"Huh?"
Radlis and Balthorn looked back in confusion.
In truth, none of the four youthful geniuses had been paying attention. Or, rather, they simply didn't have the luxury to do so. Walking up the mountain pass was difficult enough, how could they have time to waste on looking back?
But, at a certain point, it simply couldn't be ignored any longer.
The rushing winds, the trembling grounds, the second oppressive aura that seemed to be bearing down on them from the back… They simply couldn't continue to pay attention to the path before them any longer.
When they did finally look back and see what was happening, their eyes couldn't help but widen in shock.
By now, Aina was already no more than ten meters behind them. But, just as quickly as they gazed back, they were level just as fast. And, even faster than that, they were surpassed.
Radlis and Balthorn stumbled. Their loss of concentration made them feel as though the pressure on their bodies had been multiplied several times over and in the end, they all but fell to their knees.
Aina blazed a trail by them. To an outside observer, she was only sprinting as fast as a normal human, a speed that was less than impressive for a Fourth Dimensional existence. However, in the face of these youths, she might as well have been flying.
A gaze of determination lit Aina's every step forward. Even though her speed was continuously slowing, she seemed to show no intention of stopping. She pushed harder and harder, her steps eventually becoming so heavy that miniature cracks began to appear beneath her feet.
At some unknown time, Leonel had crossed his arms, his fingernails digging into his biceps. But, at the same time, the smile on his face didn't fade, almost as though to keep up a strong front just in case she looked back.
Aina entered a 50 meter distance from Ingkath. Then 40. Then 30.
Her arms and legs moved in unison as though swimming through a tide of heavy water. Though her face was blocked by a mask, the weight of her determination alone painted a broader picture than what her expression alone could bring across.
Even Leonel had underestimated just how much this matter meant. He had only come here for Aina's sake, but it wasn't until this moment that he truly grasped the kind of determination it took for a young woman to send herself across the universe alone and without backers.
Aina had never thought of coming to Valiant Heart Mountain with Leonel. In fact, maybe she thought that after being sent to Terrain, she would never see Leonel again.
It might have been cruel, especially since at the time she hadn't even been aware of if Leonel managed to survive or not. But, Leonel couldn't find it within himself to blame her for this.
The relationship between he and Aina was still nothing more than a teenage infatuation. However, the weight Aina carried on her shoulders was far more than just this.
She carried the betrayal of her family. She carried the scars of a little girl. She carried the death of a parent.
Leonel couldn't blame her if she placed these things ahead of him in importance. It would be nothing short of selfish of him to not understand.
Maybe in a way, to Aina, the act of ignoring her feelings for him was just another form of sacrifice, another hardship she had to face to reach the day she could lay down these burdens.
That drive, that will to reach a goal no matter what you had to sacrifice… Though Leonel couldn't understand it, he respected it down to the depths of his heart.
He couldn't help but wonder if he'd ever have such great drive. Would there ever be something he was willing to give up everything for…?
The thought made him shudder.
Did he really have to give up the things that he loved for the sake of such a goal?
Leonel looked up into the skies.
'Even if there comes a day where I have such a goal… I would never be able to do that. No…'
Leonel shook his head. He didn't feel as though he was expressing his own thoughts properly. He had emotions deep within him, emotions he knew existed but couldn't quite place a label on.
At that moment, Leonel suddenly smiled.
'Aina said it best. We men are selfish and always want more. And, the man I want to be doesn't just want more, he wants everything.
'Even if there comes a day where I have such a goal, even if it forces me at an impasse where I must choose between the things that I love, I'll cut a path down the middle and take both.
'I don't like to lose, after all...'
Leonel's aura shifted, a breeze kicking up around him. For a moment, the elder atop the mountain pass took his eyes off of the blazing Aina and couldn't help but gaze upon the inconspicuous youth standing amidst a vast nothingness.
Even with his years of experience, he didn't understand why he had looked at Leonel in that moment. In fact, even if he asked Leonel why, the young man wouldn't be able to answer either.
Leonel's thoughts seemed to have been formulated into words and coherent thought, but the truth was that he didn't think those phrases and sentences just now. In fact, his mind was quite blank at the moment, not exuding anything close to a coherent stream of consciousness.
The current Leonel was still not able to put these emotions into words. Rather, those words represented nothing more than a raw, unrefined ambition…. The first budding of a sprout yet to be properly watered.
Maybe even Leonel didn't realize it at that moment, but he suddenly felt free and unbothered. He was content to bide his time and wait… wait for the moment that small bud bloomed forth.
Aina gave a resounding cry into the skies, her ax appearing in her seemingly delicate hands as she slashed downward with all her might.
She tore into the ground beneath her feet, hooking her blade into the soil and using it as an anchor to shoot forward.
She leapt through the air, landing three meters ahead before swinging her ax downward once more and repeating.
Her momentum was relentless, her mind blank of all thoughts but the image of the pillars before her.
Under the stunned gazes of all those that could witness it, she crossed the final line, her long black hair whipping about beneath a furious aura.
The whites of her eyes rolled forth as she roared into the skies, the carvings of the pillars suddenly beginning to glow.