“If You Can't Climb Alone”

The sun bled into the sky, casting golden ribbons over the mountainside. Trees whispered in the wind, their leaves catching the last light like embers. Kyota stood at the edge of the trail, bag slung across his shoulder, preparing to descend.

The wizard's words rang in his mind:

"Strength comes from solitude. You'll climb down alone. Bring back the Heartroot Flowers before the stars rise."

And he accepted it. Without question.

Kyota had always walked forward, even if it meant walking alone.

Just as he turned—

"Kyota!"

He looked back.

Yuki was running toward him, breathless, her white cloak fluttering like a torn flag in the wind.

"You weren't going to say goodbye?" she asked, voice tight.

"This isn't that kind of journey."

"I want to come."

"It's not allowed."

"I don't care."

Kyota's jaw clenched. "You should."

Before another word, a glowing sigil snapped into the air between them — the wizard's barrier. Transparent, but pulsing with runes and power. A quiet warning.

Yuki froze. "He's serious…"

Kyota nodded. "Stay. It's safer."

But the look in her eyes didn't fade.

He didn't wait to hear more. He turned and vanished into the forest below.

---

The lower trail was steep, carved into the mountainside like a scar. Vines clung to the stone. Flowers bloomed in eerie colors. The deeper Kyota went, the more the silence pressed in.

It was beautiful — and wrong.

Somewhere between fog and foliage, a voice broke through.

"Took you long enough."

Kyota spun around. "Yuki?!"

She grinned, a little smug, a lot tired. "I circled the barrier. Figured you might need a backup plan."

He sighed. "You're a menace."

She winked. "Takes one to know one."

They walked together after that, no words needed. Maybe loneliness wasn't something you had to cling to like armor.

---

The Grove of Echoes lay hidden behind a waterfall of vines. They slipped through and stepped into a world made of dreams.

The ground shimmered with soft moss. Blue fireflies floated in the mist. In the middle, beneath a glowing canopy, bloomed the Heartroot Flowers — delicate clusters of crimson petals pulsing faintly with magic as if breathing with the forest itself.

Kyota stepped toward them. "There they are."

But as he knelt—

The earth rumbled.

The sand to their left began to shift, ripple, and rise.

A figure emerged — massive, faceless, built from packed sand and pulsing mana. It loomed, then charged.

Kyota roared, launching forward.

His fist, glowing with dark curse energy, smashed through the beast's chest. It exploded in dust. But within seconds, the grains spun and rebuilt. A massive arm clubbed him in the ribs — he flew back and crashed into a tree, coughing blood.

"KYOTA!"

Yuki ran forward, but the creature blocked her path.

Kyota groaned, pushing himself up. "Don't... come near...!"

Another strike hit him — this time from below. His legs gave out.

Yuki screamed. "Stop it!"

Something snapped inside her.

The air twisted.

Magic burst from her chest like a supernova. Five glowing symbols spun around her head — fire, water, wind, earth, and lightning — each alive, pulsing with power.

Kyota, dazed, saw her silhouette cloaked in elemental fury.

"What the hell…?"

Yuki raised her hands.

Water surged first, soaking the creature. Lightning followed — the blast turned the soaked sand into boiling sludge. A cyclone ripped through, slicing limbs off the monster. Fire engulfed what remained, and when the creature hardened into brittle glass, a final punch of earth magic shattered it.

Dust rained down.

The grove fell silent.

Yuki stumbled forward to Kyota. Her hands glowed — not with divine light, but with raw elemental energy drawn from the soil and sky.

"Hold still," she whispered.

She pressed her palm to his chest, and warmth poured into him — a subtle tremble as the broken ribs realigned, and the blood stopped.

"You can… heal too?" Kyota asked, stunned.

"I didn't know. I just… reacted."

He stared. She wasn't just gifted. She was terrifying.

And somewhere deep inside, he felt something shift.

Doubt?

Envy?

No… emptiness.

Maybe he wasn't needed anymore.

Yuki looked down at the sand and picked up a cracked core — a glowing crystal. "You were the one who weakened it. You scattered the structure. I just finished the job."

Kyota didn't respond.

Yuki turned, her voice deeper — calm, strange like someone older was speaking through her.

"If you can't fight alone…" she said softly,

"…then let's climb up together."

Then, as if the magic drained all at once, she collapsed.

"Yuki—!"

Kyota caught her. Her body was burning hot, but her breathing was steady.

He looked down at the Heartroot Flowers, still glowing quietly at the center of the grove, and then at the shattered sand and glowing core.

"Idiot," he muttered, smiling faintly as he slung her onto his back. "Can't even follow orders right."

But even as he limped back up the mountain, something in his heart felt lighter.

Kyota pushed open the wooden door with his shoulder, the warm light from the hearth spilling across the floor. He laid Yuki gently onto the small bed inside the cottage, brushing a strand of hair from her forehead. Her breath was steady, but her face was pale — drained like the storm inside her had finally calmed.

The wizard stood in the corner, arms crossed, watching silently.

"What happened to her?" Kyota asked, not bothering to hide the edge in his voice.

"She awakened too much, too fast," the wizard said. "Five elements at once… That kind of power comes with a price."

Kyota sat at her side, fists clenched. "She saved me. She didn't even hesitate."

The wizard stepped forward, gaze softer now. "That's what worries me."

Kyota looked up. "Then teach us. Don't just sit back and test us like puppets."

The room fell silent.

After a long pause, the wizard nodded.

"I will. But not yet. Her magic needs time to settle. And you…" He eyed Kyota with something like respect. "You've seen what it means to fight with someone beside you. That's your lesson for now."

Kyota glanced at Yuki, her hand still faintly glowing.

"I'm not leaving her behind," he said quietly.

"You won't have to," the wizard replied.

The wizard didn't say anything more but smiled as he found a reason to keep climbing

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