The Pursuit Of Genesis

4 : Mountains Of Himi

Those many destructive, massive 'humanoids', slaughtered over a single night. Those massive white-coloured blades emerged from the land, pierced through their body, lifting them above the surface. Two days passed since that haunting message, which appeared from the stone slate at the so-called location of the dimensional seal.

There was no reason for Rize to stay on the mountain any longer, I had asked Rize to return to the capital.

'I can still come with you,' I remember her saying. 'People do not survive on these mountains. You don't even know where you're going. I can help you.'

'There is no need for you to accompany me,' I had said to her. 'Steve did not ask you to accompany me. Once you're recovered, you'll leave this place and visit the Capital.'

I wandered in the area for two days. Good for me, there were some naturally formed canopies and caves to protect me from the Ice storms. As I walked deep in the mountains, the weather got worse. I walked up a cliff for a better look and ran my eyes as far as I could. All my eyes saw was the vast spread blanket of ice, stretched till and beyond the horizon, still no signs of human settlement.

My eyes caught a small cave at the bottom of the valley. The sun, which was barely visible due to the snowstorm, was sinking behind the horizon. I descended the valley, making my way through the flora of the mountain. The snow was slippery most of the time, but there were ample amounts of shrubs to maintain the body's balance. I reached the cave and entered inside.

It was a small cave, if compared to the previously found caves, but was enough for me to spend the night. I wrapped my trench coat tighter and placed myself on the snowless ground, resting my back on the cave walls. My hands, subconsciously rubbed against each other, creating some warmth and my eyes closed.

Soon after some time, my eyes opened with a jolt when my body sensed a strange Qi, an unknown life force nearby. I quietly, but cautiously got on my feet and focused my senses to detect a clear vibration. The Qi was strong, which was difficult to maintain in such harsh conditions. I followed the vibrations, trying to get closer to the source.

As the intensity increased, my pace slowed down and I peeped from behind the big boulder. My eyes caught the sight of a strong, healthy-looking man standing in front, facing the opposite side. His life force was strong and constant. There was a child in front, he was on his knees some distance ahead, dressed in a brown cloth and a brown wraparound.

Does he have no life force?! I noticed.

The kid backed off by a step, his body trembled in fear. At first, my mind was confused about why the kid was scared of the other man. But the picture became more clear when I sensed a strong Qi vibration - an intention to harm.

My body subconsciously moved out of the cover from the boulder.

"Hey, hey!" I shouted. "I lost my way. Could you help me, man?"

"Stay out of this." his Qi increased as he said in a louder voice.

"I just need some directions," I said, trying to distract the man from the kid. "If you help, I'll be on my way."

"Stay away!"

The strong-looking person in front shouted and hastily turned around. My body froze in place, looking at the man. It had black eyes with a red pupil, a half swollen face and a deadly Qi. The left half of his body was dark and the colour was gradually spreading all over the body.

Oh heavens no. I said to myself. He's possessed.

The entity looked straight into my eyes. His blood-red pupils met my eyes and an intense spark ran throughout my body. Within a blink, he rushed and dashed closer. My hands subconsciously went on the horizontal hilt of my jade dagger and his claws met my blade. The sound of clash echoed in the area and I was pushed back by the impact.