"30 seconds remaining until 'Phantom's Of Unclaimed Treasure' begins!" The effeminate system voice announced, as I'd just finished freeing up some tension in my legs. In truth, I hadn't noticed tightness in any muscle outside of mana exhaustion and physical injury in quite some time. That being said, I practically shed a tear feeling the same joyous relief stretching had afforded me for years before the integration. Funny enough, the other three followed suit shortly after Korbin and I dropped to the floor to loosen up. That is, until that last announcement.
"Alright Cass, you're first up." Korbin said, walking over to the window wall. The rest of us clambered to our feet before shuffling over. As I peered down at the complete darkness where the Labyrinth had been, a blinding flash of light from below illuminated the entire room. I rubbed my eyes, feeling around for the window wall. As my vision returned, the Labyrinth section directly below us rapidly contorted creating a hole at one of its edges. Inside stood 10 people, all locked inside translucent boxes of flickering energy atop platforms.
"Oh shit, shouldn't Cassi b-" I looked back, finding she was the only one of us not present in our viewing area.
"She is." Korbin said, pressing his finger on the glass pointing out Cassi's towering figure in the distance. The metallic floor and walls surrounding her constantly folded and reshaped her platform, periodically revealing different sections layered beneath their starting point. Massive sections further into the Labyrinth sculpted itself into multiple layers that slowly grew over the top of the open roof revealing Cassi and her 9 other opponents. Though the sections that folded back atop this starting area didn't make a dent in the multiple twisting paths stretching as far as the eye could see.
"Damn, this thing is insane. How the hell could anyone escape this thing?" I asked, thinking out loud more than begging for an answer. Korbin chuckled beside me, resting his metal gauntlets against the window wall staring intently down at the labyrinth.
"I told you this one would be fun."
——————————————————————
My body shuddered bracing for impact as the platform I stood atop of suddenly changed directions, even though the shifting momentum never transferred inside my containment field like physics demanded it should. There were other contestants on their platforms periodically whizzing past me, though it was difficult to track where they went behind the walls of incredibly malleable metallic walls that contorted between us.
Flashes of long, shimmering corridors spun under themselves, revealing winding pathways covered with vines that slowly converged into large plains of bright green grass, snowy tundras and lowlight bogs passing by in every direction. My platform plunged through a gap opening in the glimmering metallic floor below, sinking me hundreds of feet down before stopping on a dime. Once again, none of the momentum transferred to my legs.
"Welcome to the Phantom's Of Unclaimed Treasure! You and your fellow participants are tasked with navigating through the many memories of naive explorers and unlucky legends alike in search of the Pendant Of Spectral Warding. Be warned, their spirits have been tasked with safeguarding the pendant by any means necessary, in hopes to be recycled into the next integration. That being said, any wearer of the Pendant will be immune to their attacks. Find the real one, and escape the maze!" The effeminate voice announced, as the shimmering translucent barrier around me faded into thin air.
A cold breeze blew across my face as I leapt from my platform into the cold, dimly lit room. The glistening dark metallic walls pulsated with streaks of bright blue light on one side, and red ones on the other. Both leading into a short corridor directly in front of me. I crept forward, making note to check for anything that might resemble a trap. The hallway split into two directions, each with streaks of blue or red lines on either side. I retreated a few steps, sitting down with my back against the wall as I casted my Fluidic Spectral Eye. My perspective transferred into the floating watery eye, as I hovered down the blue path.
Floating around the corner, the narrow hallway quickly opened up into a thick, foggy swamp. Thick rooted trees hovered above the murky waters, as well as patches of bright green hills eclipsing atop the swamp. Without Korbin's presence boosting the class he'd given me, my spectral eye couldn't see any colors or hear sounds. I did however catch the tail end of a bloody battle between a bisected undead hovering through the air with purple whisks dancing around it, and a heavily armored archer. The odds they were members of The 'Guardians Consortium' who swore to hunt us down before the event began were slim, though the dramatically large longbow and curved heavy armor fit theirs well even from a distance.
The archer sprinted into the decrepit wooden hut sitting at the center of the swamp. My spectral eye couldn't follow him in, though I caught a glimpse of a shimmering pendant showcased right at the front door as the archer stepped in. I was about to dismiss my eye and chase the archer down for that pendant when his body launched from the room, flying into the disgusting still water surrounding the home. His head emerged, covered in disgusting dark sludge swimming frantically for the shore. Dozens of bony skeletons' hands emerged around his, gripping the archers arms and neck before pulling him back under the water. I turned my spectral eye towards the door, a dark purple flash encompassing my vision before my spirit rushed back into my body.
'Okay, I know where one is.' I thought to myself, preparing to cast my spectral eye again to check the red route. Before I could however, the walls leading to either route began twisting and folding in on itself.
"Shit!" I yelled, sprinting through the blue hallway and summoning my Fluidic Ripple, the small orb of water whirling around my arms and into my legs. It was also one of the only skills I'd gotten before joining Elysium.
Dammit all, I might not make this. I should've gone down the red path..
The route leading into the swamp had risen nearly 10 feet in the air as I reached the end of the hallway, the distant echoing screams of agony reverberating from somewhere in the orange glowing abyss under the moving platforms.
Aahh, FUCK it.
Leaping up, my leg kicked off the collapsing metal wall at my side as my Fluidic Ripple surged to my feet, launching me just high enough to wrap my fingers around the ledge to the swamp. I quickly pulled myself up, rolling onto cold metal that quickly transitioned into boggy soil.
*SLAM*
Looking back, a new passageway illuminated by streaks of purple light latched onto the platform I'd just rolled over, connecting absolutely seamlessly. I checked my status, checking the time hoping there was a cycle pattern I could record. Unfortunately, the numbers on my clock constantly flipped from 1 through 9.
Oookay, never mind.
*THUNK*
My head shot forward, scrambling up from the boggy soil at hearing the decrepit huts front door slamming shut. It sat nearly 200 feet away, with dozens of thick, still water swamps between it. I scanned the area, hoping to find overgrown floating islands close enough to serve as a bridge to the hut. Locking into one suitable not much further away, I carefully jogged through the thick mud. The swamps' repulsive stench invaded my sinuses as I shuffled along the edges of the floating islands bursting with overgrowth. A silvery glimmer brought my attention toward the water, spotting the archer's helm peak above the surface for a moment.
A strong unwillingness to join the archer quickened my careful steps across the swamp. There was an eerie silence hanging in the air, not even the faint screams of my competition could be heard. Muffled clanks and thumps thundered from inside the hut as I climbed the short hill leading up it. My Bo staff extended in my hand beside me as I placed an ear on the door.
…
..nothing.
Not willing to waste any more time than necessary, I slowly began pulling open the door to the disheveled hut. Leaning my head in, I caught a massive soft of an absolutely repulsive smell. One I hadn't been forcefully subject to since I'd last seen Hay-
Oh SHIT!
The huts rotting wooden wall creaked under my foot, kicking myself off to avoid several glowing streaks of dark energy whizzing by my face and chest. I slid across the boggy mud, channeling my Fluidic Ripple as the same bisected undead the archer killed bursted through the hut. Bandages fluttered loosely under its hovering upper body, pale distended skin bulging through the gaps in its wraps and badly shredded cloth robes that hardly hung on by its shoulders. Its eyes were completely whited out, its rotting face twisted in a scowl as the undead mage angrily croaked through a sinister rasp.
"You should've left when you had the CHANCE!" The hovering undead screeched, extending its bony arms and launching a large glowing black orb arching at me. I dashed to the side, evading the blast of glowing death energy that dispersed high into the air upon impact. The undead floating torso continued slinging smaller streaks of dark energy in my direction, forcing me to channel my Fluidic Ripple along my bo staff to deflect the casts I couldn't dodge rather than my feet.
"FILTHY spirit of the water. You rot in my stead!" The death casting torso screeched, firing another ball of dark energy. The orb flew past my body sliding around it, finally getting within striking distance. A burst of glowing death energy dispersed from under the hovering torso, launching its body over my head while I swiped away at the glistening black fog creeping around me. Spinning my bo staff, the fog quickly cleared from my immediate vicinity, revealing the distended undead torso hovering over the swamp. Its bony hands lifted into the air, glowing with dark energy.
All at once its hands slammed down, dozens of skeletal arms and skulls emerging from the swamps between us in response.
"Hahahaha!" The torso cackled floating into a sea of fleshless arms, sinking into the swamp while other skeletons emerged from the bogs in front of me. I turned around, bolting for the wooden hut when the same undead torso shot out from the front door. A beam of glowing black mana blasted into my shoulder plate, twisting my momentum to the side as I struggled to slow my sprint. The soft boggy soil sank underfoot, causing me to slide on my side.
That…didn't hurt that bad.
A smile crept across my face while planting my foot into the wooden hut wall, digging my Bo staff into the soil behind and launching myself to my feet. Spinning back, the death slinger lunged forward with cyan flames glowing in its palms. The weight of my staff shifted with my Fluidid Ripple, slamming the light side up into the torso's jaw. His bone cracked instantly on impact, causing the floating death mage to float up higher. Keeping my spinning momentum, I leapt into the air blasting the heavier side of my bo staff into its skull.
The death mage fell dead to the bog, evaporating into a dark cloud as its legion of skeletons arrived at the hut. Both ends of my bo staff shattered a pair of gnashing skulls as I slid into the hut, slamming the door shut behind and dropping the wooden latch.
*THUMP*
*THUMP*
Feeling certain the skeletons weren't getting in, I turned back to grab the pendant sitting not more than 6 feet from the front door. As my eyes scanned across the room however, a familiar glowing fog emerged from below a blooded kitchen table in the back of the hut. A bright flash of cyan light forced me to cover my eyes, finding the same undead torso glowing a bright cyan hue above the table as I looked back.
"Insolent rodent. I'll be sure to consume your lineage when I return!" It raspily roared, clapping its hands together. Dozens of pentagons and strange symbols illuminated the floor and walls within the cramped wooden hut, its energies extending out from the patterns. The hovering torso's hand raised up, summoning a ball of dark energy with a thin cyan hue. My eyes shot around the room, hoping to find a route between the symbols I could run between. The wood croaked under my shifting weight, reminding me of the state this place was in.
"Hurry BACK!" The hovering torso yelled, firing its charged orb through the mess of luminous symbols. I charged toward the wall, leaping forward and channeling my Fluidic Ripple I through my leg. The weak, water damaged wood shattered under my metal boots as I launched out of the hut. Its foundation moaned, straining to remain standing. Running around to the other side, I blasted my boot into the corner wall. My legs were already carrying me toward the other side of the hut when I heard the torso's deathly energy explode into the ground behind me. I turned back, finding the death mage angrily flying after me.
The cacophonous gnashing from the skeletons' jaws slowly chasing after us gave me an idea as I cut back toward their herd of bones. After a couple steps, the end of my staff pressed in front of me into the soft soil, sliding back under another dark glowing ball towards the death mage. I snagged onto its bandage, whipping the floating undead to the ground. It's deathly orb blasted into the crowd of skeletons behind us, their bones rapidly deteriorating in various sections outside of its immediate impact.
Wrapping my leg under the undead's chin, I torqued on its neck hard ripping the pale faced zombies head clean off. My back squelched into the boggy soil, relaxing for a split second before scrambling up to my feet and bolting for the hut. Only instead of running straight in through the front door, I kicked through another wall nearly collapsing the ragged hut. A stream of dark mist slowly exuded from a cyan stone glowing under the table. I slid under, gripping the stone as the undead torso manifested in a cyan flash.
"PUT THAT DOWN!" The hovering undead bellowed, raising its arms and blasting a dark glowing beam of energy from his clapping hands. I sent my Fluidic Ripple into my feet, leaping over the thin beam and slamming the cyan crystal onto the rotting wooden floor. The beam grazed my shoulder as the crystal shattered at my feet. The floating undead torso immediately collapsed to the ground, crumbling into dust while reaching for the display holding the pendant. Looking outside, a huge pile of bones lay loosely on the thick boggy soil. I quickly smashed the glass display with a swipe of my Bo staff before retracting and placing my weapon back into my storage space. My hands clasped around the pendant chain, raising it around my head before it faded from existence.
*ding*
One false Pendant of Spectral Warding has been claimed! (4) remaining!
The notification jumped in my face before I got the chance to open it, quickly closing itself after I finished reading.
Shit, I'm going to be here for hours if others don't start finding these pendants.
I turned to bolt from the tattered hut, when the flicker of an overturned candelabra hanging from his desk caught my eye. Quickly glancing back, a thick black book with strange symbols carved into its cover sat beside a feather pen and the downed candles. Jogging over, my arm extended to flip the pages open when my hand recoiled back nearly on instinct before it flew open itself. The worn leather spine creaked as pages quickly flipped themselves before landing on a drawing of the same undead torso I'd just fought. Beside it, 'lesser liche…FUCKING LESSER LICHE??" A linear tear in the page rippled from the bottom of the final question mark, indicating whoever wrote this was thoroughly pissed writing this down.
I see…this may be useful.
*RUMBLE*
As I quickly snagged the book and threw it in my storage space, the ground began quaking underfoot. Looking outside, the purple corridor I intended on venturing through after this began rising up, revealing an endless sea of lava below. I felt myself sliding forward, as the swamp water spilled towards the same exit. Frustration rushed through my mind as I shakily sprinted across the foliage covered floating islands.
Of course, because WHY NOT tilt the fucking maze?!
——————————————————————