Alfred against the Obelisk
Flames roared around him.
The sky cracked with molten thunder, splitting apart to reveal streaks of black fire raining down like spears. The air burned against his skin, feeding his power instead of harming him. Alfred stood still for a moment, watching the obelisk rising before him.
It loomed from the cracked earth, black stone laced with gold veins pulsing slowly, rhythmically, like a sleeping heart. Around it, the molten ground bubbled and split open. Shadow wyrms crawled from the burning fissures, their scales formed of compressed magma, their eyes gold and empty.
They roared silently. Their open jaws revealed spiral maws lined with jagged teeth of obsidian flame.
Alfred rolled his neck slowly, feeling each vertebra crack. Heat flickered across his shoulders, manifesting as drifting sparks. His gaze sharpened. His arms rose to his sides, palms open. Fire spiralled up from the burning earth, wrapping around his arms like living serpents.
