Early the next morning, the people of Logos began their mountain-climbing journey.
Before them, the mountain loomed majestic and towering, standing at its base, Al could barely make out the halfway point, swallowing hard, his hands resting on the trees lining the mountain path.
In the past few hundred years, the people of Logos had acquired language and reason; they knew better what it meant to seek benefits and avoid harm.
Therefore, no one had ever scaled the mountain because the journey was fraught with danger, and at most, they had only roamed at the foot of the mountain.
They were the first people, the earliest of people,
the ones who wanted to understand death, the ones who sought the authority of life.
Al did not shrink back, nor did the wise men by his side; the hunters, following their orders, led the way, treading a mountain path only beasts had traversed, step by step toward the summit.
The Lifespan of Logos people was long, and thus each had amassed a wealth of experience in handling various dangers, coupled with their great physical strength and adeptness at climbing all sorts of terrains, their sharp ears capable of hearing in all directions, so Al and his company easily made their way from the foot to the midsection of the mountain.
During this more gentle leg of the journey, doubt in Al's mind gave way to a measure of confidence.
They advanced toward the summit, entering a forest of fir trees.
The fir forest exuded a chill, and the wise man couldn't help but shiver, looking up into the distance, there was snow far away.
"Be careful, ahead there is snow,"
Al warned everyone.
The hunters became vigilant too, some on the lookout for beasts around them, others for the natural pits hidden under the snow cover; in this manner, the group moved on, wary of every rustle in the fir forest.
While continuing their ascent, Al nearly stepped into a hidden pit covered by snow, luckily the wise man pulled him back in time.
Even so, Al was still shaken, expressing gratitude for the wise man's action.
"No need for that,"
the wise man said to him gently:
"I simply lent you a hand, if you had been in my position, I believe you would have done the same."
Perhaps it was the increased altitude, the sound of beasts in the woods became elusive, not quite real, and the whole fir forest sank into silence, only occasionally pierced by the calls of a few birds.
The path to the summit was not all smooth sailing, but overall, it was free of real danger.
The scene before them was harshly cold; unbeknownst to them, they had left the conifer forest and, under the accumulated snow, could hear the faint sounds of living creatures stirring. Raising their heads, though it was broad daylight, they could still see the stars twinkling between the clouds, unbelievably beautiful.
An entire morning had passed, and the people of Logos decided to take a brief rest, the path up the mountain still stretched long ahead.
Standing on a naturally formed solid rock wall, Al and the wise man looked up simultaneously, on the summit above, something was emitting a mysterious and captivating glow, distant and mesmerizing.
The distant luminescence at the mountaintop, set against the colors of the stars, seemed not to draw closer as they ascended but rather to pull them in tighter with each step they took.
Al could foresee the path ahead, for if they climbed higher, there would be no more beast-trodden trails.
After some exploration, they chose to head toward the summit from the eastern side.
After covering some distance, Al suddenly noticed the wind and frost intensifying, the snow underfoot was not deep, but it certainly wasn't to be underestimated.
The wise man hunched his head slightly, a trace of fear in his eyes.
He thought of something and turned to ask Al:
"Main Priest, have you ever considered that what if that presence isn't there? What if that presence happened to have left?"
Al lowered his head, then said,
"I hadn't thought about it. But... we still need to get there."
After hearing this, the Sage nodded slightly in agreement with Al's words.
The group continued their mountain climbing journey; having come this far, there clearly was no possibility of turning back.
Their feet tread upon the snowy ground as the people of Logos strained to climb higher. The difficulty of the climb was revealing itself to them now, as their feet, wrapped in animal hides, began to numb with each step. At first, toes could move, but after a short distance, only a slight coldness could be felt – the entire foot had frozen into a block.
Al struggled to climb, the Sage closely following behind, and the Hunters at the forefront, their faces pale and bloodless from the cold.
After noon, the high mountain grew even colder, the sky slowly turning to a shade of grey. Occasional breezes from the depths of the mountain valleys brought with them snowflakes that stung like needles against the skin.
The people of Logos, lacking mountaineering experience, did not recognize these as the harbingers of a blizzard.
"Can we still go up?"
Seeing the sky turn grim, Al asked the Hunters at the front.
After a low discussion among themselves, one of the Hunters turned back and reported,
"We shouldn't continue upwards. But, Main Priest, we need to find a cave to rest before we can stop."
The Hunter was right; the closer they got to the summit, the more steep and difficult the path became. It wasn't that the group didn't want to stop, but that they couldn't just stop in their tracks.
"How long will it take?"
The Sage asked the Hunters.
"Maybe soon, it shouldn't be too far. And the summit is getting closer," replied the Hunter.
The frost and winds on the mountain gradually increased, the light of day faded and became dull, the vision of the people of Logos narrowing, climbing the mountain all day long. Even though their endurance surpassed that of normal beasts, they were now enveloped in exhaustion.
The path had become indistinct, and Al didn't know if they were headed in the wrong direction, but they could only push forward.
After some time, they suddenly heard the howling wind mixed with frost and snow, tearing at the earth.
And then, with the sound of the wind, the snow beneath their feet began to tremble and slide downward – the blizzard was coming from west to east!
This happened so suddenly, and Al's group was entirely unprepared for the storm.
The snow and gravel were swept up in an instant, tearing through the air with a demon's voice, the flurries turning into a deadly howling that foretold doom.
Panic exploded in an instant; the blood of the people of Logos, which had nearly frozen solid, began to flow again out of sheer terror.
In the sweeping gale, Al's body was pelted painfully by sand and stone, his field of vision rapidly shrinking. At first, he could still see the Hunters ahead, but within a few breaths, all he could see was an expanse of white, barely able to hear the faint and urgent cries amid the ripping winds.
The Sage followed Al closely, and driven by the will to survive, they struggled forward, hunched over and desperately rushing ahead to prevent the fierce winds from blowing them off the cliffs.
The two of them fought their way forward, and in the midst of the roaring blizzard, they slowly neared the cries of the Hunters.
After covering a difficult stretch, they finally saw two Hunters standing ahead through the storm.
Al's heart, which had been lifted, eased slightly; he was about to charge forward with all his might.
Suddenly, a massive slab of snow broke off from above, plunging down with tremendous speed. The two Hunters didn't even have time to show panic on their faces before they lost their balance and were swept off the cliffside.
Everything happened in less than a breath.
Al stared blankly at the scene, as the fear of imminent death completely washed over his mind.