Chapter 3:

The air within the narrow corridor of the pyramid was stifling, and with the abnormally still air outside, it was no surprise. The walls of smooth sandstone were decorated in the same signage and artwork as the pillars found in the abandoned village. The same four figures before a being of red and black. It repeated continually on both sides of the corridor, only divided by lit torches.

It obviously predicated something important. A battle or even a ceremony.

Other than the paintings and the torches, there were nothing else of note. Not until they reached the end of the path.

Only, it wasn't the end. It was t-section in the corridor and there, on the wall before the paths diverged, was another image. Different from the ones that lined the hall from the entrance. That black and red figure was larger, the main subject of the painting. In front of the figure was another, human in appearance. They were knelt on the ground, with something akin to chains to supporting them. And said bindings were wound around the blacken figure too.

Again, another event or belief that was important or even crucial to those who built the place. Lyner was pretty sure that it wasn't just random decorations, and that they meant something.

What that was, he hadn't a clue.

"That doesn't look pleasant," Lazarus commented lightly.

"It looks like some kind of ritual," Lyner mused.

Zelos snorted. "Or a sacrifice."

Well, a few rituals did involve a sacrifice, unfortunately.

"That painting means shit to us now," York stated as he looked left and then right. "Which path to take now?"

Splitting up was not an option, so they needed to agree on which path to investigate first. With his recent string of luck, it would be for the best that he was not be the one to make the choice. Both hallways looked exactly the same, though, so it was all the matter of just picking one. It was even possible that both paths would eventually converge to the same location.

Hopefully, at least. He didn't fancy the idea of staying inside the place that mummy creature wanted to drag him into longer than necessary.

A quiet grating sound pulled Lyner from his thoughts and he immediately spun around to look down the long corridor behind them. Wordlessly, his companions did the same. At first, all he was able to see where the lightly flickering fire torches.

Then the torch furthest from them, just within their sight, flickered out suddenly. Plunging the end of the corridor in darkness. The torch up from the previous flickered out as well, darkening the corridor further. Soon, other torches followed, each accompanied by a grating sound. Of which grew louder and louder with each extinguished torch.

"Something's coming," Ayatane murmured, readying his blades swiftly. "Get ready."

As Lyner unsheathed his blade, he took a moment to inspect their surroundings. The hallways were large for people simply walking through them, but would serve to be a tight and restricting battle arena. They would need to keep their attacks précised and swift. It was going to be irritating, but what choice did they have?

The slow rising of the drawn-out shuffling had grown so irritating and unsettling that it was actually a relief to lay eyes on the creatures making said sounds. But only for a second, and for Lyner, the irritation quickly returned.

Great. Mummies. Visually, they appeared to be smaller versions of the creature that tried to take Lyner earlier. So, did that...?

"Try aiming for the chests," Lyner suggested as he positioned his sword in front of him. And he gritted his teeth in preparation for a prolonged battle.

There were so many of them. Crawling and scraping against the stone walls and ground. An undeniable horde of them. Safe to say; the structure was a trap. And they had walked into it.

Thankfully, York, Lazarus, and Zelos were able to use their weapons to hold back the majority of the approaching horde, shooting at them from a distance. The stragglers were to be an annoyance, but Lyner, along with Ayatane and Raze should be able to deal with them easily enough. Especially since Lyner's earlier observations appeared to be right; the power source was situated in their chests.

Lyner was able to fall into a steady, somewhat comfortable rhythm with Ayatane and Raze, staying out of each other's way despite the constriction of their battlefield. Move forward, stab the target in the chest, strike its power source, and step back to allow another to follow similar steps. And repeat.

It was reassuring, in a way. Fighting, battling; it allowed him to do something. To achieve something. With each enemy defeated, there was one less to worry about.

They just needed to keep going.

Yet, there were pitfalls to falling into a rhythm. Complacency, which what Lyner would point to as an excuse when a monster managed to slip around behind him. And snare him around the waist with its bandage covered arms.

Lyner would have uttered a curse at his momentarily lapse of concentration, if the steel like tightness of the arms around him didn't take his breath away. He instinctively grasped at the arms wound tightly around his waist and stab at the closest mummy to him. He soon realised that he wasn't just being restrained; he was being carried away.

Damn it, he had no idea why the monsters of this strange temple were so insistent to drag him somewhere, but he wasn't going to make it easy for them!

He couldn't get a direct shot of the thing's chest. He'd first need to impede it somehow.

Flicking his sword around with the blade toward him, and stabbed it toward him. The blade cut through the mummy's leg while missing Lyner's own leg by millimetres. The attack did what he had hoped; it severed the limb, causing the thing to promptly drop to the ground. And thankfully loosening it's hold around Lyner's waist.

Scrambling away from the flailing mummy, Lyner lingered on his knees long enough to stab his sword into the creature's chest, destroying it in a puff of black smoke. As he jumped to his feet, already turning his attention back to the ongoing battle, he wrapped an arm around his middle. The grip that mummy had on him was crushing. Nothing felt broken, but it would likely leave a bruise.

Lyner rested his back against the stone wall to steal a quick second to catch his breath. Only, he felt himself jarred back a half step, as if the wall behind him had given way suddenly. A tight grip on his right elbow thankfully prevented him from falling back, and it promptly brought him back into the fray of battle. Where he felt more useful.

He did take a moment to note that it was Zelos who had grabbed him, and the wall he had been leaning against had indeed been compelled inwards, leaving a small indentation. Uniformed. Like the square piece of stone had been pressed in.

A pair of monsters shuffling to his right prompted Lyner to turn to give the still progressing battle his full attention. A couple of quick stabs to the chests was enough to dispel the threat. As he turned to take down another monster, he managed to steal another glance at the wall he almost fell through. And he was astonished to realised that he couldn't find it immediately. That piece of solid stone had righted itself back into place?

Was he almost the victim of yet another trap?

That thought was fleeting when he felt that stomach-clenching feeling of a sudden drop under his left foot. He was thankfully nimble due to battle, so he instinctively put weight on his right foot and jumped back. The split second he used to glance down at the ground immediately cause him to wince; another pit trap.

He stabbed the nearest mummy in frustration.

Again?! Oh, come on! It was getting beyond ridiculous. The monsters were the least of his worries; the structure itself had it out for him!

Thankfully, the horde of mummies diminished quickly afterwards. And with a couple of well-aimed shots from York and Lazarus, the stragglers were taken care of. Allowing for everyone to draw back to catch their breathes.

And for Lyner, he meant that literally. His ribs and sides still ached lightly from being grabbed by that mummy. Although, his injuries were born from his first encounter with that giant mummy. That second grab-and-run attempt just agitated his injuries further.

"With that out of the way, we really need to talk about how someone or something is trying to separate Lyner from us," Raze suddenly stated, his tone terse, catching Lyner completely by surprise.

"Huh?"

"Yes," Ayatane immediately agreed and focused his deep red eyes toward Lyner. "You are not clumsy by any means. Twice may be a coincidence, but this is the fifth time you were nearly taken."

"Sixth, actually," Lazarus added.

Ayatane took a second to give the blonde gunner a sharp side glance before he turned his gaze toward Lyner once more. "We can't ignore this."

And the tone of Ayatane's voice indicated that he wasn't going to drop the matter, regardless of what Lyner said to alleviate, and possible counter, he concerns. "But why would-?"

"I may be going to go out on a limb here, but I think we may have accidently activated an ancient ceremony." Lazarus slapped the painted mosaic behind him with the back of his hand. "And Lyner is their intended sacrifice."

Lyner's gaze flickered over toward the painting, noting the second prominent figure; restrained in chains, knelt in front of, but not facing a figure of black and red. It's quite the bold claim, yet in their current circumstances, it felt reasonable. "Is it because I activated the cauldron?"

"And the door," Lazarus once again added helpfully.

"Door?"

Lazarus gaze Lyner a pointed look. "I saw the pulse of energy, and it only appeared after you touched the door. I'm very observant, after all. Besides, I'm sure Ayatane there had his suspicions."

"I did."

Lyner fell silent as he allowed all the information to filter through his mind. And he frowned, a pang of guilt in his chest. "So...this is all my fault?"

"Now, don't be thinking like that," Lazarus chided in a surprisingly friendly way. "We all agreed to venture inside out of the need to return to the surface and to have a look around. If you had known about this ritual, you would never have let us through that door, right?"

"That's true." How did he get to know him so well?

"What should we do?" Raze asked, his frustration evident. "We're walking right into a trap."

Zelos folded his arms crossly. "I guess turning around isn't an option."

"We don't know that," York interjected. "The entrance closed, but if Lyner opened it, he may be able to do it again."

Lyner shook his head. "But, if someone is this determined to get to me, they'll just follow us." And put the lives of the rest of their companions at risk. "The best thing we can do is to face this head on. What's one more monster to beat up?"

York sighed, annoyed that he had to concede to Lyner's words. "True."

Ayatane also sighed as he granted Lyner a softly wary stare. "Had it been anyone else, you'd be the one to suggest we leave in order to protect them."

Lyner shrugged. He couldn't deny that. But it was just him that they (whoever they were) wanted, so a different strategy was needed. He was fine with being bait, if needed.

Lazarus turned away from the group suddenly and pointed down the left path. "I suggest we go left."

York frowned lightly. "Why?"

"Because those monsters were trying to drag Lyner toward the right. Running head long into danger isn't our best course of action."

"We'll get there eventually."

Lazarus shrugged. "True, but we should at least try to get a better handle of the situation, hm?"

Lyner wasn't at all sure he could agree. Was it even possible? Going left would only prolong the eventual need to venture into the heart of danger. It would also allow for more opportunities for monsters to attack, and for them to drag Lyner there themselves. Alone, separated from the others. He'd rather just head in and get it over with.

Although, he did understand the caution.

A loud grinding sound, like that emitted from stone scrapping against stone, put an abrupt end to their conversations. And Lyner felt his heart leap into his throat, brought on by a nauseating feeling of weightlessness.

He was falling. For real!

Instinctively, he flailed an arm out in an attempt to grab a hold of something, anything. He managed to snare the edge of the pit, thankfully preventing himself from plummeting further. His desperate attempt to stop his fall didn't go unpunished; a streak of pain erupted from his shoulder. The pain was so sharp that it almost caused him to release his hold. A hand suddenly grasping his wrist prevented that from happening, thankfully, and another hand soon followed.

Knowing that his companions were attempting to help him, Lyner gritted his teeth as he twisted around, planting a foot against the wall as he reached up with his other hand. That, too, was quickly grasped tightly. With the help of his companions, led by none other than Ayatane of course, Lyner was able to climb his way back out of the pit. A pit that seemed bottomless.

And with one strong tug from Ayatane, he was back on the floor of the pyramid, surrounded by his companions, half resting against Ayatane's chest.

Lyner grasped his shoulder with a wince on his face, watching passively as the trapdoor that had activated beneath his feet snapped back into place. Returning to the malicious camouflage of an ordinary stepping stone.

A pit trap. Another pit trap. What was with these damn pit traps?! And that...was the seventh time, if he wasn't mistaken.

"This is getting ridiculous!" York immediately spat.

If York was annoyed, then Lyner was frustrated. But he was right. It truly was ridiculous. Beyond ridiculous. It was too much, too quickly. Whoever was in charge of the place was throwing whatever they had at him, to get him away from the others. They were desperate.

But why?

Ayatane rested a hand on Lyner's back, offering a small bit of comfort. Yet, the frown on his face was that of displeasure and protectiveness. "These attempts to separate Lyner from us have become bolder, a direct response to our earlier observations."

Lyner uttered a sigh. There really was no denying it. Someone, or something was definitely watching them. Something had it out for him and were willing to do anything to get to him. But...how far were they actually willing to go?

He guessed he would just have to wait and see.

Ayatane slipped his arm around Lyner's back, gently resting his hand against his side as he helped him to his feet. As Lyner took a moment to catch his breath once more and to ready himself for what could lie ahead, Ayatane grabbed his hand with his suddenly, and abruptly tugged him toward him. To stand against his side.

"Stay close to me," he said as he looked in straight in the eyes and tightened his hold on his hand.

That most certainly wasn't a suggestion.

Lyner flushed lightly. "Ah, s-sure."