Tactical Retreat

The birds hadn't fully woken when Erian headed out, hence the dark sky. But it was getting brighter each minute as the sun rose.

Twenty kilometers to the Blood River was the last stop since the temperature and radiation here was so high it could instantly kill the human driver and melt some parts of the vehicle

Erian alighted from the public transport, along with other students who were all seniors. From the juncture, the massive shape of the volcano towered over the sky and the ground like a living, breathing alien spaceship. With blood-red lava shooting upwards to the sky from different locations, looking like millions of star pillars connecting the volcano to the sky as though holding this part of the sky with the pillars. 

Erian couldn't help but be stunned at the magnificent scene. Ignoring the heatwave that warped the air constantly, he started walking up the upward-sloped street that headed towards the Blood River.