The world is burning.

What once was a small, tropical island in the sacred heart of the dragonlands is now an inferno. The oceans are boiling, the trees have been reduced to ash, the beaches are melting into glass, and the very air itself is aflame. All life on the island has been annihilated. Even the bare stone of the island has begun to liquify into lava.

And yet, one shadow remains, under the unyielding sun.

A standalone side story to Hollow Pony. No prior knowledge of Hollow Pony or Dark Souls is required; if anything, readers familiar with the story are likely to be more confused.

Story image is a picture of Mount Etna erupting, taken by CNN.

This is also my entry to the Tropical Post-Apocalyptic Story Contest, though I was actually already planning to write this story. That contest just gave me a good reason to push it up in the schedule a bit.