Chapter 19: Heart of Fire.
The darkness of the cavern receded as the black beast, imitating the eruption of a volcano, spewed an ocean of flame upward. The heat dried the skin of the three teenagers and an elf, who struggled to stay upright against the current, the fire rose towards the supposed exit with such heat and force that it collapsed, ending any immediate escape plan. Stone and rock melted, the mountain walls were reduced to waterfalls of red lava with fiery rain falling on the fragile platform.
Daegred saw a high intelligence in those three pairs of crimson eyes, he concluded that this had not just been a demonstration of power to intimidate, the dragon wanted them inside the mountain, in its domain where the only light would come from its jaws. Such fears were put into the background when, displaying speed inappropriate for a creature of its size, the Grimm lowered its head on them with its jaws open revealing row after row of sharp teeth. His comrades were smart and stepped aside.
Neptune leaped towards the walls of the tunnel, digging the tip of his Guandao into the solid stone and using it as a support. Mercury didn't have it so easy, he bounced from one end to the other until he finally managed to embed his feet in the rock while holding on with one hand. Sun instead climbed the cable of the clamps, and seeing that it was about to collapse, he summoned two clones with which he made an effort to keep said chains together, such a plan had merit but his strength would not be enough.
The mouths of aberration closed on the Elf, but he would not die so easily. With one foot on the floor of the platform, and another pushing on that chin, Daegred raised his arms and stopped the descent of the upper jaw. It was not an easy feat because the beast's fangs were centimeters away from piercing his eyes. But he did not let himself be defeated, fighting against that overwhelming force and before his enemy could breathe fire again, he smashed the dragon's head against the rocks, burying its snout against the wall.
"MERCURY! THE EYES!" The gray-haired youth understood instantly, and they both jumped towards the immobilized head. Mercury's boots hit one of the scarlet orbs which burst like a water balloon causing the creature to scream in pain and break free. It shook its head, crashing against the walls of the cavern, knocking down huge portions of rock. Neptune and Sun saw the opportunity to act.
As Foe Hammer cut out another pair of eyes, the blonde and blue haired one landed next to the prince. They provided support by attacking vulnerable areas not protected by bone armor. Neptune sliced clean through the jaw ligaments causing the squeals to turn into howls, Sun climbed up to the snout and without a second thought opened fire on both nostrils with his shotguns.
This was the last straw for the dragon. It opened its already deformed mouth, illuminating the interior of the mountain a second time, the heat was felt in Mercury's legs that for some unknown reason shone with light red tones just like Daegred's hand.
"Go to the back! NOW!" The redhead ordered.
The group scrambled across the spines and scales, clinging to the columns of bone that stood in the middle of both withered wings. Daegred slid from the neck, holding Sun with his right hand pulling against his chest, with his left hand he did the same with Neptune and in the end when the trio reached the center the three crowded against Mercury who did not even have time to protest when the flames flooded the tunnel.
The redhead didn't think twice, activating the Dust crystal in his prosthesis, he summoned a dome of solid ice over the group that surrounded them like a shelter. But that was of little use because the fire was such that no icy structure could resist it, being reduced to steam in the blink of an eye.
The Noldor hugged the three children to his chest tightly, a roar escaping his teeth as the heat intensified and the fire reached the most inhospitable corners of the cavern. Not even the creature's back turned out to be a safe place as the red current ate away at the fabric of his back, he felt his cloak, shirt and even parts of his skin disappear before the intensity of the flames. Memories of a lost battle crossed his mind and out of mere instinct he hugged the children tighter.
When the flames stopped the dragon wasted no time and shook erratically. The four of them had almost fallen into the abyss if not for Neptune and Daegred driving the blades of their weapons into the creature's skin and grabbing their respective companions. It turns out that the aberration's plans were not just a show of wild anger, but it focused all the power of the fire on the stone, creating a huge tunnel in the mountain through which its colossal body could pass.
The snake crawled through that hole, with wild and unpredictable movements, expelling the three children and an elf from its back who landed without much grace on the ground. Watching the large creature disappear into the shadows leaving only the tremors of its stampede, the group took a moment to process what had happened.
"I didn't sign up for this shit." Mercury exclaimed tiredly as he tried to regulate his breathing.
"What the hell was that thing?" Such a question escaped Sun's lips in a whisper, but he didn't bother looking for an answer right away. He watched as Daegred struggled to stand, his upper body bare revealing his old and new scars.
"Daegred! here! Let me–" He didn't have time to offer his help when the elf's metallic hand came between them. It was just a cold iron look that warned him not to touch the redhead or he would regret it.
"Spare me the sympathy Sun Wukong, use it on your other comrades, don't insult my spirit."
"What are you talking about!? That thing burned your entire back!" To emphasize his point, the blonde pointed to the black flesh that plagued the taller man's back. But the prince of the Noldor ignored his companion's concerns, stood up oblivious to the pain and concentrating the manifestation of his spirit, being enveloped by a warm sensation, closed the wounds and replaced the dead skin until it returned to its standard paleness where the only scars that resided were those made long ago.
"I have received worse punishments, our comrades on the other hand…" Mercury gave him the middle finger while still struggling to breathe, Neptune was on the ground on his knees and palms, emptying his stomach.
"Fuck you man…" Mercury sighed as he regained his composure.
"That thing – it was a wyvern *Woak*." Neptune said between retching. But from the little that was understood, it seemed that the bluenette had some knowledge of the creature, something that Daegred did not plan to waste. He lifted the boy by the arm and with one hand forced him to look him straight in the eyes.
"If you know anything about this enemy you will speak, Neptune Vasilias, the lives of your comrades depend on the value of your words."
"Hey hey, give him some time–" but Sun was interrupted by the still dizzy boy.
"It's a Wyvern, they are a class of Grimm category 8, one of the largest classes and we only know about them through stories and myths, it was thought to be extinct."
"Lucky us then," Mercury scoffed as he spat to the side, the saliva and mucus evaporating the instant they came into contact with the hot rock.
"Silence! You will speak when I allow you to." The gray-haired man wanted to respond to that, but the stern look in those silver eyes silenced him.
"You! Keep talking, does that have any weakness?".
"There isn't much, but the eyes are small and it has a big nose, it depends mostly on hearing and smell." Neptune's eyes widened as he remembered more details of that recent brush with death.
"The wings! The wings were atrophied! Without membranes or fingers, it can't fly! That's why it's in the mountains! That's why it lives underground!"
That made the elf's lips lift into a slight smile, a very dangerous smile that Mercury didn't like at all. Taking a step forward, he faced the tallest of those present.
"You must be crazy if you think we can fight that thing, it's basically suicide!".
"Your concern is justified, and that is why I faced the creature alone." At this statement the gray-haired young man sighed and let out an exhausted laugh. Shaking his head, he turned around to find another path.
"If you want to kill yourself, go ahead, I'll get out of here." And with that he dragged his almost unconscious partner with him.
"Wait! This is clearly a joke! No?". Sun looked hopefully for the redhead to clarify his doubts but he did not reveal anything beyond the look of a dead man.
"The battlefield is no place for humor young Sun Wukong, go with them." Taking another path, he followed the origin of the tunnel with his swords as the only sources of light in that abyssal darkness. He didn't look back, he never did and maybe that was why he couldn't do much when the blonde jumped in front of him walking backwards with his arms behind his head.
"Do you really have to do it? I mean, our mission is only to go to the top as long as the thing does not leave the mountain we will still pass."
"If your response to the evil of the world is to ignore it and hide, then maybe I misjudge your spirit, maybe you shouldn't be a Huntsmen, Go! and Hide behind the courage of better men!" With that said, the elf continued his journey but if his words sought to discourage the Faunus then he once again misjudged his partner. Sun intercepted again and with his hands extended against the redhead's shoulders he fought to stop his advance.
"Listen! Just listen! I want to be a Huntsmen as much as you! You know what? maybe even more! I'm not going to abandon someone who needs my help if the time comes, but I won't throw my life into the fire at the slightest opportunity either!"
Nelyafinwe, son of Feanaro, third in line to the throne by right but abdicated of his own free will, stopped.
"Ozpin gave us an order and that is to get to the top, nothing more, these grimms deserve to die, I'm not going to deny that! But we are only students for the love of God! We are not ready for this! Not yet!" The blonde's feet had buried themselves in the ground as he fought to keep his partner in that place, the redhead was devilishly strong.
"Please, you don't have to fight every battle, the world doesn't depend on you alone, we must all do our part."
It was a tense silence, Sun breathed deeply as he relaxed his arms watching the elf stop walking. He was static, as still as a beautiful statue well formed by skilled hands. The faunus wondered inwardly what kind of thoughts were going through the redhead's head, his eyes showed no more emotion and only revealed a faint reflection on their silver surfaces.
For a moment the blonde thought that the prince had stopped breathing, but those doubts were alleviated when he heard him sigh in a defeated tone. Sting was back in his holster in the blink of an eye, leaving only Foe hammer as the only light as the rocks in the tunnel lost their heat.
"Your words have weight, this time I will follow your advice young Sun." It was as if someone had freed him from a burden, the named man almost collapsed at the meaning of that response. Relieved as he had never been, Sun let a soft laugh escape his lungs.
"Amazing! Thank you!... and now what?" They were still trapped in a hollow mountain with a giant grimm wanting to kill them.
"We wait for the others and then you three follow me," Daegred said as he looked in the opposite direction, searching for something in the darkness. Sun was about to question him when Mercury and Neptune emerged from the shadows in short steps, the first angry and grumbling while the other seemed embarrassed.
"We have no idea how to get out…" The bluenette received a punch on the shoulder courtesy of his partner.
The dwarven kingdom of Belegost lay in ruins before them, but even as a mere shadow of its former glory that Firebeard capital still maintained a towering magnificence. From depths unknown to Daegred, hundreds of pillars rose to the ceiling, carved from the stone in angled shapes without curves, shaping the city and connected by bridges, stairs and roads.
Once that city would be illuminated with the lights of thousands of beads, metals and gems embedded in the walls, now all that remained was the shadow of the black abyss. The only glow came from the group's weapons. Such blue lights revealed the ruins of that forgotten kingdom, where the gray stone columns collapsed, the bridges fell, the walls gave way to the incessant assault of an unknown enemy.
"This is magnificent," Neptune whispered with his guandao raised.
"These are just ruins, imagine what it was like while the dwarves still roamed these halls." Daegred answered.
"You speak as if you have seen it." The redhead only looked at Mercury for a few moments but didn't say anything, he just continued moving along the bridge. The main road, supported by pillars that disappeared into the abyss, and so wide that an army could march with plenty of space. Sun seemed to have fun walking on his hands on the gold railings oblivious to the potential death.
"Stay alert, the creature may not let us leave its abode so easily."
"Well the thing is basically a Kaiju, they're not usually stealthy" the monkey faunus joked as he returned to stable ground.
"I don't know what that is, but even a large creature can be stealthy if it nee–."
The bridge shook wildly as a roar echoed throughout the cavern. They immediately put aside any talk and formed a defensive circle with their backs together. The silence that followed was mentally exhausting for the teenagers, but for the elf what was really strange was a strangely liquid sort of sound coming from above. A good distance away a loud, sickening noise announced that something, of a slimy nature, had crashed to the ground. With the exception of Mercury, everyone was able to make out the black spot that rested in the middle of the road, like a pit of tar that was beginning to bubble.
From that foul fountain, pairs of almost skeletal hands emerged, strangely human but whose forms were thin and emaciated, lacking hair and eyes, any features hidden beneath white bone. Their black forms twisted as they left the source of their unlife behind. Daegred gritted his teeth, it was possibly the most abhorrent act he witnessed, an insult to the birth of every child of eru.
"Ghouls" Neptune muttered as his weapon switched to the range function and pointed it forward. Sun wasted no time, firing two consecutive shots with each of his shotguns. Instead of bursting into flames, these bullets rested on the ground burning with such intensity that the light from them acted as torches on the bridge.
"You're welcome, Mercury." The aforementioned just rolled his eyes, not amused by the act but secretly acknowledged the blonde's favor. More drops fell from the darkness above, and more aberrations began to be born, soon there were dozens of the things shuffling across the bridge.
"Ghouls are blind, guided by smell and hearing, they will find us in– *WRRRRAAAAAH* They found us."
"Do you have any weaknesses?" Daegred asked, standing in front and with both swords shining in his hands. Neptune reloaded his gun and adjusted his glasses.
"They die easy." Mercury stretched his legs and Sun swung his nunchucks eager for a fight. The ghouls surged forward like a mindless tide, screaming, crawling, leaping, and even crushing their own. The red light from their mouths reveals sharp teeth that would never bite into flesh.
The first wave of Grimms fell to the dust bullets, heads exploded and limbs were torn off but that incessant tide did not stop for the dead, despite being born only a few seconds ago they were willing to throw their own lives overboard if it meant killing them.
The distance was finally reduced to an arm's length and in an instant the weapons changed. To call it a battle would be to magnify the capacity of those vermin and insult the future defenders of the kingdoms. Each one, uniquely suited to their personalities and weapons, cut their way like a scythe through a wheat field, they crossed the dark wave like an icebreaker crosses the oceans.
Sun jumped from side to side, in constant erratic movements, not only using his nunchucks to finish off the ghouls in melee. He climbed the columns, forcing the creatures to follow him and stumble and fall into the abyss. He would slide along the ground, between the legs of his enemies, causing them to attack each other and when the mobile option was not available, he would unleash a barrage of successive shots on the crowd.
Neptune was like a stream of water, surprisingly acrobatic, with his weapon he kept out of reach of the swarm while creating a circle of death to any stupid creature that tried to close the gap. Each movement was strangely fluid, without erratic changes and strangely harmonious but no less lethal for that reason.
Mercury lacked the spectacle of his peers, but made up for it with much greater efficiency. Using the cannons on his shoes, he rose into the air, attacking from multiple angles causing confusion to the grimms' tiny minds. Every movement was carefully calculated, there was no wasted energy. Everything was planned to be a fatal blow.
As for Daegred, the elf was wild. Like a beast unleashed after captivity, it swept through wave after wave of grimms. Ghoul limbs and viscera flew into the air. Cut, crushed, torn. Sword, Fists, teeth. It was less of a spectacle and more of a one-sided carnage that recognized no mercy, because he knew his enemy would never grant such a luxury.
As Daegred's fist descended on a Ghoul, burying it twenty feet beneath the solid stone of the bridge, he allowed his shoulders to relax.
"Have any of you fallen in combat?" he asked without bothering to turn around.
"Nope."
"I'm still breathing."
" *cough Smug *cough".
"As Mercury's health is delicate, we must accelerate the pace, help him Sun."
"Ow, that must hurt."
"Not another word, monkey boy."
Just as the team was preparing to continue their march, leaving behind mountains of rapidly decomposing corpses, another tremor shook the underground city. With his instincts screaming, the elf jumped and pushed Mercury out of the way, just in time to avoid a jaws closing on him. Sun and Neptune were pushed to the other end of the bridge by the shockwave falling on their backs, while Daegred landed on his feet with the gray-haired boy in his arms.
A good part of the platform was torn from the structure, such a piece of stone resting in the dragon's jaws for a few seconds before being reduced to dust by the force of its bite. The creature was about to roar when a familiar smell reached its nose, sniffing the air, its three remaining eyes recognized a speck of yellow hair.
"Do you think he remembers me?".
Crimson flames emerged from the monster's nostrils, its teeth revealed as it snarled with clear hatred in those red eyes. Sun swallowed nervously as the bluenette reloaded his gun.
"Yup."
Those rows of sharp teeth capable of breaking stone towers would have swallowed both teenagers in one bite had it not been for a gunshot echoing in the cavern and just at that moment the ice began to form around the dragon's jaws, hindering and preventing them from opening. Before they could thank the redhead, both Sun and Neptune were hit by a human projectile that pushed them a good distance away from the creature, they ended up rolling on the ground with Mercury on top of them, the three of them equally dizzy from such an action although they recovered their senses quickly.
"Run! Get away, I'll take care of it!" The Elf's shout caught the attention of his colossal enemy. When the icy muzzle finally evaporated, the dragon's throat erupted in a geyser of flames which rose to the ceiling of the cavern and a red tide furrowed the stone surface, illuminating the underground city like a miniature sun. The flame bathed towers, bridges and platforms, the group's feet burned on the ground that was beginning to glow red hot.
Mercury cursed the prince as he stood up and dragged Neptune with him in the opposite direction to the upcoming battle. Sun hesitated, but it only took one sure look from those silver eyes to convince him. Despite his reluctance, the blonde knew that his partner would not die yet. Elf and Faunus shared a nod before temporarily separating.
"Come! filthy serpent of Morgoth! show me your true strength! face the son of Feanaro and Nerdanel!" The ensuing roar confirmed the challenge.
"HEY!" The dragon's head turned to the bewilderment of Daegred who also followed the origin of the voice. Among the halls of the dwarves, Sun hung from the shore.
"Come and catch me!".
"If I die I will kill that idiot!" Mercury exclaimed as he ran through the interior of the hallways.
"After me!" Neptune responded, advancing his partner almost on the blonde's heels while his blue hair brushed the ceiling of that bedroom. Just as the trio of teenagers went deeper into that building, the dragon, showing amazing mobility for a creature of its size, jumped until it was clinging with claws against the cliff. Despite such mastery, his enormous size was still an obstacle and chasing the aspiring Huntsmen was impossible when he could barely stick his nose in, however that did not stop him and he exhaled from his nostrils enormous streams of fire that boiled the earth around him and had consumed his prey had it not been for the fact that they managed to find a hallway in the corner to avoid the flames.
Sun had grown up all his life in the harsh deserts of Vacuo, where being outdoors during midday could literally burn the skin of a person without Aura. In that region, nomads were sometimes able to see enormous glass peaks formed by the immense heat in the distance. However, such an experience was not comparable to this.
Even without direct contact, they only managed to survive thanks to their auras that protected them from being reduced to mere ashes in the air. The intensity of the heat was such that the sweat on their skin evaporated instantly, burning like water at its boiling point. Although they were moderately safe from the flames, the air around them was extremely heavy and breathing had become an exhausting task not to mention overwhelming Sun's senses. The heat, the light, the smoke, everything overwhelmed the blonde's perception and he only stayed standing because Neptune pushed him against the wall with his arm.
It was an undeniable fact, if the dragon had continued its assault the trio would have died shortly after. Fortunately for them, a certain elf had no plans for that to happen.
Taking advantage of the distraction, and postponing a reprimand for his partner, Daegred jumped into the abyss. Such an action would undoubtedly mean the death of anyone, but not him, his strong legs had propelled him a good distance to end up landing on the serpentine tail of the enormous grimm. He never lost his balance, and even less so when he ran over the body of the abominable creature, climbing up its scaly, humped back to the crown of its neck. Leaping a second time, in mid-air Foe hammer descended against the skull, driving the blade into the guard.
The dragon, no stranger to pain from a long life of battle, screamed in agony as the cold metal forged by elven hands pierced part of its brain. Maddened by such an injury, the flames died out to be replaced by a screech capable of breaking glass. The creature slammed its head against the cliff, against the walls, towers and pillars but the elf continued to hold on by the hilt of his weapon.
Perhaps it was a last moment of lucidity before its sanity disappeared, or perhaps it had already left its damaged head, but once the screams stopped the few remaining eyes of the black beast shone with hatred and malice, with one last impulse that required all the strength of its legs, the Dragon charged forward with its head ready to impact against the mountain wall.
Mercury's gray eyes widened in fear at what was about to happen, but he barely had enough time to scream.
"MOVE!".
Then the grimm's head crashed into the building, its snout smashing through hundreds of thousands of tons, breaking through the dwarves' columns and walls like a battering ram through a wooden door. The three teenagers fell into the abyss, into the darkness where the only light was the inner fire of the black beast. However, they did not succumb to despair, none of them allowed themselves to hesitate. With extraordinary reactions, the three found their ways to avoid such a fate.
Mercury used his boots as propellants to jump between the falling rocks that acted as platforms until he reached solid ground between the enormous stone towers. Neptune did not possess such agility, but his weapon fulfilled its purpose by embedding itself in the stone of the cliff, thus slowing his descent. As the blue-haired boy's feet landed, he realized that they were not in the upper city now, in fact the machinery, cranes and wagons revealed that they were in some mines, again.
Sun was not so lucky. His only option was to grab onto a suspended cable that was lowered down next to him, with the creature chasing him from above, digging its claws into the cavern walls to avoid a nasty fall. The entire internal structure shook as a result of such a chase, but before the length of that chain was exhausted, Neptune shot the lever of a crane, which retracted the cable and lifted Sun above the dragon, avoiding being swallowed at the last second.
The dragon had no intention of letting the blond escape, and would have released a flame if a red stain had not fallen from above. The object entered its mouth, which confused the beast a little, but that feeling of strangeness was soon replaced by pain when a kind of stinger began to pierce and cut its tongue. Black blood began to spill from between its teeth like small waterfalls, the strength of that vermin was greater than its size seemed to indicate and it was impossible for the red-eyed aberration to close its jaws. But it finally managed to ascend to the same area where the other three had grouped together, and with a last effort it spits the parasite out of its mouth.
"Daegred! Are you okay? Man, that was stupid even for me!" Sun tried to help his partner up but the elf pushed him aside with his metal hand, the Prince of the Noldor didn't need help.
"I told you to get out of here!"
"It's not our fault! This moron caught that thing's attention!" Mercury faced the redhead as much as their height difference allowed. Neptune, even though he didn't like it, had to agree with him.
"That and we don't know where the exit is…"
"There are no exits anymore, look around you" they were trapped, on one side the cliff rose above their backs, multiple stone steps where the abandoned machinery that the dwarves once used to mine the mountain rested. What exactly were they mining? Well, that doubt was answered when the dragon's tail hit the ground hard, causing a tremor that was felt even at the top, where Jaune stumbled, falling and delaying his team for another half hour.
The vibrations of the ground traveled through the earth, to the walls where the crystals reacted, emanating a scarlet glow over the inner darkness of the cavern. There was no longer a need for night vision or special glasses, the beast no longer needed to vomit fire. Neptune whistled as more and more crystals shone through the mine.
"This is a lot of dust."
The beast, with a final effort, forced the short sword from its throat, and it spun in the air like a blue disk of death, a disk that the elf caught with a silver hand. With that last nuisance gone, the dragon roared at the top of its lungs. Such an explosion of sound pushed the teenagers and the elf back, but Daegred thought quickly and aimed his arm upwards, firing a bullet of Dust that exploded into a spectacle of fiery flashes when it hit the wall.
Seeing the collapse looming from above, the dragon wasted no time and pounced on the Team with the intention of finishing them off. It was useless, because Neptune and Daegred fired two ice blasts at the ground causing the creature to slip on that surface. Such a falling beast shook the ground, but neither wasted time, two slid under the grimm and two jumped on it. The elf cleanly cut the tendons of the right wing, causing the attempt to get up to fail. The blue-haired young man's guandao performed the same action but with the creature's left heel. With its wing and leg disabled, the dragon began to spin like a crocodile in a desperate attempt to defend itself. That also turned out to be a mistake, making use of the obsolete mining equipment, Sun took one of the crane cables and forcefully embedded the hook into the Grimm's scaly skin.
It was then that the rocks began to fall on the dragon's body, hundreds of tons at high speeds impacted on its scales breaking bones and cutting flesh with disgusting sounds. Angry, wrathful and wrapped in a fury like no other grimm had ever experienced, he began to feed the fire of his hatred within his chest that lit up with destructive flames.
However, the team had foreseen that, using the crane chain, the golden clones of the blond faunus wrapped and closed the dragon's jaws, however that would not last long on its own. Sun summoned other clones, and together with Neptune they pulled on the cable fighting with all their strength not to let the creature's jaws open.
The redhead wouldn't waste his companions' gift, running towards the cliff, he unsheathed Foe Hammer, the elven sword descending, cutting cleanly on one of the enormous Red Dust crystals, so large that they were better compared to the dimensions of a train. The cut wasn't straight, but deviated diagonally forming a sharp point at the lower end. Daegred carried the crystal over his head, flexed his legs and threw it upwards.
On its own it hadn't done much except explode once it hit the ground, fortunately Mercury didn't run away from the fight. From a corner of the cavern, the grey-eyed young man jumped propelled by his boots, spun in mid-air landing with his feet on the surface of the crystal, flexed both legs and pulled the a bullet from an anti-aircraft cannon, it hit the dragon's neck, piercing the area where its lips were still soft. The flames coming from the throat plus the force of the impulse did the rest, detonating the charge inside the beast that didn't even have the chance to scream.
It was an unpleasant sight, although Sun in the not too distant future would say it was epic. The dragon's neck swelled disproportionately with red bubbles forming on the skin which extended to the area of the back. The bones of its head were torn apart as the flesh inflated like a balloon, the few remaining eyes burst into stinging vapors, and finally the metal rope that sealed its mouth gave way, but it was too late for that thing.
With a roar comparable to a million thunderclaps in the night, a cloud of smoke rose from the east side of the mountain. Half of that enormous rock formation collapsed like a waterfall of rocks that crashed into the nearby forest, sinking trees, hills, and rivers. Such a disaster was perceived by the inhabitants of the city of Vale who felt the ground shake and the glass of their windows break slightly once they were hit by the shock wave.
The Emerald Forest lost half of its leaves, the Beacon tower shook violently, scaring the black birds that rested on its top, the worst of all that small cataclysm was that Jaune fell again off the same cliff. That afternoon, the mountain lost half of its mass, revealing its hollowed interior that in the following years would be the subject of study for archaeologists. But right now the only thing on the minds of the four idiots was to enjoy the sunlight after so much time in the shadows.
"I never thought I would miss the sun so much!" Sun exclaimed as he extended his arms welcoming the celestial object with joy.
"It's a little cold." Neptune hugged himself as his body trembled.
"Is that what worries you? Really?" Mercury sighed as he laid down on the ground against a rock, his legs now exposed to the world, revealing his metallic nature. He was tired, they all were, but as he allowed himself to breathe he noticed how the enigmatic redhead looked towards the horizon.
"And your pretty boy? What do you think now?".
"Ruby and the rest have stopped to wait for the other group, they will arrive here in a few minutes."
"Shit! Do you think Ozpin could hurry up!?" The blue-haired boy began to search the clouds for an aircraft that would save them from that situation. Even Mercury and Sun were worried about the arrival of their future classmates. Seeing those children act so nervous made Nelyafinwe let out a light laugh, he would never understand the minds of men, but he supposed that now he had a good excuse to go shopping with Amber.
While he thought about what kind of clothes the prince of the elves could buy, he enjoyed the fresh breeze hitting his skin.
Mae Govannen Eruhini~✨
Salutations!~✨
This is without a doubt the most difficult chapter to write in my entire non-existent writing career. There were many instances where I wanted to end it or give up, but here it is. It's not perfect, in fact I'd say it's disappointing in many ways, so don't be shy about throwing your hate at my stupid creative decisions. Anyway, the first part is almost over, after this there will be a change of pace as I will return to university and resume my studies, I may only publish one chapter a month. I'll try to post the next chapters soon, but I'm not making any promises about a steady pace.
All reviews and criticisms are welcome.
Namárië!~✨