The Sand-Cutter screeched to a halt at the jagged hem of Mount Gulg. The heat here wasn't just atmospheric; it was a physical weight, like standing inside the throat of a dragon. Cid wiped a streak of soot from his goggles, his expression uncharacteristically somber.
"This is as far as the skis take us, kids," he shouted over the roar of escaping steam. "The rock up there is molten glass. You step off my deck, and you're in Marilith's kitchen. Watch your footing—the floor in there likes to move."
I hopped down, my leather boots hissing as they touched the scorched obsidian. The "Level Up" from the Lich had granted us enhanced constitution, but even with magical resistance, the air felt like it was searing my lungs.
"Stay close," I commanded, drawing my blade. The steel reflected the angry red glow of the summit. "Sarah, keep the NulFire shrouds active. Elena, save your ice spells for the Fiend. Maya, you're our vanguard."
We entered the mouth of the volcano. The transition from the desert sun to the subterranean magma chambers was jarring. Rivers of liquid fire flowed through narrow channels in the rock, casting flickering, demonic shadows against the walls. The silence was gone, replaced by the rhythmic thrum-thrum of the earth's heartbeat.
Suddenly, the ground beneath Maya's feet shifted.
Not a tremor—a deliberate, mechanical slide.
"It's a kinetic floor!" Elena yelled, nearly losing her balance. "The tiles are enchanted to respond to weight. If we don't step in the right sequence, we'll be carried straight into the magma!"
It was the first true puzzle of our journey. In the game, it was a matter of navigating a d-pad. Here, it was a deadly dance. The floor tiles were marked with ancient, glowing runes: Flame, Drop, and Path.
"Follow my lead!" I shouted, using my new Focus ability. I could see the faint ley lines of magic connecting the "Path" tiles. "Step on the blue runes only! Maya, jump to the ledge on the left! Sarah, stay behind me!"
We moved in a jagged zig-zag, the heat singing the hair on our arms.
One misstep by Sarah sent her sliding toward a pool of bubbling white-hot lava, but I lunged, catching her hand and hauling her back onto a stable tile just as the one she'd occupied plunged into the fire.
"Too close," she wheezed, her face flushed crimson.
As we reached the far side of the chamber, a group of Fire Elementals—living bonfires with hateful eyes—congealed from the air. They didn't just attack; they pulsed with a heat that threatened to melt our armor.
"We don't have time for a slog!" I yelled, pivoting. "Elena, Blizzara, now!"
The Red Mage didn't need a second command. She slammed her staff into the obsidian floor. A wave of frost erupted, clashing with the volcanic heat to create a blinding wall of steam. Through the white mist, I saw the elemental cores—glowing hearts of coal.
I lunged, my sword cutting through the steam. With three precise strikes, the cores shattered. The elementals vanished into harmless sparks.
We stood at the threshold of the inner sanctum. The air was getting thinner, the pressure in my ears building. We weren't just deeper in the volcano; we were deeper in the "code" Cid had mentioned.
"I can feel her," Maya whispered, her fists clenched and glowing with a faint blue light. "She's waiting. And she's hungry."
The door to the Fiend's chamber was a slab of solid ruby. Beyond it, the Fire Crystal was being choked by a multi-armed nightmare.