Lyra rushed toward the door and pushed it open with both hands. A deep rumble echoed as the door creaked ajar.
Everyone instinctively stepped back.
Beyond the door lay a vast chamber, built from dark grey stones. As the group stepped inside, the door behind them vanished without a trace.
Alex scanned the surroundings. The walls were made of the sa stone as the floor—cold, and aged. At the far end of the chamber stood a golden door, guarded by two towering humanoid statues.
The statues were carved from a black, shiny stone-like material. They wore golden eagle-shaped helts that completely covered their faces. Each one held a gleaming golden trident, their massive hands adorned with intricate golden bracelets.
They were so enormous that Alex and the others couldn’t even reach their knees.
Clear pools of water were right beside the statues, and several white stone graves were arranged nearby—decorated with glowing patterns that resembled streaks of lightning dancing around them.
Rina, as always, broke the silence.
"Do we have to pass that golden door?" she asked cautiously.
Kaelan smiled. "Seems like it. This floor looks simple enough."
Lyra, slightly out of breath, hesitated as she removed her head covering.
"Let’s just wait a bit. Take a breather... then we’ll move."
Everyone nodded in agreent and sat down to rest and eat. After regaining their strength, they rose and approached the golden door together.
Suddenly, a shiver crawled up Alex’s spine. His instincts scread.
"Dodge!" he shouted, crouching.
The others dropped imdiately.
Boom!
A trident tore through the air where they had stood monts ago.
Everyone backed away, their eyes wide with fear, as the statue returned to its original position.
"They’re protecting the gateway," Alex said, his voice trembling.
Panic settled over the group.
After a mont, ika broke the silence.
"Let’s move in formation. We’ll take them together."
They nodded. This ti, Alex and Kaelan led at the front. ika and Rina followed, with Lyra covering the rear. Hati stayed close to Lyra, acting as their sixth mber.
As they approached the line between the statues—
Rumble...
Tridents shot from both sides, gleaming and deadly.
Alex tried to parry one.
Clang!
The impact flung him across the chamber like a ragdoll, slamming him into the wall.
Kaelan retaliated with a Phoenix Bullet, his signature fire-elent attack. But the trident sliced through the flas, piercing his chest.
Kaelan slid across the floor, a deep wound stretching from his chest to his hip.
He scread, writhing in agony.
ika raised her daggers to defend, while Rina reinforced her with a shield made from the earth elent. But one of the statues raised its massive leg and kicked like a scissor.
Boom!
Both girls were sent flying into the wall, groaning as they hit the wall, blood trickling from their mouths.
The second statue began to move, determined to remove the final intruders from their sacred chamber.
Lyra and Hati reacted instantly, retreating from the frontline.
Lyra sprinted toward ika and Rina. Hati rushed to Alex.
Bloodied and barely conscious, ika and Rina leaned against the wall, groaning.
Lyra dropped to her knees, eyes wide. "Can you hear ? Say sothing!"
Their replies ca in pained groans.
Kaelan lay sprawled on the ground, screaming in agony, flailing like a fish out of water.
Alex stood up, but his arm—still holding the spear—was twisted at an unnatural angle. A bone jutted out of his skin.
"Ahhhhh!"
He scread as he grabbed the protruding bone and forced it back into place.
Breathing heavily, he began circulating his wood elent around his body, slowly knitting bones and healing torn flesh.
His partner stared at him, concerned.
"I’m okay," he said between gasps. "Don’t worry. Let’s treat the others first."
He limped over to Kaelan, who continued to scream in pain. A long wound covered most of his torso.
Alex placed his hand over the wound and began healing. Tears rolled down Kaelan’s cheeks, mixing with the blood on the floor.
Alex looked toward Lyra and shouted, "Are they out of danger?"
"I think they’ll be okay!" Lyra called back.
Hearing this, Alex focused the last of his wood elental power on Kaelan. Slowly, the wound closed, skin stitching back together.
Finally, Alex collapsed to the cold, bloody stone floor
He stared up at the high ceiling, his body aching and bruised, a deep frown carved into his face.
Why are we here? he wondered bitterly. Wasn’t this supposed to be just a C-rank dinsion? Then why does it feel like we’re being tortured?
Beside him, Kaelan lay against the cold stone floor, staring up at the sa ceiling made of dull grey stones. Tears rolled down his blood-streaked cheeks, mixing with the red pool beneath him.
"I want to go ho," he whispered, voice cracking. "Please... let leave."
Lyra crouched beside Rina and ika, handing them a high-grade healing potion. The potion burned going down, and the pain of recovery made ika grit her teeth. Slowly, Rina sat up, her eyes hollow, staring at the statue.
Then, like a child breaking under pressure, she began to cry.
"Why are we being tortured... differently... every single ti?" she wailed, her body trembling. "What did we even do to deserve this?"
ika’s eyes filled with tears. She’s right... Every floor brought new pain. Every floor sothing tried to kill us... in a different way.
Lyra’s lips trembled, tears welling up. Is this tower really just a death trap? she wondered. Can we even escape?
Ti passed.
They stopped talking about crossing the golden door.
The chamber knew no day or night. The pools of water beca their only comfort.
Though they all knew they had to move forward eventually... no one wanted to.
They were just trying to heal. Even a little.
Even inside this prison.
Then, one day, Alex stood up.
His face was pale but determined. "I’m going to try again today," he said. "I’m not asking anyone to co. But if you want to, say so now."
The others shook their heads in silence. Fear still held their hearts hostage.
Alex gave a quiet nod and turned toward the statues.
Hati, his loyal companion, followed.
Alex looked at him and smiled weakly. "Always together, huh? Through thick and thin."
"Woof," Hati barked softly, tail wagging.
As they approached, the statues stirred.
Their helts glowed ominous yellow, tridents rising.
Alex gripped his erald spear tightly. The statues lunged.
Tridents sliced the air like lightning.
He and Hati jumped—
BOOM!
Stone cracked where they had stood.
Mid-air, Alex hurled two shadow daggers.
Swish. Swish.
The blades sparked harmlessly against the statues’ black armor.
Hati lunged, biting one statue’s arm—
but it yanked its arm violently, sending Hati flying into a wall with a thud.
Alex landed hard.
Twin tridents ca for him—
He twisted and deflected one into the other.
CLANG!
The sound echoed through the chamber.
He stepped on a trident, vaulted toward the statue’s head, and drove his spear at the glowing eye.
The free arm blocked it.
CLANG!
He dropped to the floor. Rolled.
BOOM. BOOM.
Tridents slamd the ground beside him, narrowly missing.
Alex backed away. The statues returned to their posts, motionless once again.
He rushed to Hati’s side, knelt down, and whispered between ragged breaths,
"You okay, buddy...?"
Hati groaned, his eyes fluttering open.
Alex smiled. "Good boy."
He placed a trembling hand on Hati’s side and began channelling his wood elent.
The healing light flowed from his hand to the wounded beast until the injuries faded.
Then, Alex collapsed beside him—drained but still breathing.
So ti later, Alex stood once again before the group, his expression weary but determined.
"Will any of you co with this ti?" he asked quietly.
They all shook their heads.
The will to fight was gone.
They had seen enough.
Felt enough.
These statues couldn’t be hurt. Every attack bounced off their stone bodies like pebbles against steel.
Alex nodded without disappointnt. He understood.
He turned and walked toward the statues.
Hati followed close behind, loyal as ever.
As they approached, Alex didn’t hesitate. He lunged into the air, spinning mid-flight.
Five shadow daggers shot forward, aid at the glowing eyes of one statue.
His erald spear followed—its tip flashing toward the sa target.
Hati, moving like lightning, dodged a sweeping trident and used it as a springboard.
He leapt up, jaws aid at the statue’s neck.
But the statue rotated its trident mid-air—
BAM!
It slamd Hati down with brutal force.
Alex’s spear ca thrusting in, precise and powerful—
CLANG!
Another statue’s trident intercepted it, redirecting the strike and flinging Alex downward.
He stumbled forward, off-balance—
—and a third trident pierced his stomach.
CRACK!
The force sent him flying across the chamber, tumbling across the stone floor.
He ca to a stop so distance away, bleeding heavily and barely conscious.
Even then, he dragged himself toward Hati, arm trembling, blood saring behind him.
He reached the wolf’s side and checked him with trembling hands.
The others ca rushing forward, panic in their voices.
"Are you guys okay?!"
Alex didn’t respond to them.
He placed his hand on Hati and began channelling his wood elent, pouring healing energy into his companion, completely ignoring his own torn flesh.
Hati twitched, groaned in pain... then opened his eyes.
He saw the state Alex was in and gave a weak but frantic bark. "Woof! Woof!"
Alex smiled—bloody, pained, but still smiling.
"I’m... okay," he whispered.
Only after healing Hati fully did Alex turn to his own wounds.
He pressed his hand against the open gashes in his abdon, stopping the bleeding, and slowly began nding his ruptured organs.
Then he collapsed on his back, breathing heavily, gazing at the grey stone ceiling.
His blood pooled beneath him, his three deep wounds still open...
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