PATH OF THE STAR HUNTER

Then, the voice’s owner came from the cave’s depths, where the shadows grew darkest. Besides a dragon, there was no other way to call the creature that emerged from the cave.

Instead of scales, immaculate white fur covered her massive body. A pair of bronze horns decorated the upper part of her reptilian face, accompanied by a pair of orange eyes. Her wings were a sight to behold, broad and majestic, filled with an iridescent sheen.

After the brief stun, survival instincts kicked in. Sasha became the embodiment of fire when she entered her true form. At the same time, the stellar brilliance completely covered Cecilia, who activated some kind of racial ability. With nothing fancy to show for it, Revna simply amassed as much darkness mana as she could.

The reptilian creature did nothing to stop the girls; it clearly didn’t see them as a threat. What’s more, Claire could swear that she saw a trace of amusement in those vertical-pupils eyes. Then the realization hit Claire, she had heard of a creature like this, and Desmond told her about it.

Unable to do anything but hope for the best, Claire feigned nonchalance and made a comment that puzzled her companions. “Wow, have you girls seen? This is what one calls a majestic creature; it is hundreds of times better than those stupid flying lizards that call themselves dragons.”

Before either of the girls had a chance to know what the hell was going on, the creature responded. “Hahaha, I see I have a visitor with good taste. You’re right; those arrogant lizards are the worst. There’s no way this goddess isn’t at least a thousand times better than them.”

All the intimidating air around the creature vanished as if it had never been there in the first place. The creature that called itself a goddess and despised dragons laughed for almost a full minute, looking very pleased with Claire’s flattery.

Seeing the creature’s attitude, Claire was now sure of the creature’s identity. “I suppose the introductions are in order. My name is Claire Lynwood, and it is an honor to stand before the great Kryzsha, the goddess of the mountain.”

.....

The self-proclaimed goddess of the mountain, Kryzsha, seemed quite surprised that anyone knew her name since she didn’t usually give it out to just anyone. In the last five years, she had only given her name to three people, two women, and one man. Women still visited from time to time, but Kryzsha had never seen the man again.

As if trying to answer the question in Kryzsha’s mind, Claire commented. “I thought you should meet our husband, Desmond Astryd.”

If Kryzsha’s identity was a surprise to everyone, Claire introducing them as Desmond’s wives was like detonating a grenade in an empty room. As always, Sasha blushed like a tomato, clearly embarrassed. Revna seemed as calm and alert as ever, but one could see a slight blush on her cheeks. As for Cecilia? she was quite a case. The poor girl did not stop muttering things to herself while the blush covered her entire body.

Oblivious to the girls’ reactions, Kryzsha had other things on her mind. “So you know that man. I must say he was quite a fascinating man. It’s not every day you meet someone who can see me or my maidens like he does other people.”

Summoned by Kryzsha’s words, the stone maidens made an appearance. Strangely this did not surprise the girls so much. Having made the connection between Kryzsha and Desmond, the rest was explained to some extent. After all, Estella’s origin was not a secret in the Astryd residence. However, no one believed that they would one day meet the creature that Estella gave to Desmond.

“Oh, where are my manners? Come on in. Since you are Desmond’s woman, the least I can offer is some hospitality.” Kryzsha spoke nonchalantly, but her demeanor left no room for an answer, so the girls followed her.

As the people who heard the story firsthand, Claire and Sasha were the ones who remembered the most details regarding Kryzhsa. And both women had to agree with Desmond’s assessment of the self-proclaimed goddess of the mountain; she was extremely vain and lazy.

Not caring at all for her guests, Kryzsha laid her massive frame back on what looked like a bed of orange jade. Then, she allowed herself to be groomed by her stone maidens as she maintained an expression of lazy delight. Because of that, the girls had to keep an awkward silence for almost five minutes.

When Kryzsha’s stone maidens returned with snacks and drinks for everyone, Kryzsha basically remembered they were there. “Oh, so sorry; I really needed a moment to relax. You have no idea how hard it is to be such a beautiful and majestic goddess. This sometimes comes with its own problems; a little while ago, I had to beat the crap out of an arrogant lion who thought he could force me to mate with him. Can you believe it?

Remembering the covered flying lion turned into a piece of coal they had seen hours ago, the girls wanted to scream, “Of course, we can believe it.” but none of them dared.

It was really disconcerting to see such a large and powerful creature act with grace and an almost human manner, but the girls let it go. If they kept being surprised by every unusual thing they observed, they might end up dying of a heart attack one day.

After eating an exorbitant amount of fruits and such, Kryzsha broke the awkward silence. “So, what are you doing in this place, or should I say, this world, Desmond’s wives?”

Since there was no point in lying to her, Claire and the girls explained her situation to Kryzsha a bit. The only thing they didn’t expect was that she would have an opinion to express about Celestials, which wasn’t a good one. “Those damn shiny parasites, what they should do is go completely extinct.”

There was deep hatred in Kryzsha’s words, a genuine spite rather than the prejudice of any kind. Even a fool could tell that Kryzsha had a history with the Celestial race, but no one dared to ask about it. Kryzsha’s anger caused her to release too much pressure, almost crushing the girls; the last thing they wanted was to provoke her further.

Finally, Kryzhsa let out a long exasperated breath and calmed down. Only she knew about the true reason for her grudge against the Celestials and how irrational it was. Kryzsha knew that her hatred was meaningless, but she could not forget.

The only thing that Kryzsha wished for with all her heart was a world where no one would longer need the Celestials. A race born of the purest tragedy and cruelty was better not to exist. The irony was that the Celestials would probably agree with Kryzsha. It could be said that the life mission of each Celestial was the end of their own race, the end of a world full of tragedies. Only the word martyr could define that race.

Not wanting to remain lost in thought any longer, Kryzsha was in no mood to greet and entertain anyone, even if they were Desmond’s friends. So, she asks them to leave after giving the group instructions to get out of the forest and onto the lands of the traveling cloud sect.

Even someone with an EQ as low as Revna’s felt it was best to leave Kryzsha alone. It was too dangerous to be close to such a powerful creature when she was in such a foul mood.

Although, as per Revna’s suggestion, Claire still stayed a few more seconds while the girls left the cave. How could Claire not acknowledge Kryzsha’s pain? The creature might be physically different from humans, but the emotions in her eyes weren’t.

Regardless of the possible repercussions, Claire still wanted to express her thoughts to this creature. Kryzsha had helped Desmond so much in the past and had helped them just a moment ago. “I hope you find solace one day for what you have lost. Thanks for everything, Kryzsha.”

Claire didn’t wait for an answer; she had said the piece herself. The rest was up to Kryzsha. Having been in the same position as Kryzsha in the past, Claire knew what it was like to grieve; the pain of losing someone you loved wasn’t always easy to put behind you, and sometimes you just couldn’t. Claire had seen that same pain in Cecilia when they first met, something that took Cecilia months to face.

Claire nodded politely to the stone maids she encountered on her way out and joined Revna, Sasha, and Cecilia at the entrance to the cave. Kryzsha’s vigorous voice interrupted the girls as they prepared to head down the mountain. “Forget it; crossing the forest will take a whole day. Let me take you; let it be a payment for your kind and sincere words, Claire Lynwood.”

Under Kryzsha’s calm gaze, the girls climbed on her back, finding Kryzsha’s fur so comfortable it made one never want to get off her.

As she felt the white fur with her hands, a strange idea came to Claire’s mind. “Now I understand that idiot lion; who wouldn’t want to have this fur for himself.”

It was lucky that Claire didn’t express her thoughts out loud; otherwise, Kryzsha would have had a strong opinion about it.

The same vain soul she always was, Kryzsha said a thing or two before flying so fast she broke the sound barrier. “Well, hold on, girls, the journey will be hard, but try not to damage my fur; it would be a tragedy if you ruined my beauty.”