章 7: The Mountain's test
When I opened my eyes, I was tied to a pillar by some sort of string, almost like wire, but stretchy. Like hardened string cheese that has been melted. I tried to break free of this string, but it was just too strong. I shook loads of dust from my long hair, which fell onto my orange bandana. This place was really dusty, yet the air in this place I was in felt very moist, like the inside of a cave. It was dark, incredibly dark, but I could see just a little. I searched around for some sort of sharp object, but the best I could find was a shard of glass in my pocket.
I tried to use it up and down, trying to cut the ropes, but it wouldn't budge. If anything, the glass was breaking because it was so hard.
Suddenly, the area started to feel warmer, and slightly brighter too. I could see jagged spikes hanging down from the ceiling, almost like icicles. I looked around to see where the light source was coming from, and feeling of realization suddenly washed over me.
I was in a volcano.
This thought only made me move more in panic, but there was nothing I could do. I thought harder and harder, but the rising of heat just kept getting more and more intense, making it harder for me to think.
I tried to think of how I was going to get out of here, but there was nothing sharp enough to cut this string. Suddenly, an idea came to mind. If I couldn't cut these ropes, what if I tried to burn them instead? It was a longshot, but so far everything I thought of up to this point seemed to work. Ever since I got this watch, it seems like luck and time are finally getting along with me.
As the lava's light source started to get brighter, I twisted my body upside down, where my feet were now in the air while my hands held onto some grooves in the wall. The lava was rising, and the heat was unbearable, nearly impossible to keep from passing out, but it was my only shot for survival.
The magma finally reached the string and it instantly burned away, reduced to mere atoms. It simply just disintegrated. I finally burned the string, but the heat was getting to much for me. I was starting to get light-headed, but I forced myself to stay focused. I looked up to see four figures staring down at me from above.
"Hey, could you help me? I'm kinda in a tight situation here," I yelled up. But the figures disappeared from sight, as if they didn't care to help. 'Dang it. It was worth the shot,' I thought.
I started to scale the column, occasionally grabbing onto spikes that were conveniently there when I needed them. Out of breath and shaking from the heat, I eventually was closing in at the top. But the molten rock wasn't far behind. The liquid fire was only a few feet from me, closing in rapidly. I tried to scale faster, but I just couldn't bring myself to it.
I was slowing down, and that was going to end badly for me if I didn't do something quick.
My mind felt like goo, no thoughts could enter my head except for the ones about where to grab ahold of for climbing.
"Effect 'Time Stop' has been activated for 5 seconds," the watch suddenly said. It startled me, which almost made me slip. I could no longer feel the heat from below, nor did I feel cold all of a sudden. I didn't hesitate to use this time to scale upwards.
"Effect 'Time Stop' has been deactivated," the voice said. A huge wave of heat fell over me just as I climbed over the top. I rolled over onto flat ground. I breathed in heavily, panting from climbing nearly 30 feet. I was greeted then by a large group of people. If that's what you would call them. These people looked like animals. Like, real animals mixed in with human appearances. There was one who looked like a lizard, and another that looked like a boar. I could hear chattering and whispering among these creatures.
"Did he really make that?"
"How? There's no way. No one has been able to pass the test of the volcano."
"He looks kinda cute."
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH," I screamed. "G- GET AWAY FROM ME!"
There chattering immediately came to a halt. It startled everyone around me, they stepped back as if I were the monster. Then again, I wasn't on earth.
"Where the hell even am I?" I asked.
No one seemed to answer me at first. Then a pleasant voice said behind me, "Don't worry. Do not worry. You are now on are Planet, Jaguer."
I turned to look behind me. In a large chair, a man with ruffled, dark blue-tinted hair and the uniform of a lieutenant sat. Middle-aged, he had cobalt blue eyes, much like my own. Except, mine were more of a icy color, but it still didn't change the fact that he looked scary. On both sides of him stood two guards, one with the face of a leopard, the other with the face of a wolf.
"Planet...Jaguer!?! What the —" a hand flew towards my mouth and covered it before I could finish my sentence.
"There are little ones here, so be mindful of your language," a girl whispered in my ear. "Just shut your mouth and we'll call that attitude of yours good."
She released her hand and I shuddered from the aura her body gave off. I felt like she had the intent to kill me with just the flick of her pinky.
"Ziya, be quiet my dear. We have a guest that passed our test," the man said.
She stepped back and stood slightly to my right. It was odd because the girl and the man were the only ones who were human, unlike the others in the crowd.
"Young man, there has been only few who have passed the test of the mountain. The strings of my daughter there..." he gestured to the girl that silenced me, "can't be cut, yet you somehow figured out that they could burn easily. How did you know?"
"Just a lucky guess. I couldn't cut the strings, so I decided to try and burn them," I answered.
"Interesting... you knew that it was only a slight chance, yet you still took it. I am very impressed. Tonight, we will feast for the only two who have ever passed the test of the mountain!" he exclaimed with delight.
A dinner? But what would people back home think if I didn't make it back in time?
Meh, it was only dinner. It wouldn't be the end of the world. Besides, no one would care that I disappeared. Everything would be fine. I'm sure glad it was that is was Friday too...
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