We headed toward where that roar had come from. There was no doubt: it was a creature, the Flood Beast the villagers and Maya had told us about.
The closer we got, the denser the clouds and the heavier the rain became. I glanced at Maya just to make sure she was all right.
—"Maya, are you ready?" I asked.
—"More ready than ever, eager to finish that thing off," Maya replied.
We all felt reassured seeing Maya so determined after the worrying days we'd had.
—"You've finally gone back to who you were before; I like you better that way," Zara teased in a friendly tone.
—"Tch, shut up," Maya shot back, covering herself from the rain.
They looked at each other and smiled. Suddenly Noko jumped between them and hugged them.
—"Yay! Let's kick that rain monster's butt," she said.
We kept advancing until, at the top of the hills, we made out the silhouette of a giant wolf. Its fur was dark and its blue eyes shone even through the curtain of rain.
We froze at its presence.
—"A… a wolf?" Noko whispered, shrinking back behind me.
—"When I blacked out I couldn't see it; I didn't expect it to be like that," Maya said, containment fury in her voice as she prepared to strike.
The wolf lifted its muzzle and howled. The sky answered with gusts of wind and a torrential downpour that began in seconds.
—"Everyone, get to higher ground!" Zara shouted, diverting bolts of lightning with her own.
With the help of the earth spirits, Noko formed platforms for us to stand on.
—"Be careful-nya!" she warned.
I tried to move, but the driving rain blurred my vision. That was when I saw it: Maya, sword in hand, murmuring under her breath.
—"It's… the same rain… the same as that time…" she said in a broken voice.
The wolf leapt and landed closer to us, raising a wave that drenched us all, followed by a howl that chilled me to the bone. Maya remained there, frozen, caught between past and present.
—"Maya!" I ran toward her.
I put myself in front of her and gripped her shoulders. Her body was trembling.
—"I don't want… the same thing to happen again…" she whispered.
The wolf stepped forward. I felt its gaze on us and my instinct told me to run… but Maya couldn't.
—"Ren, Maya, move now! Now!" Zara yelled.
Noko strained to keep the platforms beneath us steady, and I would never leave Maya here alone.
—"Maya, listen to me! I know it's hard to face the creature that hurt you so much years ago, but now it's different: you've become stronger and you have us. You won't be alone again; I won't let you be alone."
Maya came to.
—"Ren…" she said.
The wolf readied itself to attack. I grabbed Maya and dragged her to another platform.
—"Let's show that wolf it shouldn't have messed with the Amber Flame!" I exclaimed.