At last, her feet touched soft earth. They sank into the damp mud by the lake's edge, and the cold air wrapped around her like a refreshing cloak.
She stood still for a moment, breathing deeply, as if trying to absorb this new sensation.
She stepped toward the water. The lake's surface was calm, nothing but gentle ripples, a fish jumping here, a bird fluttering there.
She knelt and dipped her fingers into the water. Her eyes fixed on the far shore, where dense trees entwined their branches like a dark wall, as if they had grown not to welcome, but to guard a secret.
She whispered, her voice barely crossing her lips: "Where are the people? The villages? A place like this… it should be full of life." Then she muttered to herself: "How can a lake this beautiful be completely empty? What would drive people away from a place like this?"
Nintu's voice came, soft yet laced with warning: "Beauty is deceptive, Azaros. Places that remain untouched by human hands… are never empty without reason."
Azaros raised an eyebrow: "You're exaggerating, Nintu. Maybe it's just an abandoned place. Nothing more."
She stepped forward a few more paces but something else had begun to creep in.
Then, suddenly, Nintu's voice rose—sharp as an alarm bell: "Azaros!"
Something had changed. Something in the air. A choking, acrid smell, as if death itself clung to the wind.
"Cover your nose—now!"
Azaros didn't need an explanation.
Her hand shot up instinctively, survival had taken control.
Then the ground trembled. Not a mere shake, it shuddered as if it were breathing, awakening from a long and restless sleep.
And then, without warning, it erupted. Massive roots, black as the shadow of death, burst violently from beneath. They twisted like starving serpents, hunting for prey.
Azaros moved immediately. She leapt, ducked, spun, her body flowing in a perfect sequence,
as if she were dancing with death. Each step separated her from annihilation by the slimmest of margins.
The roots lashed through the air like whips, writhing before crashing down with deadly force.
One nearly struck her chest, she ducked at the last second, her hair whipping past the attack.
Another shot toward her leg, she vaulted over it with agility, landing in a swift crouch.
But soon, she realized, these attacks weren't random.
The roots were tracking her with eerie precision, anticipating her next move.
Nintu spoke, her voice tinged with quiet warning: "These aren't just roots. They're an extension of something greater… and far more dangerous."
Azaros nodded, her gaze burning with focus.
But there was no time to think.
One root lunged at her, moving with strange malice.
She barely blocked it with her arm, and a coldness surged through her bones, as if she had touched a curse.
She pulled back quickly, narrowly dodging another strike that might have torn through her.
Then the earth shook again, this time deeper. Stronger. And from the depths… a massive plant-like creature emerged.
Its twisted trunk was a living mass of roots and tangled branches, its limbs like monstrous tendrils writhing with sentient malice.
At its top bloomed a massive flower, dark violet, like a demonic crown or a waiting trap, surrounded by massive green leaves that fluttered like wings.
A dense, toxic vapor rose from its body, creeping across the ground like the breath of a creature poised to strike.
The air filled with choking mist… as if nature itself had turned against its own laws, transforming into a deadly enemy.
Azaros stared at the monster before her. She muttered, hand over her nose and mouth: "What nightmare is this?"
Nintu's voice answered: "This isn't an ordinary plant… Be careful."
Azaros studied the towering creature again, searching for weaknesses, but there was no time.
The roots surged at her.
They struck the ground inches from her feet, flinging dirt and pebbles into the air.
She bent low and rolled aside, rising onto one knee, her breathing steady and rhythmic, preparing for the next onslaught.
There was no room for hesitation. A sharp cry tore through the air, like the roar of a wild beast.
Then she charged at the creature with unbelievable speed.
Her steps were steady. Confident.
She navigated the storm of moving roots with agile precision, dodging, weaving, blocking. And then, a resounding punch!
The air trembled around her, shaken by the force behind her strike.
The monster recoiled for a moment, as if startled by the energy surging from within her.
The ground cracked beneath her feet.
A massive root shot up, twisting around her ankle with stunning speed.
It caught her.
Before she could react, it yanked her upward, lifting her high into the air for a moment.
Then it hurled her violently toward the trunk of a massive tree.
The impact was brutal. Air escaped her lungs.
A sharp pain surged through her body.
She crashed to the ground, the wet soil clinging to her face, her sweat-soaked hair sticking to her skin.
But she rose quickly.
She stood tall, as if refusing to be defeated.
"This thing is stubborn!" she shouted in anger, wiping the mix of sweat and dirt from her brow.
Nintu's voice came: "It won't stop... unless we make it stop."
Azaros looked toward the base of the beast, there, where the massive trunk pulsed like a living artery.
No further words were needed.
She gathered all her strength, drawing from the reservoir of power she shared with Nintu a force that surged through her veins like a river of fire.
She exhaled heavily, her eyes ablaze with ferocity.
Then she charged, like an arrow loosed toward its mark, dodging the wild strikes that tore through the air around her.
And at the perfect moment, she focused her strength, her fist pulsing with explosive energy and slammed it into the base of the towering plant.
The result was seismic.
The ground shook beneath her, as if a storm's roar had erupted from the deep.
The monstrous body trembled and the poisonous flower began to dim, as if its life were being slowly siphoned away.
But the beast was not ready to yield.
The roots lunged at her in a frenzy, one whipped past her head, barely missing, another shot forth like a deadly spear.
A single moment... would determine everything.
But she moved, before death could.
She leapt into the air, legs spreading like a taut bow as the root swept beneath her like a stray arrow.
Suspended between earth and sky, her eyes gleamed with unyielding resolve.
In that final moment, she gathered her strength in her hand and struck the root.
The blow was devastating, it tore the root in half.
Then... she seized the split root, wielding it like a primal weapon, spinning it around herself with deadly grace.
A swift strike!
Another root shattered beneath her might.
Then another.
And another.
Until the battlefield became a heap of splintered remains, each blow tearing through whatever dared approach.
She stood amidst the storm, her breath rising like war-smoke, her eyes burning with a will that knew no retreat.
But the danger had not yet passed. The monster's head, crowned with the venomous flower—
was descending toward her, like an executioner's blade awaiting its final drop.
Azaros realized time was against her.
The toxic gas was beginning to take its toll, her vision blurred, her muscles weakened, as if a hidden fire were devouring her from within.
Yet amid the hell around her, she felt Nintu's presence: "Just a little longer."
Azaros's breath grew heavier. She stared at the massive roots, her body tense like a drawn bowstring on the verge of snapping.
Then… she decided.
She clenched her teeth tightly and darted forward like a flash of lightning.
Dodging a root that shot at her like a killer's spear, she rolled across the ground, then burst ahead with astounding speed.
Her hand gripped one of the thick roots, which had been twisting to strangle her but she held on tight.
As if her will had become indestructible metal.
The beast shuddered, its roar rippling from the depths like the wrath of an ancient force, as Azaros felt the root's power resisting her, its pulses racing beneath her grip.
Then, suddenly a primal scream erupted from her core.
A roar of fury as though the earth itself answered her rage.
Her body spun like a raging cyclone, her strength blazing in every vein, lifting the giant plant from its roots as if it were nothing but a toy.
The ground shook violently beneath her. It cracked beneath her feet.
From the force of her spin, the massive roots lashed out like whips, striking the surrounding trees, flogging them with violent fury.
Leaves flew. Branches splintered beneath the savage blows.
One enormous tree took a direct hit, it groaned with a terrible creak, then collapsed with its ancient trunk, stirring a storm of dust and falling leaves.
The wind howled, rising with her frenzied motion, as if the world itself had been drawn into a raging vortex.
Each strike left devastation in its wake, trees quivered, branches snapped and the entire forest seemed to scream with each motion.
Then, with one final, colossal effort, she hurled the creature toward the lake.
It soared through the air, a massive shadow silhouetted against the dim glow of dawn.
Then… it hit the water. The surface of the lake erupted, a geyser of water and toxic gas shot skyward as the creature's body began to sink.
Azaros stepped back, breathing hard, her muscles trembling from exhaustion.
She watched the plant-beast vanish beneath the surface, its last clouds of poisonous gas fading into the cold morning air.
Then came Nintu's voice soft, but tinged with unmistakable admiration: "Well done."
Azaros sat down at the lake's edge, her breath ragged, her chest trembling with each inhale.
Every breath felt like shards of glass passing through her lungs, burning her from the inside.
She tasted metal in her throat.
Her body felt heavy,
as if unseen threads were pulling her limbs down into the earth.
Her fingers shook as she raised a hand to her forehead, wiping away the cold sweat clinging to her skin.
Her vision flickered, shadows turning into dancing ghosts and the only sound she could still distinguish was the wild pounding in her skull.
Then, amid the creeping numbness… she felt it.
A faint current a warmth slipping beneath her skin, crawling slowly through her veins, as though a mysterious force was trying to rearrange the chaos inside her body.
Her muscles twitched.
A cold tingle spread through her limbs, as if the poison was being drawn out, drop by drop.
Her breathing began to steady, like a noose loosening from her neck. She whispered, voice barely audible: "Nintu… is that you?"
Nintu answered: "Yes. I'm the one doing this. Your body was collapsing. I had to intervene."
Azaros slowly raised her brows, a faint smile forming on her lips as balance returned to her: "So… you can purge poison from my body?
That's… incredible.
"I didn't know you could do that."
A soft laugh echoed in her mind, as if Nintu found the moment slightly amusing: "Neither did I. I've never tried it before… but it seems I can."
Azaros let out a light chuckle despite the weight still dragging at her, then smirked playfully: "From now on, I guess I don't need to fear poison anymore… Thanks to you, I'm immune."
Nintu's reply came swiftly: "That doesn't mean you should drink poison like it's fine wine. Protection is one thing—recklessness is another."
Azaros raised a brow, her tone still carrying that ever-present mischief: "Oh, so there are limits? I was hoping I could drink anything without consequences."
Nintu murmured: "Certainly—until you find yourself in another pit, twitching like a poisoned rat, and I'm forced to save you again."
Azaros laughed aloud, shaking her head before letting her body fall back onto the damp ground, her arms sprawled at her sides, surrendering to the sheer fatigue of the moment.
Her eyes locked on the still, blue sky above.
Nintu's voice echoed again in her mind, quieter this time, but tinged with deep awareness: "And you, Azaros… you carry secrets you refuse even to share."
After a few breaths, Azaros's expression shifted, from the faint smile of relief to a sharpened look of clarity.
It was as if her awareness of her body, its weakness, its limits—returned with full weight.
She slowly raised her hand, studying it as her fingers moved lightly, as though she were seeing them for the first time.
Then she murmured, a voice tinged with both frustration and quiet confession: "I still haven't adjusted to this human body… or to your power, Nintu."
Nintu's voice came like a calm breeze—yet carried firmness and confidence: "I understand your concern, Azaros. But don't be afraid. Your human body is stronger than you think. With time, it will learn to embrace my power without breaking. It won't be easy… but it's not impossible."
Azaros rubbed the back of her neck.
"But where do I end… and where do you begin?" Her voice was barely audible a soft confession slipping past her lips against her will: "I don't want to be just a vessel. I want to stand on my own."
Nintu went silent for a moment, as though thinking, then replied with a voice that carried the scent of eternity: "Power lies not in its source… but in how it's used. The gift I gave you has become a part of you, just as your heart and your mind are."
Azaros let out a long breath, trying to steady her uneven breathing, but exhaustion clung to her body like a weight she could not shake.
Slowly, she sat down, lifting her gaze to the lake.
Then chaos erupted.
Roots burst from the depths of the water, like serpents thirsting for life.
One coiled tightly around her ankle, nearly crushing the bone, then began to drag her slowly toward the water.
She felt cold seep into her like a knife of ice, while the grip of the root felt like iron claws, merciless and inescapable.
She screamed in anger: "Can this thing just die already?!"
Nintu's voice returned, sharp and commanding, like a slap: "Don't let it pull you in!"
Azaros braced her foot against a nearby rock, leaning her full weight as if defying nature itself.
She grabbed the twisted root with both hands, fighting with unyielding will to break free but the plant was stronger than she had thought.
Gradually, she felt her strength draining, as the root kept dragging her toward the dark depths.
Suddenly, the lake stirred.
A long, massive shadow slid through the depths and within moments, a monstrous creature exploded from below.
It was a nightmare made flesh, part reptile, part horror.
Its armored, gleaming body was coated in layers of algae and old scars.
Its eyes were burning coals of yellow, eyes that belonged to a beast driven by primal instinct… a creature that knew only how to hunt.
Its jaws, lined with razor-sharp teeth, looked like they had been crafted to rip the world apart.
With a single strike, the beast lunged at the monstrous plant, sinking its fangs into the writhing roots.
The plant convulsed violently, as if realizing its imminent doom.
The root wrapped around Azaros's ankle suddenly went slack, as if it had lost its will, then slipped away, falling limp into the water.
She stood frozen, her mind unable to grasp what had just happened.
The creature dove again with its prey, leaving the lake's surface to swirl with gentle eddies… as if the entire event had been nothing but a fleeting mirage.
But deep down, she understood, the beast wasn't a savior.
It was a new adversary, one waiting its turn in this world that never stopped testing her strength.
She staggered backward, then collapsed to the ground, her heart pounding like war drums, her eyes fixed on the lake's surface, now returned to its eerie stillness.
She whispered barely audible, a breath of newfound dread: "Now I understand… this place wasn't left empty by chance. No one survives here."
Nintu's voice echoed in her mind, steady, like an ancient truth beyond dispute: "Everything that lives here is a guardian, placed long ago to protect the sanctity of this place from any intruder."
Azaros lifted her eyes from the lake, trying to grasp the meaning of Nintu's words: "Could these creatures be here to protect the island? To guard… the temple?"
Nintu answered, her tone neutral yet laced with conviction: "Yes. Since Enki placed the temple here, these beings have existed to serve as its guardians. They show no mercy and see no difference between stranger or enemy. Their purpose is singular to protect this place… until your time comes."
Azaros slowly raised her eyes to the sky, where thick clouds had gathered, covering the floating island in a moving white veil hiding it completely from the world below.
She searched with her gaze for the stone stairway that had brought her here… but it had vanished.
She finally spoke, her voice steady by effort, though a faint tremble reached the tips of her limbs: "We need to move... I have no desire to be another meal for a man-eating plant."
She rose to her feet and exhaled deeply, as if forcing out the last remnants of poison from her lungs.
She looked around. Everything was chaos.
Stretching her fingers, she began to feel her strength slowly returning when Nintu's voice returned, but this time, it carried something different... something more like a command rooted in inevitability: "Approach one of the shattered roots."
Azaros hesitated for a moment, her gaze fixed on the scattered remnants.
She lifted her head slightly, her voice holding a questioning edge: "What's your plan, Nintu?"
"Extend your left hand toward the root," came the reply cold, yet full of the confidence of one who knows the path.
Azaros raised her left hand over the cracked root.
Then, the features of Nintu's face began to take shape on her palm.
Suddenly, Nintu's mouth opened unnaturally wide,
like a tear in the fabric of reality itself.
The air exploded with crushing force.
Violent winds surged from every direction, as if the world itself were being compelled to bow before her.
The ground trembled violently, dust and dead leaves flying in all directions, racing toward the gaping maw.
The shattered root shuddered, its screech unbearable, then began to be pulled from its place by a relentless, merciless force.
Azaros's eyes widened in astonishment.
Every piece of the root, every shard, was sucked into Nintu's gaping mouth which was no ordinary mouth, but a gate into eternal void.
And in a single flash, the root was gone. As if something had erased its existence from the world.
Then silence.
Azaros took a step back, staring at her now-empty hand, overcome by a raw, overwhelming sense of power.
She felt something flowing through her veins… a warm force reviving every cell in her body, merging with her as though it had always been there, just waiting to be known.
"It's done," came Nintu's voice—quiet, yet brimming with certainty.
"The power of that plant is now yours. You can summon the toxic gas it once released… whenever you wish."
But despite everything, Azaros couldn't ignore the question forming in her mind: "What is this ability, Nintu? How do you do that? How can… a mouth swallow things?"
Nintu paused as if searching for the right words before speaking in a voice calm, yet laden with ancient mystery: "Swallowing isn't just an action. It's the essence of my power. What is consumed… is reformed, becoming part of me. It is an extension of my ancient nature."
Azaros slowly shook her head, turning Nintu's words over in her mind, tasting their weight like a warrior tasting blood on their lips after their first real battle.
"That's… incredible."
A faint smile, laced with quiet thrill, crept across her lips.
Her eyes closed briefly, as if feeling something new surge through her.
Then she opened them again, a new glint shining behind her gaze something like hunger:
"If this is only the beginning… what if we could gain even greater powers?"
"Exactly," Nintu affirmed confidently as if she had been waiting for that realization: "It's possible—and more. The world is full of beings that carry limitless power. All we need is the courage to find them… and the will to make them ours."
Azaros raised her hand before her face, watching her fingers curl slowly as if trying to comprehend the growing force within her.
"And now that this power is inside me… how do I use it?"
Her voice held a blend of curiosity and confidence.
"Is there something specific I need to do?"
Nintu's reply was calm: "Power responds to your will, Azaros. Think of it as part of you as natural as moving your hand or breathing. You only need focus and intent. The toxic gas is now part of your being… but control takes practice. To truly master it, you must shape it to obey you completely."
Azaros nodded, Nintu's words settling into her mind like a mark that could never fade.
"Very well," she murmured, her fingers tracing slowly across her palm as though touching something no one else could see.
"Looks like I'm going to enjoy testing its limits."
Nintu let out a low laugh, as if sharing in the excitement now rising within Azaros: "Time will teach you all you need… And with every step, you'll grow stronger. What we've gained today is only the beginning."
Azaros didn't reply.
"Then let's keep moving." She turned, her eyes scanning the forest that stretched out before her, its towering trunks reaching skyward, embracing a thick canopy of leaves that veiled the light.
Her fingers brushed against her waist, checking for any hidden wounds, before she murmured: "I wonder… are there any cities nearby?"
Nintu's voice came like a breeze through the trees: "My knowledge of this world is as old as the stones that imprisoned me… but what was then may no longer be now."
Azaros exhaled: "So… we're truly alone."
But instead of fear, she felt something else something burning deep inside her like a fire that would never die.
Loneliness?
It wasn't unfamiliar.
She had always carved her path with her own hands.