With that, Kazius helped Damon get breakfast ready. The closer they were to going to Mount Cyklon, the more excited he was. He wasn’t jumping with joy or anything, but Kazius could not stop thinking about it.

Soon, Alice was up, surprised to see that breakfast was already ready and the sun was just barely up.

“Good morning… Did you guys even go to bed?” Alice asked in shock.

“Buahaha! Good morning! I barely slept to be honest! I am so excited for today!” Damon admitted giddily.

“Good morning, Azanor and I were already up, so we decided to help Damon with breakfast a little.” Kazius admitted.

Alice laughed at this, smiling a little.

“Well, I am glad that everyone is in such a good mood over it. I honestly feel like I could do anything today!” Alice beamed, feeling stronger than she was before.

“I just can’t help it. I am so proud of you both! This is something to celebrate!” Damon admitted, filling with pride as a teacher in a way.

“Yay!” The group suddenly heard as Eve entered the room.

“What are we celebrating?” Eve followed up giddily.

“Good morning, Eve… Well, Kazius and Alice are close to making it to the top of Mount Cyklon. I was thinking we could go watch.” Azanor stated, his eyes softening the moment they landed on Eve… But those conflicting emotions he felt were also there in his eyes.

“Ooh! That sounds fun! I want to cheer you on!” Eve exclaimed to Alice and Kazius. It was so early, but she acted like she was more energetic than ever. Then again, she usually was like that. She had a ridiculous amount of energy.

Kazius never met Zelphar personally, but he sounded like quite the eccentric person… Eve was out there, but Kazius was beginning to wonder if she just as out there when she was Evesorane. He just could not wrap his head around what went on in the head of Elves. Though Kazius decided to put such thoughts aside.

The group would soon eat quickly.

They were so eager that as soon as they were done eating, they all left their home before Caleb even woke up. They left him breakfast though and knew he and the other people of The Tribe would soon join them to watch. Those that attempted to climb the mountain further as of late had likely already spread the news of the upcoming achievement.

The trip towards the foot of Mount Cyklon was livelier than it had ever been. Eve was bouncing the whole time, clearly excited to see them go up.

“So the Mountain goes WOOOOSH and pushes you real hard? That sounds so fun!” Eve exclaimed happily as they walked.

“Basically.” Kazius agreed, unable to help but study the dynamic between Azanor and Eve.

The two were inseparable even now. Of course, Azanor liked staying close to Eve, but if that was all there was to it… She wouldn’t just let him go along with her… Perhaps she understood in a hidden part of her mind what sort of relationship they had? Or maybe their souls were just that compatible? Kazius did not know for sure.

Still, he tried to not focus too much on them, He didn’t want to give away a secret he had promised to keep.

“Do you want to race to the top?” Alice mused to Kazius, drawing his attention to herself with a bit of a mischievous look on her face. They had made it to the foot of the mountain as she brought this up.

Kazius could not help but study the way her violet eyes twinkled, bringing out the impish look she had. Out of the corner of his eye, Kazius could not help but note a bit of a smug knowing look on Azanor’s face. He focused on Alice, but he really wanted to tell Azanor off.

“Sure, but you will lose.” Kazius informed her with a smug yet content grin.

“Buahaha! That’s the spirit! Alright then, off you go! I will be right behind you!” Damon beamed with pride.

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With that, Kazius and Alice would head up the trail they had walked up many times before during the past month. The first quarter of the mountain was easy. They could go up it in 10 minutes now… The wind only got stronger after that though. By the halfway point, the wind was strong enough to tear a normal person to shreds… Or over launch them so fast out the mountain that they would fly out for quite some time before crashing down into a gory and unfortunate death. Making it there still took an hour.

After that though, was the biggest challenge yet. The last quarter of the mountain had a wind unlike any other. No natural disaster or amount of Wind Magic could compare to such a thing. This was one thing and one thing alone; it was the power of a Goddess challenging whether or not any mortal was worthy enough to reach the peak of her home.

At this point in the mountain, each step was a labor. Just breathing was almost impossible, as if the mountain itself claimed even the air from their lungs as its own.

Despite difficulties though, the intense wind was becoming almost normal to the two who were used to suffering its sting. The two could look around without even finding a need to shield their faces. This was something Damon had been quite proud of, complimenting the improvement when it had first occurred. After all, he could stand on the mountain as if it was normal. Then again, there was no doubt Vind herself must favor Damon.

Despite the tediousness of their climb, Kazius did not allow his mind to wonder too much. He did not want to get left behind… Alice was not far away. He did want to win their bet.

It was hard to not let his mind wonder too much though. The higher they got, the more his mind swarmed. Every day they climbed the mountain, it felt like the top was calling for him. This was the case since the halfway point. One minute he was hearing the vicious wind… Another it almost sounded like a voice singing a beautiful soft melody… But whenever Kazius tried to focus on the song, it would return to being just violent wind.

Kazius soon came back from his wondering mind and realized Alice had passed him.

It was then when disaster struck, a combination of the shock of the realization and a particularly strong gust of wind at the same time would blow him off his feet.

It happened oh too fast.

Not even Damon would be able to save him from such a thing… And the speed that he would be flung off the mountain would surely mean his death.

But… That never happened… Before Damon had a chance to even register what happened or even try to save Kazius… Or for Alice to even turn around to check on him…

Kazius would realize he had just… Stopped midair.

Dazed, Kazius managed to look around after recovering from the shock and disorientation.

Upon close inspections, he saw quite the oddity…

Sure, Kazius had some control over the shadows and could even hear them speak at times…

But…

Nothing like this had happened before…

His own shadow had come out of the ground and grabbed the dazed Kazius’s hand. His shadow had come out of the ground and was now just staring into his eyes. Red glowing dots meeting his own red eyes. The shadow’s expression was blank, there was no mouth of facial details, but Kazius could swear it was smirking as it began to pull him back to the ground.

The glowing red eyes were not the only strange thing about it… It was an odd-looking thing. Despite being a shadow, it had an odd ominous red glow around the edges.

Kazius had no time to truly just study it… Or for Alice and Damon to even get a good look at it before it would then just disappear, just like that. Just as fast as it had appeared.

‘Unacceptable…Just who is this wind… Daring to stop you… How insolent’ Kazius heard the one distinct voice say…

The shadows were angry at the danger he had been in… He could tell… Every shadow on the mountain practically bubbling with rage… The choir of the shadows were demanding retribution. Thankfully, they seemed to calm down, murmuring about an alternative… Just ignoring the wind…

‘Ignore it…’

‘Beneath you…’

The choir would chant among itself in agreement. They were louder than ever, screaming in his ear to the point it was overwhelming… They grew louder and louder still… But then… They would suddenly grow quiet… And with the disappearance of their chant, so would the sensation of the wind disappear.

The chill from the wind faded into a nonexistent feeling to him. Neither his hair nor his clothes would move at the gusts anymore. Kazius could not wrap his head around the situation… How could he just ignore it? Could the shadows literally just say ‘no’ to the wind on his behalf? How?

Damon would call out to Kazius, concerned, but to Kazius it all sounded muffled. Alice had come to him, worried as well, but her words were just as quiet.

Like faint ringing.

What sounded clearer now though was the song that came from the top of the mountain.

There really was a woman singing a beautiful song… He had not just imagined it.

“I am fine, I will be back.” Kazius assured them even though he had no clue what they said.

With that, he would run up towards the source, as if something was compelling him to do so. He wanted to learn who was singing in such a place. Something that was very easy now without the wind stopping him.

Damon of course was doing just fine in the mountain and could follow Kazius, but Alice was another story. She still struggled, Damon would stay behind to make sure the two could safely catch up to Kazius.

As Kazius went up the mountain, the peak would quickly come into view. The scene was beautiful, the sunset visible from the top as well as the other mountains out in the distance. The rivers in the valley reflected all the orange hues vividly.

‘The song… Where…’

“To refuse … my song so openly… You must be a stubborn one… Or perhaps quite strong…” Kazius suddenly heard the feminine voice that had been singing, from right behind him.

“Or maybe you are too stupid to understand the insult you have just committed.”