Buried Deep

Miguel: "This looks like the treasure room."

Ahead of us stands a massive, closed door. It looks menacing, almost as if an ancient spirit lurks behind it.

Sun: "All the main goblins must be there. Do you think they heard us fighting?"

Slinger: "Obviously, genius. They're probably waiting for us."

Sun: "Well, I guess there's only one to find out."

I open the door indifferently. It makes a high-pitched noise, being so ancient. From the crack, a powerful purple energy hits my arm. I recoil in shock. The part where it hit burns a little.

D: "Sun, stand behind me!"

He rushes in front of me and opens the door, blocking all the arrows and purple energy with his wings. Slinger aims inside the room and shoots an arrow, killing some of the goblins, as the arrows stop coming.

Sun: "Thank you, D, but they're not that strong."

I pat him on the shoulder and walk in. There are three mages, one of them appearing to be the leader. He's holding a purple book and floating in the air. There are also two heavily armored goblins. One of them throws a punch at me, which I block with both arms, but I'm knocked back a few meters.

The lesser mages fire jets of purple fire, which I dodge by arching my back. The armored one throws another punch, but misses because of my movement. I kick him upward, slamming his body into the ceiling. He stops moving.

Slinger fires her blue bow again, aiming at the leader, who dodges by flying. His book floats in front of him as it unleashes a stream of purple tentacles that enter portals and teleport around Slinger and me, trapping us in cages.

— Human, you are making a grave mistake. If we continue fighting, the ancient spirit will awaken.

Sun: "Who? Sounds like you're scared, which isn't saying much."

— Insolent!

I unleash an explosion around my body, scaring the tentacles. The crow hurls ice shards at one of the mages, killing him. I fly toward the other. He fires a purple fireball, which explodes on contact, but I feel little damage. I punch him in the head, killing him.

The leader grabs my leg with a tentacle and spins me around, slamming my body against the walls and causing a small earthquake. D flies straight at him, but is stopped by the other armored goblin, who grabs his body and slams him against a wall.

Slinger fires her bow at the leader. He blocks the arrow with a purple shield. The rabbit darts around him fast enough to create a tornado, disorienting him. He releases me.

Slinger shoots the armored one, and the arrow ricochets and hits the leader. D breathes fire into the armor and kicks him toward the leader. His body explodes on contact, sending the mage crashing into a wall.

D leaps from the wall he's on and flies straight at the leader, spinning and breathing fire to weaken his magical shield. His head drills into his body, causing him to writhe in pain and become even more pinned to the wall. He stops fighting back. D grabs his body and throws him near us.

Sun: "See? That wasn't so difficult."

— The shadow arts... even on death, they pursue life...

Slinger kills him with an arrow to the head. His book begins to glow. Small purple points of energy emerge from it and enter three sarcophagi. Two of them are standing, leaning against the wall. Their eyes begin to glow purple, then red. They fire lasers at me and D, pushing our bodies until we hit a wall.

The middle sarcophagus lays there, like a coffin. The lid flies up to the ceiling, and a mysterious figure emerges. He wears gold and black armor. Sand pours from the cracks in his armor, forming two enormous sand minions. One is a heavily armored warrior carrying a shield and sword. The other is a floating woman, her legs disappearing into thin air.

The golden one runs toward Miguel. D flies toward the enemy and tries to rip his head off with his teeth, but his helmet is too hard. He punches D away with little effort. I run toward him and punch him. He blocks my fist with his and punches me in the stomach with the other.

For a long time, this was the most pain I'd ever felt. Slinger's kick in the alley erased part of my body, so I was unable to feel pain. But now, I feel my bones shattering.

I try to kick him, but he backs away. Slinger shoots an arrow at the enormous warrior. It pierces him, but nothing happens, since his body is made of sand. One of the sarcophagi lasers her. D breathes blue fire at it, freezing it. Then he slams his body against the statue, shattering it.

The sand woman summons two sand tornadoes and hurls them at me, which I narrowly dodge. She also hurls sandstone spikes at me, which D blocks with his wings in time. They sink into his body, causing him to bleed.

The golden one punches me in the head, sending my body crashing into the wall. I lose consciousness for a second due how strong it was. The shooter fires an arrow at him, which ricochets off his helmet but does little damage. He turns his attention to her. She switches her weapon to the shape-shifting one and shoots him in the head again, causing more damage.

The sand warrior slams into her with his shield. Then, he swings his massive sword down, destroying part of the ground and hitting her again. The room begins to cool down. It's the crow slowly freezing everything. The warrior and the woman seem to slow down.

Thanks for reminding me, Miguel... I haven't needed to use my weapons until now.

The golden one leaps toward me. I summon my ice sword and swing it, striking his armor and freezing it slightly. He grabs my head with both hands and hits me with his knee. I black out for a second. The sarcophagus lasers him, pushing him away from me.

He turns his attention to the statue and begins walking toward it. It fires another laser, which he blocks with his arm. Slinger kicks him from behind, catching him by surprise. When he turns his head to look at her, she punches him repeatedly, pushing him closer to the source of the laser. Then, she fires her pistol three times, stunning him for a second.

I blast the wall behind me to gain speed and then kick him in the head. The warrior attacks me with his sword. I quickly summon one metal glove and grab it, then heat it up considerably. The temperature difference causes his sword to shatter for an instant.

The sand woman hurls a big sand spear at me, which D grabs with his claw and swing it at the golden on. The spear breaks on impact. The rabbit begins to dart around the woman, causing a tornado that disrupts the sand formation on her body.

The crow blows ice at the warrior, freezing him for a moment. D punches and scratchs the golden one with his claw. The golden one retaliates with a kick, which D blocks with his wing. He punches D twice before Slinger grabs him from behind and shoots at his helmet again. He elbows her in the stomach, pushing her away.

I extend my gauntlet and explode upon hitting his head. Then, I grab him with the gauntlet and pull him closer, and impale him with my ice sword, freezing him from the inside. The sand woman summons an incomplete but powerful tornado that begins to destroy the room.

The warrior slams into her with his shield. The rabbit crashes into the golden one's armor, pushing him closer to me. I punch him with my gauntlet, releasing a powerful blast and pushing him back. Then I swing my sword, delivering a slash that damages his armor and freezes him a bit further.

He kneels for a moment, probably exhausted. Then he leaps toward me and punches me upward. My body passes through the ceiling for dozens of meters, and I emerge on the surface. He follows me and punches me with both hands, sending my body crashing into the sand, creating a huge hole.

The sand woman appears beside the golden one, damaged and weakened. She makes the desert sand float into many spikes, which then fall like rain. A large magical shield appears above me, blocking them all. Then, a huge chunk of true ice falls from the sky, freezing them both. After a moment, Nebula lands in front of me, offering her hand. I smile in relief.

Then, a loud roar can be heard coming from underground, causing an earthquake.