The climb began beneath a sky drowned in gray clouds. The mountain loomed above them like a jagged spear thrust into the heavens, its upper reaches veiled in a ghostly mist. Each step sent gravel skittering down the narrow trail, and the air grew colder and thinner as they ascended.
"It's like the whole world is holding its breath," Itoyea muttered, his hand resting on his sword hilt. His eyes scanned the shadows between the rocks, wary.
"Or maybe just waiting to spit us out," Kutote replied, adjusting the straps of his pack. His tone was calm, almost detached, but his eyes gleamed with quiet anticipation.
Itekan grinned, his breath forming white clouds in the frigid air. "Then let's make sure we climb high enough that it chokes on us instead."
Ahead of them, their guide—Hordy, an older hunter with twin battle axes strapped to his back—grunted. "Talk less. Listen more. There are things here that hunt by sound alone."
A low, bone-rattling howl answered his words. Out of the mist, yellow eyes began to glow.
From the rocks above and the shadows behind, Crag Hounds emerged. Their bodies were gaunt and sinewy, covered in jagged plates of stone-like armor. Their claws clicked against the stone, and when they opened their maws, it sounded like grinding gravel.
"Grade B," the guide spat. "Standard pack tactics. Aim for their underbellies—weakest there."
The hounds attacked with terrifying coordination. Two leapt at Korimer, while three flanked Itoyea and Avery.
Korimer's eyes burned with excitement. "Finally! It's been quite boring without any beasts to fight!" His fists ignited in a swirl of flames as he activated his 'Full Counter' technique. When the first hound lunged, Korimer didn't dodge—he caught it by the jaw and slammed it into the ground. Fire exploded outward, rippling through the beast's body before it shattered into ash and molten fragments.
"Didn't you use a spear?" Avery asked.
"These mutts are worth me using Asolith!" Korimer told them with a smile that bordered on crazy. Raising his hand he warned them not to come forward, the next moment the ground beneath him began to crack and glow. "Giant gates of Flames!" The next wave of hounds pounced—only to be caught in a fiery shockwave that reflected their own momentum back at them. Their bodies were torn apart midair, raining down as smoldering pieces.
"Monster!" Kutote muttered, staring wide-eyed. He didn't want to miss any part of that attack, his red spirit was already analyzing it. If he could get something that crazily powerful added to his arsenal. It'd probably be equivalent to Itekan's Starbreaker. "He just… turned their attacks back on them."
Beside him, Avery struck in a blur of motion. His fists raised, landed with unnatural force, and thanks to his Triple Damage ability every hit carried a lag that amplified it's power. A single precise hit made a Crag Hound blow up, the power of the blow leaving a smoking gash in the stone beneath.
Itoyea followed, sliding forward gracefully. "Second Form: Thunder Claps." His blade flickered so quickly it seemed to vanish, then reappear as three Crag Hounds fell simultaneously, their bodies collapsing in eerie silence.
Behind them, Itekan extended his hand.
"I want to try something out here, Shadow's Hand—". A shadows rippled beneath his feet, forming dark tendrils that lashed out and snared two more beasts. With a twist of his wrist, the tendrils hurled the hounds into the air, where he was waiting.
"Chajama!" Itekan roared. A field of fireballs erupted behind him streaking downward like miniature comets. The hounds were engulfed midair, falling back to the ground as nothing more than smoldering husks.
"Nice" Avery said flatly.
"What did you expect!" Itekan shot back, grinning.
Binturu couldn't wait any longer leaped into a horde of the Crag pack. His punches turned their heads to mush with each strike. Rose hung back, chanting softly. A warm golden light flowed from her hands, knitting together shallow wounds and easing the group's fatigue. Binturu stumbled after flinging the Crag hound who had sunk its teeths into his shoulder, she was already there, pressing her glowing palm against his arm. "Stay focused," she said gently. "You overextend, you die."
"She's right though—one mistake here and you're not going back home!"
"Tsk! If not for those damned seals the elders inflicted on me—these mutts would never be able to survive even standing near me!"
"This is no place to whine. If you think anyone cares about you out here you're not going to survive on these mountains" Hordy scorned him. Binturu turned to him with a displeased look.
"I don't need the seals undone to snake your neck little boy!" Binturu release a bit of his aura, but it was enough to make the Crag hounds leap back in fear, the younger ones passing out instantly.
"You rude brat!" Hordy growled.
"You two back off NOW!!" Korimer said with finality. His voice carried the weight of his command. Binturu as mucha s he wanted to snap that rude child's head he knew he couldn't survive if Korimer decided to step in. Once again he swore on his clan elders. They had really put them on chains.
Turning he went back to the fight. Hordy turned as well, he had underestimated these brats, those two were much stronger than he thought, especially the tall one he had not been fazed by the amount of energy they were both releasing. That wasn't normal.
The battle lasted only minutes. Soon, the trail was littered with cracked stone plates and scorched fur. The Crag Hounds lay still, their eerie howls silenced.
"Not bad," Hordy said, wiping his axes clean. "But don't get cocky. That was only the welcome party. The real deals' beyond this rift."
---
They climbed higher, the path narrowing until they had to move single file. The mist thickened, carrying with it a strange metallic tang. Then, without warning, the mountain itself seemed to move.
A shadow surged from beneath a ledge. Varkor, the Mountain Wyrm, uncoiled its massive body, six limbs slamming into the stone. Its obsidian-black scales shimmered like molten rock, and when it opened its jaws, superheated steam hissed out, melting a nearby boulder to slag.
The beast roared, a sound so deep it shook icicles loose from above.
"Scatter!" Hordy bellowed.
The group split apart as the wyrm lunged. Korimer stepped forward alone, fire wreathing his entire body. "Get as far as you can. I'll deal with this one!"
The others barely had time to move before Korimer leapt, his fist glowing brighter than the sun, all around him flames rose high, their size no much more little compared to the mountain they were on. "All Mighty Emperor's Flame Fist! First Bout!" His strike connected with the wyrm's head, and a massive shockwave erupted. The force split the stone beneath their feet, sending massive chunks of mountain cascading down the slopes. The wyrm screamed, its obsidian scales cracking like brittle glass.
"Holy—" Itekan cut himself off, his jaw slack. He couldn't help compared his deadliest attack. It was was nowhere near as powerful.
Itoyea smiled, glad the all the hype surrounding him wasn't for talks alone. He needed to fight him now, to see how far behind he really was.
Korimer didn't stop. His strikes came in relentless succession, each bout of his flame fist more devastating than the last. The second sent molten blood spraying as the wyrm's front limbs shattered. The third caved in its chest entirely, leaving a crater in the monster's body. The fourth—final—strike obliterated the wyrm's skull, silencing its roar forever.
The ground trembled as the beast collapsed, dead before it even hit the ground.
"If that was mid-tier," Kutote muttered, brushing ash from his clothes, "I don't want to see high-tier." He had seen through that one but it was useless on him. He lacked the right type of SST to create the kind of force Korimer has unleashed.
Korimer turned to the group, barely winded. "You all can handle the small fry. I'll go ahead there are two more of these beyond those cliffs. Don't come after me, got it!"
No one argued.
The guide merely grunted. "Sure! We'll wait over there we're almost there."
---
The final stretch was silent, save for their heavy breathing and the crunch of boots on frost. At last, they reached a plateau where a sloped cave entrance gaped in the mountainside. Strange natural light flickered from within.
Inside, the passage widened until it opened into a cavern so vast it took their breath away. There, beneath a glowing fissure in the ceiling, lay the ruins of an ancient castle. Towering spires rose like skeletal fingers, broken walls draped in moss and frost. A faint wind whistled through the shattered windows, carrying the echoes of a bygone age.
"Incredible," Itoyea whispered, eyes wide.
"It's... beautiful," Rose breathed, tears glimmering in her eyes.
Itekan practically vibrated with excitement. "Do you see this?! This is insane!"
Avery grinned like a child, running forward a few steps before stopping himself. "We actually found it!"
Korimer let out a low whistle. "Worth every fight to get here."
Kutote crossed his arms, his expression calm but his gaze sharp. "Not bad."
Even Binturu who had still not gotten over his earlier mishap with Hordy was impressed. "Impressive craftsmanship."
The guide's voice broke the spell. "This is where I leave you." He stared at the castle with a hard, unreadable expression. "The cries—the karma—of the injustice done to the king and his Archem Knights still haunt these stones. It's why demonic beasts thrive here."
He turned his back to them, tightening the straps of his axes. "I won't spill blood here because some brats want to take what's not theirs."
Without another word, he disappeared into the mist.
The group watched him go, the weight of his words settling over them. Then Itekan clenched his fists, his voice steady.
"Guess it's just us now."
They turned toward the ruined castle, determination burning in their eyes as the strange light glimmered overhead.
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Spiritual Energy (SE)
Spiritual Sea (SS)
Spiritual Signature (SST)