It’s silent around the world and this is felt as if it's the hush before the storm, something that enters deep into your bones and makes you shake inside, even though it should have calmed you down and allowed you to admire nature all around you.

Yet… even though all around those places the silence was acting up, wandering the mount up and down, nature was still agitated and this was seen in the shaking of the blades of grass that were slowly caressed by a gust of wind or maybe because of the fear that sneaked inside them, at the small heads of the fragrant flowers that were dancing their small beings in slight shivering of dreams and longing, making even the horizon resound from time to time as if thousands or maybe hundreds of thousands of small bells were ringing in the same rhythm… all over the fields of the Mount of Fear.

Actually, there wasn’t anything strange at that mount to be surrounded by silence, fear, and mystery at the same time because it had its own weird stuff, its own hidden legends, historical deeds, or maybe not. But still… all the secrets, the legends, and the mysteries that surrounded them gave the Mountain the name Accam Kuṉṟu, or the Mount of Fear.

Why, when, or what for that Mount has been named like this, or who gave this name to the mountain… nobody knew. Not even Shiman’s Cyclops didn’t know this secret story, even though they thought that they’d been the first inhabitants of the old and bald mount, much earlier than they established their kingdom on Kyllini Mountain, where they have been chased away from by Cronus later, to finally find a home on the beautiful and far away Island called Inetha. And, as Shiman, the King of Cyclops, thought, probably not even the Titans or Chaos knew the story of the mount or where the strange name Accam Kuṉṟu appeared from.

Yet, the respect for the huge power and for the holy energy of the mountain, as the belief that another strong Spirit, named Tikil (dread), existed deep inside of it were real, something that couldn’t be easily forgotten or at least to try to convince someone that it wasn't real. Also, even those who were totally convinced that those stories were only stories couldn't ever tell the locals that their legends weren’t true and that it should have been different because right away someone opened his mouth to stay against those ancient ideas or tell that those were just invented stories, he was very quickly forced to shut his mouth because the locals or those that lived near the mount were right away yelling at him: „if you never listened to Tikil’s shout and neither you felt his presence next to you, then you don’t have where to know from that these stories are real.”

And… maybe someone else would have tried to stay against such ideas… a traveler eager to talk or try to discover the mystery of those places… but the locals decided not to allow it ever because they were aware that a lot of sinners wandered the world at that moment and tried to sow the Seeds of Discord among them, something they couldn’t accept… just as they couldn't allow their mystery to be discovered by a stranger, just as they couldn't permit someone to tell them that their beliefs weren’t true.

Thus, they became very cunning in time. And… if some stranger was thinking about saying something bad about their beloved mount Accam Kuṉṟu or making fun of the locals for believing in such strange stories, he was right away kicked and punched by all those present around him, to be later thrown in a faraway place where they considered that Tikil was showing up at the surface of the mount from time to time. This way, they considered that it was the right way to teach someone manners, in a way that he won't ever think again about poking his nose in their businesses.

Yet… even if the locals’fury got to be one to be feared, that many of the travelers got to round the villages found at the foot of the Mount of Fear from far away, it hadn’t been the only reason why people gave up on the idea to find out the mystery of those places or of Tikil… it has been because of a strange event, something scary at the same time, that happened about 3000 years after the Cyclops moved to Kyllini Mountain when Accam Kuṉṟu has been abandoned and left bald, guarded only by those mad clouds that could be found above it while… deep inside the mount… where the magma of dread… was boiling…

***

A thick fog, milky-white or black-grey in some places, that seemed to descend from the sky, quickly covered the bald top of Accam Kuṉṟu, even if that morning seemed to be a sunny one because of the powerful rays of the sun that had blessed nature with warmth and life just a few seconds before the fog has been seen.

Yet, even if the powerful rays of Tī (fire), as the Titan of the Sun was known at that time, surrounded the mountain and kissed the top of the head of the blades of grass, the flowers, and even the small creatures that lived between the herbs or under the petals of the flowers, yet, they have been forced to give up in front of the power of the Fog and this because nature, in that part of the Mount, was also influenced by the Darkness of Tenebre Forest's power, which could be found closer to the foot of the Mountain.

Thus, only by looking at how Tī’s light was chased away by the darkness that exited Tenebre's forest, one could understand that it was something difficult to bare with. More... watching those black clouds that were covering the sky in seconds, leaving only night all over and damp air behind, an air that was difficult to breathe, was something that one couldn't understand. That's why those who were seeing this were often heard saying while shuddering inside: „when the famous Tikil shows up to swallow me just as it swallows the Mount right now?”

Even so, even if it was something scary to look at, Alton, the 35-year-old man that dared to climb the mount that day, considered, after good minutes of looking at that fog that was „rushing” toward him, that nature stood in place yet and only the fog was moving through the air, like white monsters that had a smoky body at the same time, those monsters found in the children’s stories, those told by the old men that were saying that each day of 15, in the 6th month of the year, a sacred event was taking place, the same day the Sun Tī and the Titan of Dread, Tikil met face to face on that mount, having a fierce battle for supremacy, deciding thus if the light or the darkness will lead over the world in the coming months.

And Alton considered those stories as being just stories even if he had been warned by the elders of the village not to climb the mount that day. Yet, Alton decided that he won’t waste his time, putting the pleasure of hunting aside just because the elders said so, considering their stories just the inventions of the adults to scare the children or of the Titans to keep humans away from that Mount, which they considered sacred because as Kyllini Mountain, Accam Kuṉṟu was also considered a place where the Titans could fill their bodies with power, with greater power than the one felt on the top of Kyllini Mount, right in front of Arkadia Grotto.

But he understood very soon that not everything was just a story or an invention, and this happened at the moment a fire lance has been thrown from the sky and stubbed into the ground not even 200 meters away from him. Namely then did Alton take fright and, after shaking like an Aspen leaf for a few moments, he stared at that burning lance, which very soon ignited the dried grass around it. That’s why the young man turned his back on it and ran away, without even looking back to see the source of that hissing breathing that was heard behind him, something scary, of someone who got to chase him eventually.

Even so, even if he unwillingly became a victim, Alton decided not to give up on his life without at least fighting for it. That’s why he turned his back on that burning lance and, even if his heart stopped beating in his chest and the blood froze in his veins because of fear, he still found the strength to run away because the shout of Life gave him the power to forget about dread and look for salvation.

Nevertheless, no matter how faster Alton didn’t try to run away from those cursed places, they seemed not to be by his side and, very soon, the man understood that he was actually running in place, or at least it seemed to be so, while his pursuer, the one who he didn’t see his face yet, was moving like the wind and was about to catch up with him, pounce on him, and break him into pieces because Alton felt already his breathing right behind him, something that was felt like burning magma, and the sharp claws of that beast, that were scratching the ground while running behind his prey, made a deafening sound around. That's why Alton felt, at a moment, cold sweat running down his cheeks and back.

And… Fate definitely seemed not to be by Alton’s side that day because… at a precise moment when he looked back to see if that beast was right behind him, he saw only a thick, milky fog around and nothing more, something that made Alton inattentive. That’s why when he looked in front again, he understood that he was about to fall into a huge gulf and he stopped at the last possible moment, right next to its sharp edge. Thus, when he finally felt that he stopped moving, he felt the top of his toes touching the edge of the friable rock of the gulf's wall, and, to keep balance, the young man has been forced to stagger to his feet for a while, moving his hands in an uncontrolled movement beside his body or above his head. Eventually, he could keep his balance and stopped moving, a little bit inclined to the right, feeling that that uncomfortable position was hurting him inside.

Even so, Alton decided that it was a damn good idea not to move at all. He even held his breath to make sure that he won’t lose his balance again. That’s why his small eyes, which were bright brown at that moment, were slowly moving in their orbits, carefully looking at the surroundings to understand how bad he was at that moment: was he about to die or there was something else that could have been done to save his life.

Pink-pink… that situation wasn’t in fact, and Alton understood this after minutes in a row of looking around when he saw only smooth soil and nothing to grab if falling and save his life if necessary.

Not even a small stone was seen there, half stubbed into the ground by the time or by people, and this was really weird, more… being on that mount. Yet, the thought „while I’m still alive, there’s still a chance to survive,” started to spin in Alton’s head and he eventually dared to at least straighten his back and stuck his arms to his body. But… to turn around and look back, he didn’t dare, even if he felt that the beast was also there, not losing sight of him… stopped somewhere behind him… waiting in silence for… something that Alton wasn’t aware of.

Suddenly… so suddenly that Alton shuddered… he understood what that beast could have waited for actually while he stood as frozen, and… another thought sneaked into his mind: „she’s waiting for me to be ready to be swallowed by her.” And that thought made him swallow hard eventually, feeling a harsh pain in the bottom of his stomach. But that pain was caused more by holding his breath than by fear, and when Alton released that air that he had kept inside, that „captive” quickly jerked outside, forming a kind of barely-seen steam in front of him, and this happened because it turned very cold and so suddenly because of that thick fog that was quickly surrounding that place.

And that „so suddenly” wasn’t just something random. On the contrary: it was a real fact because… while Alton breathed out the air he had kept inside, the fog managed to surround him from everywhere, hiding that gulf, that he had seen not that long ago, from his sight. Yet, Alton knew very well that the gulf was still there, threateningly opening its mouth and ready to swallow everyone because he still felt its sharp edge under his soles, and if he dared to press on it, even a little bit, he felt how that friable soil was quickly breaking because of his weight.

And… so soon the silence took over the surroundings at the moment the fog covered the mount completely and the cold has been felt as if it was a sharp knife, cutting to the bones. And it was strange… to feel that winter cold in full summer when no snowflakes were seen around and neither the rebellious Crivatis wasn’t felt acting up around there.

Then… the inevitable happened… the silence has been chased away by a shriek, something that entered deeply into Alton’s brain and made him, unwillingly, stick his pinkies into his ears and quickly shake them to chase the buzz away, a buzz caused by that unpleasant shriek. Yet, it didn’t help because that beast madly laughed again, and the mad horses of his laughter galloped toward the horizon, deafening the surroundings.

„Damn unpleasant laughter,” said Alton eventually when he felt that that mad horse, known as laughter, drove him crazy and made even his ears buzz. Also, he felt his head cracking as if it was the ice hit by the pick because of that second shriek as if his „visitor” had not laughed, but spoken the words of a curse. „You could have saved us from a headache and laugh while being in your kingdom, Tikil because I guess that you are the one who followed me by here, considering me a frightened bunny while you turned to be a raptor, and don’t even dare to say that’s not you because I’m more than sure that only you live here.”

„Yet… what makes you think that I’m Tikil and not anybody else?” The high-pitched voice asked, the same voice that was to blame for that unpleasant laughter heard before. „Maybe I’m just a… Spirit only, don’t you think? Or maybe… am I Tī?" He added, using cunningness this time.

But even if that voice was unclear at first… neither it sounded as being the voice of a man nor of a woman, but something mixed, Alton knew very well that’s only an illusion because even if nobody ever saw Tikil, everybody knew that the Spirit was a He and not a She because if Tikil had been a She, being the women more impatient, Alton would have been dead and right from the first moment they met, and neither the man would have felt as if being a mouse caught in a trap at that moment because besides all the legends invented about the Spirit of the Mount Accam Kuṉṟu, there was one more story that said that Tikil never kills right away and that he loves to play with his victims as if he’s the cat and others the mice because… as the elders said, at the beginning of the world Tikil had been a simple earthly creature that had four paws, two small ears, and a long black tail. But that little kitten, that had only a few months at the moment, had been lost on the mount one day while accompanying his master to pick up flowers. Thus, never found later, even if the children looked for him all day long, nobody ever thought that maybe that kitten had just fallen into a gulf or something and died. People instead right away invented stories about different things, turning that simple kitten into an adventurer, someone that got deep into the mount, drank from the water of the Stream of Power that was hidden in the depths of that Mountain because the path till there had been long and he, of course, should have been thirsty. Thus, after drinking that water, the little kitten turned into the monster Tikil, the one that was frightening the people and surroundings together.

„Yet… you didn’t answer to me, young man. What makes you think that I’m Tikil and not the Sun Tī?”

„Because only a devilish mind like yours can compare itself with the sun when it doesn’t bring anything else around than cold and dread,” Alton said confidently and finally turned his back on that gulf, convinced to look his enemy into his eyes even if this meant to die.

But his enemy wasn’t as courageous as he was or at least this could be understood from his actions while he kept hiding behind that curtain of smoky clouds. Even so, Alton knew that his enemy didn’t run once has been discovered, but he was still there, lurking on him and waiting for the right moment to attack him, a moment which the trapped „mouse” intended to delay as long as possible.

Soon, Alton winced when he saw two green eyes in that dark bank of clouds, madly sparkling, and, soon after this, he saw two big black ears, similar to the cats’, appearing on both sides of those eyes.

„Is that story real? With the kitten and the Monster of Dread?” Alton asked himself. But… he understood very soon that he had been wrong when the fog spread and he could clearly see on a perimeter of about 2 square footage. Thus, Alton saw what the real Tikil looked like: a monster about 5 feet tall, with long feet, and, at each foot, he had 6 toes. Also, he had big hands that were moving back and forth next to his body, and, at his back, two big black wings were also seen.

Tikil’s head, however, looked normal, like any other human's head. At least that was the first impression. But when the monster got closer to the young man, Alton could see small cuts on his cheeks - some kind of scars after an old battle. Yet, those scars weren’t healed yet and if someone had looked more closely, he would have seen that they looked like open wounds even if they weren’t bleeding at that moment. Also… inside those wounds, were clearly seen some small creatures living or hiding there. And those creatures didn't belong to only one specie because the young man could see that some of them could fly and some of them could crawl. Then, at a moment, Alton even noticed a small bat coming from one of the monster’s nostrils and hanging upside down after grabbing the right ear's flap with his claws. And that bat seemed comic because he looked like a kind of strange earring at that moment.

Suddenly, Alton noticed a movement on Tikil’s left shoulder and that movement made the young man take his eyes from the monster’s face because he had stared at Tikil’s eyes by then, a terrifying glance, something unclear, something that reminded him about fog mixed with fire… nothing that could be touched. Yet, Alton saw that glance so clearly in front of him, but still… he seemed confused while looking into Tikil’s eyes. That’s why that movement on Tikil’s left shoulder seemed like a breath of fresh air to the young man because it gave him a little bit of time to hide his fear. But he looked into the monster’s eyes again when the movement seen on the shoulder stopped. However, Alton winced and withdrew a little the moment a snake’s mouth, wide open, has been seen in front of his eyes, threatening with swallowing him.

Thus… because of fear, Alton forgot that he was right next to the edge of the gulf and when he stepped back, he has been forced to stagger to his feet again for a few moments after this. The snake, however, didn’t swallow him because suddenly grabbed by the throat by Tikil, it has been forced to turn back to its place, at the monster’s back because that creature was one of those that served Tikil as hair.

„Calm, boy!” Tikil said to the snake, after caressing its back and forcing it to withdraw. „It isn’t the time to taste that prey yet. First… it’s time for a game.” And Tikil sketched a large and weird smile with his lips that seemed livid at first, but which turned black so suddenly, the moment his eyes turned black too as if black oil had been burnt inside of a huge stove, and the smoke produced by the burn of the oil change the color of Tikil’s eyes and also made the fog around have the same color. After that, the monster growled unpleasantly: „it seems that we have unwelcome visitors!”

„Visitors? Who?” asked Alton, wide opening his eyes while he kept staggering to his feet. Then, when he could finally stop that swinging, Alton let a loud „huh, finally!” out of his mouth and he stared at Tikil again, who had a small black kitten in his arms at that moment, slowly caressing the animal’s fur. „The kitten?” Alton made a joke, seeing the small creature and finally understanding that the elders’stories have sometimes some hidden meaning.

Tikil, however, didn’t taste the mortal’s „joke” and started to slowly walk toward Alton, who suddenly felt some tickling on his back because of those black eyes, that kept sparkling like lit embers, and the snakes that were wide-opening their mouths while swinging above the ogre’s head, looking terrifying. More… it was interesting to watch those snakes because they had been stuck on the head’s skin by then, like tattoos made from skin and scales, but which raised so suddenly in the air, threatening the prey with killing it eventually.

Yet, Alton avoided the „honor” of being those snakes’prey because when there were only 20 meters left between him and Tikil, another lance, thrown from the sky, stubbed into the ground right in front of him, and, while approaching him, that lance made a deafening rumble, forcing the young man look up. But, because of the fog, he didn’t see anything again.

Not the same happened to Tikil… he didn’t look up but threw the kitten back on his shoulder, and the animal, frightened, looked for shelter right away, under the left wing of the monster while the Spirit of the Mount of Fear was showing his fangs, unpleasantly surprised by that unexpected visit, even if he had been aware of it before.

„You wouldn't dare!” Tikil snarled eventually, staring in front.

These words amazed Alton a lot, who finally mumbled a barely-heard „me?”

Yet, very soon, Alton understood that the monster wasn’t talking to him, but with someone else from above, the one who made that deafening rumble be heard everywhere.

Then, at the moment the „rock” from the sky fell onto the ground, his feet entered about 5 meters into the ground and also he left a two meters deep fist trace on the soil’s surface. And, because of that sudden impact with the soil, Alton has been thrown up at first, to see himself floating above the gulf seconds later… the same gulf he had tried so hard not to fall into.

That floating, however, wasn’t one of plunging. Per contra: it was now slow then quick, making Alton’s ears buzz when the air passed by them. Thus, the young man finally understood that he should have listened to the elders’words and not ventured up the mountain that saint day. That’s why, feeling that he didn’t have the power to fight against something anymore, he closed his eyes, and his mind sank into the darkness of a twilling world where he suddenly stopped falling and got to „lay” in the arms of nothingness.

***

„Ah, Tī, ah! You never learn!” said Tikil, shaking his head reproachfully while walking back and forth in front of his visitor, lurking from the corner of his eyes at each of Tī’s movements: slow, precise while taking his feet out of that hole which he made when he had fallen. Yet, the Titan of the Sun took his fist out of the ground at first, opened and squeezed it several times, trying to check if everything was ok.

But… the sun Tī did this not to gain some time, but because he was generally doing this, being the opposite of Helyos, with whom he shared the chariot of the Celestial Heat and who was well known for his „rushing.” Yet, they were extremely alike… physically: very tall, with white skin, golden hair, and blue eyes like the clear sky even if those eyes should have been also golden as long as they were the masters of the light. Nonetheless, Tī had something else different from Helyos: two big white wings stuck to his back that gave him the possibility to be both in the Cosmos and on earth. But, at the moment Tī touched the ground that day, no wing was seen on his back… only the traces they left on the skin of his back like a kind of tattoo.

„And… the wings?” Tikil teased Tī when he noticed the mark left by the wings on the Titan’s back. „Did you lose them somewhere?” And a kind of devilish grin has been seen on the monster’s face while his snakes-hair were dancing on his head and their eyes were moving in small circles as if trying to charm somebody.

Tī said nothing, not even this time. He only straightened his back, squeezing his fists, and a kind of slight noise of cracking bones has been heard floating around. Then Tī turned his head and looked at the gulf where Alton had fallen into, a gulf that seemed covered by a peel of pitch at that moment, something that didn’t allow to be seen through it, even if the Titan narrowed his eyes and used his forced to see something.

The failure, however, didn’t bother him and neither made him nervous. He only smiled and then looked carefully at Tikil, who was yawning at that moment at the same time with his snakes, a hint that they were bored by the Titan’s slowness.

„You could have shown some mercy to that poor soul. He didn’t bother you at all,” the Titan of the Sun tried to tease Tikil, who suddenly wide opened his eyes, in feigned wonder.

„I? But… what exactly did I do? The one who threw him into the desert of the darkness of Ṭārṭṭar has been you… brother,” the monster said in mockery because they definitely weren’t brothers and either nobody ever called them like this.

„A desert that showed up in this world thanks to your mercy,” said the Titan Tī, slowly walking next to the gulf and touching his wrists and his fingers, moving them later in small circles to chase the numbness away. „But… why exactly did you create that terrifying realm… behind my back actually… I can’t even imagine.”

Staring into Tikil’s eyes later, the Titan saw him cunningly smiling and, suddenly, when Tikil rubbed his palms together, two big white wings appeared above that gulf, in the middle of it.

When the wings appeared above the gulf, Tī turned his head and, seeing them there, he smiled: „now I understand what the ten years ago fight had been for - you needed purity to create something monstrous.”

„Exactly. And to keep you away from here because… those wings only bothered you. And I, like a good samaritan of this mount, I did nothing else than to help you to get rid of that… burden,” and that high-pitch laughter, unpleasant to listen to, has been heard again.

Tī only made a wry face when he heard that laughter and, suddenly moving his arms, he formed two golden spears in his hands… long of about 3 meters, with a very sharp top, which were slowly sparkling as if thunderlights were hidden inside of them.

„The famous Īṭṭikaḷ!” said Tikil in mockery, trying to seem at all bothered seeing this. Yet, turning his head to the left, he cooked his nose and, after grabbing two snakes by the neck, whom he broke into two, he formed two long canes that were similar to a hardened snake body while the crooked upper part was similar to a snake with a wide open mouth.

Actually, at that moment, while squeezing the canes in his hands, the monster Tikil had two fingers inside of the mouth of the snakes from off the canes and the fangs of those beasts were deeply entering his skin… or at least this looked like being so.

It was everything only an illusion in fact, for… even if nobody knew this, the earthly creatures generally, Tikil had a smoke body, like Ian Gyar, after that one had been killed by Fenrir by using the fire. But, unlike the snake Ian Gyar, Tikil looked like any other normal creature, and his body only „allowed” some things „enter” it when the monster wanted this while generally if someone or something touched his body, it seemed to touch hard material.

„Interesting,” said Tī in mockery, „a snake holding another one by the tail,” and, suddenly, one of the spears from his hand „split” its sharp top and has been thrown toward the monster.

The unexpected attack made Tikil lay back, and, at the moment his head almost touched the ground, the black kitten jumped off his shoulder and ran away, trying to hide among the herbs, far away from those two Titans that were about to start a fierce fight. Yet, the animal didn't run only because of fear, but also because Tikil ordered him telepathically to do this because as long as that small creature was on his shoulder, the only one actually who the monster cared about, Tikil couldn’t openly fight. That’s why he took advantage of Tī’s attack and, to protect himself too, lay on his back.

Yet, he didn’t manage to half stand up when he has been forced to use the cane from his right hand to hit the spear that Tī threw over him. Thus, Tikil managed to throw the spear away, avoiding being hit on the top of his head as it had been Tī’s intention when he threw that spear toward Tikil.

Eventually, the one forced to protect himself too by jerking in the air has been Tī. Thus, being unable to control his movement at that moment because of that unexpected attack on Tikil’s part, the Titan of Sun went head over heels and finished that rolling on his knees.

This made him unpleasantly grin. More when he remembered the 10 years ago battle because Tikil had used the same trick to deprive him of his wings, something that weakened his force for decades. But, being wise, that small failure didn’t discourage Tī, who considered this a life lesson. Thus, in time, he learned new tricks by watching the cosmic objects and he got more power eventually, equalling Tikil’s power in the end. Yet, he was forced to be attentive because a devilish mind always finds a way to kneel Good if it wants this.

So, being in the air again, Tī put those spears side by side while he was floating at 20 degrees inclined in front, just to be ready to prevent another attack. But he has been forced eventually to straighten his back and climb more when Tikil also jerked in the air, putting those canes one onto the other, in a cross, in front of him, a few millimeters from his face. Thus, the powers of the two made the air around them vibrate and the herbs bend their thin bodies to the ground, leaving the kitten unprotected. That’s why the black furry animal started to continuously mew, asking his protector for help.

Tikil, however, was too busy to care about his pet too. Thus, focusing his glance on Tī, he made his black wings stretch more behind him, and a few black feathers, plucked by the air currents, started to spin in the air.

„You’re molting recently!” Tī teased the monster and attacked him right after this, for he had also learned a good trick in that battle - that the attack is better than the defense.

Thus, outraged, Tikil started to hit left and right with his canes, forcing Tī to bend or lay on his back while the sharp tops of his spears and the fangs of the wooden cobras seen on the rods were biting from the flesh of the enemy, leaving deep wounds on the skin of each of them.

Yet, even if both of them were courageously fighting, none was able to win that battle because they had equal powers. That’s why their fights would have lasted forever if a third person hadn't come there to end their madness.

And… who ended those useless fights all the time was Inlan Diar, who was only a child at that time. Thus, as always, she suddenly appeared behind Tikil when it was already dusk, and her sudden appearance made the two enemies stop their mindless battle and „freeze” in the air.

Then, when the icy air current, that „was cooling” the two fighters, was vanishing somewhere in the distance of that black abyss, Tikil was madly roaring: „don’t touch him, Inlan Diar or I swear that I kill you.”

The child, however, was cunningly smiling as always, innocently and childishly at the same time, for even if Tikil was somebody who was frightening humans and other creatures or fighting with other Spirits or with the Titans, for an unknown reason Tikil had never been able to hurt her. That’s why she could always do whatever she wanted and, as always, she was taking the black kitten into her arms, caressing his fur with her „blue” hand that had a transparent purple color when she was forming ice around, and that cold touch „numbed” the kitten all the time, weakening Tikil’s power at the same time, something that was bringing him to his knees in the end, and his black wings were hanging beside his body like wilted petals.

Then, when his hands, which were squeezing the upper part of the canes, were already touching the ground and he was sighing and bending his head, the snakes, that had formed the canes by that moment, suddenly revived and joined their half-part that was still on the monster’s head.

„I always tell you not to do this, but you’re always doing this,” Tikil snarled, staring with hatred at the beautiful child Inlan Diar, who was heading toward him at slow step, still caressing the fur of the kitten that was sleeping in her arms.

„I do this because you’ve never learned when to stop, Tikil, for… doing this, you not only manage to increase your fame as the monster of the mount but you also kill… just as you did this today,” she told him reproachfully.

„Why am I all the time the only one scolded for this? Who threw that innocent soul into the gulf Ṭārṭṭar has been Tī and not me.”

„But you took care to help him, for I’m sure that not for nothing you brought that innocent soul namely here, next to the open mouth of the gulf Ṭārṭṭar, where the wings of the Titan are actually, floating above the same gulf. Or… am I wrong?”

„Not really,” snarled Tikil eventually, trying to stand up. He kneeled again, however, and so suddenly, instants after only, as if someone hit his knees, even if Tī was still floating in the air, a few meters away from him. Even so, Tikil knew that it was Tī who had used his power to kneel him again. That’s why he growled: „you’re always poking your nose in someone else’s business.”

„Me? Why? I did nothing,” the Titan tried to defend himself and shrugged eventually. „The one who brought you to your knees again has been the mount and not me. Actually, you know better than me that what Accam Kuṉṟu hates so much is to find out that someone killed someone else behind his back, and without that sacrifice be something necessary. If you don’t believe me, then… look to your left.”

And what Tī said was the truth, for even if the physical body of the mount, the kitten from Inlan Diar’s arms, was sleeping, not the same happened to his power, that was seen floating above the top of the mountain at that moment, having the form of a black panther. And… each time the panther madly roared, Tikil felt blowings all over his body.

Actually, that was his punishment, for even if he was considered the Spirit of the Mount, it was everything only a legend in fact because Tikil was only the helper of the real king of the mountain and nothing more, one of many children Accam Kuṉṟu brought to life, even if the majority of those children were monsters and this because the great power of Accam Kuṉṟu was black, fighting by evil’s side. Thus… he couldn’t create only good creatures when darkness was also ruling inside him.

Only one of Accam Kuṉṟu’s children was good and this was Inlan Diar, for she has been born on the snowy mountain ridges in the form of a 7-year-old child, wearing a white dress and having a purple belt, the color of the ice, at her girdle. And then, when she opened her eyes for the first time, she hadn't seen the blue of the sky or the madness of Crivatis, dancing with the snow-flakes, but the black-like pitch eyes of Tikil, for she has been born during the night when he could freely walk up and down the mount, hunt or act up.

But… when he stretched his hand to grab her hand and steal her power, thinking that she was only a Spirit that was lost there, he had been brought to his knees because even if the child wasn’t aware of her huge power yet, her father, Accam Kuṉṟu loved her too much to leave her at her evil brother’s mercy, even if he loved all his children equally.

Thus, kneeling and outraged, Tikil heard his father’s voice, scolding him: „because you dared to try to steal power from another child of mine, from your only sister, I curse you to be always a servant only and to never have power over her or over one of her heirs.” And, since that day, Tikil was always kneeling in front of the child Inlan Diar, forced to bow his head and be her servant forever.

***

Laying on the back of the black panther, Tikil, the one left dormant by the mount Accam Kuṉṟu in the end, as this happened always after being on his knees in front of his sister, was taken away from those places, deep inside of that mount, through a secret portal that appeared on that mountain field, right in the middle of it.

Behind the black panther and Tikil, Inlan Diar and the Titan Tī, who had touched already the soil with his golden soles, were staring toward the portal and said nothing until it closed and vanished like smoke… just as it had appeared there. Also, the Sun Tī didn't have any spear in his hands at that moment: only two golden armlets could be seen on his left arm.

Thus, only the two of them on that field, they looked into each other’s eyes later and, using telepathy, they talked to each other:

„It’s time to turn things back to normal,” said Inlan Diar.

„You know very well that something done is well done and impossible to restore. We are talking about the Wheel of Time now, Inlan Diar,” Tī said, frowning while having his arms crossed over his chest.

„I know. Yet… that soul shouldn’t have died today. Thus, we must revive him, even if it’s in another form,” and the child looked into his blue eyes with her purple eyes, the color of the ice.

„Having another form? Like?” asked Tī, surprised.

„You’ll find out this! Very soon!” She said, smiling. After that, she ran toward the gulf that was only 10 meters from her.

Behind her, only her voice has been heard, who loudly said to the Titan this time: „take back what’s yours, Titan Tī. Take back your wings!” After that, she jumped into the gulf.

Tī only reproachfully shook his head, for her actions seemed sometimes exaggerated to him, just as it was the jump into the gulf without planning well the things before. Yet, he also ran toward that gulf eventually and, only one step from its edge, he stretched his right hand in front, squeezing the left fist that touched his chest, and the jump brought him next to his wings which, in contact with his body, blinked three times and vanished, leaving only a blue clear sky above, with thousands of sun rays illuminating the surroundings and „cleaning” that field by Tikil’s fog.

***

Even if the Mountain Accam Kuṉṟu always managed to keep its secrets away from the others’glances, it failed that day because not only Alton had been on the mount, but also the child Sebakis, Alton’s pupil, whom the young man was always teaching some tricks, besides hunting. That’s why Sebakis followed his mentor onto the mount that day and he did this to surprise him, even if Alton told him to stay home and practice what he had taught him about carving the wood.

The child instead, bored to fulfill that daily routine, followed Alton. Yet, he hid when the field has been surrounded by fog, and, scared, he looked for shelter under the herbs, just like the kitten had done. Thus, he saw everything that happened that day and, turning back to the village, he told everybody about what he had seen. But, being only a child, he told that story as if what he had seen would have been a frightening nightmare, and, since that day, Tikil has been considered the most monstrous creature that was living on the Mountain Accam Kuṉṟu.

Nevertheless… the child never told anybody about something else he had seen there… the moment Inlan Diar raised above Ṭārṭṭar again… that she exited that gulf on the back of someone, of a creature that appeared when Alton’s soul transformed after his death…