*******
Seto stood there, daring the beast before him to attack again. The creature was up to the challenge. He jumped out of the way just as the Gate Kraken snapped at him, a strike that was faster than the blink of the eye…luckily Seto was even faster. He loved fighting, it honed his skills and made him stronger…fighting allowed him to think. He cast Haste on himself, doubling his speed while he dodged another attack, but just barely. Blood was now flowing from a wound on his shoulder and he knew he'd been poisoned. He turned to see Zack running down into the tunnel and Lance firing wildly into a crowd of monsters. The creature attacked again, this time hitting him unprepared, his body flew towards a stone wall, but he adjusted in midair and hit the vertical wall on his four paws before leaping to the floor. He now had another slash along his side and he could feel the poison taking affect as more of his life was drained. He growled in anger at the rookie mistake he'd made before attacking again. Seto caste Slow on the Gate Kraken only to find out that the creature was apparently immune to Time. The battle was getting worse all the time. The thing struck again but this time Seto jumped straight up as the huge head slid underneath him, it's fangs gleaming. He landed lightly right on top of the skull and dug in with his claws to help keep his balance. The Gate Kraken hissed in rage and began to swing its head from side to side but was unable to dislodge its opponent. Seto smiled grimly as his enemy wore itself out swing by swing. Finally the monster began to fight less violently and Seto raised his paw to deliver the killing blow. As his bloodied claws fell onto the creature's head with enough force to smash a man's skull the beast flinched, throwing Seto's aim off by a micrometer, his claws leaving only long bloody slashes instead of the gory hole that they were supposed to. The Gate Kraken screamed in pain and with a sudden jerk, sent its head and Seto into a stone wall. Seto was only able to stand slowly, the poison had significantly weakened him and getting smashed into a wall with about 2 tons of force had only served to worsen his deplorable state. However he was not beaten yet…no not yet…even as darkness stole over his eyes he felt a new strength rising up in him. He smiled again as power washed over his body. The Gate Kraken only stared at him, wondering how it was that its prey was not yet dead. Seto unleashed the force within him, awakening his level 4 Limit Break, Solaris Howl. He unleashed a feral scream into the depths of the cavern so terrifying and ravenous that everything seemed to simply stop. Above the arena floor a pale glow began to grow before blooming into a huge mist-blue orb. The Gate Kraken turned its head from the huge ball of mist back to Seto whose eyes were glowing with the same holy light. With deafening roar the orb seemed to extend itself downward in a huge vengeful column of light. It sliced through the Gate Kraken's body, entering the pit from where it had arose traveling down, down, down to eradicate the animal completely. As the light suddenly faded and the room was plunged back into the flickering torchlight there was nothing left of the Gate Kraken but its huge gore covered head, its evil eyes still gleaming even in death. Seto stood on wobbly legs, able to stand long enough to utter a satisfied growl before toppling over into unconsciousness.
*******
I was running through the passageway as fast as I could with nothing but the flicker of a torch to guide me. I had realized as I was running from the fight that a light source would be necessary so I had procured this torch from a wall bracket. The passageway seemed very long even though I knew I had not been running for very long. I could still hear the clash of battle behind me and could only hope that Seto and Lance were ok. As I ran I noticed that the walls were closing in on themselves at a sort of angle so that before long I was running down a very narrow passage. Finally the walls leveled out, leaving me running down a path that was no wider than two men standing side by side, but which reached high up to the ceiling, which was hidden by shadows. Up ahead I saw yet another door, made out of what I thought was the metal that had formed the first gate. Once I approached it however I noticed it was very different indeed, colors seemed to swirl and twist through the metal like it was alive and when I got closer still I saw the same stone monster head sitting above this door as the last one. I approached it cautiously as I was afraid it was another trap but before I could even reach out to touch it the portal opened on its own accord…as if my very presence had triggered some hidden mechanism. I drew back and readied my sword, but when nothing attacked and the roof didn't cave in I decided to move on. The next room was a much smaller replica of the original 'lobby' where my friends were still probably fighting. The only difference was that in the center of the room stood a little platform with something that looked like a sundial set on top. I approached it and saw that the platform was intricately carved with all manner of patterns, each as beautiful as the last. The sundial appeared to be made of pure gold and had been forged by a master craftsman. I could see no real use for the primitive device and so left it be, passing on through the room and into yet another small chamber. The instant I entered the door shut behind me with a boom and I knew someone was in there with me. The torch cast its faint light over the walls, exposing the many murals and hieroglyphics. Then I noticed what appeared to be a pile of blue rags in the corner…in fact I would have simply dismissed it as a heap of ancient Cetra garbage if it hadn't been for the little fact that it was breathing. I looked closer and noticed that whatever it was had on some sort of straw hat that obscured its face in shadows. All I could see was a long white beard hanging down to its feet. It motioned to me with a handless sleeve and began to waddle towards me, its robes following it in a train. I allowed it to approach but remained on my guard. When it reached into its sleeve my hand reflexively tightened on my sword handle, causing the creature to lift its sleeves and cower in submission. Once again and more slowly it reached into its sleeve and pulled out a piece of rumpled paper, it then motioned for me to take it. I reached out, by now a little more confidant that the creature wasn't going to grow into a ten-foot bug or something and grabbed the paper. The doors immediate opened and with its mission done the blue creature waddled out the way I had come with surprising speed. The note had a series of strange hieroglyphs scratched onto its yellowed surface. Underneath it was what appeared to be the translation to the hieroglyphs. Apparently there was some sort of maze further up the passage…a labyrinth that could only be navigated by turning right first once, then left twice, then right three times, then left again four times, switching directions in coincidence with the number of hours on a clock. It seemed a little strange but then I saw that the hieroglyphics on the paper had been copied directly from above the door I had been about to pass through so I decided to memorize the sheet. On the bottom where I had not noticed it before I could just make out a scrawled message. From what I could make out it read 'I hope this message reaches you Zack…sorry could not meet you…directions…endless labyrinth…find artifact and beware guardian'. So it was a message from Aeris, which certainly did make me feel better. I decided to leave the message on the floor of the room in case Seto and Lance followed me. I entered the maze only after lighting an unused torch on the wall and then walked through into the unknown. I discovered that it wasn't very difficult to find my way through the many corridors as the intersections were always clearly marked and the directions had been very precise. Although it sometimes seemed I wasn't getting anywhere I trusted in Aeris and her message and pressed on through the shadows.
*******
Seto opened his eyes slowly…so very slowly as the even the faint glow made his head pound. Something fuzzy was moving above him and it took a moment for the haze to take shape. Suddenly the shape became a face floating directly above Seto's. He got up with a start that bowled over his strange caretaker. With a growl he was on his feet again ready to attack only to see Lance sitting there on the ground rubbing his head and moaning. "What did you do that for?!" Lance asked indignantly.
"Sorry," Seto said, "you surprised me."
"Yah well…that alright I guess," said Lance as he rose to his feet. "You were pretty beat up…it took my only X-Potion and a Turbo Ether to get you on your feet again. By the way…just what was that Limit Break anyway…it was a Limit Break right?"
"You are correct Lance, that was my ultimate level 4 Limit Break, Solaris Howl."
Lance whistled, "just remind me to never get under that thing when it goes off!" He emphasized his point by kicking the decapitated head of the late-Gate Kraken.
"Are you alright?" Seto asked suddenly, remembering that it was Lance who had held off the huge mob of monsters.
"Yah…I'll be fine," he replied, "that mob was big, but not much in the power department." He motioned towards the field of monster corpses that stretched far back into the dark recesses of the room. Seto smiled and then looked towards the huge broken door that Zack had run through.
"Come on Lance, we should be catching up with Zack as soon as possible…it wouldn't look good if he got himself killed, my owing him a life debt and all."
Lance nodded his agreement and the two raced off down the passage after Zack. After coming to the first room with the golden sundial the pair stopped to rest for a moment.
"Why'd you send him off ahead of us anyway?" Lance asked disgruntled. "He's good in a fight…he'd have been a big help in that battle back there."
"I sent him on because our number 1 priority here is to find the artifact, if for some reason we had been killed then at least Zack would have been safe."
"What good would that have done?" asked Lance, "there's only one way out…he would have to have gone back through that room anyway."
Seto only smiled and started walking again.
"Wait Seto!" Lance called, "what do you know that I don't!" But Seto was already walking through the door into the next room with Lance hard pressed to keep up. As they entered the new room Seto lifted his head and sniffed the air.
"Zack's been here recently…he must have walked through this door, if we hurry we can catch him."
"Wait Seto," called Lance as he picked up a piece of paper he found on the floor. "Look at this."
The two read it and looked at each other, then smiled. "So…a maze huh?" said Lance, "we'll see about this. Zack must of left this here for us cause it looks like Aeris left it for him…how I don't know I think we need to hurry." The two walked through the gate into the labyrinth.
*******
I continued to walk…trying desperately to follow the map as the passageways became more and more twisted. They seemed sometimes to bend in on each other and other times to go nowhere at all, but I had no other choice but the trudge on. From the light of my torch I admired the workmanship that must have went into building this place. Beautiful carvings covered the walls along with amazingly intricate hieroglyphs. The walls seemed almost warm to the touch, like they were actually alive and I realized I must have been getting close to the center of the complex. Finally with another turn the passageway opened out into a huge room, not as big as the first one but better lit. I say better lit because small blue orbs burned brightly and suddenly to life as I entered the room. They were embedded in the walls and held up by beautiful lamp stands that looked like they had been formed from pure diamonds. The whole room glittered in the light and I felt that here was one of the last strongholds of the Cetra. This was a place untouched by untold centuries…a place that had never felt the touch of a real human. I knew that it looked the same as it had the day its construction was completed. As I marveled at its beauty I noticed something in the center of the room, there stood a stone altar surrounded by a small pool of crystal clear water. On top of the altar lay the most magnificent sword I had ever seen. It was a broadsword with a hilt of the most cunning design I had ever seen. I stood there before it not really remembering how it was I had crossed the room in so little time and decided that this must be the artifact Aeris had told me of. I reached out my hand to grasp it but before my fingers could curl around the hilt a movement behind brought me around. I stood there facing a creature that seemed stranger by far than anything I had ever seen before. It sort of reminded me of the specter we had fought in Cosmo Canyon as it had no legs…at least none that I could see. Instead it looked like a giant piece of floating armor, its breastplate, helmet, armguards, and gauntlets were all held together with chain mail. This chain mail hung down from below the torso and swung back and forth as if nothing more substantial than air was beneath it. The armor was covered in thousands of intricate patterns and symbols which all came together to create a completely unsteadying design. The helmet was fierce looking and was equipped with a pair of steel wings on either side of it. From beneath the helm I could see nothing but shadows and something else that could have been the glow of two unholy eyes.
"The Guardian I presume," I said, readying for battle, my sword held out in front of me in my fighting position. A howl erupted from the armor that sent chills up my spine and made me grimace in pain at the sound. The Guardian reached behind its back and pulled out a gigantic double-bladed ax. It swung it back and forth a few times, its razor smooth edge catching the glitter of the orbs and sending sparkles of light across the room. It stared at me again and I began to wonder just where a creature that size would have hidden in a room this size. As if sensing my hesitation it let out another howl and charged, swinging it's ax as it came.
"Well…" I said to myself, "this is going to be fun."
Seto stood there, daring the beast before him to attack again. The creature was up to the challenge. He jumped out of the way just as the Gate Kraken snapped at him, a strike that was faster than the blink of the eye…luckily Seto was even faster. He loved fighting, it honed his skills and made him stronger…fighting allowed him to think. He cast Haste on himself, doubling his speed while he dodged another attack, but just barely. Blood was now flowing from a wound on his shoulder and he knew he'd been poisoned. He turned to see Zack running down into the tunnel and Lance firing wildly into a crowd of monsters. The creature attacked again, this time hitting him unprepared, his body flew towards a stone wall, but he adjusted in midair and hit the vertical wall on his four paws before leaping to the floor. He now had another slash along his side and he could feel the poison taking affect as more of his life was drained. He growled in anger at the rookie mistake he'd made before attacking again. Seto caste Slow on the Gate Kraken only to find out that the creature was apparently immune to Time. The battle was getting worse all the time. The thing struck again but this time Seto jumped straight up as the huge head slid underneath him, it's fangs gleaming. He landed lightly right on top of the skull and dug in with his claws to help keep his balance. The Gate Kraken hissed in rage and began to swing its head from side to side but was unable to dislodge its opponent. Seto smiled grimly as his enemy wore itself out swing by swing. Finally the monster began to fight less violently and Seto raised his paw to deliver the killing blow. As his bloodied claws fell onto the creature's head with enough force to smash a man's skull the beast flinched, throwing Seto's aim off by a micrometer, his claws leaving only long bloody slashes instead of the gory hole that they were supposed to. The Gate Kraken screamed in pain and with a sudden jerk, sent its head and Seto into a stone wall. Seto was only able to stand slowly, the poison had significantly weakened him and getting smashed into a wall with about 2 tons of force had only served to worsen his deplorable state. However he was not beaten yet…no not yet…even as darkness stole over his eyes he felt a new strength rising up in him. He smiled again as power washed over his body. The Gate Kraken only stared at him, wondering how it was that its prey was not yet dead. Seto unleashed the force within him, awakening his level 4 Limit Break, Solaris Howl. He unleashed a feral scream into the depths of the cavern so terrifying and ravenous that everything seemed to simply stop. Above the arena floor a pale glow began to grow before blooming into a huge mist-blue orb. The Gate Kraken turned its head from the huge ball of mist back to Seto whose eyes were glowing with the same holy light. With deafening roar the orb seemed to extend itself downward in a huge vengeful column of light. It sliced through the Gate Kraken's body, entering the pit from where it had arose traveling down, down, down to eradicate the animal completely. As the light suddenly faded and the room was plunged back into the flickering torchlight there was nothing left of the Gate Kraken but its huge gore covered head, its evil eyes still gleaming even in death. Seto stood on wobbly legs, able to stand long enough to utter a satisfied growl before toppling over into unconsciousness.
*******
I was running through the passageway as fast as I could with nothing but the flicker of a torch to guide me. I had realized as I was running from the fight that a light source would be necessary so I had procured this torch from a wall bracket. The passageway seemed very long even though I knew I had not been running for very long. I could still hear the clash of battle behind me and could only hope that Seto and Lance were ok. As I ran I noticed that the walls were closing in on themselves at a sort of angle so that before long I was running down a very narrow passage. Finally the walls leveled out, leaving me running down a path that was no wider than two men standing side by side, but which reached high up to the ceiling, which was hidden by shadows. Up ahead I saw yet another door, made out of what I thought was the metal that had formed the first gate. Once I approached it however I noticed it was very different indeed, colors seemed to swirl and twist through the metal like it was alive and when I got closer still I saw the same stone monster head sitting above this door as the last one. I approached it cautiously as I was afraid it was another trap but before I could even reach out to touch it the portal opened on its own accord…as if my very presence had triggered some hidden mechanism. I drew back and readied my sword, but when nothing attacked and the roof didn't cave in I decided to move on. The next room was a much smaller replica of the original 'lobby' where my friends were still probably fighting. The only difference was that in the center of the room stood a little platform with something that looked like a sundial set on top. I approached it and saw that the platform was intricately carved with all manner of patterns, each as beautiful as the last. The sundial appeared to be made of pure gold and had been forged by a master craftsman. I could see no real use for the primitive device and so left it be, passing on through the room and into yet another small chamber. The instant I entered the door shut behind me with a boom and I knew someone was in there with me. The torch cast its faint light over the walls, exposing the many murals and hieroglyphics. Then I noticed what appeared to be a pile of blue rags in the corner…in fact I would have simply dismissed it as a heap of ancient Cetra garbage if it hadn't been for the little fact that it was breathing. I looked closer and noticed that whatever it was had on some sort of straw hat that obscured its face in shadows. All I could see was a long white beard hanging down to its feet. It motioned to me with a handless sleeve and began to waddle towards me, its robes following it in a train. I allowed it to approach but remained on my guard. When it reached into its sleeve my hand reflexively tightened on my sword handle, causing the creature to lift its sleeves and cower in submission. Once again and more slowly it reached into its sleeve and pulled out a piece of rumpled paper, it then motioned for me to take it. I reached out, by now a little more confidant that the creature wasn't going to grow into a ten-foot bug or something and grabbed the paper. The doors immediate opened and with its mission done the blue creature waddled out the way I had come with surprising speed. The note had a series of strange hieroglyphs scratched onto its yellowed surface. Underneath it was what appeared to be the translation to the hieroglyphs. Apparently there was some sort of maze further up the passage…a labyrinth that could only be navigated by turning right first once, then left twice, then right three times, then left again four times, switching directions in coincidence with the number of hours on a clock. It seemed a little strange but then I saw that the hieroglyphics on the paper had been copied directly from above the door I had been about to pass through so I decided to memorize the sheet. On the bottom where I had not noticed it before I could just make out a scrawled message. From what I could make out it read 'I hope this message reaches you Zack…sorry could not meet you…directions…endless labyrinth…find artifact and beware guardian'. So it was a message from Aeris, which certainly did make me feel better. I decided to leave the message on the floor of the room in case Seto and Lance followed me. I entered the maze only after lighting an unused torch on the wall and then walked through into the unknown. I discovered that it wasn't very difficult to find my way through the many corridors as the intersections were always clearly marked and the directions had been very precise. Although it sometimes seemed I wasn't getting anywhere I trusted in Aeris and her message and pressed on through the shadows.
*******
Seto opened his eyes slowly…so very slowly as the even the faint glow made his head pound. Something fuzzy was moving above him and it took a moment for the haze to take shape. Suddenly the shape became a face floating directly above Seto's. He got up with a start that bowled over his strange caretaker. With a growl he was on his feet again ready to attack only to see Lance sitting there on the ground rubbing his head and moaning. "What did you do that for?!" Lance asked indignantly.
"Sorry," Seto said, "you surprised me."
"Yah well…that alright I guess," said Lance as he rose to his feet. "You were pretty beat up…it took my only X-Potion and a Turbo Ether to get you on your feet again. By the way…just what was that Limit Break anyway…it was a Limit Break right?"
"You are correct Lance, that was my ultimate level 4 Limit Break, Solaris Howl."
Lance whistled, "just remind me to never get under that thing when it goes off!" He emphasized his point by kicking the decapitated head of the late-Gate Kraken.
"Are you alright?" Seto asked suddenly, remembering that it was Lance who had held off the huge mob of monsters.
"Yah…I'll be fine," he replied, "that mob was big, but not much in the power department." He motioned towards the field of monster corpses that stretched far back into the dark recesses of the room. Seto smiled and then looked towards the huge broken door that Zack had run through.
"Come on Lance, we should be catching up with Zack as soon as possible…it wouldn't look good if he got himself killed, my owing him a life debt and all."
Lance nodded his agreement and the two raced off down the passage after Zack. After coming to the first room with the golden sundial the pair stopped to rest for a moment.
"Why'd you send him off ahead of us anyway?" Lance asked disgruntled. "He's good in a fight…he'd have been a big help in that battle back there."
"I sent him on because our number 1 priority here is to find the artifact, if for some reason we had been killed then at least Zack would have been safe."
"What good would that have done?" asked Lance, "there's only one way out…he would have to have gone back through that room anyway."
Seto only smiled and started walking again.
"Wait Seto!" Lance called, "what do you know that I don't!" But Seto was already walking through the door into the next room with Lance hard pressed to keep up. As they entered the new room Seto lifted his head and sniffed the air.
"Zack's been here recently…he must have walked through this door, if we hurry we can catch him."
"Wait Seto," called Lance as he picked up a piece of paper he found on the floor. "Look at this."
The two read it and looked at each other, then smiled. "So…a maze huh?" said Lance, "we'll see about this. Zack must of left this here for us cause it looks like Aeris left it for him…how I don't know I think we need to hurry." The two walked through the gate into the labyrinth.
*******
I continued to walk…trying desperately to follow the map as the passageways became more and more twisted. They seemed sometimes to bend in on each other and other times to go nowhere at all, but I had no other choice but the trudge on. From the light of my torch I admired the workmanship that must have went into building this place. Beautiful carvings covered the walls along with amazingly intricate hieroglyphs. The walls seemed almost warm to the touch, like they were actually alive and I realized I must have been getting close to the center of the complex. Finally with another turn the passageway opened out into a huge room, not as big as the first one but better lit. I say better lit because small blue orbs burned brightly and suddenly to life as I entered the room. They were embedded in the walls and held up by beautiful lamp stands that looked like they had been formed from pure diamonds. The whole room glittered in the light and I felt that here was one of the last strongholds of the Cetra. This was a place untouched by untold centuries…a place that had never felt the touch of a real human. I knew that it looked the same as it had the day its construction was completed. As I marveled at its beauty I noticed something in the center of the room, there stood a stone altar surrounded by a small pool of crystal clear water. On top of the altar lay the most magnificent sword I had ever seen. It was a broadsword with a hilt of the most cunning design I had ever seen. I stood there before it not really remembering how it was I had crossed the room in so little time and decided that this must be the artifact Aeris had told me of. I reached out my hand to grasp it but before my fingers could curl around the hilt a movement behind brought me around. I stood there facing a creature that seemed stranger by far than anything I had ever seen before. It sort of reminded me of the specter we had fought in Cosmo Canyon as it had no legs…at least none that I could see. Instead it looked like a giant piece of floating armor, its breastplate, helmet, armguards, and gauntlets were all held together with chain mail. This chain mail hung down from below the torso and swung back and forth as if nothing more substantial than air was beneath it. The armor was covered in thousands of intricate patterns and symbols which all came together to create a completely unsteadying design. The helmet was fierce looking and was equipped with a pair of steel wings on either side of it. From beneath the helm I could see nothing but shadows and something else that could have been the glow of two unholy eyes.
"The Guardian I presume," I said, readying for battle, my sword held out in front of me in my fighting position. A howl erupted from the armor that sent chills up my spine and made me grimace in pain at the sound. The Guardian reached behind its back and pulled out a gigantic double-bladed ax. It swung it back and forth a few times, its razor smooth edge catching the glitter of the orbs and sending sparkles of light across the room. It stared at me again and I began to wonder just where a creature that size would have hidden in a room this size. As if sensing my hesitation it let out another howl and charged, swinging it's ax as it came.
"Well…" I said to myself, "this is going to be fun."