Franz continued to run.
As he ran he finally realized something major: he was not in his body!
I don't know why I didn't realize earlier, but in this dream I'm someone else! Hmm… I think I'm a kid. Woah, that's so trippy.
Glancing around, Franz slowed down and came to a complete stop. He had been running for about an hour now but was somehow not tired at all. For now, he pushed that matter aside and focused on his body.
It was a fairly large body for a teenager. If he had to estimate, he was about 5'11", just shorter than Franz's normal body. Past the height, Franz could also tell the Peus boy was really muscular.
The body's hair was brunette, pretty long, and tangly, reaching down to the shoulders and feeling like it was never brushed. Finally, Franz quickly gleaned that the Peus boy was well endowed down there too.
Sighing, Franz tried to place where he was compared to his new memories. After a couple of seconds, he turned to look at a mountain some miles away and started toward it.
I have nothing to do while I run, I guess I should try to understand what's happening around me…
If there is any place to start, it should be the being that was summoned by the man to help me. It looked like a semi-real gargoyle and listened to my commands. It sounds like some sort of spirit. So is that man a spirit summoner or something? Well, that's interesting.
The next thing is that horrible aura. I don't know what or who that was, but I can bet it came from the wolves. They seemed to be attacking the village and the humans were fighting back. Based on how nervous the people were and the ruthlessness of the wolves, they are probably the dominating species around here.
Finally it's this body. Besides just being a teenager it's also the strength I can feel. I feel more physically nimble and powerful than I ever was in my past life. Hehe, how old must I have been for this random kid to be stronger than a special forces vet. Tsk tsk…
Suddenly, Franz stopped in his tracks once again. Without hesitation, he raised his right hand and slapped his face as hard as possible. The pain was really bad and the stinging was just as unpleasant.
Franz didn't stop there however. He slapped himself a couple more times in quick succession before finally stopping and continuing to run. His previous calm expression had now been replaced with a deep frown.
That pain was really bad. Am I really in a dream..?
…
After another hour or so, Franz had finally come to the foot of the mountain he was looking for. It was a steep Irish looking mountain, just without any greenery.
Not being a big hiking fan, Franz could not accurately tell how safe of a climb the mountain was. Sure, it was made of rocks, but Franz obviously knew that different rocks held weight differently.
Damn… Do I really have to climb that?
The closer Franz came to the mountain, the steeper it looked. In his memories, Peus had come up the mountain with another one of those beings from before. But now, Franz was facing essentially a flat stone slab with the cave being toward the top.
Quickly realizing he had no other option but to climb, Franz started to stretch. Having a background in both the military and physiology, he knew that without a warm up a human's strength can decrease as much as 15% in the beginning.
After a couple of minutes, Franz got down to the ground and started to do pushups. It was his personal rule to always do as many pushups as possible right before starting physical activity. If he remembered correctly, his current record was 142 consecutive pushups.
1… 2… 3… 4… 8… 10… 20… 50… 80… 100… 130… 160… 180… 190… 230… 300… 400… 600… 1357 Holy fuck!
Did this teenage body just perform 1357 fucking pushups!? What the hell is going on!?
Franz rolled over and collapsed onto his back, staring at the still completely dark sky. At some point in time, the hazy night sky had become pure darkness, something Franz just choked up to the weird environment of the village not extending to where he was currently at.
The cold rocks under him weren't comfortable, but they permeated a nice feeling through Franz's burning body. For a few moments, he simply lay there, listening to his heartbeat hammer against his ribs. The mountain loomed in his peripheral vision, silent and unmoved, as if it had been patiently waiting for him to stop fooling around and get to finding the mysterious and illusive "Cave of Lineage".
Franz slowly sat up, wiping sweat from his forehead. His gaze traced the near-vertical stone face all the way to the distant cave opening at the top. It looked less like a path and more like a judgment.
He exhaled.
Hehe, how funny. He who climbs the ladder must begin at the bottom. How applicable to my situation…
He stood, rolling his shoulders, testing his fingers, feeling strength return little by little. Then he smirked faintly.
"Whoo baby. Let's see if this body can handle a solid climb!"
Franz clapped a couple times and placed his palms against the cold stone. Glancing around him one last time, he pulled himself up and started to climb.
…
Franz's fingers scraped over the final ridge of stone.
With a final grunt, he pulled himself up and over the stone, nearly completely exhausted. Finally, he rolled over and was lying on solid ground. After a nearly 800 meter climb taking nearly 4 hours, it was finally over. He was now given the privilege to lay for a little and rest his tired mind and body.
Hehehe, if I wasn't a genius I would have definitely failed that. Good for me I am a genius then!
Having long estimated the amount he would have to climb, Franz strategically planned out small breaks in between. It would be in poor faith to believe he who had perfect memory and great maths skills would fail to ballpark the height of a cliff.
Lying for a couple minutes longer, Franz opened his eyes with a new determination in them. During the climb, he had accepted that he was in no dream. Afterall, what rational person would believe they were in a dream after experiencing such vivid feelings.
A mountain changes a man not by conquering him, but by revealing him. I used to think that Kokou no Hito was just some rubbish and didn't know what it was talking about, but I guess I was wrong. How more perfectly can a line encapture how it feels to be on a mountain than that?
Franz slowly pushed himself to his feet, joints cracking softly as strength returned to his limbs. The wind brushed past him, carrying the cold breath of the mountain. He lifted his head.
The mouth of the cave stood before him.
Just as Peus remembered, it looked like a thick knife cut into the stone. This clean and unnatural hole emanated an incredibly cold aura. If it wasn't for the magical resistance that Franz now had to the cold, he would have been shivering.
Franz exhaled and clapped his hands together a couple of times.
He stepped forward.
The moment he crossed the threshold, the air changed. The cold feeling disappeared and was instead replaced by a feeling of calmness and peace. Even still, Franz could swear he saw the darkness become deeper and slither all around him. If he had light, he would have bet the darkness would've attacked him. Yet his footsteps still echoed faintly as he walked deeper, the outside world disappearing behind him.
After several dozen meters, a dim glow began to reflect against the cave walls.
Franz slowed.
Ahead of him stood a massive door.
It was forged from a strange blend of gold and bronze, its surface etched with intricate runes, symbols, and drawing. It was all decked off with a massive skull, sword, and wings in the middle. Protruding from the mouth of the skull was a small bowl looking thing.
Uhuh, so this is the Cave of Lineage. What a lovely sight. Clearly though, with no handle there's supposed to be some special method of entry to this place. Hmm…
"How do I open this thing?"
Just like the flying being, something told Franz to call out his want. Franz didn't complain though. Whatever this supernatural feeling was, it was clearly helping him. After a couple seconds, a bass voice responded.
"If you are of the true Lineage, pour your blood."
Franz nodded and rubbed chin at this. Hmm, yes that makes sense. How else can you open a door meant for a special lineage besides using blood magic?
Franz inhaled slowly, then exhaled just as deliberately.
Alrighty. Lets see if I am of "The LIneage" and the man from before wasn't just sending me to my death.
He clenched his jaw and brought his hand to his mouth. Without hesitation, he bit down hard. Pain flared, sharp and clean. Blood welled instantly, warm and vivid against his pale skin.
He didn't flinch.
Franz stepped closer to the door and let his blood drip into the small bowl beneath the skull. The crimson liquid pooled inside it, rippling faintly as if the metal itself were alive.
For a moment… nothing happened.
Then the bowl glowed.
The eyes in the skull lit up, the tip of the sword shown, and the wings were set ablaze. Clearly, the blood of Peus worked.
A new voice echoed through the chamber - not the bass one from before but a lighter voice.
"Welcome, the one of true Lineage."
With a deep, resonant rumble, the massive door began to move. Stone groaned. Metal slid. The solid looking slab moved into the wall and out of sight.
As the opening widened, a warm gust of air rushed out and washed over Franz, carrying a scent unlike anything he had ever known — old earth, distant fire, and something faintly… familiar.
The doors fully opened.
And the Cave of Lineage finally welcomed him inside.