Trial and Tribulation

Chapter 4

Trial and Tribulation

Within the tower, the party strolls through a spiraling hall.

Brrr!! It's even cold in here. What could they be planning with the cannon?" Katty wondered.

"We'll have to plan carefully. This tower will test our skills and endurance." Blade said.

The room temperature immediately shifts upon entering the room. A room filled with gravel of stones piled up. Solid ground dirt and stacks of mud and clay surround the field. The floor begins shaking as Alistor, and the party stands their ground. Two hands emerge out from the dirt as a massive torso begins pulling itself out. A monster of the earth stands in their path. A solid diamond shape is embodied on its base.

"Looks like our first opponent is ready," Alistor said.

"That was fast. Havok sure doesn't waste any time." Katty added.

Their team member Bow was the first to step up.

"Are you sure you want to go? You're still tired from that fight with that umbrella guy. I'm still at full power. Let me fight!" Katty insists.

"No! It's okay…let me take this one. You'll need to preserve your strength for the later floors."

He pulls out his quill, dust emitting from the back of his jacket.

The monster throws the first swing for Bow to dodge as the rest moves back. A heavy swing shakes up the ground. Bow retaliates back with his feather, chipping a part of the monster's back. The beast turns around to strike back, knocking him across the floor. It begins rooting itself to the ground, fist of rocks starts to pop out from a distance. Bow rolls across the dirt flooring, trying to make a recovery.

"I have to get in close…."

He charges in, strafing through what the monster throws at him. It forms a wall of clay, but Bow didn't hesitate to fire his magic quill. A colossal gash of wind pierces through the wall from the tip of his pen. The barrier shatters, catching the golem off guard.

A whole part of the monster breaks off.

"He seems to have this one in the bag." Katty believed.

"I wouldn't celebrate just yet. Look!" Blade pointed.

The golem turns around with no feeling of pain or damage. Stones begin pulling back to reform its lost limb. Then, the monster makes a massive leap in the air directly in Bow's position.

Bow moves out the way as quickly as possible, avoiding the impact but gets plummeted from the debris flying across the room.

"That's it! I'm going in." Katty yelled.

Katty attempt to jump in, but Alistor stops him. Bow got back up to swing at the oncoming stones mindlessly. The swirling motion of the rocks begins slowing down as he catches something out of place moving away. It was a glowing object visible within his sight.

"A core! Of course!"

Distance away, he tosses his quill at the glowing core. The swirling stones begin to stop as the monster rushes to reform itself. Damage and sparks burst out from the monster's body.

"So that's the source of your power. You need it to retain your certain form."

Cracks begin forming across the monster. It struggles to hold its body together. Finally, the beast self-destructs with his quill destroying its core. Bow immediately kneels to the floor. Alistor and the rest go to assist him.

"You've sustained quite a bit of injury," Alistor said.

"Heh… Look like I won't be able to fight on. Go on ahead without me. I'll try catching up later."

"You did good take it easy," Katty said.

He grasps tight on the side of his left rib wrapped in a cloth. The rest make their way to the next door. They advance through the next floor with another spiraling hallway waiting for them.

The next room was cold filled with solid ice. A massive Ice titan in the shape of a crystal appears before them.

"Brrr! It's cold again." Katty shivered.

"Doesn't matter; look, our next opponent is here." Blade pointed.

Taking the first look, Katty gets intimidated by the size of the Ice titan. It stares intensely down at him. Spiked from the base of its crystal structure. It has its hands opened out.

"This one's even bigger than the last one."

Blade takes the first step in, but Katty steps in.

"Let me take this one. I've been itching to get a workout."

"Fine, Katty, just don't be reckless," Alistor said.

"Just leave it to me."

The two move back as the next fight begins. Katty instantly vanishes from sight at the very first start. The monster was confused, turning its head around.

The monster kept its guard up. Katty reappears from behind to make the first strike delivering an explosive impact from behind the beast. Chunks of ice chipping off from the top. The monster claps both its hands, firing an icy shockwave at him. Katty gets flung back. Shards of Ice begin firing from the monster's mouth.

"Oh snap!"

He was forced to jump and flip across the room while shards continuously fire. He fires a charged shot at the monster's face to stop the attack. Pillars of Ice begin stabbing out from the ground catching him by surprise. Katty rushes forward to make a finishing attack.

"Let's see how you like this!"

A swift golden energy forms across the tip of his weapon. Both opposing sides passing through each other. A slash of heavy cutting can be heard. It turned around at Katty only to notice its vision split into four.

The monster was cut more than sixteen times. On the one hand, the titan tried putting all its effort to grab him before it explodes.

"Well…That was a workout. I'm still good to go." Katty jumped.

"Heh… Let's move on then." Alistor said.

Meanwhile, back below from the first floor…

"Huh…Who are you?"

Sarah and Winoa arrived in the tower.

"Where's the rest of your team? You guys already started?" Winoa asked.

"They went on ahead of me. So what brings you both here anyway?"

Sarah clenched her fists.

"To get stronger, of course. If we can beat the Crystal Vortex key general at the top of this tower, I'll be one step closer to destroying Auroa. Come on, Winoa, let's go."

The two make their leave to the next floor while Bow continues to stay behind to recover. Sarah and Winoa advance through the spiraling hallways.

At the top of the tower…

"It seems two more intruders have entered this tower," Havok noted.

Havok stands alone in the middle of the cold overlooking from the top of the tower. He watches Alistor and his team progress on a monitor.

Back with Alistor and the party…

"Come on, Alistor, let me take this one. I'm still good to go." Katty jumped.

"You sit back this time. I already have enough rest watching friends fight my battles. I need a turn."

He makes his first step to confront the next monster. Armless and swirling like a twister, it stares down at him with its one great eye. It towers significantly compared to the last two monsters.

"Top-Head is the name, and your game ends all here."

"I always wanted to battle an air elemental. Let's see how good you are." Alistor pestered.

The room gets dark, a high gust of air begins blowing across the entire room. The monster dissipates within the darkness. Alistor keeps his guard up. He dodges an air cutter as it slices through solid stone. More blades begin firing out as he was on the move running from rock to rock.

"Can't hide forever. Give it up now." The monster laughed.

"He's right. Better yet, why not turn up the lights."

Alistor leaps out from hiding, unleashing his Star Breaker attack at the ceiling. The monster is mildly stunned by the bright flash hitting its eye. A beam of shooting stars fires out from his blade, striking the beast. Top- Head begins covering itself with its twisting tail.

"Now I got you!"

Alistor moves in close to swing at the monster; his sword slips through its hollow body.

"What?"

It swipes its tail, knocking him away.

"Is that the best you got?" Top-Head mocked.

The monster begins swiping its tail consecutively, slapping him back and forth. Finally, Alistor was forced to fall back for some distance.

"No good. The eye and the upper part is its only vulnerable spot. I need to gain some high ground. Hmm?"

Katty begins pointing out to a high ledge in the room.

"Over there! That ledge!"

"Nice! I'll use that then."

He begins rushing to the ledge as the monster approaches. Air cutters fire out from the monster's base, but he evades them easily. Finally, Alistor reaches his way to the top. He dashed off, making his great leap.

"Here goes!"

Alistor swings his blade down at the monster's eye. The attack punctures the beast, nearly missing its whole eye by an inch. A part of the monster's eye is blinded. It begins rampaging in a mindless rage.

"I'll find you! Make you pay!"

It starts ramming and tackling mindlessly across the room. Alistor nearly gets thrown in the air from one of its attacks. Katty had to catch him.

"Damn! Missed by a small inch. I'll have to try again."

He rushes back to reach for the edge once more, but suddenly another force intervened. A colossal fire attack impacts the monster destroying it before their very eyes.

"Hey! He was mine." Alistor said.

It was none other than Sarah and Winoa at the doors.

"Huh? Well, that doesn't matter." Sarah pestered back.

"Huh? Who are you guys anyway?" Katty asked.

After a brief moment of introductions…

"Wait…so you mean Auroa was always a demon?" Alistor gasped.

"Yes…he was a war criminal that committed many atrocious acts centuries ago," Sarah stated. "My ancestors sealed him away in the great tree, but I made a grave mistake releasing his seal when I was a little."

A flashback shows Sarah as a little girl removing the seal tag off a tree.

"I never expected to hear this…." Alistor nodded.

"Same here..." Katty agreed. "It's hard to believe Rare is his father. Auroa…he helped us through some of our toughest battles. So he can't be all bad."

The news was a surprise to Alistor. Sarah only had her goal set in mind.

"I've made a mistake releasing him back into this world. I've had this guilt for so long. I've trained under Kaida for so long. Just for this moment."

"Yeah! We'll put master Kaida's training to use." Winoa jumped. "We'll show them how it's done. We'll put an end to Auroa for sure."

A loud shake was immediately felt.

"What was that?" Katty asked.

"There's No time to waste! They already began powering up for the cannon." Winoa mentioned.

"Huh, what? The cannon?"

"Yeah! It's a weapon capable enough to destroy a whole city. So we must stop whoever up there now and destroy it."

This left them with a wake-up call.

"Then what we're waiting for? Let's move!" Alistor said.

They continue their advance through the next spiraling hallway. Havok is seen walking in the cold. A golden beam of energy powers the four central pillars at the top. Two monsters now only remain by the general's side. Watching the cannon getting powered by the fortress.

"The Nova cannon is halfway powered," Skyark reported. "Soon, we'll be able to decimate Capital City in one strike."

"We must not let our monster's efforts be in vain. SPIKE! SKYARK! Gather all the Vortex soldiers in the fortress. You are to delay Alistor and his team long as possible. Now Go!" Havok ordered.

"Affirmative general!"

The two remaining monsters make their leave while Havok remains at the top. He stares out into the distant cold of the horizon.

"Just try and stop me. I'LL BE WAITING!!!"