Ascension Chronicle: The Tower Of Calamity

The air on Floor 25 was damp and thick with moisture, carrying a faint scent like moss and stone. From the cavernous halls, the gentle hum of ancient energy flowed, where stalks glowed faintly overhead. Some ancient beast could have hung by its teeth. Liam, Clara, and their new companion stepped gingerly into the Whispering Caverns footsteps echoing in the strange silence.

The little spot had been with them all since it hatched excitingly dart ahead and lit up all surrounding shadows with striking glimmering violet eyes. He called it Nyx, inspired by what its fur looked like flowing waves of the night sky rippling.
"This place I don't really fancy," Clara muttered, her bow drawn and at the ready. The celestial weapon glowed faintly in the darkened light, casting shimmering reflections on the damp walls.
"Me too," Liam admitted, holding Darkfang tighter. The sword's dark blade throbbed in tune with the current flowing through the cavern.
Nyx chirped a soft, mischievous call then bounded back toward them only to stop and tilt its head. Its ears perked up and let out a growl in low tones.
"What's up, Nyx?" Liam crouched beside it.
All of a sudden, the whispers they had sensed at the edges of perception grew powerful. They were, after all, not voices, but more like echoes of thoughts, disjointed and overlapping.
"Turn back... Leave this place... You cannot pass..."
Liam and Clara exchanged a look, both wary. "Is it just me, or does that floor not want to see us here?" Clara whispered.

Before Liam could reply, the ground began to shake. The cracked-off piece of the cavern wall before them shattered as it produced an entrance into darkness. A titanic snake-like being surged from inside the cracks, its body shining with oily-like scales. Its eyes glimmered with an unholy light, and its forked tongue flicked the air.
"Wonderful," muttered Clara, raising her bow. "Another monster."
However, Nyx was letting out a series of urgent yips and tugging at Liam's pant leg. It ran toward a smaller tunnel branching off of the main cavern and stopped, regarding them with a decisive glare.
"You want us to go that way?" Liam asked, confused.
Nyx barked again. This time the bark was even more urgent.
"Liam, whatever it's saying, we need to decide fast," Clara said as she notched an arrow because the serpent hissed and presumably would have lashed out.
"Fine, Nyx," said Liam, trusting that the creature knew best. "Lead the way!"
They all raced into the smaller tunnel, narrowly avoiding the lunge of the serpent. Its massive form slammed against the cavern's wall behind them, causing the ground to tremble. The narrow passage forced them to move single file, with Nyx leading the way with surprisingly good agility.
The whispers followed. They grew louder and messier, and at one point, the ground beneath Clara failed to hold her. She was only able to grab the edge before, timing her pull perfectly, Liam hoisted her back up.
"Thanks," she gasped, hands shaking.
Nyx barked again, pushing them forward. The tunnel spilled out into a room full of bioluminescent mushrooms and a glowing pedestal at its center. On the pedestal blossomed an orb glowing steadily as if pulsing.
"It's got to be," Clara murmured as she lowered her bow. "Cleansing this whole floor must be the key."
Just as they approached the pedestal, the serpent burst into the chamber, with the massive head nearly breakfasting on the ceiling. It opened up a mouth and put forth the loudest of roars with its pupils fixed on the orb.
"We need to get to that orb!" cried Liam, waving Darkfang at the serpent.
"I'll keep it busy!" called Clara and let go a thousand-blade showering arrow on the serpent. The celestial arrows practically found the objects, but the creature hardly moved with the estimated impacts because the majority were redirected by its defenses.
As Clara kept the serpent busy, Nyx flitted around the chamber, jumping onto a bunch of mushrooms, letting out a bark sharp and high-pitched. The sound echoed strangely, making the reptile reconsider its position and spare a glance toward the little creature.
Liam seized the moment. For precious seconds, he rushed toward the pedestal with Nyx's diversion buying him time just as the serpent thundered in its roar and surged forward. But Clara's arrows struck its eyes, imparting temporary blindness on it.
"Run, Liam!" Clara courted.
Liam had reached the pedestal and seized the orb when he touched it with his fingers, and the entire cavern exploded into a bright light. The last rev of the serpent's roar died within its void, and the dark smokiness filled the chamber with eerie silence.
As the light faded, the whispers ceased. That night, the orb vanished from Liam's hand and a glowing portal materialized in the far wall of the chamber.
"We did it:" said Clara, lowering her bow.

Nyx trotted over to Liam with a waggly tail. Liam knelt to scratch behind its ears. "Good job, buddy," he said with a smile.

The portal would carry the three into the Whispering Caverns' past into another world.
To be continued...