Ascension Chronicle: The Tower Of Calamity

 The spiral staircase continued down till infinity. The hanging orb above emitted a faint, pulsing glow. Each step got colder as the oppressive weight from the tower pressed heavily. With the deafening silence surrounding Liam and Clara, their footsteps drifted as they descended.

"So, what do you think is waiting for us?" Liam broke the eerie silence with a question.
Clara glanced at him, a little unreadable through the dim light. "Nothing good. This is not a place designed for us to win easily. Keep your guard up."
The staircase, which should have led to the next floor, opened directly into a hall which apparently continued forever under the roof. Huge stone statues of armored warriors with helmets covered their faces reflected the cold air of damp stone, haunted by something faintly metallic, almost like blood.
"That's creepy," Liam said slowly as he set foot into the room.
The deeper they walked, the elite sphere of brightness that had guided them turned off, leaving faltering torchlight that seemed to trickle from sconces embedded within the wall. The door disappeared, too, totally like the seamless rocky wall.
"Great," Liam now turned to Clara. "Now what?"Before Clara could reply, the statues lining the walls began to move. The stone joints made a groaning noise as they stepped down from the pedestals, their weapons gleaming in the torchlight.
Instinctively raising her bow and nocking an arrow, Clara said, "I think we found the challenge."
The voice of the tower reverberated through their minds. Cold, without emotion.
"Trial of the Forgotten Hall. Defeat the guardians to proceed. Failure will result in death."
"Of course it will," Liam muttered, gripping his dagger tightly.
The mighty first statue has been activated, its colossal stone sword now swinging in a mighty arc. Clara fired an arrow, yet the creature's stone exterior hardly scratched it.

"Not so helpful!" Liam shouted, ducking as the blade went past him in its swing, and the air it displaced rushed past his face.
"Unlike beasts, these things are much tougher," said Clara, moving backwards to shoot one more arrow again. This time, an arrow struck at a weak point in the neck of the statue causing some cracks to appear on the head. "Shoot at the joints!"
Nodding with Liam, he dashed in another approaching statue. He dodged the downward strike and plunged his dagger into the statue's knee joint. The blade lodged into the stone as much with a loud crack the leg buckled and toppled to the ground.
"Awesome!" Clara called, firing off another arrow that smashed the arm of a second statue.
It was an incessant battle. For every statue they hurt, another would fill the void. Sweat trickled down Liam's face as he ducked, dodged, and striked wherever he could. Clara moved with precision, her arrows finding weak points with deadly accuracy, and even she was getting tired.
"We can't keep this up," he said, breathless and dodging a sword strike over his head. "Too many!"
Clara ignored him, totally caught up in the battle. Then she glanced over at the far end of the room, where a huge, glowing symbol was etched into the floor. "That's it!" she yelled, pointing. "That might be the key!"
Liam glanced at the emblem, disheartened as he did so. The emblem itself lay flanked by four gigantic statues, each of them towering twice as high as the previous ones.
"You've got to be kidding me," he said, but he did not have the chance to argue.
"Cover me!" Clara shouted and sprinted toward the emblem.
Liam gritted his teeth, blocking her path and desperately slicing one arm against the closest statue; the dagger sparked on the stone's surface but slowed it down just enough not to be caught in the counterstrike.
Clara was like a shadow in her approach to the emblem, darting deftly between the smaller statues on her way. The four massive guardians came alive then, their fiery eyes snapping onto her.
"Liam!" she yelled. "Distract them!"
"How?!" he shouted back, barely dodging another attack.
"Figure it out!"
Liam groaned, his mind racing. He grabbed a loose stone from the ground and hurled it at one of the larger statues. It turned toward him, its glowing eyes narrowing.
"Yeah, that's right! Come get me!" he shouted, sprinting in the opposite direction as the massive guardian lumbered after him, its heavy footsteps shaking the ground.
Clara reached for the emblem and let her hand hover above the glowing symbols for merely a heartbeat before she pressed her palm against the center.
The chamber shook violently; a blinding light erupted from the emblem. The miniatures froze, weapons dropping to the ground. The big guardians rolled out deep, resonant growls before again assuming their original positions.
Light subsided, and silence returned to the room. Again the sound of the tower echoed.
"Trial complete. You may now proceed to the next floor."
The far wall opened up into a soft blue-glow doorway. Clara let out a long breath of relief as she slumped to the ground.
"Are you alright?" Liam rushed over to her.
"I'm okay," she said, her face very pale and her fingers trembling. "Let's keep moving before this place changes its mind."
With her help, Liam lifted her off the floor, and both stepped through the door.
Liam had no choice, but the fear escalated as they climbed up to the next floor. It was becoming deadlier and dwelt at greater risk. His eyes shifted to see Clara next to him marching with a thoughtful look on her face.
"We lived through it," he attempted to say optimistically.
"For now," Clara said, "but it will only get worse from here."
With a tight grip, Liam nodded and held the dagger even tighter. She was right, and deep in his gut he sensed that this tower was testing more than just their fitness for survival.
To Be Continued...