Day 5: The Bridge [ Fusion / Explosive ]

This is a Monster Girl Encyclopedia fiction.

What is it with evil sorceresses and volcanic underground lairs? They have wealth and power beyond the imagination of mortals, yet they still can't procure a real estate deal where it isn't hot enough to boil an egg in the palm of your hand, and which doesn't stink like fart from the sulphur suffused air? And hey, even poor people these days have a window.
Actually considering today's market it actually kind of makes sense.

That, however, does not make me look forward anymore to my visit to Dark Mage Selena's lair, as I slowly make my way across the rickety rope bridge suspended high above the lake of lava from where fireballs the size of horses occasionally leap up before once more joining the lava. For every step I take, the bridge is sent swinging erratically, more than you'd think someone of my girth could reasonably manage with just one step, creaking loudly as if protesting my passage with a furious, impotent whine.
Well, bridge; I'm already halfway across now. It won't matter if I keep going to Selena's throne room or go back, I'll have to walk the same distance anyhow. And if, God forbid, you break, both of us fall into the lava together. Is that what you want? Would you rather burn in a lake of molten rocks then to wait just one goddamn minute until I can get across?

God, I hate bridges. As long as there is a bridge to where you know you're supposed to be, you're out of excuses from pursuing your dreams, so now all of a sudden you don't have a choce. You have to cross the goddamn bridge, because you can, because there is a bridge there.
And then, once you're across, it lies there as an invitation to return to safety the safety of your home; to skip the trials ahead and be content with what you already have; as if you hadn't just crossed this fucking bridge in order to get there!
Seriously, what the hell kind of psychopath came up with the bridge?

Well, since the bridge is there I can't be content with spending the rest of my life lying in bed, thinking about what could have been, feeling sorry for my situation. I have to meet Dark Mage Selena. I have to ask her if she can make my dream come true.
And finally I'm back on firm ground. Never before has uneven obsidian underneath piles of volcanic ash felt so good. And the stairs to Selena's throne room are just up ahead. This lair wasn’t built by her hands though, nor did the mage who lived here before her. It was built so long ago that even those who remembered who built this lair have been forgotten.
Memories may fade. Stone may fade also, but much slower.

She sits crossed legged on the throne, a voluptuous woman with long, wild purple hair and brilliant purple eyes, "You may approach." She says, probably because I stopped and waited for her to say that, "What is it you seek, young man?"
"Well, there's someone I really like, but due to our different backgrounds it seems we weren't meant to be." The first thing you need to know when dealing with all-powerful mages is to always show them respect. The second thing you need to know is that the best way to respect a mage is to not waste her time with pointless formalities and groveling. Get to the point fast, don't mince words. Since a king is higher than a lord, it makes sense to show more reverence to the king, so as to make it understood that you know your place. But if you are high enough there comes a point when you don't need to be reminded. Everyone knows that the dark mage can turn you into crisp bacon with a thought.
"I came to you because I want her to love me and only me." I say.
"Love is powerful magic, I'm afraid beyond my scope."
"But... if you can't help me there is no one who can. What am I supposed to do now?"
"I can't make the woman love you," Dark Mage Selena says, "But I can make her want your body." She takes out a vial of clear pink fluid with heart-shaped bubbles appearing and disappearing spontaneously, "This powerful aphrodisiac will cause insatiable lust in the one who consumes it. You will then have one night, and one night only, to make you hers."
"I… Thank you, Dark Mage Selena. I do not know what I shall have done without you." I approach the throne and kneel before her, extending my open palms towards her, but she raises the bottle above her head.
"There is the matter of my payment." She says.
"Oh, but of course. I only managed a hundred and fifty gold coins, will that do?"
"Coin? Keep your shiny trinkets. I want a favour. Not now mind you. Perhaps not even for the rest of your life. Some day, and this day may never even come, I will seek you out and ask this favour of you. At this point, you will be unable to refuse. Do you understand?"
"I... yes. I understand."
She puts the vial on my hands, "Good. You may take this then. Now leave. I was contemplating something of utmost importance."
"Yes. Thank you, Dark Mage Selena." I nod, and back out towards the stairs.

And what should await me on the way back, if not that damn bridge again. You know, it's one thing if bridges served some role before you could discard them when you're done, but you can't even do that! Once you're done with the bridge, eventually you're gonna have to go back somehow. And how are you supposed to accomplish this? Why by crossing the bridge of course!
Everything about them is like a nightmare!

Believe it or not, the way back was even worse somehow. I’m guessing you have to imagine it must have been, because now I'm carrying the vial in my hand, and I not only have to focus on not dropping myself into the lava, but keep the vial from dropping too. It took me a lot of effort to get it, and now I'm indebted to a mage. Nothing is going to stop me from reaping the fruits of my efforts.

Not even this bridge.

As if on command, the very next board crumbles under my foot as I step on it, and my leg slips between two boards... and in my panic I drop the vial!
Goddamnit, bridge! Why do you hate me so?
I make one **** attempt to snatch it from the air, but it's just out of reach and it plummets into the lava.

No.
No! My dream!
Lost!
Gone!
This bridge can go and fuck itself!

Through an explosive reaction, a gigantic, hot pink fireball erupts from the lava, followed by another, then another. The lake of molten rock beneath me goes wild like a storm at sea, and the bridge begins to sway back and forth as the ground trembles, and rocks fall from the ceiling and plummet into the lava.
As I try to pry my foot out from between the boards where it’s stuck, I notice that an ember is caught on the ropes suspending the bridge, and it begins to burn!
Just as I dislodge my foot, the rope snaps, making the boards fall vertical hanging from the other rope that I grab on to... but which quickly snaps as well!
As I swing towards the cliff wall at reckless speed, I contemplate if the impact is gonna leave me squished or crushed. I also screamed at the top of my lungs.

The impact never came though. As it turns out, the lower part of the cliff wall is further away than the cliff up, from where the bridge was suspended, so I only ended up dangling. A spray of lava from below alerts me that the lava is rising, so I decide to climb the bridge like a ladder faster than I thought anyone could move in any direction.

I then run.
I continue to run while the trembling of the ground becomes more and more intense.
I run outside.
I run back to the village. When I look back I see a pillar of smoke rise from the peak of the volcano. Volcanic smoke is quite something; it’s dark enough to be considered black, even though it isn’t black. It’s like watching a wall of smoke become animated like a rapid current traversing through the air and spreading across the sky. In a violent explosion, waves after waves of lava pours out of the volcano’s peak like a geyser with such **** that the .
I run for my life. The lava is after me. It's moving slowly but steadily towards the village.
I don't care. I just want safety.
When I get home I slam the door behind me, blocking the door with chairs, sofas... anything I can find.

I can hear a loud rumbling outside. The rumbling finally subsides, but I don't dare to look outside out of fear. I’m content in my home, where I’m free of volcanic eruptions and bridges.
Eventually fear gives way to anxiety, anxiety gives way to calm when nothing happens... and soon the calm gives way to boredom. I now can't not open the door, so I do... and find the entire town submerged in a layer of stone. The door itself can only be opened partially before it rams into the flood of rock. It already cooled somehow. I poke on it with my foot to assure that it is in fact solid, then walk on it, balancing on the surface.

A hand of glowing red stone bursts through the ground and grabs hold of my leg, pulling me down on my stomach. A woman made entirely of lava, covered in a golden glow that defined the colour of her skin, climbs out from under the rock, and as the rock cracks in other places, another woman of lava climbs out, and another and yet another!

I look desperately in all directions and find myself surrounded by these creatures; humanoid, even feminine in all regards except that which constitute them, walking towards me and only me.
The potion.
It was made for me in mind... and to induce lust. Did these creatures always persist in the lava underneath, or was it the Dark Mage's magic that animated it when the elixir landed in the lava? Whatever the case may be, their intentions are now clearly defined by the fusion of the magic of the elixir with their bodies, and it looks like I won't be able to escape them, no matter how hard I try.

"Uhuhuhu! Girls! Lookie here what I caught!" The hand around my ankle is warm, but surprisingly not scorchingly hot.
"Oooh, such a delectable treat! Can I go first!"
"Ooh! Me! Let me go first!"
"Cool it, girls! We can all share him together. There is no need to fight."

The lava girls all surround me and look down on me, their face glowing hot not just from the lava but excitement of what fate they have in store for me, before the fall on me like wild animals.