NOVEL NEXT X2.4.8: The Peak of Peaks
X2.4.8: The Peak of Peaks
Elevar joined the group, guiding the way up to the Peak of Peaks.
"I must warn you; the Grand Kami of Vertica is not to be trifled with. He will send us plenty of danger our way if we inspire his anger. I am afraid that my mere presence might do so," said Elevar.
"Look," said Indigo, pointing up the peak. "Is it an avalanche?"
The four of them stopped, their eyes squinting, trying to make out what was moving in the distance above them.
"It's a herd of giant mountain goats! They're coming our way, and they're causing an avalanche behind them!" shouted Rosso.
"Take cover!" Roa ran behind a large boulder as the thundering steps of the herd drew past them.
The four ducked down and everything went dark soon after. They violently tumbled in the snow, losing one another in the darkness, hitting rocks and dead trees on their way down. As soon as the boy from Earth stopped rolling he dug through the snow.
"Hey! Where are you?" he screamed for the others. "Damn it, which was is up?" he said, desperately digging in various directions.
He clapped his hands and invoked the Solar Clap, lighting up the small space for a few moments. However, nothing but walls of white snow surrounded him in all directions. He then began blasting away with his Gunhand, hoping to clear some of the snow away, but to no avail. He didn't want to accidentally hit his friends, and so he stopped soon after.
"What the hell am I going to do?" he asked, panting.
He tried to use the Powerhouse Gift to lift the snow, but his feet sank through it. He stopped and caught his breath. The tight space's oxygen was running out. He needed to find a solution fast. He concentrated, taking in a deep breath and slowing his heart rate down. He then looked for his friend's auras. He manifested the Compass, but the flame was weak.
"Work, damn you!" he said, causing the flame to finally awaken. "There!" he said, digging in the direction that the Compass pointed to.
A hand stuck out of the snow. He yanked on it, brushing off the white stuff until a face could be recognized.
"Wake up, Indigo. Wake up!" he said, slapping her face a few times. She opened her eyes and smiled.
"Are we dead?" she asked.
"Not yet. Where's Rosso?" the boy asked.
She turned around and pulled with both arms until the boy from the desert emerged out of the snow, taking in a deep, panicked breath.
"Holy Mother—of all—Truths. I thought—that was the end," Rosso said, laying on Indigo as he caught his breath.
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Suddenly, a muffled scream was heard and the snow began to shift again. The three friends held on to each other tightly, afraid to lose one another again. A great wind blew, blowing away tons of snow that covered them. The three of them looked up and saw the monk. His aura was swirling around his body, and a circular crater the size of a football field surrounded them with Elevar at its center.
"You will not defeat me so easily, Ya-Mah!" the monk shouted toward the peak.
"That was amazing! What kind of Gift is that?" Rosso said.
Elevar turned to them and said, "it's the Bang-Bang Gift. I will teach you one day, if we make it out alive today."
A rock grew out of the ground next to them, causing them to take a few steps back. The earth formed a small shrine with a little, misshapen statue in the middle which began to speak.
"Insolent Humans, you will not reach the Peak of Peaks for you are not worthy," a deep voice said.
"Watch us!" answered back Elevar.
The group continued forth, climbing the peak for hours until the next enemy showed itself. A massive silhouette appeared behind the mountain, peeking. As it climbed towards them, it revealed itself.
"A giant," said Elevar.
It was shaped like a Human, but it was completely made of rock. On its shoulder was an obsidian sword the size of a building. Its black blade reflected the sunlight, blinding the Jumpers for a moment. When they opened their eyes, the monster had disappeared.
"Watch out!" shouted Indigo.
The giant was midair, falling down towards them. The travelers used Haste to escape the crushing blow just in time. Its sword swung, cutting the air and any of the jagged peaks that stood in its way. The boulders burned with magma, as if the blade had melted them like butter the instant it touched them.
"Take him down!" shouted the Sunflower, activating his aura, climbing onto the giant. Roa made it to the waist of the rock monster when its giant hand swatted him. "Argh!" the boy shouted, his Scutum activating, flickering around him.
Rosso placed his hands under the giant's foot and began to scream. His red aura spiked and he called forth the Powerhouse Gift. The stone foot lifted off of the ground, until the giant lost its balance and fell backward. Elevar then leapt up into the air, flipping a few times until he landed on the monster's forehead.
"Sleep tight," he said, charging up a massive amount of energy in his fingers, and unleashing them with a Gunhand, right in between its eyes.
The giant stopped moving and the three smiled at each other. Indigo flew to Roa and began to heal him, knowing full well that this battle would weaken him too much. However, as her warm life force flowed through the boy's body, the stone body below them rumbled. The enemy's hand lifted and wrapped itself around the two of them as it stood back up.
"Let us go!" shouted Indigo, trying to break free from the hold. The crushing weight of the grip was suffocating them, causing her to shout for help.
Elevar and Rosso attacked the giant's legs again, hoping to cause it to lose its balance once again. They were successful, however, the stone body fell back, shifted and then collapsed the other way.
"No, wait!" shouted Rosso. "Not that way!"
It was too late. The monster fell off the cliff, holding on to Roa and Indigo, down past the clouds, and into the void below.
The wind blew like a hurricane. Roa looked around and his eyes met Indigo's. He tried to break free but could not, no matter how much he tried. He could not breathe as the giant fingers squeezed them tightly.
"I'm sorry, Indigo," he said to her.
"It's not over yet!" she struggled to say.
The mountainside zipped past them. Hundreds of days worth of scaling and climbing—erased, in the matter of seconds and minutes. Roa closed his eyes and accepted his fate when a scream caused him to regain consciousness. It was Rosso and Elevar, flying down like two meteorites, trailing behind the falling giant. The two landed on the hand, using all of their strength to force it open.
"Let them go, damn you!" shouted the boy from the desert, his eyes shut as his aura blasted like wildfire as his muscles pushed themselves to the limit.
It was of no use, however. The monster's power was in the divinity of its master, the God of the Mountains. All hope seemed lost. Roa's eyes met Rosso's as he was about to pass out again. All the boy could say to his friend was 'I'm sorry.'