The sky caught fire.
It didn't roar; it breathed — a living thing swallowing the air of the world. The heavens turned molten red, clouds curling into spirals as Glisarin Ignis rose through them. Her wings shone with their own heat, each beat shedding trails of burning dust that drifted down like dying stars.
The village beneath no longer existed. Roofs had folded inward, wells steamed dry. The last standing walls sighed as they sank into cinders.
Alder lifted an arm to shield his eyes. Sweat traced his cheek, vanished before reaching his jaw. His armor shimmered, ready to melt.
Hunnt stood beside him, half-burned cloak snapping in the wind, gauntlets blackened and smoking. Light bent around him as the heat distorted the air.
"She's entering her rage," Alder rasped.
Hunnt's voice was thin but steady. "Then we move before the land melts."
The monster's scream split the sky — and the storm began.
Fireblasts rained from above: not arrows, but miniature suns bursting mid-air. The first struck the ground a breath away, fusing sand into glass. Two more followed, carving craters through what little street remained. Hunnt and Alder threw themselves aside, the shockwave scraping skin raw.
Hunnt rolled, came up low. Observation Awareness flooded his senses, stretching each second until it hurt. Pressure built in the air — the tell before impact.
"Left!" he shouted.
Alder didn't question. He dove, fire consuming the spot he'd occupied a heartbeat earlier.
Hunnt ducked behind half a wall; it crumbled as another blast hit. Heat clawed through his cloak. He pushed off the debris, running again, lungs blistered from the air.
Above, the Glisarin glided in circles, her wings scattering thousands of burning feathers. They drifted down lazily — and ignited where they landed. Each ember became its own inferno.
"The hell is this?" Alder roared, stabbing his sword into the ground to stay upright.
"Inferno Glide!" Hunnt shouted back. "Don't let them touch you!"
"Too late for that!"
A feather grazed Alder's shoulder. Metal hissed; the plate blackened. He ripped it off, flesh beneath seared red. He still raised his weapon.
Hunnt dashed through the ash, dodging falling embers. He caught Alder by the arm, hauling him toward the wreck of a forge. The stone already glowed at the edges.
"Stay low."
Alder gave a short laugh. "You say that like it helps."
Another blast struck nearby. They hit the ground together as flame rolled over them. The world became sound and light.
Hunnt's mind carved patterns inside the chaos. Observation Awareness read the rhythm beneath her fury — the cycle of wingbeats and the moment her chest dimmed after each flare. A window barely wide enough for a breath.
He drew a slow inhale. "Alder! When she dives again, her flame peaks — the core drains right after. That's our opening."
Alder coughed, eyes watering. "You sure?"
"No," Hunnt said, calm. "But we'll know if I'm wrong."
Alder grinned through the soot. "Fair enough."
The Glisarin rose higher, wings carving the smoke into ribbons. Then she folded in and dropped — a burning spear tearing through the sky.
Alder planted his sword, bracing. Hunnt crouched beside him, body coiled.
"Now!"
They split apart at the last instant. The monster slammed into the square; shockwaves shattered the stone. Hunnt slid under the plunge, heat blistering his skin, the roar of fire deafening. His world narrowed to timing.
Anchor Step.
Heel locked into scorched ground, he absorbed the tremor, then pivoted with the recoil. His gauntlet flashed forward in a perfect arc.
Pulse Drive.
The hit cracked scales, a sound like thunder wrapped in glass. The flame in her chest faltered. Alder seized the beat, swinging from above with every ounce left in him. The Great Sword tore along the glowing seam, slicing deep until bone caught the edge. Lava-bright blood sprayed, hissing on contact with air.
The Glisarin screamed. Wind and fire twisted into a cyclone. Hunnt shouted a warning but the roar devoured his voice.
Her tail lashed — a burning chain. It smashed into Alder's side and flung him across the square. His sword spun away, embedding itself in rubble.
"Alder!"
Hunnt sprinted, but a new fireburst cut across his path. He dove, felt the heat peel across his back, and rolled behind a wall. The air itself had weight now; each breath scorched the throat. He forced himself upright.
Through the glare he saw movement — Alder crawling, reaching for his blade. Hunnt ran. Every step tore skin from his boots. He didn't slow.
The monster turned. Her eyes locked on the limping figure. Light gathered in her throat. One more blast would erase him.
Hunnt drove forward, lungs burning. "Move!"
Alder looked up, too late. Hunnt hit him shoulder-first, dragging him behind a crumbling pillar as the world exploded. Flame washed over the ruin, the shock hammering them into the ground.
When it passed, silence crawled back in on the hiss of cooling stone. Alder coughed blood; Hunnt's cloak had burned away entirely.
"You … you good?" Alder rasped.
Hunnt exhaled. "Define good."
"Still talking," Alder said with a faint grin. "That counts."
The Glisarin roared again — not triumph, but fury. Her body blazed brighter, veins splitting from their own heat. The ground beneath her glowed red.
Hunnt studied her through smoke. "She's overheating."
"So we push," Alder answered, dragging his sword upright. "Before she burns the whole valley."
Hunnt nodded once. "We end it here."
She rose one last time, wings vaporising what remained of the clouds. Her scream rolled across the mountains — a dying god's cry.
They waited. Hunnt steadied his stance, shoulders set. Anchor Step.
Alder lifted his sword, trembling but firm. The shadow of the beast swallowed them both.
Impact.
The ground buckled. Dust and fire erupted outward. Hunnt burst through the blaze, fists a blur — one strike to the throat, another to the wounded chest, then a final, driving blow. Pulse Drive.
The shock rippled through her frame, staggering her.
Alder roared, lifting his weapon high, and brought it down like judgment. The blade slammed into the same wound, burying to the hilt.
The Glisarin's scream shattered the storm. She staggered backward, wings flailing, rivers of flame spilling from her body.
Hunnt collapsed to one knee, chest heaving. Alder dropped beside him, hand still clutching the hilt for balance. The world burned red around them — a sea of ash and heat — but they were still alive.
Hunnt looked up through the shimmering air. The monster towered yet, trembling, her fire dimming but eyes blazing with defiance.
Alder spat blood, smiling through cracked lips. "Still standing, huh?"
Hunnt clenched his fists, heat bleeding from the seams of his gauntlets. "Not for long."
They pushed to their feet, slow, unbroken silhouettes against the inferno. Above them, the Glisarin spread her wings again, gathering what remained of her flame.
The inferno roared—and the hunt continued.