The Descent

I quickly discovered how difficult it must have been for Kia to get to me.
The unsteady ground made it easy to slip if you didn’t watch your footing, which was especially worrisome with the many pitfalls we came across.
The terrain itself was filled with stalagmites and stalactites, making navigating through certain spaces even more difficult.
Kia informed me that we were inside a mountain that her people called: Sharp Peak.
And I could definitely tell why they named it that.
Every rock, even the tiniest ones, could probably cut your hand open if you weren’t careful enough.
Just my luck that I ended up in a place like this, I suppose.
What didn’t help either was that whenever it looked like we were making progress, we would always reach a dead end.
“Are we lost?” I asked Kia when we stumbled upon another dead end.
“I must confess that my navigational skills are not outstanding. Saying that, I am sure we will reach the exit soon enough.”
I silently nodded my head, thinking:
“So, we’re lost.”

Later, she also told me that the fancy room we initially came from was an ancient ritual chamber, used to worship one of the gods of this world.
While their influence has mostly disappeared by now, they’re still held in pretty high regard.
Therefore, I should try my best not to offend them.
“Wait! I believe I can see something.”
At the end of the tunnel we were walking through, Kia noticed a dim light shining through a crack in the wall.
The crack was big enough for us to slip through, which was exactly what Kia ended up doing.
I followed her lead and arrived at the other side, where the view that I was shown blew me away.
We were standing on a small plateau sticking out of the mountain, with below it the sight of a large town sitting at its foot.
Thousands of lights illuminated the place, making it look like every building was made of pure gold.
At its centre stood a huge castle, towering above the rest of the buildings.
It was so enormous; you could barely see what was behind it.
“Welcome to the world of Fira! What you see in front of you is my hometown, Gehenna, and the capital of the Kingdom of Elysium.”
“This is beautiful.”
Never in my earlier life had I seen a place so beautiful.
Although some of Japan’s biggest cities are famous for that very same reason, I never felt like they really stood out to me.
Yet, seeing this town from up high struck a chord in me.
“Gehenna is also known as The Town of Gold. You most likely can see why.”
“Why’d I have to die?”
Silence followed.
Kia was taken aback by my sudden question, hence why she didn’t know how to respond to it.
To be honest, it wasn’t a question specifically aimed at her.
I was merely airing out all the frustration that I felt at that moment.
However, that does not justify my absolute horrible timing.
Despite this, Kia took her time thinking up a consoling answer.
“I do not know. However, I do believe it is better to accept it and to move forward, than to keep focussing on the past.”
When I looked at her, Kia showed me a heart-warming smile.
With the brilliant light of this world shining upon her, it was at that moment that I realized how beautiful she truly was.
Perhaps she is an angel after all.
I could feel my head turning red and my heart beating a thousand miles per hour.
“Is something the matter?”
“N-No! I-It’s nothing. Let’s continue, shall we?”

Venturing further through the mountain, we finally reached a lot friendlier terrain.
Rugged rocky grounds turned into smooth clay paths, and our encounters with pitfalls were less frequent too.
From here, it appeared that Kia knew the way pretty well.
What worried me still, besides the lack of light, was the lack of sound.
Apart from our footsteps, it was unsettlingly quiet inside these tunnels.
No rocks tumbling along the surface, no droplets of water hitting the ground, nothing.
Only sheer, excruciating, silence.
At this point, any sound I might hear would most likely give me a heart attack.
Eventually, we stumbled upon a large cave.
I noticed that Kia was acting more cautious than before, turning her head back and forth as if looking out for something.
“Kia, is there some–”
She raised her arm and whispered to me to stay silent.
Not much later, a loud and horrifying roar resounded from the distant void, echoing throughout the entire cave.
The ground rumbled and the ceiling shook.
With my heart in my mouth, I fell to the ground.
My entire body was shaking out of fear.
What kind of creature could produce such a terrifying sound?
“Here, take this.”
Kia handed me the torch she was holding onto.
I grabbed it and watched as she drew out her sword and changed into a battle stance. 

What happened next amazed me, because her sword was literally set ablaze.
Vivid orange flames danced around her blade, emitting quite a prominent heat.
Kia, strangely enough, didn’t seem to be bothered by it.
As her sword lit up, so did the room, revealing something as equally shocking.
In front of us stood a giant monster, with legs far shorter than its tall and brawny arms.
Its body was covered in black fur, apart from its head, which was shaped like a canine’s with a pair of antlers stuck onto it.
The monster stared straight at Kia with its yellow, beady eyes.
It then tilted its head backwards and made some weird gulping noises.
Whatever it was planning to do, I had a gut feeling it wasn’t going to be friendly.
Impulsively, I tried to warn Kia, but no words ended up leaving my mouth.
Seeing such a beast up close petrified me.
I could neither move a muscle nor say a word.
“Do not worry, Shako. I will protect you.”
I tilted my head back up and shifted my gaze towards Kia.
She was standing completely still, watching the beast in front of her with the slightest bit of annoyance on her face.
Completely calm and unfazed.
How could she remain so calm in a situation like this?
Then, the monster abruptly flung its head forwards and spat out a strange, dark-green liquid.
The liquid was nearing her at high velocity, yet Kia did not move.
Scared she wouldn’t evade it in time, I finally managed to shout:
“KIA, WATCH OUT!”
Right before the ooze would’ve hit her, she jumped aside.
As the strange goo hit the ground, it evaporated into thin air, leaving only a scent that was worse than vomit.
“I believe you are the one who should watch out, lest you want to end up as this monster’s snack.”
The monster made another deafening growl and charged right at her.
Next, it lifted its giant arm and slammed it down with unbelievable force, shattering the ground and causing the entire cave to shake.
Kia managed to dodge the attack somehow, causing the beast to become even more agitated.
Once more, it tried to crush Kia underneath its large paw, but she evaded it yet again.
“This is getting tedious.”
Kia jumped high into the air, raising her flaming sword above her head.
The beast spat more of its toxic saliva at her, but she evaded all of it with the greatest of ease.
“Just perish, would you?” she sneered, before slicing the monster’s head in two.
As she did, its body got consumed by a sea of flames.
The first spark sent shockwaves my way, sending me flying backwards along with large clouds of dust.
For a while, my eyesight was completely blocked by all the dust thrown my way.
Even worse, I had lost the torch I was supposed to keep safe, so whatever bit of light that could guide me was lost as well.
I tried reaching out to Kia, screaming her name, but I got no response.
“Why am I so useless?” I whispered to myself. Having witnessed her slay that beast like it was nothing, while I sat here not being able to move, made me understand how powerless I truly was.
Is the universe making fun of me, by showing me how insignificant I really am?
I clenched my fist and punched the ground in sheer frustration.
I wanted to cry my eyes out, but what good would it do me now?
No amount of sobbing or begging could save me from the mess I found myself in.
All I could do was hope that it would stop, rather sooner than later.

Once the dust settled, any traces of the monster were completely gone.
The only thing left were loose hairs scattered about the place where Kia stood, unscathed, holding her blazing sword right above her head.
“Stupid Heldebeasts. Why do they always need to cause me trouble?”
“What was that?” I asked as I walked up towards her.
“A Heldebeast. Annoying creatures they are. They may look tough, but they are rather easy to beat once you know how.”
“I didn’t mean that, well–. Sure, that monster was also shocking to see, but… I was referring more to that.”
I pointed at her blazing sword.
A slight grin appeared on her face when I did.
“In due time I shall explain everything to you. For now, I believe it is better for us to leave this place. Unless, you wish to stay here and wait for another one of those creatures to show up.”
Without a shadow of a doubt, I shook my head and followed her lead.
She grabbed the torch that I’d dropped off the ground and lit it with her sword, before continuing onwards to the exit.