The black sand hissed under Ignar's molten feet, each step sending waves of heat toward the adventurers. The skeleton soldiers and burning hounds pressed in, relentless, their eyes glowing with unnatural fire.
Aric's gaze flicked to the faint shimmer in the sand near the bubbling spring. Sacred water… the scroll said it could harm him.
"Over here!" Aric shouted, sprinting toward the spring. Liora and Kael fought to hold back the soldiers, sparks flying as metal met molten bone.
Ignar noticed the movement and roared, a sound like a volcano awakening. Rivers of fire erupted from his palms, cutting off the path. "You think a mortal trick will defeat me?" he hissed, eyes blazing.
Aric reached the spring, panting. The water glowed with a silvery-blue light, almost alive. He cupped it in his hands and hurled it toward Ignar. The water sizzled in the air, forming a cloud of steam as it met the demon's fiery form.
A howl of fury split the air. Ignar recoiled, flames flickering violently. The soldiers faltered, their movements jerky and uncoordinated. The sacred water burned through the fire wraith's defenses, revealing the first true vulnerability of the demon.
"Now!" Liora shouted. She charged through the thinning ranks, her sword cutting through a skeletal warrior. Kael followed, hurling chains at the burning hounds and knocking them into the steam cloud.
Ignar tried to retaliate, slamming his fists into the sand, sending molten geysers into the air. But the sacred water hissed wherever it touched him, weakening his form and scattering the soldiers.
Aric, seeing an opening, focused all the water in the spring, creating a small surge that surged up Ignar's chest. The demon shrieked, smoke and flame twisting violently, until with a final roar, he dissolved into a cloud of embers.
The ground settled. The air was thick with steam and ash, and the skeleton soldiers collapsed into inert piles of bone. The spring still shimmered, calm now, a reminder of the island's secrets and dangers.
"We did it," Kael breathed, exhausted but alive. "The first demon… defeated."
Liora wiped sweat and soot from her face. "And this is only the beginning. Nine more islands… nine more trials."
Aric looked toward the volcano, where the sky was still tinged red with smoke. "Then let's move. Demon Island isn't done testing us."
The adventurers took a moment to catch their breath, knowing that each riddle solved and each demon defeated brought them closer to the ultimate challenge: the Timeless Lord, Xerath.
The first trial had been survived, but the journey across the Riddles of Demon Islands had only just begun.