ATHANATOS

Father - II

Ryan woke up to the sound of howling wind. A shiver went down his spine as his inner freak show got the best of him. If the wind was strong at this altitude, he would start to show frostbite symptoms within an hour. He got up and then realised that he was listening to the wind that blew several feet below him. Looking over the cliff, he saw a massive cloud cover just at the same level as his feet. The sheet of grey stretched in all directions for hundreds of kilometres. Below it, high speed winds blew. A storm was coming and Ryan was literally just above it.

"Ryan!" yelled a familiar voice. "Get over here!" Sam was standing near the mountain's highest point.

Ryan followed her as she ran to the camp they set up. On reaching, Ryan looked at the mountain slope. A large crater opened up on the side of the snowy rocks. A light blue light emanated from within it. At the mouth of the craters, people with large drills walked around. A few people were dressed in uniforms and were carrying a long blade in their hands.

"Look at this." she said, handing him a pair of binoculars.

A small boy, younger than Ryan with soot all over his face hastily walked near a guard. He carried one of the larger drills everyone else carried. His cheekbones were visible and he looked like he was starving. Behind him was a massive cart full of bluish black rocks. He appeared to be in a hurry. He dragged the cart to a dome-like structure as fast as he could. While he did that, the guard near him pulled out a rod and started poking the poor boy in the back, as if to say Move it!. Ryan was horrified at the sight and it looked like Sam was feeling the same. Just before they were about to jump down there and heroically fail, X walked in.

"Don't feel bad for them now. They all died a long time back before Lucifer even came into power."

"Wait, what?" replied Ryan, confused. "What do you mean they all died? They're right there!"

"Zack's already down there, I was waiting for you two."

"I'm still confused."

"Come with me." said X, calmly.

X sat down onto the slope and started skidding downwards. Within about ten feet of skidding, he disappeared, leaving the faint outline of a hexagonal figure in the air. Ryan looked even more puzzled but decided to see what's happening.

"On three." said Ryan.

"One" continued Sam.

"Two."

Ryan jumped onto the slope and immediately slipped and fell on his back. The slope carried him downwards quickly. Just as he thought he would enter the mine's boundaries, the scene shifted. Most of it was the same. They were still on the same mountain and still above the clouds. But an entire section of the mountain that wasn't seen earlier came into view. The area was about the size of a single block in an average city. It was littered with small houses with a design similar to the East Asian monasteries of the 20th century. They were arranged in a square with one open platform at the center.

X stood a few feet away from Ryan. "Impressed by it?"

"Absolutely." replied Ryan, still on the cold floor.

"Hold it, what even is 'it'?" asked Sam, who had just arrived at the site.

"This entire area is actually under a dome with tiny cameras on it. The dome is broken up into several hexagonal screens, projecting the image of the mine. The mine blew up a long time ago. You can still see the sky because of the screens inside the dome which are just displaying you what's outside. Essentially it's an invisibility cloak." said X, starting to walk.

"What is this place?" said Ryan, now on his feet and walking behind X.

"This is the only place where you are truly safe from Lucifer. This is Xin Tiantang."