Sol slumped against the cavern wall, a sheen of sweat clinging to the fine ash coating his skin. His chest heaved, each breath a rasping sound against the heavy stillness of the Ash-Crawler tunnels. He had given everything. His ash-affinity, his raw strength, had drained to nothing but a hollow ache in his bones. Strength had abandoned him. Not a flicker of energy remained, only the persistent thrum of exhaustion that vibrated deep in his core. Across the cavern, Kael moved with an unnerving grace. No heavy breath escaped him. His gait remained even, his gaze fixed, as if the recent maelstrom of violence had merely been a passing whisper. Once more, Sol was reminded of Kael’s utter inhumanity. Sol had felled a considerable number of Ash-Crawlers within their sprawling den, but next to Kael’s tally, his efforts felt like a child’s plaything. Despite dispatching the bulk of the monstrous horde, Kael continued to sift through the disturbed ash, his hands unhurried, his focus unwavering. Sol wondered what elusive quarry Kael sought in this futile dredge. Kael paused before a section of hardened ash, a plate that had served as the Queen Ash-Crawler’s resting place. With a smooth, decisive movement, he tore it from the rock. The dense ash-plate yielded like crumbling clay. Hidden beneath lay a pulsating lump, roughly the size of a grown man’s fist. It was not an egg, but an Essence-Core, the vital heart of a developing queen. A faint, internal luminescence emanated from it, like a captured ember struggling against the dark. Kael lifted the Essence-Core. He studied its faint glow for a moment, then tossed it to Sol. Sol, his expression bewildered, fumbled to catch the warm, throbbing object. “Why do you offer me this… thing?” Sol asked, his voice strained. “It is the Queen Ash-Crawler’s core.” “That wasn’t what I asked!” “This is no ordinary core. It would have birthed the next queen. The very essence of its lineage is bound within.” “Like the Fire-Lizard’s Bile-Stone?” Sol’s stomach clenched at the memory. “More potent. Consume it.” Sol hesitated, the Essence-Core warm and vital in his trembling hands. A grimace tightened his jaw. Then, with a shuddering breath, he closed his eyes and brought the pulsating mass to his lips. As he bit into its tough membrane, a viscous warmth flooded his mouth. The core’s contents, thick and metallic, flowed down his throat. A searing heat erupted within his chest, then spread like wildfire through his veins. Sol gasped, a strangled cry tearing from him. His entire body felt as though it had been set ablaze from the inside. Screaming, Sol thrashed on the ash-covered ground. The agony of the Fire-Lizard’s Bile-Stone was a childhood scrape compared to this inferno. It felt as if countless slivers of molten ash were continuously piercing his belly, twisting and carving. Such torment could not be endured with a sane mind. Kael watched Sol writhe, his face a mask of serene indifference. He offered no help, no comfort. “To survive in this dying world,” Kael’s voice cut through Sol’s agony, low and steady, “you must become acquainted with pain.” This was the fire needed to forge strength. Such pain, Kael seemed to imply, barely qualified as true suffering. Not by Kael’s harsh standards. --- Leaving Sol to his torment, Kael turned to the massive carcass of the Queen Ash-Crawler. With Ignis, his ash-forged blade, he made a smooth, precise cut where the neck joined the segmented torso. The formidable shell remained pristine, untouched by other wounds. Acquiring such an intact Queen Ash-Crawler carcass was a rare feat. Kael wasted nothing. Its pair of sensory filaments would make ideal conduits for detecting the subtle flows of dormant ash-curses. Its six chitinous limbs, hardened by generations, were prime material for shaping into formidable weapons. Kael reached into the Queen Ash-Crawler’s torso. He retrieved a fist-sized stone, dull grey at first glance. It was an Ash-Gem, glowing with a deep, internal warmth. Not just any Ash-Gem, but one of remarkably high purity. As the queen of her kin, she possessed a gem infused with concentrated ash-power. Ash-Gems could be found in deep ash-mines, but some monsters, particularly those of ancient lineage, also cultivated them. Occasionally, these monstrous gems held a far higher purity than those mined, even containing the creature’s distilled essence, making them incredibly versatile. The Queen’s hardened shell, akin to petrified obsidian, could be crafted into top-quality armor. Its internal organs and glands could also be processed into various potent materials. Kael opened a tear in the air, a shimmering gateway to his personal subspace. He calmly stored the entire Queen Ash-Crawler carcass within, piece by piece. Sol’s agony showed no sign of abating. He whimpered, his body curled like a fetal ember, as if the strength to even scream had deserted him. Observing his contorted form, Kael estimated it would take a long time for Sol to fully digest the Queen Ash-Crawler’s Essence-Core. Kael drove Ignis into the compacted ash floor. He sat down beside the humming blade. Tempered with the core of a Prime Incinerator, Ignis now exuded an even more intense, quiet heat. A faint, crimson glow pulsed along its dark steel. Such outward changes were of little concern to Kael. What truly mattered was Ignis’s deeper essence, its growing connection to his will. As if responding to his thoughts, Ignis vibrated a low, continuous hum. The sound lingered, a resonant thrum in the silent cavern. Kael listened, his head slightly tilted. After a time, Kael spoke, his voice a murmur against the ash and silence. “I know. But there is no other choice.” “Weakness is a death sentence here. It is the world’s grim law.” “Do you not sense it? Our time grows short… We need him. Strong.” “Yes, you are right. But…” The quiet conversation between the warden and his blade continued for a long while, the low hum of Ignis the only reply. --- Sol sighed, a shallow release of breath, and opened his eyes. His entire body ached as if pummeled by relentless waves of ash and rock. The profound weakness in his limbs was, he knew, a direct aftermath of consuming the Queen Ash-Crawler’s Essence-Core. Having endured piercing pain in his abdomen throughout the night, it was no wonder his limbs felt drained of vigor. He was grateful, at least, that his body remained whole. Sol checked his internal well of ash-power. He blinked, astonished. The latent energy had increased, not merely twofold, but at least threefold. “Your command of ash, and your capacity, should be significantly enhanced.” Kael’s voice drifted over. Sol turned his head. Kael was rising from his spot, storing Ignis with a practiced motion. “Did the core… it did this to my ash-power?” “Indeed. Certain creature cores possess the ability to bolster one’s innate ash-affinity. Not every core, only special ones, like the one you consumed.” “If you are sufficiently rested, rise. How long do you intend to dally?” “Yes. Alright. I’m getting up.” Clutching his aching legs, Sol pushed himself upright. He knew complaining would be futile; Kael would simply dismiss his condition. For his own sanity, it was better to grit his teeth and stand, pain or no pain. With Kael’s relentless aid, the increase in Sol’s ash-power was substantial, but the accompanying pain was nothing he wished to repeat. Sol followed Kael out of the Ash-Crawler den. He hadn’t anticipated the perpetual, twilight glow of the Sootfall Expanse to be so welcoming. While Sol savored the cooler air and the desolate expanse, Kael was already striding off into the distance, a solitary figure against the grey horizon. Sol quickly activated his Ash-Glide. His body slid forward on the fine ash, a ripple of controlled power beneath his feet. With an ample supply of ash-power, he could manipulate the ground beneath him freely, moving without the need to lift his aching legs. Thanks to this newfound ease, keeping pace with Kael was no longer such an arduous task. Sol adjusted his Ash-Cloak. Despite the tears and singe marks from the battle with the Ash-Crawlers, the cloak had gradually restored itself to its original state. The inherent regenerative properties of the petrified ash-hide woven into the cloak had kicked in. After half a day, it was unblemished. Its ability to deflect heat and shield him from the grit remained intact. As the cloak’s inherent Ash-Glide ability combined with his vastly increased ash-power, traversing the desert no longer felt like a punishing ordeal. Sol pulled out a piece of dried ash-jerky and chewed it slowly. *Where does his path lead?* In this boundless expanse of ash, he couldn’t help but wonder what elusive destination Kael sought. Had they not been traveling together, he might not have cared, but now, a deep curiosity compelled him to follow, to uncover Kael’s true purpose. Then it happened. A fierce Ash-Gale swept in. The intense wind carried a deluge of gritty ash and fine pumice that enveloped the entire area. Sol pressed his cloak tightly against him, squinting into the gathering storm. An ordinary traveler would have lost all sense of direction, their vision blinded by the swirling ash. But for Sol, it caused only a slight discomfort, a minor hindrance to his sharpened senses. With the surge in his ash-power, his perception range had expanded significantly. He could sense Kael, several meters ahead, moving through the grey torrent. Each step Kael took resonated distinctly within Sol’s heightened awareness. It was as if the very ash grains were relaying Kael’s precise movements to him. *This is the feel of true mastery.* Sol thought, a quiet awe settling in him. He could almost feel the deeper two lines of his internal rank, etched into his very being. The subtle, deep orange glow within confirmed his E-level understanding of ash, but on a spiritual plane, he felt far beyond it. He was, in reality, far stronger than the typical E-ranked ash-shaper, with a formidable reservoir of ash-power. It was all thanks to Kael’s brutal tutelage. Because of it, Sol could progress at an unimaginable pace. He could also elevate his abilities without being restricted by common understanding or old preconceptions. *Imagination is the key.* He keenly felt this during battles with the Ash-Crawlers. Fighting solely with predetermined skills was foolish. Even with the same basic ash-shaping, the way they were applied, the form they were given, made a significant difference in their effectiveness. To imagine endlessly and manifest that vision into reality—this, to Sol, was the true essence of strength. The fact that he would have never realized this if not for Kael’s relentless push was undeniably true. *Still, he’s a relentless old bastard…* Kael always pushed Sol to his absolute limits, expecting him to survive solely on his own merits. If he couldn’t meet those expectations, Kael would simply leave him behind. Though now, being discarded didn’t matter as much; Sol still wanted to follow. He believed that by staying with Kael until the end, he could become something truly formidable. He no longer wished to struggle with exhaustion or be pursued by weakness. He didn’t know where this path led, but by following Kael, he believed he could eventually attain a power similar to his mentor’s own. Lost in thought, he walked. Suddenly, the Ash-Gale passed as abruptly as it had begun, and his vision cleared. Kael’s back was visible in the distance, a stoic silhouette. He remained focused on the path ahead, ash piling upon his head and shoulders, yet he made no move to brush it off. Then, without warning, Kael, who had been striding forward, stopped. There was still plenty of twilight before the sun completely dipped below the horizon. It wasn’t Kael’s time to rest yet. Approaching Kael’s side, Sol stood, but Kael remained unmoving, his gaze fixed on the distant horizon. Naturally, Sol’s eyes followed. His breath caught. His eyes widened at the sight of something massive, moving with ponderous, ground-shaking steps on the distant rim where the perpetually bruised sky met the ash wastes. The moment Sol confirmed the identity of the colossal entity approaching, he almost screamed. It was an Ash-Titan. A monstrous creature of petrified stone and ancient ash. What set it apart from a regular creature of the wastes was its sheer size, thousands of times larger, its colossal shell shaped like a living fortress. Moreover, it bore the muted, deep grey hue indicative of a creature B-rank or higher. “That’s… what is that?” Sol managed to ask, his voice hoarse. “The moving fortress,” Kael said, his voice flat. “A Terra-Leviathan.” “It’s a creature of ash and stone. A mere B-rank, yet its defensive capabilities rival those of A-rank creatures or higher. That is why settlers shape its hardened shell into fortresses and ride them.” “Are you saying… humans can tame and ride such a colossal monster?” Sol’s face was etched with profound disbelief. It was an utterly unbelievable tale. Yet, seeing the mountain-sized behemoth carrying a man-made fortress on its back, it was impossible not to believe. The Terra-Leviathan was heading straight toward Kael and Sol. Though it seemed to walk with agonizing slowness, its colossal size meant it closed the distance quickly. As Sol observed it up close, the Terra-Leviathan appeared even more overwhelming. It was almost the size of an entire village. The notion of humans riding such massive creatures was still hard to truly grasp. Finally, the Terra-Leviathan halted directly in front of the two figures. A section of the fortress-shell opened, revealing someone inside. It was an old man, his face a canvas of wrinkles, dusted with fine ash. He pushed up his thick-rimmed glasses with an index finger, his gaze sharp as he looked at Kael. “I had my doubts from such a distance,” the old man’s voice rasped, “but it truly is you, Kael.”

A Glimmer in the Ash