Chapter 29: Up the Mountain

Nic slammed through the door to the place he had slept the night before. The ringing of the dragon’s roar still echoed in his ears. It didn’t take long for him to find the bag he had left sitting on the floor. His heart was shot with pain seeing the bag sitting next to it.

“Be careful up there. The mountain’s peaks are covered with snow.” Mika warned Nic. She stood just inside the door, her face full of anger and pain. “There is an old lady who lives up on those peaks. Her name is Kara. If you can find her, she should be able to help you find where your friends are.”

Nic was thankful for the information. It was a bright spot in the pain that had been the last few minutes. His body was shaking uncontrollably. His mind racing.

What had Aria been wearing? Was she going to succumb to the cold before he could get up the mountain? What about Sarman? The two of them were strong, but could they defeat a dragon on their own?

Many more questions swirled in Nic’s head. It was dizzying.

“Nic?” Mika’s voice was growing distant as Nic found himself leaning against a wall. He couldn’t hold it in anymore and soon found himself emptying what little he had in his stomach.

The bile forced its way out of his mouth, causing Mika to jump back with a yelp. The bitter taste continued to remind him.

“Nic, calm down. Deep breaths! Deep breaths!” Mika supported him by his shoulder as she whispered into his ear.

It was thanks to her that Nic was able to sit down and breathe after only a few seconds.

But he didn’t allow himself time to rest.

He struggled to get to his feet. His balance was off, and he nearly fell again, only to be caught by his aunt. Even with pain showing on her face, Mika helped Nic stand up fully.

“I can’t stop you from going…”

“Aunt, don’t.” Nic shook his head, trying to stop her from dissuading him.

“I can’t stop you, so just listen to me for a second.” Mika put all of the force she could into her voice. “You will find the dragon. You will find your friends. They will be safe, understand?”

“It’s not that simple! It’s a dragon! The mythical kings of the sky!”

“That’s right. One of the last of its kind. We call it the ‘Lord of the Mountain’, do you know why?”

Nic was unable to answer. His first thought was that it was a title given in fear, yet the look on his Aunt’s face gave Nic the impression that wasn’t the case.

“I… don’t…”

“That dragon has lived in the mountains since long before I was born. It has always had a symbiotic relationship with Ms. Kara at the summits. It has even fought back larger hordes of monsters for this village.” Mika sighed as she helped Nic move towards the entrance of the house. “I trust the Lord, Nic. So put a little bit of your own trust in it. I promise you it won’t hurt Aria or Sarman.”

Nic found himself at a loss for words. He struggled to simply accept trusting a beast that had taken two of the most important people in his life.

Soon he found himself in front of the village, standing on his own. Before him was Yuuki and the rest of the expedition team, all ready to go already. Yuuki had Sarman’s sack hanging off of her back as well as her own.

There were two extra people in their group. Villagers that Nic had remembered seeing at the celebration the night before. Both of them were well toned, and carrying the big bags that they were, looked ready to hike to the ends of the earth.

“What are they doing there?” Nic looked at his aunt, who simply responded with a soft smile.

“We are coming with you. We’re carrying two large tents that should be big enough to fit everyone in. Once we hit Ms. Kara’s abode, we will turn back and head back down here.” One of the men walked up to Nic and explained their plans.

“Oh, I see. Thank you for that.” Nic looked around at the rest of the expedition force there. “Is everyone else good to go?”

The response that he got was an overwhelming amount of confirmations. No one was willing to wait a second longer. Like him, they couldn’t just accept that the dragon wouldn’t do anything to Sarman or Aria.

With a small nod of his head, they set out. It was only midday and they planned to start the hike up before night settled.

While Nic stayed at the back of the group due to not feeling 100% still, he found himself with company. Yuuki was walking beside him, her face down. Nic assumed she was downtrodden.

“You alright?” Since he assumed that she was feeling similar to him, Nic wasn’t expecting the firmness in her voice as she asked about his well being.

“What?”

“You were the last to arrive, and to be honest, you don’t look all that great at all.” Yuuki finally looked at Nic, showing him the resolve that bolstered her entire face. She wasn’t downtrodden at all.

“Ah… I’m sorry.” Nic found himself instinctively apologizing. “To be honest, I’m worried sick.”

“Worried?” Yuuki seemed genuinely confused about Nic's feelings.

“No matter what any of the villagers say, Aria and Sarman were taken by a dragon! I… I can’t help but fear for their safety. I’m worried about what we’ll find when we get up there. Don’t you feel the same way?”

“No.” Yuuki responded coldly. Her icy words pricked Nic’s skin. “I’m not worried. Even if it was a dragon that abducted them, I believe in the two of them. They are both Spirit Kings. If anyone can take down a dragon, it will be those two.”

Nic listened to Yuuki and somehow found himself laughing by the end. The pain of fear was being melted away by Yuuki’s cold belief in the people they cared the most about in the world.

She was far stronger than Nic. Nic found himself thinking about that.

“As always, you are the stronger one!”

“Huh?!” Yuuki’s cold facade dropped as her face tinged red at the compliment. “What are you talking about now?”

“I crumbled to fear, and yet here you are, as steadfast as ever. I should’ve known that something as silly as fear couldn’t break you.”

Nic’s laughter caught the attention of everyone else, who began to look at the two of them with weird faces. Nic never saw it, but when Kiara and Sarah saw him laughing, the two finally let out a long breath of relief and began smiling themselves.

The trek up the mountain would be a long one, but at least they would go in levity.

The village itself was situated almost directly at the base of the mountain, meaning that they would begin going vertically fairly soon. The sun beat down on the group the entire way. The heat picked up as the day went on, causing the group to need to stop at multiple points so that they could rest and get some cool water.

The first time night fell and the moon began to rise, the group had managed to make it nearly a third of the way up the mountain.

“We should stop here for now.” One of the two villagers was the one to suggest stopping. “If we go any higher, we risk it getting far colder at night. At least here, we will have the ability to put out our fire before heading to sleep.”

Nic simply nodded. With Sarman gone, he had become the de facto leader in the eyes of most of the group. Even Yuuki, who held a far greater position than him, was perfectly fine letting him take charge on their trek up.

“Thank you for the idea. Let’s find a nice clearing and get everything set up!” Thankfully they didn’t have to go far to find a large enough clearing.

The two villagers, Yuuki, and Sarah quickly began setting up the two tents while the rest of the group scoured the area looking for flammable twigs and logs. Nic himself was able to find a handful of larger branches and brought them over to the center of the clearing.

Kiara was waiting for him, having found a number of larger stones that she had formed into a circle.

“Put the branches in here.” Kiara was talking to Nic at first but quickly began talking to some of the others behind him. “You two do the same. The rest of you, put them in a pile nearby.”

As two of the Crystallians put their wood next to Nic’s, the other two made a small pile. All four quickly went back out to find more wood to add to it.

“Hopefully they are able to find enough to last us through the night.” Kiara muttered. She turned back to the pile of branches and twigs in the stone circle and knelt down. She poked a single finger into the center.

Smoke came out.

Kiara’s magical specialty was fire magic. Nic knew that she saw Saraman as an unreachable goal, but one that she strived to surpass either way.

Within the college, some students had called her the “Flaming Witch” due to adaptability.

Unlike most mages, Kiara’s base magical power was actually fairly low. She only had more magic power than a lesser elemental spirit. But in return she had a uniquely prodigious adaptability with her magic. She was on the verge of being a leading researcher into the distinct intricacies of magic, changing its inner structure to get more force out of less power. That ability gave her the power to swing far greater than any other mage at her level, or even those moderately stronger than her.

With the fire started, Nic quickly grabbed some of their cookable food and brought it over. It wasn’t much, but the vegetables they had mixed with some leftover meat from the day before would be enough to make a stew over the heat.

Soon enough, the smell of the food attracted the rest of their group. Eager to dig into their food, everyone grabbed wooden bowls and began pouring food into them.

“MMMMMMmmmm! This smells delicious! Kiara, did you make this? Thank you!” Sarah enthusiastically hugged Kiara, their lips meeting in a kiss before Kiara could refute her statements.

“Uh- I’m not the one who made it! Nic did.” Kiara finally got her words out, which forced Sarah to look at Nic instead.

“Hmmm… I think just a hug is good enough for you. Don’t want you getting any weird ideas.” Sarah was about to walk over, but Nic held his hand out to stop her.
“Kiara did give me some pointers. I’m not the best at cooking, so it may not taste as good as it smells.”

“I see! No hug for you then! All of my affection is for Kiara!”

Sarah’s loud, rambunctious nature brought out smiles and laughter from the rest of the group. Nic hoped that he hadn’t just become the butt of the joke.

They quickly sat down and began trading stories about their lives as they ate. Nic found himself next to Yuuki. As they shared laughter, Nic accidentally bumped into her.

As he found himself apologizing, his mind wandered to the coldness he felt when he bumped into her.

“We’ll need to ascend slower from here on out.”

The second day traveling up the mount had been devoid of anything noteworthy till near the end. Due to the dragon living near the top of the mountain, barely any monsters survived in the region. There were still some normal animals that they had to deal with, but they had not required much effort.

Now that night was beginning to set in on their second day, one of the guides was informing them of a future change of plans.

“Why is that?” Sarah was the one who asked the question instead of Nic.

Nic’s own assumption was because they were directly below when the snow started, but the answer that they got was something he hadn’t even noticed yet.

“We’re high enough up that it becomes harder to breathe. On top of that, it is gonna get much, much colder from now on. The two can be a deadly combination.”

“How much longer do we have till we get to this Kara’s home?” Nic spoke up. He needed to know how much this would change their plans.

“If we were able to go at the same rate we have been, we would get there around noon tomorrow. With the slowdown, we should reach it just before nightfall.”

Half a day worried Nic, but he knew that it would be better if they arrived in one piece, instead of half dead. He had no choice but to accept the villagers' concern and agree to move slower the next day.

With that decided, they quickly set up camp, this time using branches they had been picking up all day to start the fire. Another meal was quickly cooked, this time by Kiara entirely.

It was a far better meal to Nic than his meal had been the day before.

That night Nic took the first watch. The cold air bit into his exposed skin, forcing him to stay by the dwindling fire as much as he could. Even next to the fire, Nic could see his breath in the air every time. A small faint cloud that dutifully served to distract him every single time.

It was only a few hours before Yuuki walked up to Nic and sat down next to him.

“Time to switch.” Yuuki talked quietly, not letting a small yawn interrupt her.

“Are you not cold?” Yuuki had sat down in such a way that Nic was in between her and the fire. On top of that, she was wearing much lighter clothes. Clothes that shouldn’t be enough to keep her warm from the cold.

“Cold?” Yuuki’s voice was full of skepticism. “I haven’t felt cold all night. And you are?”

“Everyone else is!” Nic loudly whispered at her. His eyes were wide open as he grabbed her arm. “Ow!” Nic’s hand recoiled back. Yuuki’s arm was as cold as ice, and it hurt to touch it.

“Nic?” Yuuki tilted her head and moved a bit of her hair behind her ear. Nic finally saw her flushed face. She looked like she was in a perfectly normal environment. Not only that, he didn’t see any small vapor clouds when she breathed.

“Maybe you should get some rest, Nic. If you’re thinking everything is cold to the touch, you may be the one that’s sick.”

Nic stared at her, horrified. He wasn’t sure what was happening. Was he the one that was wrong, or was Yuuki?

“You’re right…” Nic got up and walked over to the tent that Yuuki had come out of.

There were two open spots on one side of the tent. One for Yuuki and one for Nic. On the other side of the tent was Sarah and Kiara, huddled together for warmth. The inside of the tent was as cold as ice, despite being next to fire outside. He could see small vapor clouds next to each of their mouths.

What was the last thing he remembers? He couldn’t tell.

His body was heavy, his eyelids even heavier as he tried to open them. Every muscle screamed out in excruciating pain.

There was wood above him.

He was on a soft bed.

Was that a candle he smelled nearby?

He tilted his head to the right and saw that candle. Sitting next to it was a small lizard made entirely of fire. It was a miracle that it didn’t catch the rest of this room on fire.

“S-sala… mander…” He weakly called out to the spirit king.

In response the lizard raised its head. It didn’t show emotions like humans, but the flick of its tongue seemed to be a good thing.

“Sarman, you’re awake. Good.” Salamander jumped onto the bed and quietly moved his way over to sit next to Sarman’s face.

“What happened…?”

“M’kara accidentally crushed a number of your bones when she picked you up. Same thing happened to Aria as well. Aerial and I have been working on healing the two of you. Thankfully you already have quite the regenerative healing, so you have woken up first.”

Salamander was talking about a lot of things that Sarman didn’t understand. M’kara? Crushed bones? Aria?

The flaming lizard walked over his body, checking certain points, before coming to a stop on his chest.

“It looks like all of your broken bones have healed successfully. I’m gonna give you a small boost to ease the soreness of your muscles.” A flash fire covered Sarman’s body before disappearing just as fast as it had appeared.

Sarman instantly sat up. His body no longer hurt and he felt like he could move again. His head was still a bit hazy, but it was nothing that wouldn’t go away with time.

Taking a second to fully look at his surroundings, Sarman found himself in a small wooden room. Only a bed, small cabinet, and bedside table inhabited the room. There was a small window on the wall opposite the only door. Looking through that, Sarman found himself surrounded by snow.

“Where are we?”

“A small cabin high up in the mountains. M’kara brought you here when she grabbed you from in front of the village.”
“M’kara? Who is that? Better yet, what is that?” Sarman knew that whatever this ‘M’kara’ is, they seemed like trouble.

“One of the few remaining Dragons, and an elder one at that.”

Sarman nearly fell out of the bed at the word “Dragon”. The ferocious beast of myth and legend, and yet he had been grabbed by one?

“Did you just say a Dragon?!”

“Yes, would you like to meet her?”

Sarman shook his head and was subsequently led out of the room by Salamander. He found himself in a larger room that seemed to be the centerpiece of whatever building they were in. On one end was the front door with two small windows on either side of it. In the center were a number of comfortable looking chairs and a wooden table. And at the other end of the room was a cooking area. Doors leading to other rooms, presumably just like the one he left, lined the last two sides of the room. There were six other doors in total.

And sitting in one of the many chairs in the center of the room was an old lady. As Sarman entered the room she looked up at him and gave him a sweet smile.

“Salamander said that you would be the first to rise. Sarman, correct?”

“That’s correct. And you are…?”

“You may call me Kara when you see me like this.” The old woman got up and began walking towards the front door.

“Where are you going?” Sarman reached out a hand to stop her, but found himself frozen when she answered him quickly.

“You want to meet M’kara, don’t you?” With that question, the old woman walked out of the house and into the snow. The door creaked on its hinges as it sat there, inviting Sarman to follow.

Unwilling to let the opportunity go, Sarman chased after the old woman into the freezing cold. Being contracted with Salamander gave Sarman some resistance to the cold as he could increase his own internal body temperature enough to stave off frostbite or outright freezing.

The old woman led Sarman even further up the mountain till they found themselves in a large overhang. The overhang itself had a stunning view of the area west of the mountain. Clear views of both Kara’s home and the Village at the base of the mountain meant that the inhabitant that lived there could see if either was in distress.

In short: the dragon clearly lived there.

And yet no dragon was there at this moment. Only Sarman and Kara stood in the open cavern.

“Where is the dragon?” Sarman moved around, trying to find any hints he could as to how long it had been since the dragon had been there. Scratches lined the floor in uneven treds. Burn marks were all over the wall. Yet none of them were recent.

They looked hundreds of years old.

“I haven’t been back here in two hundred years.” The woman cryptically talked as she watched Sarman from the center of the room.

“So you don’t know if the dragon lives here?”

“Oh, she did. Before the Irradiated Winter, this was the place M’kara always rested.”

Sarman clutched his head. Despite the healing from Salamander, and the biting cold taking off more of his grogginess, Sarman felt like he was missing an obvious connection in what the old woman was saying.

“So… where is she now?”

“Right here.”

Sarman looked around at the empty overhang. What was the old woman talking about? Was the dragon dead? Then what had grabbed him?

“There’s nothing here!”

Sarman turned back to the old woman.

In fear he stepped back as soon as he saw her. Sarman was unable to draw his eyes away as he watched the woman’s form contort and morph. It grew larger, the skin hardening into scales, and her hands growing claws. Her mouth turned into a large snout. Wings sprouted from her back.

The old woman was gone.

In her place stood a hulking white dragon. It was many times larger than Sarman, filling up most of the overhang. Its white scales reflected the setting sun’s rays, nearly blinding Sarman. When it opened its snout, a low rumbling came out before a deep voice reverberated through his bones.

“In my human form, I am Kara. In my original form, I am M’kara; the prophetic dragon as humans have come to call me.”

“W-w-w-w- AHHHHHH!” Sarman let out a terrified scream.

He was strong. Stronger than most. No one would ever argue that. Most thought his strength came from the fact that he was contracted with a spirit king. And most of it did, but Sarman had a higher than average base strength even without Salamander. His phoenix blood increased not only his body’s innate healing potential, but helped him build strength far easier as well. On top of all of that, he had the abilities that the feathers that coated his body granted him.

And yet in the face of a true dragon, Sarman couldn’t feel anything except for fear.

“Oh don’t be like that. I don’t plan on hurting you physically.” M’kara spoke up as she moved her head closer to Sarman. “Unlike most of my deceased brethren, my specialty was never fighting.”

“R-r-really?” Sarman sputtered out his response. He tried to slow his breathing to calm himself down, but it still took a few minutes to get past the innate fear of the massive dragon before him.

“Not to say I can’t fight, I just detest it.” As M’kara saw that Sarman was calming down, she moved back and laid down.

Her two massive wings were currently folded up against her body, and her front two legs were perched under her body, giving her a small way to prop up her upper body and head.

“So…” Having finally managed to calm down, Sarman spoke up again. “Why did one of the last remaining dragons appear and kidnap me and my friend?”

“Hmph.” The dragon snorted. “I didn’t take you two for yourselves. At least not initially. I have long protected that village at the base of the mountain in exchange for them bringing Kara human food. I noticed the presence of monsters and was heading down to help protect the village when I sensed two Spirit Progenitors nearby. I wanted to ask them some questions regarding my master, so I grabbed the two people I sensed they were connected to.”

“So, you only grabbed us to ask Salamander and Aerial some questions?” Salamander appeared on Sarman’s shoulder as he was asking the clarifying question. As he did, he simply nodded to Sarman.

“I did, and they were more than happy to answer as long as I let you two recover in Kara’s abode. Of course, my interest peaked when I looked at the two of you and saw your futures.”

Sarman was stunned. He had heard the tales from the time mages in festivals. ‘Our magic never grants us a clear picture, but they say that if the prophetic dragon sees your future, it is bound to come to pass.’ And before Sarman stood that very same prophetic dragon.

Just what had she seen in their futures?

“Our futures…?” Sarman murmured.

“Yes. I can tell you now that the rest of your friends will arrive tomorrow night. And Aerial’s contractor will wake up an hour before then.”

Sarman perked up when he heard that. “Then Yuuki and Nic are going to make it!”

“That’s right,” M’kara nodded her head. “But I’m more interested in your future beyond that.”

“Our future beyond…?” Sarman stood there dazed for a second before furiously shaking his head. “No no no. It’s too dangerous for me to hear any details.”

“Hmmm. There are some limitations to my ability you see.” Despite his refusal to listen, M’kara continued to talk. “I can’t use it on myself. So any knowledge of my own future comes from seeing myself in other’s futures. And yet when I looked at Aerial’s contractor's future, it suddenly stopped in three years.”

Sarman froze.

“What?” Aria’s future stopped in three years? Was she destined to die in three years? “How does she die?” Sarman found himself asking the question. He knew he shouldn’t, yet he had to know.

“That’s the hilarious part. The final moments I see of hers, she is killing a monster overflowing with Irradiation. Yet I know that Verilo’s descendant is with her. No matter how much Irradiation she is exposed to, he should be able to absorb it.” M’kara snorted as she shook her head.

Sarman had realized what M’kara’s vision meant though. The prophetic dragon in front of him would one day turn into a monster that they would have to kill. They just couldn’t see it for themselves.

“Wait, if you saw that in Aria’s future, then does my future continue past the three year mark as well?”

Sarman’s question was met with silence. Both from M’kara who was trying to look the other direction, and Salamander who sat on his shoulder.

“Hey! Answer me!”

“Weren’t you the one who said that it was too dangerous to know your own future?” Salamander spoke from his spot. “Should you really be asking that question?”

“I…”

“If he wants to know, he should know.” M’kara spoke up, glaring at Salamander.

“No. You promised me not to tell him. It was our deal.”

“A deal that I think is void if the subject himself wants to know.”

While Salamander and M’kara bickered, Sarman loudly spoke up.

“What is wrong with me knowing Salamander? The way you’re acting, it’s like I die tomorrow or something!”

“One week.”

Sarman stopped in his tracks and looked over at the dragon in front of him.

One week?

“One week, in the Kyoku Imperial senate room you will be betrayed and killed.”

“Huh?”