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A field of snow stretched over flat terrain. An endless sea of white, devoid of color, or human emotion. All that stood out were a few trees here and there, a steep mountain, and a lone man who shrouded his body with his cape. He didn't shiver. He felt nothing. He was cold, like ice.
Dim sunlight peered through the few cracks in the blanket of clouds overhead, and each and every photon reflected back off of the snow. The blinding scene did not affect the man, however, and he continued on his way.
The man reached the foot of an intimidating mountain and his eyes traveled upwards. To the peak. That was where he was headed. Nothing was on his mind except for the plan he had curated when... His brows furrowed. His boots pulled themselves out of the footprints in the snow. Those which would be gone in a matter of hours due to the perpetual snowfall that resided in this region of the planet.
What an odd thing it was, the man thought, that the snow was constantly falling here, much like the endless rain in Rain Town. There was no coherent logic behind the phenomenon, yet the man couldn't get himself to dwell on it for too long. Something, or perhaps, some distorted determination in his mind forced him to keep moving and abandon any thoughts and feelings that even got close to the surface. And he didn't fight it. He simply kept going.
All that could be heard for miles were his heavy, slow footsteps as the man hauled himself up the pure white mountain. He had brought nothing with him, save for himself, his clothing, and some message recorders that he would leave along the way. He needed nothing on this mountain. Nothing but himself, Space Ex-Husband, ready to let the cold consume him. He wanted to never feel again. After all, doing so only hurt him in the long run. He refused to make the same mistake again.
His pace slowed to a halt as he pulled audio recorder in the shape of a penguin out of his pocket. It might have been a bit questionable of a choice for something so important, but it was all he had. He sighed as he pressed the button down.
Beep
"..Turn back while you still can... Signed, SXH"
Space Ex-Husband perched the penguin on a pole as it squawked in response so it would not get buried by the endless snowfall. If anyone came looking for him, they at least deserved to know what happened. Not that that would be a likely occurrence.
The man's boots slowly padded up the mountain as best as they could, struggling due to the shaved ice that was caked heavily on the soil beneath him. He could feel the slow heartbeat coming from in his chest, even against his wishes. The cold was getting to his body, but not his mind. It remained clear other than his objectives and a few very shallow thoughts.
The pathway on the mountain was nearly the same color as the surrounding ground, which made it difficult to follow, but still manageable. Various small creatures cautiously avoided the stone man as he trudged along, unblinking and unwavering. Space Ex-Husband did not pay any mind to them, since he did not have the mental capacity to. He stopped, pulling out another penguin and turning it on.
Beep
"There is nothing for you here.. Begone!... Signed, SXH"
His breath was quicker than it had been before, but he brushed it off as a side effect of the withering chill in the air. He began to hope that nobody would follow him, start looking for him, or worry at all. After all, what was there to worry about? His memories were hazy and he didn't see a point, so he hoped that he wouldn't be forced to.
Beep
"Don't come looking for me... only the cold can keep me company now... Signed, SXH"
The farther his feet carried him, the more his mind started to boot up. His emotions started to have an effect on his action. Memories of... her... began to swirl around his head without stopping. He stopped for a moment and shut his eyes tighter than he knew was possible. However, this only amplified the imagery in his brain. It pissed him off so horribly that he wanted to scream. So, he pulled out another penguin.
Beep
"Go away! Leave me to my miserable existence!" His breathing was thick and heavy, painfully visible in front of his gaping mouth. A sigh escaped the man's chest, as if he was begging himself to calm down and continue. "Signed... SXH"
He soon made his way to a large field, filled with large icicles sprouting from the ground and beautiful snow angels with spread wings and unreadable expressions. They whispered to him without parting their lips as he passed, but despite being known to the public as agressive, they didn't budge in the man's presence. They simply stared and told him words that buried themselves into his head.
Turn away, turn away, turn away. The cold is not meant to consume. It is meant to come and go. Spring will arrive soon. Spring will arrive soon.
The man could swear he could hear shrill screeches coming from the winged creatures once he found himself at a wooden bridge, the sudden color standing out from the blinding snow, and he began to realize that he was making a mistake.
Beep
"It would be foolish to continue..." The situation started to weigh on his shoulders, which were already beginning to give out to the pressure. Maybe.. "How I wish someone had told me the same..."
Maybe this wasn't the right choice...
The man cursed himself internally as he tried to clear his head. He was cold, like ice, remember? He took a deep breath, shut his eyes for a moment, and let it out a moment later. "Signed, SXH"
He couldn't remember much before, but he was then starting to remember the pain from when she left him. It ached in his chest, so harshly that it urged him to press forward through the intensifying blizzard.
Beep
"All is fair in love and war... but it still hurts when you lose..." He regretted ever speaking to the fair, yet foul dutchess. If he had known how badly she would bruise his heart, he never would have thrown away his life for her.
My life.. The man began to remember his life before he left it. The captain of the space pirates, heir of Pinkbeard, loyal and famous son of Pinkbeard, Captain Spaceboy. Was he really going to leave it all behind for nothing? Even after all this time?
Beep
"You will gain nothing by coming here, as did I. All of this will be for naught." A singular, yet oh-so painful tear slid down his cheek, but froze before it fell to the ground. Ice. It was nothing but ice. The emotion froze and was lost in the snow, never to be seen again. Space Ex-Husband peered over the edge of the mountain.
The ground was a far way away, so far that it was nowhere to be seen. The sky slowly turned into fog on the journey down the cliff. It was mesmerizing, but terrifying. The man slowly sat himself in the snow, not taking his eyes away from the drop.
"What would my crew do..?" He asked the fall. His crew was his legacy, the only thing keeping his work in motion. They've been there for generations, but he left them to his household chores when he was in a catatonic state over a woman. If he could even consider her that. Her true colors were ugly, crude, and anything but what he imagined in a partner. She was scum, not a woman, yet his undying love for her remained. He longed for her. It hurt so bad.
The fall didn't answer him. It was hard to tell what they'd think. Who would take over? What would happen? Yet he didn't press the cliffside any further. Instead, he questioned himself.
"What would Dad think?"
...
The man's limbs were nearly too cold to move, so it was far too late for him to turn back. This would be his resting place. As snow began to pile onto him, his thoughts grew more and more shallow, until there was next to nothing going on in his brain at all. He was surprisingly calm. Everything would be over. It's fine.
It's fine.
"I feel nothing. I'm cold, like ice."
...
Footsteps could be heard in the distance. 4 pairs of feet.
The man somehow managed to turn his body towards the sound, just in time to see 4 vaguely familiar childred approach him.
"Ah. What a surprise."