27: The Rise of Another

[Chapter 27: The Rise of Another]

A cold gust of wind passed the mountain, ruffling against the cold stones that built this magnificent peak. The ground was equally cold, with various layers of snow. The trees seemed lonely, with a few leaves still standing weak against the harsh environment.

On the snow was a discreet path of steps, slowly guiding toward a large trunk. On the side of this grayish trunk, standing still on her two feet, was a beautiful woman. In her hands was a wooden bow that seemed so frail that it would crack if put pressure on, while behind her back was a quiver with a few arrows.

The woman put one arrow between the string and the arrow shelf, then she dragged it toward her body and took a deep breath. She stood still as if she was part of the lonely winter. Her eyes focused on the prey before her, if that thing could be called a prey.

It was more of a predator, but she didn't care. From her hand dribbled a drop of blood, slowly ebbing from the bow to the white snow. And then, she released the string. Silently, the bow vibrated, and the arrow flew in the air.

Unfortunately for her, the arrow only pierced the back of her prey. A large blond animal, with the form of a deer but a predatory jaw. A mix of a cry and a growl escaped its mouth, blood dribbling on the arrow.

Its eyes drifted to where the archer stood, anger filled its gaze. And then it charged, slower than it should have gone, for the arrow had still affected her. Quickly, the woman took out a small sword that hung around her hip and weirdly wielded it.

The animal jumped at her, its jaw lightly open, drool falling out of its mouth. It was underestimating her. So, as its face was in front of her, she tried to stab it from under. The animal, unfortunately, predicted her move and dodged to the right, as she held the sword with her left hand.

She put her right arm before her, letting the animal bite her. Its teeth were unable to deeply pierce her skin! It was as if something was blocking it. Taking advantage of this, the woman let go of her sword, letting it be perfectly stuck to the ground. She moved both her arm and her leg. Each hitting the face of the beast on a different side, over and under.

The sound of cracking bones creepily rang, signifying the death of the animal. Her strength was abnormal, but she didn't notice that. She fell to her knees before standing up, not minding the pain. For it was an old friend of hers.

Unbeknownst to her, a trail of snow slid along her body toward her broken arm and started to heal it. She couldn't feel it, but the snow spun around her arm, and after hours it would have finally healed, while without it she would have needed days.

She took another breath and took a knife out of her pocket while she placed her sword back into its sheath. She approached the corpse. She started sharpening the old knife and cleaning it. She did not want her hill father to get even worse.

(A.N: small warning for the heart lighted. The next few hundred words are showcasing her butchering the corpse)

She then took the carcass and hung the beast by its hind legs from a sturdy branch. The corpse needed to be stable and secure.

This being done, she started making shallow cuts around the animal's belly, carefully trying to hurt any internal organs. Next, she inserted the tip of her knife into the cuts and slowly, but firmly, and sliced upward until reaching victim's throat.

As this was done, she put her against the cuts, started peeling it, and removed its skin, cutting away any remaining tissues that connected the skin from the body. It was a slow process; she didn't have much time, but she knew that if she failed, then even more time would have been wasted. The fur needed to be intact to conserve warmth.

As this was finally done, she hung in on another branch and started destroying the carcass like her father had told her to. She started by removing its genitals, and then, by opening its abdominal cavity, she removed the internal organs.

Those that she needed, mainly the liver, heart, and kidney to feed herself and her father, she put them on the side carefully protected from the ground by a "blanket." The rest she piled up for the animals that could eat those.

Now was the best part. The hunt for meat, which would help her the most. She needed enough to still hunt for her father. So, she cut the spine in separate backstraps, the most tender and valuable parts of the meat. Maybe, if this was too much for both of them, which she doubted, maybe she could sell it to buy more medicine. She didn't want to steal the medicine as if they ever blocked entry. Her father's life was over, for he was too sick, and it was the only one in the surroundings.

As the best part was done, she cut the legs into the upper and lower part before removing the shoulders and separating them from the ribcage.

She then took out some strange bow that was in her backpack, on her side and put the entire meat in it, hoping to be soon finished and be able to cook it for her father. Once this was done, she laid the fur and started trimming it from any remaining tissue, fat, or membranes until it was completely clean.

She later rolled it, placed it under her warmed arms, and started running from the mountain. She wanted to be by her father's side as fast as possible. For he needed her!

—(Line Break)—

A woman stood on top of a broken roof. In her hands, her old bow. But this time she didn't aim at beasts but at truly intelligent beings from the same race as her. Her eyes glistened with a small hint of apprehension.

In front of her were two men whom she knew. They were lowly people who hunt her in the past when she was but a lonely, weak girl—which she still is, says her father. Now she wanted revenge.

What a strange emotion revenge was for someone like her who had lived most of her time emotionless except when it came to her father. But she now had enough! She let out a deep breath, letting her arrow fly through the air.

Soon, showcasing her impressive skills, the arrow stuck itself in between one of the man's eyes. "Shit!" screamed the other men, while the woman jumped out from the roof. She had killed someone of her race for the first time, but no emotions ran through her heart.

Was she truly so broken? No—not yet—as long as her sun is still brightly shining.

"You!" screamed the still-alive man with profound rage, "I knew we should have killed you back then!" He screamed at her before charging.

Taking by confusion, the woman had a hard time defending herself. A bow was not the best weapon for close combat. A wave of punches came crashing down on her, but she hid a small knife behind her arm, and stab the man with it.

He screamed in pain. Taking advantage of this, she took his head and slammed it hard against a wall. She wanted to do much more than this, but if she continued, he wouldn't be able to answer her questions.

"What did I ever do to you, for you all to always hurt me!" she asked full of rage, tears unknowingly slowly trailing down her beautiful skin.

"Have you ever looked in the mirror?" the man responded, eying her body with hate, "you don't look like us!"

"I do! We have the same skin color!" she responded, pushing him back.

"Just that! Think?" he spat, placing his hand on his shoulder, trying to appease the pain.

The woman was confused. Why did they hate her so much? "Are you jealous of my face?" she asked mockingly.

"No, I hate it! We hate it! You look like them, traitor!" the man yelled.

The woman was taken aback. "Why are you calling me a traitor? What have I ever done?" she asked, trying to understand their hatred.

"Your father fucked with the enemy and conceived you! That's why!" the man said, not minding his words.

"W-What?" she stuttered, filled with doubt.

"You are part Asgardian bitch!" he yelled with rage, biting his tongue, killing himself to escape more pain, letting her filled with confusion.

And behind her, as she was too drowned in her new emotions to notice anything, the air turned colder. Her breath started fogging. Ice formed all around her, creating various stalagmites reeking with a small scent of death. Ice crystals formed in the air, cracking and slowly falling on the corpses as if raising them. The silence became oppressive, and the stench of solitude made tears well in her eyes.

A new goddess had awakened!

***

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1550 words!

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