Series: The Mountain: Book 1: The Awakening

Arrival

A slight ripple flickered across the invisible barrier as Alice poked her head through to the other side. Shivering from the cold energy that greeted her there, Alice looked on with a grin as she spotted Xavier, Sylvie and Helen staring dumbfoundedly at the immense mountain that stood before them. Unlike the one they'd seen outside, the rocky monstrosity that lay cemented in front of them easily dwarfed it's outer counterpart. The peak, which was nowhere to be seen on such a clear day, only served to exaggerate the enormity of the mountainous land mass. As the trio continued to admire the gently sloping path that stretched upwards, Alice couldn't help but let out a small laugh. Not only did their reactions bring back memories of her first moments past the unseen gate, but it also made her recollect the resolve she'd entered with a few years prior. 

'If I could just turn back time to that one instance,' she sighed whilst shaking her head, 'I'd have been able to prevent that unfortunate disaster.'

Helen, who was just able to hear Alice's chuckling from her position, suddenly turned around, expression changing from one of wonder to that of disappointment. Slipping away from Xavier and Sylvie, she made her way towards Alice, whose mind was still lingering in the thoughts of her past. 

"Is he really gone?" Helen asked shakily, words snapping Alice out of her stupor. 

"What do you-?" Alice said, stopping abruptly as she'd only noticed Liam's absence just then.

"What is it?" Helen asked as Alice suddenly turned around frantically. 

"Liam, he went through before me," Alice replied, eyes trained on the barrier, "I saw him go through with my own eyes."

"Then where is he?" Sylvie said, butting into their conversation, seemingly no longer in awe of the Mountain's massive appearance.

"There's only one place he could be," Alice said, concern entering her tone, "He's inside the barrier!"

"What does that mean?" Helen asked, confronting the younger girl. 

"I-I told him to clear his mind before he went through the barrier," Alice muttered, biting down on a fingernail nervously, upset that her earlier reminiscing had caused her not to notice his disappearance sooner.

"What's going to happen to Liam?" Helen questioned, gently shaking Alice, who continued to mutter to herself. 

"Helen!" Sylvie shouted as she witnessed the princess' ill-mannered actions, "You need to calm yourself."

"I'm sorry," Helen replied, eyes welling up with tears as she feared the worst was about to transpire, "I just-."

"I understand what you're going through," Sylvie paused before continuing, "but you need to remember who it is you're worrying about. It's Liam for crying out loud! Do you really think something like this can stop him?"

"You're right," Helen said blinking the tears out of her eyes, "I'm sure he's about to walk through any minute now!"

Alice, who was less confident about Sylvie's words and Helen's expectations, looked on in silence at the formless barrier. 

Whilst Xavier, who was just made aware of the situation by Sylvie, crossed over to where they stood, waiting eagerly for Liam's arrival, a sudden tremble ran across the barrier, causing it's now partially visible surface to ripple violently. 

"What's happening?" Sylvie questioned as the intensity of the vibrations increased. 

"I'm not sure," Alice replied, equally confused by the new occurrence. 

As the situation began to unfold, an even colder wind emanated from the barrier, dropping the temperature further. Simultaneously, several cracks began to appear as the barrier suddenly solidified into a bare, grayish, stone wall. Alice stood still, completely stunned by the new development as she witnessed what appeared to be the barrier's physical form, the very same she'd heard of only in legends, standing right here before her very eyes. No one dared to speak as copious amounts of dark energy seeped through the cracks, widening each opening until it finally crumbled altogether. Stepping out of the crude, newly formed hole was Liam, sword in hand as he stumbled through. Eyes completely black, an ominous energy radiated from his entire body, sending chills down the spines of all those present. Exiting from the misshapen hole, the dark energy covering his eyes instantly dissipated as Liam collapsed onto the grassy floor below, sword thumping as it fell from his grasp.