Alex was just your typical 16-year-old high schooler who wanted nothing more than a simple, carefree life. He cherished his friends and family, and quietly harbored feelings for his crush.
Life followed its usual, comfortable routine: hanging out with his best friend, playing sports with classmates, losing every chess game to his crush, and sharing meals with his family. What more could he ask for?
What defines happiness? Money? Fame? Power? Love? For Alex, the answer was simply a life of love and ease. He had never known the taste of true suffering.
One day, on a bright August morning, Alex went hiking with his entire class, along with his younger brother Ethan and his best friend Kyle.
Ethan was an extra load the principal gave special permission to join, only because he was the top student in his class. What the principal didn't know was that Ethan was an extremely vigorous kid.
It hadn't even been five minutes before Kyle and Ethan were racing each other. Alex tried to stop them, but knowing them too well, he just had to keep up with their pace, that was all he could do at the moment.
All three of them ended up deep in the forest, far up the mountain. The two energetic knuckleheads were lying on top of a rock, completely at ease.
"This isn't that soothing of a life, now that I really think about it," Alex murmured, bending to his knees, out of breath and irritated.
Kyle quickly stood up. "So, where are we?" he asked calmly, as if it wasn't a big deal.
"Thanks to you two idiots, we're lost," Alex said, glancing around at the unfamiliar surroundings. They were extremely far from camp.
"It's fine. I have the offline gps downloaded on my phone," Ethan said confidently.
"Alright then, let's get back to the camp before the teacher notic-"
Before Alex could finish, the clouds suddenly began to darken at an alarming speed.
"This is bad," Ethan said, his tone worried.
"Thanks to you," Alex snapped, smacking Ethan on the head.
"Ow! That hurts, brother!" Ethan whimpered as a huge bump formed on his head.
The wind began to howl. Raindrops hit the ground. The sky grew even darker with the looming storm.
They began walking cautiously for half an hour until they finally saw a glimpse of the camp.
Ecstatic, Ethan started running toward it. Anxious, Alex shouted for him to stop, they were still high on the mountain, and one wrong step could end it all.
Suddenly, a strong wind swept past them. Alex grabbed onto a rock to avoid being blown away. Ethan clung tightly to a nearby tree, eyes shut, refusing to let go. Kyle reached for an old branch, but it snapped under his grip.
Alex's heart sank as he saw Kyle fall.
He couldn't move. If he left his spot, the wind would take him too. Desperately, he grabbed the rope from his waist and flung it toward Kyle, who was sliding down the rocky slope.
Kyle reached for the rope, but it was just out of reach. He missed and disappeared over the cliff's edge.
Before coming here, Alex had prepared everything, safety gear for all three of them, checked the weather multiple times. It was supposed to be 100% sunny. So why? Why was this misfortune happening?
His whole life, Alex had lived on calculations. That's how he'd dodged every catastrophe, every surprise, every bad outcome, even this time.
"Less than seven people have died in Nianra Forest in the last decade," his research said. "There are no dangerous wild animals in Nianra."
"Stay safe from huntsman spiders though."
Those were the only real threats he had to worry about. His room had been filled with newspapers, all for this trip.
The wind finally calmed.
Snapping out of the flashback, Alex rushed toward the cliff's edge with desperate eyes.
Luckily, Kyle was still alive, barely. He was clinging to a tree below the cliff.
Relieved, Alex let out a smile, as he took out the rope from his bag pack. At least my efforts weren't for nothing. This rope came in handy after all.
But the tree was starting to give way under Kyle's weight.
Ethan was rushing toward them to help, but Alex, with a serious face, shouted for him to stay back. The wind was still unpredictable, and where Ethan stood, there were no trees or rocks to hold onto.
I may not look strong, but I've always hidden my natural strength. I can easily pull Kyle up by myself. Alex oddly looked proud of himself.
His hands shook with pain as he pulled Kyle up. Just as he reached the top, another massive gust of wind swept both of them off their feet.
Ethan, horrified, ran toward them as they fell. Alex shouted, "Ethan! Don't come near! Call the rescue team!"
He knew this was it. There was no saving them at that point, but at least he'd kept Ethan from acting on impulse.
"We're going to die!!!" Kyle screamed so loud it hurt Alex's ears.
"Shut up! Let me die in peace!" Alex yelled back.
"WHAT?! What die?! I'm not dying!!!" Kyle shouted again, louder than before.
"Neither do I…" Alex said, tears welling up in his eyes for the first time.
Kyle saw Alex's trembling expression, he looked like he was about to break. His own terror doubled. He stared blankly at the sky, eyes wide with horror.
Beyond the cliff, there was nothing but darkness.
Suddenly, Kyle vanished. He was no longer visible in that darkness.
Fifteen minutes passed, and Alex was still falling, with no sign of stopping.
Mount Gura? I've never heard of it being this tall. And why am I still alive?
Then, in an instant, Alex crash-landed in a field of ashes, layers upon layers of volcanic ash that had piled up over time.
Coughing and covered in dust, he slowly stood up.
What he saw next made his eyes widen in disbelief.
The entire landscape was an ominous shade of dark red. Towering before him was a volcano so massive its peak disappeared into the clouds above. It stretched so far across the land, it must have been three to four kilometers wide, maybe more.
The sky was pitch black, and the moon hung above like a blood-red omen.
But what truly shook him to the core… was the presence of something that made his heart tremble in fear.
A massive red dragon was flying across the sky, against the crimson moon. Its bloody golden eyes were staring straight at Alex, as if piercing into his very soul.