Qing stumbled backwards, his heart pounding in his chest as he regained his balance, sweat pouring down his face.

Then he leaned out, supporting himself on the wall as he stared at the hundreds of bodies plummeting into the sea of lava. He leaned out and glanced up at the sky. There was no sun, just a merciless daylight like in Zylphadia's desert. He squinted, trying to discern the origin of the bodies, but they seemed to materialise from thin air to tumble into the sea of molten lava.

His gaze swept across the infernal landscape. The lava sea stretched as far as he could see, its surface a churning mass of red and orange, punctuated by occasional geysers of flame. Scattered across the fiery expanse were tiny islands of blackened rock, more like overgrown rocks than islands. Upon each sat a weird looking demon.

Across the lava glided venetian-style gondolas. He glanced at the closest one, seeing it piloted by a monstrous creature with sinewy arms and scaly skin. With a long, hooked pole, it fished something from the molten sea, dragging it into the boat before pushing its way towards an island. Screams of agony filled the air.

In the distance, a massive volcano, large enough to make the Japanese jealous, loomed, its peak surrounded by a dark ring of smoke and lightning.

Okay. I found purgatory. Yey. Now, what the heck am I supposed to do?

The heat was oppressive to a level where he struggled to breathe, and he was quite confident in his inability to survive molten lava.

He opened the quest log and stared at the objective.

[Obtain a vial of greater demon ichor]

"How am I supposed to find a great demon among all of these?"

Lets start by asking nicely.

Qing steeled himself, taking a deep breath before leaping out into the scorching air. He blinked rapidly, teleporting from one spot to another until he reached the closest island, slamming down on the blackened rock, his legs absorbing the impact.

The heat was like a living force, beating against him. He checked his health, and it hadn't dropped. Maybe his fire resistance helped just enough to keep him from immolating.

Qing turned his attention to the demonic magistrate perched on the island, a grotesque figure with multiple eyes and twisted horns, sitting on a wooden chair, writing in a massive tome, resting on a wooden table.

"Hey, erh… friend? I'm looking for some answer," Qing said, but the demon continued its work, seemingly oblivious to his presence.

Undeterred, Qing pressed on. "Where can I find a greater demon? I need… to speak to it."

About harvesting its ichor.

No response.

"Hey. I'm talking to you," Qing said, approaching. "What's the deal with all these souls falling into the lava? Are you judging them?"

Silence.

"The massive volcano, is that where the greater demons are?"

The magistrate didn't even flinch.

Sweat pouring down… everywhere, frustration mounted, but Qing tried one more time. Nobody was going to accuse him of not being diplomatic. He'd learned how important that could be when dealing with the Alchemancer.

"Can you at least tell me who you are?"

The demon's continued indifference pushed Qing to his limit. He raised his glaive, its edge glinting in the hellish light.

"Fine. I don't have time for this. Tell me where I can get a vial of greater demon ichor, or I'm going to chop your head off and see if you don't drop one yourself," Qing said, preparing to strike.

It ignored him.

But just as he was about to bring the glaive down, a desperate voice called out, "Please, stop!"

Qing turned to find a gondola approaching, its grotesque pilot staring straight ahead. Inside lay a figure that made Qing's stomach churn. It was a human, or what remained of one, burned beyond recognition. The skin had been seared away, leaving raw nerves exposed. The only thing seemingly intact was its eyeballs, staring unblinkingly at him.

"Wait!" the burned husk cried out, its voice raspy and pained.

Qing hesitated, his weapon still poised. "Who… what are you?" he asked, unable to hide the revulsion in his voice.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"Isolde," the figure said, voice weak. "My name is Isolde."

As the gondola glided to a halt next to the island, the gondolier grabbed her by a leg and tossed her onto the island.

She groaned as she hit, but rolled over, crawling towards Qing.

"Where did you come from?" Qing pressed, his eyes fixed on those unblinking orbs. He couldn't help but think how torturous it must be, unable to close one's eyes to the horrors of this place.

"Please, don't attack the magistrate before it has judged me." Her voice quivered. "And I don't know where I came from. I just woke up screaming, falling into this sea of lava. And I've been here as long as I can. It has been ages. Please, I don't care anymore what comes next. I just want it to stop hurting. To stop burning."

Qing looked between her and the demon, perched on its wooden chair. "Judges you? For what?"

Isolde sighed, and forced the words out, yet it seemed as if she wanted to tell her story one last time. "I was a midwife with the Werdas tribe. We roamed the desert. Life was wonderful. Until the day I was captured in a raid and forced to swear an oath of fealty to my captors. They gave me to the chieftain's son. I... I killed him in his sleep, avenging my tribe, before drinking poison."

"And that brought you to hell?" Qing's brow furrowed and he looked around, searching for an ambush. "How did you get out of the lava?"

"You just need to raise your hand," Isolde said, "and they come get you."

"But you said you've been here ages? Why not leave earlier?" Qing asked.

At that, the magistrate finally spoke, a dry rasp, as if an archivist had crawled from the depths of corporate hell to utter its first words in a century.

"Our pure and glorious heat has burned away at her sin, giving her a chance to atone. Now she will be judged, and we will see if she burned long enough to balance the scales… or not."

"What happens if she has?" Qing asked.

The magistrate's gaze remained fixed on Isolde, "She will be sent to the Shadow Realm."

Qing's ears perked up. A potential lead for the next part of his quest. "Where does that lay?"

"South of the Fields of Fallen Grace," the magistrate said, its tone indifferent.

A wave of relief washed over Qing. He could get there. He had feared it would be located across the barrier, leaving him stuck. But, that was for later.

Another question nagged at him. "And... what happens to her if she has not?"

The magistrate's face split into a horrifying grin. Teeth made from lava, covered in a thin layer of blackened soot that shifted across them, peered forth from its abnormally large mouth. "The volcano will have her, searing the rest of her humanity from her soul, prepared to be reincarnated as a demon."

Another piece of how hell worked settled into place for Qing. "She'll be sent to the demon hatchery?"

The magistrate frowned, but nodded. "Yes."

Qing struggled to hold back his grin.

Wonder how long it'll take before they figure out their volcano'll get stuffed.

"Why this question?" the magistrate asked.

Qing shrugged. "No reason. Just curious."

The magistrate shook its head before its eyes flared with hellfire and it turned its full attention to Isolde.

"Isolde of the Werdas," the magistrate said, voice booming across the lava sea. "Your time of purging has come to an end. Face your judgment."

Isolde forced herself up, straightening as much as her burned body allowed, as the demon waved its hand, and a set of fiery images appeared in the air around them, like coloured holograms.

A mix of fascination and horror filled Qing's stomach as they watched key points from Isolde's all to short life play out like a macabre film, culminating in her stabbing her forced husband to be to death before poisoning herself, spewing blood and guts across the floor with a twisted smile on her face.

On the magistrate's table stood a set of scales. Every now and then an arrow materialised on one side or the other, black and white, tipping the scales back and forth, and Qing found himself rooting for her.

Then the images flickered and disappeared, just for the scales to settle into a perfect balance. The demon slapped the tool from its desk, sending it flying into the lava. "It's broken!" it said.

"Huh," Qing said, scratching his head and glancing at Isolde. "This happen often?"

“Aeons I have been here," the demon said. "Never once…” It turned rage-filled eyes at Qing. “You! You have caused this. You must be purged.”

Qing stepped back and raised his glaive.

"How about you give me a vial of greater demon ichor and I'll be out of your hair." Sweat trickled down his back. "But, if you attack, I will strike you down."

The magistrate chuckled. "Strike me down? You would do me such a favour?" The demon unfurled from its seat, growing to giant proportions. "Slay me, oh bearer of judgement. See how your blade does in purgatory!" It laughed, cackling madly as it rose to five times Qing's height.

The magistrate kicked and Quick Reflexes proc'ed, with Qing twisting out of the way. An insane heat radiated from the demon's form, seeming to burn hotter than the lava at Qing's back.

Qing turned to Isolde, preparing to blink away. "Have you ever of such a vial?"

"I-"

Before she could answer, the magistrate grabbed her, her flesh sizzling. "I judge you," it said, leaning back. "And find you… wanting!" It hurled her towards the distant volcano.

In that split second, Qing made his decision. He cast Blink, teleporting after Isolde's flying form, leaving the enraged magistrate behind on its tiny island. As he blinked through the scorching air, the massive volcano loomed ever closer, its ominous presence growing with each teleportation.

With each blink, gravity pulled that little bit harder, and Qing started falling, fast. But, he spotted Isolde's burned form hurtling through the air, her trajectory aimed straight for the volcano's gaping maw.

With a final blink, Qing appeared ahead in Isolde's path. He had barely a moment to register his position before her body slammed into him. The impact knocked the wind from his lungs, sending them both tumbling through the air. Qing's world spun, a dizzying blur of red and black as he plummeted towards the volcano's opening.

Isolde's momentum had been stopped, and she tumbled towards the volcano's rocky side. But Qing was knocked over the lip, looking straight down at the bubbling lava below.

The heat intensified, becoming murderous, and his skin started bubbling, covering his body in a mind-numbing pain. Every cell in his body screamed in agony.

A primal scream tore from him, the sound lost in the roar of the volcano and the rushing wind as he cast blink. And again. And again. Fighting to get out of the volcano, but he fell so fast, and he could barely see.

He'd faced death before, but this was a new level of horror. The heat so intense his very essence was seared away. His metal armour melted, his hair long since disappeared.

He cast blink, on the edge of blacking out.

Once more.

Once…