Lucina
"The problem is the gatekeeper who guards the prison," I said quietly, the weight of the plan sitting heavily on my shoulders. Across from me sat the dark-haired woman, her eyes fixed on the small, intricately carved key I held between my fingers.
The key was colder than I expected… or maybe it was simply my hands trembling.
"I can put him to sleep," I explained, voice steady even though my heart was not. "But that means I can't leave my room."
That was the cost. Every choice came with one.
She nodded slowly, understanding every silent implication.
I drew a deep breath, my cloak rustling softly as I pulled the hood lower over my silver hair. Most of my face remained hidden behind layers of veil and shadow. Only my eyes reflected the flickering candlelight.
The plan was already moving.
"Use this key to unlock the prison of fire," I whispered, pressing it into her palm.
Then I stood.
"I'll take care of the warriors guarding the entrance."
The cloaked figure I had become felt simultaneously fragile and unstoppable.
---
Outside, the world was dangerously calm — a lush forest bathed in muted light. I knelt beside the small, light-haired creature with delicate wings, its anxious eyes darting toward the direction of the guarded entrance.
Two massive warriors stood watch nearby, spears gleaming, expressions unreadable.
"Why would you go there?! What if you end up in danger?" the winged creature burst out, voice trembling.
I stared straight ahead. The truth was simple.
"I can't just let Adar die."
The creature recoiled at the name, then puffed up in frustrated panic.
"Okay, okay, I'll go!" it squeaked at last, wings twitching nervously.
But when I said,
"I'm not doing this for her sake,"
its head snapped toward me, a giant question mark practically floating over it.
"Then… why are you doing this?"
My breath hitched. Even under the veil, that single betrayal of emotion could not be hidden. A tear slid down my cheek — hot, uninvited.
A memory crashed into me like a tidal wave.
His strong chest beneath my hands.
His long, dark hair falling over his shoulders.
His tattoo — a fierce, sprawling mark across his back.
His face shadowed with worry, frustration, fear.
My heart clenched painfully at the memory.
---
he hid from me — all of it wrapped around my ribs like a tight band, suffocating but driving me forward.
I pulled my hood lower and disappeared into the glittering, dark hallway, where the guards watched like sentinels of flame.
I was the shadow slicing through their light.
I was doing this for reasons deeper than any of them could guess.
Deeper than even I dared to admit aloud.
---
I still felt anger simmering inside me — anger at Hakan for keeping the truth from me. But something stronger kept tugging me forward, a pull in my chest that refused to be ignored.
To steady myself, I opened the small container I'd snuck from the kitchen.
"Anyway, I grabbed some candied peanuts," I murmured.
The tiny creature stared at them with a cartoonish "DROOL" expression.
"If you help me, I'll make sure you can eat these every day."
Bribery, yes. Desperation, absolutely.
"Now then," I whispered, eyes narrowing toward the direction of the prison, "it's about time for Gillai to make his move…"
---
A sudden FWOOSH erupted through the air.
The two guards stiffened — then their eyes widened in confusion. One blinked slowly; the other swayed as though the world tilted under him.
This was it.
"Alright," I breathed, "now's my chance."
Their spears dropped with dull metallic CLANGS, one man staggering with a heavy STAGGER—! before collapsing into enchanted sleep.
I slipped past their fallen forms without a sound. For a heartbeat, I gazed upward at the monumental structure ahead — a fortress almost glowing with fiery red light, torches burning like molten eyes.
The prison of fire.
---
I sprinted forward — DASH! — my cloak snapping behind me like a shadow torn loose.
Torches lining the passage flickered violently as I rushed past them, the heat brushing my cheeks through the veil.
"It must be over there!" I told myself, locking onto the towering structure ahead.
My legs burned. My breaths grew ragged.
STEP. STEP. STEP.
Each step echoed off stone walls as I climbed the grand staircase.
A small green bird fluttered beside me, wings beating anxiously.
"PANT… PANT… GASP… PANT—"
At the top of the stairs, I finally slowed. One gloved hand gripped the railing as I lifted my veil just enough to breathe properly. My gaze rose to the prison looming above me, its crimson glow washing over my skin.
This was the moment everything had been leading to.
And I stood there — on the edge of it all — gathering the last of my strength.
---
Anger still simmered beneath my ribs—anger that Hakan hid the truth from me.
But even stronger than that anger was the deep, pulsing THROB in my heart urging me forward.
I had to save Adar. No matter how dangerous. No matter how much was kept from me.
To secure the winged creature's cooperation, I crouched and opened my small container.
"Anyway, I grabbed some candied peanuts from the kitchen," I said, trying to keep my voice steady.
Its eyes went comically wide—absolute, sparkling DROOL.
"If you help me, then I'll make sure you can eat these every day."
That sealed the deal.
"Now then," I murmured, taking one last cautious GLANCE around, "it's about time for Gillai to make his move…"
Right on cue, a magical FWOOSH swept through the air.
The guards outside the glowing perimeter staggered, eyes rolling back as sleep overtook them. Their spears slipped from their hands and clattered to the ground.
"Alright, now's my chance!"
I tightened my hood, pulled my veil lower, and dashed forward.
My shadow flickered across the molten-red stones as I DASHED down the corridor. Torches blazed like pillars of fire on either side.
"It must be over there!"
I began the ascent—the long, glittering staircase spiraling upward like the spine of a beast.
STEP. STEP. STEP.
Heat washed over me in suffocating waves.
"It's gradually getting hotter and hotter…" I whispered, feeling sweat gather at my brow.
Beside me, my tiny bird familiar fluttered anxiously.
FLAP FLAP FLAP.
By the time I reached the top, my breath came in ragged bursts.
"PANT… PANT… GASP… PANT…"
I lowered my mask just enough to breathe and forced myself forward.
GATEKEEPER!"
My bird's shrill cry snapped my attention forward.
There—an immense, scaled foot rested heavily on the ground before me. Blue-green. The size of a boulder. Steam curled upward from between its claws.
The Gatekeeper.
"Gillai put him to sleep. This is our chance!"
The bird nodded rapidly, its head bobbing—NOD NOD NOD.
Keeping low, I crept forward.
TIPTOE. TIPTOE.
Each step felt like a gamble against fate. Even asleep, the creature radiated danger. I kept my eyes on the shadows cast by that massive foot.
Then—
"OVER THERE!" I gasped.
The fiery waterfall.
The caged figure.
My heart lurched.
With everything I had left, I broke into a SPRINT, hair snapping behind me like silver flame. The stone floor glowed beneath my boots as I neared the cage and its blazing surroundings.
Inside the barred enclosure, the prisoner—Adar—sat slumped, grey hair matted, a wilted red rose still gripped in her hand.
I dropped to my knees.
The key slid into the rusted lock.
CLUNK!
The gate swung open.
I pulled Adar into my arms. Her body was limp, frighteningly cold against the blistering heat around us.
The winged creature—Puka—hovered above us in frantic circles.
"We need a place to lay her down!" I gasped, straining under her weight.
The marble floor nearby was cool, untouched by the scorching glow. I lowered Adar gently onto it.
"ADAR! ADI! PLEASE WAKE UP!"
My voice cracked. I shook her carefully, desperation clawing at my throat.
Her chest barely moved.
"Puka," I commanded, thrusting a small vial forward, "get her to drink this and use it to wipe her body. I'm going to heal."
Puka obeyed immediately, wings fluttering like frantic bells.
Later—time blurred in the heat and fear—the dark-haired woman from earlier knelt beside me. She placed a steady, comforting hand beneath my chin, lifting my gaze to hers.
"I can save her if you help me," she said softly.
I swallowed hard.
I knew Adar's official sentence:
One full day in the Prison of Fire.
"If she survives," the woman added, "then she may leave the Valley of Fire."
For a moment I could only breathe—slow, trembling.
Then I nodded.
Just one, small, hopeful NOD.
I would not stop until Adar was safe.
That moment carved itself into my memory with brutal clarity—
a terrifying blend of desperate hope and grim certainty.
The dark-haired woman stood before me, her silhouette bathed in the crimson blaze of the Prison of Fire, her voice steady with the weight of a decree not even she could challenge.
"Adar's official sentence is to spend an entire day in the Prison of Fire," she declared.
"If she survives, then she may leave the Valley of Fire."
The words hit like molten stone.
She turned toward me then, her expression hardened—not cruel, but resolute, shaped by necessity rather than desire.
"I can save her if you help me."
I forced myself to breathe. My heartbeat thundered in my ears, but my decision rose instantly, instinctively.
"Of course. We came here to save her after all."
At my confirmation, my healing power stirred awake—lilac light blossoming in soft pulses along my palms, defying the furnace-heat around us.
"She should be able to endure that heat with the help of your healing power," she continued, voice low and grim.
"But there's one thing you need to watch out for…"
Even before she finished, I felt the risk thrumming in the air, thick as smoke.
The gamble was clear. Pain for freedom. Fire for life.
I gave a solemn NOD, the decree echoing through me:
IF SHE SURVIVES,
THEN SHE MAY LEAVE THE VALLEY OF FIRE.
I dropped to my knees beside Adar's frail, scorched form.
My hands pressed firmly to her chest, and at once a pure burst of lilac-white radiance surged outward.
My light collided with the furnace-heat of the prison like two storms clashing.
Sweat slid down my brow.
The ground trembled.
My breath grew tight and thin.
I poured everything into the healing, pushing power into her body again and again—but her condition didn't improve.
A cold realization stabbed through my heart.
I'm channeling my healing power into her, but she still isn't getting better…
Is it because of her old age?
Before I could adjust my focus, something shifted beneath my palms.
A deep, guttural vibration exploded outward—
"GRRRRR—!"
A violent eruption of black and crimson energy roared up from her body.
The force slammed into my light with enough strength to shove me back.
I FLINCHED, teeth clenching from the shock.
Beside us, a small winged creature—childlike in shape but twisted by something malevolent—watched with glowing green eyes.
Its presence made the air feel colder despite the flames.
The energy bucked and writhed, threatening to consume not just Adar—but me as well.
My pulse spiked.
My power flickered.
The crushing heat pressed in from all sides.
Still, I refused to break.
with raw alarm.
"LUCINA!"
The ground lurched violently.
The fiery glow overhead shifted, warping into a deeper, more ominous shade.
A wave of dread washed over me before I even turned my head.
From somewhere behind us came a panicked shout:
"T-THE GATEKEEPER HAS WOKEN UP!"
My blood ran cold.
I looked up—and froze.
Towering over us was a massive, teal-skinned monster, its jaw unhinging as a thunderous, bone-rattling Growl—! rolled through the prison.
Its eyes locked onto me—onto us—alive with fury and purpose.
The guardian of the prison had awakened.
And now it stood between me and the fragile life beneath my hands.
The monster's immense GROWL split the air like a crack in the heavens.
I stared up at the towering blue figure—the Gatekeeper—its molten eyes blazing with sentience and ancient fury. The heat from its breath alone made the air ripple around it. For a moment, fear overpowered everything—my mission, my duty, even my pain.
But then my exhaustion finally surged forward like a wave I could no longer fight back.
The dark-haired woman's warning echoed sharply in my mind, the memory almost too vivid under the crushing heat of the prison:
"BUT THERE'S ONE THING YOU NEED TO WATCH OUT FOR…
IF THE GATEKEEPER WAKES UP.
IF THAT HAPPENS—IT MEANS I'VE PASSED OUT DUE TO MY CONDITION."
She had said it with a resigned certainty that frightened me far more now than it had then.
My vision tilted.
"DIZZY…" I gasped.
Before I understood what was happening, my knees buckled. I crumpled to the scorching ground with a soft yet humiliating THUD.
Did I use too much healing power? I feel so dizzy…
My pulse throbbed in my ears. Every breath stung.
The Gatekeeper advanced—
STOMP. STOMP. RAAAMMM.
Dust and fire trembled around its feet.
I could not move. My arms felt like dead weight.
Its shadow swallowed me whole.
Then—
A high, furious voice broke through the roar.
"HEY! OVER HERE!"
The small winged creature—whom I had nearly forgotten existed—threw himself between us. He was trembling, wings flickering with bits of broken light, yet he raised his arms as if summoning the last of his strength.
Thick, thorny vines burst from the molten cracks in the ground, TWISTING and SNAP-PING as they wrapped around the Gatekeeper's massive torso.
The monster RUMBLED, shaking the entire cavern.
"HURRY!" the creature shrieked.
"MY VINES CAN'T HOLD HIM FOR MUCH LONGER!"
I tried to move—tried to obey—but my arms shook violently as I clawed at my waist.
FUMBLE—FUMBLE.
My fingers scraped desperately at my belt.
The salt pouch.
Where was it?
The vines tightened, then—
CRACK.
One snapped.
Then another.
The Gatekeeper's massive blue hand broke free and swung downward with a chilling WHOOOOSH, aiming straight for my skull.
I'm going to die…!
Adrenaline ripped through me.
I managed a frantic DASH, followed by an awkward, almost feral LEAP as the hand slammed into the ground where I had just been.
A blast of molten fire erupted—
WAAAHHH!
I landed hard, rolling over heated stone, clutching my pounding head. The world spun violently.
Then—glint.
The salt pouch.
I saw it lying a few feet away, right where the winged creature must have dropped it in his panic. A tiny FLOP, lost in the chaos but now shining like salvation.
My body screamed, but I forced myself forward.
My hands dug into the pouch, and with the last spark of strength I had left—
I threw it.
The gray powder burst outward in a wide FSSSSHHHH, glowing faintly as it met the Gatekeeper's face. The monster reeled, its molten eyes flickering with pain.
But the Gatekeeper still had one attack left.
Its remaining arm whipped forward, a final blast of deadly flame charging at me—
And then—
A figure moved.
A powerful silhouette stepped between me and the monster, the heat outlining the raw strength of his form.
The injured man—
the very one whose life I had been trying to save—
was standing.
His muscular back, marked with intricate black tattoos that now pulsed with reclaimed energy, faced the Gatekeeper.
He shielded me completely.
He took the brunt of the Gatekeeper's fury without hesitation.
That single act bought me the precious seconds I needed to survive.