Aaron closed his eyes slowly, feeling the frigid gust of wind streak across each strand of blond hair that dangled lightly from his scalp.
The ground below his feet was coarse, gravely even, with a thin layer of ice and snow melting gently under the gentle presence he exuded.
Moving his hand slowly across his chest, he tightened the large overcoat that was tucked firmly around his torso, each pocket fitted with heat charms to prevent frostbite.
As he reopened his eyes and refocused his gaze on the surroundings around him, he felt the misty skies beginning to clear.
After entering the cloud layer nearly seven hours earlier, they had walked nonstop through the hellish conditions, forcing their way through the monstrous maelstrom even at the risk of death.
Dangerous static threatened to cling to their metal armory, the only deterrent being a shock absorber installed by Don Urude as they entered the region.
The elder now walked behind Aaron, his orange eyes fixed on the icy path ahead of him with a stern look, tearing across his maw.
The blond-haired boy knew the reason for his attitude; the very same thought pushed to the forefront of his mind as well.
None has made it past this point and returned.
Shrouded in a perpetual layer of storms, the summit of the Floriam Mountains, or more specifically, Mount Evermore, was impossible to view from the ground, preventing external investigation.
From now until the end of their journey, they would be going in blind, the Abyssal Miasma beginning to cling to the air like poison.
Urude's movements became more sluggish, his eyelids waning, and constant breaks were required for him to continue onward.
Aaron, on the other hand, was left in perfect condition due to the effects of the Ghostship and its regenerative properties.
The mana is thicker up here as if it is condensed into balls…
Running his hand through the thinning fog, he finally saw a shimmer of light collide with his flesh, the storm fading into nothingness as he stepped forward.
Taking a deep breath, he pushed upward, climbing a short vertical incline that allowed him to leap from the clouds and back into the light of the world.
"Three thousand meters…"
The elder's voice was hoarse yet powerful, the brilliant rays of sunlight soaking both men's bodies in a heavenly glow.
Aaron's footsteps stopped as he stared off the edge, the incredibly dense layer of clouds that surrounded the mountain stretching onward for what seemed like infinity.
"The normal storm is never-ending; however, we can't see the ground due to the tropical hurricane striking the island right now."
Patting the blond child on the shoulder, the old man took the lead with his pickaxe in hand, where he soon dug it harshly into the rockside.
"It'll be more climbing from now on, so…"
He paused, taking a deep, labored breath that required at least ten times the normal amount of oxygen due to the miasma.
"So get ready for it."
Pulling his stone broadsword from his back and slamming it above where he had dug the pickaxe into the rock with, he pulled himself one strike at a time, scaling the steep incline with ease.
Soon after, Aaron followed suit, his leg and sword acting as his tools in aiding his ascent up the wall of stone.
And even after they reached the top of that short climb and continued forward another one hundred meters, another vertical wall awaited them.
Again, only another hundred or so meters after that, they were met with another, and then another, and another.
Such terrain was perilous, one misstep capable of sending someone to an early grave without any hope of survival.
After walking from dawn to dusk on November 8th, the two men reached the six thousand meter milestone, with only two thousand remaining until the top.
"T-tired…"
Aaron collapsed against the outbank that they had stopped on, his complexion ragged and wrought with sweat.
Don Urude wasn't much better, his muscles visibly shaky and his eyes bloodshot and dilated from the intense stress his body was under.
"This'll work then."
Following the fifteen-year-old boy's example, he sat down against the next large incline that they would climb, a straight two-hundred-meter cliff face without any outcrops for rest.
"Boy. Pass me the bag."
Stretching his hand out towards the turquoise-eyed child, he quickly received his sack of belongings, which he tore through like a madman.
"What are you…?"
Before he could even finish the question, Aaron watched as the man pulled out a soft bag that was wrapped in an odd material that he had never seen before.
Leaning in to try to get a better look, he watched as the old man extended cords from the now unwrapped surface.
Unfolding the tightened legs of the object and digging them deep into the soil, a gentle hum began to emerge from its core.
"What is that?"
Tilting his head to his side and posing the question, Aaron watched as Urude's eyes flickered with joy.
"It's an atmospheric sensor to measure the Abyssal Miasma emitted from wherever the hell it's coming from."
His brow furrowed downward as he flipped switch after switch to activate its console, which he promptly used.
Ping! Ping! Ping!
The machine began to beep repeatedly, the elder looking quite proud of himself as he relaxed against the rock wall.
"We'll have five hours of rest, and then we'll get moving again. Let's see… Midnight is when it'll be done, so that's when we'll move."
Nodding his head while growling, the blond boy relaxed against his own ledge, closing his eyes slowly and listening to the beeping.
Each gust of wind was like a hurricane, the force so powerful that he was required to attach his leg to the rock so that he wouldn't fly away during his rest.
Yet as he focused on the hum of the machine and the detection system from it, he felt his mind begin to fade, his subconscious slip away.
Just a little sleep will be fine… Just a little…
…
He opened his eyes to total darkness, an endless stretch of soft sand below his feet, and a deafening silence coming from around him.
Jumping to his feet, he tried to summon his sword to his hand, yet nothing appeared, only the quietness resounding louder than sound.
Slowly, he brought his hands towards his eyes, rubbing them gently and feeling his vision return in a flash.
Parting his eyelids and allowing his pupils to take in the scene around him, he took a step back, his heart rate spiking to double what it had been before.
"W-who—"
His voice stopped, a wave of endlessly crushing force pressing down on him like the weight of the world.
"AGH!"
Crumbling to his knees, he listened to the gravely footsteps of the creature before him walk forward slowly.
Barely able to glance up, he observed its lower half, a robe, navy-purple in color and clad in symbols resembling emblems.
Its shoes were wooden sandals, the straps wrapping around deep tan skin that seemed to absorb the darkness of the space around them.
Aaron's face was pushed lower towards the sandy surface until he was tasting the soil, his blood vessels beginning to pop, and his brain on the verge of overwhelming destruction.
In the humanoid's hand, a staff made of solid sapphire glowed with a mystical turquoise, the tip of said tool touching down on the blond boy's forehead gently.
"Thou who dost attain the lofty pinnacle, the highest point of elevation, wherein thou hast surpassed all others in thy ascent."
Its voice was masculine, exuding a heavy weight of loneliness that drilled through the boy's entire body like fire.
"Thou shalt be the first whom I shall permit to attain the summit of this mighty mountain, wherein lies the highest point of grandeur and majesty."
The pressure clouding the child's mind faded in an instant, his body relaxing in one massive sigh of relief as he fell against the floor.
Turning his head upward slowly, he felt a hand press against his blond hair, a low but calm voice coming out.
"Nay, thou mayest not behold my countenance this day, young one. Fear not, however, for thou shalt not be beset by sorrow."
Forced to stare at his sandals, Aaron felt his body spasm slightly, his eyes blurring, and his mind going fuzzy.
"Thou art unfamiliar to me, wherein lies thy bond to the Great Slayer; yet, if thou hast knowledge of his being, then thus we have much discourse to engage in, forsooth."
The darkness around the space began to whistle as if it was overheating, the ground shaking intensely like an earthquake.
"Ere thou dost depart hence unto the realm of waves, thou must be apprised of one circumstance that shall determine thy destiny upon this perilous pinnacle."
He paused, tapping his sapphire staff on the crumbling sand floor that was beginning to dissolve.
"Hearken unto thyself, thou must, notwithstanding the whispers that may reach thine ears. The guile of bygone eras shall strive to beguile thee, to lead thee astray with cunning deceit. Nevertheless, thou shalt remain steadfast and discover me, for thus it is the sole path that lieth before thee."
Then, as the blond boy attempted to decipher the meaning of his words, a turquoise light blasted forward from his staff, striking the child straight in the head.
His vision instantly darkened, the world around him spinning, and his body falling through the sand and into nothingness.
Yet only a moment later, as his eyes opened once more, the sound of the machine had returned, and Don Urude's snores filled the mountains' ledge.
In front of the boy, the sight of total darkness, void of all stars, showed itself once more; the cliff that they were soon to ascend now felt more treacherous than ever before.