The Mountain Temple

After a few days of waiting, having been sure the hunt had ended, Amethyst packed a bag. Rei had anticipated she would try to sneak off without him, so he forced his way to her little shack, his own bag packed and slung across his shoulder.

To his surprise, she didn't object this time. Whatever reason wasn't clear, as she'd shut him down many times before, citing danger and how he slowed her down. Oftentimes, she'd leave without saying anything, not about where she'd be or how long she'd be gone.

Rei was glad that for whatever reason, she willingly let him come along. They collected their things, and began to journey on foot.

"The quickest way to Togu is to shortcut south through An, and around Ke-"

"We're taking the mountain path." Rei interrupted.

Amethyst raised an eyebrow at him, an irritated look on her face. Rei continued,

"The quickest way is the most dangerous way."

"I live in the Third. I'm not afraid of a little danger. Are you telling me, after begging me to take you on missions for a year now, that you're scared of going into Ke?" She rebuttled.

Ke was home to the Imperial City, so of course he was scared. Anyone from the Third would be locked up, tortured, killed- if they were a ghost, their ashes would be scattered. If they were a demon, they'd have a talisman slapped on their face and they'd never move again!

Amethyst knew his reaction already, though, seeing as how a few days ago Rei had pitched a fit about her going to the palace gate. Of course it was dangerous, especially for the banished heir. The whole kingdom of Nara believed her to be dead, and the ones who knew of her escape continued to hunt her down even so many years later.

And Rei had never set foot in Ke. He'd been born and raised in the Third, only taking short trips out into the mountain villages and Mono Valley. Because he was human, he was mostly safe. No one could tell by his appearance he was a son of a criminal.

But Ke was different. There was high security, several officers and guards, high-ranking merchants to sell intel on anyone who came from out of town. And if one were caught leaving the Third, it would likely mean death. The emperor liked to keep the reins on his little "demon den".

"The thing is… of course I've been begging to go with you. You see many amazing things on your journeys, as do the ones who spread the news. I want to see with my own eyes how beautiful Togu is.

But you're reckless, Amethyst! You may be willing to go risk your life to catch a glimpse of Princess Sena, or to take the quickest route, but-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know already." She gritted her teeth at the sound of her sister's name. She released her jaw and let out a sigh.

"The mountain path takes nearly a week to Togu on foot. Can you do that?"

Rei nodded furiously, the young man's energy overflowing. He was nervous, and excited, and worried- all were written on his face. He was sixteen now, and had seemed desperate to go with her each time she left.

Even though he had never journeyed too far from home, was annoying to a degree, would likely be a hindrance to her, she felt the experience might be good for him. Once he saw that the outside world wasn't nearly as dangerous as the Third, she thought he'd relax a bit each time she left.

"Well don't waste time, let's go."

They began their trek to the mountains, the heavy air lifting the moment they set foot out of the Third. Miasma, negative energy, made the air nearly suffocating, so being outside was quite literally "a breath of fresh air."

Rei seemed less agitated and more excited as they walked, his spirits brighter. Many unfamiliar things were waiting for him ahead, and he was bursting with power.

The first mountain was steep, covered in thick brush and trees. Hardly anyone took this path from the Third, and no one ventured in other than the few imperial officers leading hunts. So the path was overgrown with weeds, rocks sticking up in places, and it narrowed the higher they travelled.

Rei had taken the path to get to Mono Village before, so his fear was down. Amethyst, however, had only taken this path once- six years ago, the month she escaped. It looked different now, somehow more winding and thinner. While she wasn't afraid, the path didn't carry pleasant memories, and her heart wasn't exactly still.

It was a full day's journey before the two reached the end of the first path. It wasn't quite the top of the mountain, but nearing it, and it was headed by a large temple gate.

The two approached with caution, making sure that no one else had come across the temple recently. While it was mostly unheard of, and was quite run down, it wasn't impossible for others to find it from the other side.

Amethyst pushed Rei behind her, carefully examining the ground for any footsteps. There were none, and it was silent save for the creaking of the old wood.

Rei followed her closely as they went into the temple grounds. They were sparse, only a single step up to the temple, an old well, and what looked to be an overgrown garden.

Past the sliding doors was nothing more than a little shack. There was an empty offering table, not even a prayer box or place to put coins.

There was also a single chair that still stood, beside it a dilapidated one that had dry rotted from being exposed to the elements. It was likely left outside.

Despite this, Amethyst found it odd that no dust had accumulated on the floor. It looked as if someone had swept and scrubbed the floor boards recently. However, as no one had been spotted, the two decided to take shelter in the temple for the night.

"What kind of temple doesn't have a statue of their god?" Rei asked.

"Do you know how gods are born?" She asked in response.

Rei took a seat on the chair, crossing his leg over the other. He thought a moment before answering haphazardly,

"Ascending?"

Amethyst nodded,

"Some gods are born that way. People will cultivate Divine spiritual power, and if they reach a high enough power, they will ascend to godhood. But the god of this temple is different."

Rei looked back over to the offering table, searching for at least a painting of the god. But it was empty, which made him uneasy.

"How was this god born?"

"Temples like this one, built on mountains or near rivers, are usually made out of need. For example, children kept getting swept away by the river in Mono Valley. So the town built a temple to the water spirit, hoping he would stop the tragedy."

"So...they built a temple to something that wasn't a god...so he became a god?"

"Moreso than that, there wasn't even a spirit of that river. But because the people prayed so dutifully, one came into existence, and even became a god." Amethyst explained.

Rei was surprised. The same few gods were the ones that had temples in the Third, and as dangerous as that place was, he'd never heard of temples like this.

He sat back and the chair creaked, breaking a little bit of the silence. Amethyst sat on the floor, her legs a bit tired from the journey. She waited for his next question.

"Then...there's no statue of this god because they don't know what he looks like? Because they prayed him into existence, he didn't have a form before the temple was built?"

Amethyst nodded, pulling a bun from her sleeve. She tossed it to Rei, who fumbled before catching it. She then pulled another one out, and ate her own.

It was quiet in the eerie temple as the night grew dark. It had originally not been scary, but for Rei, seeing a temple without a god statue was uncomfortable. And as it got darker, it was harder to see. It even felt colder, despite being the summer, because of the altitude.

Seeing Amethyst unfazed, he came to lay beside her on the ground. She'd already peacefully fallen asleep, and lightly snoring. Rei tried to close his eyes, but he kept feeling the presence of another.

He looked around, but it was too dark. It felt like eyes were boring holes into his back, or like hands would come from the shadows and pull him out. His heart raced, sounding like loud bangs in the quiet, wooden temple. Paired with the creaking of the wood, despite near silence, it felt too loud in his ears.

He tried to push it away, laying his head on the floorboards and trying to sleep. He had seen frightening things many times in the Third, so how could he be scared? Amethyst had always protected him since she came, and she wouldn't let him get hurt.

And it was also he who had forced her to drag him along, begging each time she left to take him with her. He couldn't wake her up just because he was frightened, she'd never let him live it down!

But the atmosphere changed. The lightened air felt heavier than even the Third, and a pressure formed in his chest. Without warning, a thick, dense black fog coated the bottom of the temple, pouring in from the crack at the sliding door.

Rei coughed and bolted upright, grabbing Amethyst's shoulder as he did so. Amethyst shifted awake, and upon noticing the situation, didn't seem afraid at all. She pulled herself up and drew a sigil on her palm, which erupted into flames.

She used the light to examine the miasma, and Rei clung to her. The Third was full of miasma, but this was different. It was black and dense, unlike the white, smoke like mist that hung at home.

She pulled a talisman out of her sleeve and pressed it to the temple door, but it immediately went up in flames. She raised her brows at the bizarre sight and tried again, but once more, the talisman caught fire and burnt to ash.

A bang hit against the temple wall from the opposite side. It hit with such force that it shook the entire temple, causing the two to shift their bodies to stand straight. Rei trembled as he held onto Amethyst's sleeves, not sure where to stand to be safely behind her.

Another bang, and then the temple door creaked. It began to slide open from the outside.