POV Dawkin Rosepeak:

A low buzzing sound rings in my ear, as I begin to regain consciousness for the first time. I can barely muster up the strength to open my eyes wide enough to see. Squinting my eyes, all I see around me is darkness. Weakness starts to overwhelm my entire body. I feel heavy footsteps approaching me and right before I lose consciousness, a thought echoes through my head, “At least I’m not alone.”.

In a delusional half-sleep state, I feel giant hands wrap themselves around my frail body, gently lifting me up from the hard ground. Only the steady bounce that accompanies each step, keeps me at the brink of consciousness. It’s strange to be carried, but I don’t have the energy to protest. Suddenly the cold mountain air becomes stale and the surroundings start to heat up. We must have entered some sort of cave. The gentle feeling of being laid down on something soft is the last thing I feel before sleep claims me again.

My childhood days, back in the village, fill my dreams. A better time, before I lost my innocence to this world’s cruelty. When I was still a child, people would go and challenge the outside world. The days were happier and smiles accompanied everyone in the village, but after the event, everything changed. When it happened, I wasn’t old enough to truly understand it. With my father’s death, it felt like the world's colour changed and an invisible weight was hung over everyone in the village.

The look of hope that was visible on every single face, the day that I departed from the village, appears in my dreams again. Those faces are the reason that I can’t die on this mountain. I started this journey for them and I’m not going to fail. I’m their last hope and I’ll be damned if I die like those brave individuals before me.

New strength fills my body and I try to sit up. My muscles burn with pain, but I manage. I try to move to the side, still unable to properly see. I suddenly fall, from what I assume is a ledge, a good two meters off the ground. Pain wracks my whole body, but I’m not ready to give up yet. A small light enters my vision, like a small beacon of hope, lighting the way for me. With my weakened body, I slowly crawl towards the light.

As I near the light, it’s intensity only grows stronger. I keep crawling without a clear direction in sight, then the light suddenly turns blinding. I feel the sun’s heat on my aching back and a small sense of relief surfaces on my face. I don’t know where I just was, but it seems that I made it outside. Soft grass greets my hands, as I keep crawling.

Slowly, my eyes adjust to the light and I can finally see, although barely. A beautiful scene fills my vision. Green grass stretching out and tall trees reaching into the sky, completely different from what you would expect from a barren mountain peak. I scan the surroundings and spot a figure sitting under the shade of a tree. This figure, while sitting, reached half the trees height. Must be a small tree, I thought, while observing the eight-meter-tall trees towering over my head.

My attention returns to the figure sitting under the tree. It looks like he’s meditating and hasn’t noticed my presence yet. Taking this opportunity, I crawl closer, still not able to stand. While trying to be as quiet as possible, I arrive within fifty meters of the figure. I’m finally able to distinguish some of his features.

He looks like an old man, with long white hair covering his ears and a magnificent white beard that almost reaches his waist. His whole body is clad in, what appears to be, a pure white robe. The white robe, combined with his white hair, white beard and white skin, creates an imposing image. This image and the calm expression on his face gives me the impression of something divine. Like a holy saint filled with purity.

I subconsciously start to approach him, still crawling. Meter by meter, I slowly approach. The feeling of weakness becomes stronger as I advance and my vision starts to blur once again. With my goal in sight, I keep moving forward. When I finally get within five meters of the figure, I’m unable to stay awake and I succumb to the weakness that was filling my entire body. Just before I pass out, I hear a soft sigh drift through the wind and the darkness of sleep greets me once again.

I have the same dream about my precious village. The same childhood days and the same location, but there’s something different. The village’s atmosphere doesn’t seem so gloomy as before. A new light can be seen in the villagers’ eyes. What does this mean? Why has the dream changed? It feels like I should know, but the truth keeps eluding me. Time quickly passes as I keep on struggling to find the truth, but to no avail.

After a proper rest, I start to awaken again. I don’t feel as weak this time. I shouldn’t rush again, like last time, I was too impulsive. I carefully open my eyes properly this time and try to observe my surroundings. It seems like I’m in a giant room. I turn my head to look at the wall next to me. If I’m not mistaken this whole room is made from granite. The thing that I find strange is this room’s proportions. They seem way too large for any man, maybe the creator was trying to overcompensate?

It feels like I’m on a bed, but it seems big enough for three people to sleep on comfortably. This mystery is only growing stranger. After observing the wall next to me, I slowly turn my head towards the other side of the giant room. While turning my head, something suddenly enters my vision. A small shout, from surprise, escapes my lips. My eyes are glued to the figure standing in the room’s doorway, a couple of meters away from me. My eyes turn wide from shock and a single thought surface in my mind, “How can a man be this large!?”.