Puss was back on the streets, riding Tornado, occasionally stopping to buy supplies and placing them in the horse's saddlebags.
But his thoughts were far from that, and his body was basically on autopilot.
'Before, I didn't really believe the theories that the dragon was a princess… but now, in light of recent information, the chances have increased a lot. Still, it could've just been another princess who was imprisoned there. Either way, I'll find out when I face her.' He was thinking about what Googles had told him regarding the tale of the blonde princess, as he finished loading Tornado's saddlebags.
Since the black horse was extremely strong, big, and fast, his saddlebags weren't small, allowing Puss to fill both large pouches on the horse's sides with enough supplies to last a long time for both of them.
Puss also considered storing food inside the toad, but at the moment, it was very difficult to control the toad, and he wanted to avoid accidentally dropping the cursed chest around—it would be quite troublesome to store it again by himself.
Snapping out of his thoughts and seeing that everything was ready, he didn't hesitate and mounted the horse.
"My friend, the journey is long—are you ready to ride to the contentment of your heart?" Puss joked, patting the horse's neck, which turned its head slightly to look at him.
At the word ride, Tornado's eyes lit up with an intense glow.
He immediately reared up on his hind legs and kicked the front ones in the air.
"Neigh!!"
At the horse's loud neigh, Puss instinctively grabbed the brim of his hat and took it off, waving it.
The image was meant to be spectacular, but seeing a little orange cat waving his hat while sitting on the saddle of a tall black stallion couldn't help but look a little strange.
Without further hesitation, Tornado leapt forward and galloped at full speed out of the city…
Well, that was the idea.
"Halt!" A guard raised a little red sign at a crossing, making the horse skid to a stop right in front of him.
Puss rolled his eyes at that.
"Damn traffic laws…"
…
Leaving Far Far Away, Tornado's trotting echoed along the dirt roads, while Puss looked back briefly, seeing the sunlit city filled with cheerful sounds slowly fade into the distance.
Turning his gaze forward, he grabbed Tornado's reins and jumped, standing on the saddle to get a better view while riding.
At that moment, he would guide Tornado himself—instead of basically letting him go on autopilot like when he was sitting.
…
For days, they rode.
Tornado was an incredible horse of an incredible breed, and his endurance and strength had been trained by Puss since childhood. Except for two daily breaks to rest and eat, they spent the rest of the time galloping swiftly.
At one point, they left the forest and entered an extremely cold and mountainous region known as Blistering Cold.
Following the map, they crossed that region, which wasn't very large.
Tornado picked up the pace, since it wasn't a good place to rest, and at a brisk trot, they managed to get through it in just three hours.
And once they exited the snowy area, they found themselves facing a scorching desert.
There, they stopped to rest briefly in the shade of a rock they found before continuing the journey.
During the day, it was blisteringly hot. At night, freezing cold.
For days, they rode across that land — a true test of endurance. But Puss and Tornado, having trained since childhood, didn't suffer much and were able to manage with relative ease.
However, the occasional skeletons of knights and their horses served as a stark reminder that this wasn't a place to be taken lightly. A bit of unpreparedness, and one could die from exhaustion, thirst, cold, or hunger, as food and water were nowhere to be seen in that cursed place.
Puss, glancing at a skeleton as he rode by, couldn't help but think of Charming.
'How did that spoiled brat get through all of this in the movie?' The question took root in his mind. 'Did the Fairy Godmother help him from the shadows? Or is Charming's willpower and skill greater than I give him credit for?' he pondered the possibilities but had no way of knowing for sure.
Shaking his head and pushing those pointless thoughts away, Puss refocused on the path ahead.
According to the map, he knew he wasn't far from his destination.
…
On Tornado's back, Puss held the map up in front of his face, scanning the area labeled Dragon's Keep. When he lowered it, he was met with the sight of a massive black mountain, surrounded by ominous dark clouds in the middle of the desert.
"Looks like this is the place, Tornado," Puss said with a serious gaze.
The mountain vaguely resembled the one he'd seen in Shrek 1, but the problem was… this one was much bigger and more terrifying.
Clearly, the scale of certain things — and powers — would be considerably greater here.
After confirming he was in the right place, Puss urged Tornado forward to climb the mountain.
The beginning of the path was smooth, with a trail that went almost all the way to the top, which they followed without issue. But toward the end, right at the peak, Puss had to dismount — it had become far too steep.
Puss remembered that Donkey, with his human-level intelligence, had managed to climb using his hooves, so he figured that Tornado — who was also very smart — might be able to do it too.
"Tornado, I'm going up. If you want to follow, try to climb too. But don't push yourself — if it's too much, just wait here." He gave the horse's leg a pat and, without hesitation, began climbing with ease.
"Snort!" Tornado snorted, startled, glancing at his hooves and then at the mountain. After a moment of indecision, he chose to give it a try.
It was the first time in his life he'd ever climbed anything, so at first, it was awkward.
But with his great strength, he slowly began to scale the slope.
Puss looked down and saw that the black horse was indeed managing to climb, carefully planting his hooves into the mountain's crevices.
The steep ascent wasn't too long or too difficult, and before long, they reached the top — their faces slightly flushed from the intense red glow of the enormous lava lake before them.
"Dios mío!" Puss couldn't help but exclaim, his vivid green eyes wide in awe.
In front of them stood an enormous black castle, perched atop the rock and surrounded by bubbling lava of a deep red hue. The thunderous black clouds in the sky created a sharp contrast, crafting a sinister atmosphere.
It was a spectacle to behold.
His gaze then landed on a small platform below the rock they'd climbed — the start of a bridge. He leapt down to it, with Tornado following close behind.
Sliding down the rock quickly, they landed before the long wooden bridge suspended over the lava lake.
Even though the bridge was longer and seemingly more worn and dangerous than the one he remembered from the movie, Puss wasn't afraid. But there was a problem.
He could cross it easily — but looking back at the enormous, heavy black horse who stared at the bridge and lava with fear in his eyes, Puss couldn't help but rub his forehead.
That fragile wooden bridge was practically a death trap for Tornado.
Though Shrek had also been heavy and managed to cross, he had hands to grip the ropes and a body better suited for navigating wooden bridges. Tornado didn't — and was likely even heavier than Shrek.
Knowing it would be wiser and safer to leave the horse behind, Puss turned to him with a serious expression.
"Tornado, you stay here and wait while—" He was preparing to convince the horse to stay behind, but he had barely started speaking when he turned and saw that the animal had already hidden behind a rock, nodding frantically.
A playful smile curled on Puss's lips at the antics of his equine companion, who, for the first time, was showing fear.
Shaking his head without concern, he turned to face the bridge.
A twinge of anxiety bloomed in his chest at what was likely about to happen.
'From this point on… everything changes.'
With his first step, his boots touched the first wooden plank of the bridge.
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Hey everyone, just a bit of self-promotion here.
I wanted to recommend, for those who haven't seen it, to check out my original story if you're interested. It's pretty cool — speaking as both a reader and a writer, I recommend it, haha.
If you're curious, take a look at my profile or search for:
All the Elders in My Sect Are My Avatars!