Chapter 21

Setting out toward Storm Peaks Mountain, Nerath quickly realized that traveling with Enyoz was nothing like he expected. He thought she'd be serious about the journey, maybe offer some guidance. Instead…

"I'm hungry," Enyoz said, barely an hour after they left the village.

"We just started-"

"But I'm really hungry..."

"…Fine, we'll find something to eat..."

They ended up spending two hours hunting for food, only for Enyoz to fall asleep halfway through. When Nerath finally managed to cook something, she woke up, ate all of it, and then said, "I need a nap..."

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"

And so, their journey began- with frequent stops, sudden naps, and Nerath wondering if he had somehow adopted the laziest travel companion in history.

But things got worse when they started ascending the mountain.

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Storm Peaks was no ordinary mountain. It lived up to its name, constantly crackling with wild thunderstorms. The higher they climbed, the stronger the winds became, and soon, lightning bolts rained down around them like nature's way of saying, You shall not pass!

Unfortunately for Nerath, nature had a personal grudge against him.

CRACK!

A bolt of lightning struck his shoulder.

ZAP!

Another one hit his back.

BOOM!

A third one directly struck his head, making his entire body glow for a moment before the energy fizzled out.

He groaned. "WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING TO ME?!"

Enyoz, who had not been struck even once, glanced at him. "Huh. Guess the storm likes you"

"LIKE?! THIS ISN'T LIKING, THIS IS ATTEMPTED MURDER!"

She shrugged. "At least it's not hurting you"

"…That's not the point! AND WHY NOT HER?! CAUSE SHE'S A GIRL?!"

And yet, despite his complaints, he kept getting struck. Every few minutes- ZAP. BOOM. CRACK. It was like the sky had designated him as its personal lightning rod.

At some point, he stopped dodging. He was too exhausted. The next time lightning flashed, he just threw up his arms and shouted, "DO IT! I DON'T EVEN CARE ANYMORE!"

KRA-KOOM!

He got blasted. Again.

Enyoz, casually walking beside him, gave an amused nod. "Nice form..."

"I hate you," he muttered, smoke rising from his body.

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After what felt like an eternity of getting electrocuted, they finally reached the peak. Nerath collapsed onto his knees, panting.

"We… made it…" he wheezed. "I'm alive…"

Enyoz, stretching her arms lazily, yawned. "That was fun"

"FOR YOU MAYBE!"

She smirked but said nothing.

Then, as the winds settled, Nerath finally took a moment to run his hand through his hair- and froze.

"…Wait. What the hell?"

He pulled out a small, broken piece of metal from his pocket and used it as a makeshift mirror. His blue hair- once messy but normal- was now a spiky, layered explosion, swept upward and slightly outward, each strand sharp and defined. Some strands fell slightly over his forehead, but the rest stuck up in a wild yet somehow stylish way.

He gaped at his reflection.

"…What… happened… to my hair?!"

Enyoz tilted her head. "Huh. Looks cool~"

"THIS ISN'T COOL! I LOOK LIKE- like-" He waved his hands around, trying to find the words. "Like some kind of protagonist from a novel!"

Enyoz grinned. "Yeah. Fits you"

He groaned, gripping his new hair. "I swear, it looks like I will start glowing and unlocking hidden power... If so... then I'm quitting life"

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Still trying to process his hair evolution, Nerath turned to Enyoz. "Alright, we made it. Now, tell me- do you know where Oyne is?"

She blinked at him. "Oh. Right. About that..."

There was a long pause.

Then, with a lazy smirk, she said, "I am Oyne~"

Silence.

Nerath stared at her, unblinking. His brain struggled to process the words.

"…What?"

"I'm Oyne," she repeated, stretching her arms above her head. "Nice to formally meet ya"

Nerath's eye twitched.

"…You mean to tell me… I've been traveling with the person I was looking for this entire time?!"

"Yup"

"And you just casually drop this on me NOW?!"

"Seemed like the right moment~"

Nerath opened his mouth, then closed it. He inhaled deeply. Then exhaled. Then inhaled again- before screaming into the sky.

"AHHHHH-!!!!!"

The storm, sensing his frustration, responded with another BOOM of thunder.

As he continued yelling in an existential crisis, Enyoz- no, Oyne- sat down, pulled her hood over her head, and muttered, "I'm taking a nap..."

And just like that, she was asleep.

Nerath, fists clenched, sparks flickering around him, sighed.

"…I hate this life in the mountains..."

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_To Be Continue_