fate was never kind, was it?

With my luck, I wouldn’t be surprised if I ended up meeting the devil himself… wait, didn’t Lady Victoria say that Lucifer wanted to see me?

I shook my head. “How do you know so much about any of this stuff, Olga? Did your mentor teach you everything?”

She paused for a moment. Olga seemed torn, eyes conflicted. She seemed worried, even. But what was she worried about? Well, a lot of things, really, but what else was she worried about aside from the obvious? Did her mentor not want her to share anything? I suppose that made sense. I don’t think Lady Victoria would approve of me if I shared her teachings to anyone else. But, we were alone now. I’d gladly share… my knowledge on how to carve out a man’s liver from his torso if she asked – not that she ever would, but I’d tell her if she did ask. Then again, I’d done that only once and it was… messy. I even vomited almost immediately afterwards. Our gazes locked and she hesitated, before speaking, “I’ll… I’ll tell you when this is over, I promise.”

“Alright,” I nodded and left it at that. Honestly, it would’ve been alright if she refused to answer at all. People were entitled to keep their secrets. I had… none, really, since there was nothing particularly interesting about my life that was worth keeping from anyone. But Olga probably had plenty of things she wanted to keep hidden, things that she didn’t have to tell me about if she didn’t want to. I was curious, admittedly, but I’ve long since learned to leave well enough alone the things that weren’t any of my business.

“I promise, Uriel,” She added. Her grasp around my hand tightened, though not uncomfortably. I noted the slight shaking about her that did not come from the cold. “I’ll tell you everything you need to know when we find somewhere safe – somewhere out of sight.”

I nodded again. “Don’t worry about it; I was just curious. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

Olga nodded, but otherwise remained quiet after that. We continued trudging through the snow, moving ever onwards. There was a sort of rumbling sound that echoed across the vast, wintery land. I thought, at first, that it might’ve been lightning and thunder, but the skies were clear. I realized, then, when I noted the odd movements of the looming shadow of the troll, that the thunderous rumbling noise that echoed across the land was the troll’s breaths, each one reverberating and booming, like the distant booms of artillery.

It was massive – so frighteningly massive that I could scarcely imagine how such a creature could even exist and yet there it was, standing and looming over me, a living mountain.

I turned my gaze towards the looming giant and shuddered. It was just standing there – not doing anything in particular. I knew it was looking down at us, watching and observing. But, why wasn’t it trying to kill us? All the other monsters certainly tried. Perhaps, Olga was right. Perhaps, there was a chance that we could actually talk our way out of this; I doubted it, very much so, but then the alternative was fighting our way out and I doubted that even more. Was it waiting for something?

I didn’t know.

I didn’t know anything.

Maybe, I should just prepare something – anything?

I glanced around us. There were plenty of trees. I knew they were there, even if I didn’t look. I felt their presence, the aura they emitted – the aura of life and flesh. My magic resonated with them, telling me that I could bend them to my will as I’d done when I accidentally created that abominable dragon of boiling blood. The only difference was that I knew that I couldn’t recreate that thing no matter how hard I tried. It’d been a creature of accident. Willing it on purpose was beyond me. On that note, willing forth the trees to do anything in particular was also beyond me. Lady Victoria had not yet trained me in spells that warped flesh and bone. I could try on my own, but it was likely that whatever I did create would be nothing more than abominable wracks of screaming and tormented mockeries of life. Even the horrors that I’d called upon during the second trial, those eldritch creatures of tendrils and gnashing teeth, were beyond me. The spells needed to create them were beyond me. As tempting as it was to try and recreate the creatures I’d once created, something told me that doing so would be a terrible idea.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

So, I can’t do anything to prepare? I deflated at the thought. The simple truth was that our foe was so far out of our reach that even if I did recreate that abominable dragon, it would simply be crushed as easily as the last time. I was certain, however, that, in time, I would be capable of so much more. After all, I’ve only had my magic for a few days at the most and the things I’ve already done, albeit mostly through accidents, have been both marvelous and terrifying. With time and practice, I would certainly rise to the same heights as my mentor and the Ice Queen. But, to get there, I had to survive – I had to keep on surviving.

We do not as of yet possess the necessary knowledge to recreate those creatures. The familiar voice of my magic spoke in the dark recesses of my thoughts, confirming what I already knew. However, that does not mean we can’t do anything. We can, for instance, use our magic to strengthen your body. Most of the changes will be slow, but we can make it so that you don’t run out of breath as quickly, especially when running vast distances. The rest of the… enhancements will come with time, rest, and food.

I nodded. Let’s do that; I’ll need every advantage I can get my hands on.

Even if I did survive this ordeal, I’d still end up in the Shadow Academy again anyway. People, teachers and students alike, would try to kill me and I’ve accepted that. I would, however, fight and rage as hard as I could, which was why I needed to be more than what I was now. As I affirmed my magic’s suggestion, I immediately felt my insides shift. I didn’t know what was happening within me. I felt strange and sickening warmth in my gut, my flesh writhing and twisting, but there was no pain. It should’ve been painful, but I felt nothing more than a disgusting discomfort as my organs seemed to move around inside me.

Beyond that, however, I felt no real difference. Perhaps, I’d feel something if we were forced to run again as we were during our Physical Education class, but likely nothing beyond that.

“We’re here,” Olga suddenly spoke, whisking me away from my own musings. She stood still, eyes gazing upwards at the troll’s massive form. I gulped, nodded, and stood as still as she did. The titanic shadow seemed to lurch forward slightly, rumbling like a great and powerful storm. “Don’t move and don’t say anything.”

I nodded as Olga let go of my hand and took a single step forward. She breathed in deeply and closed her eyes. I noted the slight tremble of her form. It was the same as mine. After a moment, her voice boomed like thunder and lightning, enhanced by magic. “BAARAAAAA- TUUUUNVIIIIIIN- JOOOTUUUN- MOOLL!”

The mountainous shadow stirred and a massive face revealed itself from the haze – eyes like orbs of ice, a bluish skin that was covered in rocks and vegetation, a massively pointed nose, and a white beard that, I assumed, was what a waterfall would look like if frozen. Its teeth were yellow and pointed, each one the size of a car. Beyond its monstrous characteristics, however, was an inhuman intelligence that blazed at the center of its frozen eyes. It glanced down at us as cat glanced down at an insect or a rodent. We were nothing to it. The faint amusement upon its features was likely a reaction to whatever Olga had said.

Its massive lips curved as it spoke, “DOORMOOOON TUUULAZMAAAAAR MIIIINSHAAAARA!”

My ears exploded with blood and gore. It was loud, louder than anything – louder than the loudest explosion. I fell to the ground. The world spun around me and red streamed from my ears. Somehow, I knew that I was dying and would definitely die unless I did something. I glanced up at Olga and found her still standing there, frozen in place. Her ears seemed fine, but her face was twisted in pain. Her eyes twitched. I buried my face in the snow and raised a shaking hand to the side of my head. “Shi… Zikia…”

I breathed in a sigh of relief as the blood stopped streaming from my ears. Sound returned and the world stopped spinning. I pushed myself up only to find them in the middle of a very slow and long-winded conversation. The words they used were certainly long enough to be sentences of their own. Olga was the one speaking. “-UUUAAAALAAATOOOR MAAAARAAANIIIIB MIIIIINSHAAARA STOOOORAAAAGKOOOR!”

The troll, the living mountain, grunted in response and I felt my ears ring with pain at the slightest sound. I wanted to scream, but I forced my mouth shut and thought of painless days – not that there were many of those to be honest. Something shifted in my ears and the pain diminished immensely, though it did not disappear entirely. When the giant next spoke, I was only mildly disoriented. The agony that followed was bearable and my ears did not burst with the first word spoken. “BUUURUUUZ DAAAARAAABZUUL MAAAARAAAKIIIINVUUL MIIIIINSHAAAARA STUUUURMOOOO MAAAAKSHAAAARA.”

I shuddered, but I did not fall to my knees. The giant’s words remained horrifyingly loud. Olga staggered where she stood, but somehow remained on her feet. I wanted to help her up, to be there by her side, but she told me to stay still and stay quiet; and so I would do both of those things if only because it would probably help the both of us stay alive for a bit longer. Still, there was hope in her eyes. And I dared to imagine that their conversation, loud though it was, was going great – maybe.

“GAAAARAAAAZDUUUM MOOORAAAAKAAAI AAAUUUMUUUR MAAAAKSHAAAARA ZAAAATAAAROOOOB KUUUURVAAAAT!” Olga screamed at the titanic face. I did not understand a single word that passed between them, but I was confident in my understanding of the emotions that flickered across their faces; though it was harder to understand what the troll was feeling, I understood immediately that Olga was happy and relieved, but also troubled.

“GOOOOORUUUUNDOOOR ZAAAAKAAAARUUUM MIIIINSHAAARAAAA!” The troll nodded and leaned back, details disappearing into the haze. It then stepped away and the world shook with every single one of its steps. The trees around us fell over, cracking and breaking as the giant walked away from us, towards the tall mountains in the distance. Suddenly, the path of the exit, that pillar of magic that stretched through the cosmos, was free.

“Olga,” I spoke. I figured it was probably safe to start talking again. “What’s wrong?”

She stood deathly still, shoulders slouched. The winds blew hard and her pale blonde hair fluttered. She turned to face me and her emerald eyes glimmered with exhaustion. Her lips were cracked and dry and her skin was as white as the snow around us. She sighed and shook her head. “In exchange for granting us passage, I promised… something in exchange.”

My eyes narrowed. “What did it want?”

“Freedom,” She answered. “It… forced me into a binding contract. In exchange for its freedom, I was to find a way to free it from this hellscape of a world.”

I nodded. “Is that possible?”

“It is,” She answered plainly. “But… it’ll be so difficult that it might as well be impossible. Falling into this realm was one thing, but forcibly breaching the Great White from the outside would be a monumental undertaking. Not to mention the fact that the Ice Queen holds more power in a single strand of hair than I do in my whole body.”

“However,” she smiled. “There is a silver lining; the binding contract never specified when I had to free it – only that I did. And I will free it. But not anytime soon.”

“I guess… that’s settled, for now,” I said, before pointing towards the distance at the swirling vortex of power that awaited us. “We should leave before the Ice Queen sends more of those monsters against us.”