A monstrous, titanic roar echoed out from above the clouds. The power of it was great enough that when it reached me, I had to clamp my hands down on my ears in pain and I wasn’t the only one. The ears of my Gnollish companions flattened against their skulls, and for the first time, I heard them whimper in pain in a decidedly animalistic fashion. The rest of my friends were fine, considering they didn’t have the enhanced senses of the three of us, but they still winced from the force of it.

  Because the strength of that cry was enough to send literal shockwaves through the clouds. The parted in the wake of them, allowing all to see the brief blue sky on the other side. I thought I could see something else up there in that single instant before the clouds rolled back in, something long, dark, and sinuous, but that moment passed.

  And yet the clouds that swallowed up that vision of the heavens were angrier than they had been before. A wrath had filled the storm, as if it was affronted by the insects that crawled on the earth below.

  As if it had been challenged.

  Venix cursed, in a first from the Antium samurai. “Quickly, we must descend,” He said rapidly to everyone gathered on the rim. “We must cross the sea before the storm intensifies!”

  I stared at him as if he had lost his mind, and I noticed I wasn’t the only one. “How? Look that that, man!” I said, pointing over the rim of the caldera at the disturbed waters before. They weren’t exactly raging along with the storm, but the great inland sea of Goryuen was certainly being influenced by it. “We’d be dashed against the rocks if we tried!”

  “No, he’s right,” Kazuma said unexpectedly, staring off into the distance at the forces of the Order he was set to inherit. “There are barges set into great stone piers below us. Carved and enchanted by the greatest Kawamaran crafters of the ages, they have withstood the fury of Tatsugan for centuries. The beast has even been slain from the deck of them before. Well…supposedly.”

  “Supposedly?” Bella demanded incredulously.

  Kazuma grimaced. “With the near failure of the last Ryumetsu Matsuri, it is said that some of them were shattered.”

  We all looked at Venix, who was halfway to an actual carved path that led downward I hadn’t noticed. He looked over his shoulder at us impatiently in response. “Hurry up! The time for talking has passed! If we do not reach the piers before they are overtaken by the sea, all is lost!”

  I nodded sharply at the rebuke and broke out into a run alongside my companions as we followed Venix down the slope. We must have been running and nearly sliding down the rough stone steps for nearly five minutes before something interrupted our descent.

  The roar came once again, this time louder. I knew what to expect from the last time, but I still grimaced. But that was just the precursor to what came next.

  A great eye began to form in the blackened storm far above us. The furious, lightning-heavy clouds started to swirl together slowly at first, congealing into a great gyre in the sky. Faster and faster they swirled until the mass of air looked almost solid.

  And then it burst, all at once, sending renewed shockwaves through the sky.

  With it came the lord of this mountain, and I caught my first glimpse of Tatsugan.

  Spearing down through the center of the storm was a titanic, serpentine form covered in sapphire scales so bright they shown through the dark of the storm. A long, sinuous body that must have been nearly a mile in length wound through the sky borne aloft by no wings at all as it gracefully slid through the air. Somehow, someway, this king of the open sky flew through no visible means, soaring gracefully under its own might. But it was so fast that I was barely able to see more than scant details about the Wyrm.

  It flew down far enough to float over the open chasm that resided in the shadow of the mountain, endlessly coiling around itself, and there I was able to make out more details about the ancient foe of Kawamara.

  Four limbs were visible on its winding body, all of them legs. Two nearer to the front of Tatsugan’s frame, with two closer to the back. But the whole of the body was so long and wound through the air around itself so often that at times those grasping claws occasionally seemed oddly placed, in a disorienting optical illusion. Each of them possessed four great black claws that, from a distance, appeared larger and longer than a man.

  Even though Tatsugan coiled through the air constantly, I still caught sight of the Immortal one’s tail. Similar to how the Wyrmkin possessed a rattle at the end of theirs, Tatsugan had one as well. Wrought larger, and covered in contrasting electric yellow scales, when it shook, it didn’t echo a sound similar to the rattling of beads.

  No, instead, the sound of thunder echoed from that instrument. It sounded over the mountains, and for a moment, I experienced a sinking feeling. If Tatsugan could float through the skies, thunder trailing in his wake, then…

  How often had the thunder we’d heard in this range just been the Wyrm patrolling his dominion? At any time, he could have swept down and devoured us, appearing through the blackness like the bolt of lightning he so resembled. There had to be a reason Venix had never warned us about it.

  Come to think of it…

  He had always cast a wary eye up to sky, whenever a particularly loud clap of thunder reached us…

  But it was the head of the beast that caught my attention the most. Long, canine, and with an almost square-ish muzzle, it was parted enough to see rows and rows of razor-sharp, ivory-white fangs. Atop its head was a crown of horns, stag-like in appearance, so similar to the kind I had seen on the heads of countless Oni. They swept backwards from the near Calamity’s enormous forehead, the pointed tips sharper than any spear. Just behind that crest flowed a long, wispy shock of bright white hair that floated in the wind, trailing upwards like the flame of a candle.

  Initially, that gargantuan head was turned away from us, staring out into the direction above us where I knew that the Order of the Solstice’s Flame was gathered to meet the Wyrm. I nearly had a heart attack when, for some reason, that horn-topped skull turned…

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  To face us.

  I was immediately frozen in place by the amber-colored eyes that regarded me and my group, so far down below the king of this isle. I don’t know how deep we’d gone, but it wasn’t far enough to reach these supposed piers just yet, and its precious cargo of barges. But it wasn’t enough. It had still known we were here, and I was disturbed by the level of intelligence I could see in those golden depths.

  This thing was as smart as any man, I would bet my life on it.

  And that intelligence was bent towards hate.

  Hate and frustration. We were intruding upon his grand ascension as so many had done in the past, and it hated us for that fact.

  Thankfully…

  It had bigger problems than dealing with the rats scurrying in the underbelly of its domain.

  From the direction I knew the Order was gathered, a tremendous shout arose, as if cast from hundreds of voices. Following that cry came a great wave of mingled Mana and Ki, ignited into a sizzling flame larger than a castle.

  A monstrously sized fireball, almost appearing like a miniature Star. From the feel of that mingled Mana and Ki, I don't even think that came from Shacklock. That was all the Order, in some kind of mass working. It washed over the floating form of Tatsugan, and the Wyrm reared back with a pained roar that shook free loose stones above us on the path. Liora had to jump out of the way as a stalactite that had been hiding beneath an overhang above was shaken loose, to fall onto the spot she had been standing only moments ago.

  Murder in every line of its titanic body, Tatsugan thankfully turned away from us to glare in the direction of the Order forces. Its monstrous rattle began to shake constantly, sending out waves of booming thunder with every twitch, so loud that it threatened to drown out the world.

  Venix had to draw us close to be heard, and even then he was shouting at the top of his lungs. “WE CANNOT LINGER!” He outright screamed. “THE THUNDER IS A SIGNAL! IT CALLS TO EVERY LAST REMAINING ONI AND WYRMKIN ON THE ISLE! THEY SHALL OVERRUN US IF WE DO NOT REACH THE MOUNTAIN!”

  My eyes widened at his words, and I stopped caring about how loud it was. If I had to choose, I would rather grow deaf from this cacophony than be ripped to shreds by a monster horde akin to what I had experienced during the Break Stone incident.

  I could always get my ear drums fixed. But not a missing head.

  We hurried downwards, as above us, I caught a glimpse of Tatsugan lunging forwards to snap at the Solstice’s Flame. It crashed into a shield of pure Ki that had suddenly manifested to stop it, sending a shower of sparks erupting from the point of impact that floated downward into the inland sea.

  Above the sound of Tatsugan’s pained screech and the cracking of thunder, I thought I could just barely make out the ringing of mad, mad laughter.

  My companions and I sprinted onwards down the rain-slick path carved into the walls of the caldera, surrounded by drifting motes of firey orange Ki. The sounds of battle rang out above us as, at last, we reached the end of our ancient road. It opened up into what seemed like a harbor built right in the middle of an enormous hollow in the cliff-face. It was both incredibly primitive-looking…

  And oddly advanced, at the same time.

  It was constructed entirely of carved stone in the Kawamaran fashion, with three distinct segments. There was what looked almost like a harbor masters office, a small squat building at the back of the entire edifice that almost looked like an ancient bomb shelter. It had a single door chiseled into the side of it, and the front possessed what looked to be a view slit carved near where eye slit would be on a human man.

  But it was what we came here for that caught my attention the most.

  Hanging from the roof were two gigantic wooden barges, suspended by a complex arrangement of thick forged steel chains larger around in the width than a horse. They hung from massive steel rings driven deep into an overhand growing from the cliff face. Beneath the barges was nothing but open air, and they were swaying in the fierce winds that buffeted even this cavern. The chains that held them suspended from the cavern’s roof led all the way to the back of the cavern, where I could see deep, deep recesses built into the floor. In those recesses I could hear the clink of an impossible amount of chain.

  I couldn’t help but notice there was a third ring in the ceiling, from which an empty chain danced in the fierce gales.

  I guess one of the barges had been lost in the last Ryumetsu Matsuri.

  For a moment, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. These barges that were going to take us to the island were meant to be lowered all the way to the inland sea? That was…

  “That’s crazy,” I whispered to myself, unheard by anyone in all the din.

  I was knocked out of my shock by the feeling of a strong hand shaking my shoulder. Looking up, I saw that it was Azarus, my dwarven friend shouting wordlessly into the thundering of Tatsugan’s tail, pointing away from us as he did. I followed his finger to find that Venix was leading everyone else towards that small structure near the well of chains. At his urging, we hurried after them.

  Once we were inside, I helped Azarus swing the heavy stone door closed behind us, shutting out at least a good half of the thundering. It was still audible, but we could at least speak in here.

  Venix didn’t waste any time. He strode over to what looked like a large, fist-sized glowing sapphire set into what looked like a tablet attached to a plinth of stone. There were two other columns as well, each with their own gems set into the tablets. One was a ruby, and the other an emerald. But the ruby had lost its light, while only the emerald and sapphire still possessed the glow of what my senses told me was an incredibly complex enchantment. Once the Antium had reached the sapphire tablet, he turned to face us with a grave look on his chitinous features. “One of us will have to stay behind.”

  I blinked at the announcement, but it was Kazuma who pushed to the front. “What? What do you mean, stay behind?!”

  Venix was unfazed in the face of his outrage. “These gems control the lowering of the barges. One gem for each barge. Contact must be maintained the entire time with the gem for them to reach the sea. The barge will automatically detach once it touches down.”

  Kazuma paused. “Ah. I…did not know it functioned that way.” The younger samurai looked decidedly lost for a moment.

  “I volunteer,” Venix immediately offered. “As the strongest, I am most likely to survive the coming waves of beasts. I should be the one to stay behind.”

  His words caused an awkward air to descend on the group at the implicit offer of sacrifice.

  I ignored it.

  “Don’t be stupid,” I said sharply, catching Venix’s attention. I also ignored the warning look in his eyes. “I can fly, damnit. Let me do it. I’ll lower everyone else, and then when it’s done, I’ll just dive off the side and break the fall with my wings.”

  Venix blinked, looking to be nearly thrown off course and grasping for an excuse. “But…the storm…”

  I waved him off. “Better than the alternative. You’re not going to throw your life away for no reason. I won’t let you.”

  “Yeah, that’ll work,” Renauld said dryly. “Let’s go with that.”

  The Antium samurai quieted at that, almost appearing to be chastened, but he eventually nodded. “We shall take the blue barge,” He said, acquiescing.

  At his direction, he and the rest of my companions opened the door once again and shuffled out, shutting the stone behind him.

  Once they were gone, I strode over to the viewing port and watched as all of my friends (and Kazuma) leapt or were carried up to land on the deck of the hanging barge. Once everyone was aboard, I watched as Bella hurried up to the command deck of it, apparently at Venix’s direction, before said Ant-man turned to wave at me.

  I took that as my cue and nodded sharply to myself, turning around and walking back over to the sapphire. Once there, I took a deep breath to steady my nerves...

  And placed my left gloved left hand on top of the sapphire.

  Let’s do this.