With a soft sigh, Kyle tapped Nine back.
“Enough, you are going to suffocate me.”
Nine sucked in a deep breath and slowly released him from the hug with a smile. He was happy to see Kyle again. After all, the last vision he saw was everything but good.
He couldn’t help but peek at the ice mountain behind Kyle. Nine glanced at his stunned friends and threw his arm on Kyle’s shoulder while pointing at the mountain.
“Don’t tell me it’s your work?”
However, a nonchalant shrug was all he got in return. Nine rubbed his chin with a raised brow.
“Bro, I feel like you have become more annoying.”
Slowly, he dragged Kyle to look at the two elves.
“By the way, this is Rowan and this is Elli. They are my friends.”
Rowan and Elli both nodded at Kyle but then suddenly Nine lowered his voice to whisper in his ear.
“Remember I told you about a beautiful girl in the past? It was Elli, hehe. Your friend is not single anymore.”
A barely visible frown appeared between Nine’s brows when he sensed Kyle’s body temperature. It was too low. However, it vanished within a second.
Suddenly, Rowan glanced at Elli and stepped closer to Kyle with a shocked expression.
“Wait, Nine called you Kyle, right? The same Kyle who caused a huge commotion in front of the realm gate?”
Kyle was going to nod but then Nine raised his finger and shook it in front of Rowan.
“Nope, this isn’t the same Kyle. The one you saw had a huge phoenix but this one doesn’t.”
Nine gasped and looked at him with wide eyes.
“Wait.. where’s Bia, Kyle? Why don’t I see her? Don’t tell me she ran away because you forgot to feed her on time!”
Kyle rolled his eyes and slapped his arm away. He glanced at the hundreds of insects around them and clicked his tongue.
“Guys, let’s climb the mountain. It’s not clean… I mean it’s not safe here.”
The three of them exchanged glances and trailed after him, to climb the mountain made of uneven rocks. Or more specifically made of hundreds of frozen insects. However, unlike Kyle, they quickly began to rub their arms, their breath forming wisps of smoke in the frigid air. It was too cold!
Nine groaned. Still, he couldn’t help but mumble with a curious expression.
“Kyle, can you tell me how you froze the insects?”
Kyle stopped in his tracks. Instantly, icy blue flames appeared around his body. Under three pairs of stunned eyes, the flames traveled downward with lightning-fast speed. All the insects clawing on the mountain shrieked as the flames enclosed them in a blanket. After the flames vanished, many similar uneven frozen rocks appeared in their place.
Nine breath faltered for a second as he gazed at Kyle.
‘The same blue flames I saw.. does that mean everything I saw is going to come true? No, I am not going to believe the vision this time. Instead, I am going change it no matter what.’
He clenched his fist. It was truly unbelievable that Kyle and Alec were going to fight to death in the future. They were friends. Moreover, from Alec’s devastated expression, he was sure that something was wrong with him.
Soon, they reached the top of the mountain but the trio sitting with Kyle was regretting the moment they decided to follow him. Especially, Rowan and Elli, both of them were trembling.
Nine inched closer to Elli and grabbed her hands shamelessly before throwing a resentful glare at Kyle.
“So, what’s the plan because within a few hours, we are going to freeze to death!”
Kyle blinked and snapped his fingers. Immediately, two hovering fireballs appeared in front of the trio.
“Is it fine now?”
Nine snapped.
“Are you kidding me? The temperature around us is even lower than the depth of the ocean! You think two tiny fireballs can warm us?”
Kyle rubbed his temples with a sigh.
“I didn’t do it on purpose. I checked this field as much as I could, but there’s no way out. So, I think our only option is to fight the insects until we find an exit or until the mechanical voice guides us.”
Nine agreed instantly and stood up.
“Okay, let’s fight. It’s hundreds of times better than waiting.”
Kyle hummed but before they could leave, a frustrated voice echoed in the air.
“Where is he? I can not believe I have to check every chamber just to find him.”
Simultaneously, all of them snapped their heads up to look at the sky and Kyle immediately recognized the small glowing ball floating in the distance.
“Haylee?”
He never thought he would be so happy to see the winged boar. Kyle waved his hand energetically toward the glowing ball. The ball froze mid-air and the trio standing beside Kyle stepped back with shock when the ball turned into a huge winged boar.
Haylee’s wings stretched out wide as he landed right in front of Kyle. Yet, the happiness from Kyle’s face disappeared the moment his feet touched the mountain-top.
A loud cracking sound was all Kyle heard before the ground beneath his feet crumbled. His eyes widened as the stacked rocks scattered in all directions. However, before anyone could tumble down from the mountain, a glowing shield appeared around their bodies, keeping them safe.
Nine clutched his pounding chest, feeling a bit sweaty and nervous as he realized he was floating mid-air. Just like him, Elli and Rowan were equally frightened.
He gazed at Kyle with bated breath and a bitter smile spread across his face because the latter was floating mid-air without the shield. With a relieved sigh, Kyle took back his stretched hand, he was going to grab two of them if they lost their balance.
Opposite them, Haylee clicked his tongue.
“Such a weak mountain….”
He stopped mid-sentence and gazed at the scattered rocks that were once a mountain.
“Wait.. how did this mountain appear in this place?”
He gazed at Kyle and immediately knew how. With narrowed eyes, Haylee landed on the grass. He flapped his wings and the insects around them scattered in different directions.
The round shields around Nine, Elli, and Rowan evaporated into thin air as they neared the ground. Nine sighed with relief and looked at Kyle.
“I am never going to climb a mountain with you from now on.”