Chapter 689 The Mountain

Irina remained standing in the middle of the room for several seconds after Liam told her they needed to wait. The anger hadn’t completely disappeared from her expression, but it had settled into something quieter, more controlled. She understood his reasoning even if she didn’t particularly like it.

There was clearly something larger happening in Elaris, and if Eldric was connected to it, rushing into his house without understanding the entire situation could destroy whatever chance they had of discovering the truth. Still, standing around doing nothing wasn’t exactly Irina’s idea of patience. She finally looked at Liam and asked, "So what do you want us to do now?"

Liam leaned backward in his chair, resting his back against it as though the question required absolutely no thought. He stared at the ceiling for a moment, then answered with complete seriousness, "Let’s go sightseeing."

Irina blinked.

"Huh?"

Liam looked at her.

"Sightseeing."

She stared at him.

He stared back.

For several seconds, neither said anything.

Irina had learned enough about Liam by now to know that he almost never did anything without a reason. Even when he acted like he was being careless, there was usually something happening behind that irritatingly calm expression of his. She had watched him joke in dangerous situations, pretend not to care when he clearly did, and deliberately annoy people simply because he found their reactions entertaining. So when he casually suggested that they go sightseeing immediately after discussing a potentially dangerous village elder and his abused wife, she knew there had to be more to it.

Liam stood from his chair.

Irina followed.

Neither of them bothered saying anything else.

They left the house together, and the moment they stepped outside, Liam’s eyes instinctively swept across the surroundings. The person who had been hiding between the two neighboring houses was gone. There wasn’t even a trace of movement left behind. Liam had expected that. Whoever Eldric had sent to watch them had probably realized that remaining in one place for too long would eventually expose them.

Liam didn’t care.

He never had.

The stalker wasn’t what interested him.

Instead, Liam immediately turned toward one particular direction and began walking.

Irina followed silently.

For several minutes, the two moved through the village without saying much. People they passed greeted them respectfully, and some villagers smiled when they recognized Liam, but he barely acknowledged the attention. His eyes remained focused ahead, and his pace remained steady.

Eventually, Irina couldn’t help herself.

"You know," she said, walking a few steps behind him, "for someone who’s apparently going sightseeing, you’re oddly focused on the direction you’re going."

Liam didn’t turn around.

"Meh."

He casually waved one hand.

"We’re only going sightseeing. Trust me."

Irina stared at the back of his head.

She was genuinely speechless.

The worst part was how convincingly he said it.

There wasn’t even the slightest hesitation in his voice. His expression remained completely straight, his posture relaxed, and his tone carried the absolute confidence of someone who had just announced that they were going for an ordinary walk. If she didn’t know him, she probably would have believed him without a second thought.

Unfortunately for Liam, she knew him very well by now.

Pressing him was pointless when he had decided not to talk.

Irina simply continued following him.

It didn’t take long before she began recognizing the path they were taking.

Her eyes narrowed.

The trees became more familiar.

The terrain gradually changed.

The path through the forest was the same one they had taken three days earlier when they had chased the strange icy figure that had been watching them. She remembered the chase clearly, especially the moment the entity had disappeared near the enormous mountain. Liam had nearly caught it before it vanished, leaving them with nothing but questions.

Irina’s eyes moved toward Liam’s back.

So that was where they were going.

He had brought her here deliberately.

Liam clearly believed there was something in this area.

She didn’t say anything.

Instead, she became more attentive.

The two continued deeper into the forest, their footsteps occasionally muffled by the leaves beneath them. Neither spoke for a long time. Liam remained focused ahead while Irina kept her senses open, occasionally scanning the surrounding forest for anything unusual.

Nothing immediately appeared.

Yet the farther they went, the more familiar everything became.

Eventually, the trees began thinning.

The enormous mountain emerged through the gaps between them.

Irina stopped for a brief moment when she saw it again.

Liam continued walking.

The mountain was even more imposing up close. Its rocky surface rose so high that the top disappeared beyond their immediate field of vision, stretching upward until it seemed to disappear into the sky itself. Liam stood at its base and looked upward, his eyes following the enormous wall of stone.

This was where they had stopped the previous time.

This was where the icy entity had disappeared.

And this was where Liam had failed to find any obvious entrance.

Irina’s attention suddenly shifted downward.

She recognized something near the base of the mountain.

The red fruits.

Those same strange crimson fruits grew from the small bushes scattered around the rocky ground, their surfaces smooth and unnaturally vibrant despite the harsh environment surrounding them.

Irina immediately remembered what had happened the first time she had eaten them.

Her face changed.

She quickly looked away.

Liam noticed.

Of course he did.

His eyes briefly moved toward the fruits and then toward Irina. He understood exactly why she had suddenly become interested in everything except the bushes beside her, but he didn’t say anything. He wasn’t here because of the fruit, and he had absolutely no intention of letting that distraction interfere with whatever he was investigating.

Instead, Liam walked directly toward the mountain.

He stopped at the enormous stone wall and placed his palm against it.

The surface was cold.

Solid.

Real.

At least, it felt real.

Liam closed his eyes.

He focused his senses.

Aether Sense spread through him as he carefully searched the rock for any abnormal magical fluctuation. He remembered the way the icy entity had vanished here. He remembered how the shadow-like figure had disappeared into a stone wall earlier. There had to be something.

An illusion.

A hidden passage.

A magical barrier.

Something.

His fingers pressed more firmly against the rock as he tried to feel for the slightest disturbance in its structure. He searched for mana, dimensional distortion, concealed energy, anything that could explain how something could enter what appeared to be solid stone.

Nothing.

The mountain remained completely still.

There wasn’t even the faintest magical disturbance.

Liam opened his eyes.

He moved his palm slightly across the surface.

Nothing.

He frowned.

"This is actually rock."

He muttered the words to himself.

He tried again, this time concentrating even more deeply.

Still nothing.

For a moment, Liam wondered if he had simply been wrong.

Perhaps the entity hadn’t disappeared into the mountain at all.

Perhaps it had simply used some kind of teleportation technique.

Perhaps the angle had deceived him.

Perhaps there was another explanation.

A small movement caught his attention.

A butterfly had landed on his hand.

Liam looked down at it.

The tiny creature calmly rested against his skin, its wings opening and closing gently.

He stared at it for a second before smiling faintly.

"You’re in the way."

He lifted his hand and gently blew toward it.

The butterfly fluttered away.

Liam watched it.

It rose into the air.

Higher.

Then higher.

His eyes followed its trajectory automatically.

The butterfly flew toward the mountain.

Liam’s gaze remained fixed on it as it approached the enormous stone wall.

For a moment, he expected it to change direction.

Instead, the tiny creature continued flying straight toward the mountain.

Liam watched.

Then his expression slowly changed.

He looked at Irina.

She was staring upward.

"Irina?"

She didn’t answer immediately.

Her eyes remained fixed on the mountain.

Liam followed her gaze.

He looked at the massive wall of stone again.

Then back at her.

His expression seemed to ask a simple question.

What?

Irina finally pointed toward the mountain.

"The butterfly you blew away..."

Liam’s eyes narrowed.

Irina continued, her voice filled with disbelief.

"...just flew up and entered the rock like it didn’t exist."

Liam stared at the mountain for several seconds after Irina’s words, his deep blue eyes fixed on the exact point where the butterfly had disappeared. The tiny creature had flown directly toward solid stone, yet instead of crashing against the mountain, it had simply passed through it as though the massive wall did not exist.

Liam’s expression slowly changed from surprise to curiosity, and then to the quiet satisfaction of someone whose suspicion had just been confirmed. He glanced at Irina, then back at the mountain, his mind rapidly connecting the pieces they had gathered over the past few days. The strange attacks, the invisible presence, the cold entity, the impossible disappearance of the fiery figure, the sweet crimson fruits, and now this hidden entrance. Something about the entire situation had never felt right to him. They had been assuming they were dealing with supernatural entities because that was the easiest explanation, but Liam had learned long ago that the easiest explanation was not always the correct one.

Then, without saying another word, something magnificent happened