Lyne fed the two light crystals to Sly. A whisper echoed:
[2/10 Light Crystals]
[8 More Light Crystals for Evolution]
Sightless said, "Those two will keep Sly full for now. But when he consumes ten, he will transform. Evolution isn't just growth—it's a rebirth."
Sly, still small enough to coil around Lyne's neck, flicked his tongue, eyes sharper than before.
They climbed higher, the mountain biting colder with every step. Silence pushed them into conversation.
"Sightless," Lyne said, "I know why you want the peak. But what's your real goal?"
Sightless paused, eyes distant. "To walk an unforgettable path."
Lyne smirked. Then he turned the question on her. "You've been an ally, but you hide something. What is it?"
Her eyes flickered. "Not now. You'll learn one day."
He nodded. "I trust it won't change the journey."
Cold gnawed at them. Sightless suddenly collapsed.
When he woke, muscles strong and warmth returned, he found himself in a small cave. Lyne had carried him there and lit a fire with [Forgotten Hellfire].
"I've climbed this mountain before," Sightless admitted. "But never past the cold. Thank you."
Lyne smiled faintly. "I'm not useless. But even your will can't outrun the mountain."
"I must reach the peak," he said. "There's a sunset only seen from there. I have to write it down."
"And we will," she said firmly. "Rest now. If you don't recover, the climb ends here."
Sly hissed sharply toward the cave's mouth. Outside, snow and rocks tumbled down, sealing their exit.
Lyne swung her Odachi at the blockade, but the cold slowed her strokes—too deep to cut through.
Rocks shifted again inside, revealing three narrow paths.
Sightless, steadier now, stood. "Three paths. I'll take the left. You take the middle. Sly, the right."
"We shouldn't split up," Lyne protested. "We don't know what's in those tunnels. How will Sly—"
"Sly is born of the forgotten white snake. He can handle the small beasts here. We don't know what's waiting, but we must find out. We'll return here no matter what. Hurry."
She nodded, swallowing her worry, and took the middle path as Sly slithered right and Sightless went left.
Sly's path led him face to face with [Forgotten Goblins]—not green and ragged, but ice-coated and silent as the mountain shadows.
The goblins closed in, unaware they faced not prey, but a creature born of silence and frost.
One lunged.
It vanished in Sly's jaws.
More attacked—one after another swallowed whole.
Then, a blinding silver light erupted through the icy walls. The goblins screamed, then fell silent.
[8 Light Crystals have been acquired]
[Evolution requirement met]
[Preparing Forgotten Evolution]
[Forgotten Evolution Complete]
[The Forgotten White Snake has Evolved]
Sly emerged larger, more formidable—a living whisper of the mountain's forgotten power.