The Wind Rises.
Venti, holding an empty wine bottle, sat on a sturdy tree branch, savoring the lingering taste of the wine.
Unfortunately, he was now out of Mora, and his last bottle of wine had already been finished. The thought of not having any more wine to drink in the near future made Venti's eyes narrow with sharpness.
He jumped down from the tree, landing lightly on the ground. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the distant Dragonspine Mountain.
For some reason, a strange feeling quietly stirred within his heart.
Without giving it much thought, Venti took a step forward, transforming into a gust of wind as he headed toward Dragonspine Mountain.
....
The snowstorm subsides.
Eula finally got a clear view of her surroundings.
Everything was still covered in a sea of white, but everything had changed. She was no longer where she had been before, and everyone else was nowhere to be seen.
The sudden blizzard that had intensified so quickly had obscured everyone's sight, and Eula had no idea what had happened.
But one thing was certain now: something unusual was happening on the mountain, and it was not a natural disaster.
"Yuxie—"
Eula tried calling Yuxie's name, but the only response was the echo of her own voice.
For some inexplicable reason, she suddenly recalled a particular moment.
It was a time between afternoon and evening.
She and Yuxie had been sitting by the Cider Lake, talking about the trivialities of daily life.
None of the topics were particularly meaningful, but she and Yuxie had enjoyed the conversation. At that moment, she thought that if such times could last forever, it wouldn't be so bad.
She still remembered what Yuxie had said to her back then—"Eula, I know you always talk about holding grudges, but you've never actually thought about getting revenge, have you?"
At the time, she had been taken aback, replying stubbornly, "Of course not, I really will get my revenge."
After that, Yuxie didn't speak again. He just smiled lightly, playfully looking at her.
Under Yuxie's gaze, a slight blush appeared on her face.
Then Yuxie had said—"Are you blushing? Were you just being stubborn?"
"I'm not! It was the sunlight, not me blushing."
Why was she thinking about that now?
Eula didn't quite understand.
Revenge, hatred... even though Eula often talked about them, these words couldn't change her fundamentally tough yet kind nature. Those who truly understood her knew she was a girl who was both pitiable and admirable.
The cold wind howled past, and Eula felt as if her face was being pricked by needles.
She looked around again, trying to spot Yuxie and the others.
At the same time, perhaps recalling that conversation with Yuxie, the path to her "revenge" gradually became clearer in Eula's mind.
It was a path of vengeance that was uniquely hers, a path filled with gentle hatred.
And yet, there was also a sense of inexplicable worry.
The cold wind seemed to carry some sort of signal, something that couldn't be ignored.
In the midst of this chill, a beautifully crafted Cyro Vision quietly appeared in Eula's hand.
Looking at the Vision, Eula hesitated for a moment. Then, her gaze immediately became firm.
The signal carried by the cold wind grew stronger, and Eula took a determined step forward.
Her intuition told her that she had to find Yuxie as soon as possible.
It felt as though if she missed this opportunity, she would never again be able to sit quietly by the Cider Lake with Yuxie, talking about the trivial matters of daily life.
....
Yuxie looked up at the massive skeleton above him and instantly understood.
This was the Wyrmrest Valley, the burial place of the shadow dragon Durin.
Somewhere in a cave here, Durin's heart should still be present.
After all this time, that heart might still be beating, still brimming with vitality.
But right now, that wasn't the priority. The focus was on that strange blizzard.
Without a doubt, it was that blizzard that had brought Yuxie here.
It was likely that the people who had gone missing on the mountain had encountered the same unusual storm.
The environment around him was eerily quiet, with the white snow absorbing most of the surrounding sounds. Only the wind could be heard in his ears.
In such a quiet setting, following the sound of the wind, Yuxie suddenly heard footsteps crunching on the snow.
He looked in the direction of the sound and, in the distance, saw a figure that seemed somewhat familiar.
With a sense of caution, Yuxie closed the distance between him and the figure.
As he got closer, Yuxie recognized the figure, and it surprised him.
"Hughes?" He called out the person's name.
"…Senior?" Hughes stopped walking through the snow and looked at Yuxie.
"What are you doing here? The Knights' Order has forbidden anyone from going up the mountain during this time," Yuxie walked over to Hughes.
"…I sneaked up," Hughes replied after a brief silence. "There's something I need to do."
Yuxie studied Hughes, and for some reason, even though it had only been a short time since they last met, he felt like Hughes had become an entirely different person.
The old Hughes was always full of enthusiasm, with a smile often on his face and a kind of innocent look in his eyes.
But now, there was no expression on Hughes face, his gaze had become firm, and there seemed to be a certain resolve in his eyes.
"The current Dragonspine is very dangerous. Many people have gone missing," Yuxie said. "Grandmaster Varka led a team to search, but after that strange snowstorm earlier, I got separated from the team and ended up here, somehow."
"…Maybe I can offer some clues." Hughes's eyes flickered for a moment, avoiding Yuxie's gaze.
Yuxie hesitated for a moment.
"You know something about this?"
"Mm, this may have to do with my older brother—no, with Eroch," Hughes replied.
"Eroch? What has he done?" Yuxie asked, a bit surprised.
"I can't be certain, but as long as we find him, we'll understand. That's why I'm here to look for him," Hughes said, his gaze dimming slightly.
"…It looks like something happened between you and Eroch. Although you're foster brothers, if what's happening on Dragonspine is his doing, I won't hold back," Yuxie said seriously.
"…Let's go, Senior," Hughes said quietly.
The two walked through the snow-covered Wyrmrest Valley.
At this moment, there was no snowstorm, and the weather was unusually calm.
As time slowly passed, evening came, and the sunset painted the snow with a golden hue, as though the snow itself had been dyed with light.
The two arrived at the entrance of a cave.
Looking through the entrance, they couldn't see inside; the cave was deep.
Yuxie's intuition told him that this cave was where Durin the Dragon's heart was located.
Hughes also gazed into the cave. Although he was a different person from before, there was still a flicker of fear on his face.
He wasn't a particularly strong person, but he had chosen to become an adventurer.
In the face of danger, he couldn't help but feel fear, but each time, he still pushed forward, braving the challenges.
It was for this reason that he had earned the respect of many adventurers.
"Let's go in and check, but be careful," Yuxie said, taking the first step into the cave.
Hughes swallowed hard and followed closely behind.
As they ventured deeper into the cave, turning several corners, the sight before them caused Yuxie to frown, and Hughes couldn't help but tremble.
Inside the cave, many figures lay on the ground, dressed in the attire of adventurers. Just like the adventurer who had been buried by the avalanche earlier, their life force had been drained, leaving only empty husks behind.
End of chapter
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