Drake stored the key in his storage book and leaned against the boulder, trying to slow his breathing. He was exhausted from walking; now, after the fight with the powerful beast, he wanted to pass out and sleep. Looking around at his friends, he could tell that they wanted to do the same.

"We can either continue or we can go to the clearing and rest," Drake stated, leaning his head against the rock. "There is enough room at the other side of the road to set the cabin. We can sleep and continue in the morning if you want. I don't know about you, but I don't have the energy to fight another Level 5 beast."

Both boys nodded in agreement and slowly stood.

Drake forced himself to stand, wincing as he did. Slamming into the tree hurt. He was beginning to feel it.

The three boys, with Renn following, walked down the few feet to the road and crossed it to the clearing. It was as if the mountain was placed inside the clearing.

Drake pulled out his book, found the page where their cabin was, and quickly placed it in the clearing. "Let's get something to eat and get some rest." He looked down at Renn. "After we complete this quest and we get home, I'm going to see about making a door big enough for you to come in, too. I feel bad you have to stay outside." He frowned, then opened the door, stepping inside.

Renn lay down on the porch, watching their surroundings. She appeared unbothered by not being able to enter the cabin.

***

It was morning again, and they had already eaten and stored the cabin in the storage book. They stood in front of the trail and prepared themselves to face more bear beasts. Drake was staring at the ascension guest map, wishing that the others could see it too. He found that the cave entrance wasn't too far past the trail.

The short trail was only three feet long before it ended completely. It served, in Drake's opinion, to be a marker to start up the mountain to find the cave that held their prize. Past the short trail was a cave entrance. According to the map, it wasn't the cave they needed. They had to keep going.

They followed the glowing green thread. Coming off the short trail and past the first cave entrance, through the trees, and around small ravines. There were no other beasts, at least none that they could see.

It was hard to tell, since the bear beasts were virtually invisible if their eyes were closed. Even their magical vision couldn't see them.

A gentle breeze whistled through the trees as they made their way up the mountain, closer to the cave entrance. They were nearly at the entrance they needed when sounds around them quieted. There was total silence. Even the sound of bugs couldn't be heard.

Renn lowered her head, her eyes glowing brightly as she surveyed the area. There was nothing to see.

Chad removed his bow from his back and prepared to pull the luminous string that would create one of his energy arrows.

Mike had his gauntlets on and his sword held up in a firm grip, as he scanned the area around them.

Drake uncoiled his whip, letting it fall silently to the ground, and filling it with soft green energy. He knew something was out there; he just didn't know what it was. It had to be something powerful. Only something that could silence the mountain had to be very powerful. "Keep walking," Drake ordered, just keep going, and be prepared for an ambush. I think something or someone powerful is following us."

As they walked through the silent forest, they hadn't seen anything. There were no beasts, no bandits, no assassins, nothing. The forest remained silent, a haunted mountain of trees, giving an eerie pressure to the atmosphere around them. Drake felt like he was in a horror novel, where even the trees came out to attack.

In the distance, he could see the cave entrance that they needed. He hoped that whatever was out there wasn't in the cave. The beasts in the area were supposed to be level 5-ranked beasts. They had barely survived the last one. He wanted the quest to be over with, but things kept getting in the way. It felt like everyone, including the dimension itself, wanted them to fail. 'I refuse to fail,' Drake thought as he contemplated the situation and everything that had happened to them so far.

As they stepped through the trees, following the green thread, the pressure heightened, pressing against their very beings. Whatever was out there was incredibly powerful. Drake knew by the pressure he was feeling that he would not be able to win in a fight with whoever or whatever was out there.

A sudden darkness covered the trees like a blanket, causing Drake to pull out the lantern of truth. It was a tiny lantern, but it illuminated the area around them, enough for them to see in the distance, even the entrance to the cave they were heading for.

"I think we need to hurry," Drake whispered, not wanting whoever or whatever was out there to hear him. "We need to get to the entrance…stay close, and be ready to fight."

Chad and Mike stepped closer to Drake, while Renn took the lead, sniffing the air around them, trying to find what was after them. She didn't see anything.

***

Back in Drake's room in the ordinary world, the dimension master and his two friends, Mike's and Chad's fathers, watched the boys on the screen as they made their way toward the cave.

Even from the screen, they could feel the pressure as the forest around the boys quieted down. The entire mountain went silent, as if afraid to make a noise.

"It's like the entire mountain is holding its breath," Chad's father observed. "Something powerful is pursuing them. It's the only explanation."

Drake's father continued to stare at the computer screen. "I don't see anything. Do either of you?" he asked, hoping they could figure out what was going on. He didn't like what he was feeling.

Mike's father bent closer to the screen, scanning every inch of what the monitor was revealing. "I don't see anything either. They're a few feet from the cave entrance, maybe whatever is out there is inside the cave?" he offered. He spoke the words in a question.

"Maybe…but, if whatever is out there is in the cave, that doesn't give them much room to fight. Being attacked in a small space can get them all killed," Drake's father said evenly. His green eyes shone brightly with fear for the boys' safety and anger that they were most likely about to be ambushed.

The three men watched as the boys continued their journey. As they walked, the path suddenly darkened, causing Drake to pull out the little lantern to light their way. The forest couldn't even be seen through the thick darkness. The sky above was only pitch black.

"Could whatever or whoever is out there be making sure we don't see what the boys are about to face?" Chad's father asked. "I feel like that darkness is for us, and not the boys."

Drake's father clenched his jaw, thinking of the only three individuals living in the dimension who could do that; none of them good. "If it's who I think it is, I'm going to kill them when the boys are done with their quest. I may not be able to right now, but as soon as they obtain the master staff, I can pulverize whoever is out there, no matter who or what it is…family or not."

Mike looked at his friend. "It can't be…he wouldn't do that," he said in disbelief.

Drake's father, his eyes not wavering from the screen, spoke with clenched teeth. "I don't know, he is only one of the possibilities. If it's him, I will never forgive him. He will die for trying to harm my son."

***

The boys walked through the darkness toward the entrance of the cave they needed. The small lantern shone its soft white light, revealing the area around them. The mountain was silent as they continued slowly toward the cave entrance.

Renn growled low, but continued moving, not stopping, even to sniff the air. She was focused on something, but Drake couldn't tell what it was.

Only a few steps left, and they would be in front of the entrance. The green line leading them was heading inside, but could not be seen through the thick black mist inside the cave entrance.

"Shit, I can't see anything. Even the lantern can't penetrate the mist," Drake complained in a whisper. His words, although quiet, echoed through the darkness as if the mist were solid.

Drake turned to his friends. "I don't like this, but we have no choice. Our quest leads us inside that cave. Be ready to protect yourselves at any moment. That black mist looks… unnatural."

The boys nodded in agreement as they all stepped into the entrance of the cave.

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