Chapter 127: Breaking Free
Wisps of ghostly energy flowed from Hauke’s horn as the spectral Frost Walkers returned to their ’bodies’, as much as the morbidly twisted red ice sculptures could be considered a ’body.’ The walls shook and ice cracked off the walls and ceiling of the cavern, crashing to the ground and shattering into countless shards.
Ashlynn clutched Heila’s unconscious figure close to her chest, turning her back to shelter the diminutive servant from flying shards of broken ice. For a moment, she stared at the ceiling above, afraid that the cavern itself might collapse as the earth shook and ice fell.
Hauke’s eyes began to tremble as the spirits of his ancestors released him from their control. For as long as he could remember, reverence and respect for his ancestors had been the bedrock of his life. Meeting their expectations and living a life worthy of joining the greatest honored ancestors was a goal for almost every young Frost Walker and Hauke had been no different.
Now, for the first time in his life, his stomach turned in revulsion at what these ancient ancestors had become and his heart raced in fear as the figure atop the monstrosity stared down at him. A crushing weight fell on him as all five pairs of eyes stared at him.
"Like us, join with us," the feminine voice said, her half formed body turning to face Hauke as she reached toward him with her only remaining hand. "Complete us."
"Hauke," Ashlynn said. "Get away from them!"
"Silence, Earth Child," the imperious Frost Walker atop the abomination said. Pointing with both one of its own arms and the giant mishappen limb of the abomination’s arm, each of the Frost Walkers chanted in unison, speaking ancient Eldritch words that even Hauke didn’t recognize.
Ice swirled on the floor, rushing to surround Ashlynn. In the blink of an eye, the shattered ice reformed into hands that gripped her ankles, locking her in police while more icy arms reached out from the wall, wrapping around her body and pinning both her and Heila in place. A bitter cold like thousands of pins and needles stabbing into her flesh radiated from each of the hands that held her in place.
"Save her," a dark and rumbling voice said from the Frost Walker who existed as only limbs and a head outside the incomplete giant. "Still useful later."