The plan was simple - find the Grief of the Forgotten, get rid of the Red Swirl and the chase, then focus on finding the Ascension Rune.
Kain's plan might not have worked out because the flower was are or so far away, but not this ti.
Misezko's soft paw touched his back, pushing him forward a bit. They erged from the Forgotten Tomb area, only a few steps out of the heavy fog.
"You see an outline, right?"
Kain narrowed his eyes. "Yeah... It's a long walk."
In the distance, a lone stone peak could be seen, one of many surrounding the misty lands. A skull sprouted with earth and roots beca part of the peak. Only bridges and trails along the mountain connected the peaks.
"Before the Broken Skull, you will see a bridge, and a bloody river flows below, filling a lake hidden deep underground. It allows plants like Grief of the Forgotten to grow, so at least you'll find one."
"Sounds like you know quite a bit about it," Kain warily said. "Any clearer instructions? Where should I look for the flower?"
Misezko smiled bitterly. "Sure, look on the slopes. That's where the most roots are, the most blood..."
It was ti to leave.
Before doing so, Kain turned around, wanting to quench his curiosity.
"You... Are you an Astral Creature?"
Suddenly, sothing changed in Misezko. The friendly expression was replaced by an open jaw, sharp fangs showed, and his figure disappeared into the shadows, leaving only his cruel eyes to shine.
"Of course I am... But... Young Tainted, my nature is not sothing you should be concerned with right now. All Tainted have only one task: to acquire the Codex. Go and do so, or you will never have the chance to know how great this world is."
Streams of mist hid his silhouette, the last to disappear was his wicked grin.
This was a good lesson for Kain.
No matter what anyone looked like, in the Astral Dinsion, danger awaited him everywhere.
"Fine."
He shook his head.
"He's right about sothing. I should move forward."
Kain's stride was quickened, he was aware of the Valkyra pursuing him and kept Viron's words in his mind.
Soone was following him, and that soone did not yet reveal itself.
The trails changed to steep cliffs, roots obstructing his path towards the peak and rough climbs.
Nevertheless, it was not an hour before Kain reached his goal.
He gulped. "Damn it... No one warned about this."
A bridge of hundreds of bones slowly swayed from side to side, connecting one slope to the Broken Skull peak. The bones were tightly fitted together, ropes running along them, yet it couldn't look safe.
Kain lowered his gaze, a raging torrent of red river reflected in his trembling eyes.
"Khm. Obviously, I'm not the first and last to use this bridge, right?"
In the end, there was no way around it.
It was ti for him to take the first step.
Convinced of the sturdiness of the creepy structure, Kain nodded weakly and walked on.
When he reached the middle of the bridge, he stopped abruptly, it was not the bridge but what lay ahead.
"What the hell...?" his eyes went wide in disbelief.
Out of the shadows ca a silhouette, the one he was familiar with.
A pale figure embraced in black robes with a look eager to show its superiority.
"Hey, see sothing interesting?"
Morbia smirked, pleased with Kain's startled face.
It was unclear what reaction Morbia was expecting, but all she got was Kain pulling a dagger from his belt in preparation for a fight.
"So you were the one who followed ? What do you want?"
"W-Wait!" Morbia threw her arm forward. "I had my reasons for doing this. You just have to-"
Suddenly, her eyes went wide as she opened her palm, the diamond-shaped ring on her finger flashed with blue light.
A crackling sounded behind.
In a daze, Kain lowered his eyes, only to see ice shards lying at his feet.
The barrier protecting his back shattered as Morbia collapsed to the ground holding her head, exhausted.
"Well, well... What do we have here?"
An unknown female voice, nasty from the first call, made Kain turn around.
Near the bridge stood a girl with auburn hair and green predatory eyes. Runes ran down her right arm, her Codex was active while a cold vapor drifted upward.
"Who are you?" Kain stamred. For so reason, he thought he knew the answer.
The girl poked herself on the cheek.
"Hmm? The Highest Sacrifice, haven't you figured that out yet?"
She pulled back her collar, revealing her chest, just below her neck was the mark of a sword piercing an ice block.
"Nice to et you!" she jumped up. "I'm Aurora, the Frozen Blade!"
'Wait... Another one?' Kain flinched.
Not that he didn't think about it. But he wanted to believe that Valkyra was the first and last servant of the Crimson Reaper who chased him.
For a man with his luck or rather bad luck, he was too naive, for now.
Aurora touched her lips theatrically. "Poor Valkyra, she got such a naughty Sacrifice. You fooled her twice, and right now, she's probably running here with all her might.
"Oh, it's a sha I got ahead of her. I'll be so embarrassed to get the reward for catching you! Hehehe!"
Slowly, Kain stepped back, at the sa ti, Morbia ca to her senses, trying to get closer to him.
"Hey! Don't run away! There's nowhere to go!"
Kain frowned. "Tsk, and what can you do? You're not supposed to kill , are you? The Sacrifice has to be alive!"
A sly grin covered Aurora's face.
The attempt to scare her failed.
"Yeah... Your heart has to beat, but that's all that matters!" Aurora exclaid as her Codex revolved.
In a heartbeat, the runes glowed, forming an order. The particles of light turned into a long ice crystal.
Aurora gripped the crystal tightly like a spear, leaning back for a throw. "Senior will berate if you lose one arm or leg, but it's not critical. I won't let you escape. I'm not as stupid as that fool Valkyra!"
Cutting through the wind currents, the ice spear tore toward Kain.
Then, his wide-open eyes reflected Morbia's silhouette. The crystal pierced her chest, throwing a stream of blood onto his stunned face.
"Argh!"
Morbia gasped, but besides the pain in her eyes, there was also delight.
She achieved what she wanted, the runes hovering around her, the electric shocks running between them were proof of that.
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