The air outside Korvan no longer carried peace — it pulsed.
Each gust brought the stench of sulfur and ash. The western horizon burned faint red, and tremors rolled beneath the soil like a giant's heartbeat.
Kael and Seren moved first.
They left before sunrise, crossing cracked plains where the earth still smoked from forgotten eruptions. Kael's light bowgun hung across his back; Seren's lance gleamed faintly orange in the haze. They walked in silence for hours, the only sound their boots crunching on black stone and the distant groan of shifting magma.
Finally Kael spoke. "Still sure about this?"
Seren's eyes stayed forward. "If I weren't, I wouldn't be here."
He smirked faintly. "You sound like Maerin used to."
Seren's lips curved. "Then she raised me right."
They crested a ridge. Below lay a basin of obsidian and fire — and there, half-buried beneath layers of molten crust, was something enormous.
A living mountain.
Kael crouched low. "There it is."
Vulcarion Basal.
Its shell glowed faintly from within, veins of magma pulsing in slow rhythm. Each breath vented clouds of steam that curled skyward like ghosts.
Seren swallowed hard. "It's… breathing fire even in its sleep."
Kael's voice dropped to a whisper. "When it wakes, the world burns."
They studied the terrain for several minutes. Smaller magma-eating beasts crept near the wyvern, gnawing at vents that glowed with molten light. The closer they moved, the hotter the air became until the horizon itself shimmered.
Kael adjusted his scope. "Those scavengers are burrowing near its vents."
"If they go deeper…" Seren began.
"…They'll wake it again," Kael finished.
He breathed out slowly. "Then we clear them before they finish. Quietly."
They descended the ridge in silence — Kael sniping from the shadows, Seren striking any that slipped through with her lance. For a while the rhythm of the hunt felt controlled… until the ground began to pulse faster.
Kael frowned. "They're multiplying. The heat's drawing them in."
Seren thrust her weapon through another beast. "Then we end this before the mountain wakes."
---
Back in Korvan, the forge burned bright against the dark sky.
Hunnt stood at the anvil, his blackened Veilrend Gauntlets resting beside him. He had spent the night preparing—not reforging, but crafting supplies. His movements were sharp, practiced. The smell of herbs and minerals mixed with the metal tang of the forge. Rows of glass bottles lined the table beside him, glowing faintly under the firelight.
Eight vials of Cool Drink shimmered blue like melted ice.
Twenty glass potions gleamed green with a faint healing mist.
Hunnt placed them carefully into small leather satchels. Two Cool Drinks and five potions for each hunter — enough to endure the furnace ahead.
He tightened the last stopper and exhaled. "That should keep us standing."
Footsteps echoed behind him. Alder stepped inside, his Ember Sentinel armor catching the orange glow of the forge. His Heartflare Great Sword rested across his back, the molten lines still pulsing faintly from their battle with Glisarin Ignis.
"Making medicine now?" Alder said, half-smiling.
"Preparation saves lives," Hunnt replied, handing him a small satchel. "Two cool drinks, five potions. Same for everyone."
Alder opened it, nodding in approval. "Looks like we're ready for hell."
Hunnt smirked. "We're already in it."
They stood side by side as another tremor rolled beneath their feet. Dust drifted from the rafters, and the forge flames shuddered.
"Kael and Seren should be near the basin by now," Hunnt said quietly.
"Then we better move," Alder replied, gripping his blade. "No point letting them have all the fun."
Hunnt picked up his Veilrend Gauntlets and slipped them on. The metal hummed faintly under his palms, heat pulsing through the veins of red that ran along the surface. They fit like a second skin — a reminder of every battle he'd survived.
Alder adjusted the strap on his great sword and gave a nod. "Ready?"
Hunnt looked toward the open door where the horizon flickered orange. "Always."
---
Before departing, they stopped by Maerin's longhouse. The chief stood waiting near the door, her expression unreadable.
Hunnt set a small wooden box on her table — the spare crafting materials, herbs, and his remaining supply of potions. "For the villagers. In case we don't come back soon."
Alder leaned his great sword against the wall for a moment, tracing the old runes carved into the blade's handle. "And keep these safe," he said softly.
Maerin's eyes softened as she saw the weapons — not abandoned, but entrusted. "You both know what you're walking into."
Hunnt gave a faint smile. "We've been walking that road for a while now."
Maerin stepped forward and clasped their forearms. "Then come back alive. Both of you."
They nodded, turned, and stepped into the fiery dusk. Maerin watched as the two hunters disappeared into the heat haze — two figures marching toward the heart of a volcano.
---
In the volcanic valley, Kael and Seren had nearly cleared the scavenger beasts when the ground suddenly went still.
Kael froze. "Wait…"
The earth began to hum, a deep vibration rising through their boots. The temperature spiked. Air rippled like water.
Seren's eyes widened. "Kael…"
He didn't answer. His Observation Haki flared instinctively — and what he sensed made his blood run cold. The entire valley pulsed with life, hundreds of faint signatures vanishing in an instant, devoured by something vast.
The mountain exhaled.
Jets of steam tore through the ground, turning stone to glass. Then came the heartbeat — a booming pulse from deep below.
Kael grabbed Seren's arm. "Run!"
They sprinted for the ridge as the earth behind them cracked open. Lava surged upward like a tidal wave. When they reached the summit, Kael looked back — and saw eyes open within the smoke.
Twin furnaces of molten gold glared through the haze.
Each breath warped the air.
Seren whispered, awestruck, "By the stars…"
Kael steadied his weapon. "Don't freeze now, Lance Girl. The real trial's begun."
He fired a red flare into the sky.
Miles away, Hunnt saw the flare burst over the horizon.
He pulled his gauntlets tight and turned to Alder.
"It's time."