From Ashes To Scales

The scent of parchment and ink filled Magnus’s study, the air thick with the weight of responsibility. His tail flicked in mild irritation as he scowled at the mountain of paperwork before him.

"Who knew ruling a kingdom would be this... boring?" Magnus muttered, rubbing his temples.

The vast wooden desk in front of him was cluttered with reports—trade agreements, tax revisions, land disputes. He sighed. Battle, magic, and strategy were second nature to him. But endless bureaucracy? It was slowly draining the thrill of ruling.

As he reached for another document, a sharp knock echoed through the chamber. He looked up, grateful for the distraction.

"Enter," he called.

The doors swung open, revealing Lydia. Her black hair cascaded over her shoulders, her giant breasts were bouncing as she casually walked, but her expression was anything but composed. There was a sharp urgency in her eyes, something rare enough to make Magnus straighten in his chair.

"Magnus," she said, stepping inside with practiced grace. "You’ll want to hear this."

He gestured for her to continue, already intrigued.

"My spies brought troubling news. Something has awakened beneath Ephiria," she said. "A creature… something ancient."

Magnus narrowed his eyes. "Go on."

Lydia pulled out a parchment, placing it before him. "It started a few days ago. A pit opened near the outskirts, a gaping maw of darkness in the earth. At first, the villagers thought it was just an earthquake. But then… something crawled out."

She let her words hang, studying Magnus's reaction. He leaned forward, the bureaucratic weariness fading from his expression.

"What kind of something?" he asked.

"That’s the problem," Lydia admitted. "No one knows. No record matches its description. It has two heads, it looks like a hydra, but no one has ever seen a hydra like this. Its scales are blackened, jagged like cracked stone. Its eyes glow with a deep violet light, and wherever it treads, the earth itself seems to rot. The villagers call it the Beast of the Pit."

Magnus drummed his fingers against the desk. Certainly this description does not match any known monster.

"How dangerous is it?"

"Very. It attacked livestock at first, then moved on to people. Those who tried to approach never returned. The only fortunate thing is that it never leaves the pit’s surroundings for too long… as if something is keeping it there."

Magnus exhaled sharply. "And you believe Volkos’s death is related?"

Lydia nodded. "It’s more than a belief. The moment Volkos fell, there was a surge of magic across the land. At first, we didn't think it was a big deal. But, my spies report that old barriers, ancient seals, are beginning to wane. The beast was trapped beneath Ephiria for who knows how long… until now."

Magnus leaned back, his tail curling slightly. "So we have an unknown monster, freed from an ancient seal, lurking near our villages. A beast even I can’t identify."

He smirked, feeling a familiar fire rise in his chest. "Finally, something interesting!"

Lydia sighed. "You know, that's not exactly the reaction you should have."

Magnus stood, rolling his shoulders. "Sorry. Can't help it. Anyway, we can’t leave it unchecked. If it’s bound to the pit, then something is keeping it there. I’ll go see it myself."

"You want to face it alone?" Lydia crossed her arms.

“Why not? It's going to be fun!”

“Magnus, for crying out loud, you're our king and my husband! You can't just charge in to battle by yourself. What if something were to happen to you? Think about your kingdom.”

“Lydia, please trust me. I don't intend to waste my life. But I don't want to risk anyone's life either. I just want to check it out. If I can't deal with it, I’ll retreat. Besides, it’ll be easier for me if I don't have to babysit anyone.

Also…

It's been ages since I blasted something!!”

Lydia hesitated before nodding. "You never change, do you? Still a big kid inside, huh? Be careful, Magnus. Whatever it is, it's unlike anything we've faced before."

He grinned, fangs glinting. "That just makes it all the more fun.”

------

Magnus soared through the sky atop his makeshift flying platform—a thick slab of wood, smoothly gliding through the air with the combined forces of his levitation spell and wind magic. The sensation was exhilarating. The wind roared past his ears, the clouds barely brushing against him as he pushed forward, testing the limits of his control.

It wasn’t true flight, not in the way that birds or dragons experienced it, but it was close enough. The ability to traverse great distances at high speeds made this a viable method of travel. It was a far cry from the slow trudge on horseback or the discomfort of carriages. If anything, Magnus felt like he was surfing the sky.

“Not bad. Maybe I should call this… Skyboard? Or… Hoverbark? Eh, I’ll figure something out later.”

As he flew, his thoughts returned to the beast. A monster so ancient and unknown that even he, with all his accumulated knowledge and experiences, had no reference for it. That alone was enough to pique his curiosity. He wasn’t just eager for the fight—though the battle would undoubtedly be thrilling—but the scholar in him was equally intrigued. What kind of creature had been sealed away for so long? Why was it bound to that pit? And, most importantly, who had the power to lock it away in the first place?

After a time, the ground below began to change. The lush green fields gave way to desolation, the earth becoming dry and cracked, as if life itself had been sucked away. Then, he saw it—the pit.

It was massive. A jagged wound in the land, stretching wide enough to swallow entire buildings.

“Well, the reports were accurate. That really does look creepy.”

A deep, black chasm, from which no bottom could be seen. But it wasn’t just the sight that disturbed Magnus—it was the aura. A thick, oppressive energy radiated from within, seeping into the air like a miasma. The stench was even worse. It reeked of decay, like something ancient had been rotting for centuries but refused to die.

Magnus hovered above it, arms crossed.

“…I expected something a little more dramatic,” he muttered.

For several minutes, he simply observed. No movement. No sound beyond the howling wind.

He waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

Eventually, he sighed. "Alright, enough of this."

Taking a deep breath, he cupped his hands around his mouth and called out into the abyss.

"HELLO? IS THERE ANYONE IN THERE?!"

Silence.

Then—

A deep, guttural howl erupted from the pit, a noise so primal and raw that it sent a vibration through the earth itself. The ground trembled beneath him, loose rocks tumbling into the darkness.

And then, with heavy, thunderous steps, something emerged.

A hulking mass, nearly the size of an African elephant, dragged itself from the abyss. It had two heads, their eyes glowing a sinister violet, and its blackened, jagged scales looked as though they had been scorched and fractured over time. Each step it took seemed to poison the ground beneath it, the very land rotting away under its weight.

Magnus cracked his knuckles and then readied his trusted staff, Staff of the Storm Ruler.

"Finally," he smirked, "You sure are one ugly bastard. I was starting to think you were ignoring me."

Even after seeing it in person, Magnus could not identify it. It was a creature like non other.

“Well, I can always take my time analyzing your corpse. So let's see what you're made of!”

The showdown between Magnus and the beast was about to begin. However, unknown to Magnus, he had a unique spectator watching from the shadows.