“What exactly? Why have you summoned me?”
In response, she pointed at the scene in front of us.
The sky was scarlet, almost purple, and a web of black splotches covered the orange sea of magma. A wave of dry heat was coming from below, accompanied by a perpetual booming noise originating both from our walking island and the others. I saw many beasts in the distance, their obsidian armor glistening amidst the flowing magma. They roamed the scorching ocean like colossal ships. Their numbers seemed overwhelming as if all of the beasts of Infernis had decided to gather in one place and kept walking to their destination.
“The beasts are awake, do you see it? They sensed something. They’re walking there.”
She looked at me, demonic embers smoldering in her eyes, and I suddenly realized that Mara was extremely worried.
“I’ve never seen it before. The Succubate might be in danger. Do you understand it, One of the Seven? I think we might need your help today.”
I shook my head, chuckling. Beasts, the giants of Infernis... I had slain the Guardian, but even that kraken was smaller than the walking islands. What could threaten those colossi?
“It’s close, so close!” the demoness insisted.
Fine, I would wait. Reputation was worth it; I might have a use for the succubi later. The beasts were really coming together, five of them blocking the horizon with their hunched backs, the rest of them looming behind. They were walking pretty quickly, forming something like a circle around the unseen center. It was a fascinating sight, those heaving mounds moving forward, almost colliding with each other.
When they came close, Mara suddenly stretched her hand and cried out, pointing somewhere at the boiling lava beneath us. At the very same second, the floor below us started shaking. The thunderous bellowing deafened me, the beast’s quivering almost knocking us down. It felt like the colossal monster was trying to get on its hind legs.
I heard the horrible screeching sound of metal against rock as if someone were trying to open an ancient lock. A torrent of stone debris rushed down, stirring a cloud of dust. Below, the blue fire raged on, its roar drowning out all other sounds. A thick sputter of lava from the whirlwind rose in the air and flew straight at us. The Mistress quickly assumed her combat form and pulled me inside her chambers, the blue shroud of a dome flashing over the open windows. What was going on?
The beasts, all six of them, furiously disgorged blue flames, drilling them into the field of magma to create a colossal fiery vortex. In several seconds, it loomed above us and the creatures, entwining with the black whirlwind newly risen from the lava.
I heard Mara shriek as she crawled into a corner when a torrent of blue fire swept over the terrace and filled the entire area in front of us. The Succubate’s protective dome blinked under the sudden onslaught. If it worked like the one in castles, we were safe, as destroying it would trigger invincibility. Why was she panicking? But a second later, I realized the reason, identifying the black tornado attacked by the beasts. I had seen it before.
Ananizarte, the Goddess of Darkness.
Meeting that shrew was the last thing I wanted. How had she gotten to Infernis? Betrayal crossed my mind. Mara could have lured me into a trap to give me to Ananizarte, who probably wanted revenge. But then what did the beasts have to do with it? Why were they trying to surround and kill the goddess?
The creatures rampaged, flooding Ananizarte with a sea of fire. I only managed to catch the first act of that play, as blazing flames soon concealed everything. Our giant mount raged and stomped, the floor under our feet rocking and the walls shaking. An unbearable scream pierced my head like a misericord, making me cover my ears. I felt truly scared, accidentally finding myself in the epicenter of a clash between titanic forces powerful beyond reckoning. Sword or no sword, I wouldn’t have lasted even a few seconds if I ventured outside the dome.
As soon as I realized my helplessness, the battle suddenly stopped. The beasts froze, and the fiery shroud subsided. Viscous lava flowed atop the dome, flashing in alarm, indicating siege mode. So that was it? The battle seemed already over. But how did it end?
The system bell chimed. Familiar lines appeared in the global chat.
BALANCE HAS BEEN BREACHED!
A bright star lit up in the sky above the ocean of magma and the frozen beasts, so far that I couldn’t make out what it was. A black dot broke away from it and darted downward, disappearing in the boiling lava. I watched it fall right in the middle of the ring of beasts. Was it a silhouette? A human silhouette?
And then, the most interesting part started. Iridescent swirls of Astral Portals flashed into being in the purple sky of Infernis.
Interlude: Vera
BY ALL APPEARANCES, it wasn’t that big — a yellowish crystal indeed shaped like a heart. Confined to a green metallic case made from Ancient Allow, it glowed in the twilight of the underground hall. Dark figures stood frozen inside, like flies in amber: dozens...no, hundreds, their faceless shadows stuck in its honeyed depths.
Vera was slowly falling in, her back sinking into the Heart. The smile disappeared from her face, her thin fingers breaking their hold on Captain’s hands. Several seconds later, she was completely submerged in the amber crystal, her handprint fading away from the translucent wall. Her figure became dark and devoid of personality, fusing with the shapeless crowd of other NPCs imprisoned inside the Heart.
Panther sensed a solid warm surface, impenetrable to characters without the Ancient Gene. Once, he had had it,
