Chapter 48

Sierra of Dreams (I)

The world went eerily quiet as soon as the party of four stepped into the wooded area, the last remnants of light vanishing. Though it wasn’t pitch-black, it was dark enough that Cain was forced to charge Fire and use it as light. Despite that, however, every inch and corner of the forest looked the same -- thick and thin trunks intermingling with person-sized shrubberies and throned vines coiling about toward the heavily-branching trees sporting green canopy that didn’t let even an ounce of light in.

Cain, however, had to consciously prevent himself from laughing, as all three were virtually hugging him as they moved forward. Emma upfront and Diya and Jamal at his left and right. They would jump at the noises and flickers of light that weren't even there, and he realized he may have been a bit too foreboding with his warning.

Should be around here... he mulled inwardly as he saw the path forked into two. The left one would lead into a backward loop and them exiting the forest, while the right would lead into the first 'morphed', so to say, part of the mountain. He casually took the right path with the rest remaining silent, still on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary.

Less than a minute in after taking the right path, ‘something out of the ordinary’ did occur -- something that stopped them in their tracks. The lush trees completely vanished as though they were never there, and were replaced by a steep, ice-laden trek full of spiked bergs and looming icicles that looked just about ready to collapse. They could, at most, see a few feet forward, with the rest completely obscured by thick, uncanny mist.

"... what the hell?" Jamal mumbled, frowning and suddenly shuddering. "Wait--why is it so cold?" everyone except Cain suddenly felt assailed by a frigid wind that seeped into their bones, forcing them to curl further around Cain. I’ll let them experience it, he mulled. If it looks like it’s getting back, I’ll just pull them out...

“Kakahaha~~ human! Where you take?! Kakahaha! You mistake!” a grating voice that was strangely silent ever since they left the ravine once again rammed into his soul, shocking him far more than the scene in front of him .”Aahakaka!! Nightmare!! Hahakaha!”

“Good God, just shut the hell up, you braindead cat,” Cain gritted his teeth as he began walking forward, virtually dragging the other three with him. “Go back to sleep or whatever the hell you were doing.”

“Kaahaha~~ not! Te’gha not sleep!”

A burst of cold wind blew past them abruptly, causing Emma, Jamal, and Diya to shudder and actually hide behind Cain. Their eyes remained glued on the mist right to them where a pair of eye-shaped circles, dead-red in color, emerged for a moment, curling up into a smile before vanishing.

Crackling laughter soon followed, echoing out into the world, making it impossible to pinpoint where it was coming from. Above them, they could see strange shapes moving in the mist, weaving about in unnatural ways, while, all around, giant-like silhouettes began ripping out of the earth. Right after, however, they would bend and break and raise growths atop of growths all over themselves until they looked deformed beyond expression.

Tiny, frosty droplets began to drip from the invisible sky, each feeling as though a block of ice fell on top of them. One by one, they began yelping in pain, all while Cain stood in their midst, observing. It wasn’t that he enjoyed seeing them tortured, but that the opportunities to train against the Mind element on the first floor were exceedingly rare, yet were still one of the best within the first 30 floors. The most elusive, as well as the most dangerous element, most Conquerors in his last life would toss themselves at the opportunity to train against it, no matter what ‘illusions’ they would be subjected to.

What they were seeing was far different from what he was -- though he did 'see' the shadows, the silhouettes shaping into abominations, his mind did not work to fill in the blanks. It didn't work against itself, so to say, by completing the shapes, by defining the edges, and trying to imagine what went in-between.

They were seeing the horrors of their delusions; shapeless, formless, yet all-encompassing. It wasn't just the sights, but the sounds that grated, like chalk against the blackboard or nails against the glass. Shrill, high-pitched sounds that accompanied a fantasy of agglomerations that seemed to morph into a thousand different shapes a second.

To add to the illusion were the tiny droplets of black, and even the tendrils of smoke heaving from beneath their feet, eerily in the shape of the arms -- at least to them -- reaching out at them, as though a thousand souls were crying out and clawing their way out of hell.

Cain smiled painfully for a moment before he lowered his hands and gently began pressing their foreheads, injecting a bit of his pure Mana into them. The reason why this trick wouldn’t work against Te’gha is that the mountain’s illusions were general and unfocused -- even if there were ten thousand people here, right now, the ‘strength’ of the illusion would not weaken.

Diya, surprisingly, was the first to come to, gasping for a deep breath as she keeled over and fell on all her fours. Jamal and Emma came to right after, both following in Diya’s footsteps and collapsing onto the ground, covered in sweat despite sitting in the snow.

Too weak, Cain mulled, taking out a cigarette and lighting it up. Not even two minutes... is it me? Usually, after surviving the experiences they had, they would be able to last at least ten... are they relying too much on me?

“... put... put me back...” Emma said suddenly through short and shallow breaths, startling Cain.

“H-huh? Put... put you back?”

“Yeah,” she nodded, glancing up at him from a kneeling position. “Put... me back. I know you... you dragged me ‘cause you... you think I can’t handle it. I can.”

“Em’--”

“Put me... back... too...” Diya and Jamal spoke out almost at the same time, resulting in a strange and bemused expression appearing on Cain’s face.

“Are... are you guys masochists, by any chance? ‘cause, you know, it’s cool if you are. I don’t mean to kink shame...”

“Put us back, and shut up!” Emma growled, the look of determination in her eyes. Everyone, after a quick glance, had it -- it was no longer a kindling, but a raging inferno, he realized.

Sighing, he pulled back the protection of Mana and toss them back into the eldritch reality they just escaped. Their expressions immediately underwent a flip back into the category of existential horror. He sat next to them, slowly smoking the cigarette in silence.

“Khakghaaha~~they suffer, human! Bad, bad human! They suffer! Save them!”

“I am saving them,” Cain mumbled softly. “At least... that’s what they think.”

“Hkkghuu~~ what you means, humans?”

“Aaah, I don’t fuckin’ know,” Cain sighed, taking a puff of the cigarette. “I think... they’re afraid. Afraid of being ‘useless’... so they’re pushing themselves.”

“Strange~~strange humans, weird humans!” Te’gha mumbled, jumping out of the inventory and landing onto Cain’s lap, snuggling there while staring at the keeling trio in front of it. “Te’gha helps, humans! Strong Minds, humans, strong bodies! Khakhahaha!” the cat laughed eerily as it stretched out its paw -- eerily human-like action -- and extended one of its claws, pointing it at the three. A shimmer of tepid, gray light drew out into a curtain as it gently fell over the trio, washing them.

“What’d you do?” Cain asked curiously as it was the first time he’d seen anything like it.

“Strong minds, humans! Kehehahke! It hurts, but they strongs! When take no more, they get burst of strength!! Keheheha~~”

“... huh,” Cain looked at the cat strangely for a moment. “You’re fairly weak to the praise and compliments, huh?”

“H-huh? No! Te’gha not weak to anything! Foolish human! Te’gha rest, now!” the cat bumbled through it and rapidly withdrew into the inventory. Though Cain was a bit surprised at first that the cat can hide in the inventory, the little thing was as big of a mystery as any other larger mystery in the Tower, so Cain didn’t dwell on it for too long.

Glancing at the trio, he sighed helplessly. Though he truly wanted to shoulder everything for them... he couldn’t. He was far too weak, whatever they may think of him.

What surprised him, however, was their pure determination and without-hesitation attitude. Could it be that I really am that charming of a leader? He mused inwardly while stroking his chin, a faint smile creeping upon his lips. Tsk, tsk, who would have thought I had such a talent? Ha ha ha, of course, of course I’m charming!

The ego trip didn’t last long as Emma’s cry of pain drew him back. He glanced up the mountain and suddenly saw a still silhouette staring at them from the mist, causing him to frown for a moment before abruptly smiling. Did we draw the attention of the Shopkeeper? Ho ho... if these three impress him... he might give us some nice discounts...