Udrak had never slain a goddess before. Despite a lifetime spent slaying humans, monsters, and rakodons, he had no idea how to proceed.

  He was embarrassed. Whenever he encountered something new, his instinct immediately told him how to destroy it. Where to hit, when to strike. How to get rid of it. It was second nature for him. He was good at destroying things. But, standing on the summit of the immense crater rim, he was now in absolute doubt.

  Where was the damn thing to crush?

  He expected some kind of dungeons or terrifying structures to lead his way. A lot of dark and hungry creatures to slice. A path of blood and rakon. The path he knew how to deal with.

  There was none of that in that landscape. Only rocks and furious winds. The crater was so vast he barely saw the deepest floors of it. The sides of the rim slowly curved as far as the eye could see, slowly hiding behind thick clouds of ash. The other side was hidden. From his elevated vantage point, it looked like a dead zone. Even the vegetation had been reluctant to settle in.

  Whatever had created that depression in the earth, it was far beyond human conception.

  He closed the collar of his reinforced jacket. The light was that of a dying twilight, and yet, it was midday. And like every midday in this region, Raklys eclipsed the sun for hours. Yet, all he could see were infinite clouds of ash in the sky. Worse, the terrible storm was raging everywhere around him. Lightning ripped through the sky in demented storm bolts. Every shock of thunder was shaking the ground, as the wind was whistling in his ears. He felt the air sucked above the crater as if someone was breathing it from the highest place in the sky, draining the toxic clouds out of this land. The long and calm season was about to end.

  Today was the end of the Blooming.

  Now came the Ashing. As always.

  But he felt something was happening there. Something important. Something he must clarify at any cost.

  Somewhere in this ash pool was buried the goddess. Or at least, a path leading to her. Should be.

  Or the remains of her body. If she had ever possessed one. Maybe.

  Or just one of her children. Might be.

  He sighed in disappointment. He had no idea what was sneaking in these dark lands. The ash jealously guarded their secrets from the eye.

  Someone called his name from behind.

  “Udrak! We have to leave, now!”

  It was Bourag, his crazy friend who had followed him into that nightmare.

  “Raklys is going to cry at any moment!” insisted the short man. “We need to hide!”

  Udrak gritted his teeth hearing the name of the goddess. This bitch paid nothing to wait. If only he knew how to find her… He had spent years of preparation to make this expedition possible. Countless hours of training, learning, studying paths... And for what? Raklys hadn’t shown up even once. The whole expedition was suffering. Suffering from hunger. Suffering from all those fights. Exhausted, starved, wounded. They weren’t going any further. They were not prepared. Not enough. Not for this madness.

  His hands tightened on the handle of his war hammer.

  The ash had won.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Again.

  It was unforgivable.

  “I can’t leave, Bourag. I’m so close! I can feel it, it’s here, right in front of me.”

  A hand caught his shoulder with strength.

  “There’s no time, we must go!”

  Bourag gave a moment for the warrior to consider.

  “You can’t survive this, Udrak. No one can. We barely saved the expedition last time, and we were a thousand kilometers away!”

  The short man pulled stronger on his plated shoulder.

  “Udrak!” he called again. “This is pure madness!”

  The black-haired warrior suffered the truth. If the crater was indeed the nest of the Ashing, his chance of surviving the blast was not that good. They almost got blown away last time.

  But he wanted to know. He needed to know. He had to know. It was the pinnacle of this expedition. The latest breakthrough it could make.

  “I can do it.”

  “We have already learned a lot. We’ll come back stronger!”

  The warrior sighed loudly. Indeed, they had achieved what they came for: studying the ash. In fact, they had learned a lot those past months. They found new species of rakodons, new biomes, new ecosystems… Forge masters had a lot of high-quality rakon to work with. Hunters drew maps of the under-ash, and even paved the paths for the most part.

  But… They were so close...

  “There won’t be any other expedition if we don’t return with something interesting. You know it!”

  “It’s not worth it if you die!” implored Bourag. “We have Pebbles to lead back home. We need you, as a leader.”

  They both knew this wasn’t true. The group was made of the best warriors, healers, and specialists you could find. But the chances were, indeed, way lower if the group had lost its chief. Morale would be low, as would cohesion.

  The warrior turned back and grabbed his friend by the collar, almost pulling him into the air with one arm. His tone was calm and low, resolve on his face.

  “I’m not going back without answers. If there is any chance to find her...”

  Pain flashed across his face. There were memories that should have been forgotten. But he never could. He never tried. He never forgave. The goddess took everything he had. And now it was her turn to get hurt.

  Bourag held tight, maintaining his gaze.

  “You’re not alone in this hell. Wake up! The expedition counted more than 50 hunters. You could not ask for them to stay any longer! They have already given so much.”

  The warrior faltered. He knew his path of revenge had blurred his vision. He wasn’t worthy of a leader anymore. His friend was right, it was time to go back home. Everyone on this expedition deserved it.

  He relaxed his arm and let it go. His anger left his face as he cooled down his mind. It was time to act as a leader. He took a deep breath.

  “Tell the others to bury. We leave as soon as the Blooming passes,” he said.

  Relief passed over Bourag’s face. Leave this doomed place. Finally.

  “That’s the right thing to do,” he encouraged. “People are tired. And afraid. We don't belong there, no one does.”

  And as if triggered by ancient magic, the storm suddenly stopped in a breath. The floating debris of rock and dust fell to the ground with a muffled noise, cut off from all air currents. The silence went absolute in mere seconds, contrasting with the previous outpouring.

  Bourag froze with a horrified face.

  “Shit…”

  The dark clouds over the crater slowly glowed. A purple light was growing stronger from the upper side. Udrak felt the air pressure increase slightly, becoming more electric.

  Something was coming.

  Something big.

  The tears of the goddess.

  A line whistled in the air. A shrill shock struck their eardrums.

  A few meters away, a head-sized crater appeared on the ground.

  Their eyes widened.

  “It started!” shouted Udrak. “Run!”

  But Bourag was already rushing away.