The Chronicles of Ostrunov 3 Until We Meet Again

Chapter 7

A few days later, deep in the woods with no road map, the three companions continued their journey. Although the path wasn't easy, the scenery of the lush pine forest, clean stream, cool weather, rare wildlife, and magical creatures not seen in the big cities, distracted them.

Along the way, Immanuel told about his hometown. It was a lowland land suitable for agriculture, making it the breadbasket of Scandinavia. The community settled for hundreds of years before his ancestors gathered the birth cities and became the youngest city of the three kingdoms. The people here were good-natured, peaceful, having zero conflicts with their neighbors.

Deeper into the forest, dangerous beasts were spotted. Immanuel warned his companions to be on the lookout, while Lucas watched their back.

"Be careful, guys. The wild beasts around here are unfriendly."

"Don't worry. If we get injured, I have enough healing potions for all of us. By the way, where are we right now?"

"We are probably not far away, ah! That way."

He pointed to a steep rock formation like a very tall wall stand in front of them.

When the three stood in front, there were no traces of any structures around or any entrance.
Both Axel and Lucas were skeptical of what was in front of them, but Immanuel explained.

"Here, it was originally the main route into the ancient city of Zidus, but after the epidemic, people evacuated from the city. The leader ordered the explosion of a large number of rocks to block the path to Zidus, preventing the spread of the disease. But some said it was for protecting the remaining assets in the city from robbers. In the end, this city was shut down from the outside world and eventually forgotten. Until today, no one remembers the city or a way to return to the city again. I only know about this when my grandfather, King Valtteri, told me about it as a child."

"I will fly up and see if there's anything."

Lucas soared to the top of the mountain. After a while, he landed and complained in disappointment.

"Nothing, buddy. From the top of the mountain, everything is covered in thick fog. I couldn't even use magic to detect anything. If behind these rocks existed a city, people created these things must be very strong and powerful in magical power."

"Then we must find a way across these rocks. Hopefully, there will be a way around here. Let's find it out."

All three tried to search for anything in the area but found nothing

"Did you find anything?"

"Not at all .."

"Maybe, you could try a spell to drill down the rock?"

Lucas tried a mountain piercing spell but nothing changed. There were no traces of impact. He looked at it again and realized one thing.
He tried to cast another spell but instead of hoping for the destruction of the mountain, he intended the mountain to show its true appearance.

The mountains gradually faded away. The three began to see the dense forest behind which it was hidden until the mountain disappeared. He observed the Iron Curtain barrier that separated the inner realm from the outside world.

The barrier was colorless, intangible, but it could block out everything, even the sunlight. Behind this barrier, the sky was dark in the middle of the night. Birds that accidentally flew close to the barrier were completely destroyed by the spell.

He warned his comrades not to touch the barrier before backing out for safety.

"It's exactly what I thought. This mountain is just an illusion created to cover the Iron Curtain Area. It seems that the Zidus Kingdom is not a fallen ancient city. It might have never been destroyed from the beginning. People who can create these things must be a highly civilized people with very strong spells."

"What's next? Should we keep going? Or should we take a step back?"
Axel asked the two comrades for their opinion.

But before the three decided, there was the sound of heavy footsteps, followed by a roar behind them.
The owner of that voice appeared in no time, revealing the primitive creature that should have been extinct long ago staring at them.

Immanuel was amazed at what he saw.
"God !!!! That's a dinosaur!!!?? Am I right?!!??"

"I guess, this guy must be one of the guardians of this wall. And now it must have thought that we're the intruders!"
Lucas spoke and explained to everyone.

"Again, this second life and death situation!? Any ideas?"
Axel continued to ask.


"It's simple. RUN, guys!!!"


The three of them fled for their lives. They didn't even know where they were heading, as the big dinosaur chased them down.

"Whoa, don't eat me! I'm not tasty!!"

Immanuel shouted back before the trio stumbled into a pitfall on the ground.


"Woahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh !!!!! ~~~..."


......


No one could tell how deep the hole was and how long had they been out? But when the three regained consciousness, they found themselves in a rather large cave with no light or exit. It turned they escaped from the dinosaurs but ended up trapped in a cave of god knows where.

"Unbelievable. If we wrote this in the report book, everyone must say we're out of our minds. Is everyone safe!?"

Immanuel immediately looked for his comrades. He found Lucas unconscious. Upon initial examination, there were no serious injuries. He hurriedly woke him up by shaking vigorously.

"Wake up!! Open your eyes!! You can't die now!!"

"Enough, I'm awake! So dizzy. And how long have I been knocked out?"

"I've no idea. I don't even know if it's day or night. But that's all for now! Come help me find Axel first!"


....


In the midst of the darkness, Axel regained consciousness. He found himself lying among the rocks somewhere. As he tried to move, he found that his right ankle was so sprained that he couldn't even stand up.

"Oh, come on! I still don't want to lie here and wait for my death!"

He gritted his teeth against the pain and tried to find a way out. He looked for the sign of his comrades but the more he walked, the more he felt lost.

As time passed, he could no longer go on and collapsed to the ground.

"....I wish for some miracle to help me out of this..."

But before he lost consciousness again, he noticed a bright light in the distance, hearing the voice of someone he didn't know calling him in.
During that time, he felt like he was dreaming since his body suddenly floated on its own. It was as if someone helped him to safety. But before his thought went further, he lost consciousness

.
.
.

..... Here, where is this? ...


He regained consciousness at a very strange place. There was nothing around him. Above him was a beautiful blue sky. But he didn't feel any living thing.


"..Hey, am I dead?"

"... No, boy. Not yet now..."


There was a sound from the sky. A moment later, the figure of a man dressed in white appeared.


"Who are you? God?"


"Everyone calls me that. My name is Boreas, God of the North Wind and the protector of the family Midnatthimmelsen"


"...Then where am I now? I'm already dead, right?"


"As I said, you're not dead yet, just close. The spirit within you called me out. You are in a safe place now. Just wait for the time to wake up."


"So... this must be a dream... By the way, what do you mean? The spirit within me?"


"It's the same thing your fellow magicians used to tell you. A magical power that can command the wind under your control. It is the same thing that I gave to your father in return for his good deeds."


"Wait a minute.. You're saying...my father isn't a normal human? So the other members of the clan have the same powers as me."


"Wrong. This spirit has chosen a person, a young man. Just the reason why it is you. It is your duty to find the answer yourself."


"....Then how will I use this to protect my friend and the person I love? I don't even know how to control it right now..."


"Don't worry. Soon you will be able to. Just trust the sound of your heart... Alright, now it's time for you to return to your comrades."


"nN! Wait! Don't go just yet!......"

.
.
.

Everything was pitch black again. Before a familiar voice called out to him over and over again.
He slowly opened his eyes again to find that Lucas and Immanuel were desperately trying to awaken him.

Immanuel hurriedly hugged him with joy.

"Thank God, you're awake!! I thought you were already dead!!"
"I'm fine. But my ankle, Ouch!!"

Lucas heard so. He hurried to help heal the wound immediately.

"But you are very tough. You can walk so far despite this leg."
"What does that mean? So how did you guys find me? The last place I remembered before I passed out. It doesn't look like this one at all."


Axel was still confused. What happened was supposed to be just a dream, wasn't it? Or was there really someone who helped him out? That was why he was here on the flat ground, next to the well in the cave where his friends found him.

"Thanks to this guy, using the scraps of your clothes to trace until we found this place."
Immanuel looked at Lucas, who was using magic to heal his ankle.

"Thank you very much"
"No worries, that's what friends are for, right?"

"..... Uh, let me ask you something. It probably wouldn't be the right time now, but I've always wondered. Since we were at school, Prince Oceania like you, why would you want to befriend with someone like me?"

Upon that, Lucas paused for a moment. It was as if he didn't want to answer before looking directly at Axel.


"Because for me, you were the first and only person in the school who chose not to walk away from me that day.