"Zack!" Azu bangs on the white stone, and to our surprise, it moves. Zack is revealed to be unharmed but with a surprised look on his face. And no wonder. The thing that attacked us is some kind of stone giant. Maybe fifteen feet tall and made entirely out of white stone. Half its face has been carved into a handsome man, while the other half is a stone block. Lines are carved into the giant and glow a bright white, all of them focusing on a singular point in its chest.

"Azu, what is a golem doing here? I thought those things only appeared in the underground?" Zack yells, jumping onto a nearby building.

She lets out an exasperated sigh, "Zack now is not the time for trivia. Silen, go check on Hearon; I'll help Zack with the golem."

"No. I'll go fight the golem; you help Hearon."

She glares at me, but I'm not backing down. This is my chance to prove I can fight. I'm not letting it go. She shakes her head, mumbling under her breath, "Fine. If you get killed, do not expect me to pity you." She dashes off to the rear of the building, where I can see Hearon's shield peaking out.

With a huff through my nose, I turn to face the walking stone monster. Zack is throwing small rocks at it, trying to divert its attention away from us, to great effect. I unsheath Nebula and ignite it. Let's hope this works. I run at the golem and swing my sword at its leg with all my might. Nebula slices halfway into the leg before it gets stuck, a line of molten stone already cooling. The golem lifts its leg in response, taking me with it.

"Dammit, Silen, could you not wait fifteen seconds?" Zack throws his spear at the injured leg, the white weapon bouncing off it harmlessly. I release my grip on the sword, wincing as the rectangular leg slams into the ground, Nebula vibrating violently at the impact.

"Great, now your sword is stuck." Zack grabs me by the back of my chest piece and drags me behind a nearby building, this one completely solid. "What the hell were you thinking, trying to cut through solid rock?"

I rub my forehead, worry lacing through me. I never tested the durability of my sword. Will the pressure of hundreds of tonnes break it? "I thought with the blade being superheated, it could cut it."

Zack sighs, unclipping his regular spear from his bag, "Maybe if you use that head of yours," He taps my forehead a couple of times, "You wouldn't be in this situation. Think, bro."

Anger flares through me. That's not fair. Last time I tried to do something a little stupid, I got berated. Now I'm being told to use my brain more? I open my mouth to argue back, but the wall above us explodes as a rectangular fist smashes the building. Zack spins his spear above us, any debris deflecting off it, "Listen, you are not strong, Silen. Don't try to act like you are. Now, let's get your sword back."

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Zack walks out from behind the building. In plain view of the golem. He tosses his spear at me, "Hold onto this." I reach out to catch it, but as the weapon settles in my hands, it drops out of them, smashing into the wooden floor. I completely forgot how damn heavy that thing is. I glance up in time to see Zack raise his fists, cocking his right hand back. Is he gonna punch the thing? My question is answered immediately as the blocky fist of the golem flies toward Zack, who punches back. There's a loud thud, and I watch in disbelief as Zack's fist stops the giant completely, and cracks form in its arm. A few seconds later, the arm crumbled into pieces.

Zack shakes out his hand with a grin, "I actually needed to go all out on that one." I peek out from behind the building, watching wide-eyed as the stone giant stumbles back. "Let's finish this," Zack says behind me. He hops on top of the building, bandaged spear in hand. With a crack of his neck, he jumps far above the giant, aiming his spear directly at its head. I see the movement of Zack's arm, but much like against the Kobs, I don't see the spear until it had embedded itself in the wood, only an earth-shattering boom to prove it even moved at all. The golem teeters for a second before a massive crack appears straight down its torso. Silently, it breaks in half, the glowing white lines fading as the monster crumbles apart.

I stand there speechless, in awe of Zack's overwhelming strength. I remember how proud I was to blow a hole in that Turt, but seeing this makes me realize that Zack could do that causally. I needed a powerful core and to risk my life to beat that Turt, but Zack could have beaten it with barely any effort. Shame floods through me as my past actions replay in my head. I acted like I deserved the same respect as them, like I was near the same level. But now I see. I'm nothing but an ant. I might as well be their pet.

"Oi, I found your sword." Zack waves at me, and I nervously walk through the rubble. Relief washes over me as I see Nebula undamaged, surrounded by stone. With a sigh, I pick it up. Wow, it's not even scratched. I hold the flat side of the blade into the light, and it is as smooth as always. I sheath it with a grunt. This battle did not help my case in the slightest.

"We should split." Zack glances over at the pillar of light, and I nod. The fairy probably heard that. It would be best to be gone by the time it heads this way. We meet up with Azu and Hearon, who had managed to heal himself and duck into the nearest solid square building that wasn't destroyed.

This building was very similar to the last, with dozens of weapons lining the walls, but there was actual furniture this time. Several white tables decorate the room with carved chairs. On the second floor, there were actual beds, about a dozen. Each one had a frame made out of black wood with crisscrossing plant fibers making the mattress. It was almost a hammock.

Zack hopped into the nearest one with a contented sigh. He sunk a good bit into the frame, but it didn't break, even with his super heavy spear, "Man, this is insanely comfortable."

Hearon slowly played into another one with a grunt. It creaked under his weight but remained solid.

"It almost looks like these were made yesterday," I say as I inspect one close to Banister.

The other three say nothing, and I turn towards them, expecting a reply, but they have already fallen asleep. Really? We're in an unknown place with a murderous monster, and they just crash? I shake my head. Then again, if they are asleep, then it's safe to assume they aren't worried about an attack.

Gingerly, I lay into one of the beds. This is comfortable. So, so comfortable. The light starts to fade as the weariness catches up to me. Maybe I'll get some answers tomorrow.