NOVPUBHe didn't say anything. Just breathed deeper, once, through his scarf.
The cold hit different now. Not sharp. Not numbing. Just there. Like something real instead of something cruel.
Ahead, the slope didn't just climb. It broke.
Stone jutted upward like shattered ribs. Rough. Slanted wrong. No proper trail in sight. Not even enough of a ledge to fake one.
Ren crouched and kicked a loose rock over the edge. It skittered down. Bounced once, twice, then vanished into snow.
She straightened, eyes scanning upward like she was estimating something. Probably stupid.
"We're climbing," she said. Not a question.
Ardan gave a long sigh. "Great."
Meren sat down immediately. "You climb. I'm spiritually ascending."
Lira didn't pause. Her fingers brushed the surface of one of the outcroppings. She stepped sideways, checking for footholds.
The slope narrowed here. Everything funneled to this one rough pass, lined with frost and bad footing. But it wasn't impossible.
Just annoying.
Lindarion stared up the ridge.
It didn't look far. It just looked like it wanted to be difficult. Like the rocks were daring someone to try it and fall.
'Fine. Let's see.'
He stepped forward, boots grinding over frozen grit.
Then the mountain hissed.
Not the wind.
Not Ren's bad luck.
The rocks ahead shivered. A strange ripple. Then something peeled itself from the slope.
Moss cracked. Snow broke loose in little puffs.
Then it blinked.
Lindarion froze.
So did Ren.
Even Lira stopped mid-step.
The creature uncurled from the stone like it had been sleeping there for years. Long limbs, four of them. No wings.
Just a jagged back and a thick tail that swayed like a separate animal. Scales pale grey, shot through with lines of black and green. Like rock that had learned to move.
It turned its head.
Two more shapes moved behind it.
Not lizards. Not snakes. Something in between.
They didn't roar.
They just came forward.
Quiet. Purposeful.
Lira moved first. One boot shifting, weight settling on her back leg.
Ren rolled her shoulder. "Guess we're not climbing yet."
Meren whispered, "Oh come on."
Ardan didn't draw. Not yet. Just stood ready.
Lindarion didn't wait for anyone else.
His hand lifted, slow. Palm open.
His breath was calm.
The air answered.
The cold around him bent. Then cracked.
Heat poured out from the base of his ribs. Not a burst. Not a flare. Just pressure. Intent.
Fire crawled to life in his palm. Orange first. Then white.
It danced there. Flickering quiet.
The creatures paused.
Only for a second.
That was all he needed.
He stepped forward, hand still raised.
The first creature opened its jaws, wide and dark. Its throat pulsed.
Lindarion whispered, "No."
Then pushed.
The fire leapt.
Not a scream. Not a blast. Just motion.
It hit the creature in the center of its chest.
Flames wrapped fast. No time to recoil. No time to run.
One second it stood. The next, it burned.
The others lunged.
He didn't retreat.
The second one closed in fast. Jaw snapping. Too fast to pull steel.
So he turned his hand.
Called again.
This time, the fire came thinner. Sharper.
A lance of white heat tore across the slope.
The second creature dropped.
Its scales hissed. Steam rose.
Lindarion exhaled. Slow.
The third didn't lunge.
It hesitated.
Then backed away, claws clicking across stone.
Ren whistled once, low. "Okay, fireboy."
Lira didn't move.
Ardan raised one brow. "Looks like someone's finally back."
Lindarion lowered his hand.
Smoke trailed from his fingers. Not thick. Not hot. Just the last echo of the cast.
His body didn't ache.
His lungs didn't strain.
He stood straight.
Steady.
Meren blinked. "Remind me never to try stealing anything from him."
Ren smirked. "You'd try?"
"Maybe."
Lira stepped forward again. She passed him without comment. Her eyes flicked to the burned patch on the slope. Then ahead.
"Still climbing," she said.
And they did.
—
The smell stuck.
Even with the wind coming back around the ridge, the burn lingered. Not just smoke. Not just cooked scales. Something deeper. Something that said a life had ended right there, and the mountain didn't care enough to clean it up.
Lindarion's fingers twitched once.
He shook them out. The flame was gone, but its ghost stayed behind, humming low in his bones. Not painful. Just… full. Like heat that didn't want to leave.
'That's new.'
Ren passed him without saying anything, but she bumped his shoulder lightly as she did. Maybe on purpose. Maybe not.
He stepped forward too, boots grinding frost, steam still curling behind him.
Meren muttered as he climbed up from the rock he'd flattened himself against. "Not gonna lie. I thought you were gonna explode."
"I didn't," Lindarion said.
"Yeah. But for a second, I really thought you would."
Lindarion didn't answer.
His focus was still up the ridge.
Lira had already taken the first few holds. Her foot pressed into a crack between stones, then she reached higher. Not fast. Not reckless. Just precise.
Ardan followed without a word.
Ren crouched at the base of the slope, adjusted her gloves, and gave a loud sigh. "Ugh. Climbing."
"You're literally made for this," Meren said. "Light frame, endless energy, zero concern for self-preservation."
Ren grinned. "Exactly. So why bother climbing when I can complain instead?"
Then she started up after the others.
Lindarion stared at the ridge a moment longer.
The scorched lizards behind him didn't move. One was still half-curled, neck twisted unnaturally. The smell would get worse before it faded.
'They weren't smart.'
But something had sent them. Or at least allowed them to be there. This high up, in the cold, where no lizard should be.
That meant something. He just didn't know what yet.
He set one foot on the slope. Let his hand brace against the next ledge. Stone scraped under his palm. Cold pressed into the thin part of his glove. He moved.
Up.
The others climbed like they'd done it before. Which they had, probably. Ardan made it look easy, which wasn't fair for a man his size. Lira moved with that same half-glide she always had. Efficient. Focused.
Ren kicked a rock loose halfway up. It bounced and clipped Meren's shoulder.
"Oops," she said.
Meren growled. "I hate you."
"You're just mad because I'm faster."
"I'm mad because that rock had teeth."
Lindarion found his rhythm a few seconds in. The holds weren't great, but his limbs didn't shake. No breathlessness. No flare of pain in the ribs. His mana sat still. Like a cat curled on his spine. Watching.
He liked that.
The climb stretched longer than it looked.
Every step forward became a half-lift. Fingers found the edge of stone. Boots slid. Rebalanced. Pulled again.
No one talked now. Too high for jokes. Too winded for commentary.
He reached a narrow ledge where the others had stopped.
Lira was first. Kneeling. Checking something in the dirt.
Ren stood with her arms spread like wings, testing the wind.
Ardan had his back to the cliff. One arm braced against it. Eyes scanning the ridge above.
Meren arrived last. He collapsed next to Lindarion like a sack of slightly guilty flour.
"I lived," he wheezed. "Again."
"No thanks to you," Ren muttered.
"I provided moral support."
"You were muttering a death poem."
"It was inspirational." n𝚘vp𝚞𝚋.com
Lindarion crouched low, not resting. Just watching the trail beyond.
It sloped gentler here. Wide enough to walk side by side. Frost hung thick on the sides of the path. Some of it cracked under the weight of earlier steps. Maybe animals. Maybe not.
He glanced at Lira.
She didn't look back.
But she spoke.
"Three more hours to the pass."
Lindarion nodded once. His shoulder brushed the hilt of the sword Lira had given him. It didn't hum this time. Just waited.
He stood again. Pulled his scarf tighter.
The air thinned slightly.
But he could breathe.
And that was enough.
