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Red snow swirled like a pack of wolves. Its howl rang in their ears. The hands of Frost roamed freely across its territory. Having covered the plot, the white sheet obscured the black buildings. The Tsar knows his lands. He does not like strangers, but awaits his own, his frosty maw open.
Steam billowed from his mouth, and the trees heard wheezing and groaning, clutching at them with their branches. The birds were silent, not daring to make a sound or caw. Their black eyes stared at the Infernal.
His body is ugly. Birds and insects refuse to look at him, disgusted by him. His skin is crooked, twisted, rough from a severe accident. His horns are short, only ghosts see them whole. His eyes are empty, devoid of death or life. Empty like a corpse. Empty like the dim sun that no longer descends on the snowy lands.
A heavy pistol scatters snow around. The wind dies down, contemptuously prickling the exposed skin. The Tsar is gone, but his icy heart still smolders with hope for life, even within the dark depths of its inhabitants.
A gray hand touches the weapon, rough, smooth, a sharp angle, a rough coating, crooked fingers down, the trigger. A trembling hand holds it. The device hums. Blue light accumulates at the muzzle, a slick hum spreading across the landscape.
"Lord, accept me again
I have sinned
I sinned - and did not ask for forgiveness.
My hands cannot be washed
The blood of many years has eaten into them
Under my nails, in my knuckles.
Lord, take me to yourself
Or turn away - but decide
Grant me forgiveness
If it still exists for such as I.
I felt no fear
No pity
No sympathy
I watched and followed orders.
Father of the Rocks
If You hear - forgive the sinner."
The birds screamed bitterly, flying away, fearing that the carrion would come, that the King would take the remains of his own under his wing. Crimson blood stained the once pristine white trees. Their eyes twisted from the dirt on them. With a creaking sound, they hid the rays of the sun with their hands, hiding the body in the snow, leaving it alone.
The red snow cooled, turning white like the surroundings. The wind covered the new body, warming it with its insignificant embrace.