A few hours later, now fully rested and restored, Liam stood in front of the firmly closed doors that barred him from going any further. His resources, besides his Lifeforce, were full and the feelings he got from his Spirits told him that they were ready to grow again, although they would likely still hit their limit quite soon with the limited amount of rest they had.

He reached out a hand and pressed against the stone doors, but they wouldn't budge. Even when he pressed his whole Strength and weight into they they refused to move. He tried both doors and then each side on its own but the outcome was no different and he was forced to take more drastic measures. With one of his 3 free remaining [Spirit of Death] uses, he coated his axe blade with a solid sheath of mist and slammed it into the doors. The stone chipped and cracked, showing that it could be broken, and he smiled as he slammed his weapon into it again.

By the time his Power's duration ran out, he had broken deep enough into the construct to continue doing decent damage with each strike, even unenhanced as they were. He took his time and kept chipping away at it mundanely, conserving both his Stamina and his limited remaining Power uses. It took a while since the doors were so thick but eventually he heard the hollow knock if the last layer of stone. He stopped breaking his way deeper and I stead focused on widening the gap, leaving that thing later of rock between himself and whatever was on the other side. Once it was wide enough for him to step through, he rested a few minutes to top up his Stamina before he wound up for the finishing blow.

With a mental heave, he smashed through the last of the wall and looked into the chamber beyond. It was a large space, opening up much wider than even the part of the catacombs he was in, and lined with pillars supporting a heavily decorated ceiling. The walls, floor and roof all bore intricate carvings of patterns he couldn't even begin to follow and depictions of various heroic battles. The things being fought in the carvings seemed to be almost anything, from a many headed lion to an elephant made of vines and roots but the one common thing amongst all the humanoids depicted was that they were commanding fire.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Alcoves with open coffins once again lined the walls and the centre of the room was taken up by a raised stone slab that looked almost like an altar. On it, candles, bones and books were scattered about in various states of use, with the Lich he had seen the day before towering over them. Its glowing purple eyes flicked between everything laid out in front of it as it's hands seemingly performed many tasks at once, carving symbols into the air with its long bony fingers, lighting candles with a flick of its wrist and turning a page when it presumably finished the one it was one, all the while its skeletal jaw clacking open and closed in a silent chant.

Around the creature was its minions. Four Skeletal Mages, draped in crimson robes and holding elaborate bone staffs stood at the four corners of the ritual table. They tapped their staffs against the ground in sync to a rhythm only they could hear. A ghoul, larger than any of the others he had seen loomed by its master's side, taller than even the lich and much broader than it's Skeletal Counterparts. Its nails extended much further than any of the other Ghouls he had faced and its skin was covered in runic symbols similar to the ones Ander Phyris was carving in the air. He [Analyzed] them, attempting to see what he was up against.

[Ander Phyris, Lich, Level ??

Path of Magic

Self Raised Lich]

[???/???]

[Eleric Phyris, Unknown Skeletal Mage, Level 22

Path of Fire

Natural Pyromancer]

[320/320]

[Naeve Phyris, Unknown Skeletal Mage, Level 24

Path of Magic

One Against Many]

[365/365]

[Robick Phyris, Unknown Greater Ghoul Ghoul, Level 21

Path of Enhancement

Blazing Berserker]

[575/575]

[Enan Phyris, Unknown Skeletal Mage, Level 18

Path of Fire

Natural Pyromancer]

[280/280]

[Rayna Phyris, Unknown Skeletal Mage, Level 20

Path of Fire

Beast Slayer]

[300/300]

It was an impressive display of power, having so many servants at a higher Level than him, and it was concerning that he still couldn't see much about the Lich, but despite that he stepped through the gap in the doors he had carved, axed raised. He was done being stuck down here and he

was going to get out today or die trying.