Chapter 7: Chapter 5

This was two years before Amy arrived at certain mountains.

At that time, the wind was blowing. It's cold when the sky is orange. Winter was supposed to have ended and it had turned to a hot season, but the snow would be immortalized if they stayed still above the mountains.

Just then, from the west, came two large shadows. Flying with broad wings, a scaly body, and a long tail, they are not a bird that is known anywhere, nor a type of flying reptile or mammal. With their distinctive screech, clearly defined as an existence that was different from any other earth species. They were called Wyverns.

But it seems something is wrong with the two Wyverns. Even though they flew close together, the two of them didn't seem to get along at all. Occasional clashes broke out as they continued to argue with their shrieks. Elbow each other, peck each other, or scratch each other. And due to certain circumstances, fights are only two sides of the coin. One dominates the attack and the other side continues to defend its defense and evasion, such as having limited access to attack.

The two Wyverns continued to dominate the twilight sky above the mountains.

What had caused the altercation was likely something that was being carried by one of the two Wyverns, that is, the Wyvern that had the fewest means of attack. Upon concluding, the altercation must have been due to something one of the Wyverns was carrying, perhaps it was some kind of food. The food looks round with a little oval and gray-white. From any perspective, the answer must be an egg.

But it was not an egg from any chicken, duck, or fowl, nor was it an egg from any of these earthly reptiles. It was the egg of something else. With the size of a human head, these eggs are not the eggs of earth creatures. Very rare and impossible to happen on earth, an egg the size of an adult human head.

Except, if the mother egg itself is not part of the earth's species or something else, which is foreign and which violates the rational boundaries of humanity. So, that explanation can be said to make sense.

And the two Wyverns, who were constantly scrambling for food without a care in the world, flew through space-time while carrying something out of place as if it was only natural.

Out of nowhere, the two Wyverns appeared from the west and passed through a certain mountain range while fighting over eggs. Fight, argue and clash with each other to attack and claw. Once, a scratch came from the Wyvern that attacked the most and hit the leg of the Wyvern holding an egg.

And as one might have guessed, in response to the pain, the Wyvern that was holding an egg unknowingly released its egg and landed it on the earth. The Wyverns stared for a moment as the food fell and disappeared before they increased the intensity of their squabble.
While the Wyverns fought each other fiercely, the egg continued to slide under the force of gravity and smashed into the white snow. Perhaps due to its high resistance to impact, the egg seemed to be resilient, and it landed without causing the slightest crack.

Obeying the law of gravity, the egg continues to roll down the sloping ground. Sometimes it hits a rock, jumps because of an uneven surface, and stops for a moment. But the egg continued to drive down the slope and took the snow that accidentally stuck with it, covering it, until it formed a large snowball with the egg inside. Until finally a giant rock stopped the speed of the snowball by force. Stopping, the snow-covered egg then slowly fell and disappeared into the ground. Apparently, the rock was right in front of a hole that led deep into the ground. Carrying the snow-covered egg it fell into a cavity of darkness, the depth of which was unknown. Until finally the egg just sat in a dark cave without anyone waiting for it to hatch for two years.

***

The next morning.

I continued my journey, climbing on this rising land. It doesn't tilt too much, so it's not a lot of legwork. Just walk as usual, up the hill at an angle that is not steep.

In general, the land here is not flat. Many stones stick out of the ground. Accompanied by shrubs, they become vegetation in this land.
When the altitude increases, the panorama is also more unsightly. Through a sloping plane, if you look back, a blue surface is so beautiful to look at in serenity. Further traced, a blue line is also formed, extending from the blue surface to form a long river that divides the green plains. Under the blue sky, accompanied by some gray fleece, the natural scenery under the foot of the mountains is so amazing.

When looking at the front, what is pictured in the eyes is also invincible. The plateau rises and continues to rise into the distance. Approaching the clouds with a blend of green, brown, and whitish colors. White is at its highest elevation, perhaps nearing the apex. Even though the sun is getting hotter, the white color on the highest ground will never fade to brown or black.

"Is it the eternal snow?" I wonder.

If true, that's a relief.

After all, my strength tends to depend on water or snow.

I continued on my way, following the river that was an extension of the lake at the foot of the mountain before. After all, the river is my source of livelihood, my livelihood, and also my refuge. I really depend on water. Even though there is water vapor everywhere, pure water in liquid form is more useful to me. And in a place like this, the humidity must be low, and the water vapor hanging around in the air is so little.

That's how I am, who relies on the existence of that water.

Following the river, I continued walking uphill. Incidentally, the river is flanked by two cliffs, forming a steep ravine. And with two solid brown walls, sunlight can be blocked. It's not that I hate sunlight, it's just that the cool environment gives me the most comfortable feeling. Because of that, I chose to walk under a cliff rather than on a surface that is in contact with sunlight.

Covered in the shadow of the earthen wall, not a single ray of sunlight in the clear season can touch my skin. I don't know how much time has passed.

"Has spring also passed? Replaced with pseudo summer? It's still cold here, so there's no way to tell for sure." I wonder.

However, I'm grateful that the air around these mountains is still cool to the skin.

Even so, the river I crossed didn't have much water. More like a constant small stream over a rocky surface, with an average depth of about an ankle. That's why the fish are not visible at all. What I stepped on was a patch of hard, rocky ground and some sand scraped from various rocks, and the sand mostly settled where it was not touched by running water. Too bad, it's rare to find signs of life that I can eat.

Thankfully, I prepared a lot of frozen fish beforehand which I put in a bag.

When night came, I also rested under the rocky wall while leaning back. The cold doesn't affect it at all. Instead, I feel comfortable. Here is also safe from wild animal attacks. It seems these walls also work as a natural fortress for me.

Then three days and two nights passed, when dusk was almost gone, and when I was looking for a place to stay. A dark cavity opened wide before me.

“…A cave?”

I guessed an answer from the rhetorical question.

Attached to the wall as a fork in the river, this cave leads to the side where the river path bends. His mouth was also filled with a carpet of sand, with some parts that looked still frozen. With the diameter of the hole slightly taller than my height, I was thinking this cave might be good for me to stay in tonight. This cave will also serve as my shelter.

So with some trepidation, I stepped inside. Without any light from the night sky penetrating, the surroundings would already be completely dark. Relying solely on my sense of touch, I entered the cave relying on the cave walls as a guide.

If you ask, am I afraid of the dark? No way that would happen. Remember how long I used to live alone in the wilderness, in a dangerous place, and in a very dark place with no light except that of the stars?

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***

From the east, slowly the sun rises. The light began to seep into the mouth of the cave, illuminated the cavity, and gave color to the environment around the cave.

Affected by the change in light intensity, I who was leaning against the cave wall slowly opened my eyes. Blinked around for a bit before finally looking left and right to gain an understanding.

"... Ah, it's morning, huh." I yawned broadly, stretching my hand up to stretch a stiff body.

Taking one frozen fish from the bag, I melted it, and sliced it into pieces of meat, before putting it in my mouth.

"Just a little remaining." I glanced at the contents of the bag.

"If I take a frugal attitude, as long as there is no food source in front, just waiting for the definite time my food will run out."

Thinking about how I would continue the journey, I continued to devour my breakfast. Come to think of it, in these mountains, the higher I walked, the fewer trees I could find and eat. If it continues like this, my food resources will become even more scarce. Fish also no longer appear along the river that I'm going through. Do I have to catch the birds that sometimes cross the sky? If so, then should I move up?
I could have flown over the mountains the way I crossed the lake. But this mountain range seemed extremely vast, many times wider than the previous lake. I'm not sure if my strength will be enough to cross these mountains. It would be bad if I ran out of ammo while I was still in the middle of the mountains. That's why until now I still take an energy-saving stance, by walking without relying much on my flight skills, which I just learned a few days ago.

"Is it alright, if I make this cave my temporary home?" I thought, gazing back at the cave, which had a solid roof and comfortable

surroundings. And then, this cave still has places to explore.

“After all, it's close to the lake here. If I fly there, I can get groceries back quickly. Then I can prepare even more before continuing my journey. Also, it looks like it's still hot right now, I don't want to be exposed to too much heat. Better to settle down while waiting for winter to return.”

Thinking back, I've also gotten better at controlling the ice board and flying on it, it should be easy now to go back and forth from here to the lake.

"All right, for a while, I'll stay here. I will continue the north when winter arrives. "

After making my decision, my breakfast is also finished. I immediately got up and cleaned myself.

As a place to live, even if temporarily, I have to get to know this cave as a whole. Or at least most of it. I still don't know how wide and deep this cave is. So tracing to the limit of light was enough for me. There might be good places that could be a source of food in this cave, such as underground rivers and lakes.

This cave is not too big and seems to be protected from outside conditions, the more I go inside, the more ice starts to appear. The ice is also ice that is formed naturally, such as from rainwater seepage or underground water flow. It can be seen clearly from the ice stalactite crystals that hang on the roofs of the caves. Likewise, with the floor and walls, the surface is made of ice which is smooth and slightly wavy. Part of the floor may be formed from frozen streams while the walls are formed from frost or seepage of frozen water. They all look so impressive with the shine and scratches they give off. As if the maker of this cave is an extraordinary artist.

But even though it's beautiful, I still have to be careful not to slip. Because after all, the ice floor here was very slippery. The slightest bit off guard, my head could engrave traces of blood on the glitter of the crystal.

While looking around, I continued walking into the cave. Just by looking at the interior of the cave, I can conclude that this cave keeps the temperature below freezing. It deserves to be called a frozen cave.

So cold if felt normal people. Without complete cold protection equipment, people would only end up as frozen statues here. But not for me, the more I go inside, the more beautiful the ice scenery becomes. Even though it's not perfect to be called a frozen paradise, this atmosphere is very comfortable for me. Unfortunately, the deeper I reach, the less lighting I get. Even though the cave is also getting wider, but still, my field of view is getting more and more limited.

I hoped to find an underground river or lake, but what could I hope for, if all here was ice? A river couldn't possibly keep its flow in a place where everything would freeze.

When I thought I had reached the end of my exploration, where visibility was increasingly limited, in the farthest corner of my eye, I saw an intense beam of light coming from the far side in the depths of the cave. As if there is a cavity that releases light from a space behind it. It was as if the other side of the cave was full of light and a bit of that light was being released into the dark world through the passage. So with curiosity, I approached it.

The closer, the clearer what I see. It turns out that there is a small branch in this cave. A cavity that has a diameter of less than half my height and serves as a connection to the space behind it.

I crawled and entered the cavity.

What greeted me was a wide hall filled with bright light. Unlike the previous cave, the room here is connected to the surface through a small hole in the roof. Light entered through the hole and formed a slanted pillar as if the light of blessing from heaven. Then the light hit the various ice crystals scattered throughout the hall. From surface to wall to roof, and so on. As a result, light spreads throughout the room. Shine so bright that it blinds the eyes.

I stared in amazement at the sight. It's like feeling the code word 'out of darkness, comes light', which is realized from the best fairy tales.
But what caught my attention the most after that was something in the middle of it all. My eyes suddenly focused on that. Something that was the most sparkling, something that was the center of light, and something that looked the most beautiful. That something was a spherical crystal ball as tall as my body.

The crystal ball was so sparkling, like glass that it could reveal what was behind it. And it was the crystal ball that acted as the breaker of the pillar of light, which fell from the heavens, to circulate it throughout the hall through the extraordinary light-reflecting action.
But behind that beauty, there is something more extraordinary. My gaze focused on that, trying to sort out what it really meant. I drew closer, trying to close the distance. The closer I got, the bigger what I saw, and the brighter the light, the clearer what was inside.
In its frozen state, it had been hidden in the rock for a long time, as if it had been enshrined in one moment.

Sadly, as alienated by time, it is no longer involved in history. Just remembering silence in its freeze.

I stare at it, touch it, rub it, and try to grab it. Round, white, and as big as an adult human head. What came to my mind first was a perfectly round rock, dating back to ancient times when it was finally frozen and enshrined.

But something else crossed my mind, which made me wonder curiously.

"Is that... an egg?"
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