Converging Destinies: Part 1

Chapter 98

       The group travelled into the next room. The temperature immediately increased as they went into the room. The room itself was far smaller than the previous one, and was shaped as a hallway as opposed to a room. The artwork on the walls depicted flames in a highly artistic manner. The general shape of the fire being filled in by bright oranges, reds, and yellows. The entirety of the temple thus far had been carved into reddish colored stone. The group slowly travelled forward.

       Ara' Sei muttered an incantation and a few glowing globules of light flew from her hands. They flew down the hall, revealing a door with a glowing, red gemstone at its center.

       The group continued walking forward, in awe at the walls all around them. Suddenly, the glow of the gemstone brightened.

       "Get ready!" Eris shouted. From the gemstone, a wave of fire surged through the hallway. Eris was able to leap over the wave before landing after it had passed. Ella and Zerai took the full force of the wave, while the others were able to back away to only get mildly singed. The whole group backed away from the gemstone.

       "What is that?!" Cedric shouted.

       "Dunno. But it detonated when we got close to it." Eris said.

       "In other words, we need to get close to it to go through. But if we get close that happens." Ara' Sei said.

       "Yup." Ella confirmed.

       "Well, Cedric, do you have the spell that lets you nullify magic?" Zerai asked.

       "Not today, but I do have one that lets me resist the fire. If I got close enough, I could possibly destroy it by force." Cedric said.

       "Wait, when did the door behind us close?" Ella asked. The whole group turned around to see the archway blocked by stone, covered in red symbols.

       "What does it say?" Ara' Sei asked. Zerai approached the wall.

       "To see The Flame, one must be purified by it." Zerai read.

       "Well, lovely." Eris said.

       "I'll do my best to destroy this thing as quickly as possible." Cedric said.

       "Do it, we're going to have to get burnt a little, but we can live with it!" Ella said. Everyone else nodded at Cedric.

       Cedric took a deep breath, then he charged towards the gemstone. The gemstone flashed with power once again. Cedric extended his hand forward, and the fire was drawn to it. Eris once again completely leapt over the wave. After the wave hit Zerai, he muttered under his breath and his body glowed.

       Cedric kept his hand extended, and with an emerald flash a wave of energy surged forward which rammed into the gemstone. The gemstone cracked, but it remained. The power within it built again, and another wave of energy surged through the room.

       Cedric once again absorbed some of the wave's power into his arm, where his arm glowed with flame that gradually died down. Eris avoided it as they had twice before. The others tried avoiding it, with mixed results. Another emerald flash illuminated the room as Cedric tried again. The gemstone cracked more, but it was still there. Then, a dagger flew into the gemstone, shattering it. Cedric looked back to see Eris' hand extended.

       "Thank you." Cedric whispered.

       "Okay! That was way worse than I thought it would be." Ella said.

       "Agreed, but we aren't done here." Zerai said, he muttered under his breath and his body once again glowed with golden light. Ara' Sei placed her hand on her chest, and her body glowed with pale light as her wounds mended. The group then placed their attention upon the door in front of them.

       Ella approached the door and rubbed her hands together.

       "Alright, I'm going to try to pry it open a little first." Ella said. Immediately, she found a grip, and the grinding of stone echoed through the chamber as the door in front of them began to open. It was made of stone, but somewhat made to swing like a normal door. The door was open after around ten seconds.

       "Ha! Easy!" Ella said. Then, she stepped aside to allow the others through. Ara' Sei sent lights to scout ahead. This door opened up to another room. The room was wide and open. The room was surprisingly barren, but then the group saw it.

       Scorch marks. Charred remains. Blackened Bones. From designs in the floor, fire began to rise up.

       "Get ready!" Now, they faced the first foes they had faced in quite a while.