And finally, when I slew the last lava demon, I was left gasping for breath. It was the first ti I had used my technique so excessively. For the first ti in a long while, all I wanted was to get the hell out of here, crawl into my warm bed, and simply close my eyes.
When I turned around, I saw that Rebecca was tired as well, maybe not as much as I was, but still fatigued. Though compared to , she looked like she could go on fighting for at least a few more hours. But I had nothing left. The lava demons I’d effortlessly defeated at the start were becoming smarter over ti. So of them had even figured out that fire strengthened them and began feeding both themselves and their allies with it.
And I had been fighting non-stop for about an hour.
But it didn’t matter anymore. We had won. Or so I thought. until the ground shook.
It rose slowly from the lava. At first, it looked like a mountain. It didn’t move, because it didn’t need to. Its very existence was threatening enough. The lava trailing down its shoulders didn’t flow like liquid. it flowed like raw power. As if it wasn’t hot, but conscious.
And those eyes. Born from the fla itself. Bright, scorching, yet... calm. Looking at it, you didn’t choose how to feel. it chose for you. Anger? No. Fear? Perhaps.
But above all... The urge to kneel.
Rebecca stopped. Slowly lowered her hand.
I lowered my sword toward the ground, but my hand still gripped the hilt. I looked at Rebecca. For her, it wasn’t over yet. Or maybe... it was already over.
The creature. No. The being spoke. Its voice echoed not through sound, but through the lava itself. We didn’t hear words. We understood ideas.
"Interesting. I thought you weak. Yet you’ve slain my children."
It took a step. The stone floor cracked yet instead of collapsing, it shifted beneath its feet. This wasn’t physics. This was submission.
"Both of you... exceeded my expectations. And that is rare."
Rebecca was about to say sothing, but I stopped her with a gesture. This wasn’t the ti to speak. It was a mont to listen.
"Allow to introduce myself. Your unforgettable battle deserves a na tied to it."
It spread its arms wide. Lava rose behind it, like wings. Not for flight. For intimidation.
"Igrathar. The eternal mory of fla. Born from the Ashes of the Second Age. And he was imprisoned in this dungeon.."
There was a long silence. Even after saying its na, its echo lingered in the air. It was as if the dungeon itself wanted to etch the na again and again into our minds. Igrathar.
I said nothing. Because I was exhausted. And because my instincts, no, my experience. told that with beings like this, you respect their ego. At least until I have a chance to escape, they should be treated with respect..
Igrathar continued.
"It seems your souls are close. Igrathar admires such souls... and rewards them."
Its eyes moved like flickering lights above the lava, studying both and Rebecca. Not just our bodies but our intentions, our flaws, our shadows.
Then, as if arriving at a verdict, it dipped its head slightly.
"You both deserve to live. But this place does not open its gates to the deserving. It opens for those who pay the price."
The stone near the lava rose, not like a crown, but like a gravestone. Symbols were etched onto it in glowing crimson. Belonging to no known language, yet the aning hit my gut like a punch.
"One will leave. The other will remain... for them."
Rebecca didn’t move. Nor did I. But sothing inside surged. Was it exhaustion? Rage? Or just that familiar, cursed sense of fate?
Igrathar paused, then added,
"The choice is free. Will must sanctify sacrifice. One dies, the other lives. Or... both remain, forever."
Rebecca’s breathing changed. She said nothing, but the fragility in her aura had vanished. Her face turned toward , though her eyes were locked in the void.
I raised my head. Locked eyes with Igrathar. It was as if he was reading each thought from my skull. But still, I said it aloud:
"So what you’re saying is... one of us dies, the other goes ho. Or we both just keep roasting here."
The lava gurgled softly. An agreent, perhaps a mocking one.
I glanced at Rebecca. Only for a second.
Then I looked away, down at the ground. But I could feel her panic behind . She shouted at :
"Don’t you dare say what I think you’re thinking, Leo! This is not the ti to give up! Get up and fight with !"
Oh Rebecca... If only you knew that the demon standing before us was actually a Demon God, imprisoned by beings far more powerful... What would you say?
Igrathar could have killed us in seconds if it wanted to. And yes. I knew from the start that we might face such a being here. I also knew I was endangering both my life and Rebecca’s. But everything has a reason.
I slowly turned toward Rebecca. My eyes held no hope.
"We can’t defeat him, Rebecca. I’ve drained most of my mana. You can’t attack him with fire, and your other technique won’t help here."
Rebecca’s eyes trembled for a mont. She took a step, but stayed where she was. Her body wanted to move, but her mind hadn’t accepted the truth yet.
Still looking at her, I spoke.
"If he wanted to, we’d be ashes already. This isn’t an offer. It’s a judgnt."
My voice wasn’t loud. Nor was it soft. It was a blade caught between weariness and rcy.
Rebecca clenched her fists. The stones beneath her feet cracked.
"So you’re going to sacrifice yourself to save ? That’s your plan?!"
I smiled. Not a warm one. A tired, teeth-baring grin that said: "Yeah, I’ve walked through hell to get here. and I didn’t co here to see you die. Between the two of us, you deserve to live more. We both know that."
For a mont, fury sparked in her eyes. Then silence took over. She swallowed. Turned her head away. Tried to speak, but the words lted on her lips.
I stood tall. My body trembling with exhaustion. My lungs burned. But making a decision didn’t require strength, only will. And I still had that.
I stepped closer to the edge of the lava. The heat was so intense it ached inside . But I didn’t step back.
Rebecca ca up behind . This ti, her voice was soft. Not fragile, asured.
"Don’t do this, Leo. Don’t do this to . Not now. You deserve to live just as much as I do."
I turned my head slightly. Not toward her. Just... sideways. Because if I looked at her. My resolve would crumble. Rebecca was one of those people you couldn’t look in the eyes and stay cold. Not even .
"I’ve spent my life doing terrible things. Let , for once, be the good guy in the story."
Rebecca’s breath caught. She didn’t know what to say. As if every word inside her shattered under the weight of that sentence.
"No... no, Leo!"
I turned to Igrathar. He was watching us silently. Not amused, but... pleased. Yes, I knew he enjoyed what he saw.
"Igrathar! I sacrifice myself! Take and let Rebecca go!"
The lava walls trembled briefly. As if the dungeon itself, bound by Igrathar’s na, was responding.
Rebecca let out a broken cry behind "No!" But I didn’t turn. My gaze stayed fixed on Igrathar.
He lowered his head. That divine light in his eyes dimd for a mont. And then... he spoke.
A voice not of heat, but of judgnt.
"Sacrifice accepted."
The mont those words were spoken, his eyes flared again. Even darkness fell silent. Only the lava’s deep rumble, and Rebecca’s quickening breath, remained. She wasn’t trembling at . She was trembling at us.
Then Igrathar moved. His massive body shifted. A colossal mouth, ford from lava, opened in his chest.
There was no heat inside. Only verdict.
Rebecca lunged forward. She tried to reach . But a wall of lava rose in front of her, blocking her path.
"NO! LEO, STOP! DON’T DO THIS! I..."
"Make a family in my place, Rebecca. Because a family accepts you... despite everything. Just like you accepted ."
The ground beneath trembled. The stone beneath my feet gently lifted. It no longer felt like I stood on it. It felt like I belonged to it.
I stepped before Igrathar. Raised my head.
Rebecca scread behind
"LEONARDO!"
But it was too late. The massive jaws closed over .
First ca light. Then... nothing.
Not fla. Ti devoured .
My vision blurred. Then there was nothing left.
Reviews
All reviews (0)