POV Narrator:

The Colossus stares at the magnificent elemental rivers rushing around him. This incredible sight, for reasons unknown to himself, filled the Colossus with a sense of relief and calm. He feels at home here, but the feeling doesn't last for long. A strong force pushes against the strange bubble barrier around him.

The Colossus’ eyes widen in shock as he suddenly moves at a quick pace towards the very edge of the realm. His eyes grow in horror as an elemental river rapidly changes its course. The magnificent rainbow of colours unceremoniously crashes into the golden barrier surrounding him, leaving him in a state of stupor.

The pushing force grows, and the Colossus’ speed increases exponentially. The Colossus feels the world, in which he felt home, reject him. In his confusion, the Colossus speaks up melancholy, “It looks like I’m not welcome here”. The Colossus rapidly nears the realm’s edge, getting pushed out faster and faster.

In front of the Colossus’ giant eyes, a bubble-like portal forms. The force pushing the Colossus grows stronger with the formation of the portal. In the blink of an eye, the Colossus is forced through the portal and back into the outside world. The Colossus could have sworn that he heard a quiet sigh of relief reverberate throughout the elemental realm upon his unceremonious departure.

POV Colossus:

What was that place? I felt at home there, more than anywhere that I’ve been in the past thousands of years. I felt so at home yet the place rejected me. I should not dwell on these sad thoughts. At least Zohn seems to be alright. I was too shocked back there to take care of him, but it appears that my worries were ungrounded. That place didn’t seem safe, and it would have been devastating if I lost Zohn.

I shouldn’t keep worrying about Zohn so much. He’s still young, but I won’t always be able to take care of him. Especially when the next evolution sleep comes. I’m not sure what will happen when I go to sleep and a thousand years is a long time to wait. Zohn is beginning to wake, I'll leave those sad thoughts for another occasion. We still have a long way to travel, and I’m not yet ready for that conversation.

POV Narrator:

While still gripping his beloved spear, Zohn’s eyes slowly open. He looks around in bewilderment, unsure of their current situation. “Is this the other side of the portal?” Zohn asks in an uncertain tone. The Colossus looks over at Zohn, and his eyes seem unsure. “Yes,” the Colossus slowly answers, hesitation evident in his voice.

“Is everything alright?” Zohn asks, knowing that the Colossus was currently acting differently than his usual optimistic self. “yes-yes, everything is alright” the Colossus answers, his voice still a bit strained, but not as evident. Zohn looks with sceptical eyes at the Colossus but decides to let this go for now seeing that the Colossus had no apparent reason to lie to him.

“Do you know where we are right now?” Zohn asks slightly upbeat, trying to brighten the mood. “From what I can tell, we didn’t move too far away, but we at least managed to avoid that strange mountain range” the Colossus answers in his usual slightly upbeat tone, happy with the change of topic.

Zohn stands up and with a lot of effort, pulls his spear from the granite. Going near the edge of the Colossus’ shoulder Zohn looks observes the landscape stretching out in front of him. The sun was beginning to set, and in the back of Zohn’s mind, he ponders just how long they had spent in that portal.

In the distant horizon of the setting sun, Zohn spots the silhouette of a lone giant mountain looming in the distance. He knows that they were finally getting closer to their goal, but there are still many more dangers in their way before they can reach the volcano. “We’ve made some progress at least,” Zohn says to the Colossus, slightly startling him. “Is he alright?” Zohn questions himself.

“The sun is going to set soon, and it won’t be ideal to travel at night, so we’ll stay here,” Zohn says, trying to grab the Colossus' attention. “I agree, it will be prudent to start travelling tomorrow,” the Colossus answers, still a bit shaken by their near-death experience. The Colossus slowly lowers itself to the ground, and Zohn rushes to plant his spear into the Colossus’ shoulder, hoping to stop himself from falling off again.

Still moving around to find a comfortable sitting position, much to Zohn’s bewilderment, the Colossus finally stills himself. While leaning against the spear, planted on the Colossus’ shoulder, Zohn restarts the conversation, “There are still many dangers that lie in our path if we head directly towards the volcano”. “Many dangers like what.” the Colossus asks. “Mostly the hazards that I’ve previously mentioned, like the lava river and volcanic lakes combined with the unstable ground from the constant eruptions.” Zohn answers in a grave tone.

“Those won’t be a problem.” the Colossus curtly answers, much to Zohn’s shock. “What do you mean, ’Those won’t be a problem’?” Zohn asks, taken surprise by the Colossus’ bold statement. “Exactly what I meant. My body is made from hard granite; mere lava won’t be able to harm me in the slightest.” the Colossus responds confidently.

“And what about the unstable ground?” Zohn quickly retorts. The Colossus takes a moment to think and then replies in his strangely confident voice, “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there”. Bewildered by the Colossus’ statement, Zohn decides to give up the conversations for tonight and prepares himself for the hard journey ahead.