A month has passed since Asher's arrival in the lost city. There had been changes, peace and a lot of bloodshed in the bygone days. The history of the city was rich, but sadly no one could understand what had transpired here.

  The lost city was a mess, as if in every corner some kind of disaster had struck it.

  Asher stared at the collapsed bridge spanning a few kilometers in length. In his ears he could hear growling sounds and embers. It was surprisingly pleasant to his ears as dark emotions were raging quietly inside his heart.

  On the edge of the bridge, dark flames were sprawling out like waves of destruction. They rushed to consume beings made of stone, crawling to the peak of the collapsed bridge. The beings made of stone had limbs strong enough to crush even boulders with ease. It was noticeable how they braved through the flames, reaching closer and closer to their source.

  Flames have almost no effect on them… Asher watched carefully from a faraway pillar.

  The creatures of stone had green veins glowing out from their limbs as the land they stepped on was crushed. After a moment Asher's eyes narrowed. The path they walked looked daunting, as if something weird was happening and he couldn’t put his finger on it.

  In the next moment the land shifted as one of the rock creatures crumbled under a heavy weight. It wasn’t a physical weight; rather, it was clearly mystical, as the flames surrounding the monster wavered, taking the shape of arms. Long and sharp with claws made of dark flames.

  ‘What?’

  Asher stared at the flames for as long as they clashed with the monsters. However, he couldn’t hide his shock; he had been looking for the creature of beyond behind those cynical flames. But to no avail, he could see nothing.

  ‘Where is it?’

  Asher slowly lowered his gaze, looking for any clues. He could feel the heat radiating from the bridge and even the smell of molten rocks. Taking a short breath, he readily came to a conclusion.

  What if there was no monster behind the flames?

  What if the flames were the monster?

  He could feel cold sweat trickling down his neck.

  “Hopefully the rocky monsters would deal with it.” He muttered with a stoic voice as if not believing his own words.

  Asher noticed that the flames were getting stronger, and the rocky creatures had begun to crumble even faster—their limbs shattered as though an invisible force was squeezing them from all sides. The dark fire coiled around them like living serpents, tightening their grip until cracks spiderwebbed across the stone bodies. One of the creatures let out a guttural, grinding scream, a sound like boulders splitting apart, before collapsing into a pile of smoldering rubble.

  The greenish glow pulsed unnaturally, flickering like candlelight as the shattered piece started to shudder before moving together.

  Asher’s breath hitched as he realized the rubble wasn’t just falling—it was reforming. The scattered fragments trembled, drawn together by some unseen force, knitting back into grotesque approximations of limbs. One creature, now missing half its torso, lurched forward, its remaining arm dragging behind it like a broken puppet. The flames recoiled for a fraction of a second—long enough for Asher to see something inside the fire. A shape, barely distinguishable, like fingers curling around a hilt.

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  It wasn't alone.

  'A hand? No, rather it looks like a grotesque mass of fingers!'

  Asher inwardly cursed at this discovery. At least he knew his thoughts were moving in the right direction. Though the chances of it not being a single creature but many, like a hive, had opened up.

  Meanwhile, the rest of the rocky creatures had fallen apart. And yet, not a single one of them had died. The flames lashed out again, this time forming an entire torso, grotesquely misshapen, with too many limbs writhing like charred roots in the wind. The bridge groaned under the weight of the unseen force pressing down, cracks racing across its ancient surface. Molten stone dripped from the creatures’ reforming bodies, hissing as it struck the ground, and Asher could taste the metallic tang of scorched earth in the back of his throat.

  The rocky creatures had come from the south, while the living flames had approached them from the central domain. It was clear that the central domain was on the assault while the southern domain was trying to defend. But Asher felt it was going vice-versa as well. Both rulers had gradually been increasing their influence over time.

  Before, Asher had not been sure of it even after Enzo had told him about the situation in great detail. But now after living here for more than a month, he had become sure of it.

  ‘The South is attacking just as much as the Central Domain.’ He mused while staring at the flames, which had begun to waver—their movements sluggish, as if exhausted. The rocky creatures, though shattered, were reforming faster now, their green veins pulsing brighter with each regeneration. The air smelled of ozone and charred earth, thick enough to coat Asher’s tongue.

  Hopefully they both just kill each other or at least leave fatal blows for Asher and the others to finish them off.

  Asher, letting out a heavy sigh, jumped to reach the ground and landed softly on his feet like a cat. From under his shadow a dark orb with thin translucent wings had appeared out of nowhere.

  "Did you find anything?" Asher asked without changing his expression.

  "No."

  The spirit of shadow replied with an even voice. It was not so jarring to hear it speak anymore. Though Asher still felt his skin crawl whenever it did.

  "Alright." Asher nodded, not feeling disappointed. He had expected no way out. The number of monsters in the city seems to have exploded as days passed. Even now it wasn't strange that they were surrounded by monsters.

  Tak-

  Tak-

  Asher tilted his head slightly after hearing footsteps from his right.

  "Liber, so what's happening there?"

  Liber came closer, stopping just beside the pillar Asher had been standing on, and saw the two monsters clashing.

  "Too many monsters have covered the buildings; they will fight soon, so going there is not feasible." Liber said, shaking his head, then after a small pause added. "They are still fighting?"

  Asher nodded silently while keeping his eyes glued to the battlefield ahead. The flames now writhed like a wounded beast—less aggressive, more erratic. One of the stone creatures, its body half-melted into slag, swung a malformed fist through the inferno.

  "Yeah, those bastards don't get tired."

  Asher shrugged, prompting Liber to nod back.

  "The war between them is not going to end anytime soon; it's only getting closer to us as time passes." Liber said, his brows furrowed together in contempt. It was clear he wanted to leave this city; Asher understood that clearly and couldn't help but give a forceful smile.

  'We would die either way.' Asher wanted to say that to his face but couldn't bring himself to diminish their hope.

  He had managed to convince them to not leave this place, but he knew that wouldn't last long. Their patience will end one way or another. If that were to happen, the group would break.

  The corner of his lips twitched at that thought.

  Having a breakdown here would be devastating. He couldn't allow for that to happen.

  Asher looked at Liber and then at the beast; his silver pupils shrank back rapidly, and he was left dazed before letting out a sigh.

  'Thats the only way.'

  To flip this war in their favor.