- Heaven's Last Breath -

Potential

My vision was black, nothing to see for miles around no matter how far I looked. After some time, a bright light appeared at the edge of my peripherals. The intensity grew quickly, soon blinding me as I was forced to shut my eyes.

Then, my eyes fluttered open, the scenery completely different to what I had just seen moments ago. Eventually, I adjusted to the surroundings, drinking in the wintery environment. I realised I was still on the mountain's plateau, feeling the soft snow beneath my back. I reclined on the fluffy blanket, the back of my head resting on something warm.

I looked directly up, my eyes meeting a soft, slightly tanned face. Two dazzling emerald irises stared down at me intensely, concern brimming at the edges of those eyes. As we made eye contact, two soft, pink lips curled into a warm smile, the tension melting away.

A half smile crossed my lips as I looked up to Jade. Her right cheek was slightly bruised, her long, midnight black hair rough and untidy. But she was smiling and that's all I could think about.

"I-I'm not dead."

Slowly, Jade shook her head, a dry laugh escaping from her lips as she replied, "Yeah, I can see."

The memories of the gruelling battle flooded into my mind, reminding me of what we had to go through just moments before. But as I laid here, with my head resting on Jade's thighs, I couldn't help but smile, even if I stared death in the face the last time I was awake. I didn't want to break away from the eye contact, feeling a certain warmth between the two of us that I didn't want to end.

"Uh, is that guy finished?"

A half concerned voice called out from just out of my vision, but I recognised who was talking. Ariel joined the two of us, sitting down a few feet away from us with Death joining us a few moments later.

"No, I don't think so. It takes more than that to kill an Incarnate. But we definitely won that fight." I spoke softly, feeling pain in my lungs as my breath drew short. Though, I couldn't stop there, knowing that we still had further to go. "The summit is close, we'll be able to rest there."

After some time, my body decided that it wanted to move as I slowly stood to my feet. Jade threw my right arm around her shoulders, providing me support as I limped forward, feeling terrible pain coursing through my body.

I looked up from my thoughts, seeing that the harsh snowstorm had finally subsided. The sky was mostly clear, clouds few and far between as the setting sun illuminated the summit of the mountain just ahead of us.

---

"Thank you Jade."

As we reached the mountain's peak, we had finally completed the first leg of this part of the journey. Jade refused to let me climb the mountain unattended, knowing I was critically injured. I looked over to her, seeing her soft cheeks heating up slightly as she turned away slightly.

"I-It was nothing."

Ariel took the lead, walking a few steps ahead of us as we arrived at the mountain's summit. I looked around, noticing that the ground was not covered in snow but instead, was coloured a grassy green.

Just ahead of us, there was a small settlement. There were a few thatched roof houses, a larger building made of stone that looked like a church. I looked even further ahead, seeing smoke billowing in the distance.

It didn't take me long to realise that was where the old Ida Kingdom once stood. At the peak of Mount Zion, the once rich and vibrant kingdom had been reduced to ashes and debris.