Karn cautiously treaded step by step, mindful of the elderly woman he carried upon his back. At first glance, he had perceived her as tiny and frail, and when he first peered into her eyes, he glimpsed the depths of desperation and heartache within them. How could he possibly turn a blind eye to her plea for help?
With each step, the burden on his back seemed to grow heavier. It was not that the woman had gained sudden weight or size; rather, it felt as if the very mountain itself was testing his strength, sapping his energy. By the time he completed the third revolution around the corkscrew spiral path, he found himself huffing and puffing with exertion. However, driven by the grandma's whimpering and his determination to reunite her with her husband, Karn pressed on.
The path ahead became increasingly unstable, with fallen grey rocks littering the way with deep cracks in the trail. Each step seemed to be accompanied by sharper stones, as if the mountain itself was issuing a warning of the perils that lay ahead. Contrary to his belief, the temperature grew warmer as they ascended higher, defying conventional logic.
The grandma persisted in providing directions, insisting that her husband awaited them just beyond the bend. Yet, to Karn's dismay, the entire journey seemed to consist of one perpetual bend, a seemingly endless cycle. In between laboured breaths, she shared stories of the old man's knack for getting lost, disparaging him as an old fool.
As she spoke of their deep love for their grandson, her voice was filled with tears and prayers. Pleading the heavens for the boy's safety. Karn couldn't help but empathize with the anguish in her words. He shared her concern for family. A picture of Charles and Ellie drifted in his mind as she spoke.
Suddenly, pain shot up his leg.
Karn swore as his foot struck a loose rock, causing it to roll beneath his sole and strike his shin. The unexpected impact jolted his weight forward, causing the woman on his back to shift. In the commotion, something tore and a loose cloth from the grandma’s dress slipped away.
As she reached to snatch the fallen cloth, her hand brushed against her face, causing a chunk of clay to peel away, revealing the face of the woman hidden beneath—a young and vibrant girl, far from the frail Grandma Karn believed her to be.
Caught off guard, Karn stood frozen in shock as the woman stumbled away from him, instinctively raising her arms in a defensive gesture. Clearly caught in the charade. Karn's narrowed eyes conveyed a mix of frustration and pent-up anger, yet he restrained himself from acting rashly.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
She swiftly wiped away the dirt from her face, causing it to cascade to the floor like lumps of clay. The once convincing flesh that adorned her features now lay in piled heaps, a grotesque sight that sent shivers down Karn's spine. The clay resembled real flesh and skin, an unsettling display of deception.
Instead of the frail old woman he had believed her to be, Karn now found himself staring into the eyes of a young woman, slightly older than himself. She wore a cheeky smirk, revelling in her successful ruse, and let out a mocking laugh.
"You're such a stupid, foolish boy," she taunted, her voice dripping with contempt. With a deliberate snarl, she bent down, picked up a stone from the ground, and hurled it at Karn.
Reacting quickly, Karn ducked to avoid the projectile, his hands shooting up in disbelief. There was something unnerving about the woman's eyes that unsettled him. She snarled and leered once more, flinging more of the clay-like substance that had fallen from her face.
As Karn examined the clay, he realised with a growing sense of dread that the globular mass was not earthy debris; it was actual flesh. A wave of revulsion surged within him, threatening to expel his stomach's contents.
"He was delicious!" the woman exclaimed, her voice filled with perverse delight, before sprinting up the mountain. Casting a final insulting gesture at Karn, she disappeared from sight.
Conflicting emotions flooded Karn's mind. Rage bubbled to the surface, fuelled by the woman's callousness, while sorrow gripped his heart for the unknown fate of the child.
He felt sick and tried to look away from the clay but found himself looking down at it in dismay. While gazing down at the remnants below, he realised that the supposed remains were nothing more than clay, another cruel trick played by the deceitful woman.
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Karn swore.
Determined to press on, Karn ascended higher and higher, vigilant for any sign of the trickster.
After a time, he found himself perched high above the vast plains that stretched to the distant horizon. Across its surface, the vegetation appeared withered and lifeless. Every time he rounded the northern face of the mountain, he caught glimpses of warriors in the distance locked in an unending battle.
"How long will they continue to fight?" Karn wondered aloud. He let out a sigh and continued his journey.
He fell into a rhythm, counting each step syncing his feet with the beat of his heart. The absence of the trickster on his back allowed him to quicken his pace, but the burst of energy was short-lived. His strength again slowly faded as he ascended the mountain.
Lost in his thoughts, a flicker of motion caught Karn's attention. His eyes darted, capturing a glimpse of something—a dark shadow or figure—beside him. Pausing his step, he turned momentarily to see if he was being followed or if the mountain was playing tricks on him.
In that fleeting moment, he swore he saw a large black claw ambling beside him, as if his own arm had transformed. Shaking off the bizarre notion, he continued walking, examining his hand with a quizzical gaze.
Sighing to himself, he muttered, "Stop being stupid and climb this damn thing."
Step after step, he pressed onward, each turn brought with it a steeper incline. Just as he thought he was nearing the mountaintop, another bend materialised before him, then another. The mountain was endless.
The sharp stones beneath his feet brought pain with each step. Soon, the path narrowed so much that it could accommodate only a single person at a time, becoming treacherously slippery and difficult to navigate. At times, Karn was forced to crawl on his hands and knees, his shins scraping against the jagged stones. And as time went on the path grew precarious, worsening with every passing moment. Soon, it felt as if he was more climbing than walking. Sweat dripped freely from his brow and blood stained his pant legs.
Just when he thought he was about to give up, he froze as an all-too-familiar voice pierced the air.
Summoning his willpower, Karn urged himself forward, turning the bend to discover the trickster hanging perilously from the edge of the mountain.
"Help!" she screamed, flailing her limbs in a desperate attempt to find a foothold. Her body dangled over the precipice, teetering on the brink of a deadly fall.
Karn faced a split-second decision, yet he already knew the answer, disregarding any concerns about consequences. Despite her trickster nature, the fear in her eyes was genuine.
Without hesitation, Karn lunged forward, grasping her arm just in time to prevent her from plummeting. Straining with every ounce of remaining strength, he clung to her tightly, using his other arm to hoist her up. The exertion was agonizingly slow, as the mountain had sapped the majority of his energy.
His heart pounded in his ears, mixing with his own shouts of pain as the rocks scraped his arm.
Finally, he managed to bring her to safety.
Both of them gasped for breath, collapsed on top of each other on the narrow path. The pain in Karn's arm was excruciating, but as he lay there recuperating, he realised the trickster was recovering faster. After a few moments, she resumed climbing, kicking rocks under her feet and into his face.
"What?" Karn managed to utter between ragged breaths.
Before he could say more, a section of the path crumbled beneath the trickster's feet. She glanced downward, understanding that any further movement would cause the rocks to give way, collapsing the trail beneath not hers, but Karn's battered form.
Karn pleaded with her through his gaze, but all he saw in her eyes was cold determination. With a teasing smirk, she deliberately exerted more force with her feet, causing the trail to crack further as she continued upwards.
"No!" Karn shouted, scrambling to his feet, but it was too late. The path crumbled, and he tumbled off the side of the mountain.