Trapped Behind the Door II

The room is pitch black, I open my hand and a small fire is born on my palm enlightening the floor just below my feet -More light...- I say pushing the flames just enough to have a decent view of my surroundings.

It looks like a throne hall, but much less elegant yet more impotent than a regular one. Below my feet there's a worn our carpet, black at first glance but after brushing off some dust with my feet it turns out to be gold... The floor of the whole hall is made of gray stone, no particular decoration comes to sight.

The ceiling is much higher than the throne hall of the Royal Palace and massive columns made of raw stone support it. Each specular pair of columns has different engravings on them, the images and creature approximately craved on those are not suitable for a royal throne hall which makes me wonder who was the owner of this place. Some pieces of stone have fallen and smashed to the ground but the designs are still recognizable... A pair of mountain demons on 2 columns, 2 war horses on another, random weapons etc... All of them are either about war elements or demonic items or creatures.

-What could be the meaning behind these?- I wonder while touching a piece of stone portraying a living corpse -No king would want such things in their palace nor would a Lord of the underworld take home here above- I take a step back to observe the image I'm touching, it looks like the corpse of a kid, he's full of wounds and missing an arm... There seems to be a hole in his hand and a, once glowing, gold stone fills it -How odd... Yet...- but an echoing noise snatches me away from my thoughts -It started falling again?- I look at the ceiling but nothing seems to be moving, but I do notice something more interesting above me... A shining green stone in the mouth of a dragon carved on the ceiling -The Jade Core!-

But just as I was taking action, a whole squadron on men enters the hall like rushing waves from a few doors at sides "How is this possible?! There shouldn't be anyone here". In less than a second I'm completely surrounded and a black mist lingers in the air -This...! Sand men?!- I widen my eyes taking a weapon in hand -It's a trap... Of course! I should've known better than to believe Dong Hu was genuinely thinking about the mission before- before the black mist could touch me I jump away of a few meters, it converge together and form a smoke trail, following me around as I hop around the hall.

I land on the throne and all the sand men turn to look at me above their heads, ready to charge and trap me "How am I supposed to get out of here alive?! I cannot let any man nor the smoke touch me, while also trying to destroy the core up above..." I think to myself while crouching down as I land beside a column, the smoke separates into 2 different trails and rushes forward from both sides -This isn't looking good-

A sand man launches a spear toward me and it goes to stuck in the column, "Nice!" I think while jumping above and grabbing onto it to put more distance between me and the smoke trails. Yet I land face to face with a group of sand men, their hands rushing forward to grab me or slice me with their weapons, I bend backward dodging each thrusting of a blade searching for an opening nearby to jump into. One particular fierce hit comes and makes me loose balance as I end up having to bend too much, I allow myself to fall on my hands and turn upside down to kick the sword away, making the man step back.

Looking at the rotating blade in the air an idea comes to my mind, instead of fleeting away I rise myself up and jump toward the blade, meeting it midair I kick the hilt sending it flying. The swoosh sound echoes in the silent hall as it passes over everyone's heads and goes to hit against the Jade on the ceiling, the stone trembles and slides off a few centimeters from the dragon's claw "This could work...!" I think before landing again, finding the sand men to be even more fierce than before.

I cannot bargain into fighting any of these men, I must keep avoiding them at all costs and make that stone fall so I can destroy it. I dash towed the center of the hall, jumping over one column and the specular one to avoid getting caught by the men below, falling with a roll on the floor from the other side where there's a bit of a free space. I provoke some of the men into attacking me, due to the fact that I cannot throw and sacrifice my own weapons for the Jade. The point of a spear comes to poke me so I grab onto it and yank it forward, the man behind falls and let's go of the weapon.

Throwing it at full speed toward the Jade I can see the core slipping off almost completely -So close...- an even wilder idea comes to me, it won't be easy in these circumstances but I should at least try... I run zig zag around the hall, trying to confuse the men and group them together around the throne area. Once almost all of them stand on the balcony I found myself cornered on top of the throne, with one hand on my sword I jump off... Going for the center of the hall, while mid air I unsheathe the burning blade and send multiple fire waves toward them, I know this won't hurt them but It will gain me that one fraction of time I need for my next jump.

Touching just barely the floor I take off once again, aiming for the core right above my head... Touching the cold stone of the Dragon's claw I kick the stone with the hilt of my sword before grabbing it under my arm, jumping back down.

This time I land close to the hall door on the other side, I put away the sword and grab the core with both hands while pushing open the doors with my back -This better works... Or I might seriously die here- I smile bitterly as I watch the enraged men running toward me. My hands switching between black and skin color as my body pushes the energy away, having become stronger enought to fight it... But that would make me lose time, the men are already at the centre of the hall so I let go of my defensed and focus all my power into infusing wood into the core, allowing my skin to get consumed.

Once cracks begins to appear I throw the core forward like a ball, having it fall onto the man as a distraction... I take out a spear and close my eyes -Sand melts into still glass if burned properly...- I whisper, reopening my eyes now completely white and bolds of lighting start dancing on my arm and flowing onto my weapon.

I throw it quickly toward them at the exact same moment the core breaks completely, causing an explosion which pushes me away of hundreds of meter... Flying above the hole in the other hall, I take once again my sword out and stick it on the wall of the chasm to steady myself. The explosion breaks down the last wall and I hiss myself onto my sword with fatigue, going to grab at the floor right above my head... I turn my head back one last time, looking at the now empty throne hall before finally pushing myself up... Ready to leave this place.