I was paranoid– in the following hours, I was uncertain if my fear was because of circumstance or because of the lingering presence of a Lawless King. Then the footsteps began. It was at this moment that Icecream himself had fewer doubts– She was likely somewhere here. We hid together below a ridge, between the icicles and hidden to the eyes of anything that may tower above us as the footsteps became louder and shook the ground.
Something large warbled, thumping through the snow and making my blood freeze.
A massive bestial object– no doubt a false king– pulled itself through the snow, tilting back to howl. The sounds were haunting, and I felt my body vibrate with each tremendous call.
Its eyes were an icy blue, fixed on the grey sky as if demanding something from it. Long white fur rippled in the wind. It bared its teeth after each howl, revealing black gums, the corners of its mouth twitching with emotion as it cried.
And for the first time, I witnessed a false king speak. In a low and gravelly voice, it spoke:
“Rotten world.”
Then the sky came down.
The clouds split apart as something unseen screamed from all directions at once. The wind was drowned out, smothered beneath the sound.
We were suppressed by a gravity that I can only compare to the weight of the world, almost in an instant, and for what I feared would be forever.

The screaming intensified, tightening into a single piercing note as the false king kept its gaze fixed on the sky.
From the hole in the clouds, a long black talon uncurled and descended. It touched the false king beneath the chin and lifted its head higher. Only then did the fear in my body convert into adrenaline. We needed to flee.
I grabbed Icecream’s arm and pulled him. Confused and terrified, we both scrambled through the thick snow, unable to hear our shouting over the noise.
When we finally gained distance, I gathered enough courage to turn around. The instant I looked back, the screaming ceased. The wind died with it. The sudden silence was deafening.