Zackory - a fateful touch (Vol. 2) ✅

Chapter 36

Zack had made a decision. I won't regret this. However, when he rose from the bed in which his mate was still sleeping, he hesitated for a moment. He looked at him again. I'm sorry, Yalo, but I have to do this. You will understand. He had sent a raven off yesterday.

Now he crept out of the room on quiet paws. Everything was silent, only a few servants walked quietly through the corridors. However, they paid no attention to him. When he stepped outside and the cold air kissed his skin, he exhaled properly for the first time. I did it. He clenched his fist, then ran off, made his way to the border of Astaroth's estate, which was protected by a barrier. As he passed through it, he felt a slight tingling sensation.

"You look horrible," he was greeted.

"Thank you, I've been looking forward to seeing you too, Rika."

Rika repelled herself from the tree she had leaned against. "So, Zack, it's time for an explanation. Why did you order me here this morning to go to the border of Astaroth's estate without his consent?" At least that's what she assumed, because why would he sneak out?

"I'm going on a hunt. The destination is a place where you are the only one who has been there – Fanjinshan."

Rika had her arms crossed and looked at him suspiciously. "And why the whole thing in a night-and-fog action?"

"Lucan mustn't know that I am leaving. I can't tell you why right now, I'm asking you for a free pass," Zack answered honestly.

Rika clacked her tongue. Free pass, huh. This boy has never been hiding something from me since the night he confessed to me that he was visiting Aleks. There had to be a good reason why he did so. "He's your heart, isn't he?" she asked.

Zack's gaze revealed everything to her. She had known. Sighing, she gave in. He has a damn good reason and I can't stand in his way. "You owe me something for that and it won't be a small favor," she said, seeing the pure relief on Zack's face.

"I will take you to Fanjinshan," Rika said, taking a step back. Then she summoned a portal using an artifact. Summoning it on their own exceeded their abilities. He looked in the direction from which he had come, then he walked through the portal without any further hesitation. Rika followed him and closed it again.

The next thing Zack saw was green flora and a huge mountain looming in front of him. Rika had taken them to the foot of the mountain.

"I couldn't get any closer because I never climbed the mountain," Rika said.

The mountain in front of them looked like a huge boulder split in the middle at the top. Bushes and trees grew all over it, so that the bare rock could only be seen on the steep edges. Two identical-looking temples were enthroned on the top.

The way up was a staircase carved in stone with more than 8000 steps. It meandered upwards at the front and once led through the gorge that divided the mountain at the top. Then it led up on the left side to the inside. There it ended on the kidney-shaped plateau on which the first temple – the Shakyamuni Temple – stood. Over a bridge you'd reached its twin on the other side.

"Then let's go," Zack said with a grin. So the two of them made their way to the top. The ascent took a good three hours. Rika told him what he had missed in the past few weeks and the current gossip of hell. Time flew by, but he enjoyed every second. Once at the top, a breathtaking view extended into the distance.

Both temples were built of white stone walls and gray stone tiled roofs that were axisymmetric. Three small protrusions with their own roofs ran stair-shaped at the edge down to the pointed roof. The entrance facing the cliff was shielded by a small white wall with the same roof. The back wall of the temple lay directly in front of a large boulder that grew out of the ground. Everything was bordered by a railing.