Ch-- 16

Cloud skipped all pleasantries as he bolted off the ship and into the extreme cold. He gritted his teeth against the biting winds and the stinging snow as he walked towards the entrance of the cave. The cave seemed to have an odd heat coming from it. He turned around just in time to see the Highwind fly off.

"No turning back now" He said as he walked into the ever so dark cave.

"So this is it.... Where do we go from here?" Tifa said, looking around.

"Forward" He said as he started off ahead of everyone else. It took them a while to get to any place that differed from the long corridor. It was a long narrow bridge. Cloud dropped to his knees and crawled across it. It took him a while to get across with the others shuffling behind him.

When he finally got across he stood up and wiped off his pants and looks around. Something glittered in the corner. It caught his eye and immediately he had to find out what it was his blood was boiling with curiosity as he walked towards it. When he was only a few feet away he could clearly make out what it was. It was a sword in a large Materia bolder... the sword had a silver handle and the blade seemed to be made out of crystal. There was writing on it. He could make it out it was ancient.

'He who can disturb this sword from its rightful slumber is that of the crystal knight' he heard a voice whisper in his mind. He wrapped his hand around the handle and pulled. The blade slowly came out of the boulder. It didn't sing at all. He held it up to the ceiling and let the light shine through it. It was amazingly light and he could tell the blade was very sharp by the way that the sun glinted off of the edges. Just then the ground started to shake and rumble. Suddenly two boulders parted revealing a vast City with silver gates.

"I'm sorry you guys... but I don't think you can come through here..." Cloud said as he stuck his sword through the gates. It went through some sort of force field that made the sword glitter.

"All right... we'll wait here... but don't go getting yourself killed Cloud Strife!" Tifa said as she leaned against a wall.

"I'll try not to" He said as he stepped through the barrier. It was like a tingle that ran over his skin making him dread what was next. He could hear a growl in the distance. He took a deep breath as he walked towards what might be Skylie or his death. For deep down in side he had this great fear of the Crystal Dragon that wouldn't bend beneath his sword and that was holding his one true love captive like in all those bad romance novels.