8 Shattered Stone

The voice resounded through the hall, it's tone soft and feminine. Lucas jumped back, his eyes darting around in search of its owner.

"Hello? Is there someone there? I- I didn't mean to intrude!"

"Worry not, child, for I have led you here. Why don't you come closer, so that I may peer upon your face."

Lucas shivered, but before he could politely decline, he felt his body begin to move on its own.

With a wobbily gait, it crossed the floor, until at last he stood before the statue. Its face, devoid of any features, stared down at him, almost as though it was searching his soul.

"What is your name, child?"

"Lu- Lucas Infell."

"Ah? Well, Lucas... Do you know who I am?"

Lucas studied the statue, his brows furrowed in thought, before slowly shaking his head.

"I'm sorry... I don't know who you-"

'Boom!'

Before Lucas could finish speaking, an intense pressure exploded from the statue and spread throughout the hall. Its force brought forth a howling wind, and caused the pillars to sway and creak.

Lucas staggered back as a wave of anger enveloped his body, and forced him to his knees.

'Crap! Did I say something wrong?' Lucas wondered, using his arms to shield his face.

A moment later, the statue's aura receded, and the wind calmed down, returning the hall to silence once more.

"Apologies, it seems my mind has faded from the past thousand years, and I lost myself in anger. I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No, I'm okay." Lucas said, shakily getting to his feet. Fighting the urge to run, he lifted his gaze to the statue's empty face. "If you don't mind me asking, how should I address you?"

"Hmm... You may call me Ilphine, Queen of the Vine Elves, and ruler over Vinefall City..."

"At least, that's who I once was, before that- that thing came to my land and slaughtered my people!"

As the statue spoke, her voice turned venomous, and the air became thick, making it difficult for Lucas to breath.

But no matter how much his lungs burned, he refused to speak, for the fear of interrupting this terrifying entity greatly outweighed his desire for oxygen.

"With skin tougher than the hardest gem, and a strength which could rival the gods, it massacred all who stood before it, before finally turning to me. The last of my people!"

"Our battle was great, and lasted many days, but in the end, I was defeated, and trapped within the statue you see now."

The pressure slowly waned, and the statue fell silent. After regaining her composure, she spoke again, her voice merely a whisper.

"Over the years, I have watched my city crumble and be replaced by the Stoneoak Jungle. My people, their bodies forever stuck in the form of statues, have been unable to rest, while adventurers such as yourself, dare to invade in search of treasure."

Lucas felt a shiver run down his spine. "Wait, I- I'm not a-"

"Silence!"

The statue shouted with enough force to send Lucas spiraling across the room, before he slammed into a pillar and slumped to the ground.

Coughing blood, he gazed blurrily at the statue, whose stone had begun to crack. This revealed a mass of writhing vines within, their twisted thorns dyed a dark red.

'Vines? Then the vines and skeletons in the jungle... Were they also beneath her control?!'

Lucas's fear grew as he recalled the statue's words, about how she led him here, and was awaiting his arrival. 'But why? Why did she bring me here?'

"You seem confused, but I know who you truly are. After all, nothing can hide that disgusting stench clinging to your body. The stench of the Lost."

'The- the Lost?' Lucas glanced down at his chest, where the curse of the Lost Ivory laid. "Wait! I think there's been a-"

Before Lucas could finish speaking, a piercing howl exploded from the statue, forcing him to cover his ears.

A moment later, the statue shattered, flinging shards of stone through the hall. Lucas ducked behind a pillar, which creaked as several stones struck its surface.

Clutching his dagger, Lucas hid with his back against the pillar, his body trembling.

On the other side, the vines once contained by the statue now whipped throughout the hall, obliterating anything in their path.

Pillars fell, and craters formed, but the hall remained standing admist the chaos.

Steeling his nerves, Lucas peeked his head out from behind the pillar, and frantically scoured the hall.

Alas, even with all the damage done to the hall, not a single wall had been destroyed. In fact, not only were they all still perfectly intact, they were now reinforced by a pile of rubble, which also blocked off the one door out.

Swearing, Lucas quickly pulled his head back, and began to consider his options. Defeating the creature was certainly out of the question, as he had only a bit of experience when it came to fighting.

The next option was to try and convince it to let him go, but a single glance eliminated that option.

For upon the pedestal where the statue once stood there rose a pure white skeleton, it's body adorned by an emerald suit of armor.

As two green flames flickered to life within its sockets, the skeleton raised its arms and released a burst of energy which rushed across the hall.

Suddenly, the vines whipping about froze, and turned their ends in the skeletons direction. With haste, they surged back and dived through the slits in the armor, quickly forming a layer of skin around the bones.

As the final strand dropped into place, the creature gasped and fell back a step, leaving the confines of the pedestal.

"Oh, how long has it been since I've taken this form?" The creature asked, admiring her new body with a thorny smile. "I must say, Child of the Lost, without your appearance I would have never broken free from my imprisonment. You have my gratitude for that."

With her words soft spoken, the creature, now in the form of Queen Ilphine, glided across the floor and retrieved the stoneoak sword.

Returning to the pedestal, she raised the blade high above her head, and glanced in Lucas's direction.

"As thanks, I'll allow you to witness the revival of my people before I end your wretched existence."

Then, in a single fluid moment,, the Queen pierced the sword deep into the pedestal, and turned it sideways.

As an audible click rang out, the blade began to glow, and the floor shook in response. Still hidden behind the pillar, Lucas tightened his grip on the daggers hilt, and looked around frantically.

'What did she just do? Why is everything shaking?' He wondered, pulling his knees closer.

Not once, during his two years as an Adventurer, had he ever experienced anything like this.

Hearing a low thump, he turned to find the Queen kneeling before the sword, while a vortex of aura sprung from her body.

With an ecstatic smile, and a sharp laugh, she gazed fanatically through the glass dome, her flaming eyes wide in anticipation.

"Finally! My Kingdom shall rise once more!"

Drawn by curiosity, Lucas looked up, only to find an emerald wave rising above the temple.

Taking a closer look, his eyes widened when he discovered the wave was actually a multitude of vines, each one digging and tearing away at the cavern ceiling.

As a layer of dust darkened the glass dome, the temple began to shift and creak, forcing Lucas to grab ahold of the pillar beside him.

Feeling his stomach drop suddenly, he gasped before quickly covering his mouth.

'We- We're rising?! But how? The sheer amount of aura needed to lift the temple would be incredible!'

That's when he remembered the Queen, whose body was surrounded by so much aura it enveloped her body.

Peeking around the pillar, he found her still kneeling beforethe sword, while aura rushed from her body and into the ground.

'She must be making the temple rise! I should use this time to escape,' Lucas thought, turning his gaze in the direction of the door.

Keeping as low as he could, he darted across the floor, and slid to a stop before the exit.

A pile of rubble blocked his path, but by gathering his strength, he was able to push it to the side.

'There! Now all I have to do is get out!'

Lucas quickly bent down and grabbed the door's bottom, his fingers barely slipping beneath. With a grunt, he raised it above his head, and prepared to jump out, only to freeze mid-step.

For no longer was the temple trapped underground, surrounded by stone and rock. No, now it floated high above a city, held aloft by a chain of vines.

Lucas, having only ever visited a few other towns besides Withro, was shocked by what he saw.

From the towering spires and stone palaces, to the burbiling creeks and hanging gardens, the city held an unimaginable beauty.

And in the very center of the city, there stood an enormous tree whose roots spread for miles in each direction.

"That... That's the Stoneoak Origin!"