Amber gasps, jolting upright, his hands grasping at the ash beneath him as he sits on the ground. His eyes dart around, his arms shaking before he locks eyes with Fuerza, who slowly approaches from the shadows, the darkness radiating from them twitching. Amber grasps at his heart, looking down at his body, his wounds mended and his clothes repaired.
“Fuerza, I need… I need your help,” he admits, watching as Fuerza draws closer. They raise a hand, prompting Amber to stop talking.
“I know.” They slowly sit down before Amber, crossing their legs. “I’ve been watching, and I want to answer what I can.”
“But, Lana,” Amber begins, being cut off as Fuerza raises their hand again.
“We have as much time as we need in here. I wanted to start by telling you why I have not been communicating with you.”
“I… I trust you, but there’s… Golem is…”
“I can deal with Golem, I’m quite confident of that because of what you’ve given me. I do not know what you are, but I do know that your power is similar to the energy Gorlac used to make me… Celestial energy.”
“I… I don't know what that means, what… what do you mean by celestial?”
“I do not know enough about it to answer what it is… I only know that Gorlac called my power celestial energy… and that I sense that same power from you. Now, allow me to continue with what I was saying. I have not been communicating with you because your mind, though strong due to your species’ inheritance, is still unable to handle a remote connection with me as of late, as I have grown much stronger than when we first met. Holding back enough to avoid killing you when you nearly wore the crown took more out of me than I could manage to do again.”
“But… why did you stop me from putting on the crown?”
“I told you I overrode the connection Gorlac and I had using the one I made with you, but I still feel a small sliver of that link, so I believe that it is more than likely… that if I were to confront Gorlac, he would be able to reastablish that connection. Because of this, I am not a viable weapon against him, so it appears… that the Golden Star might be your only option.”
“Why… didn’t you tell me about the thing about you needing to use a quarter of my soul each time? What if I… put it on when I didn’t need your help because I thought it was safe?”
“I don’t know much about how the crown functions. I can only know what I can see… and what I can sense. Speaking of sense. I can sense that my power… only continues to grow. I believed that I had felt the upper limits of the power I could get from you when you put on the crown the first time, but…” Fuerza begins, slowly standing. “This time… my power has multiplied… maybe not tenfold, but by a great number.” he turns away from Amber, looking up at the image above, a live feed of Amber’s eyes, staring up at the falling ceiling.
“What… does this mean?” Amber asks, pulling himself to his paws.
“This means… that if you somehow manage to survive to the point of using the crown for a fourth time… I will become a god. I would reach near the upper limits of the power a celestial being can have… if this trend continues, that is.”
“What will you do if that happens?” Amber asks, stumbling forward slightly.
“If I ascend to godhood, then I… do not know, exactly. Before I met you, I would have given the power to Gorlac, which would give him the power to… plunge trillions of realities into war, continuing to expand his power until he broke through the limit of what a celestial can be… reaching a status that we have yet to name.”
“If you’re going to fight Golem, then what… what should I do?” Amber asks, watching as Fuerza steps towards the darkness.
“Sit back… and watch a show that very few will ever get to experience,” Fuerza answers before vanishing, causing the darkness around him to twist into itself.
The sand beneath the truck starts to vibrate, the grains slowly beginning to fuse together and spike upwards, turning to glass as Amber’s hands fall to his sides, his claws retracting back into his fingertips. A thin platform of black and gold appears above his head, Golem’s foot crashing against it. The shape smashes through the layer of sandstone, the metal of the ceiling above warping as it slams against the gold and is forced to a stop. Amber’s eyes fade to black, slowly turning red before Fuerza’s take their place, a loud crack echoing around them. They look up at the trembling ceiling above, watching as the shape digs into the metal. Darkness starts to pulse around their body, their hair fading from bright cyan to deep red, the strands transforming into electricity. Fuerza looks down at Lana, preparing to snap their fingers. Lana and the truck vanish as Fuerza snaps before they glance back up at the ceiling, darkness beginning to wrap around their body.
Maxwell stops, turning to look at Golem, watching as darkness shines like light from under Golem’s foot, the sky starting to darken. Shari catches herself, spinning around to look in the same direction before an incredible beam of dark energy shoots into the sky, completely vaporizing Golem’s right calf, causing Golem to begin moving backwards. The massive tower of darkness rips into the sky, twisting into itself, tearing the clouds into shreds before the energy freezes in place and shoots back down towards the ground, collapsing into Fuerza as their body starts to pulse violently, spreading large fractures through the ground beneath them. Fuerza exhales audibly, the action being followed with silence for a moment before an incredible gust of wind tears through the air, speeding past Maxwell and Shari, throwing them back. They hit the ground, continuing to stare at Fuerza as Maxwell stumbles to his paws and pulls Shari up, the large amount of energy around Fuerza visible from a distance. Golem slowly looks down at them, their massive, crude hands floating to its sides. Maxwell grips Shari’s arm tighter as the sound of rushing wind grows louder, the volume becoming greater with each movement of Fuerza’s energy. He begins sprinting towards the building once again, cracks spreading through the earth beneath them, each pulse from the energy around Fuerza causing them to spread. Maxwell looks up at the building, which isn’t too far ahead of them. He turns to Shari and attempts to speak, his voice being drowned out as the earth starts to shake, the incredible rumbling causing pebbles to float slightly. He slides to a stop before the large entrance, turning back to Fuerza, watching as one of Golem’s hands speeds down towards them.
Fuerza stretches, closing their eyes and crossing their arms as they crack their neck, the sound shooting across the ground, shattering the stone just beneath them. The edge of their mouth pulls into a grin, their perfect white teeth shining in the sun. Fuerza exhales through their nose, vanishing as the air smashes against the ground with incredible force. They appear high in the sky, standing atop a thin platform of dark gold and staring down at Golem as it struggles to keep its balance with only one leg. Fuerza points down towards the maze, creating a gun-like shape with their fingers, using only their index finger before a thin line of energy shoots down towards the structure, leaving behind rings of dark energy.
Maxwell stares at the tall door, the surface devoid of any handles, a rectangular puzzle propped on the surface of the right door. A thin burst of dark energy then smashes against it, causing Maxwell to stumble back and cover his eyes, debris being thrown around and a large hole being smashed into the gateway, heavy gears and pieces of the puzzle smashing against the floor. Maxwell rushes forward, ducking through the hole as Shari follows close behind.
“It’s become easier to control…” Fuerza begins, pulling their hand before themselves, calmly inspecting it. The sound of their voice tears past Golem, causing the massive glass eyes to shatter. “Yet I feel far more powerful.” The sound smashes against Golem yet again, causing it to start leaning back, losing its balance. Golem’s fist speeds through the air towards Fuerza. Fuerza looks down, pointing his hands towards it, his muscles relaxed.
Maxwell stops, staring at Lana, who sits against the wall, the ripped apart and slightly melted truck propped against the wall to her left.
“Lana?” Maxwell calls, his voice still drowned out by the rumbling. He turns, watching as a wall of darkness rises around the three of them, burning through the middle of the vehicle before twisting closed at the top, encasing them in a circle of dark energy, the sound of the shaking earth being silenced instantly.
Fueza continues to aim their hand towards Golem’s fist, their other hand, which is facing towards the maze falling to their side. They then clench their fist, causing Golem’s hand to freeze in the air, large fractures spreading through the surface. They turn their hand to the left, Golem’s being ripped away at incredible speeds, slamming against the ground, the impact throwing massive clouds of sand flying in every direction, sending massive cracks spreading through the already devastated land, the stone beginning to look like a checkerboard of rising and falling pieces. Fuerza looks up, watching as Golem’s other fist speeds towards them. They open their hand, pointing the palm towards the speeding structure before a massive wall of dark gold appears before them. Golem’s fist crashes against it, the barrier remaining unfazed by the impact while Golem’s fingers are smashed to pieces, the metal bending and warping as the layer of sandstone around them is broken apart, falling from the thick, rectangular metal skeleton. Fuerza closes their fist, causing the wall to shrink into a small cube. They then extend their fingers forward, causing the shape to rapidly expand, becoming an incredibly long pole of darkened gold. Fuerza’s hair flows in the wind generated from the expanding shape, with it narrowly missing him. The other end spears through Golem’s chest and hand, breaking away large sections of the sandstone layer on its body. Fuerza then swings their arm before pulling it to their chest. They duck as the elongated shape suddenly spins, tearing through Golem’s right side, ripping the hand in half and swinging overhead, narrowly missing them before swinging in the opposite direction, slicing through Golem’s upper torso. Fuera stands up straight, reaching forward and creating a clawing gesture with their hands. The layer of sandstone around Golem’s head suddenly bursts, the stone falling to reveal a large mass of jagged black shapes wrapped tightly around the metal. Fuerza snaps the fingers on their other hand, the two halves of Golem’s hand collapsing into each other, being crushed into a small jagged mass of metal before they make a flicking gesture. He flicks the air, a loud crack echoing around them. The mass of metal is launched forward, leaving behind a large ring of dark energy. Golem’s neck joint shrieks, struggling to hold up its entire body, its head being held up by the black shapes before the mass rips into Golem’s head, tearing a massive hole through it, sending a gargantuan rain of debris shooting backwards at incredible speeds. Golem’s body freezes, twitching before its legs start to fall, going limp. Fuerza vanishes, appearing just before Golem’s falling torso, standing atop a small platform made of dark gold, the wall of sandstone descending at high speeds. Fuerza clenches their fist, taking a step back and drawing their fist back, preparing to throw an uppercut-like punch. Fuerza then swings, their hand crashing into the metal and opening, an ear-splitting shriek echoing around them as their hand rips through the metal, Golem’s body slowly losing speed before stopping, hanging in the air by Fuerza’s grip. A large line of destruction runs down Golem’s chest, a hand-shaped streak of warping in the metal, a thick line of sandstone broken away. Fuerza then lifts their arm, lifting Golem slightly before the darkness around them starts to die down. Fuerza looks down at themself, raising an eyebrow before exhaling. They then clench their fist, beams of darkness sticking from the cracks in Golem’s body, acting like a bright light. The streaks of darkness tear through the landscape as Fuerza releases Golem, allowing them to fall once again. Golem’s body starts to expand, causing the sandstone around the thick metal skeleton to break away. Fuerza vanishes moments before Golem’s entire body bursts, a powerful explosion ripping through the landscape, devastating the already destroyed ground even further, crushing the pillars into dust and showering the entire land in light.
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Maxwell approaches Lana, placing a hand against her pulse, exhaling before moving back.
“So.. is she alive?” Shari asks. Gripping her shoulder.
‘She’s alive, but unconscious,” Maxwell replies, standing. He stumbles back as Fuerza appears before them with a loud crack, a metal disk in their hand.
“Ambr! You…” Maxwell begins, shielding their eyes, the darkness around Fuerza’s body thinning, Amber’s fur poking through slightly. He holds out the disk to Maxwell, who hesitates for a moment before taking it. The black barrier starts to fall, revealing the utterly devastated landscape beyond it, the maze now collapsed, the pieces having sunk into the openings in the earth. Shari turns, staring at the scene before looking back at Fuerza, who stares at them.
“It appears… that the stronger I get… the more control I gain over these abilities…” Fuerza begins, their thundering voice getting quieter and quieter. “And the less time Amber is given.” Fuerza closes their eyes, the darkness now only a thin layer beneath Amber’s fur. “I… might have gotten carried away… and now have to suppress more and more of my energy to give Amber a chance at surviving, but I got the coordinates… and there appeared to be nobody else on this planet, so you will not need to go to the other temple… nor will you need to rescue anyone.” they reach up, clamping their hands around the crown before taking a slow breath and pulling it from their scalp. Amber’s eyes close as he collapses, falling to the floor and hitting it with a thud, the crown bouncing from his hand and clanging against the ground. His clothes have been completely repaired, and all his visible injuries are gone. The last few flickers of darkness around his body are pulled towards his chest, vanishing beneath his skin. Maxwell approaches, reaching forward and placing his hand against Amber’s neck, feeling the pulse.
“He’s alive as well, but his pulse is weak,” Maxwell adds, pulling his hand away before reaching up and gently pressing his fingertips against Amber’s eyelids, propping his eyes open, watching as darkness flickers through his irises.
“So… do you think he’ll be okay?” Shari asks. Maxwell exhales, his hand moving to hover over Amber’s mouth.
“I don’t know. As I said, he’s alive, but he’s weak. Getting possessed and overloaded with power isn’t something that happens every day. This is a very unique situation. He’s breathing, though.” Maxwell stands, looking around. “Either way, it would be best if we got him home where he can rest… and where my equipment is.” Shari nods, her hand still clamped around her shoulder. He turns as Lana reaches up, grasping her head.
“What… what’s going on?” she remarks, opening her eyes. Her hand slides from her forehead, brushing against her glasses before she grips the wall, pulling herself to her paws.
“Fuerza destroyed Golem and got the other set of coordinates,” Maxwell adds, watching as she stumbles slightly, looking down at Amber.
“Amber!” she calls, running to his side. She kneels before him, feeling his wrist and looking up at Maxwell. “His pulse,” she begins as Maxwell glances down at her.
“I know, he’s weak, but he’s alive,” Maxwell adds, shoving the metal disk into his pocket. “We still need to get the coordinates in here, but I’m pretty sure we passed the majority of the puzzles. Still keep an eye out, though.” Lana nods, releasing Amber’s hand. She then grasps the crown with her left hand before leaning towards Amber, wrapping her arms around him and slowly pulling him upright, groaning as she props him against herself.
“You’re going to carry him?” Maxwell asks, watching as she struggles upright.
“I… yeah, I can’t leave him here.”
“I can't imagine he’ll move, and this place seems safer.”
“I can’t leave him here. What if we have to leave in a hurry?”
“Well, I can’t stop you, but he’ll slow us down,” Maxwell adds, watching as Shari turns towards a trapdoor. “Though… you’re right, it would be difficult if something trapped us, and we couldn’t get to him.” Shari approaches the door, glancing back at them.
“So… there’s a door back here, do you think this is the way?” she asks, watching as Maxwell approaches.
“I don't see any other doors… other than the entrance, so I’d assume so,” he answers. Kneeling before it. He reaches forward, grasping the handle and slowly pulling it open to reveal the staircase beneath. Lana approaches and looks down at the opening with Amber slumped over her shoulder.
“What do you think’s down there?” She asks.
“I don’t know, but it should be the coordinates,” Maxwell answers, pulling himself upright before stepping down onto the first step. “According to the writing, the only thing we were supposed to actually fight was in the other temple, and the fact that there was… a pretty lackluster-looking puzzle on the entrance to this building, makes me think there might be another puzzle, but i might be the last one.” he starts to descend, his eyes scanning the dimly lit chamber. The hall at the end of the stairs is suddenly lit up by lanterns, revealing the long corridor made of sandstone. Maxwell glances back, watching as Shari and Lana descend the stairs behind him. Lana glances at Amber, watching as his chest slowly rises and falls, indicating that he is breathing.
“What… happened out there?” Lana asks as they step off the stairs. Maxwell stares down the hall before turning to her.
“Fuerza destroyed Golem… along with the ground.” Lana glances down at the crown in her hand, exhaling.
“So… this means that half of Amber’s soul was…” she begins, her hand clamped tightly around it.
“I’m assuming that’s the case,” Maxwell adds, beginning to walk forward, Lana and Shari following behind. “At least, that’s what Pala seemed to imply would happen.”
“Do you think that… if… he survives, he’ll be the same?” Maxwell sighs, placing his hand against the wall as he walks.
“I don’t know. He didn’t seem to change much the last time, so maybe it doesn't take the part of the soul that holds memories.”
“I hope not,” she adds, glancing at Amber again before looking ahead. Maxwell stops, causing the others to do the same as steam shoots from a small slit in the ground before them. He stares at the small opening before the floor starts to shift, the hole opening further. A long, spider-like limb reaches from within the opening, the tip breaking apart into thousands of tiny pins that press against the floor, softening the impact before the steam is blown away, a collection of metal spheres emerging, a face vaguely similar to the one on the illustration of Nedaro staring at them from the smallest sphere, the face a static image of screens that begin glowing, showering them in white light. For a moment, a voice shouts from it in a foreign language, glitching for a moment before switching to English. A song then begins to play, the audio quality low, and the sound distant. The song sounds like one you’d hear in a carnival. Ten legs identical to the first rise from the hole, attaching to the machine’s body.
“Wel- welcome to the- the first tem- temple,” the voice announces, its voice glitching and repeating words. “My- my name is Nev- Nevlat.” It begins scuttling back, transitioning from walking along the floor to the wall, then to the ceiling as it continues to stare at them, its face remaining upright despite its body being upside down.
“It’s been- been many years sin- since anyone has come, an- and after so long, I’ve be- begun thinking nobody would!” Nevlat shouts, its voice unsettingly chipper and excited. “I’ve be- been so bored! It’s ex- exciting to finally ha- have people to play with!” Maxwell takes a step back before looking down, the floor starting to lower, disconnecting from the walls. The barriers then start to rise into the ceiling, the entire chamber shaking. Maxwell stares at Nevlat, taking a deep breath.
“Hello?” he calls, watching as Nevlat’s face tilts. “What's going on?” The bottom of the walls aligns with the ceiling, the floor freezing in place, creating a large chamber. The stone suddenly breaks away, falling into a thin grid of holes in the floor that seal once all the remaining rubble is gone, the entire chamber now made entirely of metal.
“You- you have begun the las- last puzzle for the firs- first half of the co- coordinates! I’m Nevlat, I’m supposed to- to just watch over the last puzzle, but…” Nevlat announces, trailing off.
“But… what?” Maxwell repeats, watching as Nexlat twitches.
“But… I’ve spent so- so long unmonitored, that I’ve made- made a few of my own… and I’ve been- been excited to show someone!” Nevlat drops from the ceiling, crashing against the floor, denting its body before stumbling upright. Nevlat’s body twitches, staring at them as Maxwell exhales.
“What do we have to do to get the coordinates?” he asks, watching as Nevlat tilts its head.
“Coordinates?” it remarks, suddenly jolting upright. “Oh- oh yes, the coordinates! That’s- that’s what the- the old stakes- stakes were! Tell- tell me, how badly do you want- want them?” One of its long, spider-like limbs reaches for the back of its head before pulling away a small disk, holding it in the air.
“It’s… pretty important, we could lose everything without it,” Maxwell answers, watching as Nevlat begins inspecting the metal surface.
“Then this should- should suffice as a reward for- for beating my puzzles!” Nevlat announces, slowly placing the coordinates on the floor. Its face flickers with purple light for a moment before the ground starts to shake, a large opening appearing just before Maxwell, causing him to step back as a large opening is made between Nevlat and them. “Tell me- me, what are all your- your names?” It stares at them as they each say their names. It then turns to Amber, staring at him.
“This is Amber, he’s… he’s hurt, he can’t join us,” Lana announces, watching as Nevlat’s face pulses with red light for a moment.
“That’s unfortunate, only having- having three contestents will complicate- complicate things a bit. Not- not for me, but you’ll have- have one less person to search with you- you. In the maze, I his some- some-” Nevlat begins, being interrupted by Maxwell.
“The maze was destroyed.”
“I… have neglected to leave and- and maintain the labyrinth, but I’m sure- sure it couldn't be- be that bad.”
“Golem destroyed it, along with most of the land. there’s not much left intact out there,” Maxwell answers, watching as Nevlat’s entire face flips upside down.
“That’s unfortunate, I had- had planted such pretty flowers in- in the maze a while back, I was- was going to have you search for them.”
Don't you think they’d be dead by now anyways?” Maxwell adds.
“It would be- be in your best interest to- to stop, because if you’re telling the truth, there’s no point- point in antagonizing me any more,” Nevlat remarks, its face flipping back upright. “I’m not going to- to give you the coordinates for nothing, so- so I’ll need to think- think of a new puzzle.” A grid of inch-wide squares appears on the floor beneath them, pulsing with purple light.
“I’ve got a new idea. It won't be as- as intellectually challenging, but re- resources are sparse, and I’ve been clearly in- instructed not to do word- word puzzles,” Nevlat remarks, the floor beginning to quiver, a small ripple running through as the small squares start to move independently. Suddenly, a line of tiles shoots into the ceiling behind them, blocking the exit. A large collection of tiles before them starts to fall, widening the hole. Lana’s hand remains clamped around the crown as the looks around.
“The challenge,” Nevlat begins, slowly moving backward towards the wall, its legs clamping onto thin tiles as they protrude from the surface. It quickly ascends the barrier, banging its head against the ceiling before locking into place. “Is a bit- bit scuffed, I’ll ad- admit. I wasn’t made- made for creating puzzles, but I’ve- I’ve just decided I don't- don’t like the one they gave me- me.” A small square of nine tiles starts to rise, lifting the coordinates a bit off the ground. Lana turns to Maxwell, who takes a slow breath and stares up at Nevlat. He then turns to her and Shari.
“I’ll be honest, I’m not too good at puzzles, it’s just not in my skill set.” Lana turns to him, exhaling.
“Well, that's… I’m not very good at puzzles either. How about you, Shari?”
“I have some experience, but it’s… been a while,” she replies. Maxwell sighs, turning back to Nevlat.
“Well… let’s hope the puzzle’s easy,” he adds, looking back at the blockade behind them before turning back towards Nevlat. He watches as tiles start to spread horizontally across the large pit, creating openings and sairs before walls begin rising around them. Lana takes a step back, moving away from the tiles beside her as they rise, suddenly being thrust up towards the ceiling, hundreds of thin columns of metal crashing against the roof sequentially, creating a loud chain of clangs before the sounds stop, leaving all of them in complete darkness.
“Is everyone alright?” Maxwell calls.
“I’m alright!” Lana replies before Shari does as well.
“Me too!” Suddenly, metallic lanterns flicker to life from the ceiling, showering the corridor in purple light. Lana looks up at the thin hall before them, thousands of tiny columns sticking from the walls, creating a detailed pattern along the barriers made purely of thin, rectangular metal rods. The chamber slowly starts to look more and more like a dungeon, though, due to the limited number of different shapes, better resembles pixelated graphics. Nevlat’s voice comes onto the speakers, its voice echoing off the walls.
“All- all you have to do is- is make- make your way through the- the maze! It shouldn’t be- be too hard, because this- this room isn't huge, but I did- did my best.” Lana looks down at the crown in her hands, taking a slow breath as steam shoots from the thin lines between the tiles, everything locking into place.
Was the action in this chapter intense enough?
