Shortly after the twins and Mio left, Lloyd started eating his breakfast, as he was doing so he grew increasingly worried that Kyle was in a bad mood. He finished eating and at the same time Kyle left his room fully dressed and carrying a small bag of his stuff.
"Kyle, where are you going?"
Lloyd got up and disposed of his garbage then walked to Kyle who was about leave.
"Well, since you guys want to goof off I am going to take care of whatever is in the mountains myself."
"Wait you can't you'll get yourself killed."
"I can not die due to resurrection, you know this."
Kyle says as he walks out of the inn leaving a worried Lloyd behind.
"Damn it Kyle."
Lloyd mutters under his breath as he rushes back to Kyle's room and grabs his armor and sword from the magic bag and putting it on in a rush then he bolts out the inn and down the street.
"Kyle! Wait up! Why are you in such a bad mood today?"
Lloyd questions as he catches up with Kyle.
"It's those stupid twins."
"Ryuki and Aki? What about them?"
"I know the Goddesses want us to travel with them but i just don't get it. Not only did they try to kill us when we first met, they also keep ignoring us. That and every time i try to get people to join you they all decline its been five years of constant rejections i just don't get why nobody wants to travel with you."
Kyle tightens the grip on his staff as he rants with a scowl on his face.
"Listen Kyle, they're not that bad. Ryuki is just antisocial while Aki and Vayleen always follow after him. The reason Ryuki tried to kill you was because you're a Divine Priest and very deadly to vampires, which they are. I don't really mind nobody wanting to travel with me, it's understandable they wouldn't want to risk their lives, it's fine."
Kyle stops walking and stares at Lloyd with a dumbfounded expression then he grits his teeth and keeps walking in silence.
***
Lloyd and Kyle continue walking and its now sunset and they arrive in front of a huge mountain range. There are five mountains each around two hundred feet tall and in a circle around a thousand foot tall mountain.
"These the mountains?"
"yeah."
Lloyd asks Kyle who had just folded up a map putting it in his bag as they continued forward and up the mountain. When the two had made it to the top of the first mountain Kyle stops Lloyd.
"Hey, shouldn't we at least wait until morning? It's already night."
Lloyd glances around for a moment before spotting a relatively flat piece of land on the mountain making his way toward it.
"Yeah, sure. Lets set up camp here."
Lloyd says to Kyle who walked over pulling a tent and some baked potatoes which are still hot, out of thin air. Lloyd and Kyle set up the tent then gets inside it.
"Thanks Kyle."
Lloyd takes a potato peeling foil off it before eating. Shortly after the pair finish eating their potatoes they fall asleep.
"GGGGGRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH"
Five hours after the two fall asleep they're awoken by a ground shaking roar and a pressure so great it made Ryuki's bloodlust from the forest feel like a gentle breeze being poured over them waking them up and crushing them into the ground.
"GAH!? WHAT WAS THAT!!"
"I-I DON'T KNOW!!"
Lloyd let out a surprised yell while trying lift himself up using his sword as crutch but he can barely move, while Kyle is fighting trying to stay awake because of his frailer body. The pressure pours over them like this for only ten seconds but those ten seconds felt like an eternity.
"haa, It... It finally stopped."
Lloyd lets a sigh of relief as he stands up and glances over at Kyle who also stands up however much slower and using his staff as a crutch.
"Whatever released that bloodlust must be what drove the blood eagles out of here. Lets go."
Lloyd put his sword back on his waist as he grabbed Kyle and pulled him along by the collar.
"h-hey wait a minute. Shouldn't we wait until morning?"
"What are you talking about? You wanted to come here so bad, now you wanna leave?"
"Well that was before i knew how strong it was. I thought i could just weaken it while it kept killing me but i wouldn't die and it eventually would. But now i don't think that'll be possible..."
Kyle protests as Lloyd keeps pulling him along and they start heading toward the center mountain until they finally notice a small cave opening on the side big enough for them to pass through.
"Well I don't want whatever this thing is, to escape kill civilians. Since I'm here I should stop it."
"...haa, fine."
The two walk deeper into the cave, the tip of Kyle's staff glowing as he had cast an illumination spell. They keep walking down the cave which had started descending instead of staying on a flat path. The cave stretching on for a while before they stop in front of a pair of huge metal doors in flawless condition with very complex magic circles engraved on it. One of the magic circles was actually scratched.
"What is this?"
"I don't know. I've never seen these magic circles before, and I've read every magic book in the capital."
"I bet the source of it is in here lets go in."
The two get closer to the door and Lloyd gently pushes one side open.
"Wait a second Lloyd."
"Hm? what is it?"
"I, I lost connection with the goddesses..."
"What!? How's that possible!?"
"I'm not sure, it's safer to just turn back."
Lloyd looks between Kyle's distressed face and the door partially open, thinking for a moment.
"No. We came this far so let's see this through to the end."
Lloyd steps into the room with a reluctant Kyle trailing slowly behind as they enter they notice a human silhouette and a large snake with three pairs of white feathered wings behind the human.
"w-what is this? This is horrific!"
Lloyd says as they step further into the room and Kyle sending the light ball further to illuminate the whole space and notice a nude human man with olive brown skin, long black hair reaching the ground, standing in the center of the room in a T-pose with metal spikes piercing him and the snake behind him is also pierced through with metal spikes keeping them in place.