Chapter 126: Forest of Living Corpses
The deeper they walked, the stranger it became.
The frozen monsters lined the ground like a macabre forest, each one locked mid-roar, claws extended, wings stretched, fangs bared. They were all chimeric abominations, their bodies twisted as if they had been stitched together from nightmares.
Fire veins pulsed across the black ground, wrapping around the frozen beasts like glowing chains. The light was faint, but enough to make the shadows dance.
The little girl walked ahead, humming. Every step of hers echoed too loudly, too clear.
Hermes kept close, his eyes darting everywhere. His hand hovered near his weapon.
"Stay close to me." He told her.
"Always, Father." She said with a sweet smile.
Ymir shuddered. "This place is wrong. Those things are not dead. Look at their eyes."
Indeed, even through the ice, faint yellow glimmers could be seen. Dozens. Hundreds. All staring. All waiting.
Magni’s voice remained calm. "Brother Modi, the tank lies ahead. See how the ice thickens."
At the center of the frozen forest stood the cryogenic tank. It was enormous, taller than three men, encased in both ice and fire veins. The glass was frosted, but Hermes’ heart leapt when he saw a shadow inside. A figure.
"Eirwyn..." He whispered.
The girl beamed. "See? I told you, Father. Mother is right there."
Ymir scowled. "Don’t call him that."
But Hermes ignored the bickering. He stepped forward, reaching out, his chest burning with both hope and fear.
Magni summoned his flaming axe, the weapon blazing in his hands. He inclined his head to Hermes. "Shall I?"
Hermes nodded. "Do it."
Magni raised the axe high and brought it down on the fiery veins wrapping the tank.
The instant the blade struck, the sound ripped through Limbo like a scream. The veins shuddered, pulsing brighter. And then—
CRACK.
The ice around the frozen beasts shattered.
One by one, the monsters began to move.
Their yellow eyes blazed to life, glowing like fireflies in the dark. Ice fell away from their bodies, and claws scraped the ground. Wings unfurled. Mouths opened in silent roars, and the silence broke into chaos.
Hermes’ eyes widened. "They’re awake!"
Ymir cursed. "I told you!"
Magni stood tall, axe blazing. "Then we must stand together."
The first creature lunged, a wolf with six legs and a serpent tail. Hermes slashed it aside, shouting, "Stay close! Protect each other! Don’t break formation!"
The fight erupted instantly. Monsters swarmed from all sides.
Ymir drew his blade, coating it in frost. He froze a charging beast solid, then shattered it with one strike. "Don’t get careless, Rockhead!"
Magni swung his axe in great arcs, flames roaring. He cut through three at once, splitting them in half. "Indeed, ice prince! Care is for the dead!"
The wolf-dragon howled, leaping forward to tear into another beast. Its claws shredded scales, its teeth ripped throats.
Hermes moved like lightning, his blade flashing. He stayed close to the girl, shielding her from every angle. "Stay behind me!" he barked.
She clung to him, eyes wide, whispering, "Father, you’re amazing..."
But then—
She was gone.
Hermes froze mid-swing, panic crashing through him. "Wait.... Where is she?!"
A chimera lunged at him, and he barely blocked. His voice roared over the chaos. "Find her!"
"She vanished," Ymir grunted, cutting down another beast. "I told you she wasn’t normal!"
Hermes’ heart pounded, but there was no time to think. The monsters were endless. Every one they killed seemed to make two more rise. The fiery veins pulsed brighter with each strike, connecting the beasts like a web.
"They’re linked!" Hermes shouted. "The veins are waking them!"
Magni gritted his teeth, cleaving another beast down. "Then we must sever the source!"
But the swarm was too much.
One beast slashed Magni across the side, and he stumbled, blood spraying.
"Magni!" Hermes shouted.
Before another monster could finish him, Ymir lunged forward, ice erupting from his hand. He froze the beast mid-air and smashed it to pieces.
Magni stared at him, panting. "...You saved me."
Ymir scowled, though his face was pale. "Don’t get sentimental. You saved me before. Now we’re even."
Magni gave a weak smile despite the pain. "Even so, I thank you."
But there was no time for more.
The swarm closed in, surrounding them. Monsters on all sides, their yellow eyes glowing like a hive. The veins pulsed brighter, almost mocking, almost alive. The ground throbbed beneath their feet.
The wolf-dragon snarled, backing against Hermes. Ymir and Magni stood at his sides, bloodied but unyielding.
Hermes’ chest burned. His vision blurred. The pain spread through him like fire and ice together. He staggered, clutching himself.
Ymir turned. "Hermes?!"
Magni’s eyes widened. "Brother Modi, your body—"
The pain erupted.
Hermes roared, his voice shattering the air. His body twisted, warped, his form collapsing and reforming all at once.
When the light faded, he was no longer himself.
His beast form stood tall, a hybrid of Rewind, Magnarok, and Cryoshift.
His body was sleek and slender, shadows rippling across it like liquid. Lava poured from his eyes in glowing streams, hissing as it dripped. Ice spikes jutted from his back, sharp and jagged, glowing faintly blue. His claws burned with fire and frost at once.
The monsters froze, their hive mind trembling.
Hermes roared again, and the battle changed.
He moved faster than any of them could follow. His body twisted like smoke, vanishing and reappearing. Ice spikes erupted from his back, shooting like arrows. They pierced through monster after monster, impaling their hearts.
The beasts shrieked as fire erupted next, flames bursting from Hermes’ maw. Explosions tore through the horde, bodies scattering, limbs burning.
The veins pulsed desperately, connecting more monsters.
Hermes’ eyes glowed, and he reached into the veins themselves. Time bent. The web of fire unraveled, rewinding back into nothing. The hive mind screamed and then collapsed, severed at its root.
The monsters froze mid-step, their glowing eyes flickering out. One by one, they fell silent, their bodies crumbling into ash.
Hermes staggered, his hybrid form trembling. He turned toward the cryogenic tank.
The ice shattered. The fire veins withered.
The glass cleared.
And there, inside, wasn’t Eirwyn. In fact, he couldn’t make out what exactly was inside, but he can see some flashes of red and something... Pulsating. Like a heart.
Hermes reached out a shaking claw. "What the..."
Then his body gave out.
He collapsed, darkness swallowing him.
But before unconsciousness fully claimed him, he heard it.
A laugh. High, childish, echoing.
The little girl’s voice.
"Father... silly Father. Did you think it would be that easy?"
Hermes’ eyes snapped open.
He was no longer in the frozen forest.
He stood in a labyrinth of endless walls, twisting and shifting, the ceiling vanishing into black. Shadows crawled along the walls, whispering.
And somewhere in the maze, the girl laughed again.