Chapter 1,388 – A Key in a Scar

“What’s that?” Zac asked, pressing upon seeing Idiche’s conflicted expression. “I hope you’re not holding out on me. This could be a matter of life and death.”

“It’s not that I’m holding out… It’s just that I don’t know!” Idiche said with frustration. “When I dream, I see images. Some of them from the future, or at least a possible future. I dreamt about your chains before we met. Why else would I go along with such a far-fetched tale from a complete stranger? You’re not that convincing.”

Zac ignored the jab, focusing on the important part. “And you dreamt about this mountain? When?”

“Before we even left Adventurer’s Cove. There’s a key in the crack. I don’t know what it opens, but I’d say it’s a safe assumption it’s related to the lodge,” Idiche said.

“Anything else you saw?” Zac asked.

“Nope. That’s it,” Idiche said, very clearly lying.

Esmeralda interjected before Zac could press for a proper answer, “Hush! Someone’s there!”

Zac turned back toward the exit. Following Esmeralda’s gaze, he vaguely spotted five dots far in the distance. The group braved the rain, descending from a neighboring mountain. Their destination was the same mountain that Zac’s group was eyeing. Not only that, but someone among them was releasing a steady plume of corruption that acted as an umbrella against the pelting rain.

Five was perfect. It was more than manageable, especially if Idiche could occupy one or two while Zac dealt with the others. The problem was that they were two mountains away and about to cross an open stretch toward the solitary twin peak. A battle would be within view of six different mountains, theirs included.

“If I work together with the girl, we might be able to hide the commotion,” Esmeralda said. “But it’s not guaranteed, and it wouldn’t be for long. All the rainwater pooling in the region has made the ambient energies completely overtuned.”

“Let’s approach them first. We’ll strike if we see an opportunity. Otherwise, we’ll just tail them,” Zac said, turning back to Idiche. “Esmeralda’s concealment methods are more effective when used on a smaller area. Can you conceal yourself?”

“No problem,” Idiche said and promptly disappeared.

Zac tried to sense her using various methods and came up empty. Idiche had completely erased her presence. It was no wonder that she had even managed to fool Esmeralda the other day. Esmeralda croaked with annoyance at the reminder of being caught. A spatial shimmer around Zac confirmed she had activated her skill.

“Follow me,” Zac said, extending a chain to keep the two invisible people connected.

Zac kept as high a pace as he dared in such an unstable environment, maintaining a direction that would let them ambush the invaders just before they reached the twin peaks. As Esmeralda said, vast amounts of energy had pooled in the mountain range’s valley. Adding the dream-inducing rain from above, Zac had to maintain a constant watch not to be dragged into sleep. He even conjured his Warbringer Idol to stay alert.

Unfortunately, his efforts were insufficient. His targets weren’t concerned about exposing themselves, and the umbrella of corruption let them bulldoze through the valley. Zac could only futilely watch them disappear around a bend while he was over ten minutes away. There was no sign of the invaders by the time they caught up.

“The tracks just stop the moment they set foot on the mountain,” Esmeralda said with confusion. “I don’t sense any lingering spatial tunnel or dream realm.”

“There’s a powerful dream further up,” Idiche’s voice came out of nowhere.

Zac carefully advanced up a mountain path, ready to become the target of an ambush himself. He inspected every crack and gully for signs of hiding invaders. There was nothing, and they eventually found what Idiche sensed. It was as though the whole mountain was protected by something resembling a Town Protecting Array, one made out of pure Illusory Energy.

There were no gaps, no unstable fluctuations to exploit. To ascend the mountain, they’d have to pass through the powerful illusion. Zac had encountered similar arrangements way back during the Eastern Trigram Hunt. A few of the palaces at the summits were protected by illusion barriers. Zac had overcome those barriers through grit and self-harm.

That wasn’t an option today. It was becoming evident that the mountain was one of the island’s spiritual eyes, allowing it to freely draw on its vast repository of energies. Zac was almost certain this barrier wielded the strength to drag him under, just like when they arrived at the island. Even if he could protect his mind and break free, it would definitely take a while—during which he’d be completely exposed.

After all, the Shrine of Kanba wasn’t able to protect Esmeralda from the dreams, and they didn’t have a B-grade cloak like Idiche. Zac felt exposed even when protected by Esmeralda’s spatial folding, and they immediately retreated after confirming the invaders weren’t hiding nearby.

“They must have passed through. Let’s keep looking. Maybe there’s a weakness nearby,” Zac said.

Two hours of sneaking around confirmed that the twin peaks were, without a doubt, a gathering point for the invaders. As their search expanded, they found traces of three separate parties that had already arrived. The earliest should have appeared over two hours before Zac’s group reached the basin. There might have been even earlier arrivals whose traces had already been washed away by the rain.

“Look, another one.” Esmeralda pointed at a patch of moss ahead.

“How did they get here so quickly? Are they completely immune to the formations?” Zac muttered as he walked over to get a better look. The patch had a small pool of rainwater perfectly shaped like a boot. “And just how many of them are gathering here?”

“More importantly, how did they get through?” Idiche said, glaring at the looming mountain as if it owed her money.

“You’re sure this dream of yours didn’t mention a way in? Perhaps another tunnel?” Zac asked helplessly.

“I told you, no,” Idiche said with exasperation.

Zac shrugged. He’d tried to extract more information from Idiche during their search without much success. The only thing she’d divulged was something cryptic about twins that didn’t seem connected to their current situation.

“Then let’s keep looking,” Zac said, not expecting much. If the mountain provided easy access, Esmeralda would have sniffed it out long ago.

The next three routes all led to the same dead end. Out of better options, they squeezed into a tight crack that leaked corruption, wading through a stream of bone-chilling rainwater in hopes of following the crevasse further up the mountain. Even deep in the crack, they were stopped by the large-scale barrier.

“The Natural Formation is incredibly stable, and there is Temporal Energy to accelerate its recovery. Opening a safe passage will take more time than we have,” Esmeralda muttered, glancing at Zac. “We could keep looking; there might still be a proper route hidden somewhere. Except, if there is one, wouldn’t it be under observation? They certainly have manpower to spare.”

Zac saw what Esmeralda was getting at. “It’s been two hours, and I’m getting a bad feeling. We either give up or force our way through. If we go through with this, then this spot is a good choice. Our actions won’t be noticed from the outside so long as we keep the fluctuations to a minimum.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“Go, we have to go!” Idiche insisted, echoing Zac’s own thoughts.