Chapter 12: The Spire
"This is bad news for us. If Malsauro finds a way to control him, then he will have the upper-hand." Urkrad told us. "I'm not sure if that would be a problem. Quazar is a being of dark power. He's stronger than Malsauro himself. Even we might not be able to beat him. In my state, I'd stand no chance against him." I answered. I hadn't noticed that my Heart-Stone had changed its color to a dim red once Quazar came into view. It itched a little bit, so I scratched it. I'd almost forgot that Quazar and I were partially linked, because the moment I felt the itch, Quazar turned around and looked directly at me, causing me to duck behind a tree. "He knows we're following him." I peeked out from behind the tree and saw Quazar and Malsauro running towards the dark tower/spire. Mino pointed towards the spire, "We need to get there before they do." "But how?" I asked," They're closer to that thing than we are!" "They are, but we have a trick up our sleeves they won't see coming." "And what's that?" "This."
Mino aims her metal-meshed hand at a large boulder towards the bottom of the cliff. The gem embedded in her forehead began to glow as a stream of light slowly made its way to her outstretched hand. The light manifested into a small ball of energy, then in the blink of an eye, it pierced the boulder's surface. Within seconds the hole in the rock sparked and a small rift-like portal appeared in its place. Mino then aimed her hand at the tree I had hidden behind, creating another portal. She walks through that portal and steps through the one at the bottom of the cliff. We were all astounded by what we just witnessed. I put my arms up in the air in confusion. "Why didn't we do that earlier?" I yelled down. "We couldn't. I couldn't do that before. I learned how to do that last night. This gem is full of surprises. It's evolving my abilities every other day. Hurry up and get down here, guys." After a moment of processing this event, we joined Mino at the bottom of the cliff. "You're going to need to keep a close watch on that gem of yours." Urkrad warned her. "You never know when you'll lose control of it." "I wouldn't worry about it, dad." She answered. "When I first obtained the gem, it was very hard to control. But after it healed my wounds and modified them, it was rather easy afterwards. That's why I stayed back at my place for a while after you stopped by." I put my hand on her shoulder as she put her glove back on, "Well, no matter what happens, we'll be there for you to fix it." "Thank you."
As we traveled, my head started to buzz, as if something, or someone is trying to get my attention. I stopped, closed my eyes and pressed my right temple. Within moments I heard Quazar's voice echo in my head, "You must have a death wish following me here. Even Malsauro kneeled before my power." I could tell he was a little tired after running, because I could hear him panting. "Why do you need the Staff?" I asked. "So, you do know. If you really are that persistent, then so be it. I can't hide my secrets from you, anyway. I need the Staff to unlock the Tomb of the Crystal Knight. There are artifacts in there that I need to enslave the inhabitants of this world, and you won't be able to stop me." "We'll see about that. I'll see you soon." Before I opened my eyes, I felt a small breeze, then suddenly, I was stranded in the middle of the woods. I found my way back to the path we were following, but the others were nowhere in sight. 'Oh, great!' I thought to myself, 'How am I supposed to catch up to them now?!' Concentrating some of my energy into my legs, I leaped my way up to the tree tops of the forest and scouted the path from above to see if I could find the group. I had no luck until I heard Mino's voice. "Dakre!" She called out. "Dakre, where are you?" I looked around and saw her figure through the trees in the distance. I jump down and ran towards her. She gives me a hug as I spin her in the air. "Where were you?" She asked. "I don't know. I closed my eyes for a moment and then suddenly, I was somewhere here." "Well, whatever happened, we'll figure it out later, okay?" I nodded and followed her back to the group. As we walked, I asked Mino, "How did you know where to look for me?" "I don't know," she answered. "I guess we have some kind of connection to each other." "Huh. Wait, how did you get here so fast?" "We used one of my portals. I think I'm starting to get the hang of it." When we rejoined the group, Urkrad and Valtak were a little annoyed. "Where did you go?" They asked." "I don't know. I closed my eyes, then suddenly I was here." They didn't seem convinced, but they ran with it anyway. "So how much farther until we get there?" I asked. "Look behind you," Urkrad told me. "We're already here." I turn around and see the dark spire towering above us, just about a mile away. I spotted Quazar and Malsauro about 10-15 miles behind us, so it was safe to say that we beat them to it, thanks to whatever it was I did.
When we reached the spire, we were stopped by a sentient Crystal Knight statue. It hopped off of its pedestal and blocked the entrance. "Those who wish to claim the Staff must overcome the Trials of Trinity. In each Trial, you will be tested in your various abilities against various opponents. Failure to do so and the Trial will be reset. Succeed and the path ahead shall open. Enter if you dare." The only problem was that the statue was blocking our only way in. It took a while to figure out, but after a few minutes, I grabbed my sword and smashed the jewel on its crown. The statue slowly crumbled to dust, then mysteriously reappeared back on its pedestal. I inserted the Crystal Blade into a niche in the wall and the entrance slid open. Once we were inside, the door closed, trapping us within the spire. I looked around to find any other exits, but to no avail. "Looks like the only way out now is through the Trials."