Shining metal rings out aloud as I run, scurrying over the length of the collapsing pillar as the world explodes behind me. The scene erupts into a great catastrophe, as the coiling fire, taking the form of the body of a giant serpent, winds out around the base of the crumbling stone and chases after me with a wide open maw. Jutting my lance into the ground, I vault, propelling myself over the next platform as the giant wyrm made entirely out of living flames consumes the world behind me. Gorging itself on claw and stone.
Hahah. Hahahaha!
She’s angry. She’s so angry. I clank down, the stone of the pillar rising out of the sea of lava cracks, bits of it crumble down and fall into the liquid inferno. Now’s my chance. I spin around, three hands holding my lance as I swipe it in a great arc, the tip of the blade coming to meet the serpent, slicing through its open maw and running down the length of its body as it keeps pushing forward undeterred. The stream of fire tears in half, one side streaming up towards the ceiling and the other crashing down into the pool below. A moment later, the blade meets the end of the serpent and slices through its tail.
The world explodes as another fireball crashes my way and I only just barely manage to leap out of the way towards the next column. I spare a glance over to the wizard-girl who is… mad. She’s mad. I watch as she stands there, her stance wild and dominant, her eyes wild and dominant, the fire in her, on her, wild and dominant.
The wizard is always really angry, honestly. If she’s not busy being enamored by my incredible charms. I wonder if it’s the fire? It better not be a metaphor…
Her fingers come together, her arms moving around as she begins to spin the fire again, weaving it like a spindler. The flames come together, connecting and pressing into each other as they rise up again, as they coil around her body, the flames licking her hair and throwing it to the hot winds as a new serpent breaches into the world. The great body of the snake coiling and winding into the air like during the birth of a great dragon.
I land, looking at the staircase not far away from me now.
I could fight the wizard-girl. It would be a lot of fun and she really wants to fight me, so I do feel a little bad about not meeting her strong feelings head on. But, I have a job to do and I’m a professional. Work before pleasure, tell you what.
The serpent rushes my way as the chase begins anew. This is the third one now, I think. It’s nice to see her use some new attacks. I guess she does have more in her than the fireballs. It goes to show you, never to underestimate someone. Especially if they’re trying to kill you. I ribbit, leapfrogging to the next platform before the stairs. Fire smolders and crackles behind me as she screams. I don’t really understand what she’s saying, but I bet it’s something like - “Oooh, no, don’t go Mr. Lance Hero. You’re so cool and I’m just a dumb wizard!”
“I don’t even have a cape!” bubbles the slime, adding on to my mockery and I nod in agreement. She doesn’t even have a cape. It’s just sad.
Anyways, maybe that isn’t what she’s thinking at all. But what do I know? I just work here. The world rumbles, the lava begins to bubble as if it were coming to an over-boil, which I suppose is weird. Isn’t lava always boiling? Anyways, where was I? Oh yeah.
The lava below us begins to slosh and shake, the dungeon rumbling as the magical energies flowing from her body come to a head. My boots thud down against the next stone platform as I rush towards the stairs. The kitchen’s a little too hot for me, so I’ll just be leaving, thank you very much! I wave to the wizard as I run up the stairs.
“Bye!”
I don’t think she appreciates it.
The rock shakes, as the flaming serpent crashes into the wall just behind me as I run. The great wyrm roars in a fury as it lashes around, thrashing like an eel as it tries to press itself up the staircase to pursue me. Its flaming body condensing, as it presses itself into the hole and chases after me. The fire rages, scorching the walls with a deathly blaze. A scorching wind howls, as the body of the beast pushes hot air off of itself in all directions, flooding the passage with a swelter.
Leaping, I run and jump up the stairs as fast as I can, as the world behind me crumbles and collapses, as the embodiment of rage and fire destroys everything behind me, its maw, ripped wide open, tearing the world asunder as it crashes after me.
“Shoo-shoo!” bubbles the slime, sticking a gooey tongue out at the fake dragon who doesn’t care in the least. The further I press onward though, the weaker the momentum of the monstrosity becomes. The fire growing dimmer and meeker the further it presses out from its source. There is no fuel here, there’s nothing to burn and to sustain it here in the dark, stone passage. Nothing apart from the dank air of the dungeon for it to breathe. It isn’t enough. A fire needs more than air.
I turn my skull around as I run, to look down at the threat decaying behind me. I watch as the flames of the dragon slowly begin to unweave themselves, the strings slowly coming apart thread by thread, as they all begin to fray and fall loose, the dancing flames slowing to a crawl and then to nothing at all, as they all vanish into oblivion.
A moment later, the entire serpent simply falls apart. Leaving nothing but a lingering heat, which quickly dissipates and a few scorch marks on the crumbled walls behind us. That’s all that remains of her strong feelings.
A bit of ash.
I get the feeling that the heroes that the MC meets are just actors for their roles. Cogs in the dungeon. Why else would they appear one after another, conveniently blocking the MC's path? Seems like a bit of a set up there. I'd be a bit annoyed if this was like the Life of Pi, where the wine story is a metaphor. For something.