Pele awoke in the arms of a woman.

Both he and her were naked but what probably shocked Pele the most was the fact that she was transferring Life Energy into him, something he could see by the fact that her hair was glowing brightly green.

It was also the only source of light in the darkness.

“Wait!” Pele coughed before choking on what appeared to be water that had gathered in his lungs.

His pained coughs awoke the woman and she sat up, revealing more of her long transparent hair and rounded frame.

She looked at Pele with half-closed eyes as he sat up.

He eyed his surroundings to find that he and the woman were on the edge of a platform that was in a large, dark underground space.

“So the dog has awakened.” She yawned while wrapping her arms around herself in an attempt to keep herself warm.

Pele winced before looking to the left of the woman where both of their clothes lay soaked although both he and the woman still had their leather shoes on.

“What is... This place?” He wheezed while returning his gaze to his surroundings.

His eyes widened a little after spotting several corpses floating in the water next to the platform atop which he sat.

“I’m not sure. Although it’s not like anyone would be able to see anything as their body was flung into the side of a cliff.” The woman scoffed making Pele slowly nod.

He crawled into his feet and looked himself over.

He had gotten a few bruises and abrasions from the crash but other than that he was fine.

He looked at the underground waterfall ahead and saw a stone path that led deeper into the tunnel next to it. It started from the platform from which he sat and led into the waterfall’s left side.

“Thank you... For saving me.” He said but the woman rolled her eyes.

“Be thankful all you like but someone was going to get me out of this mess and who better than the great warrior of legend, Pele?” She asked with the click of her tongue and again, Pele weakly nodded.

“We must find the others.” He muttered.

“And how do you suppose we do that, oh bravest of men?”

“Its too dangerous to try and swim out the way we came-“

“Obviously.” The woman rolled her eyes.

“So let’s try going further into the cave. Maybe there’s a way out.”

“And if there isn’t?” The woman asked with a raised brow.

“Then we’ll have no choice but to swim out,” Pele said while slowly making his way towards the narrow ledge that led to the waterfall.

The woman let out a sigh before grabbing both of their clothes, standing up and following Pele.

“What are we going to do about the dead?” She asked making Pele stop.

“We leave them.” He said through gnashed teeth before continuing forward.

“Tsk! I don’t know why I expected different from a subservient dog.” She hissed but Pele kept walking.

The two made their way past the waterfall and entered the tunnels proper.

The woman eventually revealed her name to be Tik’vah or Vah, as she preferred to be called.

She followed Pele in silence as he cautiously led her up the tunnel they were in.

It was a jagged path which widened and narrowed chaotically, forcing them to crawl into tight spaces.

The two eventually spotted a distant cyan light.

They cautious approached it as it seemed to be coming from the tunnel’s exit which they eventually reached to find that the tunnel they were in was but one of many in a labyrinthine system of underground tunnels which were all connected by a central gargantuan cavern which was brilliantly illuminated by moss and other plant life which bioluminescent. It was also lined with large shards of Glass.

Bright greens, purples and cyan bathed the dark rock of the Carven and even Pele couldn’t help but gasp upon seeing all the colours reflect off the surface of the large lake of water below.

He quickly shook aside his awe, however, after a few moments and turned to the other tunnels.

“Whoa...” Vah gasped as she took in the splendour of the cavern.

She quickly noticed that Pele had his eyes turned to the myriad other tunnel entrances that littered the cavern’s walls.

“Damn... Only the Great Father knows which one of those led to the surface, if any.”

Pele raised a brow while glancing at Vah who frowned.

“What? Surprised to hear someone mention the god that you so callously abandoned?”

Pele groaned out a sigh and walked towards the tunnels next to the one from which he and Vah had entered.

“Let me guess, you’re going to blindly guess up until you find the right tunnel-“

“There’s wind coming from this one. It’s faint but I imagine the tunnel’s other side is facing open air.” Pele said while standing in front of the fifth tunnel from the one they’d come from.

“Oh- well, looks like you’re good for more than just leading thousands of people into cliff faces. Lead the way, then.” Vah said with an approving nod.

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Pele led her into the tunnel which was several kilometres long and, fortunately, had no shrimp within.

I had observed their behaviour some more and noticed that they were amphibian because they entered the ocean to mate and the females stayed in the water until their eggs hatched.

Speaking of the ocean, the remaining ships were adrift in the turbulent waters and, huddled around a table in one of them, were Imani, Emunah, Ayit and Mashouah.

They had been discussing a means to safely dock their ships.

Imani and Emunah suggested that they go around and find a safer piece of land to dock along.

Ayit wanted to stay put until he or someone else found a way to defeat the shrimp.

Mashouah wanted to wait until Pele was found although no one actually believed that he had survived the chaos from their first attempt at mooring.

“To think that it may have all been for nothing,” Mashouah muttered but this enraged Ayit who slammed the table with his hand.

“Enough with your defeatist nonsense! I say we go back and fight for this land! Just as we did all that time ago in Afor!”

“Haha!” Emunah laughed making Ayit’s frown deepen.

“What is so funny, woman?” He hissed but Emunah dismissively waved a hand.

“Sorry, what you said was so silly that I couldn’t help but laugh. I know we collectively hate the Umande but to think that you would go so far as to take credit for the work of the Fire Breakers... it’s too much!”

“You know... For someone whose husband lies ill, you sure are jovial... Or are you just as fucked up as a certain ruthless bitch?”

Emunah’s face stiffened.

“Enough, both of you. Since none of us will listen to each other, we’ll have to combine our plans. Ayit, I know you want battle but you’ll have to wait until we safely land on the continent in the first place. We’ll deal with the shrimp after.” Imani said making Ayit cross his arms with a scoff.

“And as for Pele... Well, it’s a shame but we must move on.” He added and it was here that I turned my attention back to Hatua.

Ua was just arriving in the village of the Mbegu with Musa in hand.

He soundly slept in her arms as she sat on a large and extravagant wooden chair which sat on the shoulders of eight of her men, giants all. Walking next to them was Thabiti who’s hair had started to thin even though he wasn’t even fifty yet.

They gently placed it down in front of the Mti.

“Ah... Greetings. What brings you here to our humble home, esteemed woman from the West?” Mchungaji greeted with a warm smile but Ua ignored him, choosing instead to stare at the Great Tree to her right.

“Will this help me reach him?” She whispered barely loud enough for Mchungaji to hear.

“Pardon?” He winced in confusion.

Ua sighed before finally turning to face him.

“You believe that this tree is the source of all life, am I correct?”

“That is the humble belief of we who live at the foot of the Mti, yes.” Mchungaji nodded.

“I also hear that this tree is some sort of nexus between this world and the next.”

“I too have heard such rumours and I can only say it is not my place to speak on the capabilities of the Mti,” Mchungaji said while his people cautiously watched from within their huts.

Ua’s bloodthirst had become a widely known thing so even the Mbegu lived every day cautiously.

Fortunately for them, they were an offshoot of the Umande so they were never treated as harshly as the Chofumah.

Actually, due to the fact that Mlezi had gone out of his way so as to not bother them, the Mbegu were relatively untouched by the sudden burst of progress experienced by the rest of the continent.

Ua returned her gaze to the Mti and her eyes flashed white for a moment, much to the concern of Mchungaji.

It seemed as though she was looking for something in the tree but after seemingly failing to find whatever she was looking for, she returned her gaze to Mchungaji.

“I am surrounded by enemies. They hide in the shadows and yearn for the day when my blood is split. Isn’t that a bit too harsh a fate, mmm? For I, who was tasked specifically to give unto others the knowledge and help they needed to survive, to be slaughtered by the very people I taught.”

Mchungaji winced as Ua asked him something it seemed he was not supposed to answer.

“Would you do this frightened woman a kindness and aid her in defending herself?” Ua asked with a saddened expression although even I could see that her eyes were devoid of emotion.

Mchungaji glanced at Thabiti, who looked away, before returning his eyes to Ua.

“We Mbegu are a meek and small people. What could we possibly do to help one as great as you?” He asked with shaking eyes.

“Well, to start, I would like you to swear loyalty to me and me alone. I am in need of warriors and I want you to further guard my western front.”

Both Mchungaji and I frowned at this but for different reasons.

I was confused because although it was true that some Chofumah had fled Hatua and settled along its southern coast, I had observed them and it didn’t seem like they posed a threat to Ua.

Heck, they didn’t have warriors and instead focused on resource gathering.

Maybe Ua was thinking of a possible future where they built armies and attacked.

“Err... But, as I said, we are a small people. How could we possibly add strength to your already mighty forces?” Mchungaji asked while glancing at the Fire Breakers that carried Ua and Musa.

“I will mould you all into warriors, of course.” Ua smiled.

Mchungaji’s frown deepened.

His eyes then lowered for a moment and they turned to his village shortly after.

They were as he described.

Small, meek and frightened.

Mchungaji then took a deep breath and returned his gaze to Ua.

“Sorry, but my people were not meant for battles or wars.” He weakly smiled but this made Us chuckle.

“And who decided that? The tree?” She smirked but Mchungaji’s smile remained.

“I did.”

Ua’s face stiffened.

“So you would decide to make an enemy of this helpless woman as well... so be it.” Ua turned to Thabiti but before she could say anything, Mchungaji spoke.

“It seems, at least to me, that the only one making their own enemies... Is you.”

Ua’s face twisted into a scowl.

“Thabiti! Kill everyone other than that man and burn his precious tree! Desperation drove me to this. Show him what I am willing to do to protect myself and my son!” She yelled as the Fire Breakers picked her up.

Thabiti’s face twisted as though he was in agony and he remained completely still even after receiving Ua’s orders.

“What are you standing there for? Kill them or I swear to Our Lady that when we return to Hatua, you will be stripped of your position, forcing your family back into starvation where we found you!” Ua screamed but all this did was make Thabiti’s eyes fill with tears.

“WE CAN’T KEEP DOING THIS, UA!” He cried.

“How many will have to die before it is enough? Do you even know why you are doing any of this anymore?” He sobbed while Ua eyed her men.

She saw that although most of them stood ready to fight, some had fear or even doubt in their eyes.

“Have my words ever been vague? Have I ever kept it a secret from any of you?” Ua whispered while gently rocking Musa back and forth as he awoke.

“I want to usher in a new age. One where we and our children are safe. Safe from hunger, cold... And thieves.” She hissed while facing Thabiti once more.

“I will fight for this new age...” Ua said while standing up.

“Even if I have to do everything myself.”

Ua gently held Musa in one hand while raising the other and as she did, her hair began to glow both purple and orange.

Purple orbs then appeared around the village of the Mbegu and I saw that they were spheres of distorted gravity and as if this wasn’t shocking enough, fireballs appeared above the orbs and they were rapidly sucked into them.

This resulted in several muffled explosions that shook the air as fireball after fireball was absorbed.

Ua looked into Mchungaji’s eyes once more before squeezing her hand into a fist and like that the gravity spheres collapsed and disappeared, allowing all the energy they stored to be released at once in a massive explosion that flattened everything from the houses to the people within them.

The only reason Ua and Musa weren’t blown away was because she had manipulated gravity to form a deflective barrier around her, Mchungaji and her men.

A wide-eyed Mchungaji looked around and flinched as the explosions tore his home apart until it became a sea of debris from which dark smoke arose.

His eyes then turned to the Mti which had been ripped in two and scorched almost all the way through.

Ua sat back down and held Musa with both of her arms as her frightened Fire Breakers carried her back to Hatua with a terrified Thabiti in tow.

I then watched as Mchungaji let out a guttural scream but what followed, I could have never imagined.

As he cried, his hair began glowing a dark red.

The blood of the dead then rose a few centimetres off the ground and since it was also mixed with dirt, it attained a dark appearance.

This phenomenon, however, lasted only for a moment and Mchungaji passed out shortly after.