We all held our breaths, gazing at the night sky which was covered with grey clouds and mist. There was no sign of anything else. Just when I was about to give up, I saw it. Near the snow-covered mountain-top, it was faint but definitely real. Streaks of green-violet danced across the sky, its reflections lighting up the snow peaks; the Northern Lights. Of course, Cristalline was also called the North. I never understood why though; it was located at the centre of all the 12 realms. The lights were beautiful. Awed, we all looked back at Liam who had a hopeful expression,
" Remember the childhood story of the Northern Lights? " He asked, looking at us.
" You mean the myth that they were the reflection of the immense treasure? " Raghav asked.
" Yes, that. " Zeneri answered.
" If you come to think of it, the description suits the torch, plus it is one of three treasures to be hunted. " I mused thoughtfully.
" Exactly. " Liam nodded.
" If that's the case, then ice can serve as the reflector. So if our guess is right, then the torch must be in some crystal cave or something like that. " Ian said, still not looking at me.
" There are multiple entrances to those caves; I checked while waiting. We have to split. " Drake said, pointing towards where he came from, after examining the mountains.
" Let's not waste time then, and start searching. " Vera said gazing at the lights.
I went in with Liam; this gave us time to discuss our approach as a pair when the time came. I explained to him the landscape as we scaled the caves. Earlier, they were dark but soon frozen crystals started appearing. Initially in small numbers, then clusters and soon enough the entire roof and walls of the cave was covered with ice. The mouth of the cave was becoming wider and the floor damp and slippery.
" The land is quite wide. It'll be hard to guess where the Scythe might be. Especially since the entire land is covered with mist and snow, creating the environment of the Shadow Forest. Any place can be suitable." Liam said, looking at me with a small frown.
" Yeah, you are right. " I mirrored his expression.
Suddenly, the floor under my feet disappeared and I slide down one of the ice burrows with a yelp.
" Aria! " Liam's shout echoed the entire way I fell.
" Oof! " The breath was knocked out of my lungs as I slammed against the solid ice, leaving small cracks on it. I was thankful it didn't break, the last thing I needed was drowning in freezing water and not being able to use my powers to escape or heat myself.
Looking around, I sat up rubbing my left elbow; everything was pure ice. There were multiple openings, confusing me as to which one to choose and go through.
Looking up, I noticed that there was no way Liam could follow me, the burrow had magically disappeared; the same way it had opened.
I stood up, facing the openings squaring my shoulders, I chose the middle one. Everything was smooth; too smooth to be natural. I knew that something was off. But what confirmed my suspicions was; when I came across a perfectly smooth wall marred with scratches. Lots of large scratches.
Instantly alert, I drew out my sword and slowly moved forward, ready for whatever creature that had caused those marks. I felt a slight tremor through the ground, then all was silent; eerily silent. I had barely taken another step forward when a loud screeching howl resonated throughout the cave, making me wince at its sharpness. And then, I heard the sound of paws with long talons, scratching against the ice. Whatever it was, I was sure, it was on move and it was running towards me.
I adjusted my boots to increase their grip on ice and ran as fast as possible, until I came to a dead end. I ran my eyes along my surroundings quickly and realized that the only way out was through another burrow hole opening over my head. I had to act fast because both, the creature was nearing and the hole could disappear magically, any moment. But before I could decide how to climb up, it was already here; snarling and growling at me.
The creature in front of me was something between a wolf and a lizard. Bigger than an average wolf, its paws had large lizard-like talons and a long tail. A mane was made up of large icy spikes that ran from its snout to the tip of its tail. Its red eye glared at me as he stalked with its fangs bared at me, not happy that I was trespassing his territory.
The Leden Ulv.
They are the protector of the mountains, though I am sure it had only been released for the tournament as they are traditionally found in another realm.
Determined, I faced it as my only way out, was through it. Positioning my sword in my right hand, I drew my whip out from around my waist with my left hand.
" Let's see what you've got, shall we? " I cracked my whip, making it growl at me.
Standing on its hind legs, it gave another screech and charged towards me at the same time as I started running towards it. Right before he could collide into me, I ran towards the right along the wall, my boots preventing me from slipping and falling. I lashed the whip an inch away from its paw, agitating it further. Jumping off the wall, I landed behind it and before it had time to turn, I ran and climbed along its tail. But with a swing I was slammed down, I was quick to use my sword to defend my torso from it talons.
Mercilessly, it kept on trying to claw me open; repeatedly I dodged the assaults. When it was almost hovering over me, I lashed my whip around its hind leg and pulled; making it lose its balance and fall forward. Rolling right before it could crush me, I quickly stood and swung my sword and cut off its talons when it came after me again. With a snarl, it pounced on me; dodging to the side I thrusted my sword to its side and using it as a support, I swung my body and straddled its back. Howling, he slammed his side against the wall, trying to get me off, smearing its pale blue blood in the process.
The spikes were really sharp; they punctured my hands, drawing blood. Taking out my sword, I used my whip as a leash and wound it around its neck and pulled. Giving another screechy howl, the Leden Ulv stood on its hind paws, trying to turn and bite me off. In that moment, my eyes fell on the burrow which was still open and it gave me an idea. I gave a jerk to the whip, making the wolf stagger forward, putting my sword back in its sheath and using the whip as support, I carefully climbed up towards its head. Drawing out my knife, I positioned my body and jumped up into the burrow, unwrapping the whip and leaving the angry Leden Ulv snarling below.
Digging my knife and boots into the burrow wall, I supported myself and tied the whip back around my waist. Drawing the other knife, swiftly, I started climbing up. I could hear the screeching howls getting distant. Finally, I hauled myself out of the opening, panting slightly as I took in the view in front of me. Lights were dancing around in different colours. I followed the lights till I reached a large opening full of light and colourful crystals.
" Aria! " Liam ran from the opposite side of the opening and hugged me tightly.
" Are you ok? " He ran his worried eyes over me, checking for any injuries.
Giving him a reassuring smile, I said," I am totally fine. Did you find it? "
" I am trying to figure it out. " Pursing his lips, he went back to searching for the crest towards the opposite wall.
" What is odd is that there are only two colours on this wall while other surfaces have more colours. I have searched every single surface, but didn't find the crest. " He sighed and fell against the wall a bit forcefully.
The sound of a click made him freeze. Turning around, he saw a crystal had popped out slightly, compared to its neighbours.
" Aria, I think I got it! " He excitedly started punching the crystals, making me furrow my brows in confusion.
Walking slowing towards him, I tried to understand what he was doing. He popped out all the dual coloured crystals and tried the rearrange them, amazingly they fit each other like puzzle pieces. And soon enough, Liam was assembling them to create the crest of light. The moment he put the last piece in its place, the crest emitted a blinding white light. The intensity was so strong that I had to cover my eyes. When I opened them back, he was standing in front of me, a beautiful crystal necklace around his neck emitting green-violet light.
In that moment, wearing that necklace and surrounded by violet-green light, his eyes had a glow of their own.
" Ari? Liam? Are you guys there? " Veronika came running, followed by our group.
" The Torch of Light? " Ian asked, looking at Liam's neck.
" The Torch of Light " He smiled at everyone, holding his necklace, making his eyes crinkle and all the more beautiful.
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