Chapter 10: Molten Sea Fire Prison
"Crackle, crackle."
Dim flames burned across the land.
A massive fire lizard crawled across the ground that had long since turned to charcoal. Wherever it passed, the flames along its path were absorbed, and the scorching temperature rapidly decreased.
This fire lizard was over twenty meters long—comparable to an ordinary dragon. But unlike its kin in the Elemental Plane of Fire or those living in volcanoes, this giant beast, which should have been wreathed in blazing flames, was covered in a layer of charcoal-like carapace. The shell was riddled with cracks, and from time to time, a dark red glow would seep through these fissures, as if molten lava were slowly flowing beneath.
If a normal fire lizard was "burning flame," then this one was "ash that had long been extinguished."
Just like this world itself.
A blood-red sky was shrouded in black dust clouds. The land was dotted with scattered lakes of molten lava, providing the last vestiges of light in this dark world. Upon this cracked, apocalyptic earth stood a colossal, ferocious fortress forged from bone and black iron. Countless winged, terrifying monsters covered in black carapace circled above, while rivers of crimson magma surrounded it.
The Sixth Layer of the Abyss, Molten Sea Fire Prison, [Tear Valley Fortress].
"Thump, thump, thump!"
Deep within the fortress, a squad of tall, sturdy golems carried a prison cage, walking in silence through the dark corridors. But their heavy footsteps still shook the black iron passageways. These golems were forged from bone and molten rock; flowing flames drove the remains of the powerful dead, granting them strength surpassing what they possessed in life.
The renown of the [Molten Prison Demon Guard] spread across the first seven hundred layers of the Abyss. These evil creations, crafted from the bones of powerful beings from all realms, were far more loyal than the chaotic demons, and also far stronger. They generally possessed the power of Greater Demons, and some could even rival weaker Abyss Lords.
But no matter how powerful the Molten Prison Demon Guard were, all beings knew that even more powerful was their master.
"Clang!"
The silent demon guards entered a hall at the deepest part of the fortress. Here, the black iron floor glowed with a dim red light, close to melting. Black, high-temperature steam hissed from cracks in the ground, releasing toxic fumes hot enough to melt flesh and blood. Amidst the rolling smoke and dust, the demon guards set the prison cage down on the floor. Metal clashed against metal, producing a grating, teeth-aching screech.
They knelt respectfully on one knee toward the center of the hall shrouded in smoke, then rose and left. As the Molten Prison Demon Guard departed, the layers of inscriptions on the massive prison cage rapidly began to unlock.
*Click.* A soft sound, and the cage opened. A five-meter-tall, two-horned, one-eyed demon stumbled out, collapsing to its knees on the floor.
This demon had a human-like body, but with bat-like wings and thick, powerful limbs. Its entire form was covered in hard black carapace, and its single purple eye flickered with an eerie light. But now, that purple eye held not the cunning schemes of a mind-player, but the purest form of "fear."
The Ultimate-rank Greater Demon, [Heart-Eater Demon Lardanas], struggled to rise. It knelt respectfully, prostrating itself fully before the darkness and smoke-shrouded center of the hall. At this moment, it would rather be imprisoned in that cage, which had been enchanted with countless torturous curses, than face the gaze of the being before it.
"Lardanas."
The dark hall brightened gradually as a deep voice came from a distant place. The clanging, forceful tone, like the clash of steel, caused the entire fortress to tremble slightly. A powerful will swept through, and instantly, the smoke and steam were cleared. Every demon within thousands of kilometers felt a pang of terror. Fear suppressed their chaotic instincts, forcing all these monsters to bow their heads and remain motionless.
The nearly-molten black iron floor completely transformed into boiling liquid metal. Golden-red light flickered through the hall. In the next instant, a massive, burning eye, as if formed from molten rock, slowly rose from the iron liquid. Temperatures of thousands of degrees could not harm it; instead, they became the eye's power. A fierce, brutal aura radiated from it, and a pressure that dimmed all things descended.
Facing the master of this pressure, the Greater Demon Lardanas shut its single eye tightly. It dared not look directly at the being before it, even though that eye was merely one of its avatars.
"Your mission has failed."
The burning eye did not look at the trembling, prostrating Greater Demon. Its gaze seemed to pierce through the void, staring at an existence at the far end of a distant world. A voice, as if from the bottomless Abyss, echoed with layers of reverberation through the hall: "Your avatar failed to successfully descend upon the Mycroft Continent. I have lost the opportunity to probe that world."
"My King..."
Hearing the emotionless narration, Lardanas's body shook violently. Demons should be beings without fear, filled only with slaughter and destruction. But Heart-Eater Demons were different. They possessed intelligence far surpassing ordinary demons, and naturally, the fear that came with it. Panicked, it tried to explain, but another figure flashed through its mind.
It was the figure of a black-haired warrior. He was wreathed in crimson battle qi flames, and from his black Soul Abyss came the mournful cries of countless echoes condensed together. It was this human who had destroyed its ritual, slain its avatar, and caused its mission to fail.
The burning eye did not intend to give Lardanas a chance to explain. It stared into the void, its gaze piercing through the fortress of black iron and bone, through the black dust and poison clouds, through the blood-red sky and the broken sun and moon. The master of Tear Valley Fortress, the King of the Molten Sea Fire Prison, the Gluttony Demon King Goliath, used his avatar to gaze into the void, at the world he had been watching for a thousand years.
"The Mycroft World has returned to the ranks of order. The aura of death and destruction has receded. This world had been trapped in silence and death for over a thousand years, yet now it can find its flame again and restore its vitality."
The low, grand voice murmured to itself: "Your failure, and the blind actions of the worshippers, have cost me most of my eyes and ears. I cannot even observe, cannot learn how those humans brought their world back to life from eternal death."
"Originally, I estimated that I only needed to wait another twenty years to break through the barrier of that dying world, to merge it into this layer of the Abyss through war and death. But that's not possible now. A healthy world suppresses us, the fireless ashes. It will require a longer period of preparation."
"My King!"
Hearing this, Lardanas immediately understood the purpose of its imprisonment and being brought here. Like a drowning man grasping at a last straw, it struggled to roar: "I am willing to atone for my mistake! I am willing to go to the Mycroft World to investigate the situation!"
"Those who called themselves our allies have all betrayed us. They stopped providing information long ago. But my followers are still hiding deep in the Western Mountains. I still have one last avatar unused!"
Filled with fear, this Greater Demon, who delighted in seducing hearts and devouring despair, frantically squeezed every bit of its usefulness. The burning eye nodded slightly, interrupting Lardanas's words: "It is normal for those people to betray us. Their world has begun to burn again, so naturally, they no longer need us."
"I will make them pay the most painful—" "No."
The Demon King's avatar interrupted the Greater Demon again. Its voice contained a strange emotion—seemingly curiosity, seemingly greed, and yet an emotion that should never appear on a demon.
It was the taste of hope.
"Lardanas, leader of the Heart-Eater Demons, one of the most intelligent demons." In a tone that suppressed joy and envy, desire and greed, it spoke to its subordinate, word by word, issuing a command that must not be disobeyed.
"I want you to go 'personally' to the Mycroft World and find the truth of how they restored their 'flame.'"
Finally sensing that the killing intent hanging over its head had vanished, the Greater Demon responded with the most decisive and resolute attitude.
"As you command, Your Majesty."
...
A long time passed.
The one-eyed Greater Demon had long since left the fortress, heading to its lair to prepare the ritual for traveling to another world.
Deep within Tear Valley Fortress, the molten iron had gradually solidified, returning to the appearance of red-hot iron blocks.
Black flames burned in the center of the hall. After a long silence, the burning eye slowly dissipated. A complex [Engraved Rune] spun in the space where it had stood. A powerful aura, emanating from this rune of the Demon King, spread out, enveloping the entire fortress.
Flames will eventually go out.
Ashes will one day lose their remaining warmth.
But even so, even the ashes born from a world long dead yearn for the day they can burn again.
At the same time, on the Mycroft Continent, the Ural Plains of the Northern Lands.
In mid-air, the man standing atop the head of a black dragon looked up at the sky thoughtfully. The bright golden sun released heat that warmed even the freezing temperatures of dozens of degrees below zero. But his gaze was unaffected by the blinding light, staring directly into the void at the edge of the world.
But this gaze yielded no results. The man, finding nothing, shook his head. Then, ignoring the puzzled looks of the Divine Mechanism siblings behind him, he looked back down at the ground.
Beneath his feet was a "sea" shimmering with silver light. Silver mist shrouded the lake, reflecting the sunlight. The shimmering waves shifted and changed with the movement of the mist, as unpredictable and immeasurable as thought itself. At the edge of this sea, a dozen or so scattered teams were organizing their formations, preparing for everything.
The Divine Calamity Mist of the Earth Mother Goddess's subordinate god, [River God Shinur]. Since he was not an evil god, even his trials would not be too harsh. If they failed, he could still rescue them. It was the perfect target for a trial.
Thinking this, the warrior on the dragon's head gave a crisp command.
"Begin!"
A voice full of authority spread across the entire plain. Countless wandering mutated beasts and monsters shrank back, fleeing fearfully to their lairs. Beneath him, the teams that had been preparing all stepped forward at the same time, walking into the silver sea of mist that covered several kilometers in every direction.
And so, the trial began.