The group lay at rest by a bubbling pool of hot water, the occasional geyser bursting with heat as steam rises to the ceiling. The steady drip of water echoes around them as steam coagulates across the ceiling, condensing into a persistent light drizzle across the entire cavern. Aleph, Goldy, and Fluffy sit around a collection of items organised into neat piles while Lyly sits facing away atop the dragon's back in a futile attempt to ignore them. Vials of moss, pouches of bone dust, and a seemingly random combination of plants, animal fur, and goop lie in front of them.

"So all we really need is a divine beast and a pot, right?" Aleph asks, idly nudging a pouch of sand with her tail. "Yep. Divine beast is going to be hard though. I know they have a strong relationship with this place, but I've never heard of them living here aside from Nok on the twenty-fifth floor and maybe a couple old myths." Fluffy responds, inspecting one of the empty vials with confusion. "Well of course. We're all born here, but there's no reason for us to stay once we reach the bottom. Don't know what that Nok guy's deal is." Lyly interjects, doing a stellar job of ignoring everyone. Goldy scratches his chin, peering at the brooding arachnid. "Say, Ho'mah... You have explored here for an age. Do you not know of any divine beasts within this realm?" "..." """...?"""

"You know something..." "Is there really a divine beast here?" "We can summon the demon after all?" Lyly skitters away, attempting to escape the barrage of peer pressure only to be pinned beneath the full weight of a dragon's tail. "Uwaaah! Lemme go! I'm not telling!" She squirms, her fuzzy legs writhing in an attempt to pry herself free as the others surround her. "My master has taught me some interrogation methods. I could try pry some answers from her." "Eep!" "Perhaps we settle this difference in battle?" "Um..." "Why don't we just, you know... talk about it first? I do want to make ambrosia, but surely there's no need for violence here." "Yes! Listen to her! Don't torture the spider!"

Fluffy sits down with a chuckle, Goldy following suit with a hint of disappointment as Aleph releases the spider. "So... Is there a divine beast here?" "You're going to summon a demon if there is, aren't you?" "I'm going to summon a demon either way. It just might take a bit longer." "Uugh, fine... Not like it'll be a secret for long anyway... You remember that dragon I mentioned? The one in the magma lake?" "Ah, the one I somehow keep missing whenever I go past that floor?" "Yea him! His name is Mekrotok. He who guards the greatest depths, who tests something or other, I forget the rest. He's a divine beast."

The group share a glance, their path forward now becoming more clear. "So if we ask this Mekretok for some-" "Good luck with that. Every time I go there he spits out his shitty introduction then attacks me. No questions asked. Granted, he might've asked the first few times but that was ages ago so I can't remember." "Okay then... Fluffy, you seem to be able to go there freely, so why don't you go look for some kind of loose scale or shed hair. Take Goldy with you since he can sense Mana. In the meantime I'll stay here and make a pot. There's plenty of iron in the stone here so I should be able to work something out." "Works for me." "I too." "Then it's settled. See you in a while."

Through the eyes of a monkey on a mission

To be tasked with accompanying the warrior of green... Today is a glorious day indeed! "Say, Muscles?" "You call, Maho?" "Yes, that name. I've been meaning to ask what it means." "It means a warrior who is green." "I see... Wouldn't brown be more appropriate, given my hair?" "You had less when we first met. And brown hair is common amongst my kin. Your green eyes and green glow are what set you apart from my kin the most." "Ah, I forgot my eyes were green. It's been a while since I've looked in a mirror now."

The damp stench of the cavern grows thicker as the pair traverse the rocky terrain, wading through lukewarm ponds and stepping into one of the tunnels leading down. Winding its way down, the tunnel wraps itself around the pillar before opening into the ceiling of the next layer. The warrior leaps, sliding down the pillar while Gol Dhee grasps the air to tame his own fall. Around them, several pools of boiling water dot across the terrain, much like the previous layer only now emplaced with more esoteric rock formations, arching and curving across the horizon. Pillars and spires, stalagmites and stalactites, hills and mountains saturate the world in a steadily darkening red as one peers further down.

"Since this is a pathway dwelling we should be able to find tunnels leading all the way down to the magma chamber. Granted, there's a chance we'll be attacked by whatever dwells here, since we're basically walking into their nest." Gol Dhee scratches his chin as they begin to circle the pillar. "We once encountered sky beasts within such a pathway. Strange beings which struck with ice and traversed through matter." The warrior strokes his unruly fur, his interest piqued. "You encountered some sweepers? It's been a while since I saw those, since I haven't ever bothered climbing up the endless drop. But what do you mean about them traversing matter?"

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How to word this... According to the bright one talking like this makes me appear 'cool' and 'sophisticated', yet it makes concepts like this difficult to express. "When they struck, their bodies were solid. Yet when we struck back they were as if without substance. Only Hinya was able to strike one down." "Fascinating! I had no idea that was how their magic functioned! Does this function indefinitely? Could they stay incorporeal without limits?" "No. Some tried to follow us through walls I had closed, but lost their motion and became solid within the ice. It was... gruesome." "I'd imagine so..."

"Maho, if you do not mind my asking... What makes you? What is your drive, your purpose in gaining strength?" "Hmm..." The warrior narrows his eyes, furrowing his brow in thought as switches his hand to a different patch of fur to untangle. "I can't say I have anything I'd describe as a purpose. Nor do I want one. I simply act as I see fit, and if I don't see fit to act I won't. As for why I'm here, I came by request of my master, though now I simply stay because I enjoy the exploration. And strength is simply useful to have. I do take pride in it, but it is little more than a means to an end for me." "I see... We are quite different then. My desire is to reach the peak of my own strength. To stand upon equal grounds with the ancestors I revere as they have done before me."

The warrior grins, thumping Gol Dhee's shoulder. "A fine goal, but why stop there? Why not seek to surpass them?" Gol Dhee's eyes widen, before curving into a grin of his own. "Huhuhu, for one without purpose you have quite the greedy mind." "Gahaha, maybe I do!"

Through the eyes of an awestruck spider

Fwoosh! "No way! You can do that?!" Lyla stands gazing in awe at the stream of flames emanating from the dragon's mouth. "Of course! All dragons need to be able to use breath attacks. Pretty sure that's a fact of life. Takes too much focus to use in a fight at the moment though." "Okay but do you have to say that while spewing fire from your mouth? I know you can talk without using your lungs, but still." "I need to keep heating this though. If I keep stopping it'll never melt." The flames wrap around a pile of powderised stone, heating it to a red hot point.

"How are you doing that anyway? I take it you've not been a fire dragon this whole time, right? I don't think the Progenitor likes to do repeats." "Using Aether. I told you before that Aether can do anything Mana can, just with some extra hand-holding. I'm pulling a bunch of air into my mouth, spinning it really fast to generate friction, then letting it spew out so it looks like I'm breathing fire." "Couldn't you just do that directly on the pile?" "Yes, and it would be more efficient too. But this is cooler." "Agreed."

Lyla skitters close to the flames, holding her pedipalps out as if sitting by a campfire while the stone below her turns bright red. "It's kinda quiet though... Shouldn't there be a persistent fwooshing sound?" "Ah, right. Gimme a second." Fwooosh! "Um... You're using your vocal chords for that one, aren't you?" "Well if I have a lot of force going around in this flame. If I just release it you'll be sent flying." "I see... Thanks for the consideration at least. Though, couldn't you just let a little air out? Just enough to make a sound." "This is pretty complicated you know. I'm almost manipulating things on a per-atom basis here. Trying to work without a closed system would just make things too hard." "Every atom?! There's no way someone can have that kind of processing power! Is this another yuyu thing?" "Maybe? No? I'm not sure... It might be a soul thing. Or maybe both? Hmm..."

If she isn't being controlled by an eldritch abomination, she is the eldritch abomination... Actually, a time-travelling creature of the abyss does sound kinda metal.

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Soras'Aoi omulosh. Osamu lasu'oras, eo osamu'yulul mum Aoi Aoi'loras. Laleus Aoi'lomum.

Aoi'sho'losh. Sulul Aoi'sho, loyo'un Aoi'sho, eyonon Aoi'ha, un Aoi'lulonoo. lasu'lothey'losh. Soras'Aoi omulosh.

Los'Aoi omulosh. Sulul Aoi'eyo, esh mum loyo'un Aoi'ama. Ayosa Aoi'amama, ihsulul Aoi'amama. Eo soras'Aoi omushulosh.

Leun'Aoi omulosh. Aoloao mum Aoi Aoi'in'shosh. Hish'lasu Aoi'lonoo'sho'shi soho'oshyo. Lohish'lasu Aoi'lonoo'sho'shi sohi'oshyo.

Hish Aoi'lonoo'sho'losh, Nilasuun Aoi'amama. Lohish Aoi'lonoo'sho'losh, Aoleu'lothas Aoi'amama. Soras'Aoi omushulosh.

Lohishley Aoi'lonoo'sho'losh, Mashulasloyun Aoi'amama. Soso'ayo omu Maolas'loama'losh.

Lo'o soras'Aoi.

- Abridged retelling of the 'Laleus Aoi'sho' myth, written for the children's book 'Lomum'loao Mul Laleus Aoi'sho' by Ins Umola