Running with so much ferocity behind him, Craig had a lot of momentum to keep on heading in a direction. The beacon in hand had made the fog all around him in a small radius vanish, but that only bought him little space as white monsters brushed through the shrubs and trees to reach him, or at the very least slow him down.
They were faster, Craig could tell. Two were already on one side while another set was on the other. No matter what, no matter how torturous or daunting the familiar feeling was, no matter how daunting, Craig knew the consequences, and thus had to keep on going, away from the village at all costs. The white monsters all followed him and his surprising speed. His feet picked up and left the ground, his posture and head lurched forward quite a surprising feature. He was speeding like no tomorrow, very abnormal; then again, Craig has undergone certain…circumstances that did leave his body more than a little screwed up. But he soldiered on, his huffing strong and his grip on the beacon so firm that it would take a couple of crowbars to break out.
"Come on, I'm right here!" Craig hopped over a log and kicked the bottom of one of his sheaths in midair. His dark red sword was suspended in midair briefly and he caught it when he reached back in a flash.
As he ran along through the forest, a lot of gutsy white beasts ran rather close to the radius. When their gliders were breaching out, they stung and sizzles from the solar-like energy within the beacon. Of course that was only when they weren't being attacked by Craig when he slashed. His swordsmanship was sharp and deadly. The very tip sliced right into the gliders, and the monsters that lost a glider all hollered and began to slow down since they lost fog and wind resistance.
Craig came up to a small tree up ahead. A snarl emitted from his throat as he got another idea. He held out his blade, in which he twirled it lightly and swiped. The small tree fell over as he leaped ahead, and the white monsters behind him were either crushed by the falling tree, or stalled as the tree blocked their path. At the time being it did serve as a useful blockade tool.
All along the way, Craig made quick work just like he did awhile back when he and Cana teamed up against that hysterical mayor. "Alright, let's go!" He sprung ahead once more, slashing at the trees and cutting down a single path. The path he was making was comprised of nothing but the falling trees, either stalling or crushing the unfortunate white monsters that were trying to keep up but couldn't seem to reach him. He just kept on slicing ahead, cutting down tree after tree without a second thought.
The fog up ahead was still white, but even so, he saw something up ahead that left him at a bleak disadvantage. His eyes widened, but no hitch in his voice.
When he approached the structure, he only furrowed his brow. "Great."
In front of him was nothing but a cliff. He had no way of telling how far down it went, but all he knew was that there was white as the ledge was drawing near. However, Craig had his dark red sword in hand, and he had to take action. He couldn't run in the opposite direction, nor could he go left or right since there was a gradual number increase. And so, there was really one option for him to apply for: straight ahead.
He sped on in towards the ledge, and as the creatures were closing in – only to be backed off by the burning feeling of beacon – Craig put one step in front of the other. "You guys piss me off! Just try and follow me!"
Craig made one last step and his running leap took him over the cliff at long last. Craig fell over the ledge, plummeting down below. The white monsters above saw him drop, and yet they already had so much momentum behind themselves. Several slid to a halt and looked down at the beacon and Craig disappearing. Others, however, were not as fortunate, as they had too much speed closing in behind. They bumped into one another, causing a hefty number to fall down over the cliff as well and into the fog below.
Craig didn't at all scream. Though he admitted he was fathoming of the cliff's size, that was not his concern. Rather he focused on improvising, his best skill.
Taking his dark red sword in hand, he quickly plunged the sword into the side of the cliff, making himself a makeshift safety branch. Craig felt a jerk from the recoil of falling, but his hold on his blade worked out in the end. The blade was plunged deep, and that meant he was going nowhere.
Craig noticed the falling of several figures that were coming into view. He looked up above to see the falling white monsters bellowing and unable to do anything as they plunged.
Even with the beacon in his other hand, Craig could still see fog even if the beacon's range of fog-resistance was only a few meters all around. However, even with that range, all of the white monsters were falling right onto Craig, and that meant falling into their danger zone. Craig furrowed his brow as he held the beacon tightly, and the white monsters all falling out of the fog made it into the radius. The white monsters' yellow eyes sizzled and shut. They flailed and burned as they were falling to a makeshift sun in their own world. Needless to say that with every foot they plunged, the more their bodies sizzled, and eventually it came to be too much. Craig watched from close to the cliff as to where the falling creatures were more farther outwards, so he was safe to watch their bodies burn away and reduce to ash. The six – maybe seven – numbers of white monsters dropped to zero in less than five seconds. Their roaring harsh screeching faded into the winds as their ashes fell to the white fog down below. The realization of the situation drilled into Craig's skull, and all he really did was remain silent for a short while as he recounted their weakness full well.
"Well I learned another thing as of this late." He said to himself. "Although coordinated in packs, and fast…they're not exactly the brightest bunch, especially when it comes to making themselves look like a pack of wolves afraid of a little fire."
He looked down at the cliff, wondering what was to be done next. While he did lose the white monsters for the most part, he only stalled some time. He could go back up and easily rip their tail and necks out, or slice them into meats that stank up the forest, but that wasn't gonna get him into any particular direction. He had the beacon in hand, he only had one thing he told himself to do the minute he snatched it: Don't look back, just keep away from the village and make the gem never appear again. That was astonishingly easy to accomplish, but if he dropped it then and there, there could be a slim chance some fool would take it elsewhere, and then that place would be raided. It would end up being a chain reaction that could spell trouble, and Craig was steadfast on what he thought had to be done for real.
He put the beacon into his pocket, using his hand now to get his blood red sword out. He faced the cliff as he pulled one sword out and pierced it into a lower spot. He repeated it again, and he was descending lower and lower and lower, making his way down the cliff.
All Craig could really do is keep soldiering on, moving forward, just like he always has done.
Craig met the bottom in a matter of time. It felt like a while, and with this fog, he couldn't tell how much time it's been. He could tell by using the sun and its position, but again, the fog makes him want to just choke it and rip it apart if it had a physical form, which it did not. At any rate, he soldiered on, the beacon glowing in his pocket, making him the lone firefly at night.
He stepped quietly through the forest, no wildlife seemed to be after him at the moment, which made no difference to him at the moment. There were no white monsters tailing him either. He lost them back at the cliffs. Still, the chance was that there may be some still crawling around somewhere, so him having his guard down was defying any concept of decency in his eyes.
As he walked through the underbrush and ducked behind branches, every step grew hollow as he was pondering. His mind wasn't thinking back to anything mind-scarring, thankfully, nor something related the Cana, or Brownie, the very scorn that makes him want to scream out to the world of how she makes him wanna hurl. Rather, he was lost in his own prowess, the chi thing he did to defeat Essence. It was tough for even himself to remember what exactly he did. For all he knew, he was just doing what he was told. Having a past memory be your guide to eliminating a life-threatening weapon isn't exactly the most sophisticated way to put it. What had him intrigued was that old man that he was with when he looked so young. He seemed nice, and quite the perplexing type. He snickered to himself recalling that memory of the ladies, to which he still denied.
He looked down at his own palm as he trailed on, his head flowing back to that point in time.
"Craig, this chi form…you must feel the energy in your arms…" He closed his eyes. "Relax everything in your muscles…think nothing, but picture the energy flowing, the flow in your fingertips. Find the rhythm, and…make it become one."
Craig's eyes opened back up, and all around him he could feel some form of calm, an essence that has been veiling him. He followed the intricate arms swirls with bent knees like that lost memory had done, and he could actually and physically see the energy flow.
But that was just at least a week ago. What was going on his own head? How could he not have Magic, but use chi flow? Whatever and however he did it, it was an edge that helped him turn the tide. As of now, Craig was staring at his fingerprints, picturing the flow within them. It was like a whole other world with valleys and currents, energy brimming when Craig looked all around. When he looked up to see a tree, he looked at the bark, seeing the crevices flowing with energy. The atmosphere had its own flow, including the dripping water off of leaves. Whatever this was, Craig was in another world entirely, a world of energy and flow.
He clutched his fist, narrowing his eyes. He shook his head and snapped back to reality. "Chi…"
He heard rustling nearby, which got him onto his guard. He bared his fangs, poised to strike. He expected maybe a bear or maybe another of those white monsters, but rather…something much worse.
As he had his sharp teeth ready to strike down and spill some blood, a voice was heard nearby. "Hey, Cranky! The heck is up with you, leaving me in that village? I knew you were messed up and all, but come on."
Craig's eyes widened, and then he hunched over. "Damnit. It just had to be her."
"Well I think you're lucky." Cana emerged from the underbrush, looking at Craig with a frown and despondent glare.
"How the hell am I lucky? I could've picked a wild boar to mess with over you." He exasperated back.
"Oh? Labeling me the lucky one?" She questioned. "Well, Cranky, it's your fault that I'm so damn lucky. I had no idea where you gone after I went into this godforsaken forest, and guess what I found?" She put hands to her hips. "That's right. A trail of fallen trees, and it went on and on until it came to a cliff." Her eyes narrowed. "Now that I think about it…"
Craig rolled his eyes away. "Ugh, just shut up already." He groaned.
"Oh come on, you knew I would come after ya to help finish this mission. Admit it."
"The only thing I'll admit is that despite being a team, you're still a helpless pea-brain." He denied.
Cana smirked. She put her hands overhead and started walking off towards a direction. She sighed joyfully, making Craig grit his teeth. "Well, guess that means you do care if you left a trail for me to follow."
Craig snarled at Cana, his demeanor turning bitterly sour. "Fine. Next time when those white monsters show up, I'll just let them take you!"
Cana turned back towards Craig, looking annoyed. "How is that any different from before you tried that? You threw yourself into the fog!"
"You followed me into the fog! You can't just go and do something stupid…oh wait, you are stupid! No wonder why I made a trail for ya!"
A raging tick mark appeared on Cana's head. "The next time you sleep, I'm pouring water on ya!"
"Save that water to drink." Craig pressed on casually. "You'll need it since your system is but liquor."
"Hey, I drink water!"
"Perhaps, but as much as you chug barrels of booze?"
"Well I don't like non-alcohol, so there's a fun fact."
"What the hell is fun about you and your facts? All the more reason as to why you're despicable."
"If anyone's despicable, it's the barbarian right next to me who can't even swim!"
Craig's face darkened. His teeth bared harshly at Cana as he stopped in his tracks. Cana raised a brow and leaned away. His monstrous glare poured anxiety into the brunette, but she only kept a raised brow. Craig snarled at her, her hair flying back. He retracted himself and snarled lower.
"You're lucky I know you, otherwise I'd knock you into the sky." He growled.
Cana waved a hand in front of her face. "Man, Cranky, somebody's got some bad breath. My skin almost peeled off there."
"Good, it should've, Brownie!" He sniped.
"It's Crankyproof to pests like you, Cranky!"
"You're the pest, pal!"
"I'm the best?" Cana feigned surprised as she was intentionally mocking Craig. Safe to say it was working. "Aw, you flatter me."
"You'd may as well be flattened if I didn't bail your oversized butt out countless times." He reminded her.
"You saved my life, granted, but you'll be the last person I'll be grateful to on this planet!"
"I'd rather not be grateful to you period!" Craig barked, still pacing himself onwards. "You look like half a stripper with that bra."
"You making fun of my fashion choices again?"
"Yup." Craig casually implied as he looked forward. "But hey, if we run into those things again, you can try and used your charms and actually manage to make them cry and run away."
Cana fumed as Craig looked so casual beside her. "You're the ugly one!"
Craig smirked. "Aw, complimenting me now? Why you're so sympathetic it makes me wanna puke, but I'd rather puke for reasons better than your ways of kissing up to me." Craig kept a hardy smirk with his insults lashing successfully. He kept on walking a few more paces, but then his ears twitched. He frowned, and his pacing started to slow down.
It was odd, and Craig's heard this so many times already. He looked ahead into the fog, seeing nothing but white, but he could definitely hear something flowing.
"The way you bite people makes me wanna puke! You could be diseased for all I know, which is why I should've brought a quarantine suite to keep your disease out!" Cana bickered back in retort. She saw Craig out of it as he was looking ahead with inquiry. "HEy, Cranky, I'm not done tormenting you yet!"
She got no reply as Craig stopped in his tracks.
"Are you ignoring me just to spite me?! That's a real fine way to leave people hanging." She heavily sarcastically said to him. But again, Craig said nothing. The way was looking out into the fog was leaving her with a slight sense of worry. Immediately her frustrated attitude subsided. "Craig?"
"Sssh!" He shushed. "You hear that?" He leaned forward a little, his ears listening in. Cana narrowed her eyes and didn't see anything up ahead, but she could sure tell that when Craig knows something, it's there. She got quiet, and her ears honed in on the surrounding sound.
She heard crickets chirping, the weak dripping of dew, she heard it all around her, but then her ears heard some flowing sound, something that defines…
And that's when Cana realized what Craig was hearing. She could've sworn he was crazy. But apparently she was wrong…this time. "Is that…?"
"A waterfall. Water's nearby, come on!" Hurrying, Craig and Cana both moved silently through the thinning trees and underbrush. They were moving as silent as ninjas, a feature that Cana and Craig were surprisingly well with when it came down to it. They hurried and paced themselves with light presses against the ground.
They moved on for another minute through the forest, and then they passed by a bush and the entire forests had then thinned out. When Craig and Cana stepped out of the forest, there was still fog, but there were also a lot of bushes and few trees around.
"Where is this?" Cana questioned.
"I don't know, but we're close. You can hear it loud and clear." Craig advised. He and Cana took paces forward with curiosity, making wayward steps only towards the sound. They walked maybe for another fifteen paces, and Craig and Cana both could see something on their right side.
There they saw it, what they've been hearing. The waterfall came down hard, pounding the pond it made.
"Well, there's the proof." Cana said.
Craig turned around, looking in another direction. He seemed perplexed, hearing an equally large sound. He narrowed his eyes, and turned away towards the sound. He stepped forward, and there he saw it. Not even a hundred meters away, there too was a massive waterfall extending from the thick fog.
"Hey, Brownie, there's waterfalls all over the place." He said.
Cana looked around, disregarding the shrubs and number of bushes that were growing along the water's edge. It did ponder to her what exactly massive waterfalls were doing way out here in the middle of a forest. They were most certainly nowhere near the village at this point, given that this was a one-way trip after all. She looked around, her inquiry on geography growing. It was hard for her to ponder given the little information that she had to work with. She could only stick by Craig as they slowly paced themselves in a forward direction past the waterfalls. Staying one place for too long is a bad omen, especially with white monsters still lurking around, but there was no telling what might happen now that they're out of the wilderness.
"You see anything else interesting around?" Cana asked.
"Other than fog, wildlife, rocks, waterfalls, and a beast, not really." Craig nonchalantly opposed. He smirked as Cana growled at the beast comment, implying her to a clear extent. Craig shook his head, snickering a bit, but then his eyesight saw something up ahead.
"Hm?"
Cana turned towards him. "Found something?"
Craig narrowed his eyes to get better keen looks. Up ahead he saw something, and it was big. Its figure was maybe thirty-feet tall, at least from their standpoint. Craig and any normal human being could tell right away that by the shape it was no tree. With Cana tailing besides him, Craig paced himself forwards towards the creature-like figure within the fog. Craig and Cana both walked slowly, but their guards were up and they looked ahead. Of course when they stood in front of it, both of their eyes widened in shock. For Cana to be shocked is one thing, but it was another for Craig to be. Both were nearly falling over at the whole thing.
It was a giant statue of was seemed to be a monster. It was made of stone and was fiftty-feet tall. The beast almost looked like a dinosaur given its facial design. It was eyes and short, sharp teeth. Atop of the narrow skull was a cobra-like hood, looking like armor with a horn atop. The body looked bare, with the shoulders and hands and claws bare, but the armor ran down the back and over the shark-like tail. Armor was also segmented along the forearms. The knees and the spikes on the back of said knees were armored.
"What…the hell is this?" Cana paused.
Craig took another step forward towards the stone statue. He narrowed his eyes as he went around towards the long tail. He frowned, heavily discerning the beast. He shook his head. "Though detailed, it'd not a petrified monster. Take a look at these." He gestured for Cana to come over, to which she followed and he pointed at the head and tail. "You can tell that this was man-made. It's a rare rock to look like clay even through erosion." He stepped away, getting a farther angle of the beastly statue. "Still, what the hell is this thing? A guardian deity?"
Cana worked her way back up front, looking from up to down at the beastly head – of which gave her a slight chill – towards the small podium it stood upon. Her eyes widened again out of shock. "Hey, Cranky! You gotta have to see this too." She called.
Craig walked on over, looking at the front from up to down like Cana did. When he reached the small podium, he also looked surprised. In front was a small plaque, and on it was wording that was completely old and seemed out of context. It had but three lines.
Cana remained back while Craig knelt down towards the plaque.
"Okay, I'll bite, what is that?" She asked.
Craig looked at her with a twisted expression. "It's called a plaque."
"I know it's a plaque! You think I'm dumb?!" Cana exasperated. She glared at Craig, who gave her a casual brow as a means of his answer. She face palmed. "Damn you, of course you think I'm stupid."
"You said it, not me." Craig said. He turned back ahead. "This is ancient language. Looks about…" He narrowed his eyes, trying to get an understanding of the carvings inside the stone. "Maybe around 15,000 years old."
Cana's eyes widened. "15,000?!" She shook her head, startling her was not just the number but also Craig's intellect. "Hold it right there! How do you even know and read that stuff?"
Craig grew silent and frowned. The air around him dropped. Even though they were inside the beacon's perimeter, Cana could still feel something cold.
Craig glanced towards her. "Let's just say that I learned, from experience and people, and leave it there." He turned towards the writing, trying to decipher it. "Okay, let's see what we have here…It says: The life brimming from the land's great Behemoth makes the land itself tremble. The heart of this beast shall cease all rain and make the sky shine. Though long he may pass, the power of this beast shall forever hold key to secrets." Craig backed away, looking back up at the monster. "Well at least we know it's called a Behemoth."
Cana put a hand to her hip. "15,000 years old…all rain and make the sky shine? Just what's going on here?"
"Beats me."
They both heard some howling and roaring in the distance. Their heads whipped around and their eyes widened. Looking back from where they came from, they heard the growling resonating deep within the fog. It chilled their spines. They recognized it all too well. The white monsters were closing in.
"Oh crap." Cana groaned.
Craig looked forward towards the statue. "We haven't got much time. For all we know, this statue may be the most important key we have to use to our advantage. We gotta figure out what it means, and fast." He looked around the statue as footsteps could be heard. The beasts were starting to get closer. He gritted his sharp teeth and looked at something on the chest. His eyes widened as he discerned something that was found to be…misplaced. To what looked like over where the heart should be, there was an open piece of rock, as if it was chunked off. Craig hopped onto the podium to get a closer examination, but even through the fog it was somewhat hard to discern. He narrowed his eyes and looked intrigued.
"Hey Brownie, there's a piece over its heart missing." He called out.
Cana got closer. "Really?"
"Yeah." Craig hopped off the podium and got close to Cana. "Those things are here, but I think I know what must be done."
Cana's eyes widened. "Wait, what?"
Craig stood in front of her, his back facing her as he looked towards the white monsters that were all growling outside of the beacon's perimeter. They were all snarling and looking angry.
"Remember this thing?" He pulled out the beacon that was in his pocket. When it came out, the white monsters all barked harsher than before, and when a few all around were getting antsy, they stuck their heads out, only for them to be burned and retreat into the fog again. He and Cana got onto the podium to gain some distance. Craig continued on. "This beacon. It gives off an energy, right? This energy is familiar to a warmth and sun, in which the plaque describes. So if I'm putting pieces together, then this has gotta go…" He turned his head up towards the heart high above. "Up there."
Cana's mind was racing with great hysteria. She turned toward Craig. "You're joking, right?"
Craig turned towards her. "I don't see you coming up with ideas."
Though looking back at it, the energy was indeed warm. It was like a sun, of which was only pocket size. It was like solar energy, and Cana did recount reading the plaque about a heart, and the sky shine. When she put it like that, she really couldn't argue against his judgment. The white monsters whipped their tails at her and Craig angrily, them getting antsy.
"Well they're gonna get bold and steal this away from us. Look at their numbers. It's huge." Cana said. "So I guess we gotta get it up there, right? So we gotta get that piece of rock into the slot, and something good will happen, right?"
Craig turned towards her. "We'll see." He gave her a questionable look then. "And we're not climbing. You are!"
Cana looked baffled. "Say what?" She was given the beacon by Craig, holding it like a foreign object.
"You're climbing and putting that thing in." He jumped off the podium while getting out his dark red and blood red sword. "I'm gonna pay them back for what they did last night. You just do your part and all will be well…kind of!" Craig leaped ahead after the white monsters. "BRING IT ON!"
Cana tisked and looked up at the large leg she was in front of. Seeing the massive height of fifty feet, she grew despondent. "Cranky, you must feel so glad you left this up to me." She groaned. She hopped and latched onto the leg, despite the armor being round. She managed to get a grip on a segment. "See? No problem."
"Spiral Dragon Slice!" All of his blades out, Craig spiraled in the fog, viciously cutting right into a hefty number of white monsters.
Cana continued climbing, managing to get a grip onto the leg spike. She hauled herself upwards and grunted as she had to use a large amount of strength. When she made it over, she huffed and was on all fours. She continued to escalate slowly, with gravity clearly against her. Add the fact that she didn't have too much upper body strength to help her. Above her was the right arm with claws. She steadily got her legs beneath her and jumped, latching onto the arm. She smirked. "Looks like hauling all those booze barrels pay off after all."
Craig dashed through the fog, getting all of their attention. He spun and again sliced right through another white monster, cutting both gliders as he passed it. The white monster in front attacked with its tail from above, but Craig only watched the tail close in. He moved his head, swinging his mouth blade and sliced off the tail. The white monster screeched out in pain as it retracted and stumbled around. Craig stepped forward, growling and narrowing his eyes. The act of intimidation left the white monsters all around him uneasy.
"Is that all you got?" He muffled. He raised his blades once more. "You wanna get to that shameless beast, then come at me!"
The white monsters all pounced at Craig while he charged at them with his swords.
Cana nearly lost her grip and dangle as she made it to the hunched over stomach area. It went up in a slant against her, and she her cheeks were pink from the exaggeration of energy she had to use. As much as she wanted to complain, she instead exerted her anger towards her body, adding fuel to her flame.
"Cranky~!" She growled. "I'm screwing you up when I catch my breath!"
Her anger worked alongside her, and she hauled herself upwards over the edge and began to advance up the Behemoth. She grunted with every meter she climbed, but in the end, she finally reached her destination. At long last, she made it to the open section – over the heart. She smiled confidently when she held onto the shoulder of the monster before her, and she held the beacon up to the open space in the statue.
She looked towards the beacon shining in her left hand. "Alright you, I had to endure a long-time catchup with Cranky, and I had to climb up here in his stead, so if you don't work, I'm throwing you at his head! Now get in there already!"
She shoved the beacon into the open piece of rock. The beacon made a perfect fit and a clank sound, much to Cana's subtle wow. She blinked as nothing was happening. There was a silence, and then everything around began to feel the awkward silence. When that click was made, Craig and the white monsters all stopped in place, turning towards the Behemoth statue. They all looked surprised, but Craig narrowed his eyes.
The eyes of the massive statue glowed red. Cana again felt her eyes widen as the statue was vibrating. "Cranky…" The ground then began to rumble with intensity. Craig and the white monsters all barely held their footing as the and beneath quaked with the temperature rising.
"The ground..." Craig looked up at the vibrating statue. "What the hell kind of statue is that?!"
Cana jumped off the statue and onto the podium. She leaped off of that podium as well as the Behemoth statue was starting to glow. Cana fell onto her back as the statue's light engulfed her, and everybody else. Craig covered up and shouted out to Cana, just before he and all of their surroundings were engulfed in a brilliant light.
Everything went blind for maybe a minute or so, but when Craig and Cana blinked, both were in the same positions as before. They blinked again, their view of one another as clear as day.
Craig grumbled. "What the hell was that light?"
Cana was feeling surprisingly warm. She was sure the fog was lowering the temperature, but why the sudden…
Cana's eyes widened. "Wait! Cranky, I can actually see you?!" She saw no fog keeping her from seeing Craig, which surprised also the other. "The fog is gone! Craig, your idiotic suggestion actually worked!"
Craig heard some violent howling from behind. He and Cana turned around upon hearing sizzling and steaming, as if something was cooking. Both of them backed away as the white monsters were screeching violently as the sunlight was clear. The fog no longer bounded them to safety from the solar energy. Both watched side by side as the white monsters all twitched and fell over, violently struggling as their skin and every bit of them reduced to nothing but ash. The white monsters faded, their ashes burning away into nothing. All across the expanded forest and Fogbound, the white monsters in the vicinity were startled when their fog was lifted, and their lives became short-lived when the sunlight went through the trees and made them suffer the same fate as those near Craig and Cana.
The white monsters all across the fogged vicinity were no longer alive, fading into a memory, as was the fog. The fog even lifted from the village, startling the villagers. They all looked up to the sky, the remaining bit of them baffled and shocked appeared in the sky for the first time clearly. The children looked up, their eyes squinting from the sun, but it was warm and bright, bringing confusion into happiness.
When the white monsters in front of Craig and Cana faded, they turned towards one another. "Well, guess that takes care of that." Craig said.
Cana nodded. "At least we don't have to worry about those guys chasing up now. That's one half done, and another to go…right?"
Craig turned away. "Guess so. We lifted the fog, but now we gotta find out where those villagers are." He turned ahead, his eyes widening again. "Wait, the statue."
"Hm?" Cana looked ahead, following Craig's eyesight and found what he meant. Again her surprise showed when nothing was in front of them. It was complete vacancy.
Again, Cana looked shocked. "Oh come on! Somebody tell me what hell is going on!"
"The fog is gone, and now the statue? Something is messed up here." Craig's gaze went upwards towards the sun, trying to get an understanding of what may be transpiring and how the sun was related, but he only knew the sun was what lifted the fog, in a sense. However, things went beyond crazy when he looked up. His eyes shot eyes and his shock surmounted to astronomical levels.
As he stared up in shock, Cana also followed. Her mouth gaped in extreme shock and her eyes dilated like Craig's. Tenrou Island was but a jab gun compared to what they were beholding.
"Oh my…" Craig trailed off.
Cana swallowed when seeing what was towering high above. "You have got to be pulling my freaking leg."
"Is that thing…really what's been hiding in the fog?"
"I don't know. But, I still can't believe that something like this was hidden within Fiore for so long."
The waterfalls all around them flowed into the ponds they've made, pounding the water with intensity. That similar feeling was like a thousand waterfalls coming down on the duo, drowning them in absolute awe and wonder that they couldn't seem to have realized sooner. A waterfall of shock always seemed to rain down on the two wherever they go.
Cana still couldn't find words to help repair her own conscience. "I-It's a…"
Towering above them both, there was an enormous landmark that was in the shape of a trophy cup. The middle section was thin compared to the bowl-like upper third. The entire piece of rock had large groves and a numerous number of waterfalls falling down, as though it were overflowing constantly. The structure was so high that clouds were near the top.
Craig was the first to cease his gawking. "I think I have a pretty good idea what happened to those people."
Cana looked towards him. "You seriously think they're all up there?"
"I said it was a pretty good idea, not that it was accurate." Craig scolded. "Look, those white monsters didn't just take those people away so that they can eat them. You know that if they really wanted to eat them themselves, they could've done it then and there. It's as if they're taking intruders into custody, as if they might know something. Look." He looked back up at the huge structure towering over their heads. "If this thing wouldn't be a big deal, why bother hiding it? If we climb to the top, we'll get the answers we're looking for, and if possible, find those lost people."
Cana looked towards Craig with question, but she never really doubted him. Of course she really wanted to, but given his logic of analyzing the 15,000-year-old writing, the beacon and the Behemoth, and then this assumption, she was in no place to say.
"Guess we haven't got any other place to go at this point. Alright guess we should be heading forward." She looked back up to the sky, looking at the sun with her hand covering her eyes to not get a glaring view. "Man, it's felt like forever since the sun came out."
She looked back down towards Craig, but all she got was a glare. She gave a distinguished confused look. "The hell you looking at now?"
"Give me that! You little thief!" He snatched the jacket off of her upper body, almost yanking her entirely from the ground. Cana didn't realize it, but through the entire duration, she was wearing Craig's jacket, ever since venturing into the mountains.
"Don't you know you're not supposed to take things that don't belong to you! The heck's wrong with you, you some kind of wild animal?!" He lashed out in a harsh joking fashion.
"Oh excuse me you giant hypocrite! I just had to go and take your disgusting piece of clothing when you voluntarily handed it to me for warmth!" She lashed back. "You know, I can't believe I actually wore that thing!"
"Damn straight! Now I gotta wash it now that you got your 'Brownie Germs' all over it!"
"Good, I hope it makes you so sick that you sneeze to sleep!"
"I should've just had you shiver!"
"Too bad your conscience said otherwise, Cranky! And if anyone's the wild animal, it's you!"
"I bite, Brownie, you know that!"
"I use cards!"
"I use swords!"
"I can make lightning from cards!"
"I can cut down forts!"
"You rather cut down people!"
"You make people cry!"
"You make babies cry!"
"I have to be a baby to make you shut up and do what I need!"
"Well I wouldn't change your diapers if you were the last baby on the planet!"
"You can't say that! You're a baby oven yourself!"
"Well I ain't spouting no babies yet, and unlike you, they'll be the most adorable in the world…" Cana questioned herself. "If I wanted any!"
The duo's ranting could be heard a long ways away, dissipating through the waterfalls pounding the ponds as they pressed onwards towards the massive structure towering above.
There was an enormous lake somewhere. Water seemed to be reaching out from miles on end. There was no letting where the edge really held. The water was a deep blue, and the tranquility of the lake was pure as you could see the rock beneath the surface. The aquatic location was beautiful with the sun overhead, and rocky isles stretched from left to right, flowing all the way around like a canyon. In all, it was so beautiful.
"L-look!" A man shouted, pointing over the edge. Everybody looked down over the edge of the huge compound, where all of the numerous faces stared in absolute awe. Their eyes were wide with curiosity. "T-the fog…"
"It's…it's gone!" Another exclaimed.
"Does this mean…" A woman was holding her child in her arms. "That someone is looking for us?"
Everyone was still trying to connect the dots, but no matter how awe-inspiring it sounded, they were still bound.
A pair of sandals clanked against the rock, catching eyes. Her hazy green eyes showed no resilience. "You all, away from the edge. Unless you wanna fall and take the secrets to your early grave." She warned.
To their own reluctance, everyone looked back at the woman wearing a long white robe, of which matched her white hair. She seemed to be in her early thirties, and she didn't have a smile of hope, unlike the others.
"…" Nobody could question her. They all valued their lives, so in turn they complied and backed away from the edge. They all faced the woman that they had to bear with, of whom didn't seem too pleased.
"I am aware of your remaining friends and family at the base camp, but now that the fog has lifted, there's no question that they'll take what they see now and have ourselves exploited." Her eyes narrowed. "You know as well as I do, that when you stepped into my fog, you're not stepping out." She stepped closer towards the edge, peering down from the high point downwards. "Whoever did this…they will pay. They will pay dearly. This fog and my pets was what bound secrecy, so how could they have found us so easily?"
She turned away, passing by the few startled people, of whom were pillaged last night. Many children, men, and women alike were scared. But some were not as reluctant against her.
"Hey!" The person stood up to her, calling out from the crowd. The woman stopped and turned around, staring at the culprit. Drake. "Why are you just keeping us here?! We don't deserve this!" He exclaimed. "We know the secret, and we swear we won't tell anybody! We swear on our lives!"
"…" The woman stared at Drake, her emotions and pity not following the course of his begging. "You will take that secret to your graves. I told you, no one can leave. Ever. This secret, it's more valuable than all the lives in the world." Her eyes narrowed again out of disgust. "You're here for the end of your days. It's for the sake of the world, and you know well…"
Underneath the water, bubbles went up as something dark as the floor was seen, but it was hard to make out. As far as it's titanic shell went with thousands of little spikes, it's eye slowly open up.
"He who dwells in this lake, can very well exploit any danger of the world. Their legacy is no more…and so shall you all follow." She turned her head towards the lake, watching the calm water let out a ripple. This left the woman a little shocked.
She hasped and headed towards the edge with surprise. "He…he moved?"
Everyone looked to her with question.
She angrily swiped her arm around. "Whoever did this, they will pay with their lives! The great one has stirred, meaning he knows something is wrong!" She turned away, looking over at the groves nearby. She slowly paced herself ahead, and stared with a dark expression that scared the adults and children. She was giving off such an immense amount of Magic Power, leaving them to huddle with their loved ones. Her power was so staggering that it was making the ground beneath tremble.
"Make sure, that they don't get up here alive." Her hazy eyes glowed.
In darkness in the steam rising within the cracks, another pair of eyes, this time red opened up, pulsing. A pulse ran through the cracks, making them glow red. The beast lurking with a massive bulk growled, and did not move, but raised its head.
All the while Craig and Cana continued onwards, towards a warzone full of monstrosity.
I apologize for the late update, but I hope this chapter's CraigxCana moments was to your liking! As always, comment, review, and glad I could update another chapter for you guys! The updates may be rather slow for a while; since it's October, I decided to turn my priority story as A Contender's Bonds. Updates for this story may be around once a week depending on how many words I get done per morning or night. Still, I'll keep doing my best! I guarantee at least 1 flashback next chapter. Until next time!