Series: The Mountain: Book 1: The Awakening

The Truth Hidden Within The Lies

The entire group stared dumbfounded at the carnage that lay before their eyes. Stunned not only by Liam's raw display of unimaginable power, but also by his perfect use of battle strategy against his opponent, all but Helen, who remained unfazed to a certain extent, looked on in unbridled surprise. Helen, who was previously staring intently in the direction Liam had carved his way through, now averted her gaze to the black ring around their group. 

'Is it safe to exit this ring?' she wondered, inching forward, feet a mere step away from crossing the barrier. 

Before she could muster enough courage to attempt stepping over the precisely carved line, a dark puddle of energy suddenly appeared directly in front of her. Temperature decreasing slightly, Helen unintentionally took a step backward as Liam's form exited the pool of aura. 

"Shadow?" Helen tried, voice involuntarily trembling as she spoke. 

"No, it's me," Liam replied softly, aware that his companions were observing their conversation.

"Liam!" Helen shouted, relief filling her tone as she resisted the urge to rush over to his side, "Is-is it safe to exit?"

Staring at the ring of black energy, Liam furrowed his brow at the unnatural sight. Closing his eyes for a brief moment, he raised a palm, summoning his own aura as he focused solely on linking his energy to the ring's. After establishing a secure connection, he then retracted the enacted barrier after reintegrating the sliver of aura into his own once more. With the barrier no longer present, Helen immediately pranced in Liam's direction, grasping him in a tight embrace the moment she arrived. 

"Liam," she whispered, "what was that just then."

"It's a long story," the boy replied, still unsure of how to explain himself. 

"D-did Shadow do anything to you?" Helen asked, retaining her soft tone. 

At the mention of the dark entity's name, Liam suddenly pushed Helen away, staring at her with both concern and confusion, "How do you know that name?" 

"I-," she paused, sneaking a glance at their companions, "We'll talk privately later."

Almost immediately picking up on her intentions, he nodded his acknowledgement before walking over to the group with Helen in tow. 

"What happened to Olivier," Isabelle asked, almost instantly as Liam neared their position. 

Not trusting himself to speak, Liam shook his head at the mention of his opponent. 

"I see," Isabelle replied, tone filled more with interest than remorse. 

"Aren't we all being a bit too subtle here?" Alice questioned, staring wide-eyed at Liam, "I knew you had some talent, but this? This is something else entirely!"

Retaining her defiant expression as everyone turned to face her, Alice continued to stare at Liam, patiently waiting for his explanation. 

"This shouldn't surprise any of you," Helen said, replying in Liam's stead, "As I tried to tell you all before, Liam's always been this powerful. Although this time, his memory seems to be intact."

"That's true," Liam muttered beneath his breath as Helen's realization registered in his mind. 

"Well speaking on behalf of those that aren't as insightful as you," Alice said, gesturing at Helen before she fixated her gaze on Liam once more, "what exactly was that?" 

"That was me pushing myself beyond my current abilities," Liam replied vaguely, "It's not something I can do often and I've only ever done it twice. As Helen said, the first time resulted in me losing my memories for a while. Seeing as though there was a penalty for using such power, I can almost be certain that another will soon show itself for this recent display."