The Everest Clue

The room was huge. Lacking windows, the room was bathed not in natural light but in a pale, mystical glow. The air felt heavy, saturated with dormant, ancient magic. Everything was coated in a faint smell of dust and burnt wax. In the center stood a wooden desk with drawers. On it rested a thin, completely burnt-down candle that had once shone in its full glory. Behind it, a simple wooden chair. To the right was a comfortable, green armchair next to a small chest of drawers. On top of the chest sat a crystal ball, just like the one Ren had seen in the Snow-dusted people's house when he woke up. He wondered if Haku's Master had known about the Snow-dusted people. If so, how did he reach them?

"8848, what does it mean?" Zel asked as he swept his hand over a piece of paper.

"I have no idea," Haku shrugged.

Papers were everywhere, but unlike in Lily's house, they were much more organized. There were many words unknown to Ren, and what seemed like random numbers. He sifted through one of the stacks and saw a strange symbol in a small notebook. The symbol for magic—a four-pointed star—was drawn in red ink within a circle. The image felt familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it.

Zel stepped next to see what Ren was looking at.

"I think I've seen it somewhere before," nodded Zel to himself.

Haku's eyes darted around as she spoke. "That was the witch's circle that trapped the two of you."

Zel's face went utterly still. The silence stretched, heavy and tense, as the words sank in. Then, slowly, his expression began to change, the shock giving way to a dawning horror. A deep rage started to simmer in his eyes.

"You knew?" he hissed through clenched teeth, his voice barely a whisper. "You knew this the whole time?" He repeated the question, his voice rising in disbelief.

A deep, heavy silence followed, broken only by the crackle of Ren's boots on the floor. Something stirred in Ren, too—a slow-burning anger that mirrored Zel's.

The air crackled with tension as Zel's voice rose sharply. "So I was right! You knew he was behind everything all along, and you still protected him! He was the one taking my power! He's the one behind Ren's pain, too, right?"

Zel took a step closer to the red-haired girl, forcing her to back away. She didn't look at him.

"I didn't want to believe it!" Haku screamed at the boy who wouldn't stop accusing her. "Master was my family! The only person who stood by me! You can't blame me for wanting to believe that he's good!"

Zel flinched, and a wave of raw pain seemed to radiate from him, making the air in the room feel heavy and cold. "I don't blame you for what the Mage did," he said, his voice now quiet but thick with emotion, "and I understand you want to protect someone who means a lot to you. But I, and all of us here, feel this. I hope the sacrifice you made for him won't have a negative outcome."

The words hung in the air between them, heavy and suffocating. Zel took a shaky breath, his body rigid with silent fury. He didn't say another word. Instead, he turned and made his way up the stairs. Zel's body slowly disappeared from view as he made his way up the stairs. His footsteps were heavy, each thud on the wooden steps a quiet, seething rage.

Haku silently looked at Ren and Lily, who immediately looked away, acting like nothing had happened.

Lily ran her fingers over the papers as if she could feel something. Her face looked calm and almost happy, as if the writing on it amused her. Lily felt along the walls until she found the chair. After sitting down, she pulled the drawer open and placed its contents on the desk.

"What are these?"

Ren and Haku approached at the same time and moved the papers around to look at them.

"They just look like the same numbers as any of the others," the oni said resignedly, her hands falling to her sides. "I don't know if there's anything useful here." She shifted her weight onto her other leg while cracking her fingers. "And... I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

Lily reached out her hand to Haku, finding her stomach and stroking it encouragingly, though Ren suspected that wasn't her real plan.

"Actually, there's a lot here," she said, pushing the papers toward them. "Can you tell me which number appears the most on these? Is it the number 8?"

Ren dove into the reading, his eyes scanning the lines. He pushed one paper aside after another.

"Yes."

"The password is 8848. Magic clung to the papers, and as Haku said, he's the most powerful mage in the world. This means the password is important. Given how frequently he used the number 8, it clearly holds a meaning. Do you have any ideas what it could be?"

It could be the letter B, or the 8th letter of the alphabet, which is H. It could also mean infinity. But what would be the point of these? Ren saw no connection, which frustrated him.

"It's okay if you can't think of anything right now,"

Lily reached under the drawer, her fingers tracing the smooth wood until they found a tiny, almost invisible seam. She pressed, tapped, shifted something, and with a soft click, a hidden drawer popped out, hitting Ren's leg. He yelped, grabbing the sore spot, and hopped to the side, hissing in pain.

"What is this, and how did you know?" Haku stared at her in amazement.

"A secret latch. I have one at home, too. What's in it?"

Haku bent down to look at the contents, her hands trembling. She pulled a plain black-covered journal from the drawer. It had no locks or anything, as if the Mage was sure no one would ever find it.

Ren's eyes widened. He reached for the object. "It's a diary," he stated, his voice a low whisper. He knew this was the key to everything and was about to risk it all to open it.

The Mage's handwriting was like a work of art, with beautiful, slanted letters. Ren read the first few lines aloud.

"I really miss Rudo and the whole family. I often think about them these days. I'm sure they would have been very fond of Haku. And I'm glad I can take care of her the way they took care of me. She's a good girl. I wish she would learn that making mistakes isn't a sin and that she wouldn't be so hard on herself. She wants to train again tomorrow. That girl is sure to get herself into trouble one day!"

Ren glanced at Haku. He expected her to cry, but she showed no sign of it. He had never seen Haku's face so full of life and joy. Her smile was wide and genuine. Her strong red stripe running across her face seemed brighter. Her red irises shone clearly even in the dim light.

"Well, what's happening?" Lily urged them in the sudden silence.

"Haku is very..." Ren searched for the right words. "Beautiful."

Haku snapped out of her momentary trance and covered her mouth with her hand, as if trying to hide her reddened face, which wouldn't have been visible anyway due to her skin color.

Lily propped her elbows on the desk and rested her chin in her hands, pouting as she looked at them. "What a shame! I want to see beautiful Haku's face too!"

Embarrassed, Haku stomped on the wooden floor, and then, unable to take it anymore, she stormed out. Ren and Lily laughed heartily.

Ren quickly flipped through the journal. He wanted to see if he could find a letter, a bookmark, anything that could help them know what to do next. Then his eyes caught on a page that was different from the others. He flipped until he found what he was looking for. It was drawn as part of a map. A precise copy of Ebony Vow was sketched in masterful graphite. Below it, to the south, a landscape unknown to him was shown, with sharp mountains jutting out next to a wild, unforgiving ocean. He closed the journal, the weight of the discovery pressing into his hands. This map was their only hope. As he held it, the pages began to glow faintly, and he noticed a small sketch in the corner of the map. Ren's eyes widened, and he turned to Lily.

"We don't have time," he said, his voice barely a whisper. "The ink... It's fading."

"Huh, what is this?"

Ren realized there was a folded yellow paper under the diary. He reached for the paper and unfolded it. Excited and curious to find out what that could be.

"This is a map. From my world!" he exclaimed, his voice cracking with disbelief.

Lily slapped the desk, the sound echoing through the silence, and leaned forward, her eyes wide with urgency to get a closer look at the object.

It was the familiar, infinite blue ocean with green islands inside it.

"There's something here." Lily tapped one of the islands on the right side of the map. "He marked it with magic, as if it's important."

Ren felt his throat go dry, and though he opened his mouth, no sound came out. A cold wave of recognition washed over him.

"This is Japan," he whispered, his voice cracking with emotion. "This is my home."