"Follow in my footsteps. Do not step anywhere else," Adam repeated those words again.
He slowly descended the staircase, guiding the two-tailed fox who followed closely behind him. Of course, he had to once again disarm all the traps along the way leading to the portal. He didn’t think he would return so soon, after all.
"Who created this portal?" Asked the Kitsune, glancing at the mysterious runes carved along the wall with curiosity.
Adam’s expression twisted into a frown. "A bad man. A very bad man."
The fox glanced at his back and scoffed. "Is this man responsible for the way you look?"
Adam’s hand involuntarily reached towards his scarred face. With a wide grin on his face, he answered, "In a manner of speaking, yes. This man, he... well, he ruined my life. And I’m on a quest to seek revenge."
The Kitsune shook her head. "Then you should dig an additional grave for yourself, human."
Adam remained silent.
Soon, the two arrived at the underground chamber that housed the portal. The mont the Kitsune’s gaze landed on the giant blue portal, she was instantly enamoured.
"Beautiful," she praised. "So this is the portal that allows instantaneous travel across great distances? Simply remarkable! In all of my life, I have never seen anything like this. For all your flaws, you humans sure create marvelous feats of magic."
"...Yeah," Adam replied absentmindedly.
He turned to the fox and added, "Wait right there. I needed to deactivate the traps again."
Since he’d already done this before, it didn’t take him that long to disarm the traps again. Another day later, all the defense chanisms in the underground chamber had been deactivated.
Adam stood in front of the portal with a wide grin and said, "Alright, this is it. Once we step through the portal, we’ll have arrived at Mabi."
The Kitsune turned towards him and flatly said, "You first."
Adam’s lips twitched. "Fine, whatever."
With that said, he leapt through the portal.
The Kitsune watched this unfold with awe. She took a step forward and arrived before the portal. She hesitated for a few monts before turning around and casting one final look at this chamber.
She sighed, then turned back around. This ti, without hesitation, she leapt into the portal.
***
Several days later, within the mysterious black cube, Adam and the Kitsune stood before the entrance. The forr looked apprehensive, while the latter appeared strangely excited.
Adam turned to her and said, "Look, I already warned you about there being powerful beasts here—"
But the Kitsune interrupted him. "You fret like a pup. Just open the door."
"Fret like a pup?" Adam blurted out. "Are you serious? Those beasts could kill with a swipe of their claws! I can’t face them without proper planning—"
"Just open it."
The Kitsune cut him off again.
Adam gulped nervously. "Fine," he said. "Don’t say I didn’t warn you. And just to be safe, I’m not stepping outside."
"Coward," the fox sneered.
"Damn right, I’m a coward," Adam proudly stated.
He pressed a few sections on the wall, then weaved a set of complex hand seals. A few monts later, the wall before him rumbled, then a faint outline of a door appeared.
As the door shifted to the side, it revealed a pitch-black area beyond. Seeing this, the Kitsune frowned. She turned to Adam and coldly asked, "What is the aning of this?"
"Ah." Adam patted his head. "I forgot to ntion we’re at the bottom of a crater that is perpetually shrouded in darkness. It’s a concealnt function of the cube. Nothing nefarious, I assure you."
The Kitsune’s eyes narrowed. She turned outward, then spread out her senses. A few monts later, her eyes widened in slight surprise. She was truly startled to see anything other than a snowy land.
"Hey, I’ve kept my end of the bargain." Adam’s words reeled her back in.
"I’m sure there’s so snowy peak on this land you can call ho. And there’s plenty of prey here, so you’ll never have to starve. Actually, I also ca across several packs of foxes. So, I don’t know... you can rule over them or sothing."
The Kitsune deeply looked at Adam, then said:
"I’ve left sothing for you back at the pagoda. That should help you in your journey."
Adam cast a dubious look. "What is it?"
But the Kitsune did not reply. She took a step and exited the black cube. In a few monts, she disappeared beyond the darkness.
Adam remained standing by the door for a long ti, dazed. At last, he grumbled under his breath, "Rude fox. Didn’t even thank ."
He pressed a certain section of the wall, causing the door to close, his final words echoing in the dark crater.
"Well, at least she didn’t eat ..."
***
Adam arrived back at the pagoda in Yen-Lu. He felt greatly accomplished in his heart. He feared he would have to get into a life-or-death scenario, but thankfully, it did not co to that.
He diligently worked on the runes carved inside the pagoda, making it seem like no one had entered this structure and nothing had changed. It took him a few more days of work until he was finally ready to leave.
Stepping out of the main door of the pagoda, the freezing winds threatened to drill inside his flesh. It was severely cold, the likes of which he had never experienced before.
"Did she even leave anything? Or was she just lying?" He muttered in a shaky breath as he closed the main door behind him.
Suddenly, he paused. His senses settled on a mysterious item hanging on the door.
"Could this be it?" He muttered under his breath as he reached out for the item.
It was a white mask with intricate and symtrical details, featuring sharp, feline-like eyes. Elaborate black markings ran across the forehead and cheeks, resembling tribal symbols.
The mask’s mouth consisted of sharp fangs that resembled a demon’s than a beast’s, giving it a dreadful appearance.
It greatly resembled the Kistune’s face.
Adam couldn’t help but tremble in horror at the sight of another mask. But after ensuring that it did not possess any magic, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Though it had no magical properties, it would help him in his journey. At the very least, others wouldn’t be able to see his hideous face any longer.
He pulled over his hood and prepared to leave. "You ready?"
"Gege!" The mimic chirped.
At long last...
The ghost began his descent from Mount Hoshigane.
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