I gave a little awkward smile. “Yeah, hi. Looks like I came just in time-“

The giant tried to step on me, but without even thinking, I dashed to the side, avoiding the foot completely before I leaped onto its leg, reaching out with my right hand as antlers sprouted from my forearm, stabbing into its flesh like a hook.

“Gah! You pest- What is this?” The giant reached down to grab me, but I simply pulled out my arm blade and backflipped into his hand, twirling around like a tornado of blades, cutting his fingers like a hot sword through sausages.

I laughed, for the first time in ever. I was feeling strong, powerful, in control of what I am able to do. For once in my life, it was me with the power, me with the ability. And me with the strength to take whatever I want!

The giant fell on his back, bellowing in pain as his cries echoed throughout the valley louder than any snowstorm. He tried to grab a rock, but I once more threw my Teni, this time, to his free hand. It exploded in shadowy thorns, keeping it in place as I jumped on his chest.

“Well, this was fun while it lasted. I hope you’re not as noisy in my head as the others.” I flashed a quick and cheeky grin before I plunged my arm blade into his chest, slicing it open as I cut through his heart.

I stared at the giant’s eyes as I saw the life fade away, his spark, slowly leaving his body. I braced for a moment for what came next, as immediately, a surge of power came over me, great strength and a hunger for living flesh started to rouse in my body, and a cry for more started to arise.

‘I’m… I’m so hungry. Feed me. Feed me! I need more! I want more!’

However, I focused, pushing down the voice for later, shoving it down my subconscious until it became quiet. “Rest now… Whoever you are. Your suffering is over, Don’t worry, I’m here to help, just rest, close your eyes and sleep.”

It writhed within me for a few more seconds before eventually fading away, allowing me to catch my breath before I turned to Godwin and Katya.

“Hey guys… Surprise?”

I raised my arms as if expecting a hug before I realized I was covered in a giant’s blood and put my arms back down awkwardly.

Katya stared straight at me, as if she were trying to look into my mind. She steadily approached me as if I were some wild beast, taking each step with extreme caution. Godwin, meanwhile, waltzed right on over to me, or he would have if Katya hadn’t raised her hand to him.

“Is that really you? Is your mind alright?”

“Yeah, it’s me, and a few other guys shoved right into me, too, but right now it’s just me.”  I raised my hands up, this time in surrender, as she got closer and closer to me.

“The Spirit of the Bes, is it still in you? How are you keeping it under control?”

“We talked things out, and he got the memo that I have to be the one in control, not him.”

Katya got a foot away from me, staring right into my eyes with a gaze as piercing as her spear. “You… Talked to him? And you got in control?”

“It took a while. So much longer than it needed to be, but after some… I’m gonna call it coercion, he let up, and I got the reins back on my body and mind. You don’t have to worry anymore. No one is going to take control again.”

Godwin laughed, grabbing me by my shoulders as he shook my body. “How wonderful! Look how much you’ve grown. What a fine specimen you are. How many are in you right now?”

“Uh…” I thought about it for a moment, and after I killed that giant, and of course, there was another Bes, but he was kinda quiet. Then there were the ghouls. Didn’t they kill them as well? Unless they didn’t really die. Okay, now it was becoming confusing.

“Six, give or take. I can’t really keep up with it, but those are the main voices all around me.”

“Ah! The implications are such a wonder. If we take you to other Arks, what might that be I wonder. Will your Destiny change? Will you have upgraded stats and levels? Would you have unlocked the Nascent Soul Realm-”

Before he could continue, Katya shook us both back into reality. “We need to get to the others now.”

“Oh- Right, haha, sorry about that. Anyways, take my hands.” I raised my hands to them. Godwin held on with a fascinated grin while Katya did so gingerly at my wrist.

Without a second to lose, I dashed as fast as I could alongside the broken mountainside, zipping through the snow with such ease like a car on the road. It only takes less than a minute, but I was already up with the rest of the Keepers who were still trudging along the snow.

As soon as I passed them, I saw their faces flash with the same shock and confusion as when I originally managed to rise out from under Matthias and head straight to Katya and the others.

“Do you need some help, guys? I think I can manage all of you at once.” I had just absorbed a giant, increased strength, endurance, and agility, which shouldn’t be everything I have. I know that for sure.

Kariya stammered, pointing at me, confused. “W-Wait, y-you how are you. Aren’t you?”

“Okay, let’s not waste any more time. A witch is waiting for us, and most of you are dying.”

I closed my eyes and focused. My mind blossomed and connected to the being I just absorbed; his essence is now intertwined with mine as I sift through our memories. Instantly, my mind flashed with images of hunger, of solace, of heading into the woods alone and afraid, trying to find anything to eat and drink.

I challenged that pain, that hunger, and my body began to grow and grow until I was around fifteen feet tall with the muscle mass of a small giant. I scooped up the remaining Keepers and even Carey and Matthias, placing them on my back as I began to barrel my way through the blizzard. My Teni expanded, wrapping around the others to keep them warm as I raced along the mountainside.

It felt so surreal being so large, and I could already feel the strain on my body. It was as if I was strapped with multiple weights at once, pulling me in different directions as I tried to take a step. But I had to go on, I had to move on, no matter what.

A few times, I saw some monsters try to creep around him, drawing their bows and readying their swords to try an ambush. However, I simply grabbed the nearest boulder and chucked it at them without a care in the world.

They all pretty much scrambled after that as I laughed while continuing my journey upwards.

----------------------------------------

It took a while, and by a while, it took around an hour or so of straight running. At this point, I could feel my body ache. My joints kept on screaming, and I was so hungry and thirsty, but thanks to Andrei‘s endurance, I was able to focus on the task at hand, rushing upwards as best as I could until I finally saw something I was positive was what we were looking for:

A ginormous wooden house standing precariously right by the edge of a cliff. It stood there, unbothered, like a majestic bird in the wind. “I-I think we’re here, guys!”

I sighed with relief as with each step I took towards the house, the air cleared up, and the winds stopped blowing so harshly. Even the snow started to sprinkle lightly as if it were a normal winter.

The strain of pushing through has finally gotten to me. My body was not used to this kind of stress, and not even Andrei’s experience and my adrenaline could keep me up for long, but we at least made it in the end.

My body slowly shrank down, transforming back to normal as I gently placed down the rest of the party onto the snowy floor.

Katya, Godwin, Kariya, and Carey were conscious; the rest were fast asleep, huddled together before being carried by the remaining Keepers.

However, before they could take Matthias, I went over to his body and lifted him up. Baba Roga probably wouldn’t let us in unless we had him by our side.

“Okay, let’s take this slow. No sudden movements, just walk over there, knock, and say How do you do? "”

Kariya gave a look of bemused confusion as she carried Rodion. “Who made you the leader all of a sudden?”

“Oh? That? I was just talking to myself.” I gave a forced laugh as I began to lead them all to the house.

One of the first things I noticed when approaching was that the entire area where the house resided was grassy, like with proper green grass, the type of grass you see in the countryside. I was already used to seeing it whenever I went to sleep, but it was certainly a shock when I saw it right in the middle of Galfania.

The next thing was that there was a garden right beside the house, to be more specific, it was a greenhouse protected with what seems like a strange jade colored glass with several plants housed within it.

‘Well, Baba’s are essentially witches, so it would make sense that they would have something like this for their Magick.‘

And the last thing of note was how decrepit the house was. It would be more apt to call it a shack more than anything else, with how ramshod it was from the crooked walls to the open holes and even cracked windows. The only thing that even looked clean was the large front metal double doors that were engraved with a symbol of a tree on it.

When we made it to the front of the house, I noticed that it creaked ever so slightly, not due to movement or even wind, but as if it was speaking to us in a language that we didn’t know, yet we could understand.

It wanted us to enter, as if daring us to go further beyond.

I took a deep breath and stepped forward, knocking on the door as I called out. “Uh, Good morning? Evening? Afternoon? Well, whatever time it is now, I hope you’re having a nice day. We’re here with Matthias, or well, I think the Name you know him better by would be Ivan. He’s Baba Yaga’s kid, and we were wondering if you could help us meet her? If that’s okay with you?”

Katya stared at me with a confused look painted on her face as she saw me stumbling with my words. I avoided it and awkwardly laughed. I wasn’t really sure what level of respect was needed, so I went all out.

For a while, nothing happened, and I tried to gently shake Matthias awake. “Hey buddy, do-”

Creak

The doors then swung open, revealing a tall elderly woman wearing a black and grey robe with shriveled white hair and horns on her head.

“Greetings and good afternoon to all of you. Welcome to my home. Come, we have much to discuss.”