Talok bounced up and down as she followed and somewhat floated behind Thassalin, Kuta and Phovoula down a dark corridor and up a twisting staircase. The Thantir Three was parked outside this strange, black and gold tower, which seemed to split into two forks about half way up.
Nyssi and her team had gone right, Kuta and their team had gone left. But while Nyssi’s team was oozing with confidence, Kuta’s team was a tad more nervous. Apart from Talok. Who decided to point this out.
“Why are you scared, Queen Phovos and mister Kuta?”
“Who said anything about being scared?” Phovos immediately snapped.
“Well, we do seem a little nervous, stepping into dark, uncharted territories…” Kuta admitted.
“You were a fucking General AND a former assassin, Kuta. Why are you nervous?” Phovos was in a snappy mood today.
“Because we are in an abandoned Voidborn tower about to burn out some Corruption, the same stuff that nearly ate our universe?” Kuta suggested, trying to keep calm. Phovos and Thassalin didn’t have telepathy, so they couldn’t hear the Corruption above them in the back of their heads.
“You are worrying too much, little Spiritdrainer!” Thassalin smiled. “We’ll be fine. Well, Phovos and I will be fine. She’s a Voidborn, I’m a Time Drake.”
Kuta paused, then turned to Thassalin. “Just before we were told about this errand, you went on a spiel about surviving your dead universe…” Kuta suddenly paused, then shook his head. “Whatever. It does not matter. I just want to get this mission done as soon as possible.”
“Understandable. But Kuta, you know how to lead. We trust your leadership. And while you three work, I’ll keep watch on your roots, and cut away any roots that go the wrong way.”
Phovos and Talok didn’t quite follow what Thassalin had said, and they both turned to Kuta.
“I assume you see potential timelines via a tree-based system, Thassalin?” Kuta asked.
“Indeed. I may be rather new to the Periuniversal Void, but, if anything, I am now more powerful. But I am not a strategist, a warrior or… well, Phovos, I do not really know how to describe you, but you are terrifying.”
Phovos shrugged. “I guess.”
“Either way, Kuta, please, continue.”
Kuta frowned somewhat, then muttered a short cantrip, creating some telepathic sensors to feel the path above them. However, Kuta immediately picked something up, as did Talok.
“Mister Kuta, they fear her!”
“Indeed. Phovos, it seems your very presence is scaring the common strain of Corruption here.”
“It is?”
“Very much so!” Kuta exclaimed as they physically moved upwards, gripping their gunstaff tightly as they did so. These floors were rather narrow, but now they were beginning to climb higher, weirdly, they seemed to widen. And while the next few floors were clear, the upcoming one was definitely tainted.
Across the ceiling, a black mass had gathered. But as Phovos entered the room, it slithered up to the floor above them.
“Wow. It really is scared of me… But why? This is a Voidborn watchtower. Sure, it’s abandoned, but the Corruption was fine with all the other Voidborn stuff until I arrived.”
“It thinks you are owner, maybe?” Talok suggested.
“Possibly. I think the Corruption here took over after the original Voidborn abandoned this territory, and now it thinks Phovos is claiming the tower as her own.”
“Wait, really?” Phovos asked. “You are suggesting I could literally just… own this?”
“Almost certainly. We just need to find the throne room!” Thassalin beamed. “Also… Phovos, you go on ahead, in front of Kuta. Better roots.”
“Very well.”
Kuta grunted, then fired a burst of flames from their modified gunstaff, burning the Corruption on the ceiling completely. They then moved to one side and let Phovos climb the stairs. Yet again, the Corruption on this new floor fled from Phovos’s presence and swiftly moved upwards, leaving only a few inky trails, which Phovos burnt with a blast of fire from her hands.
“Do you need to reload that?” Talok asked. “Like gun? Or is your fire power just there?”
“Thing is, I kinda… just think things and they happen, sometimes. I bend reality the same way Life Goddesses like the Space Whale and the Life Serpent did.”
“Well, you bend the Void to your will,” Thassalin countered. “Life Goddesses literally twist existence to do as they please.”
Phovos didn’t like that. “Stop undermining me and let me just appreciate my new power for once.”
“Very well.”
Phovos continued to move upwards, burning away Corruption with every step. Kuta kept on sending telepathic feelers, so that Phovos knew what she was getting into. However, soon, they started running out of floors. In fact, the last ten floors had been eaten away apart from the staircase, and there was no more room to walk.
The air was also starting to feel somewhat thick and murky, keeping visibility low.
“Alright, we will switch to telepathic communication from now on. You all have some form of flight, yes?” Kuta silently requested.
“Yes.”
“Thassalin, can you fly with-” Phovos paused, noticing that Thassalin was already hovering using some kind of telekinesis. “Oh. Of course you can. You’re way ahead of us.”
“Not really. But you are right, Phovos, wing flaps would risk brushing against the Corruption. I don’t quite trust the integrity of these shields to risk direct contact. Either way though, Kuta, what are our next actions?”
Kuta was busy scanning it all to answer immediately. But they did come to a quick conclusion. “It knows we are here, but this mass is not the conscious part. That is in the other tower with Nyssi’s team. But we can help the sentient part by incinerating this mess here. Also, I believe there is one more floor above all of this, which is sealed off.”
“So, burn it all?” Phovos asked.
“Yes. Burn it all. Talok and I will assist you. Thassalin, can you please keep an eye out?”
Thassalin nodded. “Of course.”
“Good. We will go as fast as we can.”
Phovos immediately got to work, incinerating the main mass hanging from the ceiling, while Kuta and Talok focused on the walls and the stairwell using their flamethrowers. Since the Corruption was mostly distracted elsewhere, it didn’t seem to react at all.
“I feel like this should be harder or something…” Phovos muttered under her breath.
“Be careful what you wish for!” Thassalin telepathically tutted. “We got a lot of work to do here.”
“Have you seen any bad roots?” Kuta asked.
“For us? No, nothing with any real consequence. But after we have completed our job here, I need to test a root
After about three minutes, most of the room was clear, and the stairs revealed one last, vast room, its walls lined not with fleshy darkness but with shimmering silver and gold tiles. Oddly, there were large, crystal windows in this room, every other room had lacked windows completely. In the middle of the room was a colossal golden throne, which seemed to swivel around. It was completely empty, and Phovos was immediately drawn to it.
However, before Phovos could do anything, she felt someone grab her arm.
“Kuta?”
“Let Thassalin inspect it first. It may be a trap.”
“What do you mean?”
“That throne may be rigged against anyone who was not the original owner of this watchtower.”
Talok nodded in agreement. But Thassalin’s attention was drawn elsewhere, and his eyes were closed, a dim blue and pink light sneaking out from beneath his eyelids.
“Thassalin?” Kuta queried, noticing that the Time Drake was distracted.
Thassalin opened his eyes, then quickly closed them again.
“Thassalin?”
“Close your eyes and get down!”
“Why-”
“NOW!”
Kuta, Phovos and Talok all did as they were told, pressing themselves against the ground and closing their eyes tightly.
Before anyone could ask Thassalin why he had said that, a colossal, blinding flash of light blasted through the room. Once the light faded, the watchtower began to shudder somewhat, but eventually calmed down.
“Is everyone alright?” Kuta telepathically hissed. “Thassalin, what is going on?”
“Our roots are fine, but I need a moment to check some side paths and trim a few things. Can you three protect me for a minute or so?”
Thassalin curled up, covering his body with his wings. Kuta and Talok formed a telekinetic shield over Thassalin, while Phovos kept lookout.
“Is something going on?”
“I don’t know yet… Just keep an eye on me while I work…”