The boundary between Sector 8 (The Core Jungle) and Sector 9 (The Magma Sea) was not a line on a map. It was a wall of heat.
Varian stood on the reinforced observation deck of the Iron Sovereign, watching the world burn.
Behind them lay the jungle—a chaotic, verdant green. Ahead of them, the trees turned to stone. The massive Titan-Oaks had been petrified eons ago, their trunks transformed into jagged pillars of black obsidian and red quartz. The air shimmered with heat haze, distorting the horizon into a dancing mirage of orange and black.
[Environmental Warning: Sector 9.][Ambient Temperature: 65°C (149°F).][Atmosphere: High Sulfur Content. Oxygen Depleted.][Gravity: 1.3x Standard.]
"My skin feels tight," Gorgon grumbled, standing beside Varian. The giant was rubbing his stone arms. The heat here was so intense that the moisture in the air evaporated instantly, leaving skin dry and cracking. Even Gorgon's granite hide was beginning to flake. "This isn't just hot, Boss. It's... heavy."
"It's the pressure," Varian said, wiping sweat from his brow. Even with his Soul Soldier constitution and the Hydra Heart regulating his vitals, he felt like he was standing inside an oven. "We are close to the Core. The magnetic field down here is strong enough to scramble radar."
Varian tapped his earpiece. The static hiss was deafening.
"Scrap-Jack," Varian said, his voice tight. "Tell me the retrofit is done. If we try to drive treads on molten rock, we'll melt in five minutes."
"I'm working on it!" Scrap-Jack's voice screamed back, sounding stressed. "Do you know how hard it is to reverse the polarity of a Geothermal Core without blowing us all to kingdom come? I'm essentially trying to turn a nuclear reactor into a magnet!"
"How long?"
"Two hours! And tell Rix to stop chewing on the coolant lines! He says they taste like mint ice cream!"
Varian sighed. He turned back to the view.
Below the cliff they were parked on, the Magma Sea stretched out infinitely.
It wasn't a flat lake of lava. It was a churning, violent ocean. Waves of molten rock, twenty feet high, crashed against islands of black basalt. Geysers of superheated gas erupted randomly, spraying liquid fire into the smoky sky.
"It's beautiful," Silas murmured, walking up to the railing. He was twirling his bone cane, but his usual smirk was gone. His vampire bat, Nosferatu, was hiding inside his coat, wrapping its wings around itself to preserve moisture. "In a 'we are all going to die' sort of way."
"The Dragon King lives in that?" Varian asked, looking at the distant, jagged silhouette of a volcano rising from the sea.
"He doesn't just live in it," Silas said. "He is it. King Leomon said the Dragon is 'Old World'. That means he predates the Symbiotes. He might be an elemental spirit. Or a biological weapon that forgot its off-switch."
Silas looked at Varian.
"You really think we can kill a god, Varian? We barely survived the Angel. And the Angel was just a machine."
Varian gripped the railing. The metal was hot to the touch.
"We don't have to kill him," Varian said quietly. "We just need the Key. The Heart Key."
"And you think he keeps it on a shelf?" Silas scoffed. "He's a Dragon. He probably keeps it in his stomach."
Two hours later, the vibration of the ship changed.
The deep, rhythmic thrum of the diesel engine cut out. It was replaced by a high-pitched, whining hum that vibrated in the teeth of every soldier on board.
HUMMMMMMM.
"Ladies and Gentlemen!" Scrap-Jack's voice boomed over the PA, sounding exhausted but triumphant. "Welcome to the maiden voyage of the Hover-Sovereign. Please keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle, unless you want them char-broiled."
Underneath the massive chassis of the land-ship, heavy blast plates slid open.
The Geothermal Core—the massive, glowing reactor they had stolen from the factory—lowered.
The Architect, who had assisted in the modification, adjusted the frequency.
" engaging Repulsor Fields," The Architect muttered, typing commands with his three hands. "Inverting magnetic polarity... Now."
WHOOM.
A wave of blue energy blasted downward from the ship.
It hit the bedrock. The sheer magnetic force pushed back.
The 5,000-ton Iron Sovereign groaned. Then, slowly, agonizingly, it lifted.
Dust swirled. Rocks cracked.
The treads lifted six feet off the ground. The massive ship hovered, suspended on a cushion of magnetic force.
"Stabilizers holding at 98%," Iron-Jaw reported from the bridge. "Energy consumption is high, but the ambient heat of the lava should actually recharge the core as we go. It's a self-sustaining loop."
"Genius," Varian whispered. "Alright. Let's surf."
The Sovereign drifted forward. It moved smoother than it ever had on treads. It glided over the cliff edge and out over the magma.
The heat spiked instantly.
Inside the ship, the temperature rose to 40°C. The Dregs stripped off their armor, pouring water over their heads. The air conditioning units screamed, pushing red-lined limits.
Varian stayed on the deck. He activated the Abyssal Armor, sealing himself inside the cool, void-infused suit.
He looked down.
The lava was ten feet below them. It bubbled and popped. The heat radiating off it was a physical force, buffering the ship like wind.
"Keep a watch on the radar!" Varian ordered. "Sonar won't work in lava. We are flying blind."
"Radar is fuzzy," Rix reported from the crow's nest (now enclosed in heat-shielded glass). "Too much static. Rix sees... ghosts on the screen."
"Ghosts?"
"Moving bumps. Under the lava. Fast. Very fast."
Varian narrowed his eyes behind his visor.
[Genetic Archivist Scan.][Medium: Molten Rock.][Density: High.][Life Signs: Detected.]
"Something is down there," Varian warned. "Gorgon, get the Vanguard to the rails. Harpoon guns ready."
For an hour, they drifted across the burning ocean. The only sound was the hum of the repulsor engine and the hiss-pop of lava bubbles.
Tension was a wire pulled tight.
"I don't like this," Lady Venom hissed. She was inside the bridge, monitoring the chemical sensors. "The sulfur levels just spiked. Something is disturbing the sediment at the bottom of the lava flow."
"How deep is it?" Varian asked.
"Two hundred meters. Maybe more."
Suddenly, the ship lurched.
It wasn't a wave. It was a shove. Something had slammed into the bottom of the magnetic field.
"Stabilizers fluctuating!" Scrap-Jack yelled. "We lost 5% lift on the port side!"
Varian ran to the port railing.
The lava below was churning. A wake—a massive V-shaped ripple—was cutting through the molten rock, matching the ship's speed.
"It's following us," Varian realized.
Then, the lava exploded.
A fin breached the surface.
It wasn't a shark fin made of cartilage. It was a dorsal fin made of jagged, black obsidian, glowing with veins of internal fire. It was three meters tall.
Then another fin. And another.
A pack.
"Contact!" Varian roared. "Port side!"
The lava erupted as the beast leaped.
It was a Magma-Shark.
But "Shark" was too small a word. It was the size of a school bus. Its skin was plated rock armor. Its mouth was a cavern of spinning, diamond teeth. Trails of lava dripped from its gills.
[Enemy Encounter.][Subject: Magma-Maw (Warrior Rank - Peak).][Attributes: Thermal Immunity / Rock Skin / Pack Tactics.]
The beast soared through the air, aiming for the deck of the Sovereign.
"Fire!" Gorgon screamed.
The Vanguard opened up with the harpoon cannons.
THUNK-THUNK.
Steel spears struck the shark mid-air. They sparked off its rock skin, failing to penetrate.
"Armor is too thick!"
The shark crashed onto the deck.
CRUNCH.
The impact crumpled steel plating. The shark thrashed, its superheated body melting the deck instantly. It snapped its jaws, catching a Dreg soldier.
The soldier didn't even scream. He ignited. The heat of the shark's mouth incinerated him in seconds.
"Back! Get back!" Varian ordered.
He charged.
"Sun-Piercer! Frost Mode!"
He needed to cool the beast down to make it brittle.
The spear glowed blue. Varian thrust it at the shark's flank.
HISSS-CRACK.
The ice energy hit the magma skin. Thermal shock detonated. A massive chunk of the shark's armor shattered, exposing glowing red flesh beneath.
The shark roared—a sound like a volcano erupting. It whipped its tail, hitting Varian.
BAM.
Varian slid across the melting deck. His Abyssal Armor absorbed the impact, but the heat transfer warning flashed red in his HUD.
"Gorgon! Hammer!"
Gorgon charged. He was in his element. The heat fueled him. The Crimson Paladin armor was glowing bright red, syncing with the environment.
"Smash!" Gorgon bellowed.
He brought his hammer down on the exposed, shattered spot Varian had created.
SPLAT.
The hammer crushed the shark's spine. Lava-blood sprayed everywhere, melting the boots of nearby soldiers.
The shark stopped thrashing.
"One down!" Gorgon cheered.
"Don't celebrate!" Venom's voice cut over the comms. "Look at the radar! That was just the scout!"
Varian looked over the railing.
The lava ocean was boiling.
Dozens of fins were rising. Fifty. Maybe a hundred.
And in the center of the pack, a massive shadow was rising from the deep. A shape that dwarfed the others.
[Warning: Massive Biological Signal Detected.][Rank: Commander (High-Tier).][Subject: The Brood Mother.]
A wave of lava, twenty feet high, rose up. Riding the wave was a shark the size of a frigate. Its mouth was wide enough to swallow the Iron Sovereign whole.
It didn't leap. It rammed.
BOOOOOOM.
The Brood Mother slammed into the magnetic field beneath the ship.
The Iron Sovereign was thrown upward. The repulsor engine screamed.
Inside the bridge, Scrap-Jack was thrown from his chair.
"We're capsizing!" he screamed. "The field is collapsing! We're going to fall in!"
The ship tilted dangerously to the right. The deck became a slide.
Varian dug his spear into the steel to anchor himself. He watched as five more Warrior-Class sharks leaped from the lava, landing on the tilted deck, sliding toward the screaming soldiers.
"Hold the line!" Varian roared, his voice battling the roar of the fire. "If we fall, we burn! FIGHT!"
This wasn't a battle. It was a disaster.
And they were only ten miles into the sea.