POWER: A Tale of Greatness

CHAPTER 42

"Ninja!"

Yelling hysterically, James swiftly dashed through the snow. Nocturnal Mountain bunnies hopped away from James' direction, and even a hunting snow leopard got distracted inches away from the neck of a mountain goat. Chaotic, James' trauma causes greater casualties outside than to himself, and Bulls is fully aware of this.

"This is bad." Bulls dashed through the snow. "James!"

"Bulls, something is on Jims' tail."

"His fight-or-flight mechanism is driven by his fear, if we fail to stop him, the mountain will kill us!" Bulls charged up his Blue Bolt. "And the knowledge that a fourth individual is around us ain't helping even a bit."

"Human."

"I know, Thor, Blue Bolt must always be my last resort but we're in desperation!" Bulls leaps above the trees, keeping his eyes locked on James who remains screaming. "He's subconsciously using his deity."

"Bulls! You must listen to me! We must not let James leave the covering of the forest!"

"You sensed that too?" Bulls landed back.

"Yes, an overwhelming stench of rust and mold is filling my nostrils."

"Back me up." Bulls disappeared in the air, his explosive speed carving a path of molten snow in his wake.

"Ninja! Ninj–"

"Calm down, James!" Bulls pounced at the Atlantian from behind, causing them to roll and smash into a tree.

"Ninja... ninja." James points above the tip of a tree before falling unconscious. Bulls witnessed it, an individual in black, dark as the shadow itself, crouched above. Face covered with a cloth-like mask whose rear cloth drapes along the blow of the wind. It is armed with two swords, one on its back, the other on its belt.

Its stare locked on Bulls' eye before speaking the word, "Leave." Before completely disappearing, it spoke another phrase.

"Bulls, is the kid all right?"

"He will be okay, he will be."

"How affirmed are you?" Thor asked, carrying the unconscious Atlantian on his back.

"It told us to leave and... it wanted us not to come any closer to the valley, the area where we felt the discomfort, the danger." Bulls strolls through the snowy path, reading the map he received from Oswald. "But we have no other choice but to use the path," He looks back at his friend decisively, "we will continue."

A day later...

Bulls and the others passed through the first mountain and ended up in a deep, steep valley. They decided to hike around to climb over the mountain. On their way around, they got caught in a snowstorm that almost made their way invisible to the eye.

This time, the temperature dropped lower, down to minus two degrees.

"Mr... Bulls. It's c - cold." James mumbled, arms wrapped around his torso.

"Come closer. I'll try to increase my warmth." Bulls paused to wait for him.

"We Asgardians were never bothered by the cold. However, we experience the effects of it such as shivering, fatigue, and numbness." Thor explained.

"That makes... sense." James chuckles weakly.

"James adapted to a humid, tropical rainforest. Exposing him in this kind of condition is fatal for him." Bulls puts his arm over James' shoulder. "Let's go look for a shelter, this snowstorm is growing worse."

The three of them walked through the thickets as they looked for shelter. Thor immediately found a cave, a few steps away from them. However, before they could reach the cave, the Earth suddenly rumbled.