Emi stepped forward and looked at Haruto and Miyuki. "Are you ready?" she asked calmly.
Haruto gave a nod. "Yeah."
Miyuki said, "Yes," after him.
Emi moved in front of Haruto and Miyuki. She slowly raised her hands toward Haruto's shoes. Her face turned focused as she started saying the words under her breath. The words were very quiet. The air around her hands began to change.
A faint blue light appeared. It grew brighter and brighter, forming a glow around her hands. The magic flowed down and wrapped around Haruto's shoes. The blue light flickered a bit before it stabilized.
Emi lowered her hands slightly. "It's done," she said. "You're ready to climb."
Haruto looked down at his feet, trying to feel if everything was okay. He felt something different, but it was stable.
Then Emi turned to Miyuki. "Your turn," she said.
Miyuki stepped forward. Emi did the same thing to her. The blue light appeared around Miyuki's shoes and then sank into them.
After that, Emi used the magic on herself too.
Everything was quiet for a moment.
Then Haruto looked at Miyuki and saw the bag she was carrying. It looked heavy, much heavier than his own bag. "I'll carry that," he said.
Miyuki shook her head a bit. "I'm fine."
Haruto did not agree. He went closer and tried to take her bag. "My bag is not that heavy," he said. "Give it to me."
Miyuki thought for a moment, then gave in. They switched bags. Haruto made sure it was secure on his shoulder.
He looked up at the rock wall in front of them. "So… how do we climb this?" he asked.
Emi went to the mountain. "Watch carefully," she said. She placed one foot on the rock.
It did not slip; it stuck firmly.
Then she placed her other foot higher up and started walking up the wall as if it were normal ground. She was steady and natural, as if gravity was not pulling her down.
After a few steps, she looked back at Haruto and Miyuki. "Come on."
Haruto stepped forward and placed his foot on the wall.
It held. He took another step, and then another.
In a few steps, he felt okay. It felt weird at first, then his body got used to it. Walking on the wall started to feel almost normal.
Emi looked at Miyuki. "Your turn."
Miyuki took a breath and stepped forward. She placed her foot on the wall and started climbing.
The three of them started moving up.
At first, it was easy. The magic held them firmly. They did not feel too heavy. They climbed higher and higher into the mountain.
As they went up, things started to change.
The wind got stronger, and cold air hit them. The higher they went, the harder it was to balance. Their clothes were moving wildly. It was hard to stay steady.
Their bags were heavy too.
Each step became harder. They kept going.
Haruto looked down once. The village was far away, looking small. The height made him feel a bit scared. If any of them slipped now… it would be bad. They kept climbing, slowly and steadily.
Time passed. They were almost halfway up the mountain. Something was wrong. Miyuki was moving slower.
The glow around her shoes was fading, too small to see clearly. Haruto and Emi did not notice.
Then the magic stopped working.
Miyuki lost her balance.
Before she could fall, Haruto quickly grabbed her hand.