POV Narrator:
The rocky soil cracks under the Colossus’ giant feet. The silhouette of a lone black mountain can be seen in the distance. Each step that the Colossus takes reverberates through the landscape. In the wake of the Colossus’ path, their trail of destruction continues. Large craters line the landscape with each step that the Colossus takes.
Like a quite literal force of nature, the Colossus continues his path towards the enormous volcano looming in the distance. On the Colossus’ shoulder, Zohn observes the landscape stretching out in front of him and sighs. He turns around and studies the Colossus’ shoulder. The moss-covered stone stretches out like fields of grass. Dirt patches line the ground.
Zohn looks over at the house that the Colossus built for him. The magically formed white granite structure looks otherworldly. The river like a moat surrounds his home, complementing its serene beauty. A smile widens on Zohn’s lips as he takes it all in. He steadily walks over to his house. Each step filled with confidence, having had an ample amount of time to practice moving on the Colossus’ moving body.
As Zohn nears one of the dirt patches, an idea suddenly pops into his mind. Quickening his pace, Zohn quickly reaches the looming doors of his home. Heading straight towards the storage room. He starts to meticulously search through every single container until he finally finds what he was looking for. A small leather pouch containing a small seed.
After obtaining the leather bag, Zohn exits his house. While making his way back towards the dirt patch, Zohn’s mind wanders back towards his childhood in the village. His vivid memories of training alone in the forest near the town and his frustration in the journey of self-discovery. A reminiscent smile is plastered on his face as he abruptly reaches the dirt patch.
Zohn slowly bends down and carefully digs a small hole with his hands and places the seed inside. Uncorking the water bottle on his waist, Zohn carefully pours a small amount of water on the little seed after closing the hole. Zohn stands up and the memories of his days in the forest resurface again. Gripping his spear tightly, Zohn goes into the first stance that he taught himself when he was younger.
Zohn transitions to the second position, then the third, then the fourth, until he completed all twenty stances of his kata. The moves flow like water between each stance seamlessly. His decades of hard practice weren’t meaningless. His fame wasn’t unjustified. The air was reverberating with power when Zohn finished his kata. Zohn nods, satisfied with having completed his warmup routine.
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Zohn started practising the moves that he’s been refining for years. The sun continues to climb higher into the sky as he continues to practice one move after another. When the sun reached its highest point, he decides to take a break. A smug look rests on his face as he takes his well-deserved rest. He's much calmer now, having vented some of his frustrations.
Taking a deep breath, Zohn makes his way towards the edge of the Colossus’ shoulder and looks over at the lone volcano piercing through the heavens. He stares at the volcano, bewildered by the Colossus’ decision to travel there. The volcano has always been a forbidden place, no one lived there and finding travellers wasrare.
They are rapidly nearing the volcano. It shouldn’t be long before they reach the volcano’s base, half a day at most. “What are you planning to do at the volcano?” Zohn asks, genuinely intrigued by the Colossus’ travelling destination. The Colossus looks over at Zohn and a small grin forms on his rocky face. “You’ll see,” the Colossus states mysteriously.
“What do you mean ‘You’ll see’? Can’t you just tell me now?” Zohn asks again, slightly irritated. Seeing Zohn’s angry face, the Colossus’ quickly adds, “Don’t get angry Zohn, it’s a surprise, and it would be meaningless to spoil it right now.”. A conflicted expression appears on the Colossus’ face, “I could just tell him now, he looks a little angry. No, I’ve already decided that it’s going to be a surprise and changing my decision now would be meaningless”.
The Colossus strengthens his confidence and proceeds towards the volcano at a slightly quicker pace, leaving larger indentations on the ground. Zohn sighs and again decides to drop the topic for now. He stares in wonder at the giant volcanic lakes that flood the plain and the endless lava rivers that snake through the landscape.
The dangers that the other Goliaths feared were mere tourist attractions for Zohn. The Colossus’ powerful body enabling him to freely traverse this forbidden location like it was some holiday location. The sun began to set as they finally reached the base of the volcano. The Colossus and Zohn are amazed at the sheer size of the mountain, easily over ten kilometres tall.
The lone volcano is piercing through the heavens with its highest peak. A deep impression is left on the duo as they stare at the constant lava that floods out of the volcano, forming lava falls and other strange and bizarre sights. There was a reason that this volcano that easily dwarfs the other mountain range was a forbidden place and now the reason is even more apparent.
“There is only one way to go now, and that is up, so let’s start climbing,” the Colossus says with an unusual amount of excitement. “Col, just what are you planning?” Zohn asks himself quietly as the Colossus starts his enthusiastic ascent of the dangerous volcano.