Page 122 of The Last Guardian

The dark flames turned around, eating the wood of the arrow as it whistled through the air toward the creature.

The arrow pierced the beast’s skull before it collapsed on the ground.

“WHAT IS THAT thing?” I whispered hoarsely.

Zaid and Dax turned to examine the monster, testing it with their blades to confirm its death. But there was no movement, no sound from it.

“Arakma,” Dax replied, studying the creature. “What’s strange is that it’s not supposed to be in this part of the world.”

“Where is it supposed to be?” I asked to make sure I would never have to visit such a place.

“The Third Circle of Hells,” Dax declared.

I stilled. “I’m sorry, what did you just say?” I scoffed, turning to face him.

Dax and Zaid exchanged a cautious glance, then Zaid nodded to his friend.

“I’m going to find Eirlys,” Dax announced, avoiding my gaze.

His footsteps echoed on the field, leaving Zaid and me alone, our eyes fixed on the enormous creature. I fought against the rising terror that the sight of this thing made me feel.

How could this be possible?

Zaid took a few steps, closing the gap between us, but stopped before getting too close. I looked up at his eyes, and a glimpse of fear crossed them.

“Are you okay?” His eyes softened, stopping himself from reaching for my hand.

“What is this, Zaid?” I questioned, insisting, searching his eyes. “What did Dax mean by the Third Circle of Hells?”

Zaidkiel let out a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment. Passing a hand through his silk-black hair, he said, “By draining lands, the High Mages have opened portals to access the Hells—to bring chaos with its monsters.” Zaid’s eyes flashed as he looked at the thing on the ground. “Only those of the first two circles of Hells have been found for centuries, but that…” He pointed out the Arakma. “…is the proof that the third is open now.”

What? But it couldn’t be. Opening hellholes? The High Mages couldn’t be that corrupt, could they? It was futile to try to convince myself of their innocence after everything.

Zaid’s jaw tightened. The ground rumbled under my feet, my heart racing in my chest.

“So those creatures roam freely here? In Keraneeth?” I questioned. “But how?”

Zaid looked at me carefully. His jaw ticked, and for a moment, he hesitated. He closed his eyes slightly, but Zaid finally gave in and replied, “Ezaroth, the land on the other side of the Dead Sea, has been drained for thousands of years.”

No.

“It’s not the first time the High Mages have drained land?” I gasped.

“It happened long ago, when chaos first fell on Erath,” Zaid replied.

“The images Kraktos showed us⁠—”

“Yes,” Zaidkiel added. “It was then. We don’t know who did it, nor what goal this person sought in the Hells, but they drained everything in Ezaroth. Bringing monsters from the Seven Hells to Erath. When our ancestors vanquished chaos the first time, they sent the monsters through the hellholes opened within Ezaroth, then sealed them shut. But the land was already weakened, and when the High Mages ascended to access chaos again a millennium ago, Ezaroth’s wrath awoke. Since then, the monsters of the Hells have been able to roam there. The more the High Mages drain magic, the more the circles open… Now, the third is here.”

“But—Ezaroth… I saw the land on maps. How could the monsters cross the sea?” I asked.

Zaid breathed slightly, letting the tension and the weight of what he was about to say crush around him. “My father is helping the High Mages. That’s why the monsters are in Keraneeth.”

I went still.

Piles of corpses. Their emblem.

If we couldn’t find the Last Guardian… These monsters—they would destroy everything in their path. Everything, everyone would die.