Ascension Chronicle: The Tower Of Calamity

 The shimmering doorway deposited Liam and Clara into an even darker place, not like the suffocating walls of the maze. This place didn't seem like a floor at all; it was more a solid ground at the very most. Endless emptiness encompassed them, as faint stars twinkled far away, while the air lay still as if time itself was uncertain to move.
"What... is this place?" Liam asked, now not at all a whisper but again not exactly loud.
Clara shook her head, her bow already poised. "I don't know what it is, but it feels bad. Like the air is heavy."
The very first few cautious steps toward that away had faint voices murmur towards them, the sounds too soft to decipher, but very much unsettling. He suddenly turned, trying to find the noise's source, yet they seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once.
"Did you hear that?" Liam inquired.
Clara nodded, her grip tightening on her bow. "Stay razor-edged. Whatever this is, it is to mess with our heads."
The whispers grew louder as they walked, finally breaking into word fragments that said only cold-spikes down their backs.
"Failure..."
"Abandon..."
"Die..."
Tightened fists failed to drown out the voices in Liam. "Just a trick," he muttered self-encouragedly.
Without warning, the void rippled like a disturbed pond. Shadows formed into humanoid shapes, flickering curves as though they were made out of thin air. They simply did not have faces-hollows of void where eyes and mouths should be.

"Liam," she warned, arm drawn back to release her bowstring.
"They're coming," openly declared Liam.
A shadowy form sprang toward Liam, in a lightning speed, performance too quickly unnatural. He raised his sword just in time to deflect the blow, severing the smoky form with his blade. There was a chilling shriek from that creature before it dissolved into a black mist, yet two more came out to take its place.
"They're endless!" shouted Liam as again he slashed through another.
Clara loosed an arrow that struck true, burying itself in the chest of one of the shadows. The thing vanished, but for every single one they felled, countless more appeared.
"This isn't working," Clara announced, backing closer to Liam. "We need an exit."
Liam glanced around, but no-frayed edges of nothingness and a steadily growing mass of shadow creatures. The whispers gained volume, now screaming accusations and excavating fears from his mind.
"You are weak...""You cannot save them...""Run while you can..."
Clara grabbed his arm. "Liam! Get a grip!"
Her voice sliced through the chaos in his brain. He nods as and when he can, shaking off the voices as best he can.
"Okay, let's think," Liam said, breathing heavily. "This tower always has a way out; we just have to find it.
Clara's eyes moved randomly in the null space. "There!" she exclaimed, pointing.
He stood in a light sheen at a fair distance, its illumination soaked by darkness to a minimal trace. It flickers like a dying flame, their only lead.
"Go!" Clara shouted, shooting arrows for cover as they fled.
Liam ran toward the light, cutting down any shadow creatures that got too close. Clara followed, moving precise and calculated, with each arrow hitting its mark.
As they neared the light, the whispers grew deafening, a cacophony of voices screaming doubts and fears into their minds. Liam stumbled, holding his head.
"Don't stop, Liam!" Clara shouted as she took hold of his arm and dragged him forward.
The light brightened, revealing a circular platform suspended in the void. A pedestal stood in its center, upon which a glowing orb hovered above it. The shadows hesitated at the edge of the platform, as though they were repelled from the light.
"To the orb!" Clara shouted, holding her bow on the creatures.
Liam didn't pause one second. He sprinted toward the pedestal, extending his hand, trembling slightly as he touched the orb.
As soon as he made contact, a blinding light enveloped the platform and the shadows retreated. Suddenly, the whispers stopped, creating an almost deafening silence.
Where Liam opened his eyes, he found himself in the same void where shadows had once existed, and the whispers had faded. Clara came closer to him, lowering her bow.
"What happened?" she asked.
"I... I don't know," Liam confessed. "But I think we passed the trial."
The orb floated into the air and shattered into a thousand pieces of light. A new door appeared before them, its golden edges shimmering invitingly.
"Good," sighed Clara. "Now let's leave this place."Liam agreed and took a step toward the doorway when the deaf, guttural shouts echoed from inside the void.
"You may have survived this trial, but the tower is watching. It knows your fears, your weaknesses. You will fall, in time."
Uneasy glances were exchanged between Liam and Clara, but they said nothing. They then stepped through the doorway, getting ready for whatever awaited them on the next floor.
To Be Continued...