Ascension Chronicle: The Tower Of Calamity

 The forest made sounds around him- rustling leaves, distant cries all sounded as life itself and brought to bear some real situations that surrounded them. Behind Clara trudged Liam, gripping the old, rust-stained dagger that still smelled fresh with blood from that beast, while casting frequent glances back over his shoulder at shadows playing tricks on his mind.

"Stop looking back," snapped Clara in a voice lower than the sharpness on the edge. "If something comes, we will be the first to hear it."
"Easy for you to say," muttered Liam. "You have a bow. All I have is this..." gesturing with the dagger, "toothpick."
Clara smirked but remained silent. She motioned him to stop instead. Kneeling at the base of a tree, her eyes seemed sharp in detecting things on the ground.
"What is it?" whispered Liam, leaning closer.
"Tracks," said Clara, indicating a very faint imprint in the dirt-there was a set of clawed footprints that led deeper into the forest. "Something big. Probably more of those monsters."
The thought sent Liam's stomach churning. "Shouldn't we go the other way, then?"
Clara shook her head. "No. The tower's voice told us to survive through this floor. That doesn't mean sitting around and hiding. We need to discover the challenge and complete it."
He opened his mouth to disagree, but then Clara stood up suddenly with her bow drawn. She was staring into the darkness ahead, body tense.
"Do you hear that?" she asked.

Liam strained to hear it. At first there was nothing but rustling leaves, then faintly, a soft, breezy but eerie-sounding melody- almost hypnotic-and with a feeling of being deeper within the forest.
"What is that?" he asked, only a whisper barely above the stillness.
"I don't know," said Clara. "But we're going to find out."
Here came a movement, steps one at a time; deliberate, cautious. Liam hesitated, waiting; mo sure his instincts wanted him to turn back. But the thought of being alone in this nightmare was worse than anything else his mind could conceive ahead of him.
The humming grew more intense as they walked, resonating within Liam's chest. The trees around began to thin and twist their branches, eventually giving way to a clearing bathed in an otherworldly blue light.
In the middle of the clearing stood a pedestal-the glowing orb was sitting atop it. Its light pulsed like a heartbeat, and the hum emanated from the orb.
"What is that?" asked Liam, eyes huge.
Clara did not answer. She stared at the orb, her face giving away nothing. Slowly she approached the pedestal, still agile with her tight bow.
"Wait," Liam said, grabbing her arm. "What if it's a trap?"
Clara glanced to him. Now she frowned. "Everything here is a trap. But we do not have a choice."
And before Liam could utter an objection, the earth trembled beneath their feet. He swayed, nearly losing his footing, as the clearing changed. All around them, trees began twisting and bending into each other, bark peeling away to reproduce monstrous faces. From the shadowy depths of the woods, more monsters emerged, their baleful glowing red eyes fixed upon the two humans.
Clara cursed under her breath, quickly free-sheathes an arrow from her bow. "Guess we found our challenge."
Liam gripped his dagger and felt his heart thumping. "What do we do?"
"Survive," Clara said, loosing her arrow.
The arrow sank into the flesh of the closest beast, but it barely slowed. Roaring, it came dashing with claws glimmering in the blue light. Clara shot again, now at its eye. The creature dropped, but two more replaced it.
His hands were trembling now as the beast lunged at him, which he evaded and slashed wildly with his dagger. His blade sank deep into the separate sides of the creature, letting out a howl. But Liam was far from being done; he kept stabbing the beast until it dissolved into black smoke.
"Liam!" came the shout of Clara. He turned only to see her surrounded, her arrows exhausted. Without a thought, Liam ran to her and slashed at the nearest beast.
The two continued to fight back-to-back, their movements frantic but determined. Slowly, the number of beasts began to dwindle.
Eventually, the last creature collapsed, its body dissolving to nothingness, just like the others. Liam knelt before the fierce onslaught and began heaving.
"Is it over?" he asked, hoarsely.
Clara, however, did not respond. Instead, she stared at the orb, which suddenly turned brighter. The hum suddenly grew louder, and the pedestal seemed to be lifting itself, revealing a staircase that led downwards and into the earth.
"Looks like we've found the way to the next floor," Clara said as she slung her bow over her shoulder.
"Damn it," groaned Liam as he got up, his entire body feeling sore from the fight. "Great. Because this floor was so much fun."
Clara laughed, a rare smile flickering across her face. "Come on. Let's see what fresh hell awaits us."
And as they walked down that staircase, her light coming from the orb, the two young souls felt that whatever came would be worse still. Yet, today for the very first time since entering the tower, hope bloomed within him.
He was not alone.
To Be Continued.....