Released Ice

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The birds were fast. Like, really fast. Though admittedly, it was to be expected. No matter how much Chion pumped his legs, weaving in and out of traffic, the avian creatures remained hot on his heels.

The winged nuisances swarmed around him, attempting to drag him down and halt his movements, nipping the wheels of the bike, slashing against the youths exposed flesh, and slamming their bodies against his own. Nevertheless, Chion remained upright, doing his best to avoid toppling into the pavement. This was one of those instances where it was do or die, where if he stopped even for a second, it was over. With how easily the birds were piercing his skin and how bloodthirsty they were acting, the entire swarm could probably leave him as a pile of bones in mere seconds if he gave them the chance.

ARRRG!! ARRRG!!! ARRRG!! ARRRG!!

The sounds of the mutant pidgeons filled the air as Chion swerved to the right, setting his sights on Canarsie Pier. While he could theoretically hide in a nearby building, the bull had already proven that he didn't care as long as he could get to the youth, freely charging inside its confines.

It was reasonable to assume these hovering monsters were the exact same way.

STOMP!! STOMP!!

In regards to the bronze bull, he had also shown up to the party, attracted to the constant cries of the overgrown winged rats. Steamrolling his way through a number of cars, the monstrous hunk of metal made his presence known to Chion, catching up to the youth mere seconds after its appearance. In terms of how fûcked the developing situation was looking, the youth might as well have been the starring lead in a gáy porno because he couldn't see a viable way to escape the birds, let alone the added addition of his bronze friend. To keep it simple, he was about to meet an abrupt end long before he could figure anything out.

(("Think!! THINK!!")) Chions bright blue hues glanced over his surroundings, or at least what he could see through the cloud of black feathers, his mind racing at millions of thoughts per second, trying to formulate a plan. (("I WONT die here!! I REFUSE!! There has to be a way. Any way. If you don't see a solution, then make one!!"))

With a newly steeled determination and adrenaline coursing through his veins, something odd happened.

A strong feeling tugged at the very depths of his core, traveling to every fiber of being, starting from his chest and working its way outwards. His arms, his legs, his torso. This unknown energy spiraled outwards, fueled by his desire to live and his drive to make his own path forward. A cool feeling followed this energy, a sudden drop in temperature that SHOULD have felt unbearable but was oddly comfortable, as if sitting inside next to a roaring fire during a blizzard.

Then, as the growing energy became too much and Chion felt like bursting, the cold expelled in all directions from his body.

The white-haired individual couldn't see what happened, but he could hear it. The painful cries of the birds nearest to him, the sounds of objects hitting the ground, the startled snort of the bronze bull before a loud crash echoed through the area. All of it paired together was enough for Chion to momentarily halt his journey, skidding the bike to a halt on the street. It was a dumb idea for sure but he needed to see what that feeling was and what it had caused. Looking back whilst riding was arguably a dumber choice than stopping since he could potentially wreck.

There was ice everywhere.

On the cars, on the road, on the birds flying through the air, birds that were now keeping a safe distance betwixt Chion and themselves. Thick layers of fresh ice coated the area like a bubble, covering a large portion of the city street. Lumps of frozen water littered the ground around the cars, totaling more than three dozen in total. Upon closer inspection, the boulders of ice were actually black pidgeons, the same ones that were currently flapping around just above the youths head. It now made perfect sense that they had retreated so far out of reach. They simply hadn't wished to join their fallen brethren as intricate ice sculptures.

As for the bronze bull, it had most likely slipped on the icy roadway whilst charging. The mechanical monstrosity was still in the process of shaking itself off, some of the ice having coated its entire head.

(("I did this??")) Chion felt awestruck, almost unwilling to believe it. The facts were right there in front of his face, yet it was just so difficult to truly process. (("But....how?"))

BANG! BANG!

As much as the young ice machine wanted to stay and ponder the miracle he had created, he was forced to get back on the bike. Unsure of how to take off the dome of ice now coating its entire head, the bull began slamming repeatedly into numerous obstacles in order to free itself. In the interest of not getting caught in the crossfire, Chion quickly mounted the bike, readjusted his backpack, and took off towards the pier.

Needless to say, the mountain of questions he already possessed was replaced by one twice its size. Chion had just achieved something that shouldn't have even been possible, something that only served to make his head spin.

Magic.

That's what the youth was dealing with. Bona-fide, actual magic.

How could he use it? How DID he use it? Could he do it again? Was there a limit to how much he could use? A limit to what he could do? Could he control it or learn to control it? Was there multiple kinds of magic? If so, what kinds could he use and were there any drawbacks?

There was so much Chion needed to figure out and expirement with that it was almost overwhelming. His past, his present, his future, and now his own physiology and powers. Before any of that, though, he needed to bring the current chase to a conclusion, eliminating the threats in their entirety. The hell spawns with wings were still hot on his tail and he had no doubt the bovine tank wouldn't be too far behind them. All he could do now was get to the waterside and set up some sort of trap that would rid Chion of all his problems.

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It was dark when the youth finally arrived at his destination, the trek having taken far longer than necessary since, halfway there, one of the bikes tires got a flat, forcing him to walk the rest of the way. The black pidgeons didn't make any further attempts to attack him along the way, but they did stick close by, screeching and hollering the entire way to the pier. Thankfully, unlike the populated streets he had just traversed, the Canarsie Pier and, by extension, the park itself, was relatively empty. There were a few stragglers milling about such as a man walking his dog, a jogger with some headphones in, and a family of four eating a picnic, but nothing that Chion couldn't ignore. The lack of people meant less collateral damage when the Bull was sent careening into Jamaica Bay.

Moving towards the Pier, the white-haired youth surveyed the area as best he could, getting a feel for the land.

Stomping the pier itself to see how it held up as well as glancing over its structure, trying to gauge the depths of the water by taking a few dives, testing the durability of the railings separating the Pier from the Bay. Anything and everything, Chion analyzed it and formulated it, tacking it onto his plans and adapting based on his findings.

"These parameters are acceptable, but just barely." Chion let out a breath as he took off his soaking wet shirt, wringing it out. "Starting depth of the Bay is around 12 feet, deeper the further out traveled, 22 feet at its farthest point. Could be deeper when taken in the navigation channels. Maybe 30 to 40. Structure is enough to hold 20 to 30 tons, enough for what I need. Railings can barely stop 500 pounds of force based on the metal used and its intended purpose. Only problem might be water depth but considering size and density of the bull...."

Chion trailed off as he dropped the backpack and unzipped it, pulling out a fresh shirt and pair of pants as well as the bow and arrow from before.

"Yeah, it'll work. It has to." The individual shook the water out of his hair as best he could before donning a new shirt. "We only have one shot at this."

Changing into his dry outfit, Chion didn't care if anyone could see him, though he knew no one could since it was the dead of night. There were far bigger fish to fry than what people thought of some teen changing at Canarsie Pier. The white-haired individual was about to engage in the biggest fight for his life, one that would determine whether he lived or died. Granted, it was one of the ONLY fights he'd had since waking up, but it was still a fight nevertheless.

There was one more thing that Chion extracted from the bag before hitching it back onto his shoulder.

The jar filled with green liquid and another dry shirt.

Plucking the string on the bow, the young man took a second to inspect his weapon, fiddling with it in all sorts of ways. Drawing it, flicking it, looking over its material, knocking an arrow. He even took the time to shoot a couple of arrows at a nearby tree, testing its farthest reach and its lowest reach. Obviously, Chion didn't remember how to use a bow or even if he ever knew how to, but that was just fine by him. He didn't need to use it properly, only enough for him to shoot in a general direction. Once he had managed to hit the tree more than three times from different distances, Chion ripped up the shirt he had taken out and carefully wrapped a solid piece of it around one of the arrows.

"Everything is set. Everything is on you now, rustbucket. Show me what you got."