None of them slept that night.
Paimon curled up in a corner against the cave wall, sleeping fitfully. Every now and then she let out a sob, and there was no telling what she was thinking.
Lin En leaned against the rock wall with his eyes closed, resting, but the seven supply lines and the purple gas kept going through his mind, and he couldn't sleep at all.
Ronava sat at the cave entrance, her silver hair fluttering gently in the night breeze, her golden eyes fixed on the thick fog outside.
As dawn approached, the fog thinned a little, but they still couldn't see clearly. Ronava stood and glanced back at the other two.
"Let's go."
Paimon rubbed her eyes and floated up, the tear tracks on her little face still wet. Lin En stood, brushed the dust off his clothes, and followed Ronava out of the cave.
It was impossible to tell direction in the fog, so Ronava led the way, guided by her sense of the lingering aura of the Ley Lines.
The three circled the foot of the mountain for a long time. Loose stones grew more numerous, and the slope grew steeper. Paimon followed behind, watching their surroundings warily.
At last, on the far side of the mountain, they found a narrow path.
It was called a path, but it was really just a dirt track along the rock face, barely wide enough for one person. The mountain wall pressed close on one side, and a bottomless cliff dropped away on the other.
Fog surged up from below the cliff, swallowing the path ahead and obscuring how much farther it went. Wind rushed up from the depths, carrying a damp chill.
Ronava stood at the entrance to the stone steps and glanced at Lin En. Without a word, she held out her hand.
Lin En looked at her hand, then took it without hesitation.
Ronava's hand tightened slightly as she pulled him a step closer to her, nearer the mountain wall. She didn't explain, and Lin En didn't ask. He understood without her having to say anything.
"What about me?"
Paimon floated behind them, looking at their joined hands and then down at the bottomless cliff beneath her.
"Can't you fly?"
Lin En said, looking back.
Paimon opened her mouth, wanting to say that flying along a road and flying beside a cliff were hardly the same thing, but Ronava had already stepped onto the stone stairs. Lin En followed half a step behind her, both of them walking almost pressed against the mountain wall.
Paimon had no choice but to close her mouth. She grabbed the hem of Lin En's clothes and floated behind him.
The mountain path was long.
The stone steps wound around the mountainside, with no telling how much farther they went.
The thick fog limited their vision to their feet and a few steps ahead. Ronava walked slowly and steadily, placing every step on the innermost edge of the stairs.
Lin En followed her, occasionally looking down at the cliff beneath his feet. It was high, and the thick fog churned at the bottom, revealing the abyss below. Even with Ronava holding his hand, he couldn't overcome his fear.
He didn't dare look for long. He pulled his attention back and fixed his eyes on Ronava's back, the only thing he could see clearly at that moment.
Paimon followed at the rear, her grip on the hem of Lin En's clothes growing tighter as she floated silently behind them.
After about half an hour, the stone steps suddenly broke off.
A massive rock blocked the way ahead, and the steps curved around its side. But the moment they rounded it, Lin En felt Ronava's hand tighten sharply.
He looked up.
Five steps ahead, a pair of scarlet eyes lit up in the thick fog. Each eye was as large as a basin, glaring against the gray-white mist.
A long, piercing shriek followed, like the cry of some ancient creature. It made Lin En's eardrums ache and sent loose stones rolling off the cliff.
A pair of enormous wings spread open in the fog.
The wings blotted out the sky, their bones as thick as tree trunks. They were densely covered with red eyes, every one of them turning, every one looking at him. Cold sweat broke out on Lin En's back. What on earth is this monster?
Paimon screamed and clung tightly to Lin En's clothes, the fierce wind nearly blowing her away.
"Ah! I'm going to get blown away!"
Ronava didn't answer. Her gaze was locked on the scarlet eyes, killing intent surfacing in her golden pupils. A spear had already appeared in her hand.
The monster gave no one time to react. A pair of enormous claws reached out of the fog, each of the three talons thicker than Lin En's arm, and swiped at the three of them with a piercing howl.
Ronava and Lin En dodged to either side along the mountain wall. The claws slammed into the stone steps, sending rocks flying and smashing a huge hole into the mountainside. The steps broke cleanly in two.
Lin En steadied himself. Anemo burst from his palm, sending a cyclone crashing toward the monster's claw. It struck the scales but left only a shallow wound.
Ronava was already moving. Her spear sliced through the air, its tip piercing precisely into a gap in the claw's joint. Black energy poured in, and the monster recoiled in pain, jerking its claw back into the fog.
But the wounds lasted only an instant. Lin En saw it clearly: the joint pierced by the spear healed at a visible rate, scales growing back over it without leaving even a scar.
"This monster's recovery is incredibly strong."
Lin En shouted.
Ronava didn't answer. She leaped up and swept her spear across, sending a black horizontal slash at the monster's wing and severing several wing bones.
The monster roared and retreated. The red eyes on its wings fired dark red beams at once, sweeping toward them in a barrage that filled the sky.
Lin En channeled Anemo, forming a cyclone into a barrier in front of him. The beams struck it, jolting his arms numb, but he managed to block them.
Ronava twisted in midair to evade the beams and thrust her spear again and again, every strike hitting one of the monster's vital points with precision.
But every time, the wounds healed within a few breaths.
Like an unkillable cockroach, the monster attacked Ronava in wave after wave. It grew faster and its attacks fiercer, as though it were learning how she fought.
Ronava's brow furrowed more and more tightly. Her strength was steadily being depleted, while the monster's recovery showed no sign of weakening. This couldn't go on.
Lin En attacked from the side with wind blades, severing the connection to a row of eyes on the monster's wing. The monster veered away in pain, giving Ronava a moment to catch her breath.
She landed on a jutting rock and let out a long breath.
"Lin En."
She spoke, her voice a little more strained than usual.
"Mm?"
"Get farther back."
Lin En looked into her eyes. He had never seen her so serious, so he nodded and channeled Anemo to launch himself backward, landing on a stable rock at the upper end of the stone steps.
Ronava held her spear upright before her and brought her hands together. Black energy gathered wildly in her palms. The surrounding light began to warp, the fog was driven away, and even the monster's red beams were swallowed by the mass of black. The light grew brighter and brighter, illuminating the entire mountainside and forcing Lin En to raise a hand to shield his eyes.
A wave of light flew from her palms.
Wherever it passed, the air tore apart and rock turned to powder. The monster had no time to dodge. The wave pierced its entire body, and it shattered with a crash in the blinding white light, along with the hill behind it, turning into dust that scattered across the sky.
A huge chunk of the mountain had been sheared away, and rubble and dust rained down from every direction.
Ronava's silver hair spread out in the light. Her body lost its support and fell from the sky.
The moment Lin En saw her fall, Anemo burst beneath his feet, launching him forward.
He reached out and caught Ronava halfway through her fall, cradling her in his arms. Her silver hair spilled over his arm; she had clearly lost consciousness.
Paimon caught up from behind, grabbed the hem of Lin En's clothes, and flapped her wings with all her might.
"I can't hold on!"
The force of the two of them falling together was too great.
Paimon wasn't strong enough to hold them up. She slowed them for only an instant before falling along with them.
The abyss beneath them opened its vast mouth in the fog, black rock walls flashing upward past them.
Lin En held Ronava tightly as Anemo gathered wildly beneath him, trying to form a cushion of air to break their fall.
He felt Ronava's fingers move slightly and clutch the front of his clothes.