In this world, the winters were ruthless. Even if one had an adequate food supply, it was highly likely they would freeze to death. Countless less fortunate people were found frozen to death in the slums every year. Parents would wrap themselves around their children in an effort to spare them from the same fate. Thugs that usually stole from the citizens and merchants, were now trembling together around fires, trying to get warm.

Though winter was certainly harsh, it wasn’t like it was impossible to survive. If one had enough finance, they could afford an insulated home with servants, plenty of firewood, and high quality animal furs. With this much, it was possible to survive the winter in comfort. An alternate method was to keep warm using magic. However, the amount of people able to use magic was low, and even if one was able to, they wouldn’t be able to keep activating spells to keep themselves warm forever, let alone when they slept.

Really, it was only the poor and ill prepared that ran the risk of dying, but it was still extremely taxing to walk around outside for anyone.

On such a cold evening in the dead of winter, a lone figure could be seen walking just off of the paved road which connected the southern city of Vashala to a small town on the south-east border of the human kingdom.

The figure wore a simple hooded cloak and stumbled with each step as if they would fall at any moment. Other than the cloak which covered most of their body, some scrap cloth could be seen hanging down just past the knees. Their exposed feet were coated in pure white fur, and resembled the paws of a cat. The snow white color of the person’s legs blended in with the snow on the ground, making it appear as if they were floating.

When a covered wagon approached, the person would stray further from the paved road and walk just on the other side of the forest line until it passed. Occasionally, the driver would catch a glimpse of the cloaked figure through the dead trees and gasp. However, once they saw it was not a ghost, but someone traveling on foot in the dead of winter, their shocked expression would turn to one of pity as if looking at a corpse.

Like this, the cloaked figure slowly staggered through the snow, straying on and off the road as people passed by until….

How long had she been walking on this road? Even if she thought about it, she couldn’t give an answer. Her brain had stopped thinking long ago, now she moved on instinct. Spacing out as she walked, when she heard the rolling of wheels, she would naturally distance herself from the path and wait for them to pass before getting back on. Even in the dead of winter, it was common sense not to enter the forest unless you were geared and prepared. In her condition, even the weakest monsters would tear her to shreds in an instant.

She had no destination in mind, she was only running.

Luckily, there weren’t many travelers on the road due to the cold weather, but she couldn’t think of herself has lucky. If things continued like this, she would freeze to death before she died of starvation. In fact, the only reason she was still moving was thanks to her fur.

The numbness from her feet had already traveled up her legs until she could hardly feel anything below her waist, making it harder and harder to take each step.

Lost in a numbing daze, a faint noise brings her back to her senses.

Several hooves pounded the road behind her, and she could hear the sound of metal clanking. Turning her head to look, a chill immediately runs down her spine.

Some ways down the road, five knights were clad in armor and riding on horseback.

Without even giving herself time to think, her body moves into the tree line, stumbling behind a dead tree. She presses her back against the black bark and covers her mouth with both hands, stifling her breath. She could only pray that they hadn’t seen her.

The distant footsteps grew louder as they approached.

Just when she thought they would pass…

“Now!”

A man shouted, and she could hear the sound of several feet hitting the floor. They had dismounted and were heading her way.

Without even letting herself shriek, she runs forward, deeper into the forest. In her desperation to get away, she rushes forward quickly and her hood falls from her head exposing her furry ears and long silky white hair.

“Just as I thought, it’s a slave! There’s bound to be a reward for her capture! Don’t let her get away!”

Though the forest was dangerous, the trees were too dense to maneuver horses in. Even if her chances were slim, the alternative was certain death(capture). After all, there was no way she could outrun a horse.

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Her numb legs wouldn’t move the way she ordered them to, and she ran while stumbling against the trees. Due to the knights heavy armor and narrow vision, she was somehow managing to stay in front of them, but the distance was closing quickly.

“!!!!”

One of the knight’s hands grabbed the hood of her cloak, stopping her in her tracks, but only for an instant.

In a smooth and flawless motion, she slips out of her cloak. The cold air hits her exposed arms and shoulders, stabbing into them like countless knives. The only thing left protecting her from the cold was a simple rag of a shirt, hanging from her neck to just past her knees. Her heart skips a beat from the shock of the cold air, but even so she runs.

“Damn it!”

The knight curses and throws the cloak to the ground and resumes the chase.

The other knights had split right and left, and were now closing in on her. Just as one of them reached out to grab her arm, the ground vanishes from under her and she falls forward.

The snow white skin on her face, barely covered by extremely thin fur, crashes into the frozen hillside and splits open. Her momentum carries her further and her back and shoulders are next to slam against the icy dirt. Unable to understand what is happening, she tries to protect herself as much as she can while tumbling down the hill.

After rolling several times, her body finally comes to a stop in a bed of snow at the bottom. Her leg was twisted at a strange angle, and she had several cuts and gashes on her body, slowly turning the snow red in places around her.

Having been unable to feel her legs from the beginning, she tries to stand without realizing that one of them is broken. With her leg not moving no matter how much strength she put in, she gives up and starts crawling through the snow with pained breaths.

“Fuck. That’s gonna reduce the value.”

“What an idiot, to go running off a cliff.”

“Will it even survive if we bring her back?”

The knights stood at the top of the hill talking to each other as the girl struggles to pull her body through the snow.

“Look at that white fur. I’ve never seen one that was pure white. It’s got to be a rare breed right?”

“Now that you mention it… I seem to remember hearing something about that somewhere.”

“Even if it dies, I’m sure we could make money from selling the fur.”

“Yeah, we’ve already come this far.”

“Tch. A mere beast forced us to run all the way out here, any further and we would have had to turn back.”

“Yeah, it’s only right for us to be compensated.”

Having come to a decision, the four knights slowly descend the hill.

By the time they reach the bottom, the girl had only crawled about 15 feet.  The forest in front of the girl is shrouded in a white mist, if she were able to run just a bit further, she could have disappeared into the thick fog. Unable to even lift her head, her face drags the ground as she stretches out her shaking arm to once again grasp the snow in front of her. As her hand falls, what she feels is not snow, but a cold metal. Metal so cold that it made the snow seem as if it were a warm blanket spread beneath her. Her hand immediately jumps back and she forces herself to tilt her head with what little strength she has left.

As turns her head, the object she touched slowly comes into view.

Black metal grieves. With wide eyes, and spurred by curiosity, she continues to tilt her head and her breath gets caught in her throat.

Standing there was a person clad in black armor.

Unlike the knight’s armor, which were stitched together with numerous thick animal furs, the black armor was nothing but metal. The armor seemed to freeze the very air around it, giving off a spine chillingly cold aura. Various fine engravings etched into the plate armor resembling countless snakes coiled and tangled with each other. The helmet was of a sinister shape and a single narrow slit had been cut out for vision. Looking into the helmet was like staring into a dark abyss. As she stares into the depths of the helmet, she feels as if her soul is being sucked into the darkness.

“What the….”

“Oi, who the hell is that? When did he show up?”

“I don’t know, I never heard anything. I didn’t notice when he got there, but he definitely wasn’t there before.”

“What should we do?”

The knights draw their weapons and stand on guard, keeping their distance from the black armor and eye him cautiously. Three of them glance towards the fourth knight, waiting for orders. The black armor stands in front of the girl, unmoving.

“E-excuse me, that has escaped custody and we are on orders to recover it. If you intend to hinder the capture, it will be seen as an act against the kingdom.”

The knight captain speaks to the black armor in an unsteady voice.

Something inside him was telling him this person was not normal. No, how could he be a normal person survive out in this weather in cold metal armor. A normal person would freeze to death instantly. Though the knights had metal armor on, it was mostly thick fur with metal plates covering vital areas, however the person standing in front of them had no visible fur or cloth anywhere on them, only black metal.

The only answer was that he was using magic to keep himself warm. But in that case, almost all of his focus and magic power would be spent on maintaining the temperature of his body. Furthermore, the man didn’t appear to even be carrying a weapon. The four of them were seasoned knights with a place in the royal army and geared for combat. There was nothing to be scared of. This would be just like every other time. If the man didn’t comply, the knight captain and his comrades would kill him and take is armor.

Reassuring himself, he waits impatiently for a response, tightening his grip on his sword and preparing to attack.

Having only fought against the weak, in favorable instances, always on the side with larger numbers… the knight captain could not even consider the possibility of his defeat, and so he squashed the uneasy feeling about the black armor inside of him.

In doing so, he stopped thinking about what the identity of the person could be. He didn’t notice the darkness dwelling within the depths of the helmet. He didn’t consider the fact that it would have been impossible to walk through this forest, miles away from any civilization, only using magic to keep yourself warm.  Or the way he ominously appeared through the fog without anyone noticing.

Thinking about nothing but his first attack, the knight captain braces himself and waits for the man to respond.

Just as he is about to give the command to attack, the black helmet moves slightly as the thing inside turns its gaze on him.