Infinity in the Void – Freedom in the Abyss

Today is Wednesday, when I don't have any class so I'm free to do whatever I want.

So, I took Prydwen to Canada, particularly Nunavut. This area is largely uncharted due to the extreme climate and the unusual eternal snowstorms that blanket this place.

Because of the storm, the Inuit tribes banished those who performed the dark art or cannibalism to this land... the center is called The Land of Exiles.

And in this place, roam one of the hardest creatures to kill on Earth - The Wendigo. This beast is pretty controversial when it comes to whether or not it counts as human.

Unlike Werewolf and Vampire, which are caused by a type of virus similar to rabies that comes from specific species of wolves and bats respectively. The Wolfskrieger Wolf, found mostly in Germany and Austria, and the now extinct Strigoi Bat. They are illnesses.

Wendigo, on the other hand, are created in specific conditions unique to cold environments. When a person is on the brink of starvation and eats human flesh, their negative emotions can overwhelm them, causing a physiological change similar to the creation of Relics.

It is generally agreed upon that when someone turns into a Wendigo, their Mind and Soul collapse but are still there, leaving their Body to transform under the mental and spiritual collapse, into a raving unkillable monster of winter and starvation.

The question is if a Wendigo counts as a human or a monster. Since it was originally a human but acts like an animal.

I have the answer to that.

It is a completely new species, a dark evolution of humanity I may say. Since Avalon cannot take control of the Wendigo, it does not count as a beast. And my Library does not have any book containing information about the life of someone after they become a Wendigo, thus humanity considers the ones who turn into a Wendigo as 'dead' since it is no longer human. A subspecies might be the right word, but not entirely correct either.

I thought of coining the term 'Homo Wendigo' and wrote a research paper for fun. But I didn't propose it because... I can fucking give a species a scientific name! Calling it Homo Wendigo is cool, but it is too generic. So I won't be releasing my paper until I find a good scientific name.

Anyway, treading through thick snow and the winter storm with only my trench coat was not a good idea. I can barely see beyond a few meters, but I have Survive to keep me aware of what's around me.

I summoned Quirinus at thrust to my right. An unholy shriek hit my ears, wailing of a starving monster. Then I twisted the lance lance, pulling it out.

I just killed a Wendigo. Not that hard for the Lance of Humanity, it's the second-strongest weapon in my arsenal. It would be strange if something that came from the World itself could not deal with these things.

"Fuu...", I let out a puff of cold air, "In the Name of Humanity."

The lance resonated with my words, glowing red as its tendrils expanded.

"I shall become the Eye of the Storm, grant me protection from the unrelenting storm."

A barrier made of wind and red lightning cut the cold everwinter off from me. The noises dulled as the world beyond the storm expanded.

Ah... here they are. Two-meter humanoid monsters bearing the color of winter snow, malnourished in appearance as they are nothing more than bones wrapped in skin. Their glowing blue eyes reflect no light in them, as the windows to their soul had already collapsed.

I smiled.

"From my Dream and Madness, Nothing is True or False."

The black tendrils of Reverie came out of my shadow, crawling and infecting all around me. Then they began to boil up into lavender mist.

"Embrace the Abyss, Dive into Infinity."

I flick my hair, having turned to a dark shade of lavender, and my azure glows a silver light.

"Standing at the Crossroads of the Mind, all Aspirations are Illusion and Reality at the same time."

The Book of Akasha formed in my hands, and the pen too lay between the blank pages.

"I shall Realize this World of Falsehood."

A black blindfold covered my eyes, leaving a trail of boiling lavender mist at the tips.

"And Bring all Delusion to Life!"

A Wendigo lunged at me, I simply tapped my pen at it—

CRACK—

And its existence shattered. I am having a transformation sequence here, can't I be cool without interruption? Well, to be fair, I am about to end their lives.

"It's Show Time!!", I summoned Walpurgis Festival, wearing it on my head.

There are ten Wendigo surrounding me, eager to take a bite. But I won't let them.

I swiped my pen at one of them, cutting it in half. Yet it still lives, you need a fire burning for days to kill them after you cut them up into pieces.

I kicked another one in the jaw, all the while casting Magic with the hat, sending hundreds of spells at the same time.

BOOM!!

Its face got blown off, limping like a ragdoll. But it isn't dead yet.

"Utopia, take this one away.", I ordered.

From the snowstorm, reaching into the barrier is a mechanical arm that grabs the headless Wendigo and retreats into the gray world outside.

Now I have a specimen for the academy event. I need one more for my own amusement, a clean specimen would be nice.

Three jumped at me, and I used the Reverie Tendrils to grab their necks, hanging them in the air. This is a pretty good time for me to experiment too, there are still some left—

"You, fuck off.", I cast Magic at four that tried to sneak up on me.

The ground opened and they fell into the crevice— then with a wave of my hand, it closed, burying the beasts with only their head up.

Now... which one should I choose. The big one that looks the most feral with almost translucent skin? Maybe a thousand years old. The small one that used to be a child? Or the one that looks the most recently transformed?

Hmm... hard choices again.

I waved for the tendril to deliver me the small one. Then I scribbled an 'X' on its chest with black ink, cutting into it and extracting its icy heart.

Huh, I haven't punched out someone's heart this year. The last time was in October when I fucked over a Chinese official trying to take my ship.

Without its heart, the Wendigo is still alive and snarling at me.

I threw the Book of Akasha up, letting it float around me. Then I slapped the Wendigo to make it quiet... and I ended up knocking its jaw away. Specimen ruined, I'm just too strong.

I tapped the Wendigo with my pen, shattering its existence and reduced to nothing more than a pile of broken shards and dust. At least I still have the heart.

"Utopia, contain this.", I threw the heart into the sky for a drone to catch it and bring it back to my ship.

"And these two.", I gestured towards.

The mecha hand grabbed them, bringing the Wendigo back to my ship.

Now, as a Hunter... I should clean up the Wendigo population a bit.

I turned over to the buried Wendigo. With a snap of my finger, the Book of Akasha formed a speaker, dropping it down onto my hand.

I grabbed one of the Wendigo's faces, putting the speaker close to its mouth.

"Scream for me.", I commanded.

And it did, it let out the signature Wendigo's wailing, signifying to the ones in the area that there was prey here... they still viewed me as prey, despite me being the larger predator.

These broken corpses of creatures... they don't know any better. That gave me quite a chuckle.

I sensed their footsteps coming near me. Oh, some are getting wrecked by polar bears.

It's interesting, most people attribute Wendigo to why polar bears specifically hunt humans. Their frequent clash in the cold climate results in some sort of rivalry and humanity just gets caught in the middle.

From my calculation, there are about a few dozen Wendigo lured in by the call.

Alright... this is enough.

Reverie and Delusion, the Dream and Madness of Humanity. Together, they let me alter the fabric of reality— no, it isn't that grandiose, I can break the rules of reality, and scramble up the laws of physics.

So that my Illusion becomes Reality, and Reality becomes Illusion. So my Delusion can come forth...

"I Dream of a Starless Sky, a Land of Quiet Serenity."

The world around me began to flake, turning into chalk. With this combination, instead of dragging people into my Inner World—

"Through the Looking Glass, I am the Void, I am Infinity..."

My world expanded, turning all to chalk. And... ahh... the muffled sound of the wind is gone...

"So come forth... my World of Chalk."

—I manifest my World into Reality, letting my Madness intrude upon the real world.

And for the Wendigo, with the nature of eating away not just my colors but also everyone else's soul that dares to step onto this pure world.

"O' Revenants of the Cold, I shall take what remained of your humanity into myself. This is my last gift for you."

I smiled.

Seeing them writhing in pain makes me feel joy. Taking what remained and integrating it into myself... hah... aren't I charitable?

As this serene landscape of white chalk expands, with my lance in hand I stabbed each one of them, letting them finally rest. This is the least I can do for these husks. 

An interesting side effect of my World of Chalk, the corpses turned into chalk statues. Neat.

I dispel this combination, resulting in my World of Chalk stopping expanding and becoming normal chalk, quickly swept away by the storm. The statues remained, and I'll leave it like that.

Time to head back to the Academy.

 

=0=0=

 

"You brought WHAT?!", Francis yelled at me, slamming Selen's table.

"She brought a Wendigo.", Selen pointed out as she ate a lollipop.

"I HEARD HER!!", the Ghost Maker glared at the Dean, then at me, "Charlotte, I can't stress how dangerous it is to bring a Hunger of Winter ANYWHERE near civilization!!"

"It will be fine~", I shrugged, "No one will get eaten alive, I put a gag on it and stabbed it with a tranq spear."

"Oh, those spears?", Selen perked up, "Didn't you try to use those on me?"

"Nah, Ouroboros Omniscia have different types of spears. The ones I used on you are tipped with synthetic venom that makes you bleed from every hole in your body.", I casually explained.

She just stared at me with an exasperated look, "You mean you tried to kill me."

"But your scales were too hard, nothing like Curruid.", I complained.

"Curruid is a deep-sea Leviathan, his scales are softer!", she retorted.

Then Francis slammed the table, getting both of our attention, "Don't get sidetracked! She brought a Wendigo to the academy!! I don't want to deal with those parents again!"

"Send them all my way then.", I sighed. I don't want to deal with this sort of thing, too troublesome, but the quickest way to make them retreat is to face someone who is above them.

Freedom is an interesting subject, what does it mean to be free? Is it anarchy? Even I don't have an answer for that, but I have my own conclusion.

Yet my view of freedom might not fit with another.

Freedom isn't defined by a single view, because to define freedom is a contradiction in of itself.

"Let's see how these parents deal with me.", I cracked a smile.

"You do realize those people are just worried about their children, right?", Francis stated.

I don't fucking care!!