Kyle dodged blow after blow, baton flashing out as the skeletons advanced.  The bones were dense, each strike only managing to knock chips of obsidian free.  The narrow hallway made the battle even more difficult, as he was unable to easily push past.  Tendrils of Parasitic Resonance reached out toward them, with nowhere to connect. 

“C.H.A.D.D., what the hell are these things?” Kyle yelled, allowing an obsidian claw to rip at his arm for an opportunity to advance farther down the hallway.  The crystalline hand didn’t manage to break skin, though Kyle was more concerned about being grabbed and bogged down by sheer numbers.

[THEY ARE JUST SKELETONS, DR. MAYHEW.  THEIR BONE STRUCTURE HAS BEEN REINFORCED AND COATED IN THE VOLCANIC GLASS.]

“Then how are they moving?  Skeletons don’t move, C.H.A.D.D.”

[AS A POINT OF FACT, YOURS IS MOVING RIGHT NOW, DR. MAYHEW.]

Kyle winced as he misjudged a dodge, a shallow cut opening above his left eye.  Before Adaptive Regeneration could heal the injury, the oppressive heat from the shard seared it shut.  Only three more skeletons remained in the stairwell hallway, barring his path into the open office floor, and Kyle tried to push the pain down as he charged forward.

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it!” 

[MY SCANNERS DON’T DETECT ANYTHING MOVING THE BONES INTERNALLY.  THERE IS NO MANA NETWORK FOR THEM TO MOVE, NOR ARE THERE MECHANICAL MEANS OF MOTION.  MY BEST ESTIMATE IS CONTROL VIA MAGNETISM, THOUGH THAT IS SPECULATION AT BEST.]

Kyle activated Identify as he knocked away two of the skeletons, focusing on the third.  Instead of looking directly into the empty eye sockets, he turned his attention to the air around it.  As C.H.A.D.D. guessed, he could see traces of familiar energy in the air, reminiscent of his fight with the fish.  Damn.

In all of his risk calculations, he’d failed to consider that there would be a blasted C Grade variant dwelling in the innermost zone.  There was no reason to have a challenge at this level present for a D Grade trial, so the thought never crossed his mind.  He believed the Dragon he encountered in Phase Two to be C Grade, and it had dispatched Ger’Sinh with ease.  If this beast was similarly powerful, he’d be dead.

His baton came down on the skull, knocking it to the ground.  It grasped at him with its arms as it fell, but Kyle was already past it.  More of the skeletons were shambling about in the room ahead, moving toward the hallway he’d just exited.  Kyle smiled.  The beast made a major miscalculation.  In the narrow hallways, Kyle was forced to engage to get past them.  In an open, empty room he wasn’t constrained.  The full power of Ignition went on display as he danced past the skeletal assailants, not even bothering to attack.  “How many are accounted for?”

[ALL BUT THREE, DR. MAYHEW.]

Kyle let out a sigh of relief.  Even if three were barring his path in another narrow hall, he felt confident in his ability to get past.  A loud crack snapped him out of his thoughts, and a searing pain in his left arm drew his attention.  The stonebloom bracer on his left arm had been scorched through, cracking and falling to the floor.  Kyle saw similar damage appearing on his left side, and his eyes went wide.

“C.H.A.D.D., focus on mending!”

[I’M TRYING, DR. MAYHEW.  THE DAMAGE FROM THE HEAT IS ACCUMULATING FASTER THAN I CAN RECOVER IT.]

Kyle’s mind raced as he dashed down one flight of stairs, then another.  One of the missing skeletons was waiting, but he simply blew past it.  I can’t afford to lose this armor. “C.H.A.D.D., use it.”

Kyle instantly felt a heavy pull through his link to the drone, as if he was trying to bench press an elephant.  A slow trickle of power fed through the link, moving through the tendril like molasses.  Motes of golden energy appeared in Ignition’s crimson aura as the residual power of the World Tree Seed was drawn in.  Kyle could feel the stonebloom armor begin to twist and shift around his torso, though he didn’t have a chance to look. 

The heat from the shard also abated significantly, though his arm was still taking severe damage.  The last two skeletons were standing in the stairwell leading to the ninth floor, and Kyle vaulted over their heads and past them, landing hard on the stairs below but not stopping for a moment.  Elation bloomed in his chest.  He’d made it!

SKREEE-AAAAAAAWWWW

His hope wilted immediately as he felt an incredible surge of mana through Auric Perception. 

[JUMP, DR. MAYHEW!]

Kyle didn’t need to be told twice.  He leapt back up the stairs, nearly crashing into a pursuing skeleton.  A sound like a million power saws screeched through the air, and a wave of darkness passed below, right where he’d been a moment before.  Flashes of blue and white were present in the arcing wave, the high-pitched whine of the attack now joined by the sound of rent metal and collapsing stone.  The upper part of the tower where he now stood began to slide downward, and he saw the dunes below rise up. 

With an anticipatory breath, he jumped through the space toward the top of the sheared-off stairwell.  The upper third of the tower fell to the dunes with a loud crash, though Kyle didn’t watch it land.  His eyes were fixed on a fast-retreating arc of pure black, an unstoppable blade made from the obsidian sand, moving towards the horizon as if it were ready to split the very sky.  He couldn’t help but shake as he saw the neat line cut through the tower.  If he’d been just a moment slower, he would’ve died.  Even if he used Storm Shelter, it couldn’t protect against an attack of that magnitude. 

Turning his eyes to the dunes around him, he saw the landscape of the inner area had changed quite a bit.  The ever-present storm had abated, offering a bird’s eye view.  The tower still stood, albeit a third shorter, but the volcanic glass had receded significantly, likely used as fuel for the massive attack.  That might have been a comfort, if it wasn’t for the shambling forms of nearly a thousand skeletons, with more pulling themselves out of the dunes. 

Where’s the C Grade? Kyle thought, looking out from his position.  He hoped to get a look at the creature to see what he was dealing with, but he couldn’t find it.  “C.H.A.D.D., are you detecting its location on your scanners?”

[NO, DR. MAYHEW.]

“Let me know when you do.”  With that, he dashed down the stairs again, descending as quickly as he could manage.  He made it all the way down to the third floor when he heard the beast’s cry again. 

SKREEE-AAAAAAAWWWW

Kyle didn’t feel the surge of energy like he had before, but he felt the whole tower lurch as something massive collided with it.  Looking up, he got a glimpse of dull gray scales as the tower was rocked to its foundation, being ripped from the very ground.  Kyle tightened his grip on the shard as he fell, his baton being dropped in the madness. 

He staggered to his feet, standing on what had been a wall just moments before.  Kyle’s vision swam, attempting to shake off the disorientation.  “C.H.A.D.D., where’s the nearest exit?”

A string of orange lights were projected out in front of him, and Kyle followed the trail, stumbling out into the dunes.  He stopped, taking in the sight before him.  The fish was huge, easily 400 meters long.  A nose that reminded Kyle of a swordfish had pierced all the way through the tower, and it was shaking its head vigorously in an attempt to dislodge it.  Resplendent orange and black fins jutted up from its spine, standing in contrast to the deep gray scales of its body.  It boasted front and rear legs that seemed almost reptilian in nature, though Kyle could make out webbed toes.  Its tail was long and thick, with fins the same color as those on its back like the fins on a missile.

It was as regal as it was bizarre, and Kyle would have loved to take the time to admire it further.  As it was, he didn’t have the time.  C.H.A.D.D. pointed lights in the direction he’d come from, and Kyle burst into motion.  The swarming skeletons moved at him like puppets, but were unable to keep up with his speed as he accelerated.  The golden energy from the World Tree Seed was beginning to fade, and he didn’t want to risk drawing more.  The only thing on Kyle’s mind was escape.  Covert Dexterity helped him as he moved across the dunes, and he was making good time. 

Suddenly, a shadow appeared overhead.  He looked up to see the broken piece of the tower soaring through the air, and he had to adjust his course to avoid being smashed.  A cloud of volcanic glass erupted from the landing zone, and Kyle swore as broken pieces of skeletal remains began to pour out of the damaged structure.

Despite understanding that they were magnetically animated, a part of Kyle couldn’t help but feel like he was in a bona-fide zombie apocalypse.  He could feel the beast’s attention turning towards him, and considered for a moment if he should just leave the shard.  Kyle was fairly certain that he was inconsequential in the creature’s estimation, and that it was far more interested in keeping the unique treasure. 

Kyle bristled at the thought, shoving it aside as it came.  He’d lost part of his armor, been burned, and bled for this shard.  It was his now.  He found himself snarling as he jumped over a grasping skeleton, running toward the entry area.  He had no idea how long the fish would pursue, but he wasn’t going to leave empty-handed.     

SKREEE-AAAAAAAWWWW

Kyle braced himself, risking a glance as he looked back towards the creature.  His eyes widened as he saw the fragmented skeletons rise into the air, thousands of body parts suspended in the sky.  Kyle wasn’t sure what was happening, until he felt the sand beneath his feet shift.  He dove to the side as one of the skeletons was blasted towards the place he’d been standing, striking the sand with the force of a bomb.

It’s using them like a thrice-damned rail gun, Kyle realized in horror.  The sand beneath him shifted again as he ran, two more explosions sending him flying.  Storm Shelter sprang to life around him as three more skeletons impacted the barrier, leaving a thick network of cracks on his shield.  A fourth, fifth, and sixth struck in short order, and a seventh broke the skill entirely.  Kyle was already moving, the explosion from the barely-dodged skeleton propelling him back toward the entrance to the second layer. 

More explosions sounded behind him as more skeletons were used as ammunition, ripping apart the dunes.  Kyle got behind one of the ruined buildings, which crumbled under concentrated fire from the monstrous fish.  He continued to run, the devastation following close on his heels.  His cover was rapidly disappearing, and a sinking feeling began to well up in his stomach.  Even if he made it through the second layer, could he make it out of the first?  The buildings were less numerous, and without them taking the brunt of the attacks, he’d be an easy target.  He gritted his teeth as he ran, silencing the lingering doubt.  No room for doubt.  The only way out is through.