*Niam Henka*
'My chest hasn't stopped aching since we left the Inn.'
Several days had passed since we first saw Tana's wanted poster, and the further we walked into the direction of old Lebanon, the more detailed versions of the wanted poster appeared. The posters even featured a piece of paper which was imbued with someone's Mana, clearly indicating that it should be used to contact whoever was in charge of catching Tana.
"More than a week of walking left." I informed Tsuki.
"We haven't exactly seen anyone come after us the past few days, so I wondered if we really are being hunted down."
"They have the home advantage. This is their territory, their Land. I wonder why it takes so long for first contact. Are they awaiting orders? The right opportunity? Or are they just tailing us to see where we are going and what we are doing. They might also want to find out our Salan abilities and strength. Considering I spoke to the Princess on an eye-to-eye basis, they might think that my strength is similar to hers."
"How strong must the Princess be, if her pursuers hesitate in coming into contact with us?"
"Based on our conversation, I can say that she is easily the strongest Bearer I've met. That's also the reason why we are in this situation. Had I been more careful, we could've been sleeping without having to worry about arrows being shot at us."
"What happened, happened. No need to torture yourself about it. Didn't we say we feel like this was going to be an easy journey? I could always use my Salan ability, you know."
"No. I don't want you using your Salan ability. I still don't know what will happen to both of us if you feel my or your own death coming. A human completely loses himself in the face of death, or he overcomes it and evolves. I'm not sure how much of that applies to your Salan ability, but I sure as shit don't want to find out."
"Hmm."
***
We continued to the hardest part of our journey, the Great Wall Mountain-Range. There were set paths for people to use, but even those paths were cursed with a bone-chilling temperature that would make travelers change their minds.
We weren't in a situation where we could be picky, we needed to use a different way to pass the mountain range without being found or freezing to death.
I thought about using my Salan ability to walk vertically on the mountain. 'Creating a separate gravitation point each time I lift my foot was a method that could work. I can't count Tsuki in though, I can't efficiently use my powers just yet, I need to carry her on my back.'
"Brrrrr.... I'm freezing." Tsuki complained.
I didn't feel much of the cold yet, maybe my body temperature had something to do with it.
"Climb on my back and hold both bags. I will walk up on the side of the mountain range, carrying you on my back. Tell me when you can't endure the cold."
"P-Please hurry!" Tsuki's teeth chattered from the cold.
We approached the mountain range. It was several hundred kilometers long and thousands of meters high. Though it wasn't that wide. Spike-like rocks pointed at the sky, like spears that were stuck in the ground. With the snow and ice scattered across the range, the mountain-range looked truly terrifying and unconquerable.
'Only normal people fear this mountain, I'm different, I'm a Bearer.'
"Let's go!"
Tsuki climbed on my back, her cold breath sticking to my neck. I used Supreme-Control and made the gravitational pull on her body weaker as much as I could. Then, I used Independent-Control countless of times to walk "up" the mountain.
My Mana depleted fast. And slowly, my body started to feel the effects of the temperature. My joints's motor functions decreased and I slowed down. I didn't need to climb all the way up the mountain, only a small, separate path would allow us to walk between the spike-like rocks and cross the mountain-range.
The cold mountain wind stopped when I managed to find a place to rest between the spikes. I set down Tsuki, but was immediately confused by the Mana's behavior nearby. Normally, Mana would just stand still, only those with Mana-Cores were able to influence it to move. On this occasion, Mana was swirling in a spot not far from our position. With Galaxy-Sight activated, I saw in detail how Mana was spinning in one spot, creating a chunk of dense Mana that felt poisonous if I were to touch it.
Between her chattering teeth, Tsuki managed to speak.
"You feel that too?" She asked.
"I do. Do you know what it is?"
"It feels familiar, but it's also very different from what I came to know it as."
"Tell me."
"Watch it for yourself."
Intrigued by her words, I walked to the amassed, swirling pool of Mana. The closer I got to its locations, the colder it got.
"Hoooooo!"
The sound of someone breathing out loudly bounced off the many rocks I stood between.
'A person must already be where the Mana is. What is happening?'
The last few steps toward the gathered Mana became even harder to take, as my unprepared clothes let the cold seep into my flesh and bones, and numb my sense of touch.
'Mana might be useful to fend off cold temperatures.'
I let Mana circulate through my veins and arteries. Immediately, the effects that plagued me before were gone, the cold still remained.
I climbed over the last rock that separated me and the Mana. What I saw, a man on a frozen pond, sitting with his arms and legs crossed, concentrating so intensely that he was drooling.
I felt a sense of danger when I thought about walking over to him and asking what that was all about. I decided to just observe.
"Hoooooo!" The man breathed out.
His face emotionless and pale.
The man wore nothing but a pair of pants, had a snow covered head and a curly beard. He awakened my curiosity.
The swirling Mana stopped and returned to normal. The man slowly stood up and noticed my presence.
["Wasn't expecting another climber here."] He spoke out loud.
He spoke a language I did not understand.
"English?" I asked.
"Oh, yes. I can speak it. Did you climb up this mountain?" He said.
"I did, but I don't plan on staying for long. What did you do just now?"
"I built my own Mana-Core. Never seen someone else do it before?"
'That's what this is. I should've known.' I realized.
"I build my own Mana-Core when I was alone too. There was no one to tell me about it, because of that." I answered.
"You are a Bearer then?"
"Yes, I am. Is that a guarantee if you manage to build your own core, rather than consume a gem and acquire it?"
"Yes, it'll also grant you an ability based on yourself."
"Elaborate." I asked for an explanation.
It was the first time I heard about a guaranteed chance at becoming a Bearer and acquiring an ability based on oneself.
"Think about the situation you were in, about what kind of person you are and what you are familiar with. If you put all these things together, your Salan ability is born." He explained.
His explanation came rather unexpected, but was pretty logical. His words made sense.
'I was buried under my house's rubble. I like to be in control of my situation. And I know a lot about authority, rules and laws, space, planets and gravity.'
'Is that how I obtained my Salan ability? Putting together my character traits and mixing it with my deep desire to alter the earth's gravitational pull instead of being able to lift the rubble on top of me? What about my acting and lying skills? Are some traits disregarded?'