I yelled out urgently to my companion, Kei, as he sprinted up the winding path that curved around the mountain, following its contours like a serpent. Seeing me, Kei jumped into the air, his eyes glowing with an intense violet hue. It was clear that he had entered a state of Zen-like concentration.
Suddenly, a violent gust of wind blew in our direction, powerful enough to knock down any living creature that stood in its path. I had seen similar gusts of wind throughout our journey on this path, and they seemed to come randomly from any direction. It was a strange and eerie phenomenon.
In response to the gust, I activated my own Zen-like focus and ran along the path at an incredible speed. But as I sprinted, I came to an abrupt stop at the edge of a cliff. The path had ended unexpectedly, and there seemed to be no way forward. Kei landed behind me, looking around as we both tried to assess the situation.
As I scanned the area, I noticed another path that was partially destroyed and was located about a hundred metres above us. The destroyed section of the path was leaning dangerously towards the ground, like a broken bridge. However, beyond that, the route appeared to be clear. We knew that we needed to get on that path to continue our journey.
As I stood there, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, focusing on the energy of sol around me. I could feel the power surging through my body, enhancing my senses and making me feel more alive than ever before. But this feeling was soon overtaken by a burning sensation, a sign that I had reached my limit and could not draw in any more sunlight to enhance my abilities.
I knew I needed to act quickly if I was going to make it to the broken path ahead of me. I prepared to leap forward, but as I thought about Reed and the risks of being reckless, I hesitated. I wasn’t sure I could make it across the gap with my current strength.
As I pondered a safer way to cross, an idea suddenly struck me. Using my inhuman physique, perhaps I could walk along the edges of the mountain without falling due to gravity. It was a risky plan, but I knew I had to try.
I was still in Zen, but I still closed my eyes and began to run upwards along the edge of the mountain, focusing on the sol flowing through my body to control its weight and direction. To my surprise, I was able to walk along the edge for about 30 seconds before I lost my balance and fell back to the ground below. As I landed, the ground cracked beneath me, and I could feel the impact reverberate through my body.
I felt a rush of adrenaline and excitement. Although my landing was rough, I had accomplished something extraordinary. I had managed to run along walls with a newfound ability, which I dubbed "Zen-glide."
This ability was an extension of my Zen state, which I had developed through intense training and practice. By tapping into this state, I could channel my energy to create a force that countered gravity, allowing me to walk along vertical surfaces for a brief period of time. However, to maintain this feat, I needed to maintain absolute concentration, which required me to close my eyes and focus solely on the task at hand.
Kei observed my movements silently as I tested out my new ability, running vertically along the mountain’s edge with ease. He watched with keen interest, clearly impressed by my newfound skill.
"Interesting," he murmured as he began to study my technique, determined to replicate it himself. After a few minutes of practice, he had mastered the technique, and we continued to run along the wall in tandem, pushing the limits of our abilities.
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As we ran, I could feel my Zen state beginning to fade, and I knew I only had a few minutes left before I would lose the ability to defy gravity. Taking a deep breath, I prepared to make a final push towards the other end of the broken path.
Closing my eyes, I began to sprint diagonally along the wall, relying on my Zen-glide ability to keep me aloft. However, my time was running out, and I soon began to feel the pull of gravity dragging me downward.
Opening my eyes, I could see that there was still a significant distance to cover before I reached the other side. Without hesitation, I drew upon the last of my energy and launched myself into the air, soaring above the broken path and landing safely on the other side. Exhausted but exhilarated, I turned to Kei, a wide grin spreading across my face.
Kei quickly followed and landed next to me. But I was unable to relax since the road we were on started shaking erratically. A section of the ground soon collapsed in front of us. Understanding what this meant, we began to run while gradually enacting Zen as we narrowly avoided becoming a part of the crumbling wreckage behind us. "Wow, this isn’t funny at all. I groaned
**
As I sat down on a group of rocks next to a tranquil pond, I couldn’t help but let out a gasp of relief. We had been on a treacherous journey to reach the peak, and this was the first time we had encountered a moment of peace.
The route we had travelled up until this point had been treacherous. The pathway started to collapse beneath us just as we were about to drop to our deaths. We had made a slender escape and found a different route. But this time, there was a fresh obstacle in our way. Instead of the path collapsing, huge boulders had begun to move in our direction and threatened to trample us.
It seemed that every time we switched paths, the area presented us with a new and more difficult challenge.
We had successfully avoided landslides, broken paths, and other hazards that had come our way after several hours of manoeuvring through the dangerous terrain of the mountain. We had finally located a temporary resting place where we could gather our breath. The winds were stronger and brisker, and the temperature had dropped substantially.
Constantly in a state of Zen, I had exhausted most of my energy and knew that I only had enough left for one more burst of effort. With night rapidly approaching, we had considered setting up camp at our current location. As I pondered our next move, Kei interrupted my thoughts.
Suddenly, he pointed to something in the sky, his expression unreadable. I followed his gaze and noticed a small object—not quite a star, but something entirely different. As I struggled to make sense of it, the object began to grow larger, slowly but surely. At that moment, Kei’s face turned pale.
"It’s a massive bird, large enough to be considered a monster! he exclaimed.
As the monstrous bird drew closer, its imposing figure became clearer, revealing its terrifying features. Its black feathers were sleek and shiny, and its talons looked sharp enough to tear through metal with ease. As it approached, we could see that it had only one eye, which glowed with a bright, unearthly light. Its beak was long and pointed, giving it an intimidating appearance that sent shivers down our spines.
Suddenly, a realisation struck me like a bolt of lightning. The creature’s single eye was fixated on us, and I knew that we were in grave danger. With only a small reserve of energy left, I gathered the last ounce of my strength and activated my Zen, followed by Kei. We had no other choice but to run, for this creature was not something that could be defeated in battle. It was a force of nature that needed to be avoided at all costs.
With my Zen activated, I began to sprint with an otherworldly speed, but the monstrous bird was even faster. It closed in on us with lightning-fast speed, and before we knew it, the creature was just behind me and Kei, its eye fixated on us. I tried to think of a way out, but before I could come up with anything, the path we were on came to a sudden end, forcing me to come to a halt instinctively.
In that split second, the monstrous bird seized me with its razor-sharp beak and began to soar away. My mind went blank with fear and confusion, and I could only hear the sound of the wind rushing past us as the creature tried to carry me away.