HEAT

The ship’s hull rattled as it pierced the atmosphere of the next world. The viewport filled with a searing glow from an endless expanse of molten rivers and jagged obsidian cliffs. The planet’s surface writhed with heat, magma flowing like blood through deep scars in the earth. Plumes of fire erupted from fissures, painting the sky in shades of crimson and ash.

Atlas whistled low, gripping the edge of his seat. “Welcome to Pyrrhos. If the heat doesn’t kill you, the eruptions will.”

NV adjusted her gauntlet, the glow of its runes reflecting in her eyes. “Finally. A place that matches your temper.”

Atlas smirked. “Better than your ice‑cold personality.”

Tanuki said nothing, his gaze fixed on the horizon. The shard from Thalyss still pulsed faintly in his inventory, but here, surrounded by fire and stone, it felt almost muted. He tightened his grip on the controls as the ship descended toward a plateau of black rock, the only stable landing zone in sight.

The moment they stepped out, the heat hit them like a wall. The air shimmered, and the ground beneath their boots radiated with molten energy. Rivers of lava cut through the landscape, their glow casting eerie shadows across the cliffs. In the distance, massive creatures moved. Behemoths of stone and flame, their bodies dripping with molten rock.

Atlas hefted his hammer, sweat already beading on his brow. “Guess we found the locals.”

The first of the magma beasts lumbered toward them, its body cracking open to reveal a core of molten fire. Tanuki drew a Tarot, his daggers transforming into blades of obsidian edged with flame. He darted forward, slashing at the creature’s limbs, sparks flying with each strike. Atlas swung his hammer in a wide arc, shattering chunks of cooled rock from its hide, while NV’s gauntlet pulsed with bursts of starlight that seared through the cracks.

The beast roared, spewing molten fire across the plateau. Tanuki rolled aside, the heat scorching his cloak. He discarded a card for mana, drawing another that glowed with Atlas’s strength. His blades flared brighter, and when he struck again, the magma beast’s core shattered, the creature collapsing into a pool of molten stone.

But more were coming. Across the lava rivers, dozens of glowing eyes blinked open, the ground trembling as the creatures advanced.

NV cursed under her breath. “This isn’t a fight. It’s a gauntlet.”

Atlas grinned, sweat dripping down his face. “Then let’s run it.”

They pressed forward, leaping across narrow bridges of cooled rock, battling wave after wave of magma beasts. The air was thick with ash, the sky glowing with eruptions that rained fire across the cliffs. Tanuki’s lungs burned, his arms heavy, but he kept moving, his blades cutting through molten flesh, his Tarot glowing with each desperate draw.

At last, they reached the mouth of a cavern carved into the side of a volcano. The heat inside was even worse, the walls glowing with veins of magma. At the center of the chamber was a massive crystal, its surface cracked and glowing with molten light. Tanuki’s HUD identified it: Infernal Core. Rare material. Properties unstable.

He stepped closer, the shard from Thalyss pulsing faintly in response. The two fragments resonated, their light intertwining, and for a moment Tanuki felt the weight of something vast pressing down on him, something that connected the leviathan of the sea to the guardians of fire.

Atlas frowned. “That doesn’t look safe.”

NV crossed her arms. “Nothing we’ve touched lately has been safe.”

Tanuki reached out, his hand trembling as he touched the Infernal Core. The cavern shook violently, magma spilling from the walls. The roar of the magma beasts outside grew louder, and from the depths of the volcano, something stirred.

Atlas tightened his grip on his hammer. “Guess we found the boss.”

Tanuki’s daggers flared with both shards’ energy, the heat searing his hands. He knew this wasn’t just another fight. This was another piece of the storm Celeste had warned him about.

The cavern shook as Tanuki touched the Infernal Core. Magma veins along the walls flared to life, glowing like arteries. The ground split, and the guardian rose. It was a colossal figure of molten rock, its chest a furnace, and its eyes burning like twin suns.

Atlas braced his hammer. “That’s not a beast. That’s the volcano itself.”

The guardian swung its arm, a tidal wave of lava crashing across the chamber. Tanuki leapt aside, his Tarot flaring as his daggers became twin obsidian scythes. NV darted forward, her gauntlet pulsing with bursts of starlight that seared cracks into the guardian’s molten hide. But every wound closed as magma flowed back into place.

“This thing heals faster than we can hit it!” NV shouted.

Tanuki’s gaze flicked to the Infernal Core. The shard pulsed in rhythm with the guardian’s movements. “It’s tied to the core. We have to sever it.”

The guardian roared, and the cavern collapsed inward. Rivers of lava surged through the tunnels, forcing them to flee deeper into the volcano. The heat was suffocating, the air thick with ash. Platforms of cooled rock floated on the lava, shifting with each tremor.

They leapt from one to the next, magma beasts clawing their way out of the molten rivers to block their path. Atlas smashed through them with wide arcs of his hammer, while NV’s gauntlet blasted them back into the lava. Tanuki discarded cards rapidly, his deck glowing as he drew elemental counters, blades of ice that hissed against the heat, shields of stone that held just long enough to cross collapsing bridges.

At the far end of the gauntlet, they emerged into a vast chamber that must have been the volcano’s heart. The Infernal Core hovered above a pit of magma, suspended by chains of glowing runes. The guardian loomed behind it, its body fused with the cavern walls, magma pouring from its chest like a waterfall.

The battle resumed in earnest. The guardian’s arms slammed down, sending shockwaves through the chamber. Atlas staggered but planted his feet, hammer glowing as he struck back. NV darted across the chains, her gauntlet striking at the runes that bound the core. Each shattered rune weakened the guardian, its movements slowing, its molten body cracking.

Tanuki drew a Tarot that shimmered with both the Abyssal Shard from Thalyss and the Infernal Core’s resonance. His daggers flared into blazing spears, their tips glowing white‑hot. He hurled one into the guardian’s chest, piercing its furnace. The creature roared, magma spilling like blood, but it still stood.

“Tanuki!” Atlas shouted. “The core! End it!”

Tanuki sprinted across the chains, the heat blistering his skin even through the avatar’s armor. He leapt, driving his second spear into the Infernal Core. The crystal shattered, releasing a shockwave of molten light that engulfed the chamber.

The guardian shrieked, its body unraveling into rivers of fire. The cavern began to collapse, magma surging upward as the volcano erupted. Tanuki, Atlas, and NV sprinted for the exit, leaping across collapsing platforms as fire rained from above.

The ship’s sensors screamed as they burst from the cavern, the volcano exploding behind them in a pillar of flame. Tanuki dove into the pilot’s chair, pulling the ship into the sky as rivers of lava consumed the plateau.

From orbit, they watched Pyrrhos burn, the eruption painting the planet’s surface in molten scars. The Infernal Core fragment pulsed faintly in Tanuki’s inventory, resonating with the Abyssal Shard. Two pieces of something larger. Two keys to a storm that was only beginning.

Atlas slumped into his chair, sweat dripping down his face. “If every planet’s hiding something like that, we’re in way over our heads.”

NV’s eyes flicked to Tanuki. “And yet, you keep touching the things that wake them up.”

Tanuki stared out at the burning world below, Celeste’s warnings echoing in his mind. Some truths can’t be spoken. They have to be found.

The guardian’s roar still echoed in Tanuki’s ears as the ship broke free of Pyrrhos’s atmosphere, the molten planet shrinking into a scarred ember below. The three of them sat in silence for a long time, the hum of the engines the only sound. Atlas finally exhaled, leaning back in his chair, his armor scorched and dented. “That was too close. If you hadn’t shattered that core, we’d be ash right now.” NV crossed her arms, her gaze fixed on Tanuki. “And if he hadn’t touched it in the first place, we wouldn’t have woken it.” Tanuki didn’t answer. The Infernal Core fragment pulsed faintly in his inventory, resonating with the Abyssal Shard from Thalyss.

 He could feel the weight of them both, like pieces of a puzzle he hadn’t asked to solve. Celeste’s warnings pressed at the edges of his thoughts, her voice reminding him that some truths couldn’t be spoken, only found. He stared out at the stars, the silence between them heavy. Atlas shifted, breaking it. 

“So what now? We keep hopping from planet to planet, fighting gods until one of them finally kills us?” NV’s tone was sharper. 

“No. We need to understand what these shards are before we stumble into something we can’t fight our way out of.” Tanuki’s hand tightened on the controls. He didn’t say it aloud, but he knew she was right. The shards weren’t just rare materials. They were keys, and every time he touched one, something ancient woke up. And each time, Celeste appeared, watching, warning, guiding him just enough to survive. He wondered if she already knew where this path led, and if she was waiting for him to catch up. The ship drifted through the void, the next destination still unmarked on the star map. Tanuki felt the storm gathering, piece by piece, and for the first time he wasn’t sure if he was chasing it or if it was chasing him.