==Hey guys! How is everyone? I hope your final exams go well next week :) I'm doing well, but I have a new chapter for you all! I hope you like it! This is probably the best chapter so far.==

Krewella - "Human"

They say pain is an illusion. This is just a bruise, and you are just confused, but I am only human. I could use a hand sometimes. I am only human…

Haunted: Collapse into Caliginosity

Chapter 17:

Only Human

The depth of the snow was way worse when Zane and I got to the peaks. The peaks were four little points at the top of a jagged incline. We were almost to the top. Zane had said our destination was right on the other side of them. His aim was to go between two peaks so we weren't traveling as far.

I held on tightly to his back as he stumbled over the collapsing snow. A deep trench was following us as he continued to sink through the white powder over and over again.

"Keep going, Zane," I encouraged him. "We're close."

"I know," he panted, "and that reminds me, please close your eyes now."

"Close my eyes?"

"Yes, but only until we get there. I want it to be a surprise."

That plan seemed silly to me, so I decided to infringe from it. "Okay," I simply replied, not closing my eyes.

It only took him a second until he said, "I sense your eyes are still open."

"How did you know?" I asked, amazed.

"I told you, I sensed you weren't."

"How is that possible?"

"I was born with a gift that nobody else has. Everyone in the world is born with the ability to see, hear, taste, touch, and smell, unless they have some form of malformation. I am not hindered, instead, I am advanced. I have six senses instead of just five. I have the ability to detect things that are near me. In your case, I was able to detect a lack of movement from your eyelids; therefore, I knew you didn't do what I had told you to do."

"That's creepy."

"I must disagree. It's more helpful than it is 'creepy.' Now, in order for this experience to be extraordinary, I must request that you close your eyes."

"Alright, fine," I sighed, closing my eyes. Now that I couldn't see where we were going, all I could do was listen to Zane trudge through the snow. It felt like twenty minutes had gone by before he slipped me from his back and into his arms. We made it to the other side, finally. "Are we there yet?" I asked.

"Patience, Macca. I can already see it," he calmly reassured me.

Geez, this is almost as dragging as the road trip to Jamanakai Village, I thought.

I could tell by now that my lack of sleep was starting to catch up to me. I only slept for maybe less than an hour by the time Zane came into my room and brought me here. It was difficult to keep a composed mindset when all I really wanted was to be in a warm bed. Sadly, being in Zane's arms didn't feel as comfortable.

He finally stopped walking. "Don't open your eyes yet," he warned me, placing me on my feet and taking the blanket off my body. Afterwards, it was mysteriously silent. There was no wind in my ears or noises from him. Why would he even take the blanket from me? He knew I was cold right now.

I popped an eye open for less than a second, and what did I find? Zane's masked face right in front of mine.

I jumped back, startled, and nearly squeaked. He smiled underneath his mask in amusement as I gained poise. "I knew you were going to open them," he claimed, standing up straight.

"And you're playing a dangerous game," I notified. "You're lucky I didn't slap you just then."

"You wouldn't hit me," he gently stated. "You're kinder and more courteous than you think you are." He took a few steps away from me and sat down on the blanket, which laid on top of the snow in a perfect square after he folded it once. While I was still taking in his words, he patted the area next to him for me to sit. I raised an eyebrow, but seated myself where he motioned me to.

Before us stood a dark and lifeless mountainous area. I could see each peak and all the snow that covered them, but I couldn't see what was so spectacular about it all. Yes, Jamanakai Village was built on one of the tallest mountains in the entire range of the Mountains of Impossible Height, so we had a great view over everything, but what else was there to this so-called "surprise"?

"What am I supposed to be looking at?" I asked.

"Patience. It will come soon."

"What will?"

He kept quiet after that. My eyes returned to the low lying peaks. Everything was so quiet and still. I looked at each mountaintop, waiting for something to move. But Zane and I were nowhere near civilization. We were the only organisms out here.

The sky flickered.

Zane and I both glanced above us. There were no clouds, just the stars, so it couldn't have been lightning. I also could've sworn I saw a shade of green–

The snow-covered peaks suddenly illuminated in green, blue, and purple. I gasped at the liquid-like lights that danced within the stars. It was like a show was being put on for us. I was almost surprised there was no opening curtain for it all.

"Look," Zane said, pointing ahead of us.

When I looked, I saw that the lights had not only illuminated the snow, but they also revealed hidden treasures: gracefully flowing waterfalls. Some surrounding mountains were two times taller than the rest, and those were the ones that had a waterfall raining down from their peak.

Off in the distance, thin whirlwinds twisted and twirled, rising high until they touched the lights. They picked up snow as they stretched and danced with it. The snow happily flung with the air. Once the air and snow momentarily shared a dance together, the whirlwind terminated, letting the snow fall back down. Then I watched another whirlwind form in another place, and another.

"Zane…" I breathed, mesmerized by it all.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

"It's gorgeous."

"Do you know the story behind this place?"

"Story?"

"Apparently not. Are you curious to know?"

"Well, it depends. Is it real or just a fairytale?"

"Sort of in between, actually. It is a legend."

"Hmm…okay."

"Years ago, before I was ever a ninja, I lived on my own and worked. When I had no work to do, I would read. Usually, I read nonfiction so I could learn, but one night, I came across the legend of the Deathless Prophet.

"Centuries ago, when Ninjago was still under development, native tribes believed in different kinds of gods and spirits. One man gained many followers as he traveled the land and spoke of one God, one who reigned over everything in the world. He told about how God gifted him with an artifact that had made him immortal. With his gift, he set out to spread the truth about God.

"Although he had transformed people's ways of life, there were others who didn't believe his account about God's gift to him. Those people were members of an organization called the Order of Trinity, and they embarked on a mission to kill the Prophet so he would stop spreading his lies about God.

"One day, they ambushed him and his followers, piercing his heart with a spear and watching him bleed to death. Trinity dispersed after that, because the prophet was dead. But soon, the followers were noticed with a different man as their leader, and he looked identical to the original Prophet. Trinity named him the False Prophet, and they planned to destroy all of the followers to stop their madness.

"The followers learned of their plan, though, and fled the land of their origin. They traveled across Ninjago in search of a new home, to build a city in honor of God and to protect God's gift to the original Prophet. The city was named Kitezh, and it was founded in this very mountain range. The legend says that God was pleased with the followers' work, and He created the beautiful scenery here before us as a blessing to them."

"But where is Kitezh?" I asked.

"I don't know. The legend ended its story prematurely, but I suppose it simply became a lost city. Explorers are still trying to find its location, but they've yet to find the truth within the legend. Once they do, then maybe they can have more success."

"So you believe Kitezh actually exists?"

"Well, some legends and myths are based around some version of the truth. There's a possibility that it does exist…somewhere."

We sat in silence for a few minutes. I continued to admire nature's performance for us, thinking of the legend. It seemed odd to me. Nowadays, people just lived their lives. We are not usually believers in any god. In school, history class was never about any religion. To me, ancient religion seemed kind of like a secret.

The whole time I was pondering, Zane wasn't watching the lights or anything. All he did was look at me instead. Eventually, he placed his hand on my shoulder. I shivered and glanced at him, not expecting his touch.

"Macca," he began, "while we were still in the room, when you almost shed too many tears, I sensed something."

"Something bad?" I concernedly asked, turning my whole body so I could face him.

"It was bad to me."

"Why?"

He looked at me for a long moment in pregnant silence. "…I sensed something about your grief," he finally confirmed. "I perfectly understand that the Serpentine attack was a very traumatic experience, but something wasn't right with you. You…you seemed to become upset in a spontaneous way. Usually, victims of a traumatic experience go through a phase of feeling numb, or having severe anxiety. But with you…it was almost like a wound had been reopened. You were quick with your symptoms. Why?"

A reopened wound? I didn't understand what he meant. There was no way he could've known about Tom. I wanted to believe Zane was crazy for once. I was fine. Trent helped me.

In my happy side, I was taking my time to get the forest. Right now, I just picked pretty red flowers that sprouted around rocks. The girl who has been watching me for some time now was out in the open, a little distance away. I tried to not pay attention to her. She could decide when she wanted to accompany me.

I stopped plucking the flowers from the ground and sat down on a rock. The past came into my thoughts. It all started with Tom and progressed all the way to Jen's final attack on me…

Oh.

The breakup with Tom had nothing to do with it. I was already healed from the pain of that situation. All that was left was the Serpentine attack and Jen's attack. Zane had it backwards. The Serpentine attack wasn't the reopened wound, Jen was. And although I felt better now about it, I wouldn't say I was when Zane first appeared. When he came, the wound was still fresh.

I lost eye contact with Zane as he waited patiently for an explanation of some sort. The only problem was that I couldn't provide one for him. I couldn't just tell him I had an imaginary girl in my head and she hurt me. I would sound more than ridiculous. A new plan shaped for me. Technically, I didn't have to tell him exactly what was wrong.

The words just spilled out. "I was having relationship problems a few weeks ago and it was tough to get past it."

"A significant other?"

"Well, he isn't anymore, but yes."

He tucked his fingertips under my chin to bring my gaze back up to him. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"What do you mean? You already have."

His eyes showed a lack of understanding as his hand fell from my face.

"You brought me to this place," I continued, smiling big. "You took me on an adventure! Zane, I've had so much fun. This is what I needed to heal."

"But…what about the bear?"

I laughed. "The bear? I climbed a freaking tree to get away from it! I'll never forget that. I'll never forget tonight. I'll never forget you." A pang of sadness welled up inside of me. I would never see Zane again after tonight. His eyes showed the same sadness. Our friendship was never meant to be more than just a night of great memories.

I threw myself at him, wrapping my arms around his neck. If tonight was all we could have together, than I was going to enjoy as much as I could of it. "Thank you for forcing me to come," I simply said.

He didn't reply, but it felt nice when he hugged me back. I wanted to hold him close for a few seconds, trying to absorb as much of his touch as I possibly could. I wanted to look back years from now and remember this Ninja of Ice.

A whirlwind formed in front of us and tossed a breeze our way. I shivered again and snuggled closer to him to keep warm. The whirlwind stretched higher and higher until it touched the lights. Then it diminished from sight. Far away, to the right, another one formed. A different one fell, another formed…one fell, one formed…over and over…

The legend in this chapter is NOT an actual story from the Bible…it's from Rise of the Tomb Raider :P Shoutout to ZaneLoverFan88 and ElementzGirl7 for leaving a review for the previous chapter! :D Everyone who reads this fan fiction is amazing!