Floating Peak

The path winds upward, higher and higher, the trail of stones leading tributes through the entirety of the mountaintop before coming upon the strangest of sights. A pathway not of stone, but shimmering light, a floating peak hanging in the air above. Ribbon like swirls of gold lead up to the massive floating boulders, radiant with pink Cherry Blossom trees rooted into them. It’s impossible to see unless you’re standing at the top of the mountain, looking up at it. Smaller boulders hover around, defying known laws of gravity, untethered to anything except the breeze that seems to keep them afloat. Tributes watch small foxes patter along the golden ribbons in the sky and realize this isn’t the end of the road, just a change in topography. Stepping foot on the ribbons feels like stepping into the clouds, blossoms swirling in the wind as it tangles tributes’ hair, lifts the bottom of their hakama’s, threatens to topple their balance. They can see the rest of the arena from here, where Cherry Blossoms give way to Maple trees at the base of the mountain, where the cliffside cuts the forest off on the other side below. Don’t get too close to the edge; that’s a long way to fall.