Book two
> "Welcome to Book 2 of the Fear Series – THE OUTSIDER. This story continues from where Book 1 left off. If you're new, consider reading Book 1 first!"
The Outsider
The Time
Chapter One
Our story begins with Mikhail Kostennas, sitting in the darkness of his shadowy home, talking to himself on that rainy night. He spoke to himself, saying that he had found the solution—the secret to life's mysteries and complexities. Tonight, he would transform into a god. He uttered these words in a terrifying voice, laughing—the Eye of Nyberia.
The scene shifts to a small television in the navigation room of a famous captain's ship. The news broadcast delivers a story that has shaken the world: an explorer has discovered a remote point in the vast ocean, stranger than the Bermuda Triangle and Point Nemo. This land has been named Universal (ሁለንተናዊ). Whoever inhabits it exists beside the Earth.
On that dark night under the red moon, in the middle of the ocean, Captain Enrique emerged from his ship alongside his crew of veteran sailors who had chosen to take on this challenge and embark on this adventure. They were heading toward the South Pole, as rumors suggested that this unknown region lay somewhere beyond it. The Americans referred to it as the *Devil's Star of the Sea.
Captain Enrique walked to the ship's railing, where he found Mary, one of the crew members, cleaning the large wooden vessel. Their ship was somewhat old, dating back to the '90s—Captain Enrique was a rather traditional man. Fog blanketed the ocean at that moment; there was no storm, but the winds were strong, and the waters were filled with glowing green algae that illuminated the dark sea.
Mary said mockingly to Captain Enrique:
"Sir, perhaps you're a professional, but you're not accustomed to sailing through ice. And now we're heading to face death itself. Are these investigations really worth it?"
Captain Enrique replied:
"Don't worry. I was sailing through ice before you were even born, little lady."
Mary laughed and said:
"Seems I understand now why heading toward the icy pole still excites you. You've still got the spirit, eh, old man? Do you really expect to find treasure there? I've heard from some that this place didn't even exist in the ocean before the death rumors started. Some say it was created by aliens."
The captain retorted:
"Those are just the tales of drunkards like you, girl."
She took a sip of the red wine in her hand and said:
"I've always wanted to explore the South Pole in any way possible. I hope you still have that passion, old man."
As the ship swayed in the ocean, their conversation continued.
Mary asked:
"Is there really land or something specific beyond the South Pole?"
The captain replied:
"What I know is that every ship that sailed there was destroyed. But some survivors claimed they went further, hearing legends about the sacred Eye of Nyberia."
Mary responded:
"That's fascinating. The incidents are strange too. But I'm sure that Earthly Paradise lies beyond this ice—that's my goal, to find a beauty so profound it defies comprehension. And the thought that you might be the first to discover it makes me overcome any fear I have about this eerie journey. Still… yes, I admit, sometimes I feel powerless. I feel like we'll die or find nothing. But this has to happen."
Captain Enrique reassured her:
"Don't worry, girl. You're in good hands."
She raised her glass and said confidently:
"I sure hope so."
As they spoke, Thompson and the rest of the crew shouted that the ship had to stop—continuing to sail through the fragile ice at this speed would destroy it even faster.
But it seemed the ship had indeed stopped and was now completely encased in ice.
Captain Enrique began shouting at the crew, demanding they find a solution immediately—their supplies were low, and they couldn't stay here, still far from the pole. The crew swiftly carried out the general's orders, struggling to save their lives.
But at that very moment, the first mate Johnson He said
With people like us and our cursed luck, it's likely the ship might break free.
While they were discussing the problem, Mr. Walton noticed something strange moving swiftly across the fractured ice beneath the moon, the night stars, the aurora borealis, and the shimmering sky. Amid the icy storm, Walton began alerting everyone around him, pointing at that thing.
It was a mysterious figure, wearing a hood, his hair slightly long but the rest of his features unclear. He was riding a sled pulled by large, terrifying huskies—almost wolf-like. Captain Enrique gripped his rifle and stared at the man, but the dogs were too fast. The sled moved in a bizarre, unsettling manner before the man vanished as quickly as he had appeared.
Fog began gathering around the ship, completely obscuring the crew's vision—yet it did not reach the area where the huskies and the strange figure had been. It was as if the fog itself feared them.
What baffled the captain and his crew was that the man was unnaturally massive.
The ship remained stuck in place as midnight arrived. In the galley, the captain sat by the fireplace, drinking a glass of wine and writing a telegram. As he wrote, he began hearing the ice outside cracking. A look of relief and satisfaction crossed the old man's face.
"If things keep going like this," he said,
"we might be able to sail tomorrow."
Poor captain—he thought this night would be like any other.
---
On another night, as he left the room, the fire behind the stove table shifted from a deep red to a dark green hue—and the same happened with the candles.
The next day, the captain stepped out of the navigation room to find the entire crew gathered at one edge of the ship. He approached to see what was happening, only to discover them speaking with a stranger beneath the vessel. The captain realized it was the same mysterious sled rider from before.
Captain Enrique called out:
"Come up here, friend! Do you want to freeze to death?"
The young man said nothing but nodded in agreement and boarded the ship.
Mary asked:
"Is this the same strange man from yesterday?"
The first mate replied:
"Seems so. But what's with the star tattoo on his face? And that three-pronged scar over his eye? He looks genuinely dangerous."
The stranger's cold, expressionless eyes were fixed entirely on the ship's captain.
Then, in a low, tense voice, he spoke:
"Thank you for allowing me aboard. But... where are you headed?"
Mary answered:
"Our destination is the Devil's Star, young man."
The morning passed quietly, but that night, something unimaginable happened.
At midnight, inside the ship's quarters, they could see the stranger—his gaunt frame and pale face—sitting in silence.
The captain said to him:
"You've slept for a long time, boy. Almost three days. And you were making... strange noises."
The stranger looked at him with calm features.
Captain Enrique asked:
"If you don't mind me asking, what brought you to this frozen wasteland? Were you planning to die in such a bizarre way?"
The stranger replied:
"Either way, if I had returned home, I would have died. So I had to finish my task first."
He spoke of hunting a creature—though he gave few details—something in this frozen, uncharted region. The captain knew no animals lived here.
Captain Enrique stoked the fireplace, shifting the conversation:
"Tell me, young man, are you searching for the thing we saw last night?"
The stranger's expression sharpened with focus.
The captain continued:
"Yesterday, we saw a giant creature in the ice. At first, we thought it was human. But when we looked closer, we realized it was four meters tall. And it, too, seemed to be heading toward the pole."
The mysterious man fell silent for a long moment. Finally, Captain Enrique broke the stillness:
"By the way, I still haven't had the honor of knowing your name, sir."
The stranger answered in a loud, tense, and eerie voice:
"My name is Mikhail Kostennas, General."
---
The Next Morning
A tentative camaraderie had formed between Captain Enrique and Mikhail. The captain was puzzled by Mikhail, who clutched his rifle every dawn, scanning the horizon for his prey.
The captain said:
"Mikhail, you should rest. You haven't fully recovered. You look like a skeleton."
Mikhail replied softly:
"Don't worry about me. Death is... nearly impossible for me
Then they saw before them a monstrous serpent with the tiny head of a human girl, small human hands, chameleon eyes, fly wings, and the tail of a donkey. It moved with terrifying speed. The crew erupted into panic—screaming, horrified, utterly bewildered by what stood before them. Even Captain Enrique, a hardened veteran, felt sweat bead on his brow as tension gripped him.
"What... is this?" he muttered, turning to Mikhail.
But Mikhail had lowered his binoculars and was now smiling—a strange, unsettling smile.
"Hah... they've come," he whispered.
Then they noticed: the pupil of Mikhail's eye had transformed into the shape of a green flame.
---
Flashback
April 7, 1979
To understand what was happening, we must go back—to a small flashback of our protagonist, Mikhail Kostennas.
He stood weeping before a white grave marked with a cross, covered in crows. The inscription read:
"Rest in Peace – Riski Kostennas."