The memory deposited me outside of the obsidian palace, giving me a bird's eye view of the massive building. Yet something about it was different from the one I’d seen just an hour or so ago. It took me a second to realize why it looked different, but as the memory began to slowly get closer to the palace, I realized what was going on. The palace was still under construction. There were several half-finished spires currently being built upwards slowly. It looked like there was somebody manipulating a mass of lava that somehow deposited flawless obsidian on top of what was already there, most likely by some sort of magic.

The memory took me on a flight around the entirety of the palace, somehow feeling more like a recorded video than a memory. The ones I’d seen before had always shown me snippets of somebody’s life, while this one felt more like a promotional video for tourists. Soon, the fly-by concluded and I was floating toward one of the roads that led toward the center. Immediately I noticed that there were globs of lava moving in both directions, some of them separating from the lava ocean.

I furrowed my non-existent brows as I tried to process what these globs actually were when I got my answer due to overhearing a conversation.

“I hear the king said that construction was almost finished.”

“They’ve been saying that for months now, and still, they keep adding more spires. I can understand wanting to provide space for everyone, but at this point, you could house everybody in the kingdom twice over.”

“Well, maybe they are just taking the future into account?”

My first instinct was to look for some humanoids among the lava, before realizing that it was the globs of lava that were talking to each other. I stared curiously at the globs as I leisurely floated by, fascinated by the fact that these were some sort of lava people. There were no recognizable faces, arms, or legs. They were literally just a mass of lava that slowly moved around. How they spoke was anyone's guess, but my bet was on magic once again. If I couldn’t properly figure something out, it was usually magic.

“I do enjoy how dark it is out here, it’s so much easier to make out details like this.”

“Tell me about it, it is a soothing sensation for the eyes.”

“If you told me ten years ago that we’d be living on the surface I’d have laughed at you.”

“I heard Chancellor Deez is trying to broker a peace treaty with the worms.”

“Mother, I require sustenance.”

As I slowly floated toward the dome in the center I was able to listen in to a ton of different conversations, picking up a few snippets of information along the way. The two prevalent discussion topics seemed to be how soothing the “darkness” was to their eyes. The other was something about some type of peace talks with some “worms”.

I did notice that with these people consisting of brightly glowing lava, it wasn’t nearly as dark as it had been when I passed through this place. They were essentially walking torches and there were a lot of them on the road. I could see everything perfectly as if it was a regular sunny day back on Earth. Yet, for people that lived on the bottom of an ocean of lava, this was the same as darkness. I mused a bit about the implication of lava people living in lava, but I felt like I’d just get caught up in a weird line of thought and dropped the issue.

I finally passed the opening that lead into the dome and came face to face with a fascinating sight. The entire place was filled with lava people, loud chatter filling every inch of the dome. They apparently had no issues with walking around on the ceiling, as the inside of the dome structure was dotted by tons of lava globs as well. Interestingly enough, aside from the palace, the dome was still empty. No decorations of any kind were to be found, not even practical stuff like food vendors.

I also got my first proper look at the palace itself. The presence of the people lit up the entire area, framing the black building in an orange glow. The palace consisted of five buildings, the largest one in the middle while the other four surrounded it to form a large plus shape. Interestingly enough, the large entrance I’d come in through led directly into the large building in the center as it was positioned in between two of the smaller buildings.

It was through this entrance that I once again floated, passed a procession of lava globs going to and fro, and entered the throne room. The room was absolutely packed with the lava people to the point where they almost formed a lake. It was hard to tell where one of them ended and the other began and there was a hushed excitement going through the crowd. They had gathered here for something, and whatever it was, it was probably about to begin.

The system deposited me in the front row, merely five meters away from the large obsidian throne. I only waited for about ten seconds before a lava person came from a side door, causing the entire throne room to descend into an eerie silence as hundreds of eyes fell upon the new arrival.

“Announcing the arrival of King Gortan, twelfth of his name, ruler of the molten sea, and slayer of the despicable worm!”

Shortly after the announcement, a lava glob about four times the size of all the others emerged from the same side door. The throne room erupted in cheers and shouts of devotion as the king slowly made his way to the throne and sat down on it. A seemingly odd and unnecessary thing to do, but I assumed it was done more to display his status than out of convenience. After all, not a single other lava person was sitting on any kind of chair. A tiny limb emerged from the side of the king, held high to silence the room.

“My dear citizens,” the king started speaking slowly and deliberately, his voice gravelly and commanding. “I’m afraid that the cause for today's gathering isn’t entirely a joyous one, as I’ve just received some dire news from our delegation that was sent to the worms.”

A hushed gasp went through the crowd, the mood drastically shifting from joy and happiness to fear and apprehension. The king gave the room a few moments so that his people could process the bad news, until eventually once again raising his limb to silence everybody.

“As you all know, twenty years ago, I slew the king of the worms in a battle that lasted for thirteen hours, once and for all securing our place in the molten sea as the dominant power. For the first time in our history, peace between our kingdoms became a reality, as the worms did not see a way to avoid extermination aside from finally accepting our conditions to end the hostilities.

“We’ve been in a peaceful, if strained, relationship with them ever since, constantly keeping up the dialogue in an attempt to make both parties as happy as possible. Yet, it would appear that this brittle peace has come to an end. I have received word from a messenger that our delegation has been wiped out. Prince Tempus has decreed his intent to get revenge for the murder of his father and has, once again, declared war.”

The king paused once again as the room erupted, metaphorically and literally. It almost seemed like some of the lava people exploded from hearing the news, while others were undulating madly. The outrage and fear were palpable as hundreds of voices started yelling for answers, cursing the worms, or grieving for the lost delegation. I spotted a few of them running out of the room and shouting the news to anyone who’d listen, causing the chaos to spill over into the dome.

“As of right now, we are at war with the worms,” the king started talking again, the room only barely contained as they strained their ears to listen. “We recommend that you migrate your families to the obsidian palace as fast as possible, as they will be safe and well-defended here. I now must retreat to the war room to plan with my advisors for what is to come, but, carry this message as far and wide as you can, so that every citizen may know:

“I, as your king, will no longer tolerate the senseless slaughter of my people. We have given those damnable worms every chance they deserved, yet they would throw it all away for their foolish pride. I will only rest once every last one of those abominations lay dead on the molten sea’s floor. This, I promise.”

The throne room erupted in cheers as the memory slowly faded to black and I returned back to reality. The system had given me nothing for watching this memory, but I still felt like I gained a valuable piece of history by having had the privilege to witness what had happened here. Who knows how their story ended? Maybe the king made good on his promise and killed every last worm, or maybe they had lost, leaving naught behind but an empty palace.