K-10 stood before the stone table in the center of the main hall, examining the circular inscription carved into its surface once more.
He placed his hand above the table.
Nothing happened.
Then one of the five points illuminated.
A faint light traveled through the engraved lines, spreading across the table in a precise pattern. A low vibration passed through the floor. Several meters away, a seam appeared in the stone, and a section of the ancient floor descended into darkness, revealing a staircase beneath it.
Seralyth stared into the opening.
“That was concealed.”
K-10 drew one of his Lunarium kodachis.
“Apparently.”
They descended.
The staircase extended far below the temple. The temperature dropped as they went deeper, and the sounds of the forest gradually disappeared. The only noise was the occasional scrape of their boots against stone.
Ancient inscriptions covered the walls. Some were barely visible beneath centuries of dust, while others remained sharply defined.
Seralyth examined them as they passed.
“I don’t recognize the language.”
“Neither do I.”
K-10 continued downward until he noticed a series of deep grooves cut into one of the walls. He crouched and ran his fingers along them.
“Something made these.”
Seralyth examined the height of the markings.
“It would have to be large.”
K-10 stood.
“Very large.”
They continued until the staircase ended at a massive stone doorway.
Beyond it was complete darkness.
Seralyth removed an arrow from her quiver. She held it between her fingers and concentrated. A pale radiance gathered around the arrowhead and spread along the shaft.
She fired.
The arrow struck the far wall.
The chamber emerged from the darkness.
It was enormous.
At its center stood a circular stone structure. Suspended several feet above it was a large orb, nearly the size of a man’s torso.
Several rings surrounded the orb. They floated independently, each following a different plane around the sphere. Ancient inscriptions covered their surfaces, continuously flowing around the rings as they rotated.
The sight held Seralyth’s attention.
Then she noticed the damage.
Several portions of the inscriptions had faded. One of the rings rotated unevenly, while another had stopped completely.
“The inscriptions are failing.”
K-10 studied the orb.
“Can you repair them?”
“I believe so.”
She took a step toward the Seal.
Something moved beyond the light.
K-10 turned toward the sound.
A figure stepped from the darkness.
It stood at least three meters tall.
Its head was a twisted, deformed bull’s head, with large, sharply curved horns and a wet snout that glistened beneath the pale light. Its eyes were deep red, fixed on them with a ferocity that suggested neither reason nor hesitation.
When it exhaled, smoke rolled from its mouth.
Its torso and limbs were massive and distinctly humanoid, covered in thick hide stretched over layers of powerful muscle. A bull’s tail moved slowly behind it.
Around its waist was a heavy iron fauld studded with metal plates.
In its hands was a large iron club.
The creature lowered its head.
K-10 recognized the posture immediately.
“Move.”
The Minotaur charged.
It came forward with startling speed.
K-10 moved left.
Seralyth moved right.
The Minotaur passed between them without slowing. Its horns missed K-10 by less than a meter before striking the stone column behind him.
The column shattered.
The Minotaur continued forward.
K-10 watched it disappear into the darkness before turning around.
It was already coming back.
He and Seralyth separated again.
The Minotaur charged a second time.
K-10 waited until the last possible moment before moving aside. Seralyth barely cleared the opposite horn.
The creature continued through the chamber and struck another stone column.
Stone exploded across the floor.
The Minotaur never slowed.
K-10’s assessment changed.
The creature was not merely strong.
It was fast, far faster than its size should have allowed.
It turned and charged again.
This time K-10 moved earlier.
Seralyth did the same.
The Minotaur passed between them.
They were beginning to understand its attack pattern, but there was little room for error. One mistake would put either of them directly in its path.
Seralyth drew her bow and released a Light-infused arrow.
It struck the Minotaur’s shoulder.
Light flared against its hide.
The creature barely reacted.
She fired again.
The arrow struck its chest and bounced away.
K-10 moved in while its attention was elsewhere.
His first kodachi struck the Minotaur’s side.
The second followed immediately.
Neither blade penetrated deeply.
The hide was too thick.
K-10 withdrew before the creature could counterattack. He examined his blades for a fraction of a second.
The Lunarium had cut into the surface.
It had not reached anything vital.
The Minotaur charged again.
They evaded.
Another column disappeared beneath the creature’s horns.
K-10 began to understand that their current weapons were insufficient.
Seralyth lowered her bow and extended one hand.
Nature Magic gathered around her.
Vines emerged from the stone floor.
They wrapped around the Minotaur’s legs as it charged.
The creature stumbled.
More vines appeared, winding around its thighs and anchoring themselves to the floor.
The Minotaur pulled against them.
The vines tightened.
For several seconds, the creature was restrained.
K-10 moved.
He closed the distance and attacked with both kodachis.
Instead of striking at the limbs, he concentrated his attacks on the Minotaur’s chest.
One blade cut across the hide.
The other followed.
Again.
And again.
The wounds deepened.
Then the vines began to tear.
K-10 saw the Minotaur’s muscles tense.
The creature pulled once.
The vines stretched.
It pulled again.
The restraints began breaking apart.
K-10 stepped back.
The Minotaur ripped itself free.
The remaining vines snapped across the floor.
The creature reached for the club.
The battle changed.
It swung.
K-10 moved to evade.
He was too slow.
The iron club smashed into his side.
The impact was tremendous.
His Tactical Lunarium Armor absorbed much of the force, but the remaining energy drove through his body.
K-10 was thrown across the chamber.
He struck the far wall and fell hard against the stone.
For several seconds, his senses were disorganized.
Pain overwhelmed everything else.
He could feel the damage inside his body.
Bones had broken.
Several, judging by the sensation.
His body was already repairing them.
The healing was rapid, but the pain remained.
K-10 forced himself to focus.
Across the chamber, the Minotaur approached.
Its club dragged against the stone floor.
It stopped over him and lifted the weapon.
K-10 tried to move.
His body was still recovering from the impact.
The club began its downward arc.
An arrow struck the Minotaur’s shoulder.
Then another.
Seralyth stood on the opposite side of the chamber, firing rapidly.
The Minotaur turned.
Another arrow struck its chest.
The light flashed across its hide.
The creature ignored the wounds.
Seralyth fired again.
The Minotaur turned completely toward her.
K-10 watched it move away.
Seralyth continued firing.
The arrows struck its torso, arms, and shoulders.
None penetrated deeply enough to stop it.
The Minotaur charged.
Seralyth fired again.
The arrow struck its face.
The creature continued forward.
She lowered her bow and reached for her sword.
The distance disappeared rapidly.
The Minotaur lowered its head.
Its horns were aimed directly at her.
Seralyth moved.
Too late.
K-10 saw the attack.
He pushed himself forward.
He reached Seralyth just before the horns struck.
His shoulder hit her and knocked her sideways.
At the same moment, K-10 grabbed both horns.
The Minotaur’s momentum carried them forward.
K-10 dug his boots into the stone floor.
The Minotaur continued charging.
The force behind it was enormous.
K-10’s arms strained as he held the horns away from his body.
The creature drove him backward.
His boots scraped across the floor.
Then his back struck the chamber wall.
The Minotaur pinned him there.
Its head pushed forward.
Its horns pressed against K-10’s arms.
The creature’s breath rolled across his face, hot and carrying the smell of blood, smoke, and something acrid that K-10 could not immediately identify.
K-10 shifted his footing.
His grip tightened around the horns.
Every muscle in his body engaged.
The Minotaur pushed harder.
K-10 held.
Then he pulled.
The Minotaur resisted.
K-10 pulled harder.
The creature’s legs lifted from the floor.
For a moment, the Minotaur seemed suspended above K-10.
Then K-10 twisted his body and used the creature’s momentum against it.
He slammed the Minotaur onto its back.
The impact shook the chamber.
The Minotaur attempted to rise.
Seralyth was already moving.
She released her Nature Magic.
Vines erupted from the stone floor.
They wrapped around the Minotaur’s legs, torso, and arms.
The creature struggled.
The vines tightened.
Seralyth continued feeding them with Nature Magic.
The Minotaur thrashed beneath the restraints.
K-10 approached.
Seralyth looked at him.
“Now.”
K-10 drew both Lunarium kodachis.
He stood over the creature.
The Minotaur continued struggling.
K-10 drove the first kodachi into its chest.
The blade penetrated the thick hide.
He drove the second beside it.
The creature convulsed.
K-10 pushed both blades deeper.
The Minotaur’s movement stopped.
The chamber became silent.
Seralyth released the Nature Magic.
The vines loosened.
She dropped to one knee.
The effort had exhausted her.
A moment later, she lowered herself to the floor.
“I hope we never encounter another one of those things.”
K-10 removed his kodachis from the Minotaur’s chest.
He wiped the blades clean against the creature’s hide before returning them to their sheaths.
His body had already finished repairing the injuries from the club.
There was no visible sign that he had been thrown across the chamber moments earlier.
He looked down at the Minotaur.
Then he crouched beside it.
Seralyth watched him from the floor.
“What are you doing?”
K-10 examined the creature’s head, then its horns. He inspected the thick hide, the iron fauld, the club, and the wounds they had inflicted.
“Studying the monster.”
Seralyth stared at him.
“You’re doing that now?”
K-10 continued his examination.
There was no indication that he found the timing unusual.
The ancient chamber was silent again.
Only the slow rotation of the damaged Seal continued in the darkness.