The group slowly entered the chamber, a universal sense of caution surrounding the room. They walked forwards and were greeted by large circular set of stairs that ran up to a smaller platform in the middle of the room. There was what looked like a stone altar in the middle of the platform and a strange metallic object sat neatly on top of it.
The entire room gave Fischer a uncomfortable feeling, like they were being watched by something, or someone. There was no way they could be however as the only way in or out of the room was via the entrance they had taken.
The circular wall of the room was decorated with more of the strange paintings that the previous room had, this time huge symbols lined the walls and floor.
"Uh guys. . . where the hell are we?" Quin whimpered as she looked around the room.
It was about twice the size of the previous room with the riddle and had sconces that held torched running in three rings all around the wall. The flames were in a repeating blue and orange pattern and strange silver monoliths sat beneath each sconce.
"Ok uh. . . so your whole visions, getting messages in your sleep thing? Starting to buy into it a little, not gonna lie," Spatch exclaimed.
The whole room had a vastly different colour scheme to it as well. Where as the rest of the temple seemed to have a reddish maroon type of colour, this central room seemed to have more of a golden almost yellow palette.
Ko and Fischer stood right next to each other at the base of the stairs. The looked up towards the strange altar, more importantly the object that sat in the middle.
"Light. . . light the lantern. . ." Ko whispered as she realised what it was she was looking at.
She took a small step forwards before Fischer hastily grasped her forearm.
"Ko! Just. . . just wait a second. . . are you sure you want to do this?" He asked.
She turned around and stared into his worried eyes. She honestly didn't know the answer. These past few months she had been terrorised by these glimpses. Constantly harassed and berated. She Barely got any sleep and even when she did, it never lasted long. She had been the cause of so much worry and panic that she ha no control over.
But at the same time her life had finally returned to something resembling normality. Diamar was light years away, she finally had people who she could call friends, people who she could wake up in the morning and be glad to see. She finally knew what it felt like to trust someone, to be happy. She finally knew what freedom was.
She could chose between that freedom, or her own sanity. But one thing was clear. She couldn't have both.
"I. . . I. . ." she stuttered, trying to find her words.
"I wouldn't be doing this if I wasn't. . . I don't want any of you to be put in danger though. Please, if you want to go back and wait by the ship that's completely fine. I just don't want anyone to get hurt."
"Ko we've flown halfway across the galaxy for this. Whether you like it or not, you're stuck with us," Kori winked.
Fischer moved his hand from her wrist to her shoulder and leaned a little closer. "We've got your back buddy. I've got your back. Whatever we're doing, we're doing it together."
She gave him a little smile. But deep down she knew something was wrong. She couldn't help but feel slightly sick. Knowing that the only people she'd ever gotten close with were stuck in a temple hidden deep in unknown space.
But she was also glad they were there. Knowing that they came all this way just to help her.
She let out a large sigh and prepared herself. Fischer stood by her ready to tackle whatever it was that came next.
Slowly they took the steps up, growing closer and closer to the altar. As they climbed the stairs, Ko felt like she had almost begun falling. Her stomach felt like it was filled with helium and was trying to fly away. She shuddered slightly and wobbled around on her feet before Fischer managed to steady her.
She gave him a quick nod to let him know that she was alright and they continued up. The rest of the group watched from the base of the stairs as the two slowly reached the top. Once at the top, the metallic object was now in full view. Ko's slit pupils contracted even further as she laid eyes on the object. Her whole body started to tremble and shake as she stared at it.
The object sat neatly atop a small mound of sand. Its overall appearance resembled a medieval english lantern, but with a more technological look. The object was a rectangular shape, the top of it housed a small pyramid and what looked to be a handle protruded from the top. The middle of the object glowed a faint blue with small orange stripes lining the four edges. Strips of a hexagonal metallic material looped around in the very centre of the device. The same odd symbols on the walls of the room also lines the strips.
"Ko. . . is-is that?" Fischer stuttered.
"Light the lantern. . ." she whimpered as they both gazed at the device. The more she stared at it, the more it felt like it was calling her name, beckoning her. She almost couldn't resist its allure, like a moth to the flame.
Slowly she extended her arm and found herself taking small steps towards the device.
"Ko. . . please. . . please just be careful," Quin called from down the stairs. But her voice was drowned out by the white noise inside her head. Even Fischer's words were nothing but static and wind.
"Light the lantern,"
"Light the lantern,"
"Light the lantern,"
The voice in her head grew louder and louder, more excitement filled it with every passing second. Ko's whole body was shaking and trembling as she reached out until-
Everything stopped.
The voices were gone.
She opened her clenched eyes and saw her fingers gently touching the top of the device. She let out the breath she didn't even know she was holding in. Looking closer at the object she noticed the orange stripes on the sides had begun to glow a little brighter than before. Slowly she grasped the handle of the lantern and hoisted it out of its sandy enclosure.
Fischer watched on with nervous eyes as she held the lantern in her hands. She stared down at it with initial confusion. But her expression quickly shifted from confusion to joy and she looked up at Fischer with a sparkle in her eyes and a smile on her face.
"Ko? Is. . . is everything ok?" He asked, puzzled at her sudden change in tone.
"They're. . . gone," she smiled.
Fischer cocked his head to the side and raised his brow. "What are gone?"
"The voices, the ones in my head. They're gone! I-I can't hear them anymore!" she beamed. Fischer slowly started to grin as he realised what she was saying, her heartwarming smile filling him with joy.
"We did it," he grinned.
The sound of footsteps rang out behind them and they turned to see the rest of the group all making their way up to them.
"We got our girl back," Kori chuckled as he playfully slapped Ko on the shoulder.
"She was never gone," Fischer stated as he gave her a humbling smile. She returned his expression with happiness in her eyes.
"So uh. . . what now. What's that thing for?" Spatch ask as he pointed at the object Ko held.
"It must be the lantern. There's no way it isn't. Do you have any idea of what it does?" Fischer asked.
Ko shook her head and inspected the device closely.
"Of course they wouldn't even leave the instruction manual. No manners," Kori jested.
Ko ran her fingers over the edge of the device, looking for any sort of buttons or levers that could indicate the object had some sort of function. But it seemed as though there were none. But when she grabbed the handle on the top of the object she had an idea.
There was a small groove on the bottom of the lantern that she was able to grab onto. With two hands now holding, she tried to pull the object apart.
Nothing.
Then she tried twisting it. A sudden but faint 'click' sounded.
Looking up at Fischer, he had heard it too. They were on to something. She twisted the device a little more.
Suddenly the lantern burst open and the group were taken back by a huge blue blast of light. Out of thin air, small symbols appeared and started flashing around rapidly. They surrounded the five of them and it almost looked like they were standing in the middle of a holographic galaxy.
"Woah, what the hell?" Quin gawked as the symbols rapidly blinked all around them. The group too a few steps back in order to take in the full view of the holographic ocean of symbols.
"Well then, this is. . new," Kori stuttered.
Fischer found himself reaching out towards the symbols, almost trying to touch them despite their holographic nature. A small chuckle escaped his lips as he gazed on in amazement at the blue light show.
Eventually however the symbols started to move around slightly. The flickered on and off in mid air before swirling around and forming some sort of pattern in the middle of the cloud of blue.
Fischer noticed Ko's eyes widen slightly as they moved.
"D-do you see that?" She asked.
"They're moving. It almost looks like they're forming a sentence of some kind," Quin replied, scratching her chin.
"T-they are. Wait, can you guys not read this?" Ko asked with a puzzled look.
The four of them shook their heads.
"They don't look like any language I've ever seen. They don't even look like the ones on the walls either, completely different style to them," Spatch exclaimed.
"If you can read them Ko then what do they say?" Kori asked.
She narrowed her eyes and stared at the blue symbols, trying to make out any sort of discernible language.
"I beckoned, you came. You walk the path of the phoenix's flame. With one task fulfilled, a great legend you will build. Agaron's prize lays at the end of the night, his fight begins at the first of new days. A darkness that cuts through the blinding light, two knots down point the way. A trek that has led you across time and stars, hopping from mind to mind and feeling trapped behind bars. In time your questions will find their end, but until the divide is ours, on your quest he depends."
Ko's eyes narrowed as she deciphered the strange riddle. She had previously thought that because the voices in her head had vanished, that this whole ordeal was now over. That she could finally relax and have her head to herself. But if what the lantern told her was true, then relaxation was light years away.
"Holy shit. . ." Spatch exclaimed. "You guys really weren't making any of that up were you?"
Quin shook her head and nervously bit her lip. "So. . . what the hell does any of that mea-"
She was cut off by a suddenly rumble, followed by a small tremor in the ground.
"Uh. . . what was that?" Kori asked.
Suddenly the ring of torches that lined the walls behind them started to shift. The orange torches slowly turned around the wall until they corresponded with the correct colours above and below them. Once they were lined up, a faint 'click' echoed through the room.
"Ok, this is officially creepy, can we go now?" Quin whimpered as she took a few steps towards Kori. The floor beneath them suddenly erupted into a violent shake, almost throwing the group completely off their feet. Before any of them had a chance to take in what was happening, parts of the room's ceiling began to crack and break off, falling to the ground and shattering into pieces.
"Yep, yep, we're leaving now, everyone out!" Spatch yelled as the rocks began to tumble down. The five turned and bolted towards the exit dodging debris as they went. They reached the second room just as one of the pillars in the room they were just in cracked and fell down, blocking the exit and showering them all in dust.
"Fuck that was close!" Fischer cursed.
"Don't celebrate yet, we're still in deep shit! quickly, through the hallway, run!" Kori yelled.
The five locked eyes with the hallway entranced and ran as fast as they possibly could. The torches that lined the hallway had turned from orange and blue, to a deep blood red. The flames cast horrid shadows on the ground, almost like there were monsters chasing the group. But monsters were the last thing on any of their minds.
The hallway began collapsing as well, the group having to jump and vault over small rocks and boulders as they went.
"Up there! The hallway ends up there!" Kori yelled.
Ko's legs were burning and her heart was pumping faster than it had ever pumped before. She looked around in terror as the long corridor began to crumble and collapse behind them. Looking forwards, even though she was sprinting as fast as she possibly could the hallway seemed to grow further and further away from them.
The dust in the air started to seep into her lungs, making it harder to breath and forcing her into violent coughing fits as they ran.
"Ko! C'mon!" Fischer yelled as he looked back at her. Normally she would be able to run a lot faster than him but the heavy lantern she was carrying was taking its toll. With a considerable amount of weight added on, she wasn't able to move as fast as the others.
The end of the hallway grew closer and closer as they ran, almost there, just a little further.
Kori reached the end and quickly turned back, waiting for the others to catch up. Spatch zipped through the archway with the other three not far behind.
Suddenly-
"Look out!" Fischer cried, pointing up.
Kori shifted his head up just in time to see a massive chunk of one of the giant pillars split off and start to fall right towards them.
"Kori!" Quin screamed as she watched the rock fall.
Fischer felt his heart drop as the rock smashed into the ground.
"C'mon. . . hurry. . . up!" A strained voice said through the dust.
Quin watched in both horror and amazement as Kori stood under the rock, barely managing to hold it above his head. She could see his knees and arms shaking rapidly as they worked to keep the enormous amount of weight from squashing them like bugs.
"Kori! Are you-"
"Just go!" He yelled, clearly in a lot of pain.
Quin turned to Fischer and Ko and practically pushed them under the rock Kori was holding up before just managing to slide under herself.
Just as she got through, Kori let out a tremendous roar and one of his knees gave out, forcing him to kneel on one leg.
Another thunderous cracking roared through the room and the other half of the pillar started to break away.
"Kori! Move!" Quin cried out as she watched her boyfriend struggle under the weight. He wasn't able to look up and see what was coming down, but he knew by the sound that he wasn't going to be able to hold it up much longer.
He strained his head and looked over at a shocked and petrified Quin who was barely being held back by Spatch and Fischer.
Thoughts of her began to flood through his mind and memories lit up in his head. He saw her dancing, he saw her laughing, he saw them both hugging each other and he saw them kiss each other.
He felt his arms start to give out from the stress being put on him. His legs could support him no longer.
Quin could do nothing but scream and watch in horror as Kori turned to her and gave her a gentle smile. The same one that he always gave her when she was upset, the same one he gave her when she cried in his arms. The one that told her everything would be alright.
The smile was then wiped away as the enormous pillar came crashing down on top of him, burying the group in a thick blanket of golden dust.