Ascension Chronicle: The Tower Of Calamity

 Once more, the world shifted around Liam and Clara as they stepped through the glowing door. The chamber dissolved, replaced with a massive jungle, teeming with scrubby trees and vines that faintly glowed in dim. The humid air felt heavy and faint cries of creatures echoed from far beyond thick foliage.

Over their heads hung the faint number 20 in the air.

"The twentieth floor," Clara said in a wary tone. "This place feels... alive. Too alive."

Liam nodded. He had been looking all around. "Stay sharp. The tower isn't going to make this easy."
The two walked cautiously across the jungle, ready with weapons. Liams dagger glittered softly with runes etched into its blade while Clara had strung her bow taut with an arrow nocked and poised to fire.
Moving deeper into the jungle, suffocating silence pressed upon them. A distant roar and occasional rustling through leaves would be nothing compared to the feeling of oppression they both felt.
Then, suddenly, the ground began to shake beneath them. From the treetops burst torrents of birds and tiny creatures as a roar echoed through the air.
"What now?" muttered Clara, spinning about to see what was making the noise.
And long after this shocking answer came a monstrous figure that crashed with its heavy weight through the undergrowth. The creature appeared huge, thrice their height, and its body was covered with thick, armored scales. She had four legs, two of which ended with razor-sharp claws, and there glowed two yellow eyes burning with rage. A head was like a combination of a dragon and a tiger: the jagged, bared teeth snarled.
"Get out of the way!" Liam shouted, lunging for them with claws tearing the air.
They both jumped out in opposite directions, just barely moving the monster's attack. Clara rolled onto her feet and immediately sent her arrow into the beast's shoulder. The roar of pain came from the animal, but the arrow hardly penetrated the thick scales.

"Liam, we need a strategy!" shouted Clara, dodging another swipe from the creature.
"Its underbelly-it's exposed!" his teeth gritting as he circled the beast with a dagger.

Nodding to Clara, who shifted her aim as Liam charged forward. Ducking underneath the creature's claws, he slid across the mossy ground to slash at its stomach for his next target. The dagger's runes flared as the blade cut into the softer flesh, drawing a pained roar from the monster.

The beast reared back and swiped wildly. Another chance for Clara to shoot an arrow, hitting it in the neck. The monster staggered but only seemed angrier.
"It has not been going down well," said Clara, her voice tense.
"Make sense," said Liam, dodging another blow, "we have to."
A battle going on with the sound of a jungle rises above them. Liam and Clara fought their best, strategizing actions, and then at what felt like forever, he managed to stab his dagger deep into the beast's chest. The blade's runes flared brightly, and the monster let out one last guttural roar before collapsing to the ground.
Sweat-laden and tired, Liam and Clara could be seen panting under the big, dead thing.
"Is it dead?" said Clara as she slowly lowered her bow.
Blood from his dagger trickled thinly down to the floor while Liam nodded, "Yeah. It's over."
Then from nowhere, an unusual sound began to break and get attention from them. There was a weak rhythmic thumping, coming from a little hollow at the bottom of one of the nearby trees.
"What's that?" asked Clara, walking towards the sound.

Inside that hollow was a melon-sized object, glowing softly with a pulsed light; its surface was smooth and covered with complicated, natural patterns etched like veins of silver.

"It is an egg," Liam said while kneeling next to it.
Clara frowned. "That thing was guarding it. It must be its kid."
Liam lingered, his hand hovering over the egg. "We've killed its mother."
"What does that matter?" Clara said, though her tone lacked conviction. "We couldn't let that thing kill us."
Liam picked up the egg carefully, cradling it in his hands. "Still, it's alive. We can't just leave it here."
Clara groaned. "You don't even know what's going to hatch out of that thing. For all we know, it could grow up to eat us."
"Maybe," Liam said, standing up. "But it didn't ask for this. And if it does grow into something dangerous, it'll be my responsibility."
Clara shook her head, muttering under her breath. "You're unbelievable."
The soft chime of the tower's voice echoed in the jungle.
"The Guardian has fallen. The trial of the twentieth floor is complete. Ascend to the next floor."
Ahead of them, another door appeared, carved from dark wood and surrounded by glowing vines. Liam looked down at the egg, then at Clara.
"Well," he said with a small smile, "let's see where this takes us."
Clara sighed but followed him toward the door. As they stepped through, Liam couldn't help but wonder what would come out of the egg—and what role it would play in the trials ahead.
To be continued...