Chapter 5 – The Altar of the Flaming God begins with a violent earthquake cutting short Tarzan’s exploration, trapping him inside a hidden treasure vault deep within Opar. Though surrounded by vast riches, his concern is not for gold but for escape, as survival outweighs wealth in this moment of danger. When he awakens, disoriented and injured, the ancient chamber’s suffocating silence only deepens the urgency to find a way out. Meanwhile, Werper, who has also survived the quake, is separated from Tarzan and faces the disorienting darkness alone. Believing Tarzan to be dead after discovering his still body, Werper shifts his focus to securing his own safety, unaware that his companion still breathes. The labyrinthine temple becomes a maze of shadows and uncertainty, where fear creeps closer with each step and the line between superstition and reality begins to blur.

Werper’s path winds through corridors carved by time, where echoes and distant cries intensify the sense of isolation. His single candle, flickering weakly, becomes both guide and countdown, a fragile barrier against complete darkness. Every wall seems to whisper secrets of Opar’s ancient rites, and every step feels watched by unseen eyes. Pushing through blocked tunnels and collapsing doorways, Werper’s courage is tested repeatedly. The oppressive atmosphere of the temple chips away at his composure, but he presses forward, driven by desperation more than bravery. Eventually, he stumbles upon a narrow shaft above a forgotten well, navigating it with blind faith. His movements become instinctual, survival-driven, with each chamber darker and more cryptic than the last. Though physically intact, Werper’s nerves fray as he hears haunting sounds that suggest the city’s secrets are not all dead.

Emerging into a sunlit courtyard offers Werper a moment of relief—brief, fleeting, and cruelly deceptive. That light reveals not freedom but danger, as the twisted priests of Opar seize him. Their grotesque appearance, with deformed features and wild expressions, embodies the barbaric rituals preserved through centuries of isolation. The priests, guardians of the Flaming God’s cult, quickly surround him, dragging him deeper into the city’s heart, toward the altar. The imagery of fire and sacrifice consumes the setting, casting Werper’s capture in a light far more terrifying than his time in the tunnels. Now a prisoner of Opar’s darkest traditions, he is placed at the mercy of a religion that demands blood and reverence for ancient powers. In their chants and motions, Werper recognizes a doom more severe than the darkness—ritual death by fire beneath the open sky.

Simultaneously, Tarzan, still within the vault, begins to regain his senses as distant noises stir him. Though his memories remain clouded from the blow to his head, his instinct to move, to survive, returns. Unlike Werper, Tarzan sees not death in the shadows but opportunity, using his strength to explore a different path within the tomb-like treasure chamber. His perception of the surroundings lacks fear; instead, he observes the gold and gems with indifference, unmoved by their allure. This detachment from material value further separates him from Werper’s self-serving motives. Tarzan’s every motion echoes his primal bond with the jungle: measured, silent, alert. The ruins may imprison him physically, but mentally, he remains the jungle’s master, not Opar’s victim. His journey forward is not fueled by greed or superstition but by the instinct to reclaim freedom.

This chapter expertly contrasts Werper’s panic-driven ordeal with Tarzan’s silent reawakening. While Werper is overwhelmed by the temple’s fearsome legacy, Tarzan responds with unshaken determination. The temple of the Flaming God becomes more than just a setting—it reflects each character’s nature. Werper is consumed by fear of the unknown, a man out of his depth in a world ruled by ancient faith and primal forces. Tarzan, though disoriented, begins to reassert control, his resilience setting the stage for his inevitable confrontation with both the cult and his own fragmented identity. As Opar’s walls close in around both men, the altar becomes a symbol of power, sacrifice, and the trials that lie ahead—trials that will define who survives and who falls prey to the city’s gods.