“Hold on. Did they just fight a… road?”

“Naturally.”

“But Dad, how does one… fight… a… road?”

“Why - with weapons, my dear. Throw in some Spells, a pinch of punching too and you are the winner! But do you want to know where did the path bring our heroes to?”

“Of course!”

*****

And so, Imeera and Proi went on their way towards the dancing mountains. No matter how much time had passed, no matter how long their path was, the mountains were no closer nor further, showing off their moves for all the travellers passed by.

But the peaceful pattern came undone in an instant. The treacherous Sun emerged from the cloud of slime, riding the thousand-miles long caterpillar. The delirious laughter thundered, as the Mother-Sky bathed in crimson red colour that cowardly Sun splashed around from its black bucket.

“Perceive me, obtrusive heroes! For I have taken your Sky as my own! Your nature is dwindling, your existence is felony! Seek me if you Will, or perish into the land!”

So said the cowardly Sun, refusing to descent all the while. It covered the land in its daemonic laughter and dived behind the dancing mountains.

But the red light did not leave with its ruler. The sky was bloodily bright and thirsty for the painting of violence.

Such is the life in this land.

They walked for flesh of thought and the Milk Bridge spiralled up into Mother-Sky. The river of flames streamed against itself in front of them, shores so close that one could step over to the other side in a state of repose. But only folly could agitate the one to make this lunatic act.

The flames have no mercy for a fool.

Proi leeched the Bridge with his eyes. The Bridge spit some Milk at the kin.

“Tasty…”

“You can’t taste it, friend. Don’t let the land fool you. But who would this be?”

The figure presented itself on the Bridge. Big and wide, with a thin crescent for a head, in a leather jacket and combat boots, he planted himself right at the beginning of the spiral.

“Me?! Tremble and scram, worm! I am Waxing M. Crescent, the Moon Deliverer! My divine name spills across the flesh soil of this accursed creation! You shall not cross this river until I stand on this Bridge!”

“We will pass one way or another, Crescent! The Sun awaits for us!”

The Deliverer’s head shone brightly.

“Come and take me, then!”

By a single swing of the cane, the land was split in half. Waxing stood as the world stood, untroubled.

Worms floated to the surface from the crack, painted into a pale veil of unliving. Millions of them, big and small, all speared to the Deliverer to make cheese out of him.

Waxing stood as the world stood, unmoving.

Proi tossed a bone at him.

Waxing stood… well, you get the idea.

Nothing in this accursed world could move the moon from its place.

“What do we do, master? This man is untouchable!”

“Nobody is untouchable, young kin! He hasn’t flinched from the spot since!”

A thought invaded Proi’s thinking space.

“I know what to do, master!”

So said the young kin. It fell to its knees and drank the entire Bridge in a moment.

Waxing M. Crescent glanced beneath him.

“Well done, you scoundrels! Now, cross the river without the Bridge!”

He shouted with laughter and flames devoured him then.

Imeera and Proi followed his demise with their vision.

“Master, we have no bridge!”

“That is not an issue, friend. We have to move forward regardless.”

So said the giant and followed the shore into the lands unknown, with Proi nodding and walking after his master.

*****

“You said leather jacket?”

“Yes.”

“...And combat boots?”

“Yes.”

“...What kind of ancient myth is that?! Where did you get this, even?!”

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

“You see, my dear Ariya, I went into another faraway place and-”

“Did you write it yourself, after stocking up from a dealer on Red Hills?”

“No! Deities take me, no! This is real and proper, believe me, my dear!”

“...I guess.”

“Wait. How do you know about dealers at the Red Hills?”

“...”

“Ariya? Anything you wish to tell me?”

*****

The first step in this land answered Imeera with the sound of squelching.

The second step answered with the sound of crunching.

The ground was an ocean of pale hands. The horizon was a wound in the sky.

The river of flames flowed underneath the hands and waved its goodbye. The travellers waved back.

No matter how much time had passed, the giant and the clay-painted kin stumbled onto the usual picture.

A piece of meat, hung on linen ropes and a stick. A group of dead purple crocodiles teemed around it, praying and worshipping.

As it was a completely normal occurrence in this land, Imeera and Proi marched past and went on their merry way. That is, until one of the worshippers plastered itself in front of them.

“Do give me a pinch of your attention, travellers!”

Imeera stepped over the crocodile on the ground, but Proi gave him a listen.

Big mistake.

“Thank you, kind stranger! This is the last piece of meat we have from Father-Earth and the abhorrent envoy of the Sun is intent on taking it from us! Please, would you be so kind to-”

“Proi, no need to waste the precious time we have!”

“But master, these creatures…”

The giant tapped on the ground with his cane. The land was shaken. The dead crocodiles too.

“The Sun has not patience and chivalry! The coward will drown the world bloodily! Leave the lost behind, we can’t help them anymore!”

Young kin grabbed his master by the middle.

“I beg you, master! The envoy belongs to Sun, why would we leave him behind us to backstab?!”

The sigh was all that the giant could provide.

But shards of wisdom were apparent in the reason. The land blesses not the one who wins, but the one who survives. The Death will always claim what it needs.

And so, they both set forth to hunt the envoy of their nemesis.

Their search took but a moment.

The Hole glared at them. Sharp teeth were dancing around, inviting curious beings inside.

Imeera knocked on the closest tooth.

“We came to see the envoy of the Sun!”

The Hole grinned in rage. The teeth marched, impaling themselves into the soft insides. The spiral pathway was formed into the depths beneath the hands.

They left behind the devastation of red and descended into the abyss below.

The earth proposed its welcome, pulsing all around them. The hands reached out to the travellers, blue veins wormed their way closer. The stagnant nature of the land pressed Proi into the dreadful abyss.

Its master didn’t even slow down.

Their descent stopped thousands of miles deep. The gate of gold and starry patterns flexed in front of them, put on black glasses and inquired with a voice of a winter’s howl.

“Password?”

“The Sun is a coward!”

And the gates furrowed their brows, ripped themselves off the hinges and surrounded the travellers.

“You need to learn some respect, eh? I’ll squash you so hard, your mama won’t remember your face!”

“What does ‘mama’ mean, master?”

The giant shrugged.

“No idea, friend. But the path is open, move ahead!” said Imeera and tapped his cane.

The cracks appeared below each gate. The twins glanced down in bewilderment.

“You trickster! Shame on you!”

They both fell down the closest holes. Imeera laughed and shut the cracks.

They entered the place with style. Proi got the glasses from the ground.

And what the place it was, you think?…

The pit of vanity and greed, of course!

Wheels, cards, roulette games!

Slots and pool tables, all gold and silver decorated!

The sounds of bling and desire attacked them from all directions. Imeera swung his cane at once. Half of the sounds were no more.

Proi ripped the slot machine from its stand and tossed it forward. Half of the sounds were no more.

They cleaned the floor with no time wasted.

Dead crocodiles were so enveloped by the promises of prizes, the crowd gave no attention to invaders.

A crimson curtain stood in a way of travellers, with a golden stage behind it. When they approached, it grew in size and asked,

“Who dares? The First does not accept visitors!”

Proi roared.

“The First is leeching on the souls! Show your face, you cowardly parasite!”

The curtain blinked.

“The First does answer, but to the rich! Earn billion of souls and I will then appear!”

Now, how would one go about this gargantuan task? But Imeera and Proi were determined in their mission. The solution soon arrived.

They found a planet at the table. The rock had won a sum of dreams, one million souls. No other patron could brag the same.

“Excuse me, planet? We want to meet the First!” Proi exclaimed.

“The First? I want him too,” the planet growled.

“Why not join our wits together?”

The planet nodded.

“Call me Pluto. It is impossible to earn a billion. This place is rigged.”

They shared some glances. How would they get the souls, then?

“You know the way, Pluto?”

“Of course. The guards have souls in the abundance. Let’s beat them up!”

The guards were living cards of gold.

“Who goes there?”

“Pluto, the planet that was once rejected. I came to beat the souls from you!”

The golden card had grinned sharply.

“Let’s see if you can beat the chances, worm!”

The card had rolled a silver die. It landed on a six.

The casino turned upside down.

“What kind of trickery is this?!”

“They use the rules against us! We need that die destroyed!”

“Just that? Watch me, heathens!”

Imeera clapped all four together. The flame of blue rose up. It ate through slots, through cards and tables, erasing the silver die away.

Now that the danger was limboed swiftly, they beat the golden cards with fury. One billion souls were gathered in haste.

They gathered near the curtain.

“We came again! We have the souls!”

It growled and moved away. The person stood behind it. It had half of Moon as head, in a suit with bow-tie, all black and red.

He coughed and sang:

“O, why you are here, scum of earth?

To free the slaves of greed?

They chose their own fates to earn,

You should just leave them be.”

“We’re here to get them back, that’s true. But who are you to say? Barred in your little hole all day, you are nothing, but a parasite to squash!”

Proi screamed his earnest words. The First smiled.

“So be it.”

The instruments had jumped on the scene. A guitar, drum and piano, all ready for a fight. The guitar played its part and got the sounds to appear. The drum cracked his knuckles. And piano had two sticks to cut the scum.

“Play the music!”

Under jazz, two forces clashed. Proi lifted the guitar up and smashed the sounds it just created. The guitar screamed through all the violence.

The silver giant played with the piano. The cuts of light had ruptured space around and above. For all the good that sticks could do, the cane of ages was leagues above. One lucky smash - and instrument was toast.

The drum exchanged some punches with Pluto. Hook - right - left, a sneaky kick and fainting posing. Nothing could’ve phased the rock. He waited for a moment, and boom - he bodyslammed the wrench so hard, the scene turned into dust around.

The only one left standing was the culprit. The First inhaled.

The place around him shook. The casino disappeared.

The fight was not yet done, no sir. The beast of horrors grew from the surface - its face like a maw, with piano keys for teeth of nightmares. He roared and lifted hands to the sky.

“Watch me! Sun! How easy it’d be to crush them!”

He pulled the trombone from the earth beneath and blew his anger out. This moment, the notes became the lethal stakes, flying at the speed of sound.

The poor Proi got demolished. Oh well. At least the rest were standing.

Imeera and Pluto saw the wave and jumped into evading. The stakes had pierced the land and sunk into the flesh. The silver giant grabbed his cane and froze in place, waiting.

The First reached his hand for an easy target. Imeera burst in flames.

The beast then screamed, the pain unwieldy. Pluto took the chance - he grabbed the bone from earth accursed, and threw it into a threat.

In instant, half of moon got pierced. The First fell down. The land had sucked him in.

Thus was this foe then finished, forever freeing souls he claimed.