Adlet and Polo did not linger at their small makeshift camp. There was no time for comfort, no room for complacency. Linoa and Lucien were somewhere ahead on this impossible island, and every moment wasted now felt like another thread cut from their chances of survival.
They resumed their trek through the mountains, following the narrow paths that wound across the island's jagged spine. The further they advanced, the more oppressive the landscape became. The air itself felt heavier—warmer, thinner, charged with the residue of distant battles. Ragged scars marked the stone, deep grooves and shattered boulders speaking of colossal clashes between Apexes. Each echoing cry in the distance sent a shiver down the boys' backs.
But they pressed on.
Eventually, the terrain dipped, opening into a natural balcony overlooking a sight so overwhelming that both boys froze where they stood.
There it was.
The Mountain Rokh.
A single towering monument of stone, rising far higher than any peak they had crossed so far. It didn't merely scrape against the world's rocky ceiling—it seemed to challenge it. A dark, ancient titan of raw stone, crowned by swirling Stars embedded in the cavernous vault far above. The air around it carried a weight unlike anything they had felt before, a pressure that seemed to seep directly into their bones.
Adlet swallowed. "This… is definitely it."
Polo nodded slowly. "The Mountain Rokh. The largest on the island. The elders back home used to speak of mountains that almost touched the Stars… but this might actually do it."
The oppressive sensation thickened with every step they took in its direction, like walking toward the open maw of something ancient and sentient.
Yet strangely, the closer they came to the foot of the colossal peak, the weaker the Apexes became.
At first, they didn't believe their eyes.
A rangy Granite Serpent, rank 2, slithered across their path, its stony scales grinding against the gravel. Adlet reacted instantly—his Bind Lizard tail-whip lashed out with sharp, cracking strikes, each blow chipping fragments off the serpent's rocky hide. When the creature reared back to counterattack, he closed the distance in a heartbeat, Aura coiled tightly around his fists. A short, decisive exchange ended with Adlet driving a final blow beneath its jaw, shattering the core beneath its stone plates.
Moments later, a Gliding Volt Condor, also rank 2, dropped from the sky with predatory intent, lightning sparking between its talons. Polo braced, tentacles unfurling around him just as the beast dove. The first strike he narrowly sidestepped—but the second came faster, a crackling swipe meant to tear him from the mountainside. Polo's Aura snapped outward, four tentacles latching onto the condor's wings mid-swoop. The creature shrieked, momentum breaking as Polo wrenched it sideways, dragging it down in a spiraling crash. Before it could recover, he tightened his grip, pinning its wings to the stone and delivering a precise, finishing strike that stilled the Apex for good.
The others they spotted watched the boys from afar and wisely kept their distance.
It made no sense.
Adlet exhaled as he wiped dust from his arm. "Lower ranks… here of all places. Close to the biggest mountain?"
Polo's brow furrowed. "They're being pushed out. Forced down. Which means…"
He didn't finish the sentence. He didn't need to.
Something powerful ruled the heights.
Maybe many things.
The boys exchanged a grim look before beginning their ascent.
The climb up the Mountain Rokh was unlike anything they had experienced. The path was barely more than a ribbon of stone clinging to the mountainside. One misstep meant falling hundreds of meters into the abyss below. Wind tore at them relentlessly, howling through the cracks of the stone like something alive.
Every few minutes, they felt eyes on them.
"Feels like something's watching," Adlet muttered.
Polo didn't answer right away. His gaze flicked upward. "It's not just watching… it's waiting."
Hours passed. The tension only grew.
Then—
GRRRRRMMMBLE.
A deep, grinding rumble vibrated through the rock beneath their feet.
Adlet's head snapped up.
A shadow swallowed them.
A massive boulder—easily five times their size—had rolled into view, nudged just over the edge of the cliff above them. It teetered for a fraction of a second, as if savoring their terror.
Then it dropped.
Adlet and Polo locked eyes.
They didn't need words.
Aura flared.
Adlet thrust both palms upward, and a Ruby Turtle shell erupted before him—larger and thicker than any he'd managed during training, the scarlet gem-like surface shimmering under the dim light of the Stars.
Polo didn't hesitate. Four thick tentacles of ocean-blue Aura wrapped around the shield, anchoring themselves deep into the stone and bracing the structure against the impact.
Then the world exploded.
BOOOOOM—!!
The boulder smashed into their combined defense with a deafening roar. Dust blasted outward in a violent wave. The shield groaned under the unimaginable weight. Cracks spread across its surface. The stone beneath their feet trembled.
Adlet grit his teeth, muscles screaming. "N-not enough—!"
Polo snarled, "Switch—now!"
Adlet's Aura shifted instantly. Ruby red vanished, replaced by obsidian black—the Aura of the Scarab. Strength flooded his limbs, surging through him like a river in flood. He roared and pushed upward with every ounce of power he possessed.
The boulder shook.
Rolled.
And then, with Polo stabilizing its movement from the side, the enormous stone tipped off the edge and plunged into the abyss with a fading boom.
Silence.
Then, slowly, both boys exhaled.
Polo wiped a trembling arm across his brow. "If every climb is like this, I'm asking for new legs when we get home."
Adlet exhaled a shaky laugh. "If the mountains want to kill us, they're going to have to try harder."
Polo raised a brow. "Pretty sure they're doing their best."
The banter eased the crushing tension—if only for a moment.
But that moment shattered with a piercing, shrill cry from above.
Both boys froze.
Slowly, they looked up.
A head the size of a horse—snow-white, crowned with brilliant feathers—peered down at them from the cliff's edge. Its eyes were cold, intelligent, and disturbingly curious.
Then the rest of it unfolded.
An enormous bird, nearly twelve meters from wingtip to wingtip, stepped fully into view. Three graceful pairs of wings stretched outward in a breathtaking display. Its body was slender yet powerful, covered in immaculate white plumage that shimmered like starlight.
It watched them for a beat.
Then, with a powerful beat of its wings, it launched itself skyward, spiraling upward along the mountain's flank until it disappeared into the higher layers of stone and shadow.
Adlet stood rooted, heart hammering. "That thing…"
"A Rokh Falcon," Polo breathed. "A young one."
Adlet blinked. "Young!?"
"Yes." Polo's voice trembled with a mixture of awe and dread. "Only a juvenile would play with its food like that. The boulder… it was testing us."
Adlet swallowed hard. "If that was a test… I don't want to meet the parent."
Polo gave a weak laugh. "At least one thing's certain."
"What?"
"We're heading the right way."
Adlet stared up at the spiraling heights of the Mountain Rokh—at the impossible climb that still remained.
He clenched his fists.
"Then let's keep going."
Polo nodded, his expression hardening with resolve.
Together, they resumed their ascent, the weight of countless eyes on their backs—Apexes watching from above, predators prowling below, and a mountain that seemed determined to judge their worth.
The path ahead was steep.
Treacherous.
But neither boy hesitated.
This was the climb that would decide everything.