I was already at the gate when it happened.
The freezing wind of the abyss clawed at my coat, slipping beneath the fabric like thin knives, carrying with it the scent of something ancient—old blood, old promises, old sins. The world ahead of me was nothing but darkness and falling mist, an endless descent into the Underworld. I welcomed it.
Then the light vanished.
A shadow swallowed the sun whole, blotting out the sky as if a mountain had risen behind me without a sound. The ground trembled under a single step. Slowly, I turned.
A colossal humanoid figure stood at the gate.
He was massive—far larger than any giant I had seen before—his body carved like a war god's statue, muscles thick and layered beneath skin marked by faint crimson patterns. A heavy cape draped his shoulders. Long blonde hair spilled down his back, untamed, wild, catching the light of sun. In his hands rested a battle-axe so large it looked like a siege weapon, its blade etched with ancient runes.
And his eyes—
They burned.
"Where do you think you're going…"
His voice rolled across the land like thunder, deep enough to rattle my bones.
"…after kidnapping our Goddess?"
I felt nothing.
No fear. No anger. Just a hollow ache where something precious had been ripped away.
I glanced sideways at Spruce, perched on my shoulder.
"Did you steal something, spruce?"
"No resu!" Spruce squeaked immediately, shaking his head so hard his ears flopped. "I swear on my core-resu!"
I looked back up at the giant. The words left my mouth flat, lifeless, scraped raw by grief.
"I haven't seen your Goddess. Move."
I didn't wait for permission.
I stepped forward.
My boots echoed against the stone as I walked straight past him. Spruce stiffened, his tiny claws digging into my coat. As we passed beneath the giant's massive leg, I felt his gaze follow me, heavy with disbelief.
Confusion flickered across his face.
Then it twisted into rage.
The giant roared and reached over his shoulder, fingers wrapping around the handle of the enormous battle-axe. With a single motion, he hurled it down.
CRACK!
The axe slammed into the ground inches in front of my feet, the impact splitting stone and sending shards skidding past my boots.
I stopped.
I didn't flinch.
Slowly, deliberately, I turned my head to look up at him.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Return her!" he bellowed. "You come to our land, you cockroach, and think you can walk away with our sacred treasure?"
I stared at him, eyes empty.
"I told you. I don't have her."
"Liar!" His grip tightened. "You think you're above us?"
I ignored him.
Instead, I looked at Spruce.
"Spruce… can you do me a favor?"
My voice softened, just a little. "One last time."
"Yes, Captain-resu! Anything!"
"My pipe. From the ship. Shape it into a spear. Same design… but add a spike at the end."
Spruce didn't hesitate. His hands melted into liquid mercury, shimmering as they stretched and hardened, forming a long, sleek spear. At its tip, a razor-sharp spike emerged, gleaming with lethal intent.
"Is this okay, Captain-resu?"
"It's more than enough."
I bent down, grabbed the giant's axe—the very one he had thrown—and with a grunt of effort, hurled it back at him. He caught it instinctively, surprise flashing across his face.
"This is Warland," I said coldly.
"Let's solve this like fighters, you gorilla."
As he settled into a stance, smirking, something caught my eye.
On his back—partially hidden beneath his cape—something pulsed.
A small glow.
A miniature sun.
Not flesh. Not fire. A presence.
Prometheus...?
My grip tightened.
In the next instant—Soru—I vanished.
"Don't move, you gorilla", I shouted.
I reappeared behind him, mercury spear aimed precisely at his spine, at the glowing thing bound there.
"Where are you looking, you gorilla?"
I was about to strike—
CLANG!
Metal screamed as my spear was knocked aside.
Scopper Gaban stood between us, his axe locked against mine, eyes sharp and furious.
"What are you doing, Ash?"
"I'm killing him —," I snapped. "Why are you interfering?"
The world went silent.
"Don't you know?" Gaban growled. "For a giant, a wound on the back is the ultimate shame. You were about to strike him when he wasn't looking.Are you trying to prove you're a coward? Or Do you want Skolldir to die cursed as a coward?"
I met his gaze, unblinking.
"I wasn't aiming for him."
Confusion rippled through the air.
"I was going to kill the Prometheus bound to his back—
not him."
Silence deepened.
"Prometheus?" Gaban narrowed his eyes. "I can't sense that hag's soul anywhere near here. Stop lying, Ash."
"I'm not a liar," I said.
My lips trembled. My eyes burned.
No…
That was Prometheus.
I know what I felt.
That presence—arrogant, ancient, suffocating.
I didn't imagine it.
So why…
Why did Gaban look so certain?
Why couldn't he sense him?
Was I wrong…
or was I the only one who could feel it?
With my power…
With my existence…
The truth coming from me sounds exactly like a lie.
"…Anyway," I said quietly, looking away. "It doesn't matter."
I handed Spruce over.
"I'm going to find Gray. Take care of him."
I looked up at the giant.
"And Skolldir… I'm sorry. I guess I really am a coward."
Before anyone could answer, I ran.
Blue scales erupted from my body. Scales formed. My limbs stretched. An Azure Dragon tore into the sky, flame clouds coiling beneath me as I plunged into the Underworld.
Finally… solitude.
Then—
Weight.
"CAPTAINNNN! SLOW DOWN-RESUUUU!"
"OI, ASH! YOU GOT A DEATH WISH?!"
"OUR MATCH ISN'T OVER YET, YOU THIEF!"
I twisted my massive neck back.
Hanging from my tail—stacked like idiots—were Spruce, Gaban, and Skolldir.
"That's why it's so heavy!" I roared.
"YOU GORILLA! HOW DARE YOU!"