As the man said this, the men and women gathered behind him exchanged glances. Then they all nodded and spoke in unison.
"As you command."
With that, they swiftly left the place and headed down the mountain, leaving the man alone on the summit, gazing at the cliff below.
A few minutes later, someone else arrived at the summit.
An old man wearing a Bamboo Hat and a Straw Raincoat approached at an unhurried pace, carrying a fishing rod and basket.
He set the rod and basket neatly to one side and sat cross-legged. Then he pulled the basket closer, took out a fish, and offered it to the man.
"Freshly caught, and a fine one at that. Want a taste? It could give you quite a boost."
The man gave the old man a look of utter distaste.
"Don't waste my time with inferior goods. You must have something important to say if you've come here. Get straight to the point."
The old man's hand stiffened around the fish, and a flash of anger crossed his eyes.
He put the fish back, closed the basket, then took a pipe from his waist and slowly began smoking dry tobacco.
"That's right. I sensed a powerful world resisting ours. The longer it holds out, the stronger the people who enter will become. Could they change the balance we have now?"
The old man spoke slowly, drawing on his pipe as he went. Smoke drifted from his mouth in ring after ring.
The man's hand tightened slightly on his knee, creasing his clothes. "Then what do you think we should do?"
The old man was not the strongest in their world, but he claimed he could calculate the secrets of heaven. More importantly, every prediction he had made seemed to have come