“That startled me.”

“I know, right? My heart nearly jumped out. An Ikaga from nowhere.” Keeping half an eye towards the sky, Lily gave her quivers a rattle. Noticing the lack of ammunition in one, she transferred everything into the other.

“Are both of you hurt?”

“I got a tiny scratch, but it’s already healed. I put some healing ointment on it.” Lily raised her arm.

“I didn’t get close to the battle so I’m fine, but I’m a bit cold.” Martha rubbed her hands. Her breath could be seen from the small campfire’s light. “It’s starting to get dark.”

“We’re on the right path. We’ll destroy that core before nightfall.”

The map guided them as far as it could into the forest and was now useless for the rest of the way. Cautious of the Ikaga, one of them always kept track of it after the last encounter. An explosive flash of light painted the clouds for a second as the earth shook.

With giant creatures focused on each other, there was some breathing room for a small break.

“You’re collecting them?” Sharpening some wooden sticks, Kihet couldn’t help but notice Martha holding onto a fan of feathers dropped by the Ikaga.

“They look pretty. Sorry, was I not supposed to?”

“It’s fine, but what will you do with them?”

“I might make some accessories.”

Speaking of accessories, Lily held up Martha’s wrist. There was a crack on the gem as the magical bangle reflected light from the lantern.

“It’s chipped.”

“I might have pushed it too far from the last battle.”

“Is it still usable?”

“It is, but I’ll have to lower the number of barriers I can summon. Sorry, Kihet. I damaged something your friend made for you.”

Kihet didn’t immediately reply. He stayed silent, focused on his current task of carving javelins.

At the mention of his friends, his mind drifted away. He thought it was strange why hadn’t saw any of his friends come back? Twelve years ago, the catastrophic event not only affected Rozzosea and Xu, but the entire world. If his friends died, their bodies would’ve been teleported to the temple like Lemi.

For the last decade, Kihet waited. The temple was active, but no bodies returned. He came to conclusion the others were still alive. His answer will be verified once the Empress has determined a safe passage to Vivrus.

“Kihet, are you mad?”

 The voice snapped him awake. He looked around dazed, then turned to face Martha.

“Did you say something?”

“This bangle, I damaged it…”

She looked sad. Her long ears drooped down as she presented the cracked jewelry on her wrist to him.

“It can be repaired.”

“Really?”

“Yes. So don’t hold back.” He nodded.

“But what if I broke it? It might not be repairable then.”

“Our lives matter more. Use it to its fullest to protect you, Lily and me. I don’t want to lose more people… I care about.”

All this time, Lily watched the atmosphere unfold between them. Her ears flicked irritatingly watching Kihet comforting Martha. Before she could get a word in, Kihet raised his hand, signalling the group it was time to move. She hurriedly took a sip of water and looked around frantically when her ears caught the sound of echoing thumps nearby.

“Hm? Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Martha asked.

“It sounds like a beating heart.”

“Where?”

“It’s coming from… over there.” Lily’s sensitive hearing directed the group in front of a scene in the middle of transformation.

She peeked over Kihet’s shoulders, examining the path ahead of cobblestone and the chamber was illuminated by a faint spotlight of moonlight glow. She found it surprising the deepest part of the miasma filled forest was the brightest.

As the party stepped from dirt path onto stone tiles, Lily experienced a chill similar to the first time she entered the Obsidian Tower near Kihet’s village.

“This… it’s like the hallways from the tower.” She ran a finger over the walls. “It doesn’t look like an illusion.”

“What kind of magic is this?” Martha asked.

“No clue.”

“I can hear something further in-.”

Lily’s voice was overlapped by raging silver flames tunnelling down the hallway. With that firepower coursing through a one way into a dead end, any Shades guarding the dungeon core would’ve been burned to nothing.

“There.”

“I guess that’s one way of dealing with them.” Lily rubbed her eyes.

They located the source responsible for the pulsing noise. In the center of the room, a stone column about ten meters high supported a giant one-quarter white, three-quarters red crystal. Charred spots scattered across the room indicated there once was Lesser Shadows guarding the area.

Kihet’s eyes followed the red stream of light leading up to the sky. Aside from the hallway, the manifesting building had a skylight directly exposing a moon. He was confused to have found the night sky, but quickly realized it was merely a projection. The fake moon had the same symbol as the ones on his arms imprinted on its surface and it was transmitting magic into the crystal.

It should’ve been obvious to find it here. After all, the mysterious mark had connections to the Oracle’s existence and the towers across the world. However, it was unsettling no matter how many times he saw it.

Lily strolled a bit further in and set her bag down. Taking in the scenery, she moved to the crystal and pointed to it. “That’s the core, right?”

“That’s it.”

“Yup.”

“Alright! Time to smash it and go home!” Confirming the crystal was the dungeon core, Lily pulled out a pickaxe from her bag.

It was all too suspiciously easy. Kihet listened for possible curses and magical traps while observing the ground for any pressure plates. Looking around, he noticed irregularities on the visible three sides of the pillar.

“Lily, wait. I want to get a closer look at it.”

“The dungeon’s core going to take form anytime. What’s so important?”

“This.” He pulled back his sleeves, showing her the Oracle markings. “I want to know if I can learn more about it.”

Lily gave a small sigh and scratched her head. In a sense, she was somewhat happy he made a request. Aside from accepting choices that were given to him, he never initiated to ask for something from his mind.

“I guess it can’t be help. We do have a bit of time left. I’ll go look around with Martha. Don’t take too long.”

“I won’t.”

When he shined his torch at the pillar he saw unfamiliar characters on a plaque that were mixed with ancient characters of other races. He could barely make out some of the broken words. Unable to decipher the meaning of the entire passage, he slapped a piece of paper over and traced it using a piece of charcoal. Next, he examined the picture carvings hoping to gain some insight on its context.

Each of the seven sides had different species of trees stretched to the top of the altar. Below each detailed carving, there were images of a large disk. One tree in particular shared similarity with Xu’s sacred blossom tree and its disk was on fire. The others were empty.

Using that clue, he recognized the seven trees as world trees from Xu, Easul, Sanctuary, Vivrus, Pamalyra, Stusis and lastly Rozzosea.

-Wait a minute. Rozzosea had one?

Kihet searched his memory from his visit inside Rozzosea.  A world tree taller than mountains would be hard to miss, and yet, he did not recall anyone mentioned anything of a world tree there.

“Kihet, get this! We found a nest and it might belong to the Winged Wyvern.”

“A nest? Is there anything in it?”

“We can’t climb over it, but it’s over by the corner.” Martha pointed. “I think I heard something.”

“That’s why we rushed back. So, did you find something? Any useful information? Can we break it now?” Lily barraged him with questions.

He jerked his chin towards the altar.

“Isn’t this the sacred tree?” Martha asked. “No way. Are all of these world trees? Pamalyra’s looks like a giant cactus, Sanctuary’s looks like a giant mushroom and I wouldn’t have guessed Easul’s world tree is a giant lotus.”

“There’s a disk under each of them. I don’t know what it means.”

“A disk? It looks like the one I use during the ceremony ritual to give offerings to the tree. Why is Xu the only one with a flame carved on it?”

Martha’s ears shot up like antennas as if she struck an idea. “What if it’s asking for the Oracle’s flames. It always struck me as a brazen rather than an offering altar.”

“That’s it! Why didn’t I think about that?!” Lily shouted. “The sacred tree is supposed to purify the miasma spread by the towers. The Oracle’s flames is the only thing that can go against them! Alright, let’s break this dungeon core and quickly go home! We need to test that theory as soon as possible!”

Kihet silently agreed on that. If there was a disk that needed to be lit in every country, it made more sense for the Oracle to travel around the world instead of going about and blindly picking up hero candidates.

They had learned what they needed and now, it was time to finish the job.

Climbing it would be difficult since there weren’t many footholds to be used. If one manages to get to the top, they needed to be cautious about the crystal randomly shot red bolt of lightning in the air.

Eager to topple the crystal, Lily urged Kihet and Martha to help as she headed towards the altar and readied her stance.

“Heave… and ho!”

Lily went at it like a child destroying an abandoned sandcastle, but to no avail the pillar remained intact. She gave it a couple of heavy swings until she only managed a small crack.

“It’s hard!”

“The altar is probably built of something our equipment can’t break and even if we topple it, the crystal might just stay afloat.”

“Let me try something.” Kihet adjusted his grip on his axe and aimed it at the crystal. He took a step, turning his right shoulder slightly back. Then he quickly twisted his body as he flung his weapon at the core with all his might.

Six magic barriers immediately formed in front of it. Kihet’s axe shattered four before it snapped and bounced off from the fifth one. It wasn’t because the strength behind his throw was lacking. It was the material of the weapon. He was confident if he had a one made of steel instead of stone, preferably something blunt like a mace, he could’ve shattered the barriers and the core.

“It’s well defended. I guess I’ll have to climb up.”

“GEEEEeeeTtttt AWAAAAAYYYY!”

The chamber was flooded with a screech sounding from the hallway. The ground quaked as the way out was blocked off by something slithering through it.

“It’s here!”

“Looks like it escaped the Ikaga.” Lily pulled out her bow and drew the arrow all the way back. Once she saw the creature’s bleeding eyes, she loosened a fiery arrow. She launched one more at the crystal, clicking her tongue as another set of barriers stopped it.

Martha plugged the hole using all the barriers she could muster after the arrow exited the room. The Screecher smashed its antlers against a block of light, the rest of its body continuing to ooze through the tiniest gap between the wall and barrier despite burning in silver light.

Parts of it squeezed into the room like poisonous air slipping through tight gaps. The excess poured into the chamber, shuddering as they shaped themselves into Lesser Shades which were quickly struck down by a flurry of arrows.

“We don’t have much time before the dungeon is completed. Lily and I will hold it off!”

Martha tossed Kihet her pick. Seeing how well the two were holding the Screecher back, he looped a rope around himself, and the altar then began his climb. Being an experienced climber, he easily pulled himself up but had to move slower when he was nearing the top. The crystal zapped red lightning at him, forcing him to stop his climb. He held out his hand, able to use the Oracle’s flames to negate it each time he saw a flash.

He heard several glass shattering noises and looked down. The Screecher breached Martha’s blockade and swept its claws, forcing Lily and Martha to retreat by the pillar. He then saw the two Devil Folk point at him and shouted something to which was drowned out by the Screecher’s howling.

Kihet realized he wasn’t the one being pointed at when the moonlight was blocked out. Dark green feathers fell around him. His eyes darted to the sky and was met with an angry and bloodied Wyvern dropping down with its maw opened wide with him in its sights.

-Shit! If I fall here, the Screecher will get me! If I don’t, this Lizard would!

Trapped in between, he was given seconds to decide before either the Ikaga burned him to crisp or skewered by the Screecher.

Choosing neither, Kihet swung to the other side dodging a cone of fire. Noticing the rope was burning, he used all his strength and buried the pick into the pillar enough to support his weight.

Turning its jaws at him, an orange glow lit up at the back of the Ikaga’s throat for another breath attack. Fwip! A shaft suddenly pinned itself on the side of its head. Tied to it was a firecracker with a flame burning down its fuse. When it popped, the supposed blast of fire from its mouth came out as a puff of embers. The startling noise near its ear canal must’ve stunned it momentarily and left it falling to the ground.

“Kihet, I got you! Keep climbing!” Lily loosened another explosive arrow, keeping the Wyvern stunned.

Kihet redirected his attention back to the almost charged crystal. He pulled the pickaxe for a few exploratory tugs then jumped for the ledge. After pulling himself up, he held up his stone axe and smashed it at the crystal, shattering both the core and his weapon. The room and the moon cracked like a window smashed with a stone, reversing the property back to the forest at snail speed.

They completed their objective. However, the exit was blocked off.

“Kihet, watch out!”

He was about to jump when his vision suddenly sank and his body was forcibly dragged backwards. A stray black whip sliced through the pillar and threw him into the air. It wasn’t at a height he’d die falling from, but he was going to fall into the monsters quarrel.

He avoided breaking his legs by kicking off the fragments and rolled off the slope created by Martha’s barriers.

The Ikaga forced the Screecher to retreat into the hallway with its breath then turned to face them. Flames leaked from its mouth. It was heavily injured from its struggle against the Screecher. This was the most unfavorable scenario. The looks of its bloodshot eyes warned the group creature was enraged.

From what Kihet learned, a monster was at its most dangerous state when backed into a corner especially when intruders fought it in its nest.

“It’s looking at us!” Lily exclaimed.

“You got to be kidding me.”

The party readied their weapons as the Ikaga gave its wings two great flaps as to shake off the pain and ran its talons across the cobblestone tiles. It spread its wings and unleashed a deafening roar, causing Martha to stumble on her bottom. There were heavy thumps in the air as it suddenly rushed forward.

“Eek!”

“Lily, get Martha to cover!”

Kihet twirled one of the wooden spears into his hand and hurled it at the Wyvern’s head. The spear deflected off its scarred cheek and scattered wooden chips into its right eye, slowing it. He slipped underneath the lizard and made a quick swipe at its legs. His sword sliced into its leathery skin but only left a shallow cut.

“Tch. How about this-.”

Before he struck another blow, he suddenly found his arm restrained. A black rope leading towards the hallway latched around his wrist. The Screecher. As it crawled back into the chamber mimicking a humanoid form of his size and stared at Kihet with its bleeding eyes.

Kihet cut himself free, but more swiftly reached out towards him. He clenched his fist and punched the floor, detonating a blast of silvery flames to ward off the attack.

“Get down!”

He heard a shout.

The Ikaga snapped its fangs at Lily and Martha as they dove away. It rammed its plated head into the half standing pillar. The creature staggered back and took an arrow to the face. It went for another charge, but it smacked into hexagonal panels of light and was met with more arrows striking its opened wounds.

“Shit, I let it get away from me.”

“Oooorreeekaaaaal…!” It made a grin on its face taunting Kihet.

“Fine. I’ll deal with you first.”

Kihet unleashed several strikes which only three connected and was countered as the creature’s deadly claws that tore at his chest. If it wasn’t for his breastplate, he would’ve suffered a deep wound. It was now scrap as it was cut through, but it served its worth.

Right after he tore off his chest piece, the Screecher rushed Kihet with its skull. He managed to break off one antler and prevent being fatally stabbed. Unfortunately, the Screecher’s boney head rammed into him and tossed him to the walls.

Kihet used the wall as a launch pad to jump back into the fray against a web of tentacles. He dodged a flurry of swipes with continuous [Crescent Moon Dance], snaking his way through. Once he closed the distance, he delivered two quick flashes using a sword skill [Blooming Petals] and severed both Screecher’s arms. The Oracle’s flames burned where the blade touch, sealing off its ability to regrow limbs in that area.

While the creature was without its limbs, Kihet wailed at it until he saw a gem in the middle of its wispy black ichor body. However, the Screecher made one last attempt. Its boned jaws sprung open like a bear trap and hovered over Kihet’s head.

Then it stopped.

Its body began shrivelling into the size of a dried prune after Kihet’s sword plunged into an object hidden in its skull. The glass bead being its core shattered. The last thing he heard from the Screecher was its last breath exhaled while the rest of its body combusted.

Standing victorious, Kihet flicked his blade clean of any residue then made a beeline to the Wyvern.

He saw Lily and Martha coordinating a hit and run tactic. The Ikaga’s right side was filled of arrows and whenever it breathed fire, the two hid behind the pillar’s remains for cover.

Kihet snuck up next to the monster and drew his dagger in reverse grip. He stabbed his blade into its ankle and severed its tendon with his dagger in the most ruthless way, spilling blood and gore.

“I took care of the other creature! Are you two alright?”

“We held out somehow.” Lily answered.

“Martha, you?”

“Sorry, my legs gave out from its roar. Watch out!”

The Wyvern pivoted around, swinging its massive jaws glowing bright orange and snapped at him with its flame coated fangs. Since its turn speed was slow and sluggish, Kihet easily backed off.

As its sheer size blocked Martha’s view, she was unable to cast a shield to protect Kihet. Its long tail came around and whipped against his sword. His weapon was a mass-produced model and wasn’t strengthened by magic. It bent into an L when he used the flat part of the blade to block and sent him sprawling back by Martha’s side.

“I’ve put so many arrows in it and it won’t die.” Said Lily as she loosened more projectiles. “How do we kill this thing? I’m running out of arrows.”

“We’re close. It’s slowing down.”

“Kihet.” Martha tugged his sleeve. “I know we’re fighting it because it got in our way, but do we have to kill it? We completed our quest.”

“If we leave it, there’s a chance it might cause trouble in the future.”

“I know, but… from a non-adventurer’s point of view, I feel bad. Earlier, I heard noise from its nest.”

Scanning the creature, he saw the Ikaga attempted to intimidate them using its great size, hissing and spread its wings. The Wyvern stood near its nest. Its eyes were half closed, limping, and shaking, obviously major signs of exhaustion. Maybe one more hit in its vitals would do the job.

“Kuu… gua!”

Flames puffed out of the nest. Two small heads poked out of the nest, crying out for food.

“Is that… it’s younglings?” Lily put down her aim. “Kihet, what should we do?”

He took a quick glance at his party and his sword. Lily was low on ammunition and Martha looked like she didn’t want to fight anymore. Also, his sword was in a bad shape. It was still usable, but if he took another attack head on, it would break, leaving him weaponless.

By defeating the Screecher, the exit was freed, and they had completed their objective as Martha stated.

“We’re withdrawing.”