I could still feel the echo of the last trial clinging to me as Jasmine and I left the mountain of madness behind. My legs trembled with exhaustion, though I tried not to let it show. The thirteenth mountain had nearly broken me; the screams, the confusion, and the way my own mind had seemed to turn against itself. Even now, faint traces of those phantom voices whispered at the back of my head like lingering smoke. I focused on the steady brush of Jasmine’s fur under my hand, grounding myself in her warmth. She had become more than a guide. She was my anchor. Without her, I would have been lost a long time ago.The path leading us down was steep, scattered with loose stones that clattered and rolled beneath my boots. Each sound bounced into the silence around us, reminding me of how fragile my balance really was. I tightened my hold on Jasmine’s harness. “Easy, girl,” I whispered. “One step at a time.” She slowed her pace, as though she understood my weariness.The wind carried the sc
I still carried the grief I felt from the twelfth mountain but the weight was not as intense as it was when I was on the mountain.The thirteenth mountain waited for me like a question I did not yet know how to answer. Each step I took forward seemed to bring with it a strange pull, as though the air itself had begun to fray at the edges. I could not see it, of course, but my skin prickled with the sense that the world here was… unstable. It was too quiet at first, then it became too loud, and was always shifting, never steady. I clung to Jasmine’s touch more than I wanted to admit. She had been my anchor through every trial, and I had learned by now that when her body stiffened, danger was near, and when she leaned into me, it was her way of reminding me not to lose myself.The ground beneath my boots felt uneven, as if it sloped one way and then another, even though I walked straight. My cane scraped along the path, finding dips and stones that should not have been there, but the m
The twelfth mountain waited like a shadow of sorrow itself. Its slopes were not steep, nor were its ridges sharp, but something in the air of that came from exhaustion of the body. No, this was the kind that settled inside the ribs, a weight that belonged to memory more than to the climbing of the mountains.Jasmine whined softly as her paws padded against the rocky path. Even she could feel it. Her usual steady tug on the harness slowed, her ears twitching, as though she knew that what lay ahead was not stone or storm, but something deeper, something old.I tightened my fingers on the strap of her harness. “It’s alright, girl,” I whispered, though my voice betrayed me with a tremor. It wasn’t really her I was trying to comfort. It was me.As I climbed, I noticed an unexpected silence. The silence was so thick that it pressed against my ears, as though the world had been muffled. My cane touched rock, dirt, and loose gravel, but the sounds seemed swallowed before they could echo.I ha
It felt beautiful surviving the ordeal from the tenth mountain. I thought I wouldn't survive it but I did. I was on a mission, I wouldn't allow anything to hinder me no matter how difficult it seemed.The eleventh mountain felt heavier before I even reached its base.Each step was slower, weighted not only by the climb but by the memories of all I had already endured. My body ached, my breath dragged in uneven bursts, and yet there was something deeper gnawing at me; something hollow, pulling at the center of my chest like I was already missing something I hadn’t even lost yet.Jasmine padded steadily beside me, her paws brushing against loose stones, her breathing calm even when mine wasn’t. Every time I faltered, her shoulder pressed against my leg, firm and reassuring, like a hand guiding me forward. I leaned into her warmth because I needed it now more than ever.The air grew colder the higher we went. It was not the sharp, biting cold like snow or frost, but a chilling emptiness
I breathed a sigh of relief as I left the ninth mountain and approached the tenth. I had eleven more mountains to face. The thought of reaching the twenty-first mountain filled me with hope and courage to keep journeying.When we got to the tenth mountain, I could feel it in the way the wind shifted. Jasmine padded carefully at my side, her breathing calm but sharper than usual, and I knew she sensed it too. Each mountain we had climbed carried its own presence, its own spirit, but this one… this one was alive in a way that felt uncontainable.My cane tapped against the stone as we moved, guiding my steps, while Jasmine’s warm body brushed lightly against my leg whenever the path narrowed. Though I couldn’t see, I felt the mountain stretching upward into the sky, higher and wilder than the others before it. The air itself was thinner, and with every inhale, my chest had to work harder, as though even breathing demanded endurance here.Thunder rumbled above us. It sounded distant, at f
My encounter with Nyxara left me broken. I suddenly began to miss my loved ones and wished once again that I could be with them but I knew it wasn't possible at the moment. I was on a mission and I had to fulfill it. The destiny of Riverside pack rested on my shoulders and I knew I couldn't fail. I continued my journey towards the ninth mountain. The air thinned as Jasmine and I trudged toward the ninth mountain. My lungs worked harder with every step, but it wasn’t only the climb that made my chest heavy. Something else lingered here, a weight I couldn’t shake. I could sense betrayal nearby. It was in the soil, in the still wind, in the silence that refused to break.The path beneath my feet was jagged, stones shifting loose under my boots. Jasmine’s steady presence at my side kept me balanced. She brushed her fur against my calf every so often, reminding me that I wasn’t alone. Her warm breaths puffed against my hand whenever I stumbled.Still blind, still walking into unknown tria