Darian's body was still shaking. He couldn't stop thinking about all the monsters he had just seen. Several hours had passed, but Snowy still hadn't woken up, it was still sleeping.
"I used too much power… I'm sorry, Snowy…" Darian was scared. What if Snowy needed more time to wake up? What would happen if, while Snowy was sleeping, the enemies attacked? What could he do? He didn't have the power, it was Snowy who gave it to him, so what should he do in that case?
Darian sometimes peeked out of the cave to see if enemies were coming near, or if they would disappear, but it hadn't happened yet. They were still there.
It felt like they were guarding the place, as if it was important. Was it because it was too close to the desert? What was the problem with the desert? Why did these monsters completely avoid it?
Now that Darian had calmed down, he noticed that the temperature was lower than before. Sure, the planet was farther from the sun now, but the heat from the planet's core should at least be able to keep it warmer… right?
Maybe these creatures can't survive high temperatures? Darian tried to find an explanation for why the enemies didn't go near the desert, but the more he thought about it, the more useless it seemed.
Four hours passed. Darian studied some of the plants he had gathered earlier, wanting to see how much they had changed compared to before. Sadly, without his instruments, it was impossible. But then something came to his mind.
"RUSTY!!"
Darian immediately thought about the robot he had created before going to XERBAB-7. It was a really powerful AI: built with the help of a friend, that he named Rusty, because of his body all rusty.
This robot was unlike anything most humans had ever seen before. It could repair itself without any problem. Robots like that weren't extremely rare, but buying one was very expensive. So, with his friend's help, he built one.
He had put Rusty in his little secret base… in the desert!
If Rusty was still alive, that meant there was still hope for him to survive and gather information!
But he wasn't sure if the base was still there. He didn't know how many years had passed… but Rusty had everything he needed to keep the base running perfectly. Its body recharged with light, and it knew how to repair itself.
Darian thought he might have found a way to live in this world.
"How could I forget… please, Rusty, be alive…" Darian was both scared and excited. Scared, because what if Rusty was destroyed? What if it had stopped working years ago? He couldn't accept that fate. But if Rusty was still alive… it would be perfect. He would have a place to stay, and Rusty, full of information, could tell him everything he needed to know.
As hope returned to his body, he felt his strength coming back. That's when Snowy opened its eyes and Darian jumped toward it with his arms wide open.
He gave Snowy a big hug. The fox looked at him, confused.
"You woke up…" Darian pulled away and faced Snowy directly. "I found a way to survive… Please, I need your power once more so we can escape from here."
His tone was serious now. The fear was gone.
Snowy, as always, didn't reply. But when Darian clenched his fist, Snowy seemed to understand. It bumped its tail against Darian's arm, and he smiled.
Turning toward the exit, Darian said, "I don't care how many enemies are out there… we just need to travel around three hundred meters, and we'll be in the desert... and safe."
Snowy jumped onto his shoulder, and together they stepped outside.
They were about to win this race against the monsters. Darian was going to be safe.
He pointed his right arm toward Snowy, his bag slung over his left shoulder. Snowy leapt into his right arm, and the magic began once again.
Darian's body turned completely white. His hair hardened, and in his veins there was ice. Now he noticed that the point where Snowy fused with his arm was a different color: blue.
A color he hadn't seen in so long, because now the sky was always gray. It was so different that he had almost forgotten it existed.
He stepped out of the cave fully. He had been inside for at least twelve hours, and he couldn't bear it anymore, he wanted to move, to be free.
The enemies outside heard his footsteps. He wasn't even trying to be stealthy.
Darian decided to try something new… He imagined ice forming as defensive armor.
"ICE ARMOUR!!!"
His body was covered with countless sharp, hardened ice shards, extremely sharp and resistant. If an enemy struck him, the damage would be reflected back.
He didn't know how long the armor would last, but it was his only hope.
Darian didn't look back. He ran, faster than when the giant creature had chased him. But now he wasn't scared. No… he was excited and happy, certain that everything would be alright.
Spider-like creatures darted toward him. They were extremely fast, and their small horns carried deadly poison that could kill any living creature.
Four spiders leapt onto him, but the armor protected him, their horns shattered against the ice, killing them instantly.
"BOOMMM!!!"
Darian grinned. The armor worked. But he could feel it draining his energy, and he didn't know how much longer it would last.
Two more spiders prepared to leap. Unsure if the armor could withstand the hit, he switched to another plan.
"Radial Freeze!!!"
He created a path of ice beneath his feet and began to slide forward. The spiders jumped, colliding midair and killing themselves on impact.
Darian slid onward. The desert was getting closer, but directly ahead, snail-like creatures had prepared a trap. He didn't want to risk touching their acid.
Luckily, he had planned for this.
"Radial Freeze!!!"
He reshaped the ice path into a ramp and launched himself over the snails. While airborne, he turned to attack.
"Ice Shard!!!"
Three shards shot out, striking three different snails. Two hit the shells, but the rock was too resistant, and the shards shattered. The third shard struck a snail's exposed body, killing it instantly.
Its body exploded into acidic fragments, splashing Darian's leg and burning it. Blood seeped from the wound.
He landed hard but recovered with an acrobatic move he hadn't seen in years, not even in the circus, he thought.
The desert was only a few meters away, it was time for his freedom.
But then an octopus-like creature, hide in water, grabbed his injured leg.
"What is this?!" Darian struggled, but it was too strong, pulling him into the shallow water.
"Ice Shard!!!" He struck at the tentacle, but the shard was too small to do real damage, and he didn't want to risk hitting his own leg.
Is this the end? His heart pounded. NO!!!
"RADIAL FREEZE!!!"
He froze the water beneath his feet and the creature along with it. Breaking the frozen tentacle, Darian pulled himself free.
And then… he was there. The desert.
The monsters stopped at the edge, refusing to follow.
Darian didn't even know if they were watching him because without faces, it was impossible to tell.
He dropped to his knees, watching the enemies slowly retreat.
He was alive.