(Three cloaked figures stand under a furious, swirling sky. The sand beneath their feet shifts as if in response to the tension in their voices. Far in the distance, a volcano rumbles ominously, sending ash into the air.)

SEGASH: It is known that the birth of a star is supposed to be violent, explosive!

(Segash’s eyes narrow, his voice filled with conviction as the sky above flashes with distant lightning.)

IDASH: The birth or the death?

(Idash clenches his fists as he speaks, his body rigid, like a man ready to fight or flee.)

EGASH: Indeed, it’s hard to tell sometimes, this one especially…

(The ground trembles under Egash’s feet, but he doesn’t move, staring ahead with eyes full of defiance. The horizon darkens with smoke.)

SEGASH: One thing must end before another begins… Isn’t that the essence and law-abiding nature of everything in the world?

(Segash’s voice rises, almost daring the universe to challenge him. The sand stirs violently at his feet.)

IDASH: Don’t know and don’t care. If you see a volcano exploding, you don’t stand there to understand why… you just run.

(Idash spits the words out, his voice as sharp as the jagged rocks that surround them. In the distance, the volcano explodes, a sudden burst of red against the sky.)

EGASH: Run where, exactly? Not even sure if we ever got to cross that bridge. Feels like it, but I don’t even remember doing it.

(Egash glares at the horizon, where the remnants of a bridge are barely visible through the ash and smoke.)

SEGASH: That is irrelevant. If we feel like it, then it’s what matters the most. Now we must strive to leave such desertic lands and try to find the road we must be on.

(He gestures toward the horizon, where the landscape is jagged and harsh, lit by the glow of distant fires. His voice is hard, unyielding.)

IDASH: Yes, we are too exposed. Divided, we fall.

(Idash’s eyes flicker with anger as he surveys the land around them, his voice full of frustration.)

EGASH: Well, I suppose we shouldn’t perish in the sand. That is for time and clocks.

(Egash kicks at the shifting sand, his voice bitter as the ground below shifts again, threatening to pull them under.)

EGASH: But how? It’s not like we have a beacon of light, a lighthouse, an oasis on the horizon. We are lost, aren’t we? (Egash’s voice is filled with exasperation as he waves a hand toward the desolate, ash-filled landscape. His gaze flickers to the collapsing horizon.)

SEGASH: Yes, we are. But that doesn’t mean we can’t come up with a light on the horizon ourselves. Lighthouses were all built by man, after all. I’d say we’re more than able to invent one.

(Segash’s voice booms as the wind howls in response, a violent gust that stirs the ash around them.)

IDASH: Aye.

(Idash grunts, his arms crossed as if bracing himself against the storm growing around them.)

IDASH: We should stay on this road. It’s flat, clear, paved. There’s no reason to risk any other path.

(His voice is sharp, commanding, as though refusing to allow any debate. The ground below trembles again.)

SEGASH: I agree! This is the path that has been trailed before, with a clear beginning, middle, and end. It has been presented to us. It is a gift to be taken. It’s the right thing to do!

(Segash’s voice rises to match the crackle of the distant volcano, his conviction unshakeable as the earth shakes beneath their feet.)

EGASH: You two have been agreeing way too much… Does that mean anything? Should I be worried or relieved? Anyway, let’s walk then…

(Egash’s voice is laced with sarcasm, but there’s an edge of unease as he stares into the glowing horizon. Ash begins to fall around them.)

SEGASH: I present to you, undoubtedly, the steps and the way to bigger things, better things. Up is the way, and so we must tread.

(Segash strides forward, his cloak billowing behind him as the wind picks up, carrying embers with it. The sand begins to crackle under their feet.)

IDASH: This is not a road anymore. Something stirs.

(Idash’s voice is taut, his eyes narrowing as he feels the change in the air. The ground seems to shift unnaturally, as if preparing for something worse.)

EGASH: I feel it too, but where does it come from?

(Egash looks around, his brow furrowed as the first flames appear in the distance, spreading across the land.)

IDASH: It doesn’t matter. When you catch a disease, you treat it, you don’t wonder where it came from.

(Idash’s voice is cold, practical, as the fire begins to roar toward them. His fists clench, ready for the inevitable.)

EGASH: Why are you so quiet? (Egash looks at Segash with growing frustration, his voice tense as the flames grow larger.)

SEGASH: Fear has taken the best of us. Our ability to see, to think, to follow a path that, minutes ago, was the right one. We all agreed.

(Segash’s voice is softer now, but the anger lingers. Behind him, the flames rise, hungry, devouring the ground beneath their feet.)

EGASH: Weren’t you the one arguing that something must end before something else is created? (Egash’s words are sharp, cutting through the roar of the approaching fire.)

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

SEGASH: Not like this. I cannot see the end of it. The reason is lost to me, there is just this bubbling.

(The flames flicker in Segash’s eyes, his voice betraying uncertainty for the first time as the ground cracks beneath them.)

IDASH: The road became a maze, and the maze is about to be in flames. We should avoid it. We all can see the smoke.

(Idash speaks with urgency, pointing toward the sky where thick black smoke billows. The maze of cracks spreads underfoot.)

SEGASH: When a fire this hot burns, not even the sand we stood on could stop it.

(Segash’s voice is grim, the fire reflected in his eyes as it swirls toward them.)

EGASH: I don’t see reason in it anymore either, but it can’t be stopped now.

(Egash looks at the sky, where ash and flames are carried by the wind, unstoppable, growing closer.)

IDASH: What’s done is done. There’s nothing to see but flames and smoke. We should hide now.

(Idash’s voice is hard, resigned, as he watches the fire draw nearer, the heat already palpable.)

EGASH: Hide in pain and shame of what we have done?

(Egash’s voice breaks with anger, his fists clenched as he glares into the flames.)

IDASH: It had to be done. Survival is a beast that must be unleashed.

(Idash’s words are cold and final, spoken without hesitation. The ground begins to burn.)

SEGASH: There is always a way that is not this of smoke and flames.

(Segash speaks almost to himself, his voice quiet but filled with frustration as the fire roars around them.)

EGASH: Flames are the deadliest, uncontrolled beast of all actions, but no one could contain it. The blaze, the spark, the ember was not our fault… Should the consequences of it be? I don’t think so, but it feels like it should.

(Egash’s voice rises with anger as the fire rages, licking at their cloaks.)

IDASH: What should we have done then? Exploded ourselves? Wouldn’t things burn anyway?

(Idash snaps, his voice harsh and biting, as flames swirl higher. The fire is inevitable now.)

EGASH: JUST STOP! SHUT UP FOR A MINUTE, WILL YOU? Let’s just hide our tears in the smoke and frown for what we’ve done.

(Egash’s shout cuts through the roar of the fire. His face is twisted with fury as the fire engulfs the landscape around them.)

SEGASH: Very well then. Let time burn itself up for a while, before we rejoin the struggle and walk on grains of seconds and dunes of hours.

(Segash’s voice is resigned, as if speaking to the flames themselves as they encircle them, the sand now molten at their feet.)

SEGASH: We should try at least to find some meaning here… the reason for being here now… That may be the essence and the recipe to light up the darkness.

(His words are soft, lost in the crackle of the flames, as the fire burns hotter and hotter.)

IDASH: Shut up for a while. We’re all hurt and need a bit to rest.

(Idash’s voice is cold, his eyes fixed on the inferno, his patience gone. The flames rage on, relentless.)

SEGASH: …

(Segash falls silent as the flames consume everything around them.)

SEGASH: This has gone on for too long…

(The anger boils under his voice, the fire reflecting in his eyes as the flames rage around them.)

EGASH: SHUT UP! THERE’S NO ESSENCE TO ANYTHING, THERE’S JUST THIS—THIS DARKNESS. IT’S EITHER THIS NOTHINGNESS OR CHAOS. THAT’S IT!

(Egash screams, his voice raw with fury, as the fire roars back in response. The heat becomes unbearable.)

IDASH: We have to face it. We have to, otherwise we won’t survive. Whatever bubbled and stirred had to be ablaze. Now we remain strong.

(Idash stands tall, defiant against the flames, his voice sharp and determined.)

IDASH: So move! Like beasts as we are now, ahead! Charge, throttle, gallop, whatever it is, let’s keep moving ahead.

(He shouts over the roar of the fire, as if trying to outrun the flames that encircle them.)

IDASH: Eyes on the road. Don’t look around too much. The flames were not us. We knew what we had to do and we did it. No more illusions. No more delusion.

(Idash’s voice is harsh, unyielding as he glares into the horizon where the fire burns brightest.)

EGASH: Are we back to where we were?

(Egash speaks, his voice strained, as the flames dance around them, licking at their heels.)

IDASH: Yes, but it got only worse. Now it burns hot under our feet. Such is the effect of time wasted on your endless lamenting.

(Idash snaps, his frustration spilling over as the ground cracks beneath them, the fire burning hotter still.)

SEGASH: There is something new on the horizon…

(Segash whispers, his eyes distant, as if searching for hope amidst the destruction.)

EGASH: SHUT UP! There’s only us, there’s nothing left. There has never been anything else, and I’m not quite sure what is worse.

(Egash’s voice is filled with fury and despair, his eyes ablaze as the flames draw closer.)

IDASH: It’s violence either way. In this world, survival is violence, and so is death.

(Idash’s voice is cold, final, as the flames swirl higher around them, as if waiting to consume them.)

EGASH: It looks more like exploding and dying, no?

(Egash’s voice is bitter, his anger palpable as the world seems to collapse around them.)

SEGASH: LOOK, there is indeed. No greater beauty than the birth of a guiding star.

(Segash’s voice is soft, almost reverent, as he stares into the distance where the fire burns brightest, a flicker of something new within the blaze.)