After falling for what felt like over an hour, Ezekiel finally saw an end to the hole he was unwillingly descending. Only to realize that the gravity that was weighing down on him wasn’t letting up.
‘Any ideas?’ Ezekiel forced himself to remain calm as he tried to figure out what to do.
‘Maybe you could pray?’ Shine joked, but there was a hint of hysteria in their voice. ‘Our mana isn’t doing anything, and we’ve got only a few seconds left before impact!’
Shine’s tone became more panicked as they got closer to the ground. Finally, Ezekiel got an idea, but wasn’t certain it would work.
‘Focus with me. Try and direct our [Nothingness] into an aura. Infuse it into our [Shroud]. Maybe it’ll negate the enchantment.’ Usually, Ezekiel or Shine had to be in contact with the spells they were nullifying, so he didn’t think of using his [Understanding] in this situation.
The only other times he’d tried this ended up turning his [Shroud] into a secondary armor. To varying effects. But he had nothing else that might work.
The combined mana of Hunter and Spirit formed a [Shroud] but rather than focus on stealth, they focused entirely on surrounding themselves with the concept of [Nothingness]. There was an immediate difference, as Ezekiel could tell that the air was no longer whipping past them as fast.
Their descent had slowed to merely that of terminal velocity. Which was letting up even more as they slowly regained their ability to fly.
Though, not fast enough to stop them from impacting on the ground at a decent speed.
“Oof!” Ezekiel let out a grunt as his belly flopped onto the ground. He hadn’t been falling fast enough to effect his armor, but it was still an uncomfortable impact.
‘You good?’ Shine asked. ‘I don’t think we’ll be able to let up on our [Nothingness]. The enchantments on the walls are still altering gravity. Plus, it looks like there’s more down the tunnel.’
Slowly climbing to his feet, Ezekiel’s stomach sank as he saw that Shine’s words were true. There was a single tunnel several meters away. It was similarly lit up with the same engravings that channeled mana. Without his [Nothingness] he wouldn’t even be able to move.
‘Wait... I recognize some of these Runes.’ Ezekiel walked up to the tunnel wall. These ones were smaller than the ones in the hole. So, he was able to see them as a greater hole, rather than piece by piece. ‘These are Runes connected to the Cavern Element. But I could’ve sworn that gravity fell under Void Magic.’
While not entirely common, the Runic languages he learned for enchanting did have some Runes that were unique to specific elemental effects. Void Pouches, for instance, used Runes that were unique to the spatial expansion that they were known for.
It was elemental Runes like those that were the reason that the Church of Ten was even able to create Void Pouches. They simply had to follow the instructions given to ancestral humans back when the Ancients were still residents of Eldramir.
‘I think I know what Ancient this Legacy is from...’ Ezekiel began walking down the tunnel, keeping himself aware of his mana expenditure. ‘I’m just surprised that the Ancient Cavern Spirit could manipulate cosmic forces like gravity... Or maybe it was the other way around, and the Ancient Void Spirit aided in the creation of this labyrinth.’
‘That second option wouldn’t explain why it’s Cavern Runes that are being used in these enchantments. Nor why there are Runes at all.’ Shine pointed out. ‘It’s not like the Ancient Spirits would’ve needed to use Runes. Not if Legendary Spirits are capable of enchanting without them.’
‘True enough. I hope we can get some answers while we’re down here.’ Ezekiel continued to examine the engravings on the walls as he walked.
At least until he saw something that made him groan is helpless exasperation.
‘What the hell is with these damned carvings!?’ He asked no one.
In front of the duo was yet another scene carved into the wall. Depicting battles of the Cruor, but this time it had Hunters, rather than Mages and Spirits. The engravings that increased the gravity had now begun mixing with the engravings, making them glow in an aesthetically pleasing manner.
‘... Wait... if this Legacy is from the Ancients, then how does it even have carvings that detail events that happened well after the Ancients left?’ In the back of his mind, Ezekiel felt Shine’s shock as they came to the same realization.
He had been confused and running for his life the last time he’d seen such carvings. So, it wasn’t something that had occurred to him until now.
‘This is getting eerie...’ Shine muttered. ‘Let’s get going, before we need to outrun another army.’
‘Agreed.’ Ezekiel dashed through the tunnel, running as fast as he safely could. But surprisingly, the carvings didn’t pull themselves from the wall this time, and he instead reached a large open chamber with a gate on one side. The room was still illuminated by the enchantments along the walls.
On either side of the gate were two massive stone golems, at least thirty feet tall. Shaped into the likeness of a human being, they were garbed in rounded armor with jagged spikes protruding from their joints. They both held a shield and hammer in their hands.
However, the thing that grabbed Ezekiel’s attention were the sentences carved into the two stone doors that stood as tall as their guardians.
“Welcome, Void Hunter. You who have unraveled the mysteries of the Void, have found one of the Legacies forged by the Ancients. Unlike the Temples of the Void. Which were meant to retain and provide knowledge for future generations, these joint Legacies were built to aid in the development of Hunters of all elements, so that they may fight on equal ground with Eldramir’s scorned children.”
Ezekiel found himself reading the sentence words on the doors out loud. They began to faintly glow as he did, but he couldn’t seem to stop. It was as if he was compelled to do so.
“To have reached this point means that you meet the minimum requirements to face the Broods and their armies. Now, prepare yourself, and grow stronger through battle, like the Ancients before you.”
Crack!
The sound of stone breaking and grinding filled the room as Ezekiel found himself fully at attention once more. Just in time, too, since one of the massive stone statues was swinging its enormous hammer down toward his head.
“Shit!” Ezekiel dove to the side, narrowly avoiding the massive slab of rock that would’ve crushed him to death if it had hit.
A second hammer followed the first, as the other statue also attempted to crush Ezekiel. Only for the Void Hunter to take to the sky. Though, this was done with great difficulty, as the walls were still lit up with the gravity enchantments.
‘Do you think we could damage the enchantments?’ Shine started spouting out ideas for Ezekiel, who was more focused on surviving than anything else.
Knowing that he was close to the wall, Ezekiel figured that it was at least worth a shot. So, he swung Shine at one of the sections with mana flowing through it. The reinforced blade, imbued with [Nothingness] just bounced off without damaging the stone.
‘Ouch!’ Shine’s shocked outcry nearly made Ezekiel pause, but he dashed around the legs of the stone giants that were still trying to crush him.
‘Did that actually hurt you!?’ Ezekiel sounded worried. If Shine’s reaction was real, then that meant that the enchantments did more than effect the physical world. They affected the soul as well.
‘I... I think it did!’ Shine examined the state of their soul to ensure that there were no debilitating injuries. They instantly noticed what seemed to be bruises on their soul that were swiftly healing. ‘Damaging the enchantments won’t be possible. It doesn’t look fatal, or permanent, but it still hurts. Like if you ran headfirst into a wall without reinforcements or armor.’
‘Well, let’s give it a shot with the statues.’ Ezekiel ducked under a horizontal swing. Launching himself forward, he once again reinforced Shine to the max, and swung with all his might.
This time, Shine cut through the stone that made up the giant’s leg with ease. In fact, besides an outer shell, it was almost as if he was cutting through flesh.
A black tar-like substance began to ooze from the statue’s wound. Acting like blood and coagulating into a scab that covered the gash in an instant.
“What the hell!?” Ezekiel was so surprised that he actually stopped moving to examine the wound. Allowing the other statues to finally hit him like a golf ball.
“Oof!” Fortunately, Shine was still prepared, and a quick [Void Pane] and another reinforcement meant that Ezekiel’s impact on the wall was simply jarring, rather than damaging.
‘Focus!’ Shine reprimanded their partner. ‘We can figure out how it’s doing that later. For now, we need to finish them off. They can bleed, like the Cruor, so we need to kill them, like with the Cruor.’
Grunting in exertion, Ezekiel pushed himself off the wall. Throwing himself forward, he avoided the hammer that was aimed at his head. A step to the side brought him around the shield that was protecting the statues.
Getting up close and personal once more, Ezekiel made quick work of its legs. Slashing through them over and over again and focusing on speed and cutting power as he attacked.
The second statue had recovered and was now moving to help the first. Both had injured legs but were still standing strong.
Getting some distance to not be stuck between the two golems, Ezekiel dashed to the other side of the cavern. Looking for an opening, Ezekiel tried sending a few [Void Slashes], but was blocked by the massive shields. It did give him a second to think, though.
‘Long range is not an option,’ Ezekiel observed. ‘Though it had to be tested.’
Due to the damage Ezekiel had done to the golems’ legs, they were much slower to catch up to him. But it seemed like they were quickly recovering. The tar was also fading to a lighter shade. Not far off from the color of the stone the statues were made of.
‘I think we need to treat them like bone Cruor. It’s supposed to be a test, right?’ Shine pointed out, while Ezekiel once again dashed around the golems. ‘I think we need to treat this like we’re fighting Cruor, not Spirits or constructs.’
A memory flashed through Ezekiel’s mind. This was just like when he had first trained with the Cavern constructs when he was ten. At the outpost on the way to the Desolate Lands. Only far more complex, and far more dangerous.
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‘I don’t think we have the brute force needed to cause any serious damage.’
The golems were moving faster. The injuries he had done to them were now basically gone.
‘Are you willing to take a risk?’ Shine asked, to which Ezekiel mentally nodded. Though he started having second thoughts once Shine explained their plan. ‘Get ready!’
Dodging around the golems, Ezekiel managed to split them up by once again cutting up one of their legs. Forcing it to take a knee, since he was still just too fast for them to effectively avoid or block up close. He even managed to get it to face the wall when this happened.
Pulling the undamaged golem away while the other recovered, Ezekiel got between it and the golem on the ground that was now behind him.
‘Now!’ Shine exclaimed.
Ezekiel jumped into the air, as if to dodge around the golem, but it leaned to the side, and swung its hammer like a baseball bat.
The impact rang through Ezekiel’s head like a bell, but his body was reinforced enough to mitigate most of the damage. But the thing that really mattered was the pressure that was building up inside him, as his [Understanding] of [Force] allowed him to hold onto the impact, even as he went flying toward the second golem. Which was now on its feet.
It moved to turn around, but Ezekiel had curled up into a ball, and was moving too fast. He rammed straight into the back of the golem and released the [Force] of the hammer that had just hit him, while also [Compressing] it to increase the impact.
The result: Ezekiel crashed through the golem’s body, covering himself in tar, and exploded out the other side, ramming into the wall and leaving a massive crater. A dull stone with glowing lines all over it also exited the golem.
It then fell to its knees before toppling over to the side. Ezekiel then climbed to his feet. The mana expenditure of that last attack left him weak. He was barely holding back the increased gravity.
‘I don’t think I can do that again.’ Ezekiel told Shine. ‘Any other ideas?’
‘... Maybe we can channel the [Force] of the hammer through me, and into a [Void Stab]?’
‘Can you handle it?’ Ezekiel knew that Shine’s plan this time would rely solely on them. They were running out of time and ideas. The remaining golem was closing in on them.
‘Yes.’ Shine sounded certain.
Nodding in acceptance, Ezekiel moved to the side, away from the fallen statue. He didn’t move as the one that still stood got closer. It was right in front of him and had lifted its hammer to crush him.
Raising one arm to the sky, Ezekiel held Shine out with his other hand.
The hammer came down, but stopped dead the moment it touched Ezekiel’s hand.
‘Cough!’
Blood splattered the inside of Ezekiel’s helmet as the force nearly shattered Ezekiel’s body. Even with the reinforcements he was using. But as the [Force] of the blow traveled through him, and into Shine, the Void Spirit’s blade lit up in a brilliant opalescent light.
A beam of force shaped like the tip of a sword flew toward the golem. It pierced the shield that stood in its way like it was paper. Then followed through and annihilated the upper body of the golem.
‘Thud!’
The sound of another dull stone with glowing lines covering it echoed through the silent cavern. Followed by the crash of the second broken golem as it crumbled to the ground.
The only noise to be heard was the wet, rasping, breath coming from Ezekiel. He staggered for a moment, before using Shine as a crutch and leaning over.
“That... was harder... than any Cruor fight... that we’ve... ever had...” He could feel his body slowly pulling itself back together, as he channeled most of his remaining mana to reinforce and enhance his natural recovery. If he had been injured any worse, this would not have been a good idea. Even then, it wasn’t ideal. But it would do for now.
A groaning whine was suddenly heard as the massive doors on the far side of the room slowly opened. Revealing a brightly lit corridor, but not lit up by the same lights that created the gravity enchantment that was still pushing down on Ezekiel.
‘Should we wait? Recover a bit before moving on.’ Shine asked.
‘No... We don’t know how long those doors will be open for.’ Ezekiel limped toward the gate. Standing straighter as he got closer, his wounds slowly became more manageable. ‘Into the depths we go...’
Stepping through the gateway, Ezekiel immediately felt a sense of relief, as the gravity had returned to normal.
Of course, the doors slammed shut behind him as soon as he was fully across their boundary.
Flinching slightly, but not letting it stop him, Ezekiel continued forward. But what awaited him, and Shine, wasn’t another test, nor an exceptionally long tunnel. Just a hundred feet down the corridor was a room with a meditation mat, and old one from generations ago, and a pile of startlingly familiar crystals.
As well as a glowing green potion, and an hourglass that was set on a platform off to the side of the room. Walking over, Ezekiel could tell that the potion was a healing potion infused with Life Magic. Taking a swig, he immediately felt relief as his injuries recovered.
“That sand won’t last long enough to recover naturally.” Ezekiel said as he watched the sand falling. “I guess we better get to work.”
Getting himself situated on the meditation mat, Ezekiel laid Shine across his lap, and slowly began absorbing mana from the pure crystals piled up in front of him.
The last thing he pondered before falling into a fugue of gathering mana, now that he had a chance to think about it, was the question of what had happened to his teammates.
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A figure garbed in gray Spirit Armor flew out of the reach of a pair of flying stone golems.
The golem was covered in glowing Runes, and though it flapped its wings, it was obvious that it was the enchantments that allowed it to fly.
“This is ridiculous.” The Tempest Hunter hissed as she dodged yet another barrage of stone feathers. They sank into the ground, melding into the floor and leaving no trace of their existence.
“I get that we’re supposed to show our might against the Cruor, but how is this, in any way, fair?”
Silence was the only reply she received. That, and the whistling of the air as the golems continued to circle around her. She let loose a couple of wind blades that pushed the golems back but didn’t actually cut through their wings.
As she focused on trying to take out one of the golems, the other began circling around behind her. Getting up close and personal, she landed on the back of the one that was still close. Focusing her man, she cut through one of its wings, sending it flying to the ground.
Only to let out a grunt of pain as three stone feathers, sharped like blades, cut into her back, while four more were deflected, and left scrapes in her Spirit Armor.
Diving to the ground, she slammed her sword into the head of the flailing statue on the ground. Blood leaked through her armor as she tried to keep herself awake.
Glaring upward at the remaining golem, she readied herself to continue to fight.
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A miniature forest filled a large cavern. Roots and branches writhed and swung at the bulbous figures that trudged between the trees. But every time they shattered, smaller figures continued to attack, and stone dust sunk into the trees causing them to dry up and crumble.
“How is this happening?” The Life Hunter garbed in verdant Spirit Armor screamed as she tried to fight off the Rot-like golems that were trying to kill him.
Many of the trees that he had grown were now nothing more than husks that had been worn down to nothing more than sawdust. Piles of wood chips grew larger as the Hunter tried to run away.
Only to realize that the tunnel he had come from had disappeared. The stone had sunken in and closed while he was fighting.
“No, no, no! Let me out! Let me out!” The Life Hunter screamed as more of his trees toppled over.
A swarm of stone golems that only rose up to his knees gathered around him.
“Get away from me!”
His screams continued for a little while longer, before the hundreds of statues that surrounded him closed in. Piling on top of him and returning the cavern to silence.
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A rain of Light cut pierced through a pair of massive golems composed of nothing more than piles of sand. The figures reformed in an instant, even as part of them melted and turned to glass. The shattered pieces falling off and slowly making the golems smaller.
“What kind of Cruor is this supposed to emulate?” The Radiant Hunter asked as he looked down on the golems that futilely tried to stop him. “They must be from the center of the Desolate Lands. Perhaps the Brood that was lost to history...”
The Hunter fell silent as the golems below finally crumbled into dust, leaving nothing remaining within the cavern.
To the side, a massive pair of doors opened, and the Radiant Hunter swiftly flew through them.
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Shadows writhed along the ground as a black clad Hunter danced around the numerous golems that attacked him. Covered in chitinous armor, and with multiple limbs, the Hunter tried to attack her enemies again and again. Small cuts chipped away at the insectoid statues’ forms.
Something that would’ve been easier if there weren’t nearly a hundred of them.
“This is so stupid! How is this an Ancient Spirit Legacy!?”
A wave of golems leapt toward her. Stepping back, the Hunter fell into her own shadow. A moment later, she reappeared on the other side of the room, away from the swarm.
The clattering of stone on the ground made her look to her feet. The broken pincers and legs of a golem that had latched onto her lay beneath her.
Behind her armor, the Hunter smiled, a new idea coming to her.
The swarm surged toward her, and she sunk into the shadows once more. But this time, her shadow spread out all around her, covering the entirety of the cavern’s floor.
The swarm began to sink into the ground. Even as the Hunter rose back out.
A moment later, she stepped out of the shadow entirely. Leaving the golems stuck inside.
The doors on the side of the room opened. She took one step toward them and fell flat on her face. Unconscious from the strain of using such a spell.
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Lightning flashed as scorch marks covered the forms of several snake-like statues. The large stone figures wove between the bolts that crashed down on them. Even tunneling into the ground and popping up elsewhere.
“Stay still and die!” the Violet clad Hunter yelled as he shot yet another bolt of lightning at his opponent. But he was beginning to miss more and more.
Taking a breather, the man gasped for breath. His mana was running low, and he wouldn’t last much longer. In one hand he held a spear, but the bent tip showed that it hadn’t been nearly as useful as he had expected it to be.
“Raahg!”
Holding his spear aloft, it crackled as Lightning mana was channeled through it once more.
Rearing back, he prepared to throw it at one of the Wyrm golems that was rearing up from the ground.
All while completely unaware of the Wyrm that had tunneled out of the wall behind him. It's maw gaping wide, with razor-like teeth covered in tar.
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Two familiar stone golems stood tall, with hammer and shield in hand. They swung in tandem toward a rocky dome. Light shone through the cracks that appeared repeatedly. Filling the gaps and closing them within moments.
“Dammit! If I could control my surroundings, then this wouldn’t be so difficult!”
A man in orange-brown Spirit Armor grunted with every impact as the two massive hammers continued to slam down on the barrier that he had erected above him.
“Let’s try this one more time.”
With a grunt of exertion, he channeled mana into the ground. It softened, but not enough to make the golems stumble or stop.
Yet, a moment later, the Hunter seemed to understand something. A slow vibration began spreading out from his feet. Shaking the ground, and seemingly liquifying it, causing ripples to cover the ground.
The golems tried to maintain their balance, but they began to sink. Only stopping once they were waist deep in the earth. They struggled uselessly in an attempt to escape but couldn't.
The rock dome fell apart, and the Cavern Hunter dashed away. Getting some breathing room so that he could make another attack in a couple minutes.
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In a long and winding tunnel, with the walls covered in carvings of countless Cruor, Spirits, and Mages, the body of a man with blue hair, and the fading motes of a Glacial Spirit rose into the air. Bloody smears covered the floor leading to where the dead man lay.
Crimson streaks also covered the walls. Particularly the mouths of the Cruor that were depicted.
A similar scene could be found in a separate area. This time with a man with indigo hair. His Death Spirit fading into motes of mana.
Two failures who hadn’t been able to overcome the first challenge of this Legacy.
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Gasping for breath, Riley rolled out of the way of a set of massive claws. The giant trio of statues meant to emulate the Fanged Cruor attacked her with a vicious ferocity.
Her spear was covered in nicks and scratches. Battle scars from when she had to use her shield to defend. Similar marks could be seen covering her armor. Blue flames covered her body, and glassy pieces of stone formed false gashes where she had successfully struck her opponents.
“I can’t imagine what the others are going through right now.”
She lunged forward, weaving around the body of one of the golems. Swinging her spear, she managed to slash down its back, melting the stone, before spinning her weapon and deflecting another strike from the second golem, then rolling beneath the third.
A dagger of pure fire seared through the third one’s legs. It fell to the ground and rolled away.
“Finally,” she gasped out as she rose to her feet. “That’s one.”
The two that still stood circled around her. Intent on trapping her between them.
But before they could get too close, a ring of fire spun into existence around her. Thin and white from how intense the flame was, the two golems were split in half as the fire cut through them at the waist. They crumbled into dust, leaving behind a set of dull stone spheres with glowing lines covering them.
“Celia... What was that?” Riley received no answer from her Spirit.
Instead, her armor faded away, turning back into a small dragon that lay limply on the ground. Riley’s Spirit was exhausted. Most, if not all, of her remaining mana had been used in that last attack.
“... Rest for now. I can handle the last one.”
Marching toward the flailing golem with no legs, Riley easily avoided the large claws that were awkwardly swung at her. Getting to the head, she sunk her spear, glowing with blue fire, into its eye.
Behind her, a massive pair of doors slowly swung open.
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Standing in the center of the recovery room he was provided with, Ezekiel examined himself and his partner. He marveled in the Step four mana that he and Shine now wielded. The breakthrough had been a major surprise, but a welcome one, nonetheless.
After a few moments, he turned and watched as the last few grains of sand in the hourglass fell. The ground shook a moment later, and one of the walls opened, revealing yet another tunnel.
This one was pitch black, with no lights or runes covering the walls. Instead, a glowing stone, like the one at the beginning of this Legacy, sat on a small stone pillar in the middle of the tunnel.
“Ready to continue?” Ezekiel asked the sword at his hip.
‘Let’s go! I want to find out what’s at the end!’ Shine replied. Eager to get going.
Stepping into the tunnel the opening closed behind them. Grabbing the glow-stone Ezekiel marched forward into the dark. He only hoped that the future challenges wouldn’t be as difficult.