Everything went still.
No living shadows remained. The air was still heavy, but free of the screeching claws and death cries.
I stood next to Alvira, gazing at the valley that had turned into a field of ash. The rocks were cracked, and smoke rose from the fissures as if the earth itself was breathing in pain.
But the ground trembled again.
Slowly, I turned toward the source of the tremor and saw, in the distance, a mountainous mass rising like a black tower, its crater exhaling a pillar of gas and lava. The sight was familiar… but something about it unsettled me.
Alvira spoke in a low voice, as if reading its name from an ancient memory:
"Cryde Hollow."
I looked at her, eyebrows raised.
She continued, "A great crater. Not an ordinary volcano. It's an old wound in the heart of this land. The creatures that circle it… are unlike anything else here."
I said nothing.
Instead, we climbed back onto the dragon's back. We soared toward the silent mountain, the sky above us painted in shades of blood and hidden lightning.
After minutes of flight, we began to see what had been hidden from view: the land around Cryde Hollow was not just rocks and volcanoes, but a vast carpet of strange plants. They looked like grass, but sharpened at the top, with lower roots covered in a dense, wood-like shell that didn't react to the heat of the surrounding lava.
We landed in a relatively elevated area, near the edge of the crater. We dismounted the dragon, and Alvira stepped forward to touch some of the plants.
"Rufalim," she said, mixing wonder with disdain.
"Rufalim?" I repeated the word.
She nodded, picking up one of the hard stalks. "The only plant that grows here. Almost useless, but strong enough to be used as lightweight wood. Sometimes used as rope or food for dragons if nothing else is available."
I watched her pull out a dagger and attempt to cut one of the stalks, but the blade bounced off without leaving a mark.
"Truly tough," I muttered.
I stood gazing at the burning crater, then said slowly, "This is the place… the imprisoned soldier spoke of. He said he saw the K'kino Mati here."
Alvira looked at me with interest. She pulled out the purple vial again and stepped toward a large volcanic rock.
But I stopped her.
"Wait."
She raised an eyebrow.
"We need a plan," I said firmly. "A third-tier K'kino Mati… isn't like the first. We might not survive its appearance without preparation."
She was silent for a moment, then asked, "What do you suggest?"
I looked at the plant surrounding us, then at the tight rock formations scattered near the crater.
"We use the Rufalim to build barriers… simple traps. Tie it between rocks like natural nets. If the creature attacks us and falls into one of these narrow paths, we can trap or slow it down."
Alvira looked at me, then at the terrain.
She pondered a moment, then nodded.
"Good idea. But we'll need to fasten it tight. That thing won't stop unless we force it to."
We began the work.
We tore the Rufalim stalks with the edges of our daggers, tied them into long cords, and drove their ends into volcanic rocks. We built nets across narrow passages, a trap waiting for prey unaware it was being watched.
After a full hour of preparation, I wiped the soot from my brow and looked over our work.
"Enough," I said.
Alvira stepped toward the rock and poured the contents of the vial onto its volcanic surface.
A thick purple vapor rose, heavier than air, as if the earth exhaled a rotten soul.
We returned to our position, on a ridge overlooking the trap.
We waited.
Minutes passed.
Then half an hour.
Nothing.
Alvira began to lose patience and was about to speak, but I raised my hand and signaled her to be silent.
Then I pointed toward one of the lower fissures.
Her eyes widened.
There… amid the twisting shadows and glowing cracks, something was moving.
Massive.
Heavy.
It crawled through the lava unaffected, as if it were part of the land itself.
I looked at Alvira. She looked at me.
We had a guest.
The creature began to approach.
Its features started to become visible. Four thick black limbs struck the rock like mute hammers. Its massive body pulsed with searing heat, and its basaltic shell cracked at the edges, revealing glowing orange fissures beneath, as if a furnace burned within.
It stopped in the middle of the valley, eyeing the trap without recognizing it.
We exchanged looks.
I whispered to Alvira, "The plan remains. Draw it to the narrow path, and I'll trigger the net."
She nodded, climbed a small hill, and fired a flaming arrow that struck the creature in the thigh.
It didn't flinch. But it noticed.
It turned its head toward her and unleashed a distorted roar—no sound, just a pressure wave that almost knocked me over.
It charged. The ground shook with every step.
Alvira ducked and leapt aside, beginning the chase through the rocks.
I moved to the other side of the trap, where I'd placed three Rufalim pulleys tied to volcanic stakes, all connected to a rope running the length of the narrow pass.
When the creature entered the path, it climbed the tight rocks hesitantly. Its body barely fit, but it surged forward madly.
I waited a moment… then pulled the main rope.
The trap sprung.
A massive net made from Rufalim fell from above, wrapping around its head and limbs. At the same time, several rock slabs we had carefully placed on the side of the path collapsed beneath it, creating a sudden landslide that caused its body to sink and get partially trapped in a narrow pit.
But it didn't stop.
It began thrashing against the walls, tearing through the net, emitting a solid sound like rocks shattering.
Alvira shot another arrow into its neck, and I advanced from the other side, throwing three vials of Sivan powder—a light volcanic substance that causes temporary paralysis in exposed muscles beneath the shell.
They struck directly on its vulnerable joints.
It convulsed.
It trembled.
Its head slumped between the rocks. It tried to rise… then stopped.
It went silent.
I kept my distance. Its heart still pulsed molten sparks from its chest. It wasn't dead.
But it was completely trapped.
We looked at each other, breathing heavily. Alvira's fingers trembled, and my forehead bled from a rocky shard.
But we did it.
A K'kino Mati… third-tier.
A living prisoner.
I knelt beside its massive head, watching its four eyes dim one by one.
They weren't like other creatures' eyes. Each pulsed quietly, resembling raw red rubies, as if forged under centuries of heat and rage. The light at their center looked like a caged flame.
Alvira stood behind me, watching, as I pulled out the curved extraction dagger. I braced my hands on either side of the skull and began carving the circle around the first eye. I heard a faint hum as it came loose, as if it were still alive.
I placed the first in the vial.
Then the second.
Alvira took the third—it was slightly smaller, but burned the brightest. We held it with a thick cloth soaked in a special cold oil to prevent any sudden energetic reaction.
The fourth… was the hardest. Half-buried in an irregular cavity behind the head. We had to break through some of the volcanic bone around it.
But we succeeded.
Four eyes, glowing like infernal treasures inside reinforced glass.
"Each one holds a different perspective of the world," Alvira said as she gazed into one. "The front, the back, the present… and the past."
I didn't reply. I simply stared at the spoils.
Spoils of blood and ash.
I looked back at the creature's body.
It was turning into cracked ash, slowly scattering with the wind blowing from the crater.