Chapter 14: ~Food chain.~ (1/2)

“In the Sumerian mythological poem Lugale, Asag is a monstrous demon, so hideous that his presence alone makes fish boil alive in the rivers. He was said to be accompanied into battle by an army of rock demon offspring - born of his union with the mountains themselves.

He was vanquished by the heroic Akkadian deity Ninurta, using Sharur, his enchanted talking mace, after seeking the counsel of his father, the god Enlil.”

- The Journey to the Afterlife

***Dedessia, the Sea of Souls, Clan: Carissimi***

***Elona, 13 years old***

“Why do I also have to be tested? I remember everything! There is no reason to put my life at risk,” Quianna complains, burying her face inside her bedsheets.

I pat her back, trying hard to hide my mischievous expression. So if she already remembers everything, then why stay here in the first place? “It's okay. You are very strong. Stronger than I was when they threw me into the pit. It's a ritual which everyone has to take and you even have advantages.”

She looks up. “What advantages?”

I count with my fingers. “Yggdrasil just reached our new hideout at the desert's fringe. His roots had less than a year to dig into the ground. So first, the tunnel system can't be that big. And second, there can't possibly be as many vermin as I had to fight. Third, you are stronger than I was back then. I am sure you will make it.”

“I'll die! I am not as good as you are at memorizing patterns! If what you told me is true then I'll die of thirst before I see the daylight again!” She slams her head into the pillows and continues to grieve.

“Where is the powerful Siren who challenged a god?” I ask.

“Not at home! The Siren was stupid for challenging a god! It was what got her killed,” she mumbles.

I already open my mouth to dig a finger into the wound when Yggdrasil suddenly shakes. “What was that?”

“An earthquake?” Quianna asks and looks up, hope in her eyes. “Maybe the maze will get blocked by falling rocks?”

I shake my head and get up, feeling another quake. “This is something else.” I leave Quianna's room and head for the balcony where I find Chloe and Shawn staring intensely at something below us. I reach the balustrade and strain my neck to get a look. “What by all the heavens!?”

What's happening down there is mind blowing. A huge monster is trying to fight its way towards Yggdrasil, but several smaller figures are trying to hold it off. The monster looks like a troll which was mixed with a ram and sprouted wings. The entire thing consists of molten lava and is seventy metres high. There is a huge club in his hand. As it swings the club at one of the small figures, the target evades in a smooth manoeuvre and a shockwave runs outwards from the impact zone.

Droplets of molten lave fall from its wings. Where the droplets hit the ground, they sprout smaller versions of the monster. Two of the eleven immortals who are fighting the creature have a full time job with swatting its minions.

“I think you have seen enough. Go back inside.” Chloe grabs me and pulls me off the balustrade.

“No! Mom, I wanna see! What is that thing?” I ask.

“One of the stone spirits which reside in the rocky landscape close to this place. Why don't you let her watch, Chloe. I think the higher immortals who are on guard duty have it under control,” Shawn suggests.