Have you ever seen a proud, solitary mountain?
The mountain remained ever green as jade, its lone peak surrounded by white clouds all year round. It was like a sharp sword thrust straight into the cloud-capped heavens. Even soaring eagles could reach only its halfway point, while the surrounding mountains served merely as its backdrop.
Brando stared up at the solitary peak for a long time, unable to speak. He had thought the mountains around the Ring of Trade Winds were majestic and the Alqash Mountains were treacherous, but before this lonely peak, they could only bow and submit like subjects before their sovereign.
Some sights in nature could strike straight at the heart and leave people awestruck. This lofty, solitary peak was undoubtedly one of them.
A long stairway descended from the mountaintop. No one could count how many steps it had. Each one was paved with gray marble, and on either side stood an equally countless number of marble pillars. The stairway connected to the sanctuary complex atop the mountain. From below, it grew thinner and thinner in their vision until it finally became a straight black line.
"Bearer of the Blade of Flames, I'm starting to believe Miss Tilias now..." Root flew up from Brando's shoulder and muttered as he gazed at the magnificent mountain.
"What?" Brando looked at him in confusion.
"This is Himilud's throne..."
Brando froze. He looked at Root in midair as if confirming whether the latter was joking. Legend had it that Himilud had placed her throne atop the Summit Trial. On this mountain stood the Earth Goddess Gaia's sanctuary, the homeland of Himilud's shepherdesses. It was said to lie among the mountains north of the Sacred White Plains, but after the three sacred relics of the Earth Sanctuary disappeared, this holy mountain