Justin and the others stood with the rest of the procession in the main atrium of the Temple of Ashralok, a vast space supported by black marble pillars and various demonic-looking statues.

  Its centerpiece was a ten-foot-tall statue carved from pure ruby. Its form was surprisingly humanlike, a naked woman for the most part beneath the neck, but above was the Fyrspawn face, with glinting eyes and a mane of enchanted yellow flame. As he passed, the eyes seemed to follow Justin. Several Fyrspawn pilgrims prostrated themselves before the statue.

  "Holy Ashralok," Emberlyn said with reverence. "The First Bride of Vorthak. May she again walk among us."

  Justin nodded. He wanted to ask questions, but feared they might be construed as disrespectful.

  Emberlyn watched him, seeming to guess his hesitation. "Yes. She is half-human, half-Fyrspawn."

  He cleared his throat. "I see. I wasn't aware that such a thing was..."

  "Only by the power of gods. Things in the old days were…different. They had other kinds of magic. The kinds that don't follow established rules. Such things have been lost." She paused a bit ominously. "And perhaps that's for the best."

  Before Justin could ask more, she walked past the statue, signaling to the rest of the pilgrims that the time had come to move on.

  Justin allowed himself to fall to the end of the procession, where Lila was examining a particularly large male statue of a Fyrspawn demon. She was so enraptured by it that she didn't even notice him beside her.

  Justin followed her line of sight and smiled. "Quite generous, isn't it?"

  Lila jumped, her cheeks coloring. "Justin! I didn't see you there."

  "Busted," he said. "But to be fair, it is pretty impressive."

  Before she could respond, Eldrin came up to them. "We're falling behind."

  "Right," Lila said. "Let's move."

  They caught up to the rest of the group, which was now entering a wide archway, beyond which a set of black marble steps led down. Not toward darkness, but toward the telltale orange glow of fire, or perhaps lava.

  As they approached the archway, a temple attendant with bright yellow flames stepped forward, her gaze fixed on Atlas.

  "Forgive me," she said in the Fyrspawn language, which Justin was now able to understand reasonably well. "The mechanical one cannot enter the Karedos."

  Justin frowned. "Why not?"

  "The sacred baths are meant only for Fyrspawn and their mortal guests," the attendant explained, her flames flickering apologetically. "Companions, familiars, and constructs are not permitted. The sacred energies can be...unpredictable for such beings."

  "Atlas has been with me through everything," Justin protested. "He's harmless!"

  The attendant's flames dimmed slightly. "It is not a matter of harm, but of tradition. The flames of Ashralok must remain pure."

  Justin looked at Atlas, who chirped questioningly. He sighed and turned to the attendant. "I guess there's no way around it."

  He kneeled beside Atlas. "Sorry, buddy. Looks like you'll have to sit this one out."

  He activated his ring, and Atlas disappeared in a flash of light. He tried not to look at those baleful red eyepieces accusing him.

  "I'll bring you back as soon as we're done here."

  With that settled, they continued through the archway. As soon as they passed through, the temperature rose dramatically. Justin's new ring flared red around his finger, and he could see a light reddish aura surrounding him.

  The steps evened out, entering a rocky tunnel filled with alcoves of more religious idols.

  And then, the tunnel ended, and they were there.

  Before them spread what Justin could only describe as a fire cavern. Yellow flames danced within the pillars, so bright it was almost like looking at the sun. He had to squint his eyes. Within the flames, the Fyrspawn pilgrims were already dispersing, becoming one with the fire.

  Beside him, Eldrin and Lila were both breaking into a sweat, despite the enchantment of their rings. Indeed, even Justin could feel the heat, though with his Vorthak's Flame active, it wasn't uncomfortable. It felt like the first few seconds of sitting in a hot car after leaving a cold environment, not an unpleasant feeling.

  Emberlyn had fallen behind to check on them, even if Justin could tell from her posture that she was more than ready to bathe herself in these holy flames.

  "I'm not sure I can stand this much longer," Lila said.

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  "There is no shame in withdrawing to the main temple," Emberlyn said. "The Fire Baths of Karedos can only be withstood by the Fyrspawn." Her eyes went to Justin. "And perhaps you, given your Vorthak's Flame."

  "We'll be upstairs," Eldrin said.

  Both he and Lila left.

  "Would Vorthak's Flame really protect me?" Justin asked. "It wouldn't be…sacrilege of sorts?"

  "No, not sacrilege," Emberlyn said. "Her Flames are ultimately what decides who is worthy. For we Fyrspawn who worship her, her flames are an innate need, without which our inner flames would perish."

  "Then don't let me keep you," Justin said.

  Emberlyn nodded. "I may be a couple of hours. Until then, you're welcome to explore the Temple, or perhaps enter the Karedos yourself."

  With that, Emberlyn turned and entered the flames. Instantly, her own yellow flames brightened to twice their usual intensity.

  Curious, Justin approached the wall of flames, feeling a welcome warmth. If he switched Affinities, it would likely mean instant death as close as he was.

  But Emberlyn had said he could enter…

  "When in Rome," he muttered.

  He took a single step into the yellow flames. It was like swimming in the sun. He was a single blotch of crimson in a sea of yellow. The yellow flames swirled around him, seeming to respond more than they did to the other Fyrspawn, who were generally one with the flames.

  "That's…different."

  The yellow flames parted before him, creating a sort of pathway through the baths. Looking around for a moment, he decided to follow it.

  It twisted and turned. Within a couple of minutes, he had walked far beyond where the other Fyrspawn were. It seemed he was following something of a side cavern, where the yellow flames grew even more intense, to the point where even he was starting to feel their heat. But in response, his Vorthkak's Flame shimmered brighter, contesting it.

  After a moment, he rounded a bend and found that he stood in the caldera of the volcano itself. Even if he could stand the heat, he knew being in a place like this was stupid. Volcanos didn't just emanate extreme heat; they also released noxious gases.

  But then again, he had some poison antidotes, and he also had his Ring of Hygiene, which would purify him over time…to a point. Justin wasn't entirely sure it would be enough, should the worst happen.

  Whatever the case, the flame path had led him here for some reason.

  He looked down. Now out of the baths, a new light was taking over, that of the Sapphire Star, shining so brightly that its bluish radiance was pulsing through his clothes. Could the flame path be leading him to that Gate?

  He'd forgotten to ask Emberlyn about that.

  "Time to head back," he said.

  He was turning to leave when an incredibly bright flame barred the tunnel, repulsing him not just with its light, but with its incredible heat. It was hot enough that he could easily feel it through his Vorthak's Flame, at least for a moment before it backed off.

  When Justin tried to go forward again, the same thing happened. A warning not to try again.

  He turned around, and to his surprise, found that on the other side of the volcano, across the caldera, there was a black gate of sorts, previously missed.

  And what was more, to his right was a natural path that led directly to the Gate. Or maybe it wasn't a gate, but a Vault.

  The flame path rose again, lighting the way toward the Gate.

  "Right," he said. "No way back. Typical."

  He followed the trail, the magma beneath roiling and popping, sometimes sending up plumes of fire. The air stung his lungs with chemicals, but his Ring of Hygiene glowed yellow, apparently doing the work of filtering out the toxins, at least fast enough to matter.

  Yes, he was glad to have gone for that upgrade.

  Within twenty minutes, he was standing before the gate, the Sapphire Star positively radiant on his chest.

  "This is a bad idea," he said. "But I have no choice, so can it be fairly called an idea? It just...is."

  If this were a Vault, then it could be like that Vault on Nithral Island, exerting its influence to keep him in place and forcing him to attempt it.

  But coming closer, there was no Vault description. Just a Gate, albeit different from any other Gate he'd seen so far, with its black frame and dark oscillating plane.

  "Guess I'm going through," he said.

  He had his Sapphire Aegis. It would grant him ten seconds of immunity to practically anything.

  Enough time to see what was going on before coming back, if needed.

  Seeing nothing else to do, he stepped forward, crossing the swirling black plane.

  He stepped onto the other side, what seemed to be a temple of sorts, with large monolithic stones and a long corridor that never seemed to end. It was more like a canyon, actually, because the top was open, revealing something that was not exactly the sky but a swirl of dark violets and browns interlocking like an Impressionist painting combined with a fever dream.

  [You have entered the Nether Realm.]

  Before Justin could even process this, the trail of yellow flames spread in front of him, leading down the corridor.

  "Well, fuck," Justin said. "And let me guess, if I try to go back through the Gate, it's going to close on me?"

  Justin tested this, and to his surprise, he easily passed right back through into the volcano.

  [Entering the Aetherion, the World of Solanis.]

  Justin blinked. Okay, so he wasn't forced to stay in the Nether Realm. If that were the case, it would suck mightily.

  But in a way, he kind of was forced because he was sure that if he went back to those flames, they would continue to block his passage.

  Justin didn't want to risk going through them, even with his Vorthak's Flame.

  And clearly, that trail of flames meant something was leading him forward.

  But the Nether Realm. The Domain of Morvath, God of Death, and Nyriss, Goddess of Chaos.

  That was not the kind of company a Level 19 Gentleman should keep.

  Then again...this Nether Realm seemed to be an entirely new reality. One that was likely as big as the one he stood in now. Gods here didn't seem to be all-powerful and omnipresent. Running into the likes of Morvath or Nyriss was probably highly unlikely.

  But there would certainly be other dangers. And he had to admit he was quite curious about where this was leading.

  Hopefully not a cat-killing curiosity kind of way.

  But he wouldn't be alone. He'd have Atlas accompanying him, an important consideration. He could get him out once he was on the other side.

  "Looks like I'm doing this."

  With a steadying breath, he passed back into the Nether Realm.

  Once on the other side, he pointed his ring at the floor, and Atlas appeared in a burst of light. The construct shook itself before regarding Justin, and then their new environment with a confused chirp.

  "Yeah, I know, buddy. We've landed ourselves in quite a prickly perch."

  Once again, the path of flames appeared, leading down the central corridor. Atlas scuttled backward, even though the flames didn't seem harmful to him.

  "I imagine we should follow these flames and see where they lead," Justin said.

  Atlas's head nodded, his red eyes gleaming with what seemed to be determination. For good measure, he gave both of his drills a whir.

  "All right," Justin said. "Let's check out the Nether Realm."

  Justin, cane in hand, headed down the long passageway, Atlas scuttling beside him.