Ascension Chronicle: The Tower Of Calamity

He animatedly stood; his breath ragged with the dissonance in Medusa's cry of death into the vast chamber. Silence clung to him like a shroud and only the dubious crackling of torches placed around the chamber walls could break it. Nyx sat on the cold stone with evident fatigue from the battle on its small figure.
Liam's hands trembled as he cleaned the ash of Medusa from his sword. Everything that had happened with Clara played over and over in his head: her petrification, breaking the statue to pieces. The images haunted him endlessly; whenever he closed his eyes, he saw and felt as if the statue was breaking, its sacrifice etched in his very being.
"We did it," he muttered to himself, though he knew the words felt empty. He looked around the chamber, as if waiting for something else to jump out of the shadows at them. But all that could be seen was the throne room of Medusa.
Now Nyx offered up a low growl, as if to reassure him. It bumped its head against Liam's leg, those glowing eyes naked in empathy.

Liam knelt next to Nyx, stroking its velvety fur. "She's lost to us, Nyx. But I-" He paused, looking back to the great stone throne of Medusa. Something had changed. A faint glow now emanated from the surface of the throne, and strange, ancient letters began to burn into the stone as though etched by an unseen hand.
With that, Liam strode up toward the throne. When he got close, the glow became brighter. The letters pulsed softly as if foreign and mysterious. Each symbol felt alive, shifting subtly as if mocking his inability to decipher them.
"What is this?" he murmured, with his brow furrowing. He raised his hand toward the words and saw the glow take a turn towards increasing the humming sound lowly through the walls. That made Liam step back.
Again Nyx growled, definitely not at ease.
Liam took a step back, squinting at the runes. Is it a message? A warning? He tried to recall if Clara had ever mentioned a script like this, but his thoughts were a storm of grief and confusion.
"I can't read this," Liam said aloud, frustration tinging his voice." And whatever it is, we don't have time to figure it out."
Nyx yipped in agreement, tugging at Liam's torn sleeve with its tiny teeth. The creature, resilient as always, seemed to understand that lingering here would only court more danger.
Liam glanced back at the chamber for the last time. Medusa's shattered remains covered the floor as a shrine to victory and sacrifice-Clara's sacrifice. Turning toward the exit, Liam clenched his fists, shoving the pain deeper into his chest.
"We keep moving," he said, voice now harder. He looked down at Nyx. "Clara would not want us to stop here. There's no turning back."
The little creature let out a soft, determined growl as Liam started to walk toward the stone archway that had appeared at the far end of the chamber. The throne continued to glow behind him, the runes flickering faintly, as though waiting for someone-or something-that could understand them.
Liam halted at the threshold of the exit, stealing one last glance at the throne and its mysterious writing. A shiver ran down his spine, but he dismissed it and stepped through the archway with Nyx close behind him.
As they passed through, the chamber began to darken, and the strange light of the throne faded into nothingness, leaving the words behind, locked away once again.
They stepped out into the next level; this air was sharper and colder than the previous. Spreading before them was a vast, misty flat, covered with an array of large, jagged moribund ruins. The next trial lay ahead, and Liam was focused razor-sharp now because of loss and with a fierce determination.
"Let's go," he muttered while gripping his sword. In soft agreement, Nyx gave a soft growl, then they disappeared into the mist, leaving behind the throne-and its secrets.
To be continued...