"Many have tried to reach the peak," Alai said as she squinted at the storm-covered mountain. "Few have come close."
The dragon roared above the clouds up front.
Stepping out of the carriage, Phthonus, Alai, and Kali were enveloped by the earthy scent of moss and damp soil. As they gazed skyward, the spire of grass pierced the clouds, its vibrant green defying the gray turmoil above. The air was thick with moisture, and the distant rumble of thunder blended with the rustling leaves, challenging anyone who dared to climb the formidable mountain.
Aletha and Asahi stepped forth, their boots crunched on a carpet of brittle leaves, feeling the mountain's agony. The giant pine trees shook in rapid movements, like dandelions in a sea of flowers.
In an instant, all three gripped the claws Ubel had given them. They drove the hooks into the earth, using them as grappling tools. The motion was brisk—he lunged forward, then urgently pulled back.
Kali approached, shoes crunching the ground, her cat ears shining under the golden sun. She spoke formally.
"Many have lost their lives here," she said uneasily. "Now, the Sealed Beatific devours any failed climber. The mountain is restless—beyond our control."
Kali crossed her arms, pointed upward, and declared, "But to save the nation, we must climb. I believe in you, Asahi. You too, Aletha."
All of a sudden, the air carried a faint, acrid bite-- the unmistakable tang of processed metal.
Once they noticed the acrid metallic scent and heard the clamor, their eyes darted to enemies in metal. The humanoids had limbs built for climbing, with five sharp nails that could rend the earth.
Shocked by these impeccable beings, Kali, Phthonus, and Alai screamed at the wanderers.
"You two have to reach the peak!" Kali barked as her green luminance gathered. "Now!"
"CROAK!" Said a creature as it clung to its arms and legs at the grassy spire.
Several creatures then bombarded the group, screeching and crying as purple essence spilled out from their backs. Phthonus conjured up an orange luminance, while Kali used her green magic. But just as Asahi and Aletha came back.
One creature latched onto a chunk of earth beneath them, screeching in terror. They kicked it down and resumed climbing. With every step, more creatures swarmed, flooding the mountain.
"Kali, I need some assistance!" Phthonus asked as he conjured up arrows of luminance that engulfed the group below. "The Promise is here!"
"Okay!"
As Asahi and Aletha looked downward, watching the chaos unfold below, Phthonus snapped his fingers and yelled to the wanderers.
"GO! Climb the mountain! We will take care of these trespassers for you."
. . .
Climbing up, they met a fierce wind.
Asahi reached out and hooked his claw into the earth. Fierce winds battered them, challenging every movement as he fought for each hold.
The claws gave them extra grip, but each movement became more difficult as the wind strengthened. They clung to the surface, their bodies pressed back by the raging air.
"What is going on down there?" Aletha asked as her gaze transferred to the tall, shimmering ocean.
Suddenly, Asahi paused, his gaze sweeping across the slopes.
An unsettling stillness had fallen.
Sunlight filtered through the impossibly dense canopy.
And yet, they proceeded forth.
After resting on the ground, the sound of the roars of the dragon grew clearer.
"I hear it," Aletha said, "I hear the dragon!"
"We're getting close!"
However, just as they were able to puncture the mountain,
"ALETHA!"
Suddenly, part of the earth crumbled beneath them. Rocks tumbled in all directions, and they plunged meters down the mountain. Asahi grabbed Aletha's hand and flung his other onto the rock to catch their fall. Training memories flashed in his mind—pull-ups, push-ups, and tough workouts with Kendra, relying on his strength.
Although his mind can't remember it, his body did, urging him to climb back up.
One, two, three. Three steps forward and another crevice opened in the unveiling mountain.
Sights of stone structures emerged, unearthed from the grasp of the mountain. The sunlight shone with intensity. It dappled the forest floor in patches, illuminating the soft mosses and fallen logs.
But as they grew closer to the peak, another patch of earth collapsed like fractured glass. What was unveiled was a floating glowing inscription that read,
("They shall conquer the Dragon and all else shall be saved.")
"The prophecies?" Aletha muttered, striking down a creature.
"What do you mean by prophecies?" Asahi asked her. "That inscription?"
"It's the Alaunus prophecies," Aletha replied. "You haven't seen them?"
"...no, I don't think so…" And then, memories of the unnamed caverns flashed. The inscriptions floating in the air, the ones carved into the earth. The blue lettering and golden font. He shook his head and watched as all chaos ran loose beneath their very feet.
A voice came from his head suddenly, asking.
("Asahi, do you have a clue what you're doing?")
"No, Telos," Asahi said. "But I do know what Aletha's talking about."
(Understood. I know that name somewhere. I just can't figure out how to triangulate the proposed junctures.)
. . .
Another step and then another leap.
Asahi and Aletha reached the midpoint of the mountain.
The sunlight that had touched the relatively tame mountain faded as several more inscriptions arose from the crumbling earth. Monsters flew about and centered, crawling and searching for the two. One, two, three, four,
Memories began to latch onto Aletha and Asahi.
Memories of love and loss; Memories of Phthonus, Alai, and the rest came into their perception.
How they traveled to the Gushy Geysers with Dina, and how they passed Clearstar Lake. How they helped them grow, the battles they fought, the tornado, the race, and the hospital.
All these memories of these people flooded back.
In the chaos of the climb, memories of key individuals surfaced, urging Asahi and Aletha onward. They thought of Phthonus, whose friendship and leadership had been their guide through numerous trials. They remembered the wisdom of Kendra, who taught them resilience, and the courage of Sergil, who always led the charge into the fray. Each memory came with a personal stake, a reminder of what failure could cost. Asahi felt the weight of the promise he made to protect those he loves, fearing the anguish of loss if they did not succeed. Aletha clung to the hope of a future where they could all live free of the looming threat, dreaming of the peace she wished to secure for their world. These significant bonds, more than mere memories, were their motivating force to continue the ascent.
This, along with all the memories, urged Asahi and Aletha to climb even more.
The earth suddenly shifted beneath their hands and feet, but Asahi and Aletha pressed on, determined to finish their climb. They had failed before, but this time,
A giant blue beam shot at them. They lost their grip and plummeted downward. Just as the ground raced toward them,
(BOING)
A giant chicken broke their fall. The silver-haired girl appeared.
"DINA!" Aletha mumbled 'You're here?!"
"Aletha," she said, her voice hard. "Climb the mountain now. That dragon won't let you reach your goal if you go alone."
"Yeah, members of The Promise are everywhere." Said Pridia as she focused a crimson laser at the approaching swarm. "Just go up, we'll handle this."
As they see Phthonus, Alai, Pridia, and the others use their magic, suddenly rumblings from the ocean come into full swing…
(Meanwhile, in the docks of Linuxinia City.)
"Are you sure this will work? We haven't gotten confirmation about the weakness situation."
Waves crashed at the docks. Toivo, the blue-haired old man, summoned a wall of water. Kendra added another, encircling the city. New waves crashed. Kendra, terrified, turned to Toivo as people screamed.
"Toivo, do you think this will help?"
What she replied to her was none other than a silent nod. Kendra then heard thunder boom in the peaks.
"Stay." He said as he grabbed Kendra's hand.
"B-But… Asahi!"
"Let him do his business. I saw him train, I saw him grow; he can make it without our help." Toivo said with guilty eyes. "Now we need to fight whatever the hell this thing is."
(Meanwhile, in Clearstar.)
"Got it, Zeru?" Said a feminine figure as the green essences surged on the roots embedded in the stone ceiling.
Coming from the empty houses, as he saw the pulsating heart-shaped thing fabricate black streams of essence, he clenched the strands of darkness, then, with one full touch,
(SHATTER)
The blackness and the black orb that attached itself to the object dissipated in seconds.
"Never knew it could be that easy--.
A sudden explosion ruptured inside Clearstar city, splitting the windows into two. Zeru quickly pushed his brown hair to the side and then raced out of it, saying to Isa..
"Yes, I got it. I secured the space. But this town must go. Leave without me. I'll handle it."
As the city got caved in by black essences,
"Goodbye, Clearstar." He said as his vision and the black aura faded away. "My favorite abode."
(Meanwhile, back in Linuxinia Peak)
.
Their minds struggled to grasp what their eyes had witnessed: creatures sprawling about. It was difficult for Aletha and Asahi to identify who or what these beings were, since everyone was focused on climbing the mountain.
Beneath, they were again fending off the creatures in rapid succession. Phthonus used his orange magic to pierce the creatures and blow one of the heads of the humanoids. Kali seized the final weakness crystal, and Alai encouraged them to scale this mountain.
"Aletha, Asahi, you can DO IT!"
Sleek, metallic forms, moving with an unnerving fluidity, had emerged from the shadowed depths of the peak. They were constructs, alien and terrifying, their movements precise, and utterly devoid of life.
Asahi and Aletha looked heavenward and saw the dragon and a light, in all of its glory, encircling the circle of clouds enveloping the crumbling mountain.
Asahi and Aletha have reached the halfway point.
With every movement, climbing left then right, Asahi and Aletha both moved with chilling efficiency, their forms glinting dully in the filtered light. Then, a blue essence encircled them before…
The dragon shot yet another cyan beam. It raced through the smoke and clouds, shooting and piercing through the sky straight to Asahi and Aletha.
But just before it reached them,
(DING)
A beautiful green luminance shimmered within Asahi, forcing the projectile to deflect off the barrier.
(Go, my power won't last long!) Telos said in Asahi's mind.
Another beam of light shot out from the jaws of the black and blue dragon. But the barrier refused to back down. It latched onto Asahi like a shield and deflected yet another beam.
(GO! And pursue that dragon!) Yelled Telos as Asahi and Aletha chased the dragon.
After hearing Telos' words, Asahi and Aletha nodded their heads and ascended.
The sounds of roaring bounced across every corner of the landscape, resounding over the funnel of clouds.
Following a green explosion, an avalanche of rock caved in, unveiling the spectacle of a giant castle beneath, crowning the lush mountain.
Feeling the land crumble below, Asahi and Aletha threw themselves upward and reached the top, standing on a stone surface enveloped in clouds and floating debris.
Not only a citadel, but a living, breathing city was unearthed from the depths of the peak, with boulders floating everywhere.
The mountainous roar that tore from the dragon's throat was not merely a sound; it was a physical force.
It began as a low, guttural vibration, resonating deep within Asahi and Aletha's chests, rattling their very teeth.
Then, it escalated with terrifying speed, swelling into a deafening crescendo that seemed to tear through the fabric of reality. The wind, a sculptor of mountains, clawed at Asahi and Aletha's armor. Each gust was a biting caress, stealing the meager warmth from their skin and whispering of tales of dreams and wonders. Sergil's face flashed in Aletha's mind as they took their pursuit into this giant castle.
"Sergil… I remember." Aletha mumbled. "I remember it all."
"Remember what?" Asahi asked as the ground tremored underneath.
The stones of the citadel beneath Asahi and Aletha's feet vibrated, and they felt the sonic waves thrumming through their bones. It had threatened them to nearly dislodge their grip on the soil. But then something sparked in them.
"Remember Sergil."
And that's when they finally reached the top, with everyone's hearts clinging onto them.
"We made it," Aletha said as she cheered. "We made it to the top!"
After the peak shattered, they stood upon the highest battlement of Linuxinia's Citadel, watching as the black and blue dragon warped in thin air and descended toward them.
After one last hitch, Asahi and Aletha witnessed as the dragon roared viciously, echoing across every corner of the mountain.