Chương 14: Dancing Stars

Kal raised his head as high as the green vegetation allowed him without exposing too much of himself. He only saw part of the demon's arm, resting loosely on the ground; every other part of its body was hidden behind a rock. The arm didn't move even a little, lying completely still. The rumbling noise was still coming from all around him, but it was slowly dying down.

Most of the heavy boulders had settled, but scattered pebbles and debris kept rolling over the wreckage, clattering against bigger stones as they tumbled off the edge. A demon was just a few feet in front of him, while whatever was happening on the peak was somewhere behind him. The demon didn't look as formidable as the first one he'd faced, but that didn't mean much—it was still a demon folk, a member of a noble race.

He had a greater chance of fighting against it now that he had awakened, but he didn't think it was a good idea, nor did he want to. He had yet to become comfortable with his sword and stances. He was much stronger, but he only had full control over his movement when he took things slowly. A fight with the demon wouldn't be slow, and any mistake he made would allow the demon to punish him. Avoiding the demon would be the best option. Kal cursed inwardly, but he couldn't decide on his next step.

He remained on the ground, hoping the demon hadn't seen him and would just retreat down the mountain before he could sneak through. Another loud rumble came from above, sending loose rocks around him rolling in his direction. The ground shook for a moment longer before going still again. The demon's leg shifted behind the rock before settling again. It seemed that even he had the same thoughts. But why was he still there? Perhaps it had seen him and was waiting for Kal to make the first move?

But he didn't feel like making the first move. What if there were more of them somewhere close by? He would just be going into a trap. Time dragged on, the only change was the occasional tremor. The tremors were smaller now, only sending clouds of dust into the air. They filled Kal's mouth, but he managed to hold back his cough. Kal was certain that the noise came from the direction of the Moonweaver's lair. Perhaps the creature was fighting the other entity that the symbols had marked with question marks.

Was that another demon? If so, how strong was it? At least, from the sheer intensity of the fight, his family must have noticed. He was sure of it. Enough time had already passed, and if his guess about the tremors he'd felt in the cave was right, his father was already on the mountain, or close. His father would never allow a demon incursion to go unpunished. But then again, the Moonweaver had said that the pact had been broken. Perhaps it was more serious this time, but what did that mean?

He wasn't sure what would happen, but at least he was certain that he didn't need to go all the way down the mountain to safety. All he had to do was meet the men who were probably already fighting against the demons. Perhaps he could have stayed there until they ascended the mountain and wiped out the demon folk. But he was pretty certain that the fight between the Moonweaver and the other entity would not allow him to stay put. Ten more minutes. That was the most he would give the demon to make the first move.

If he didn't, then Kal would have to. He didn't want to run from another rockslide that was capable of crushing him like an ant. The minutes trickled by slowly. Kal kept one hand on the hilt of his sword, though the position was becoming increasingly uncomfortable. His legs twitched impatiently. He hated waiting with the feeling of certain doom behind him. He glanced occasionally to see if the demon had moved, but it hadn't. It was much calmer than Kal, or perhaps… it was frozen? It couldn't be.

A Noble Race wouldn't be as scared of a human, even if it was a newly awakened one. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Three more rumbles shook the mountain while he waited. A few more rocks had hit his body, but they weren't fast or big enough to hurt him. They were just annoying. A bright light erupted from above, blinding him again. He closed his eyes, while his hands already moved into position to push himself to his feet.

As his eyes adjusted to the sudden light, everything fell silent. There was no eruption, quake, or anything at all. Just silence as everything had fallen still. Kal had a bad feeling about it. He felt like he needed to run as fast as he could. Every instinct in his body screamed. He glanced toward the top of the mountain, from where the first light had come. A giant beam of light blotted out the sun as it lit the ground around him, the third peak disappearing within it.

The brightness was dimming at a noticeable speed. Within moments, a darker shade wrapped around it, blotting out most of the light. Everything around Kal turned darker, as if the sun had set in moments. Inside the… he wasn't sure what he was looking at, but whatever it was, dots fell silently toward the ground… like snowflakes. Just looking at the flakes made all the hairs on his body stand on end. It felt extremely dangerous. It was mana, just like the ones he'd seen in the cave.

Could he see all that because of the reward he'd gotten? Mana Sense? Kal didn't know how much time he had, so he shot to his feet. The demon in front of him did the same. A moment passed as they stared at each other. The demon was much leaner, with carapace covering only its shoulders and abdomen. Only one very small horn protruded from its temple. It only lasted for a few moments before Kal took off running as fast as he could.

The demon didn't pay him any attention as it, too, turned and started running like its life depended on it. Kal caught up to the demon in seconds before speeding right past it. He didn't pay it any attention, as time was running out fast. After covering enough distance, he allowed himself to glance back. The snow… mana was coalescing in a single spot. It grew brighter as well, and from the little glance he was sure he didn't have much time. It was falling even faster now.

Its colors began changing, from light colors—blues, greens, yellows—to darker ones—dark greys, dark blues, and dozens more. There were too many for him to even identify It was beautiful. Kal would have probably stopped and watched if he didn't know it was going to cost him his life. He continued running like crazy. The demon had managed to increase its speed and was just a few steps behind him. The demon, too, seemed like it could sense what was happening on the mountain.

The road took a sharp descent, leading downward. Kal had to slow down slightly as his legs started crossing over each other. The sudden drop almost made him stumble, but he quickly recovered. The further he ran, the more the road was filled with obstacles. Uprooted trees, giant boulders, and hundreds of smaller obstacles. There were too many of them; a single wrong step would send him face-first into the ground. Without any warning, everything turned white. The pressure in the air grew, and he felt his ears pop.

He could feel every single hair on his body. It was a surreal feeling, but at the same time, he felt like there was a knife against his neck that was going to cut him at any moment. Just like the light had appeared, in the next moment it was gone. A black shadow enveloped everything around him. Kal could barely see anything as his eyes were still seeing afterimages of the light. He only saw the black shadow descend on the edge of his vision.

Before anything else could happen, Kal threw himself onto the ground, closer to the edge of the mountain, and wrapped his hands around the closest tree. He heard another crash on the ground just behind him. The demon had done the same. Kal closed his eyes and tightened his grip around the tree, waiting for the impact. The seconds slowly passed, but nothing ever happened. He wanted to turn and see what was happening, but didn't.

Some time later, he heard a grunt behind him and slowly turned, opening his eyes at the last moment. The demon was holding onto the tree behind him, his head turned, and was watching the light. The sensation of danger was gone, and where the third peak should have been, an enormous pillar of light rose high in the air. Though this time it was… contained?

Kal wasn't sure what was happening, but he was certain that the danger he'd felt was happening, yet it was somehow contained in one place, inside the pillar of light warped in a cloak of darkness. Dozens of different colors danced inside the containment, and explosions rang out everywhere within it. But it wasn't harmful. The only thing he felt was a slight vibration in the ground. The best way he could describe the phenomenon was… like stars dancing. Was this what magic was capable of?

He was certain it was magic, as nothing else could cause a phenomenon so magnificent and dangerous. The demon turned around, and they made eye contact. It twitched before its hands moved behind its back, reaching for the daggers Kal had seen earlier. Kal's hand closed around the hilt of his sword. His eyes continued wandering toward the magic in the sky. It was much more fascinating than the demon.