Critical Mission II: The Three Trials

Mountain Path

As Zephyr passed through his chosen gates once again, he found themselves walking further upward along a path. Though it led him back to a clearing almost the same as the last, it was unmistakable now that he was much higher up the mountain. The mist still lingered around the edges like a curtain, but it no longer closed in on him. With just a breeze, it felt like it would all blow away and be clear.

"I think I have the measure of you now," the voice said. "Let’s see if you do."

Behind the gates, an eerily similar image appeared. Only now, instead of the nameless demon from before lay one Zephyr recognized only too well.

Cherry, her tiny body crumpled on the ground, stared back at him with vacant eyes. One wing had been torn away, the other bent at an unnatural angle. The same man he’d rescued before stood over her now, malicious pleasure etched on his face, as he stepped on her body with his shoe, rocking it back and forth.

The only difference between the two images lay in Zephyr himself. In one, he walked away from the scene as though indifferent, or perhaps, even signaling silent approval. In the other, he loomed behind the man, his sword drawn, face etched with cold fury.

"Perhaps, I needn’t ask. After all, she must’ve done something to deserve it. No human would kill a demon without cause. Ah, no, we must keep to the spirit of things. So, I ask of you one final time: Is a demon’s life precious and worth caring about? Or do humans have the right to judge them all as one, worthy of nothing but disdain or death?”

Mountain Summit

- Vayu -

As Vayu stepped through the gate the remnants of the mist, he suddenly felt a surge of energy. It didn’t really occur to him that this was an increase in maga reserves and power. Instead his focus shifted to the path to the summit of the mountain.

At the top, the view was spectacular, and he took a deep breath, feeling the anxiousness he’d felt in the mist drop away. Suddenly, he realized he was not alone. There was a girl, though he’d neither seen nor heard her during the ascent.

“Hi,” he said to her when another figure made their presence known. There was something familiar about him, but Vayu couldn’t quite place it. He was still trying to remember when finally, someone he knew stepped onto the scene. Bastion.

“Bastion! I’m so happy to see you,” he said, raising his eyebrows at the expression of his friend. Much to his surprise, he seemed to know the girl. As if all that wasn’t confusing enough, suddenly dark figures, to his surprise he recognized some of them, rose from the ground forming into massive multi-headed beast before them.

Then beast lunged at them.

“Arcane Barrier,” without a second thought Vayu cast up a barrier to block its initial charge, suddenly knowing there was enough power within him to do so.

“Somebody explain what’s going on!” he said. “Who are you?” he asked towards Monet. “Where the heck are Samael and Zephyr? And why are you so angry?” he turned towards Bastion. It was clear that they needed to take this beast down, but as they’d learned in the past, everyone rushing in by themselves had never worked out well.

Monett

Monett briefly hesitated with her eyes locking onto Bastion in particular....  Would he hate her for this?

A look of guilt crossed her face, but after seeing the beast charging towards them all the hesitation in Monett's face had faded away.  She simply held up her bag that had the same flower petal in it before, as that arm was also covered in bruises in the exact same spot 'Samael' had them.

"I am Samael." Monett commented to Vayu, her eyes locking with his for a moment as the conviction in her voice was strong and unshaking.

as she held up her right hand to pointed directly at the demon, as the air began to grow colder by the second.  She closed her eyes and a ice like chill began to fill the air as she placed both of her hands on the the ground as a wall of ice erupted from the ground in front of the hydra.

Monett eyes lightened with a smirk on her face, as the spell materialized in front of her.  A look of satisfaction faded as she turned to the other two, her expression more serious.

"It's a long story.  For now let's just focus on this demon." Monet commented.

Spoiler:

Mountain Path

Bastion stared at Vayu, incredulous as to how he could even ask that question.

“Why?” He shot a cold glance past Vayu at the mysterious man, standing calmly beneath a tree off to the side as though the ongoing chaos were none of his concern. “If you knew what he put me through, you wouldn’t need to ask that.”

He caught Monett looking his way and reined in his words. He didn’t want to make a bad impression on her when-

“I am Samael.”

When she was… Samael… What? The words made no sense.

“You’re…” He shook his head. “Oh, I see. One of your disguises, Samael.” Why he chose to take on Monett’s appearance remained a mystery, but like he said, they had more pressing concerns.

The hydra crashed into the ice wall, bringing its charge short. Only for a moment, though. Rearing its heads back, it slammed them into the ice, letting a shockwave of maga loose that hammered and finally blasted the wall into shards.

Through the splintering fragments of ice, Bastion leaped forward, spear spinning, and lopped off the nearest head. With a shriek, the hydra reared its flailing stump back, only for two heads to burst out from it. One of them surged at Bastion, who brought up his shield to block as the creature struck and sent him skidding back several feet.

“Okay, avoid the heads,” he muttered to the others. “Now what? That leaves the body, but…”

With so many heads moving and flailing, actually reaching the body would prove challenging. In fact, the many heads appeared to be writhing, as though pushing up a meal they couldn’t quite digest, until finally, they opened their mouths and spewed a noxious cloud of smoke toward them.

Before he could react, Bastion’s gauntlet glowed, and Prince burst forth in a flurry of wings. Catching him up, Prince pulled him high above the poison wave, leaving the other two to their own devices.

“Prince!” Bastion shouted, unsure whether he was relieved to see his partner or angry that he’d deserted their companions. Perhaps, a bit of both.

Mountain Summit

- Vayu -


Vayu looked surprised at Bastion’s strong reaction, filing it away for later. This was something they needed to talk about later.

The greater surprise was Monet’s words, revealing that she was Samael. Vayu stared at her, trying to process the words. He felt as if this were a few surprises too many.

“Okay, but this…,” he gestured at her appearance. “…needs an explanation when we’re done here.”

He agreed that they needed to focus on the Hydra demon and watched as two more heads grew from the one Bastion chopped off. Before they could form a plan of attack, a noxious cloud of smoke burst towards them. It didn’t look very safe.

“How about some wind?” he suggested, looking at Monet and at the same time his gauntlet glowed as the Empusa demon appeared. It cast the Fleet Foot on him and Monet, giving them more agility and then flew up. Backing away, it was clear that he wouldn’t be able to completely get out of reach.

“Ehhh…more power then,” he muttered to himself, intending to switch demons. Instead, Catequil appeared with his customary rumble of thunder while the Empusa demon hovered above them.

“I’m gonna need to borrow your ability,” he said to Catequil, “And how about some lightning?” he suggested. The demon grinned and after casting Hanan Pacha on Vayu, jumped high above the cloud of toxic smoke, charging his spear with lightning.

Meanwhile Vayu braced himself for the effect of the smoke, albeit dilluted as it was.

Monett

"Right...." Monett meekly responded to Vayu, her eyes still like her mind was still processing some information with a deadpan look on her face.

Monett silently observed the attack at hand her gaze focusing on the regenerated body parts, as she glanced down at her gauntlet for a moment and then back up at the demons floating above Vayu. As a sudden surge of maga flowed into the gauntlet, as it began to call the beast that was inside.

"St..." Monett quickly uttered but was cut off as a sudden and furious demon boar appeared in front of her. Its eyes filled with rage as it let out a loud rage filled bellow at the hydra as the boar began to emit noxious fumes of its own that encircled around the intimidating new demon, as Monet took in a deep breath as maga began to focus around her lips as she breathed out an odorless gas that would enhance the miasma.

The wind from Vayu's spell erupted, as Monett quickly backed away from the Hydra's fumes pushing all the gas towards the beast, shockwaves of wind batting the dreaded mixture of poison back. Miasma, poison, stagnant air, all mixing together as the smell alone made Monett's noise twist and contort. The demon boar let out a concerning squeal like that of a pup, as it quickly backed away from the new deadly brew and stopped channeling its own miasma to be back besides Monett.

"It's probably immune to its own poison, but lets see how much it can take." Monett called out to Vayu and Bastion to further detail them into her plan.

Spoiler:

Mountain Path

Prince glanced serenely at Bastion, seemingly unperturbed by his accusatory tone. “You can complain about my methods later. For now…”

Bastion followed the angel’s arm, pointing down at the hydra’s back… unprotected from this height. He cracked a smile, shaking his head, and readied his spear. “All right. Let’s do it.”

Meanwhile, Vayu and Monett’s efforts created a noxious cloud of poisonous vapors to rival the hydra’s own, and they clashed and mixed into a miasma that churned and mixed in the space between them in a deadlock. Catequil leaped high above it, his spear twirling, and unleashed a storm of lightning that made the hydra buck and writhe, made worse when Bastion dropped from above with his spear extended and shot a Holy Horn into its back, spurting blood everywhere.

In that moment, a torrent of wind swept from the crags up above them and pushed the miasma away down the side of the mountain, dislodging Bastion off the hydra’s back, too, and sending him tumbling into the dust. A swarm of Tengu descended, but before anyone could offer thanks, they pointed in accusation at the group.



“Why have you brought this calamity onto our mountain? Be gone, all of you!”

The mystery man pushed off the tree he’d been reclining against and sighed. “I can explain-”

Bastion scoffed. The man hadn’t done anything to help them so far. He’d probably just make things worse. But if they could get the Tengu on their side…

He drew himself up, pulling on the feeling as he’d walked through that final gate. Something swelled up inside him, a pressure and a warmth that expanded until he couldn’t contain it anymore. Tilting his head back, he opened his mouth and let out a long, sonorous note that vibrated through the air and made it brighten with an ethereal light. The Tengu stopped in their tracks as it washed over them, wavering and trembling in midair a moment, then descended toward him and bowed their heads.

“I think there’s enough of you to distract those heads,” he said.

They took the hint and swooped off into the air, aiming straight for the hydra’s heads with almost reckless abandon.

“Now’s our chance.” He turned to Vayu and Monett. “Aim for its heart if you can.”

Monett

Monett gave a brisk nod towards Bastion, as she glanced around the area looking for something that was missing.  relenting, Monet looked at Vayu with a concerned look, as she gestured towards the boar pointing her finger right at its heart.

"I don't see Zeyphr anywhere, so we'll have to generate enough force."  Monet stated a bit puzzled, as she glanced down at her gauntlet for a moment, as stott started anxiously at the vanguard like it couldn't control itself for a moment longer, almost like a wild beast being held down by some invisible chains.

"Can you bind it?  Maybe Stott's tusks will generate enough force." Monet commented, as she jumped on top of stott holding out her hands as ghastly tendrils suddenly shot out latching onto the demon boar forming something similar to ghastly horse reins, as the wild beast seemed to grow even more violent and full of rage.

Monet then threw out a carefully tailored cloth small red cloak with a strange symbol on it almost like a bullseye directly in front of the hydra's torso where the chest... might be? The boar's eyes lit up with an imaginary fire as it bolted towards the emblem, its tusks filling up with powerful maga as it ran through firing tusk like shockwaves directly at the well made fabric tearing into small tiny shreds.

Spoiler:

Mountain Summit

- Vayu -

He skidded back as the cloud of fumes cleared and watched as Bastion somehow managed to draw the appearing demons on their side. They attacked the heads with a ferocity.

Monet then started a reckless manouver, riding on her demon boar directly into the Hydra. Even if that hit, would she be able to escape the encounter unscathed?

He switched out his Empusa demon with the High Pixie. “Get ready to buff Monet,” he called towards him.

“Catequil!” he yelled over the battle noise. “Charge your spear and aim for its heart.”

Mountain Path

As the Tengu flapped about the hydras heads, dodging and striking and occasionally being snatched up, the Vanguards and their demons got into position on the ground. Empowered by Empusa’s buffs, Monet’s demon boar sent its Spiral Skewer piercing into the hydra’s torso. It reared back, screeching, and let out a horrible wail that brought the Tengu up short and made Bastion stagger, his Holy Horn meant to follow up on Monet’s attack fizzling out.

Spoiler:

The hydra took the opportunity to bat the Tengu out of the air, then turn its attention downward. Its maga spiked, and as it reared up its heads, it brought them crashing down.

Spoiler:

“Prince!” Bastion called.

The angel swooped between the hydra and the others, bringing his staff down as a wall of light emerged between them. The shockwave from the hydra crashed against it, maga cracking and slipping through, battering them as Principality fought to hold the Void Dark spell together. But just as it came crashing down, Catequil burst through, spear crackling with power, and thrust his weapon through the gaping wound Monet had left behind.

The hydra shrieked and spasmed, its many heads writhing in their death throes. Prince righted himself, scooping Bastion up with one arm, and waved them all back as the hydra collapsed, its heads falling and flailing around them. They skidded to a halt just out of reach as the beast gave its last wail, then dispersed into maga.

“Well, done.” Their strange mentor clapped from his position by the tree, and though he smiled, it didn’t entirely reach his eyes. “It’s plain to see you’ve improved.”

“What’s the meaning of all this?” Bastion glowered at the man, spear still gripped tightly in his hand.

“Is it not obvious?” The man sighed. “Like it or not, we can no longer pretend you’re not all caught in the center of this war. And that means you can’t stay at your current level if you hope to survive. If any of us do.”

Mountain Summit

- Vayu -

With their combined efforts the Hydra was defeated and dispersed into maga. Catequil landed lightly next to him, clearly satisfied with himself judging by his grin.

Vayu gave him a fist bump before the demon disappeared back into the gauntlet followed closely by his other demon.

Somewhat unconcerned with what their strange mentor had to say, he glowered at Bastion and Monet.

“I think they’re some other explanations I’d like to hear first…” he said, speaking just loud enough for the others to hear.

So many things had happened in such a short time. Was it enough for them to change this much? He wondered what Monet’s reasons were and at the same time he couldn’t get the bright light and sound, that Bastion produced to convince the Tengu, out of his head.

Monet

Monett took a deep sigh, her skin turning slightly red from some kind of pressure that was building up inside of her head. It felt like her voice was cut, as she let out a few pained noises first like it was some sort of grunt or clearing of her throat but more... distressed.

"My name is actually Monet Cezanne. I've been honest for the most part I just left out some details...." Monett commented and thinking for a moment as she breathed a deep sigh, "I didn't leave my home to join the vanguards, my home wasn't really ransacked. I just couldn't go back, and since I didn't want to draw the attention of my old 'friends' so I became Samael."

The memories of villages she saw ransacked shifted, as she no longer pictured her home being destroyed but numerous others like the Nilo and his home. She was able to prevent that one being destroyed.... but....

Monett legs were shaking her feet tapping rapidly as she glanced over at the man that summoned the Hydra and back at Bastion looking at them for a response. She didn't exactly trust this man, but with how the fog was his story was at least lining up.

"Anyways I can explain more in detail later we should.... Were you talking to us in the fog too? You talked of law and chaos to me, does this have something to do with this war?" Monett commented as she glanced over at Bastion and the 'charmed' tengu. Looking at him with mixture of shame and curiosity at what was happening.

"Sorry Bastion, I know I misled you.... but I just couldn't stand to look at myself for too long." Monet muttered so that only he could hear as maga flowed a bit in the air the noise appeared to rupture a bit as it muffled out the sound a bit to the others to mostly be nervous mumbling.

Mountain Path

Other explanations? Bastion stared at Vayu, who seemed far less concerned with the man who'd jerked them about like dogs on a leash than on his teammates.

Well, teammate. Obviously, he had nothing to explain. But Monet - or Samael, rather, and why was he still disguised like that? - caught the hint and began to explain. But the longer the explanation went on, the less he understood.

Monett... was Samael? Samael never even existed? Then all this time...

He stared down at his feet, mind somehow blank and racing at the same time as he tried to process the implications.

The figure studied him, then directed his attention to Monett as she addressed him. "That's right. For time out of mind, the forces of Law and Chaos have perpetually clashed. Even though the Harlot has nothing to truly gain, she continues her devastation in a vain hope. And even though this world can never rejoin the Mandala System, the forces of Law cannot abide Chaos claiming even this inconsequential world. And so they will clash, as they always do, until only one is left."

"You make it sound pointless," Bastion snapped. "Should the angels just abandon us to let Mother Harlot sweep the whole land with her cup of sins?"

"No," he replied quietly. "But what do you think will come after they win?"

That was easy. He'd already seen it, three times over, on this very mountain. "Paradise."

With that, he turned and headed back for the path. He'd only just reached the gate when Monett's voice reached him on the air, pained and earnest.

"Sorry Bastion, I know I misled you.... but I just couldn't stand to look at myself for too long."

He hesitated, his back still to her. After a moment, though, he glanced away toward the Tengu. "Take one of them, if you think it'll help," he told them.

With that, he passed through the gateway and disappeared down the path. Prince, with a coldly scornful look at the mysterious man, followed after.

The Tengu drifted toward the two Vanguards, still dazed, but slowly recovering their senses.

Monet

Monet stared at the man for what seemed like an eternity.  Her eyes narrowed, as she studied the man for a bit longer his attire and all, and then glanced back towards Bastion who was beginning to walk away as her eyes widened at the angel's sneer. She knew about the war of between chaos and law already, and she did agree about having to be stronger at then they were at their current level. She wasn't sure which side she trusted if anything, as that paradise seemed far fetched.

"Bastion. Wait a second." Monet called out quickly, but her hand lowered as she saw the vanguard disappear into the gate. Her eyes dropping as he vanished from her field of view as she shifted her gaze for a brief moment to Vayu for a second trying to gauge his response.

A great feeling of unease began to stir inside Monet's stomach.  She wasn't comfortable with that angel being alone around him.  But for the time being, she needed to make sure that Zeyphr was alright.

"I never really dealt with the angels myself.  I've only seen the side of chaos, and what they've done." Monet commented as she shifted her gaze in the direction Bastion went "And of course that time..."

"You did make us stronger though.  But first, can find our comrade?  He went into the fog with us, so you should know something right?  It's a good first step to building trust here." Monet commented holding her head, as she felt the splitting painful sensation set in.

She glanced over at the Tengu who were regained their senses, as she glanced over at them up and down sizing up their stature.  Though, she didn't want to take advantage of these demons while they were mind controlled.

"Sorry for causing all this chaos.  We'll be out of your hair soon enough." Monett commented apologetically to the Tengu.

Mountain Path

“The angels aren’t malicious.” Though the man replied to Monett, his eyes remained fixed on the place Bastion had disappeared. “Certainly not in the way Mother Harlot is. But however noble their ideals might be, some of them have a way of forcing those ideals on others… and not taking kindly to them being rejected.”

At her mention of their missing companion, he sighed and turned his attention fully back to her.

“Your companion is fine. Unfortunately, he’s not as… introspective as the rest of you.” He shook his head. “But you don’t need to worry. While it’s true that you would wander indefinitely in the fog if left alone… that doesn’t mean I couldn’t lift it if I wanted.”

The Tengu moved in closer, finally seeming to shake off the effects of the brainwashing. Most of them swept back off toward the mountain, though a few curious ones lingered.

“See that you do,” one Kurama Tengu said, scowling at the man before taking off.

“They’re not usually hostile to guests on the mountain,” he told them shrugging. “But they usually like to be the ones to do the inviting.”

Mountain Summit

- Vayu -

Vayu listened calmly to Monet’s explanation. He felt like for saying that she’d been honest for the most part, she rattled off quite a few changes in her life story.

Unsure what to make of it, he pushed it to the back of his mind to focus on the discussion between Bastion and the other man. The fight between good and evil, he doubted that everything was a black and white as Bastion’s reply suggested. And hopefully he could be there to remind his friend of that when he needed to hear it. He watched Bastion leave.

Instead of apologising to the Tengu, he stepped towards them. “I was impressed by your work on the Hydra. Join me,” he offered. One of the Kurama Tengu moved towards him and eyed him with a stern glance. Vayu took that as a confirmation and his gauntlet began to glow. As the Tengu began to disappear, his Empusa demon appeared. Unbothered by being suddenly let go, it slowly floated up into the sky. Vayu’s eyes followed it until it had disappeared from sight.

He turned back to the man and Monet, whose conversation had turned its focus on Zephyr who was still nowhere to be seen.

“So you’ll see that he returns to us safely?” he asked, wondering what kind of challenge he was facing. After waiting for confirmation, he turned to Monet.

“Look, I don’t fully understand what prompted you to pretend to be a different person. Fact is, I can’t trust what I thought Samael was anymore,” he paused to look at her reaction. “So how about we do a fresh start from the beginning?” he added and extended his hand.

Monett

"So if an angel doesn't have a favorable ideal for a situation, it could cause problems." Monett carefully and thoughtfully commented as she gingerly placed her hand under her chin for a few moments as her eyes lowered getting lost in Monet's own thoughts.

Her gaze soon broke as she saw Vayu recruit one of the Tengu, as she shifted her gaze up towards one of the ones that remained. Was it inspired by their fight or something? Maybe it felt stuck up on this mountain, it was hard to tell.

"Right, I'm happy to start a new. I'm sure I can show you I can still be trusted, and I know I can trust you already so it's a good head start." Monet stated with a respective nod as she quickly reached out and firmly shook Vayu's hand.

The two were only interrupted as a demon boar appeared behind Monett, giving her a static and firm gaze as she tapped her cheek looking at the ferocious creature. She gingerly reached in her bag and pulled out a woven makeshift and hastily put together toy in the shape of a bone, as the boar excitedly squealed at the sight of it.

Monett tossed the toy in the air as it jumped up with immense speed and caught it letting out a loud squeak, as it started to decimate the fabric in moment.

"Big guy still has the mindset of a pup, hence the bruises. He kept thinking he was light enough to be carried still and still had the energy of a pup too." Monet commented with a sigh.

Zephyr Arc - Mountain Path

As Zephyr emerged at the third split, he was greeted by the same man from the previous. The only really difference; the random demon was replaced with Cherry instead. The voice's words blurred away as he made a direct beeline, spear held low to strike.

It was quite clear this wouldn't do much to even give him pause. He was a bit of a hypocrite that saw things quite starkly in black and white. Something like this was merely akin to waving a red cloth before a raging bull...

Then the images finally completed, shifting ever so slightly.

Behind the man stood other Vanguard, clearly standing with him. On the other hand, along with Cherry were other random demons littering the ground. While not too great a difference, some of the demons on the ground were imps... at from their positioning, it could be assumed Cherry may have tried to defend them...

While this was likely an unintentional coincidence, at this point Zephyr's own mind took over. All of the assorted demons on the ground morphed into imps, and he began seeing familiar faces among the crowd of Vanguard as well.

Zephyr's stride slowed to a crawl as more people he knew popped into place. Eventually, all of his Vanguard batch, the "teachers"... and even his own master were among them. Finally, the voice's words made their way through to his ears again; "...She must've done something to deserve it..."

His tracks having stopped cold, Zephyr stared with glassy eyes. After some time, apparently having made a decision, he walked slowly into the door of approval, unknowingly biting the inner side of his lip all the way.

...and then he ended up right back where he started.

"Aha! So you couldn't keep up the honest streak after all, then." The voice spoke, it's tone sounding, to him, as mocking. Yet that... couldn't be right. No two ways about it, whatever demon was playing that voice was off his rocker. Almost desperately, he charged the same gate once again.

And again.

And again, and again...

After a countless number of pointless runs, Zephyr finally dropped to his knees in exhaustion. He didn't know how long he'd been at it, but it had been long enough for someone of his physical ability to wear himself out. Breathing heavily, he struck the ground. A mixed ball of anger and frustration, Zephyr forced himself to his feet.

As he began attempting to trudge his way to the same gate once more, he found himself stopped by a hand on his wrist. Half-delirious, he followed the hand back to his own shoulder; back to himself. Staring blankly for a few seconds... Zephyr found himself splitting into two Zephyrs. One, the sweaty beaten down mess, and the other pristine.

Pristine Zephyr looked at him with a gaze full of judgement, not speaking a word. Mess Zephyr looked back with a scowl so fierce it could scare off a lion. "You... what are you trying to say!? You must think I'm pathetic getting trapped in a worthless illusion of this level, don't you?"

Pristine Zephyr didn't reply, instead staring at himself with a simple look that implied they both knew what this was really about. Mess Zephyr growled. "Don't think you know everything damn it. That's a load of bull and you know it.

Pristine Zephyr sighed, seemingly understanding that making Mess Zephyr let go of the dissonance wasn't point to happen with words or logic... so fisticuffs it was. He threw a punch right in the side of Zephyr's face, knocking him clean out.


Zephyr awoke with a start, finding himself on the dirt floor. Quickly getting his bearings, he remembered where he was and how he got there. The fog-covered crossroads... and knocking himself out. Embarrassing, but necessary... at least there were no witnesses.

He got to his feet and dusted himself off, it had been long enough that his sweat had also dried. However, he still looked like a bit of a disheveled mess.

On the bright side, he'd finally managed to collect his thoughts in a constructive manner. Shaking off the last bits of trepidation, he walked through the door where he stood angrily behind the man. If Cherry was doing anything of the sort... then she likely had very good reason. She was more often right than him, after all.

Mountain Path

As Zephyr passed through the final gateway, a surge of power welled up within him, like a rock or blockage being knocked away allowing a stream of water to finally flow forward. So taken by the change within, it took him a moment to realize he stood at the beginning of a path spiraling upward toward the top of the mountain. The mist fell away behind him as he climbed, and when he reached the summit, he found his view of the mountain below and the surrounding land unobstructed.

And most importantly, he saw his companions.

-------------------------

The man who'd guided them through the mist smiled as he watched Vayu and Monett shake hands, starting off afresh. Good. They were stronger now, yes, but also closer. And, perhaps, a touch wiser, too.

Most of them, anyway. He cast a glance toward the gate as Zephyr emerged, and he clapped his hands lazily. "Well, better late than never." Turning to the other two, he swept his arm toward Zephyr. "As promised, returned to you safe and sound."

He waited until Zephyr had joined them, focusing his attention on the demon boar and its joyous romp with the woven bone. An eclectic group, certainly. But then, hadn't the three of them been so, too, so very long ago, when they'd had to pave the future?

"And for your troubles..."

He snapped his fingers, and the world around them shifted and melted until they found themselves standing at the base of the mountains. As they got a hold of their bearings, he began to walk away.

"You're going to need that strength for what's ahead," he said quietly over his shoulder. "And you're going to need each other. And some day soon..." He smiled. "You might just need me, too."

With that, he vanished before them like so much mist in the wind.