When the mad king was born, the gods smiled down upon the land, but it was not a smile of empathy or care; no, rather, it was a smile of loathing, a smile of disdain, and it was not the gods looking down from above, it was the devil himself, and his kin had just taken the throne.

…

Fire. The smell of smoke clung to the air, a persistent presence that burned in the back of my throat. Ash, like drifting snow, danced through the haze, catching in my hair and weighing down my cloak. The embers that flickered on the wind told a story of destruction, a tale of something unstoppable. Around me, the remains of what once had been a forest stood as twisted monuments to ruin—trees reduced to brittle stumps, leaning in every direction like gravestones marking the passage of something ancient and broken. The forest had died, but it had not done so quietly. Its remnants whispered in the wind, every creaking branch a muted scream for help.

I looked around shocked and in awe, I didn’t get a chance to read the details of the book before jumping in so the area around me served as an unpleasant surprise. Beyond the smoke and the charred remains of the trees, something stirred. A silhouette. A towering figure, so dark it seemed to swallow the light around it, loomed just past the smoke’s reach. It was immense, standing like a monument carved from the air itself. As I started to move towards it, my boots crunched against the brittle remnants of branches, the sound sharp and unnerving in the oppressive silence.

Through the plumes of smoke that hung in the air like a fog, a shape began to present itself—a mountain, jagged and imposing, its peak piercing the low-hanging clouds. It seemed to loom unnaturally tall, as if stretching upward, grasping for the heavens. Behind it, the sky was a burning orange, warped by the heat that rose from the earth in visible waves. The air itself felt as though it were bending, rippling with the force of the mountain’s presence.

I stopped for a moment, looking up at the strange, singed sky, squinting through the haze. Time seemed to have no hold here, but I had to know. What time was it? I thought to myself, as if the question had any real meaning in a place like this. My gaze fixed on the sun, It hung just above the mountain, no longer golden, but blackened as though obstructed by some unseen hand. 

I blinked, shaking off the surreal feeling that crept over me. My holo-watch beeped, snapping me back to the present. The screen flickered to life, presenting me with a simple map of the world in this book, but it was not the map that caught my attention. It was the three flashing red dots—three presences marked on the screen, each dangerously far from where I stood. Not one, but three individuals. And they were moving fast, moving toward the core storyline of the book.

I pressed my finger against the watch, zooming in to view the area around. A small settlement nestled just beyond the mountain appeared on the map. It looked like a port city of sorts which was perfect because I need to make it to the center continent before the rogues do.

The path ahead was clear. I had to get to the settlement, and fast. A few taps on the holo-watch, and I set the most efficient route. But the terrain wasn’t as cooperative as the device. There was no easy path around the mountain—only over it. Without hesitation, I set my course and began moving toward the looming monolith.

The ground beneath me was a fine dust, the remnants of whatever catastrophe had brought this place to ruin. The wind pushed against me, carrying more ash, the debris swirling around my legs like ghosts of the forest that once was. The mountain loomed larger with every step, a wall of stone and fire, its jagged slopes bleeding heat in waves. The air shimmered with the intensity of it, the smell of rot hanging thick in the breeze.

With each passing hour, the climb became more grueling. The heat was unbearable—intense waves of it, pressing against my skin, threatening to scorch it. The only thing keeping me from being burned alive was the outfit, designed by the Counsel’s divine wisdom to withstand the harshest of environments. Even so, the constant heat and strain began to wear on me. Sweat slicked my skin, the weight of my sword and cloak seemed to grow heavier, and my breath came in shallow gasps. Yet there was no time to stop. No time to rest. I had a mission to complete, and failure wasn’t an option.

As the hours dragged on, the mountain became more distinct, the path steeper, and progress slower. The flat land gave way to the first hints of the fiery slopes. Streaks of bright red illuminated the mountain’s surface, running like veins, cutting through the rock like gashes carved from distant times. They pulsed, glowing with an unnatural intensity. It was then that I realized the mountain was not just a mountain. It was a volcano—a sleeping giant, stirring with the fury of a long-held rage. The geysers of lava were not accidents, but eruptions waiting to happen, threatening to burst free at any moment.

I paused for a moment, breathless from the exertion and the heat. The mountain loomed above me, its volcanic surface now more than just an obstacle. It was alive, breathing, waiting. And I could not afford to wait with it.

The path stretched before me, the land barren and desolate, with no signs of life except for the ominous presence of the volcano. There was no clear way to judge my progress, nothing to break up the monotony of the endless stretch of lava and ash. And then, as I came closer, I noticed it, deep in the sky.

The twenty-four massive, towering pillars. They tore through the sky, each one immense, impossibly large, stretching far beyond the horizon. They twisted upward, extending like the skeletal remains of a long-dead beast, its bones now twisted into the very fabric of the land itself.

I stopped dead in my tracks, staring up at them in disbelief. I'd never seen anything like it, what were they? I guess I'd find out soon, but still it was hard for me to pull my gaze away but time was of the essence so I cleared my mind and continued my track.

The settlement lay just beyond, but it felt farther away with every passing second, as if the very earth were conspiring to keep me from it. Yet, I could not turn back. The book. The mission. The Counsel's decree. The stakes were too high.

The volcano roared, its rumblings deep beneath the earth, shaking the ground as I continued my march up the volcano and toward the distant settlement. My path was set. The mountain, the pillers, the ash—they were all part of the story I had to maintain.