Chapter 5: 8 More Hits

"16/350"

Sixteen hit points. With the pitiful 2 damage that Reeon's trusty partner Midnight dealt, that meant.

'Only 8 more hits!'

A devilish smirk rolled across Reeon's lips. As a white blur passed inches from his torso, snow and ice falling in the creature's wake.

'My dodges are more solid now.'

Turning to face the creature Reeon squeezed the ebony handle tightly with both hands raising the black halberd above his head. Great effort showing on his pale face.

To try leaping at the white demon again immediately after a successful retort was Reeon's hubris showing. And for that he would pay dearly. 

In all fifty attempts of fighting the Snow devil, Reeon had become fairly confident he experienced all the malignant gifts the fluffy white beast had to offer. Its incredibly deceptive speed, its low viscous fluid body and head removing kicks. In all previous runs, these were the deadly cards in Snowy's deck but it seems the creature hid its ace.

The white beast's lunge was impressive, carrying it quite a distance before touching down gracefully in the snow. However something was wrong. The Snow devil stopped dead in its tracks as it landed, as though the laws of momentum were merely a suggestion.

A cold chill ran down Reeon's spine. Suddenly both his feet felt heavy and cold. His two arms still hung overhead unmoving regardless of how much effort he applied. 

Reeon looked down to inspect his condition, Shards of ice had encased both his Legs! The snow in his vicinity slowly crawling towards him, uniting with the already established ice and hardening growing his frozen prison. From his legs to his chest then his neck. He tried to scream but no sound escaped.

'Oh no! That bastard had another trick up his sleeve this whole time???'

Reeon returned his focus to his adversary. The faintest of grins appeared on the Snow devil's furry whisker covered lips. Reeon was right! This whole time the bastard did have a cocky mocking nature. 

Its attitude was more than earned however. It had effortless defeated Reeon in one hit multiple times.

Soon even moving his eyes became impossible.

Reeon was completely frozen solid. Encased in a thick sheet of glass like ice. Almost like a macabre icicle sculpture...

The Snow devil slowly hopped towards its immobilized adversary. The grin had faded and now what appeared to be sadness showed on the its cute face. 

'Wait... what the??'

No matter how hard Reeon tried he could not move his character. Was the fight over? Did the little snowy demon win? However no game over screen appeared. What's worse was that he could neither bring up the Nirvana 2's operating menu. It was like he was frozen in real life...

'How- How ridiculous! This has to be some kind of glitch.. A hardware malfunction! I'm fine, I'm fine.' Reeon tried to mask his thoughts with a façade of confidence but inside he silently panicked.

The closest experience Reeon had to this was sleep paralysis. Limbs completely petrified. He still felt the need to breathe but couldn't. 

The white beast stopped right before his frozen tomb, staring up at Reeon. Eyes red, piercing still through layers of ice.

The mountain fell dead silent. As if the winds themselves held their breath.

Then it spoke. 

"That should contain you my Lord!"

The Demons cute face never changed, lips never moved, yet Reeon could feel the words reverberating through the thick walls of entrapping ice. Almost like the beast was talking at his very core. Its voice was soft and almost sweet sounding, like that of a young mischievous child.

Reeon was shell shocked. The rabbit displayed a bravado all throughout their fight but never spoke before nor did it display any real intelligence. Also, did it just call him "my lord"? 

"It was fun playing with you again my lord, It seems you've gotten much weaker since last we met."

The Snow devil hopped around Reeon's frozen prison, circling it as it spoke.

"But Ill keep my promise. I wont let you get past these steps."

The Devils cute voice fading almost into sadness.

'My lord? A promise? Could my character's "Legacy" be connected to Snowy in some way??? What are the odds?'

All players in ECO are resurrected saints called Angelos, immortal angelic magical warriors reborn by the last act of a dying God to save his cherished creation. A legacy was instantly created and given to each player upon startup. Legacies could be as far as Reeon knew, Items, Weapons, NPCs, and sometimes even deadly enemies from a players "past life" that could be encountered at any point randomly in the game. Almost like a holy destiny. A player's starting weapon and Wings were also another part of their legacy.

As Reeon began to piece the picture together it made some semblance of sense. His Grave was not located a in mass necropolis like most players. And an incredibly powerful beast lay at the foot rest of his spawning area. Reeon's past life must have been the protagonist of some great story!

As cool as the revelation was his situation was colder. In truth Reeon could no longer feel anything. He couldn't even open a menu to even end the VR experience. It was like the ice had frozen his very hardware. This was not a traditional game over, he would be trapped in this ice forever.

"You're a tricky man though my lord. You told me to stop you by any means if you were to return. I fought everyday with the spirits of these mountains and got stronger! Much Stronger! Stronger than you! Did you see?"

The Snow devil inched closer almost as though seeking approval. An irritating cocky infliction echoed through the ice.

"But I've never seen you come back from the dead! It pained me every time to have to kill you" 

A bucked tooth wide grin shined over the creatures face. The rabbit's two long white ears clapped together in applause. The sound made was almost loud enough to splinter the ice prison itself. While its voice may have said one thing it was obviously very pleased with itself.

And suddenly the beast's tone changed yet again to melancholic.

"But I really want to know... My lord where have you been all this time? You said that it would only be a little while. But its been Seven hundred thousand sunrises and you never returned."

Snowy looked up at Reeon in the frozen ice expectantly.

"Its like Im talking to myself." 

The beast sighed deeply, then suddenly the ice around Reeon's face shattered. Bits of frost still clung to his cheeks and dark hair.

Reeon was free, well at least partially. Free enough to finally tell this cocky little white prick how he really felt. 

Reeon finally took in a deep breath...

"LET ME OUT OF HERE YOU OVERGLORIFIED PIECE OF TISSUE PAPER!!!"

Is what Reeon would have liked to say... However he was more than at this creatures mercy. If he didn't want to be frozen again he would have to think fast and talk faster.

"Well- I've been....."