Chapter 6: The First Forbidden Route

Since the night when both of them saw that strange blue light between the mountains, the young Sixevenian began returning more and more often to the elevated paths of the north.

He did not really know why.

Maybe because he wanted to see that light again, or maybe because he wanted to find the small Nimbi again.

And somehow, it always happened.

Sometimes he saw the Nimbi waiting beside the ancient suspended bridges. Other times it appeared sitting on a high rock, watching the mist that covered the farthest mountains of S7.

It seemed to know those paths better than anyone else.

Adults usually avoided those routes.

They said that some paths changed when the seven moons appeared together above the mountains. They also spoke about moving cracks, forgotten bridges, and enormous creatures living far away from the cities.

Maybe many of those stories were only legends, but even so, almost nobody dared to go too far.

That was exactly why the young Sixevenian could not stop thinking about them.

One afternoon, while the wind crossed the highest platforms of S7, he saw the Nimbi once again moving toward one of the forbidden paths.

This time, he decided to follow it.

The Return to the Elevated Paths
Some paths seemed to change every time the moons appeared.

The path was narrow and ancient. Small glowing plants grew between the stones, and the mist moved slowly among the suspended bridges.

For a long time, neither of them said anything. They simply walked.

Sometimes the Nimbi stopped to observe ancient symbols carved into the rocks. Other times it seemed to listen to something that the young Sixevenian could not hear. Until finally, they reached an enormous crack crossing the path from side to side.

The rock had opened a very long time ago.

Below them, there was only darkness.

Some fragments of stone floated slowly over the void, moving gently, as if the mountain itself were breathing. That place truly was completely forbidden.

The young Sixevenian knew it perfectly well. Nobody was supposed to cross the moving cracks of the north. Even so, the Nimbi jumped onto the first floating stone without showing the smallest sign of fear.

Then something unexpected happened.

One of the stone fragments began to move slowly beneath its feet.

The Moving Cracks
The mountains of the north never remained exactly the same.

The young Sixevenian stepped back in surprise, but the Nimbi quickly turned toward him and pointed to another floating rock moving closer to the edge of the path.

It was as if it knew perfectly how those stones moved.

For a few seconds, both of them crossed the abyss by jumping from rock to rock while the wind began to echo between the mountains.

Far below, something enormous moved among the shadows. It did not seem aggressive. But it was gigantic. So gigantic that even the sound of its breathing reached the suspended platforms above.

When they finally reached the other side, both remained silent, trying to catch their breath.

The seven moons were slowly beginning to appear above the mountains.

The young Sixevenian then looked at the Nimbi, who was still staring toward the northern mist as if searching for something hidden within it...

—What is your name? —he finally asked.

The small Nimbi waited a few seconds before answering.

—Willity.

The wind gently moved the glowing plants growing beside the edge of the path.

—I am Sixsevenin.

For the first time since they had met, both of them smiled slightly.

And although they still did not know it, that would become the beginning of many other forbidden routes through the mountains of S7.

The First Conversation
That was the first time they spoke their names out loud.

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