Top of the Mountain

The snow continued to fall, tinged with ash, blurring the landscape into a gray haze.

The sky of ash and smoke choked the light away, an overcast gloom further chilled the freezing air.

Black smoke continued to spew forth from the mouth of the ruptured mountain as rivers of lava spilled into the valley.

The lava flow igniting vegetation upon contact, spreading flames from tree to tree.

The intense heat meeting frozen tinder erupted with a cacophony of pops and crackles, echoing through the silent cold.

The greyish-black skies swelled with red, evoking an otherworldly, eerie atmosphere as ice and fire danced.

In a snowy hillside, the eyelashes of an unconscious woman with silvery white hair fluttered.

Asha blinked several times in a daze, before recalling what happened, provoking her to wake up with a fright.

She sat up and looked around. Once she saw Kai unconscious beside her, she immediately panicked and feared for the worst.

"No, no, this can't be." She muttered to herself nervously as she cradled her son in her arms.

Fortunately, after checking that he was still breathing, Asha released a sigh of relief.

Despite the cold, Asha didn't mind as she could only focus on holding Kai in her arms, brushing the snow from his face as she gazed at him tenderly.

He was still quite young, not even an adult yet, but she could see how his face is gradually maturing into that of a man's.

The large shadow of a man who stood in front to defend her despite being younger and smaller than her.

The sweet memories warmed her heart so much, but it also brought a tear to her eye because she nearly lost him again.

That terrifying winged creature with black scales and razor-sharp teeth emerged from the mountain like the harbinger of the end of the world.

Just thinking about it made her shiver, yet her son was brave enough to shield her from such a monster.

And miraculously, they somehow survived.

She had no idea what happened after passing out, but she believed that it was all due to Kai that they were able to come out of this alive.

As Asha was reflecting on the situation, Kai stirred and opened his eyes.

He held his head as a wave of discomfort washed over him, before shaking it off after a brief moment.

Asha held his cheek in worry. "Are you hurt? Do you need anything?"

Kai blinked a few times as he processed what was going on. He looked up to see his mother's brow scrunched in worry.

"Did we survive?" He looked into her worried eyes.

Her thumb brushed some dirt off his cheek. "Yes, I think we did."

Kai widened his eyes, pleasantly surprised that the dragon really did nothing to them and just flew away.

He thought the dragon would gobble them up, so he expected the worst. He let out a sigh of relief that he was proven wrong.

"It's all thanks to you. You protected us." She stroked his hair with pride, believing that her son had somehow saved them from disaster.

Kai enjoyed basking in his mother's praise for a moment, ignoring the fact that all he did was stand in front of her and stare at a dragon.

If the dragon had actually attacked, his feeble attempt at resistance would've been met with instant death.

"How's your injury?" Kai replied as he sat up.

Asha smiled warmly. "I'll be fine."

However, Kai noticed the red on her leg and took matters into his own hands.

After wrapping her bloodied knee with some strips of thin leather, Kai assessed the vicinity for any dangers.

Luckily, there were only the tops of evergreen trees poking out of the snow in their immediate surroundings. All the animals have either died, buried, or fled far away.

Kai led Asha to a large boulder a short distance away uphill before climbing to the top to get a better view of the area.

He recognized the landscape and quickly pinpointed the direction of the cave they called home.

Kai's eyes narrowed as he muttered under his breath. "Shit."

The usual outcropping wasn't where he remembered. Instead, he realized that one of the rock fragments from the eruption crashed into their cave.

It appeared all but obliterated so everything that they kept in the cave has probably been destroyed.

Now, all they have left in this world are themselves.

When he looked further up, he noticed that the peak of the mountain they were on had also been smashed, the top noticeably shorter and wider than before.

In addition, there were fires appearing all around the mountain for miles and spreading. The dry winter air will only accelerate the spread of fire.

Kai realized that they were gradually being surrounded by the fire and the only path to escape was the opposite direction, the other side of the mountain.

He climbed down the boulder and told Asha. "Our cave got hit and is probably destroyed, but we have to go, the fire is spreading fast."

Asha grabbed his arm. "Where do we go?"

Kai held her hand and led her away as he spoke. "Back of this mountain. That's the only direction the fire hasn't spread yet."

'It's also the direction that the dragon flew.' Kai thought to himself.

The two of them trudged through the snow at a brisk pace, the red-hot glow behind urging them forward as the sky darkened from the smoke and ash.

This mountain has been Kai's backyard for years, so he recognized the way despite all the snow covering the ground.

Although a lot of rocks and debris had altered the landscape here and there, it wasn't to the point that he couldn't recognize the general direction.

With him leading the way and making a path, Asha was able to keep up despite her injury.

However, she hadn't exerted this much energy in a long time and was already slightly out of breath after some distance.

As they trekked around the mountain, Kai couldn't help himself from glancing at the smashed peak.

He felt himself being drawn toward the peak for some reason, but he rationalized it as his danger sense going overdrive.

'Perhaps there might be another avalanche or rockslide. It doesn't hurt to be cautious.' He thought to himself.

The two kept hiking as Kai continued to peek at the peak with increasing frequency.

Asha had already noticed Kai's sudden interest in the peak since she had been watching his actions from behind.

As they neared the back of the mountain, Asha couldn't help but ask her son. "Kai, you keep looking at the top. Did you see something?"

Unprepared to answer because even he didn't know why he was so focused on the peak in the first place, Kai stumbled on his words. "Oh, umm. I don't- didn't see anything. I think."

Asha scrunched her brows as she approached Kai, obviously suspicious at his behavior. "Is there something wrong? You know you can tell me."

Kai hesitated for a moment before relenting. "I don't know why, but I can't help but to pay attention to the peak. It's giving me a weird feeling."

"A weird feeling? Is there danger? Are you alright?" A frown appeared on her face as she imagined the worst.

"I'm fine. It's just, I'm not sure if it's a dangerous feeling or not. I'm not sure how to describe it. I just have this sense that makes me drawn towards it maybe?" Kai rubbed his chin as he analyzed.

Asha watched on bemused as Kai couldn't keep still while he was thinking. Watching her son who is basically still a child being so serious and pensive left a bittersweet flavor in her heart.

She wished her son didn't have to go through so much hardship. He was still a boy but saddled with the responsibilities of a man.

If that was how it had to be, then she will do her best to support her son.

"Then why don't we go up and take a look?" Asha broke the silence, drawing Kai's attention to her.

"But, what about your leg?" Kai was concerned that she would further injure herself.

Asha smiled sweetly in response. "I'll be fine. It's only scratch."

Kai stared into her eyes for another moment before nodding. "Then make sure you follow me closely."

The duo changed course and started ascending the mountain.

It wasn't the first time Kai had climbed to the peak so he was able to guide Asha along without too much difficulty.

Since they were already more than halfway up the mountain, they didn't have too far to travel.

However, it still took them a couple hours to reach the top since Kai followed Asha's pace.

By the time they reached the peak, the brisk wind battering against their bodies caused them to stick close together for warmth.

In front of them, a large crater was carved into the peak with rock fragments scattered everywhere.

However, Kai felt something drawing him towards the center of the crater.

The two carefully climbed down to the bottom which happened to shield them from the wind.

Kai started to search around the center until he dug out a particularly black, lustrous rock the size of his face.

It was still hot to the touch and as he dusted off the dirt, his eyes widened in realization.

"A dragon scale."