Titan's Domain

"What is all of this!?"

"I took the liberty of making my own preparations."

Three figures stand atop the mountain housing our target. Peo has her shields equipped behind me while Bermar investigates the fruits of our labours.

"This is quite the length of rope! These rags…are they filled with stones?"

"Indeed. These are our means of descending into the depths."

The two large mounds of wrapped stones are wrapped together and connected by enough rope to stretch from here to the next peak.

"It appears that Ponce has finally arrived!"

The Blessed Knight looks down the mountain behind us at the lines of metal approaching down below. The ordinary soldiers stop a little ways down, left behind as the general dismounts his horse and climbs towards us.

"Milord, we are ready to begin."

"Excellent. Fortunately, Sir Clement has already provided means of descent. I shall use this mechanism and wake the Titan."

"You absolutely must not!"

His general is quick to shoot down Bermar's plan to dive head first into a death trap. However, the Blessed Knight is nothing if not stubborn.

"My powers are perfect for this terrain. I see no reason that I cannot perform this task."

"It is far too dangerous! Perhaps you may be capable of dismantling any minion sent your way. That does not protect you should the cavern collapse!"

A hero who wishes to put his life on the line, and a general who wishes to keep his hero safe. The two make no progress towards a compromise. It isn't until Ponce remembers my presence that his tune changes.

"Sir Clement. I'm told that your agility and athletics are second to none. I believe you to be perfect for this task."

His motives are as clear as the cloudless sky. He wants me to walk to an untimely demise that allows his Blessed Knight to obtain complete glory. I know this, but I don't find the idea terrible.

"How might I wake the creature?"

"The Stone Titan has a crystal core somewhere within its body. While it remains dormant, you are able to locate and threaten it."

"I see…"

With Peo's sensitivity, finding the core will be simple. The remaining challenge is dealing with any minions in the way. Depending on how you look at it, this is no different from a basic infiltration.

"Very well, I will awaken the beast."

"You have my gratitude."

Bermar looks apologetic as I move towards the wrapped clusters of rocks.

"Save it for after the Titan falls."

"Very well, I shall await the Titan down below. Please be safe."

Once again, only Peo and I occupy this mountain peak. The sun stares down at us from directly above and shines a light down the deep chasm.

"Peo, push the boulder down."

The beast follows my order, pushing the massive weight slowly. The rumbling of rolling stones soon ends as the item disappears into the depths. Rope rapidly follows behind until a heavy echo reaches us.

"Now the second."

The process repeats at a different opening, but this one does not make its way to the floor. Instead, the rope cries as it is forced to bear the weight of this boulder. With the pulley installed, all that remains is to complete our objective.

I turn to my sole companion, lowering down to bring her onto my back. This time, she is in top condition.

"Hold on as we descend and never lose that backpack. Tell me when you sense the core."

"...Okay."

Since her face isn't visible from behind, she responds with words. As usual, she carries a quiet voice. However, that muffled voice is all I need to feel prepared.

"Shall we begin?"

I kick off the ground and begin falling.

This is a cavern, yet I can see just fine. I can see the walls flying past as we descend, the caves filled with more and more crystals, and all of the walking stones stirring below. I grab the rope after several seconds and begin feeling vibrations from below.

"Hostiles incoming. Their numbers are unknown."

It's impossible to tell just how many sentient rocks crave our demise as they begin piling atop each other. What started as a mob lining the floor is now a pillar slowly growing in our direction. I allow them to approach, waiting for the signal.

"C."

I can barely hear Peo as we displace the air around us.

"Which way?"

"Bottom…right."

"I think I can see it."

The entire cave is glowing, but one tunnel appears to be contributing more light than the rest. The opening is large enough to fit a large group of people, but that doesn't account for the mob of stones standing in our way.

BANG

I fire a shot into the mass. My bullet pierces several minions, causing their stack to become uneven for only a moment before the slack is picked up. With fighting out of the question, I look for any other way to deal with this approaching mob.

"Prepare to land. I need you to clear a way to the core while I draw the minions away."

No response reaches my ear, but I can assume that my words reached her. I have no idea what threats she'll face at the opening of that tunnel, but I trust that she'll figure something out. Just like how I'll figure out something to draw the attention of these animated rocks.

"Now"

Peo leaps from my back and begins scaling down the wall just above our target. The minions seem to stop for a moment before attempting to turn their stack away from our rope.

"Not so fast."

I also kick off of the firm rope, my target being the top of the minion stack.

BANG

A bullet blasts through the pillar's top, allowing me a moment to land on the resulting surface. Small arms of misshapen rocks reach out to me, but I'm off before they can clamp down on my body. Now I'm flying down towards a tunnel along the cavern wall.

Feet make contact with stone and I roll deep into this similarly illuminated passageway. My body screams from the impact. Unfortunately, I don't have the time to let my bones recoil as minions approach from deep within the cavern. Legs of awkwardly stacked stones move with just enough stability to mimic a run.

"Let's see how smart you all are…"

I wait for the tower of minions to turn and barrel towards this opening. Sure enough, the stones throw themselves forward without a second thought. After a deep breath, I dash out and grip the edge of the tunnel, sliding down just soon enough to avoid being slammed by tens of stone bodies.

"C."

Peo's voice rings out beside me. It isn't because the young beast is screaming, in fact her voice is just as muffled. The source of this sound is a small blue-green stone in my pocket. Somehow, the Message Stone transmits her words into my ears.

"How does it look?"

"Path…clear."

"Got it. I'll be right there."

I kick off the wall as the tower of stones attempts to throw itself at me once more. The smashed remains rain down upon me as I fall once again onto the pile, this time on the side. My arms and legs pull me around the growing stack to avoid the falling stones, eventually allowing me to leap to the surface near our rope. Unable to react to my movements well, the tower collapses and smashes most of its community along with it.

"Now to find the core."

My footsteps are muted beneath the constant crashing as I sprint to where Peo waits. Blue shields smash away any oncoming enemies until I arrive.

"How far?"

The question is answered for me as I gaze down the rocky tunnel. On the other side of rough terrain is a crystal whose size cannot be determined with the walls surrounding it. Just the part that is visible is larger than every house in Cadell.

BANG

I waste no time admiring the opalescent surface and send a pillar of red straight into it. The cave was already rumbling from the movement of walking stones, but the magnitude of the current quake has several times the force. Everything is shaking, including the sudden wave of minions crawling out of every nook and cranny this place has to offer.