Valanddun Part 3

The group stood in stunned silence as Burt's body was dissolved by the gelatinous cube. Thalia was the first to speak.

"We need to avenge him," she said, her voice trembling with anger. "We can't let this monster get away with killing him."

Silas nodded in agreement. "We have to be careful, though," he said. "That cube is dangerous. We need to come up with a plan."

Lakyus frowned thoughtfully. "Perhaps we can lure it into a trap," she suggested. "We could use its own abilities against it."

Zephyr, who had been quiet throughout the exchange, finally spoke up. "I may have an idea," he said, his voice low and cautious.

The group turned to look at him, waiting for him to explain.

"I've been scouting ahead," Zephyr continued. "There's a room up ahead with a pit in the center. We could lure the cube into the pit and then attack it from above."

Lakyus nodded in agreement. "That's a good plan," she said. "Let's move quickly before it has a chance to escape."

The group moved swiftly, following Zephyr's lead as he led them towards the room with the pit. As they entered the room, they could see the gelatinous cube slowly oozing towards them.

"Quickly!" Lakyus shouted. "Get it into the pit!"

Rolf charged forward, swinging his hammer with all his might. The cube slid to the side, barely avoiding the attack. Thalia used her magic to create a barrier of water around the cube, trying to force it towards the pit.

The cube seemed to realize what they were trying to do and began moving even more cautiously, evading their attacks and inching away from the pit.

Suddenly, Zephyr let out a shout. "It's splitting!" he yelled, pointing towards the cube.

The group watched in horror as the gelatinous cube divided into two separate entities, each one just as dangerous as the original.

"We have to finish this fast!" Silas shouted. "Attack them both!"

The Inheritors launched a coordinated assault on the two cubes, trying to prevent them from merging back into one. But even with their combined skills and strength, the battle was a fierce one.

As the battle raged on, one of the cubes began to move towards Rolf. He tried to move away, but the cube used its ability and in a flash, it engulfed him, pulling him into its acidic body.

"Rolf!" Silas shouted, rushing towards the cube. But it was too late. Rolf was already dissolved, his screams echoing through the chamber.

Silas continued to fight, even more determined now to take down the gelatinous cubes.

As Silas fought on, he found himself surrounded by the two cubes, their gelatinous bodies closing in on him.

He swung his sword with all his might, but the cubes were too fast, dodging his attacks and launching their own.

Silas felt his strength beginning to wane. His wounds were taking their toll, and he knew that he couldn't hold out much longer.

Silas felt a cold chill run through him as the gelatinous cube engulfed him.

The acid that made up the cube's body burned his skin, causing excruciating pain. He tried to fight back, but the cube's grip was too strong, and he found himself sinking deeper into its body.

As the acid continued to burn him, Silas felt a deep sense of fear wash over him.

He knew that he was going to die, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He closed his eyes, prepared for the end.

But just as he was about to give up, he heard a fierce battle cry, and a blinding light filled the chamber.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Lakyus standing over him, her sword glowing with a fierce energy.

With one swift swing of her sword, Lakyus struck the gelatinous cube, causing it to boil and dissolve into nothingness.

Silas felt the cube's acidic grip release him, and he collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.

As he lay there, panting and in pain glad to be alive.

But his relief was short-lived as he heard Thalia's angry voice.

"Why didn't you do that before?" Thalia spat, glaring at Lakyus. "If you were that powerful, why did we let Burt and Rolf die?"

As Silas lay there, recovering from his near-death experience, he didn't feel any sadness for his fallen comrades.

He realized that he had come dangerously close to death itself, and it was only thanks to Lakyus's intervention that he was still alive.

Silas felt a deep sense of gratitude towards his father and Lakyus, and he clenched his fist promising to become stronger.

Silas looked at Thalia with a mix of sadness and frustration. He knew that losing Burt and Rolf had been a hard blow for her.

"Thalia, we're in a dangerous dungeon," Silas said, his voice calm but firm. "Death is always a possibility, no matter how powerful we are. Lakyus has been a valuable member of our team, and she's helped us get this far. We can't blame her for what happened to Burt and Rolf."

Silas paused for a moment, his expression thoughtful. "Besides," he continued, "Lakyus had her 'reasons' for not revealing her true power earlier. Maybe she was trying to protect 'us', or maybe she had her own 'reasons'. Either way, we have to trust her and work together if we're going to make it out of this dungeon alive."

Thalia looked at Silas, her anger still evident in her expression, but she didn't say anything more.

Silas thought for a moment and then turned to Lakyus. "I want to find something of Burt and Rolf's to give to their loved ones," he said. "Something to remember them by."

Lakyus nodded in agreement. "It's a good idea," she said. "We should look for anything that might have belonged to them."

The group began to search through their fallen comrades' belongings, gathering anything they could find that might be of sentimental value.

Silas found a small notebook in Burt's pack, filled with sketches of his kids. He also found a necklace that Rolf had been wearing, with a small charm that had been passed down through his family for generations.

"Let's keep going," Silas said, standing up and dusting himself off. "We have to find the artifact and get out of here."

The group nodded in agreement, and they set off once again, deeper into the dungeon.

They encountered a creature unlike anything they had ever seen before. It was a massive, tentacled beast that seemed to be made entirely out of crystal.

Silas and the rest of the team were taken aback by the creature's appearance, but they knew they had to fight it if they wanted to get out of this alive.

The crystal beast attacked with ferocity, its tentacles lashing out and slamming into the walls of the dungeon.

Everyone dodged its attacks and struck back with all their might.

Silas's sword bounced harmlessly off the creature's crystalline exterior, but he refused to give up. He knew that they had to find the creature's weak point if they had any hope of defeating it.

As they battled the crystal beast, Zephyr noticed something strange. The creature seemed to be drawing power from the crystal on the pedestal in the center of the room.

"Everyone, look!" Zephyr shouted, pointing towards the crystal. "I think that's what's powering the creature!"

Silas nodded in agreement. "We have to destroy the crystal," he said. "It's the only way to defeat the creature."

Lakyus flashed toward the crystal, appearing next to it in a split second.

With lightning-fast speed, Lakyus drew her sword and struck the crystal with a powerful blow. The crystal shattered, and the beast let out a deafening roar as it began to crumble.

Silas and Zephyr continued to strike at the beast their weapons biting deep into its now weakened form, while Thalia summoned huge waves of water that continuously hit the monster.

The creature thrashed and flailed, trying to defend itself, but it was no match for the Inheritors' combined strength.

Finally, with one final blow, the crystal beast shattered into countless pieces, its remains clattering to the ground.

They all stood there, panting and covered in sweat, but relieved that the battle was over, and everyone had come out alive.

"Is everyone okay?" Silas asked, looking around at his comrades.

They all nodded, albeit a bit weary from the intense battle.

"I think we should take a moment to rest," Thalia said, conjuring up a small pool of water for them to clean themselves up. "We've earned it."

The Inheritors took a moment to catch their breath and clean themselves up.

They continued their journey through the dungeon. As they walked, they came across a massive chamber filled with treasure and artifacts of all kinds.

Silas was in awe as he surveyed the room. There were piles of gold and jewels, ancient weapons and armor, and countless other priceless artifacts.

"I don't even know where to begin," Zephyr said, his eyes wide with wonder.

Thalia nodded in agreement. "It's overwhelming," she said. "We don't even know what half of this stuff is."

Lakyus looked around the room, her brow furrowed in thought. "We can't just leave all of this here," she said. "But we also can't carry it all with us."

'Celeste, can you store everything in the Crystal Isle?'

<Yes, I can store all of the treasures and artifacts in the Crystal Isle. But it will take some time to create the necessary storage space and ensure that everything is properly secured>

'That's fine.'

Silas walked up to Lakyus and whispered in her ears, "Knock them out...make sure they stay unconscious for a while."

Lakyus looked at Silas with a shocked expression. "Silas, what are you planning to do?" she asked.

Silas held up his hand, signaling for Lakyus to keep her voice down. "I have a plan," he whispered. "But we need to act quickly."

Lakyus hesitated for a moment, but then nodded in understanding. She knew that Silas wouldn't suggest something like this unless he had a good reason.

Without another word, Lakyus moved toward Thalia and Zephyr and swiftly knocked them unconscious.

Silas helped her move their bodies to a corner of the room where they would be out of the way.

'Ready?'

<Yes, Silas. I'm ready, to begin stretch out your hand and open your palm>

Silas extended his hand and opened his palm, following Celeste's instructions.

A strange looking portal appeared on his palm.

<Walk towards the treasure, Silas>

As he approached the pile of riches, everything began to get sucked into the black hole like portal in his hand. The gold and jewels, the weapons and armor, and even the ancient artifacts disappeared into it within seconds.

Once everything was stored away, the black hole looking portal disappeared from Silas' hand, leaving no trace of its existence.

Lakyus looked at Silas with wide eyes, surprised by what she had just witnessed. "Silas, what kind of magic was that?" she asked in astonishment.

Silas smiled faintly, knowing that Lakyus had no idea about Celeste and his abilities. "It's a special kind of ability that I awakened recently," he replied vaguely. "I'll tell you more about it later, but right now we need to focus on the task at hand."

Lakyus nodded, still in awe of what she had just seen. She couldn't believe that Silas had been able to store all of the treasure and artifacts with just a wave of his hand. Or that he had dreamed!

As they made their way back to Thalia and Zephyr, Lakyus couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. She didn't know how Thalia and Zephyr would react when they found out what had happened.

Silas noticed Lakyus' unease and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry," he said. "We'll figure something out."

As Thalia and Zephyr regained consciousness, they looked around the room and noticed that the treasure and artifacts were missing. They quickly realized that something had happened while they were unconscious and turned to Silas and Lakyus with suspicion.

"What happened here?" Thalia demanded, her voice filled with anger.