Fable: The Mountain Where Monsters Nest

※Notice: Since King is currently suffering from 'perfect-responsibility-itis,'
I am starting a 'Fable' series that has fallen to the dark side. 😆
There is no prospect of recovery at this time. 😆

Once upon a time,
there was a young man in a village who loved mountain climbing.

The young man had climbed many mountains, but
to be honest, he was getting bored of climbing ordinary mountains.

Therefore, the young man
decided to climb a very high mountain,
which was said to be a place where 'no one who climbs it ever returns alive.'

The young man prepared carefully.
To ensure he would return alive.

However, the village elder strongly tried to stop him.

'That mountain, you see, is where monsters nest.'

The young man laughed.
'I have returned from every mountain I have ever climbed.'

'There is no such thing as a monster.'

The elder shook his head and said quietly,
'...It is not in the mountain.'

'The monster... dwells within the one who climbs it.'

The young man did not think deeply about the meaning of those words.

⸻

The young man headed for the mountain.

The mountain was higher than any he had climbed before, and
it was treacherous in every way.

After many days, and many tens of days,
the young man finally reached the summit.

There was nothing there.

No sign or presence of a monster.
Only a view that looked down upon the entire world spread out before him.

The young man laughed.

'Just as I thought. There were no monsters.'

It was at that moment.

Something began to swell quietly from deep within his chest.

...I am the only one who could make it this far.

...I am special.

That thought gradually became stronger, heavier, and sweeter.

⸻

Eventually, the young man descended the mountain.

He had indeed returned alive.

However, the villagers felt something was off.

The young man no longer laughed as he used to,
he stopped listening to what people said,
and he was always looking somewhere far away.

Even when someone spoke to him, the young man would only say:

'You wouldn't understand.'

'The view from that summit is only for those who have climbed it.'

Even while in the village,
nothing felt real to the young man.

Even after returning to the village from the mountain,
everything looked small to him.

The houses, the people,
and even the words exchanged there.

The young man thought, 'Was I really in a place like this?'

And so, the young man headed for the mountain again.

This time, without telling anyone anything.
⸻

From then on, the young man never returned to the village.

The villagers said,

'He was taken by the monster after all.'

The elder just nodded quietly.

'Yes. He did indeed return alive.'

'But that... is no longer the person he once was.'

And the elder said to the gathered young people,

'The monster of that mountain does not take your life.'

'It is something that changes a person's heart, little by little.'

'By the time you realize it, you can never go back to how you were.'

The elder stared at the distant mountain and said finally,

'Now then... who will climb it next?'

Among the young people present,

there was one who was looking toward the mountain.

※Notice 2: The sequel to 'The Mountain Where Monsters Nest' will be released tomorrow.
Thank you for featuring it in your magazine.