Behind Success, three crimson-eyed Ashmaws marched in single file.
They made no sound, their massive, volcanic frames moving with quiet, controlled restraint.
They no longer moved like wild beasts hunting prey; they followed Success silently, keeping close behind her like a living wall.
Success kept glancing back every few steps, her eyes wide with a mixture of awe and residual fear.
Even now, after watching them obey her commands during the battle, it felt completely surreal.
A few paces ahead, Ayomide walked with his broken iron sword resting loosely over his shoulder.
He glanced down at his right hand.
The Cyclebreaker Ring was still blinking.
A faint crimson pulse travelled across the dark band before disappearing again.
Ayomide narrowed his eyes.
*It’s been doing that since the battle.* He flexed his fingers.
Something felt different.
His body felt…
lighter.
Not weaker.
The opposite.
Without thinking, he lengthened his stride, covering ground with barely a fraction of the effort it used to take.
The heavy, broken iron sword resting against his shoulder felt oddly weightless in his grip.
His legs felt less heavy, his breathing stayed smooth and measured, and even the oppressive heat pressing against his skin didn’t feel as unbearable anymore.
He slowly clenched his fist.
*Was this because of the ring?* Another pulse came from the ring.
His eyes narrowed further.
The strange warmth inside his body seemed to deepen with every passing minute.
His muscles felt denser.
His senses felt sharper.
Even the exhaustion that should have been weighing him down after the battle was gradually disappearing.
*I’m getting stronger.* Ayomide looked at his hand again.
*Not all at once…
It’s happening little by little.* He didn’t know whether the ring was absorbing something from this place, reacting to his power, or doing something else entirely.
But whatever it was…
His body was changing.
And he could feel it.
*If this keeps going…
how strong will I become by the time we get out of here?* A faint smirk touched his lips.
*Whatever you’re doing…
keep doing it.* He shifted his attention inward.
The warmth he had gained from the Ashmaw was still flowing through his body.
*…And this isn’t only the ring.* He remembered what happened during the battle.
*Collect doesn’t just weaken them.* *It gives me what I take.* His golden-crimson eyes narrowed.
*Endurance.
Strength.
Heat resistance.* He slowly clenched his fist again.
“…Omo, this power really make sense.” “Ayomide…” Success’s voice broke the heavy silence.
“Hmm?” She kept her eyes fixed on the cracked ground, her voice barely louder than the ash drifting through the air.
“…Do you think…
the others are still alive?” Ayomide didn’t slow his pace.
“…Do you think we’ll ever see everyone else again?” she asked quietly.
A gust of dry, thermal wind blew between them, carrying bits of cinder.
Ayomide finally spoke, his tone completely devoid of false comfort.
“Think about yourself first before you start worrying about other people.” Success flinched slightly.
“We don’t even know if we’ll survive this place,” Ayomide said calmly.
“If you die now, who will those thoughts help?
How many of those classmates do you think will actually remember you?” Success lowered her head, her lips tightening in silence.
“Look around,” Ayomide continued.
“As you see for now, na only the three of us remain like this.
So it’s better we work together to survive.
If one person goes down, the remaining two become weaker.
Our survival chances drop.
So keep your focus here.” *Keep them alive.
Keep moving,* Ayomide thought, his internal voice cold and pragmatic.
*Keeping these two functional increases my own odds.* Success swallowed hard.
“…You’re right.” Before she could sink deeper into her thoughts, a pair of slender arms gently wrapped around her shoulders from behind.
Success froze, turning her head slightly.
It was Adesewa.
Adesewa didn’t say a word—she couldn’t—but she rested her forehead lightly against Success’s shoulder, holding her with a warm, quiet firmness.
It was simple.
Gentle.
And warm.
Success’s eyes softened.
*Adesewa was always so distant around everyone else back at school,* she thought, remembering how the mute girl used to avoid group interactions entirely.
*She never touched anyone.
But with us…
she’s different.* A small, genuine smile finally touched Success’s face.
“Thank you…” Ayomide glanced over his shoulder, eyeing the two girls with mild exasperation.
“Una don finish?
We still have to find a way out.” The small moment broke, and the three resumed walking.
While they covered ground, Success quickened her pace slightly until she was walking right beside Ayomide.
She stared at his side profile, the question that had been burning in her chest since the classroom attack finally slipping out.
“Ayomide…” “What again?” “Back at school…
before we were summoned…
why did you come back into the classroom to save me?” Ayomide didn’t hesitate.
His answer came out flat, almost dismissive.
“I saved myself.” Success blinked.
“What?” “I hated looking at you,” Ayomide said coldly, looking straight ahead.
“That helpless, terrified look on your face…
it reminded me of a weak version of myself that I despise.
Pulling you out was just me erasing something annoying from my sight.
Don’t overthink it.” Success stared at him for a second, then a quiet, knowing smile appeared on her face.
*Still cold,* she thought internally, looking at his rigid posture.
*Still won’t just say it.
He really hates looking soft.* “Okay,” Success said aloud, her tone surprisingly light.
“If you say so.” Suddenly, a loud, reverberating growl shattered the solemn mood.
It didn’t come from a monster.
It came directly from Success’s stomach.
Her face instantly flushed a deep, burning red, and she slapped both hands over her midsection.
“…Sorry.” Ayomide let out a dry, breathy chuckle.
“So hunger don start his own like this?” *Grrrrr…* An equally loud rumble echoed from Ayomide’s stomach a second later.
Success couldn’t hold herself back and burst out laughing.
Even Ayomide scratched the back of his head awkwardly, looking slightly annoyed at his own body.
“Abeg, don’t laugh,” Ayomide muttered.
“Shey e funny ni?” “You started it first!” Success giggled, the heavy atmosphere lifting for a brief moment.
Ayomide looked up at the dark, ash-filled sky.
The lack of a sun or moon made tracking time almost impossible, but his mind automatically logged their physical fatigue and hunger.
“If our phones were still with us, I’d check the time,” Ayomide said, his tone returning to business.
He studied the terrain.
“But we’ve been here for days.
Today should be the third.” Neither of the girls argued.
Time had already lost its meaning inside the Hell Zone.
As they kept moving, Ayomide’s eyes narrowed on Adesewa.
She was walking behind them in her usual silence, but her stride had altered.
Her steps were subtle, yet slightly heavier on the heel.
She stepped directly onto a jagged, superheated piece of basalt, and though her expression didn’t change, her posture stiffened for a fraction of a second.
Ayomide stopped in his tracks.
Adesewa paused, looking at him quietly.
Her breathing was slightly faster than usual.
Ayomide walked right up to her, his eyes dropping to her feet.
The skin on her bare soles was bright red, cracked, and beginning to blister from walking directly on the scalding volcanic stone for days.
“You’re injured,” Ayomide said plainly.
Adesewa slowly shook her head, preparing to step forward.
“You’re slowing down,” Ayomide stated, his voice shutting down any argument.
He turned his back to her and crouched low.
“Get on.” Adesewa remained standing, staring at his back and hesitating.
“Don’t make me repeat myself,” Ayomide said, glancing over his shoulder with a sharp look.
“You’re our strongest close-range fighter right now.
If you collapse because you were too stubborn, we lose our front line.
I’m not carrying you out of pity.
I need you functional.” Success smiled softly from the side.
“…He’s right.
Please.” Adesewa looked between Success and Ayomide.
Her ears flared with a faint, quiet flush of red, but she didn’t step back.
Hesitantly, she leaned forward, her arms carefully wrapping around his shoulders.
Ayomide hooked his arms under her knees and stood up in one fluid motion.
Adesewa immediately lowered her head against the side of his neck, hiding her face completely.
*She’s quieter than I thought,* Ayomide noted as he adjusted her weight effortlessly.
*And warmer than I expected…
soft, too.* A sudden, unexpected awareness flashed through his mind, making his throat feel slightly dry.
He was a 30-year-old soul in his previous life who had died before ever experiencing true intimacy, now trapped in the athletic body of a young adult.
Feeling the soft, firm weight of a woman pressed against his back wasn’t something his body entirely ignored.
He immediately checked his thoughts, shaking his head slightly.
*Focus.
She’s carrying wounds I don’t understand, but she fights harder than most.
I can’t afford to lose her.* As he adjusted his grip, a sudden realization clicked quietly in his mind.
*Come to think of it…
Adesewa never acted like this around other guys back at school.
She wouldn’t even let people stand too close.* His mind briefly flicked back to his previous life—his quiet, lonely death, and how disconnected he had been from everyone.
*I never noticed things like that in my old life,* he thought silently.
*Maybe because I was never close enough to anyone to notice.
Or maybe this life really is becoming different from the one I remember.* He shifted his mind toward the future, clarifying his own boundaries.
*I won’t let anyone dictate my path.
And if it comes to women…
I’m not going to force anyone to share me.
But if a woman genuinely accepts what I’m building, understands my ambition, and accepts that I may have more than one wife…
then I can accept her.
Only if she can keep up and stand beside me on her own will.* Pressed against his back, Adesewa held on tightly.
As Ayomide walked, the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest, his heartbeat, and the solid heat radiating from his skin triggered a forgotten memory deep within her mind.
A bright afternoon…
a younger version of herself laughing…
strong hands lifting her high into the air.
Her father’s warm voice.
Then…
the sharp smell of antiseptic.
Cold hospital tiles.
Adults whispering in hushed tones.
A coffin sinking into the earth.
The silence that followed.
Adesewa’s fingers slowly tightened against Ayomide’s clothes.
The cold, lingering grief in her chest throbbed, but the warmth from Ayomide’s back pushed the chill away.
*This warmth…* she thought, her eyes misting over.
*I haven’t felt this in years.* A single tear slipped down her cheek.
She quickly wiped it away against his shoulder before anyone could notice.
Success quietly watched them from the side.
*She really doesn’t act like this around other guys,* Success observed, noting how Adesewa normally kept a strict distance from everyone else.
*She’s always so cold, but with him…* “Ayomide,” Success called out as they walked.
“When we finally get out of here…
what are you going to do?” “Get stronger first,” Ayomide replied casually.
“Strong enough that nobody can push me around or make decisions for me.” “And after that?” “Build real power,” Ayomide said, his golden eyes fixed on the distant horizon.
“Make enough wealth and influence that I don’t have to bow to anyone.
Get capable followers to handle the heavy work while I live comfortably.” “So you just want to be a big boss?” Success asked with a faint smile.
“I want freedom,” Ayomide corrected, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes.
“True freedom requires strength and resources.
A quiet, luxurious life where I call the shots.” Success paused for a moment.
“And…
what about the people who are with you?” Ayomide didn’t look back.
“If they can keep up and stay useful, they’ll have a place beside me.” Success looked at his back, nodding slowly.
“…I see.” As they continued walking, the Cyclebreaker Ring on Ayomide’s finger suddenly pulsed again.
This time, the crimson glow didn’t fade immediately—it flickered three times in rapid succession, radiating a subtle vibration against his bone.
Ayomide’s eyes lowered to his hand.
*This pulse…
it’s lasting longer.* He glanced back at the three undead Ashmaws following Success.
No reaction from them.
He looked around the empty wasteland.
Nothing.
Then he looked directly ahead toward the distant horizon.
The ring pulsed once more, firmer this time.
Ayomide’s expression hardened.
*…So it’s not reacting to the fight we just finished.
It’s reacting to whatever is waiting up ahead.* An hour later, the landscape shifted dramatically.
The endless jagged rocks gave way to a massive stone plaza carved into the side of a dead volcanic mountain.
At the center stood an immense structure—a freestanding gate made of shimmering, brilliant white energy.
Ancient, glowing runes continuously flowed across its surface like liquid light.
Hope flared in Success’s chest.
“A gate…
Is that the way out?” “Stay sharp,” Ayomide warned, his eyes narrowing as he analyzed the area.
“Look at the terrain.” The white gate wasn’t standing empty.
Filling the surrounding plaza was a massive horde of monsters.
Dozens of Ashmaws lined the area, positioned in structured formations around the gate like sentinels guarding their primary territory.
“That’s…
too many,” Success whispered, her hope instantly souring into tension.
*BOOM…
BOOM…* The ground shook under heavy, deliberate footsteps.
The horde parted down the middle, and a massive figure emerged from near the gate.
It was nearly twice the size of any Ashmaw they had faced before, its volcanic hide pitch-black and laced with deep, crimson veins of flowing magma.
Two curved horns jutted from its head, and every breath released clouds of scorching ash.
“That thing is different…” Success breathed, her legs stiffening.
“The one protecting the gate,” Ayomide said quietly.
He carefully lowered Adesewa to her feet.
Despite the blisters on her soles, Adesewa immediately straightened her posture, stepping up to his right side without a single word of hesitation.
Ayomide looked at Success.
“Success.
Stay behind us.
Use your three undead to cover our flanks and attack from range.” Success took a deep breath and nodded.
“Got it.” Ayomide then glanced at Adesewa.
“You support from the side.
Focus on counter-attacks.” Adesewa met his gaze and gave a firm nod.
The Cyclebreaker Ring on Ayomide’s finger gave one final, sharp pulse before settling down.
Ayomide slowly raised his broken sword.
His golden-crimson eyes moved across the countless Ashmaws surrounding the gate before settling on the enormous beast standing at their center.
He wasn’t intimidated.
Instead, something inside him stirred.
The same sensation from before.
Those invisible scales.
That feeling of standing before something that could be taken.
His fingers tightened around the broken sword.
A slow, cold smile spread across his face.
*Strength.* *Endurance.* *Heat resistance.* *Whatever else these things possess…* His eyes remained fixed on the Alpha Ashmaw.
*I’ll take it.* The giant Ashmaw lowered its body.
The surrounding monsters began roaring, shaking the volcanic plaza.
Ayomide didn’t move.
He simply stood there, watching them approach with that faint, terrifying smile.
“Come.” His voice was calm.
Almost casual.
“Let’s see what I can collect from you.” CREATORS’ THOUGHTS ATMoronfade Have some idea about my story?
Comment it and let me know.
massive release coming in a week time