Dancing on the golden ashes

"Well, I believe you can do it," she continued. "That's why I chose you. But understand this—he is not someone you can underestimate."

Her voice dropped, growing serious, almost grave. "It will be a battle unlike any you've faced before. And until you take that step we talked about, you are not allowed to even try."

"I know..." I said quietly, my voice steady but my mind racing.

"Good. Now, enough useless chatter." Her gaze fell sharply to the golden plate I was holding. "This plate—where did you find it?"

"Why? Is it valuable?" I asked, my grip on the plate tightening.

"Let's just say, if you can take it back to your world, then yes—it would shake the entire world." Her tone was laced with intrigue and envy. "But most likely, you won't be able to, unless you find its counterpart in your own world." Continue reading stories on empire

She paused, her fiery eyes locked on the plate as if it held the answers to the universe. "This is one of the ten legendary treasures of this world. It holds the power to nourish and purify your flame energy. I've craved this treasure for eons... and yet, it found you so easily."

Her voice trailed off, her gaze distant as if lost in a memory.

This is insane... I thought, staring down at the plate. But how am I supposed to find something like this in the real world?

"It will come to you," she said suddenly, as if plucking the thought straight from my mind.

I blinked, startled. "You're scary, you know that, right?"

She smirked faintly but didn't respond.

"But now," I pressed, "this treasure isn't what I care about. How do I escape this place? And why am I here in the first place?"

The goddess sighed heavily, her expression softening. For a brief moment, I thought I saw her eyes glisten, but it was gone as quickly as it came.

"You're here to witness the death of the world—again. This time, in person. But what terrifies me is that you can die here," she said, her voice carrying a somber weight.

Her gaze locked on mine, piercing through my bravado. "Even with my legacy, my flames would kill you instantly. As for how to leave... I don't know. I'm only a soul, a fragment of what I once was. All of us here are. We live in an endless loop. The catastrophe never ends for us. It's the curse of that monster—the one who calls himself the Creator."

Her words sent chills down my spine.

"I don't believe he has any humanity left in him," she continued, her voice steady but cold. "Perhaps, at some point in his life, he did. After all, nobody in this world is born evil. It's the environment, the people around them—they shape a person, push them to the edge. To drive someone to the point of no return, to kill endlessly just to satisfy their desires... he's no longer human."

"So you're telling me we were dragged here just to die?" My stomach churned at the thought.

"Yes... and no," she replied, her tone cryptic. "There must be a deeper reason. After all, only you otherworlders were brought here—not your monster beasts."

"How did you know that?" I asked, my voice trembling slightly. Her knowledge terrified me.

She shook her head, refusing to answer. "There's still a month and a half before the disaster strikes. You'll need to figure out how to leave this place on your own. And be careful—don't provoke beings you cannot handle."

Her fiery eyes burned into mine as she added one final warning. "One more thing. I'm sure you've realized by now, but your system powers are useless here. They do not exist yet in this time. You're on your own. And Gaon..."

Her voice softened slightly, almost teasing. "Don't make any trouble for your master. After all, I've never once taken a disciple."

Before I could respond, the world around me shifted. In an instant, our bodies were teleported back to the bustling square.

As the familiar chaos of the marketplace greeted us, I felt a deep sense of unease settle in my chest.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The difference between her and me... it's like night and day.

"Ah? How did we get here again?" Jieun asked, her voice tinged with surprise as she glanced around. Her golden eyes seemed to shine with a new light, something subtle yet different.

I couldn't put my finger on it, but it felt as if something about her had changed—something profound. The thought made me uneasy. The Goddess of Fire... she's too mysterious. I have no idea what her true intentions are.

"Let's go find Eun-Woo and Kim Seong-Hoon," I said, shaking off the thought. "I'm worried they might have gotten themselves into trouble."

"Okay," Jieun nodded, quickly falling into step beside me. She still clutched the beautiful red-haired doll in her arms, one she must have carried with her during the teleportation.

My thoughts were interrupted when a group of young adults stumbled into view, arms slung around each other's shoulders, singing loudly and slurring their words. They were clearly drunk out of their minds.

And among them... were the two I had been looking for.

"What the hell are these idiots doing? Who asked them to get drunk?"

I resisted the urge to slap my forehead. How had it come to this? How did I end up with this useless group?

"Hey! Had enough fun yet? Let's go!" I shouted over the noise of the crowd.

Kim Seong-hoon froze mid-laugh the moment he heard my voice, his expression snapping from carefree to caught-in-the-act in a split second.

"Big sis! I mi-missed you so much!" Kim Seong-hoon slurred, stumbling as he grabbed Eun-Woo's hand. Together, the two of them staggered back toward us, crashing into several people along the way and nearly causing more trouble.

"Let's drink again someday, brothers!" one of the drunken men called out from behind, his voice booming with cheer. "And Seong-hoon, tell your girlfriend not to be mad at you! We promise, we won't steal you away from her!" The group erupted into hearty laughter.

Seong-hoon, hearing this, sobered up instantly. Without a word, he abruptly changed directions, clearly intent on escaping the scene before things got any worse.

"Come here," I said coldly, my voice cutting through the noise like a blade. This time, he had truly crossed the line.

Kim Seong-hoon turned back to me, his shoulders slumping as he approached. He looked like a guilty puppy, fully aware of his mistake and trying to appear sorry.

"Big sis, I swear, I don't know what they were talking about," he mumbled, his voice barely audible. "They must be so drunk… they misunderstood…"

"Misunderstood… okay, okay, I see," I said coldly, my tone dripping with sarcasm. "Maybe one day, I might accidentally cut your head off—a big misunderstanding on my part, of course. But that's fine, right? You wouldn't be mad because, after all, it was just a misunderstanding..."

Kim Seong-hoon visibly shivered under my glare, while Eun-Woo averted his gaze, pretending not to notice. So much for being blood brothers.

The day was nearing its end, the sun dipping lower on the horizon, painting the sky in warm hues. Yet, here we were—no money, no place to stay. At least that damn goddess could've given me something. She doesn't need any of it anyway...

I wanted to cry, but there was no time for that. Fooling around wouldn't solve anything. I had to think of a way to make some money and find us a place to stay—or we'd end up sleeping on the streets tonight.

The big city wasn't an option. It was time to head out into the wild.

I dragged my drunk friends and Jieun through the city gates, barely keeping them upright. Once we passed the barriers, the guards handed each of us jade slips, explaining that they would serve as free entry passes if we ever wanted to return.

The gesture caught me off guard. Was this the goddess's doing, or were the people here just not as bad as I'd assumed?

The place that was desolate in our timeline was brimming with life here. Forests surrounded the area, and the air buzzed with the sounds of creatures—birds, animals, and even insects, all imbued with soul power. Each one seemed formidable as if they were at least level twenty. The thought alone sent chills down my spine. Still, considering this was just the area around the city, I decided not to worry too much.

We ventured into a thick forest, where I stumbled upon a small cave. To my relief, I discovered I could still use my scythe—it was connected to my soul, after all. With a single slash, I felled a large bear, providing both shelter and food for my friends. Even if the meal wasn't ideal, it was enough to keep them going.

But my relief was short-lived. To my dismay, I couldn't harvest souls here. Without them, I would slowly starve to death. We needed to find a way to escape—soon.