The Woman and The Mountain

The smell of tea filled the room. Mary poured tea into their cups. Phoenix leaned back after David finished his story. They sat in silence for a few moments. Phoenix looked like he was concentrating. Phoenix opened his mouth to speak but no words would come out.

"I have an idea." Phoenix said at last.

"What is it?" David asked

"The three of you should accompany me to Dusk. My plan involves Jack Shard." Phoenix said

"What's the plan?" David asked

"To follow Lavernius into the portal and stop him before he does anything drastic." Phoenix said

"I wouldn't mind." Hazel said

"Yeah, we should." Ash said

"I know, but by the time he enters, he is going to have the power of the artifacts." David pointed out

"The five of us should easily stop him. Jack and I know how he fights." Phoenix said

David stood up and walked around the kitchen. Phoenix stood up, too. He towered over David.

"This is the only way we can defeat him." Phoenix said

"We have to stop him, no matter what." David said

"I agree." Phoenix said

After they finished talking, they went to bed. Hazel slept on the couch, Ash slept in his room, and David slept on the floor. The fire was warm but the room was cold.

David woke up and found himself standing in a field before a great mountain. The peak of the mountain shined gold. This was familiar to him. He walked towards the mountain and saw a man in the fields. David rushed over to him. The man had no face. Blood dripped where the eyes would have been. A hole where the nose should be. The mouth was covered with a layer of skin. Fear overtook David. He quickly drew his sword and cut the poor creature down. The mountain growled in disapproval. His head pounded and his stomach churned. It felt like he ate something rotten. He fell onto his knees. When he stood back up, there was a woman sitting in front of him. Her long blonde hair flowed behind her as she sat. She wore a black dress. David felt compelled to approach her. She smiled as he got closer. Her eyes sparkled with mischief and were bright blue.

She touched his hand. Her touch was soft yet firm. David felt calm around her. As she touched his hands, his headache faded away. David couldn't see anything else, just the beautiful woman in front of him. He tried to get up, but he was stuck. His arms and legs refused to move. He could barely make out shapes. He was blind.

"I once knew a man who was drawn to this evil power," she spoke. Her voice was angelical, "He controlled it quite well, all those years ago."

"Who are you?" David struggled to ask.

"I don't remember my name. I've been here for many, many years." she answered.

"Here? At this mountain?" David asked, confused.

"No, lost." She said

"What did the man do with the power?" David asked

"Great things, at the cost of many lives. The power corrupts the mind and poisons the soul." She said

"Why do I keep seeing it?" David asked

"I don't know." her voice began to fade.

David's vision slowly returned to him. He stood up and spun around. There was no one. No voice. Just him and the mountain. He stumbled backwards when he realized what he'd done.

"You're the reason I'm here." David whispered to himself.

His feet carried him towards the mountain. He climbed up the side until he reached the top. There was a cave entrance. It was dark inside. David entered cautiously. After a while, he heard the sound of water dripping from the ceiling. David followed the sound through the tunnel. He came across a large cavern with a small pool. The walls were made of rock, and the ground was covered with moss. In the center of the room was the artifact. It shined so bright, David couldn't look directly at it. He wondered what would happen if he touched it. As he stepped closer, it began to whisper.

"Kryptonick..." David whispered to himself

He held out his hand and reached for the floating pyramid. Before he could scrape the surface, it vanished. He turned around to leave when the cave shook violently. Rocks broke off the ceiling and crashed to the ground. The cave collapsed in on itself. Water flooded in and filled the cavern. The ceiling caved in further and blocked the exit. He tried to swim but he was trapped. He screamed as he drowned in the darkness.

When David awoke, he was lying on the floor. His clothes were soaked. He looked around and found himself in Phoenix's house. He was relieved to see Hazel sleeping soundly on the couch. He stood up and began changing in place. He hung the sweat drenched clothes outside and lay back down. He couldn't sleep after that. He stared into the ceiling thinking about the woman. He had never seen her before or even heard her voice before.

"What was she doing there? Who was she?" David mumbled under his breath

"Who?" Hazel asked, sitting up on the couch.

"I had another dream of the mountain. A woman was there. I lost my sight so I couldn't see her that well. She didn't say much. Only that she was lost." David explained

"Interesting." Hazel said.

"Yeah." David said

"Anything else?" Hazel asked

"I saw the Illuminati. I tried to touch it, but it vanished before I could." David said, "She also warned me of the power it holds."

"What about the strange voice?" Hazel asked

"I didn't hear it." David said, "Darkness is what it called itself."

"Were you scared?" Hazel asked

"Yeah, let's keep this between us." David said

"Yeah, sure." Hazel agreed.

They both went back to sleep.

The next day, David woke up early. He groggily sat up and stretched. Hazel was still asleep. The sun was slowly rising above the horizon. David walked out to the porch. He placed his hands on the rails and closed his eyes. He pictured what the lady looked like but couldn't make out her face.

"You are up early." Phoenix said, walking out onto the porch.

"Yeah, I had a rough night. I couldn't sleep." David said

"That's a shame." Phoenix said

"Any plans today?" David asked

"Just running the shop, as usual." Phoenix said

"I want to wander around this town. I still haven't seen much of it." David said

"Yeah, Ash should show you and Hazel around." Phoenix said

"This plan of yours. How much of it have you thought about?" David asked

"I have no idea what the world beyond the portal looks like. Once we get to the portal, I will lead all of us." Phoenix said

"I, no we, will follow you." David said