Petra wandered around the Silver Song Forest for the next few days.
She was in no rush to climb the mountain.
It was unlikely that she would ever come back to Lions Tail Island, so she decided to take her time and collect as many of the 'local specialties' as possible.
Whenever she came across something interesting, for example, the rhythm moss, crystal note grass, echo stones, or even one of the strange chiming insects that lived in the shallow soil, she collected them carefully. She bottled what she could, pressed flora into rune paper, drew blood when necessary, and filled her satchel until it basically bulged at the seams.
When her bag became too heavy, she would call down a 'helper' from the clouds above. Not the big ones, those were far too loud and irritating, and… they also seemed to be very self-conscious.
No no no, she used a smaller one, a simple flying ant.
They would land quietly, take her supplies, and fly back into the clouds without a sound, quickly returning to the Tower Spider a few hours later.
It was a simple system, walk, collect, store, and repeat. For Petra, this kind of quiet, repetitive task was very comforting. It was for that very reason that she did it no matter where she went, even when the world was crumbling around her.
-
After a few more days, when there was nothing left to pick up, Petra finally decided it was time to approach the mountain.
There were a few reasons for this.
First, she had already scattered her ants across the western region. They monitored, scouted, and quietly reported everything back to her, anything that she wanted to know. Because of this, she knew that a wave of chaos was approaching her next destination.
Second, the situation with the United Army had finally begun to shift.
Kilemin had found a way to move the refugees safely through an underground mountain pass left behind by the Black Dwarves. Their old tunnels were famous, yet notoriously difficult to find, since they were dug far deeper than anything a normal Dwarf could do.
The area around Harnlum had been mostly stabilized, and the United Army had already begun advancing deeper into the West, toward the City of Darkwell. With the majority of the population within the Grey Plains and Black Forest already evacuated, it was time to sweep the land closer to the Corrupted World Tree.
Arthur, on the other hand, had gathered a small team to explore the Red Rise Mountain. His foresight must have shown him something valuable, and Petra wasn't about to arrive late to such a party. As for how she knew Arthur had foresight, she had naturally figured it out after taking his eye.
All that aside…
The real reason she wanted to climb the mountain came from something strange her ants had reported to her a few hours ago. Halfway up the mountain's slope, beneath a cluster of collapsed cliffs, they had discovered a stone structure.
A white monolith, something that didn't seem to fit in with the world.
Its surface was too smooth, too precise, almost like something that was built inside a factory. Her ants couldn't get close, their minds would grow cloudy and their connection to the network would fade when they approached. The spiritual energy around the monolith was so dense that it was hard to ignore, but at the same time, it seemed to carry an extremely unusual aura, like an unfinished thought that had been stretched over decades.
Petra wasn't sure what it was, but it managed to catch her attention, and that was enough.
Was there any better reason to do something?
No, there wasn't!
So…
Petra adjusted her cloak, brushed a leaf off her shoulder, and swaggered towards the mountain.
* * *
The path gradually sloped upwards, winding through the forest as the trees became less crowded. The ground was dark and damp at first, but as she ascended, the earth lightened and dried. Before long, the trees had thinned to such an extent that it became difficult to even call it a forest. After she rounded a ridge and crossed a narrow stream, the last of the tree line fell away, opening into a mountain path.
Following the mountain path…
As she walked, Petra quickly noticed that the soil ahead began to brighten.
The vibrant green that lined the sides of the dirt road gradually deepened, darkening step by step, and as the change continued, she soon spotted the first hint of color.
With altitude came heat, and with that heat came crimson fields of red flora.
The green grass shifted into an intense red, the same vibrant red that the Red Rose Mountain was named after.
It was an incredible sight.
The higher she climbed, the more abundant the color became, until the ground was eventually covered in a crimson veil that even began to overtake the road, shimmering faintly under the dark sky. Spots of red and white intertwined, drifting through the flower field. When the wind blew, the world ignited, sending a storm of flickering flames flying in a dance of leaves and life.
Green gave way to red, and the grass seemed to glow with a dim warmth that lingered at her feet.
When the warm wind rising from the red grass met the cold breath drifting down from the blackened sky, the two currents collided. From that clash came a heavy, rolling fog that spilled across the path, clinging to the ground like a red river of clouds.
Warm below, cold above, and somewhere in between, Petra walked, her small feet swallowed by the mountain fog, drowning her ankles.
Time passed.
-
After a pause, she looked up, then continued.
The climb wasn't too difficult.
The terrain was rough, yet she barely felt the incline. Every so often, she would stop, collect a red flower or strange stone, then pack it away before continuing.
By the time she reached her destination, the forest below had vanished completely, replaced by rolling hills of crimson grass and deep pockets of flowing fog.
Petra followed a narrow side trail that wound around the cliff, tracing its curve until she found what she was looking for. Finally, she stood before a cluster of collapsed cliffs.
The moment she stepped closer, she felt it, the dense spiritual energy radiating from the monolith hidden in the distance. At the same time, Petra also seemed to realize the reason why its spiritual energy hadn't leaked out and attracted the treasure hunters.
"…"
Petra stiffly turned her head.
If she could, her cheeks would have turned crimson.
She may have… er, it would seem. Hmmm…
Petra seemed to have walked through some sort of barrier.
She tilted her head cutely, looking at the huge hole her little body had punched through the air. It was a transparent wall, one so thin that it was difficult to even notice. In her mind, she asked, 'Wasn't this a bit too brittle?' Didn't it feel like a piece of paper had more durability than this?
Whose shitty barrier was this?
It's definitely not my fault!
Petra, even after three years in the village and nearly two years running around, still had yet to discover that the same anomaly that made fate incapable of locking onto her, also caused her to be completely immune to barriers.
How can one be 'immune to barriers', you may ask?
Well, they basically don't exist for her, she can just walk right through them like wallpaper.
Suddenly, she heard a call.
"Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa! Hold up - hold up, little girl!" Petra turned her head to the side, and she suddenly noticed a man jogging towards her.
He was dressed in a long white robe with a black inner lining.
He had a young face and a youthful spirit.
If one didn't know him, they might mistake him for the friendly big brother next door.
On his back was the emblem of a white serpent curled into a ring, eating its own tail.
It was 'very fantasy.'
Petra squinted suspiciously at him, an action that caused the man to shiver for some reason.
After inspecting this fellow, her instincts flared up immediately.
Baddie, this guy was definitely a baddie!
The man slowed down when he reached her, breathing heavily despite the distance. He gave her a faint smile, one that didn't quite reach his eyes, no, it was better to say it was an extremely fake smile that reeked of nervousness.
He was so fake!
Then, after a painful silence, he spoke.
"Little one… I'd, I-I'd like to make a deal with you."
Petra's nose twitched.
A deal?
How suspicious!
He was definitely a con-artist, this baddie!
He continued, "You see, that strange stone behind you—" he gestured towards the monolith in the distance, "—isn't something you should touch. I'm willing to offer you something in exchange for leaving it alone, ok…?"
Petra stared.
Petra stared…
Petra stared...
Finally, a small green bubble popped dramatically into existence above her head.
[Why?]
The man didn't respond. He simply sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Let's make this simple. You leave the stone alone, and I'll give you this." At the same time, he mumbled something about 'naughty children need to be coaxed'. He didn't forget to add, "You also can't ask why!"
He reached into his sleeve, rummaged around, then pulled out a small glowing white seed.
Petra's eyes sparkled.
Instantly captivated, she reached out with her tiny hands, ready to immediately agree, until, halfway through the motion, she froze.
Wait…
Something didn't feel right.
Her antennae twitched again and again, almost in a way that indicated that she was thinking.
Her eyes narrowed.
This was a scam! Yeah! It was definitely a scam!
She puffed out her cheeks, glaring up at him.
A new bubble formed, flashing red this time.
[No deal!]
The man reeled back dramatically. "...Then what do you want?" He asked again.
Another bubble appeared, this one pulsing with a demanding light.
[Everything in your left pocket!]
The man blinked, freezing for a moment, then hesitated. "My… left pocket?"
He frowned slightly, not entirely sure what he even had in there. Still, after a long moment of silence, he sighed and nodded. His movements were stiff, deliberate, almost as if humoring a particularly dangerous child.
His identity was special, far above what his current appearance suggested.
If those who knew him could see this, those who knew his tail would be horrified by how quickly he folded under the little ant's childish demands.
He reached into his left pocket, muttering something under his breath, and pulled out… well, junk…
Small trinkets, scraps of parchment, a half-broken compass, a few coins, and what might have once been a wrapped piece of candy.
Petra frowned.
Another bubble appeared.
[Garbage!]
[Trash!]
[Useless!]
The man was berated with a wave of texturized insults.
Even though it was trash…
Petra took it anyways, sweeping the random junk into her tiny satchel, and snatched the shiny seed while she was at it. Then, with a snort that could make any noble proud, she spun on her 'heel' and walked away triumphantly.
The man just stood there, staring at her back as she disappeared towards the mountain road.
After a long silence, he let out a tired sigh.
"Fuck!"
He rubbed his temples, muttering softly to himself, "Why is it her! Why of all people… Even Hummana's Chosen, no, even Hummana himself would have been better than her… Aaaaah~ Fuck! How stressful!"
Then, under his breath…
"Out of all the things in this world that could have shown up… it had to be that little monster!"
"Why am I so unlucky!"
"Wasn't this place supposed to be uneventful! Wasn't it supposed to be 13 years of leisure? Damn it! Now I have to realign everything! Fuck fuck fuck!"
He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and exhaled heavily.
Still… it had worked.
Such a simple trick, and yet it turned her away. "I have to thank 'him' later. If that's all it takes to send her off, then I'll have to open a candy shop in the future!"
He looked over his shoulder towards the monolith.
The runes carved into it pulsed faintly, reflecting in his timeless gaze.
His job was already done, he only needed to protect this place until the time was right.
Frowning, he turned towards the barrier.
This was a sixth-level barrier. And now, there was a huge hole in it. The worst part was that it didn't shatter like it should have…
"What a mess…" The man sighed again.
"It's a good thing that she's so naïve," he murmured, turning back.
Behind him, the red grass swayed in the wind.
-
Petra swaggered away.
She hadn't been able to play with the large stone half-buried underground, but she still walked off with a handful of cool items from a guy who was clearly a future villain.
She sifted through the pocket lint, hoping to find something useful. Sadly, it was all junk. Even the broken compass was an old piece of scrap that didn't work anymore.
As Petra headed back towards the main road, she failed to notice the shadow stretching from her feet. It reached out and quietly plucked something from the shadow of the compass.
A small serpentine shape was pulled out from the compass and dissipated in the wind.
* * *
The remaining journey to the peak of the mountain passed quickly.
Above her stretched an oppressive sky, thick with black clouds that flickered with the occasional flash of lightning. Below her lay an endless slope of red grass and drifting fog.
Petra's cloak fluttered in the wind, as a storm slowly began to billow behind.
She crossed the final ridge.
The summit opened before her, flattening into an uneven plateau, littered with the remnants of old structures that had been abandoned not too long ago.
Blacksteel platforms covered the mountaintop, arranged in staggered layers like the terraces of an old complex. Massive chimneys rose from the stone, thin and tall, some broken, while others still towered over the mountain like artificial spires. A web of walkways connected the platforms, twisting together in an unorganized formation of metal and rusted supports.
The slope beneath the platforms was scarred with the remnants of magitech machinery.
Twisted metal frames jutted from the ground at odd angles, half-melted and fused into the rock, as if the entire structure had once been superheated by some unknown magic or experimental technology. Reinforced walls were carved into the cliffside, and thick exhaust vents protruded outwards.
At the far end of the summit, built directly into the mountain's spine, rose the front face of the main facility. It was tall, rectangular, and unmistakably artificial, rising from the stone like the entrance to a forgotten vault.
Above the dark entrance, the 'Black Lion's' insignia still flickered faintly.
Petra stopped near the edge of the plateau and stared at it for a long time.
This was… the Black Lion's Primary Research Base.
A flicker of greed ignited in her heart.
It was large, far larger than she had anticipated, almost like a mountain-top castle. Even though she could only see its tip, it was still very tempting. Most of the structure had been built downwards, digging into the heart of the mountain below. As for the parts that remained above ground, they were broken and half-collapsed, with faint wisps of spiritual energy still leaking from their runes.
Petra's eyes turned downwards, almost as if she wanted to see through the mountain. Her bloodline was screaming at her, telling her that there was something good down there.
Her suspicion that Arthur had come to Lions Tail Island for some kind of treasure seemed to be confirmed. Her eyes flashed as she made a quick decision.
Just then, her antennae twitched.
Someone was approaching.
Speak of the devil.