The World of Eternal Snow

The wind howled and she was freezing. She wanted to scold herself for being stupid for only wearing a tank top, black high-waist jeans, and black boots that doesn't fit for a snowy trip—but she remembered…she didn't even know she will end up in the game. She frowned.

"Are we far?" Cleo asked Ron who was walking ahead of her while hugging herself tightly to give herself heat.

Her emerald eyes gazed at Ron who was walking 'calmly' as if the cold doesn't bother him at all.

"We are a mile away from the nearest town here," he answered.

Ron is only wearing a piece of cloth that covers his lower body. He looks very strange—somehow like he's in a Tarzan costume but something more bizarre.

"Aren't you cold?" She asked out of concern feeling colder.

"Nope…I'm an apparition remember?" Ron responded and chuckled.

"Good for you. Guess I'll be the only one who's in trouble here…" Cleo mumbled sarcastically as she rolled her iris in annoyance.

The second floor unlike the first floor is covered with white snow. The sea a few distance to her left can be seen, there are ice bergs and she could even see penguins from a few distance. There are seagulls in the sky and… there's a thick eerie forest of pine trees to her right. The place reminded her of Antarctica for a moment if not for her awareness that she was in a game and there is a floating two-hundred-meters-being above her.

Plus, she was really cold.

'I'm gonna die here,' she thought disappointedly, 'if not from the strange creatures then from hypothermia!'

"Ron," she called again despite her trembling lips. Ron only glanced at her as a response while arching his eyebrows upward.

"What do you know about this place?"

"Oh, this world is called Nyebe, the floor of eternal snow," he replied.

'Eternal Snow?'

"You said there's a town here… I mean…" Cleo muttered shivering from the low temperature.

"Yeah, I get it. You were wondering why the first floor has no humans right?"

She didn't answer.

"As you can see, the first floor is the pities floor among all floors, it's a hopeless place," Ron explained.

"… And the people here? How did they live with a running time?" she asked.

"Running time?" Ron murmured tilting his head. Ron then paused and face her, "Oh, you mean the Reaper?"

"Reaper?" she mumbled, confused.

"The people in this world has their own set of survival method. As I said every world has different mechanisms. This floor and the higher floors has different rules of law to abide by. In here, the reapers won't end this world if the people will obey the law." He explains.

"What law?" Cleo asked as her hugging herself tightly to shield her body from the numbing temperature.

Ron paused from answering her when he saw a snow vehicle from the distance. He glanced at her as he pointed the vehicle slowly running away from them.

"Yeah, I got it!" Cleo replied as she chased the vehicle, "Wait!"

Her feet were heavy to run, but even so, her desperation went all the way to her head that she doesn't care if Ron chase after her as well. Chances are few in the world she is currently in, and worse, help is the rarest that she encounters.

"G--dammit! Wait!!!!" she shouted.

The snow is getting heavier, and her mask was almost flown away by the strong winds. Her hands were so cold and her body shivered uncontrollably, she was gritting her teeth behind the mask and forced herself to run as fast as she can. Snowdrops are making her vision blurry but in her peripheral view she could see clearly the vast ocean, and above her is the two-hundred-meters-winged-giant holding the scythe. All the crazy circumstances made her in rage that she could feel her mouth form a small smirk, her eyes squint in frustration and her gaze hardened.

In her mind, the name Klyde Rivers appeared.

'If Klyde Rivers were in my situation, what would he do?' She asked herself.

She almost tripped but in a few seconds she gathered her poise and continued to run like hell. Taking deep breathes she sprints to catch up. And even if she wanted to focus her mind, her inner self keeps on whispering inside her thoughts—something that she could not just throw away.

'Right, why am I afraid? What makes me stop myself from using that words? It's not like I'm trying to be cool or anything! I should never be ashamed of using that privilege!'

She inhaled deeply while chasing the vehicle.

"HELP ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Cleo screamed at the top of her lungs.

***

Meanwhile, Castor who was riding his snowmobile despite the upcoming sign of blizzard heard a loud trembling voice that called for help, he stops and looked behind.

He narrowed his eyes to see clearer in the foggy snow.

Castor turned off the vehicle and took his shotgun with him for protection and started to look for the source of the distress he heard.

"Hello?!" he called making echoes in his surroundings.

Although he was unsure if he really heard someone, he couldn't determine if it was a product of his mind or coming from the wind.

"I'm here!" a voice responded.

His gaze shifted as his eyes widen he immediately approached the woman trembling from the cold. She was standing a few meters away from him, despite their distance he could see the strangeness of the woman wearing a mask. Before he could hold her, she eventually lost consciousness and landed her back on the pile of snow.

***

Cleo dreamed she was trying to complete a jigsaw puzzle, although she had the urge in herself to ask why she was doing this, she remained silent and just did the stuff for no reason at all.

When she woke up, she felt emptier.

"Good, you're awake," a man's voice said.

She sits on the bed out of surprise and looked at the old man sitting on a wooden chair, holding a gun with him.

"I found you in the middle of the vast snow, are you one of them?" he asked.

She tilted her head out of confusion as the mask activated.

[Castor Lee – Ordinary person

- 55 Years Old

- Weaponry Owner]

"I'm sorry…but who's 'them'?" Cleo muttered almost as a whisper out of exhaustion and hunger.

Castor sighed as he lowered his gun. "I'll take your response as No."

"Sorry you must have thought I'm a bad person. I'm Cleo… Cleo Sky," she said as she tried to have a friendly voice.

"Castor… Castor Lee," he replied as he stands up from sitting, "There's a spare clothes on the table beside you, you can borrow that for a while."

Castor then exited the room without looking at her.

*Poof*

"I'm here as well," Ron muttered and chuckled. He was standing at the farthest corner of the room smiling at her like a freak.

"I can see…" Cleo responded, frowning.

"Ha!" he exclaimed out of his giddiness as he joyfully walks at her.

"Why are you happy?" Cleo asked frowning.

"I'm happy for no reason." He answered while shrugging his shoulders.

"Your one of a creepy midget," she commented.

"What can I say? I'm one hell of an excitement, Cleo Sky," Ron replied.

"Whatever," she retorted, "Now tell me, Ron, what do you know?" she continued.

"Aw, how sad, I couldn't see your reactions behind the mask," he responded, "Anyway, as I said this world has a different—

"A different mechanism—I know!"

"Yes, yes, you knew—Will you let me finish?" Ron muttered frowning at her.

"…."

Ron's grin became wider when he got no response from her.

"Okay, guess you'll let me finish… Nevertheless, this world and the upper world has different law than the first floor. In this world, the system will provide missions for you, Cleo Sky. In this world, you have no choice but to obey the system."

"And, should I kill the lord here?" she questioned.

"Ha! Now you just made me laugh," Ron answered with a sly smile on the face.

In a blink, Ron was already sitting beside her on the bed. She could see his golden iris and his annoying smile that shows his uneven sharp teeth.

"You merely survive the boss back there," he said while pointing below.

"Are you making fun of me?" she argued while meeting his playful gaze.

"Me? Of course not! But anyways, every floor has lords, Cleo Sky. If the system orders you to kill it, you will, if the system orders you to die for it, you will, if the system will order anything on you, you will do it no matter what. So yeah, it depends on the system," Ron explained.

"That's… sucks," Cleo muttered coldly.

Ron stared at her for a moment before he jumped out of the bed.

"This floor and the floors you will encounter if you're lucky enough have two kinds of people. First, the Ordinaries, of course, from the term, I'm sure you already have an idea about it but allow me the audacity to explain. Ordinaries are the people who cannot do anything because they just can't. And the second, we call them, Travelers."

"…Travelers?" she mumbled in the air.

"Yes girl, travelers… Travelers are people who can do 'something', they are people whom the natural law permits to hunt and kill the devils. They can go to whatever floors, well, except the first floor because you just destroyed it."

"Correction, the reaper destroyed it," Cleo commented.

"Yeah, but you prayed for it," Ron remarked.

She was tongue-tied and couldn't find any words to say. Their conversations was halted by the sound coming from the utensils.

"You're coming down to eat or what?!" Castor shouted from below as Cleo heard the clangs of the spoon and fork.

"…Coming!" she answered before she eyed the little red man.

"One more thing, I am a traveler right?" Cleo asked.

"You should have known that from the drowning lady?" Ron responded frowning.

"… Not so sure about it—but can you tell?"

"Of course, I can't! I'm just an apparition that's not my field!" Ron bicker.

She exhaled air and stands from the bed.

"Can you move out? I'm going to change," she announced, tired.

"No need to speak, I'm on my way out," Ron snap back, sarcastically.

"Yeah, yeah, just go."

"And before I go, mind as well I tell you this, Cleo Sky. I'm glad you made it here," he acknowledged before he disappeared like a bubble.

After she changed, the warmth of the clothes made her comfortable. Her emerald eyes gaze upon the wholeness of the room, it was small, not clean and dust are everywhere.

She then noticed the picture above the table.

Cleo walks near it and wipes the glass using the sleeves of her sweater.

It was a girl the same age as her. Smiling brightly with braided black hair and almond eyes.

"I don't like to wait!" Castor exclaimed again downstairs.

"Coming!" she responded before she put the picture back and exited the room composedly.