Overcoming the stairs

[Are you giving up?] Taaia asked.

"Of course not, I just broke my arm… I'm leaving here with something," Richard replied with a smile.

He didn't know about other humans, but this stupid situation had drawn blood from him, and he would see it through to the end, no matter how things went.

[That's the human I know.]

"Thanks."

[Now, how do you propose we climb the temple? I can fly over it, but I can only do so for so long. Gravity does exist here.]

"Just say that's what you wanted," Richard said as he sat back on the board that was surprisingly still there.

[Why are they still here? They have led us to the desired location.]

"No, no, we can use them. An object in motion remains in motion unless acted on by another force," Richard said as he stood up excitedly.

[You would die.]

"That's where you come in, my dear. You can fly."

[My limbs are weak; you would still fall to your death.]

"Quit yapping and help me with the stuff."

[Aren't you afraid of death?]

"I am, but I'm also human… we have a history of surviving things we shouldn't be surviving," Richard replied as he got to work.

[I would like to meet your people one day.]

"Don't. You would hate us the moment you see the planet," Richard replied without even thinking.

Humanity may try to be as open-minded as it wants, but we are legitimately the most xenophobic race on Earth. We call it survival, but we killed off our cousins who we could have simply secluded.

That may be too far-fetched and could be argued as necessary, but look at the Barbary lions, the Western black rhinos, the Pinta giant tortoise, etc.

We killed them all off, mostly for decorative purposes or just for sport. Taaia would only make the nations band together for the first time to kill it. At first glance, it looked too much like an eldritch horror.

The only reason he was still talking to it was simply that Taaia had helped him.

[Wow, is that really what you think of me?]

"Taaia, you look too much like a character from a story back home. If there's anything humanity agrees on, it's that they are hideous and monstrous creatures that need to be killed on sight… I know I am one of them. The main reason I refuse to go close to the ocean."

[I get your point; you don't need to continue thinking about it.]

"That would be impossible… what the fuck is that?" Richard asked when he noticed something coming towards them from the distance.

[You can see that too, right?]

"How is it running that fast… oh my god, it's a tiger! Get on, get on!" Richard screamed as he immediately jumped on the board.

[Why are you running?] Taaia asked, confused.

"Just get on," Richard said as he dragged it onto the board.

Putting his entire weight on the back end of the board as Taaia helped steer it, the board immediately tilted upward. This caused the board to take off as its direction changed.

The board blasted off into the air as Taaia piloted it. It was the only one that could do so due to its flight ability and apparent ability to see even in pitch-black darkness.

"Raarghh!!!"

A roar was heard before the balance of the board was suddenly thrown off. Something had latched onto them and was trying to climb up. Looking back, Richard saw the mighty beast.

It was the tiger-like beast. Its claws pierced the board itself, something Richard thought should be impossible. Looking down, he could see the giant thing hanging on for dear life as it moved on.

"Hang on, I'll cut us loose," Richard said.

[I wouldn't advise that, though. That is a Cthurian. They are a powerful race but are very peaceful… at least the ones in my universe are. However, ever touching them with the intent to harm has never turned out well for anyone in the galaxy,] Taaia replied.

"So I should let it onboard?"

[It is our best option for now. We may need its help to clear the next test.]

"Makes sense… but it's a cat," Richard complained.

He didn't care much about what Taaia just said about the creature; he only knew that it was a cat. Anyone who had ever owned or had access to a cat would know that they were the living embodiment of intrusive thoughts.

They acted on any random thought that came to their tiny minds, and this was a super-evolved cat. He was sure as hell that it might slap Taaia out of the sky just because it looked like a ball.

[Just do it.]

"If it claws at me, I'll be taking one of your tentacles home with me," Richard said before grabbing hold of the giant paw and trying to get the creature up.

[It says you are kind but weak.]

"You can read its mind?"

[Yes, I am a Vsiarch. We can do a lot of things.]

"Fair enough. And as for you, I ain't helping you no more. If you can hold on, hold on. If not, that's your business," Richard said angrily.

Here he was helping the damned thing, and it was insulting him.

[She didn't mean that in an insulting manner. She was merely stating a fact.]

"It's a she?"

[Get ready; we are almost there,] Taaia said before suddenly becoming more focused.

Taaia didn't have a face that one could read or one that was even capable of showcasing any form of expression at all, but one could understand when she was angry, sad, and such just by watching for the minor signs. At the moment, everything pointed out that they were in a situation that could potentially lead to their death.

[Get ready to jump out,] Taaia said as Richard immediately steeled his heart.

"Shit!" Richard shouted when he felt the balance of the board shift greatly; the giant tiger thing had let go.

[Jump!] Taaia ordered before letting go of the board entirely.

Richard immediately jumped out without even thinking. Whatever injury he would sustain from jumping out would surely be less than that gained if he held on. The board was moving too fast for such a crash to not lead to his death.

As soon as he jumped out, the light returned to his eyes again, only for him to see himself falling toward the ground. Taaia was still falling to the ground and had yet to truly regain her balance, so hoping on her was gone.

"Death can have me when it earns me!" Richard screamed as he immediately began diving straight for the nearest pillar.

Repeating the immortal words of one of the greatest game characters ever, Richard spread himself as he tried to hug the pillar.

The impact was gruesome, but who wanted to die? Holding on for dear life, he slid down the pillar, using it to slow his fall until he was finally on the floor.

His entire body was scraped and ached badly. It was as though there were millions of ants just crawling and biting under his skin. With each breeze that passed, the pain intensified.

His clothes, making contact with his skin, burned even more. All this while ignoring the concussion he may have. Blood flowed down from his head, covering his sight. Only God knew how he had survived this.

"Death can have me when it earns me."