A few minutes after we left, I understood just how insane it was that Kia had managed to find me at all. The cave was a nightmare to navigate. The ground was uneven and unstable, which was especially worrisome given the many pitfalls scattered around. Jagged rocks were everywhere, and the huge stalagmites and stalactites kept forcing us to change course. At this point, I was wondering if the cave itself was trying to kill us. Even the tiniest rock looked sharp enough to cut my skin if I wasn’t careful enough. And despite all of that, Kia managed to reach me without a scratch. Considering that and her physique, she must be used to harsh environments like this.

According to her, we were inside a mountain called Sharp Peak. Long ago, it had been a highly active volcano, although it had remained dormant for centuries now. Back then, every eruption was seen as a bad omen. They believed that the spirits of the gods that once lived on this planet were punishing them. So to appease them, they brought all kinds of offerings and valuables deep into the mountain. And yes, you read that correctly. From what Kia told me, I had somehow ended up in a different world called Fira. As ridiculous as it sounded, I had no way of disproving her claim. And given all the other weird things that had happened to me, there was a reasonable chance she was speaking the truth. But that’s beside the point. In the meantime, I told her that I was from a planet called Earth and that I’d lived a pretty normal life there, until I got possessed and ended up killing myself. She looked a bit more skeptical this time, which, honestly, I couldn’t blame her for. Even so, she decided to believe me.

We kept on trailing through the mountain, but were making little progress. Dead ends forced us to turn around again and again. Even Kia didn’t seem entirely sure where she was going.

“Are we lost?”

She hesitated.

“I must confess that my navigating skills are not outstanding,” followed by an oddly long pause.

“Nevertheless, I am sure we will reach the exit soon enough.”

I nodded, thinking:

“So we are lost.”

…

After wandering around aimlessly for a while, we finally found a path that seemed to lead somewhere. A faint light shone through a large crack at the end of the cave. Kia handed me her torch before squeezing through the narrow gap. For a moment, all I could hear was silence. Then I heard her voice from the other side.

“It is safe.”

Once I was sure I wasn’t walking into some kind of death trap, I followed after her. When I arrived on the other side, my body froze. We were standing on a small plateau sticking out of the side of the mountain, with far below us a large town sitting near the mountain’s base. Thousands of lights illuminated the place, making it seem like every building was made out of gold. A colossal stone wall encircled the settlement, though my focus was drawn towards something else. At the center of this town stood a giant castle. It was so huge that I could barely see what was behind it.

“Welcome to Fira! What you see in front of you is my hometown, Gehenna, and the capital of the Kingdom of Elysium.”

“It’s… beautiful.”

This sight left me completely speechless.

“Gehenna is often referred to as The Town of Gold,” she added. “I imagine you can see why.”

It was one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen. Although some of Japan’s largest cities were well known for their amazing architecture, they paled in comparison to what I saw right now. It even struck a chord in me. Perhaps because I realised that the things I once took for granted… had suddenly become very precious to me.

“What is the matter, Shako?”

Kia noticed the sad look on my face and decided to ask about it.

“I… I still can’t believe that I’m dead. Why did it have to be me? Why?”

I clenched my hands in frustration. Why did I have to die? What had I done to deserve such a fate? Was there anything I could’ve done to avoid it? Frustration. Anger. Sadness. All the despair that I kept buried inside of me until now came bursting out all at once. I couldn’t contain it any more. Before I realised it, Kia grabbed my hand and gently squeezed it.

“I cannot answer those questions for you.”

I lowered my head.

“And if I may be frank, I do not think anyone can give you an answer that will make you hurt less.”

Her grip tightened slightly.

“However, blaming yourself will not change anything. Neither will asking what you could have done differently.”

She paused. It sounded like she was speaking from experience, but maybe I was just imagining it.

“What happened to you was unfair, but know this: you did not deserve it.”

Then she offered me a small smile.

“And right now, you are not alone. So stop trying to carry all of that by yourself, okay?”

I looked up at her. With the sunlight beaming behind her, flowing over her snow-white hair and tanned skin, she looked almost angelic. She was so gorgeous, for a moment I completely stopped breathing. I couldn’t help but think to myself, “Maybe I found an angel after all.” My heart began racing and my face became quite hot.

“Is something the matter,” she asked curiously.

“N-No! It’s nothing! Shall we go now?”

Embarrassed, I turned around and returned to the crack in the wall.

…

The deeper we went into the mountain, the easier the terrain became to navigate. The rugged rocky grounds changed into firm dirt paths, while our encounters with pitfalls grew less as well. Kia also appeared more certain of where she was going, which was a huge relief. It felt like we were finally making some good progress. Even so, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was… wrong. Apart from our footsteps and the crackling of the torch in Kia’s hand, the caves were eerily quiet. As if Sharp Peak itself was holding its breath. It was the kind of silence that made me think something was waiting for us just out of sight. That kind of suspense you feel just before getting jumpscared. And judging by Kia’s expression, I wasn’t the only one who felt this way. We eventually arrived at a large grotto with a big open space in the middle. Kia started scanning her surroundings, as if to make sure that everything was alright.

“Kia, is something wro—”

She raised her hand. Almost instantly, a loud roar echoed from deep within the cave. It was a deafening, bone-chilling roar, unlike anything I’d ever heard before. The ground trembled heavily underneath our feet. The ceiling shook as it rained us with dust. The walls quivered like they were about to fall apart. I was scared stiff, unable to move even a single step.

“What was that?” I whispered.

Slowly, from the darkness in front of us, a giant beast appeared. Its legs were far shorter than its tall and brawny arms. Black fur covered its entire body, while its head resembled that of a canine’s skull with antlers attached to it. Its yellow, beady eyes darted through the room before they locked onto us.

“Here, take this.”

Kia handed me the torch and drew her sword. What happened next left me completely speechless. As she held the sword in front of her, large colourful flames bursted from its hilt and swallowed the blade. Their heat was immense, but Kia didn’t seem to be bothered by it. She changed her stance, took a deep breath, and dashed towards the beast. In response, the monster threw its head back and spat a glob of green saliva at her. She leaped to the side, narrowingly avoiding it. The glob splattered on the ground she stood a second ago, instantly melting the stone. But before she had time to recover, the monster slammed one of its giant claws down toward her. She jumped backwards, but was flung high into the air as the attack shattered and raised the ground underneath her. Now, floating helplessly in the air, the beast spat another glob right at her. There was no way for her to dodge it in time and for a moment my heart sank to my feet.

“KIA!!!”

She swung her sword at the glob. The moment her blade made contact with it, the flames crawled around the green liquid and evaporated it. Her blade was extinguished, but was reignited a few seconds later. She landed softly on the ground and dashed towards the beast. Seeing her close in on it, the monster lashed out at her repeatedly. However, Kia managed to evade every single attack with elegant moves. It almost looked like she was dancing instead of fighting. She slowly climbed her way onto the monster’s head. Once there, she raised her sword above her.

“Perish!”

With a powerful thrust, she planted the blade deep inside the creature’s skull. A sea of flames covered its body almost immediately. The monster screamed in agony, though its cries quickly died down. After that, there was nothing left of it but a big pile of ash. Kia sheethed her sword and dusted her clothes.

“Phew… stupid Heldebeasts! Why do they always need to cause me so much trouble?”

I stared at her in awe. What had I just witnessed? The monster. The fiery blade. Kia’s impressive swordsmanship. And then there were all the other things I hadn’t gotten any answers to. None of it made any sense to me.

“What… was that?”

“A Heldebeast,” Kia explained. “Annoying creatures, really. They may look intimidating, but they are rather easy to deal with once you know their weakness.”

“I didn’t mean that.”

I hesitated before pointing to the sword at her side.

“I meant that. Those flames… how did you do that?”

Kia smiled faintly.

“In due time, I shall explain everything. That said, let us concern ourselves about finding an exit first. Unless you wish to stay here?”

I immediately shook my head and followed her lead.
She took the torch from my hands, and we continued our journey down the mountain.