Masika the lehboa was too terrified to leave the tent. She was sure she would die to the golem's unequaled power. As soon as it had first emerged and killed her friends, she knew it was only a matter of time before it too killed her.

The old man that had randomly appeared hadn't shown a single ounce of fear upon hearing about the golem. He looked like he had a lot on his mind and was frequently distracted, and yet, he reassured her and led the last ten lehboa through the dunes. As they traveled, the rumbling lessened. It seemed as though they were getting farther from the legendary golem.

The old man had bags of bricks hanging from his armor, and his winged sword shone brilliantly in the sunlight. He clunked loudly like he was a golem himself. Every miniature construct from the golem that appeared was eliminated long before it could send a signal back to the main body.

They traveled without difficulty until the old man stopped near a menhir, dug, and pulled out an old rune-encrusted stone box.

"You know how to use the Bolt," he said.

"I've read—"

Before she could continue, he opened the box, crouched, and presented her the legendary Bolt.

"You found it."

"Take it. I need to be on my way."

She grabbed the Bolt and felt its power radiating in her hand. "Let's find it and stop it."

***

Owin rushed out of the tent and reignited the Incandescent Blade. Hearing the legends of the golem put images in his mind, like the golem when he originally got the Incandescent Blade in the Ocean secret but bigger.

The golem was the single largest creature he had ever seen. It was nothing like he had imagined. Wisps of clouds broke apart as its head passed through. It matched the height of the tallest towers in Atrevaar.

"Wow," Shade said.

"Butcher Detected." The words shook the entire floor. Winds whipped, renewed by the power. The golem didn't move its building-sized legs. It only bent at the hip and looked down with glowing red eyes. A massive mana battery spun in the center of its chest, casting an eerie blue glow across the sand.

"They know I'm not Lyra Magnan, right?" Owin asked.

"I wouldn't assume that they know anything right now." Shade patted his shoulder. "I'm going to run at it."

"What?"

Shade took a big step forward. The entire monstrous golem shifted.

"Why?"

"We have to know what it does. And they said it was unkillable. What if I kill it? Then I'll be famous." Shade sprinted forward.

As much as Owin wanted to stop him, he was also curious. Shade wouldn't run at an enemy for no reason. The first time they encountered a mob after Shade was summoned, he had tried to hide behind Owin. The brave, yet probably stupid, skeleton now willingly threw himself at an enemy just to see what that enemy would do.

A giant foot raised.

"Oh," Owin said.

Shade pointed into the sky. "I think I know what it's going to do," he shouted. His voice was almost drowned out by the powerful winds.

Owin just nodded as the foot came down and crushed the skeleton. Sands launched into the sky and powerful winds nearly threw him off his feet.

Shade's death, once again, taught him nothing.

They needed to have a conversation about that.

"Kill the Butcher!" a lehboa shouted behind Owin.

He pivoted, raising the Incandescent Blade. The lehboa archaeologists had grabbed anything they could find, from a rock to a small pick, and started to surround Owin. Their eyes were wide with fury as they inched closer, even as the golem took a half step closer.

"Eliminating the Butcher of Amnopis."

"I'm not the Butcher!" Owin dashed under the arms of the lehboa, moving far faster than the mobs. Even with a two shard boost, the lehboa still weren't combatants. The archaeologists likely had no abilities or spells that would help in a battle.

His theory proved correct as the lehboa tried to quickly turn and nearly tripped each other. Purple light bathed them as the golem's red eyes passed through the blue glow of the mana battery. A massive building-sized arm moved until it was over Owin. Blue lines of shining mana surged down the arm, following tracks in the stone structure. Energy gathered in the fingertips, promising to be an absolutely devastating attack.

Flames burned brightly on the Incandescent Blade.

"Unkillable?" Owin muttered. He crouched and jumped, sending the lehboa careening over the sand and into tents. Wind battered him from all sides as he crashed into the stone hand.

Crab legs reached from his back and gripped the stone firmly. The Incandescent Blade had to first melt the outermost defenses of the golem before it sliced easily through the creature. With the sword lodged into the thumb he had collided with, Owin maneuvered around until he was on top of the hand, then forcefully yanked the sword free.

The massive thumb fell to the camp below and created a crater where it landed. Mana sputtered in the severed connections to the thumb and exploded in crackling pops, each big enough to kill Owin, if he hadn't cowered farther back on the hand.

All mana gathered in the hand surged back up the arm and to the battery embedded in its chest. The rush of more mana caused the blue sphere to spin faster and brighter.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Changing tactics."

"Okay." Owin stood somewhat unsteadily on the back of the giant's hand with his sword burning brightly. "Now what?"

The golem kept its hand steady while raising its other high.

"Is it just going to smash its own hand?"

As soon as the creature started moving, Owin swore. He had assumed it only moved slowly, and while it wasn't nearly as fast as he was, the sudden movement of its hand was enough to change the world around them. Winds nearly threw Owin right off the stone arm as he tried sprinting up. At its current angle, it was steep and slippery. Crab legs tried to help, but they were too slow to keep up with his running.

Owin stopped, letting the crab legs hold him on the wrist, and leapt again. The burst of strength tore the crab legs off, leaving them attached to the golem's wrist.

Stone hit stone as the golem missed Owin once again. Its lower hand stayed still, acting as an anvil as its fist smashed against the stone. All the tents and the surviving lehboa below were all launched away in the most powerful impact so far.

High above, near the golem's head, the wind moved lazily. Red eyes attempted to track Owin's movements as he did his best to scramble over the slippery stone. The red gems were at least ten feet tall and moved like actual eyes. Owin had no idea how that worked, and he wasn't expecting to find out anytime soon.

When he had found the Incandescent Blade in the Ocean secret, he had cut the head off the golem to stop it. This head was so big and so wide that he couldn't possibly have enough time or mana to cut it off. He could do something like he had done with the big spider in the Ocean and cut his way inside, but if the golem was just stone, he wouldn't make it far before he ran out of mana or just died.

"How do I kill it?" Owin whispered.

"Mana battery," Torban said.

"Oh. Right. How do you know that?"

"I saw mana batteries before. Constructs need them to function."

"Okay." Owin climbed down the golem's face, unaware of the mana blast that had been gathering in one of the hands. A monstrous blue beam passed over the golem's head and crashed into the distant boundary wall.

Red light bathed him as both gems turned in his direction.

"Cease resistance. Butcher execution imminent."

Owin put the point of the burning sword against a red gem and pushed. It took a moment for mana defenses to fizzle out, then the blade cracked against the gem. Loud sizzling brought a foul, somewhat sour odor to the air.

"If all it takes to defeat the golem is fire, why is it considered unbeatable?" Owin asked.

"The Incandescent Blade is unique," Torban said. "It is not just fire. It is the hatred of the lehboa. It is hatred for those who are different."

Owin pulled the sword free. "What?"

"The sword is cursed with hatred."

Owin frowned. "Should I—"

"Use the hatred to kill the unkillable."

"You know a lot."

"The sword was in me."

The golem shouted some more commands as Owin carefully climbed down its face and onto the chest. He used his own strength to hold tight, the sword to form temporary holds, and the crab claws that remained to grip when necessary.

A metal frame circled the mana battery, not unlike an occultist ocular with rings spinning about. Owin landed on a slow-moving ring and took a moment to balance.

"What do I do with it?" he asked.

"Unknown," Torban said.

"I should've expected that."

A vibration passed through the entire golem. As soon as it finished, the mana battery core shone with a new sinister brilliance. A red tinge passed into the magic core, tinting it violet.

"Significant threat detected. Activating defense mechanisms."

Summon the Withered Shade

Gray dust formed together, materializing Shade on the same moving circle Owin stood upon.

"Is this a good time to say I'm scared of heights?"

"How do I destroy a mana battery?" Owin asked.

Shade gestured to the sword.

"Won't that cause it to explode or something?"

"You want to do it without dying? Then I have no idea. Not an area of expertise for me, is it?"

Sounds of cracking surrounded them like an incoming wave. Bits of stone rained from above. Owin covered his face as chunks bounced off his chitin helmet and gauntlet. Shade just let the stones hit him in the face without flinching.

The metal circle he stood on started moving underneath the stone, circling the back of the massive mana battery. Owin inched to the edge, found a new circle that was moving slowly, and hopped down to it. He landed and immediately ducked as a faster moving circle passed by.

"Why are there stone spiders?" Shade shouted. The skeleton jumped down to the ring, hit it awkwardly, and fell back onto the mana battery. He splayed against it for a moment until smoke started to rise from where his bones touched the blue glass.

"Stone what?"

"You know what a spider is!"

Owin brushed loose stone off his helmet and looked up. Hundreds of stone spider-like constructs moved as one over the golem's surface.

"Defense mechanisms," Owin said.

As one, the spiders brandished appendages, all shooting different jets of magic. Fire, arcane, lightning, and even luminous and abyssal energy crackled all over the golem's surface.

Shade loudly knocked on the mana battery. "Get stabbing!"

Blue lines had spread through every bit of stone on the golem's surface. It caused the underside of the spider constructs to glow. Any individual construct might not be the most dangerous, but getting swarmed could get a hero killed. Owin vividly remembered the swarm on the third floor of the Ocean and heard Ernie and Katalin's stories about the damage that same swarm had done to their last escort.

"You said it would explode!"

Shade reached out for the Incandescent Blade. "New plan."

"You don't have high enough strength."

Shade sidled closer. "Fine. I'll try to be ready with a shield. No promises."

"This is a bad idea." Owin didn't wait for the skeleton to respond. He forced the tip of the burning blade against the blue glass. At first, it wobbled, unable to touch the magical surface. As soon as that mana shield burned away, the blade cracked against the glass, then started melting it. Shade pulled Isotelus from Torban and sent a Shuriken flying past. Bits of stone rained down. The skeleton managed to use a flurry of other spells that Owin couldn't identify at the moment.

The purple light shining within the mana battery flashed. It echoed throughout the giant's body, passing into every spider construct.

"I'm not dying to something stupid," Owin shouted. He stepped forward and used his whole body to push. The Incandescent Blade slipped into the glass.

For the briefest moment, he felt the energy that powered the golem. Every bit of energy that ran through its towering stone body. Enough energy to destroy Verdantallis.

Gray dust covered Owin.

A deafening screech hit him, then sound cut out completely as blood flowed from his ears. Blue fire reached inside the protective shell as Owin's stomach dropped. He could feel the oddly familiar sensation of flying. His chitin helmet cracked back against something as his momentum was abruptly stopped.

Gray dust fell away. The entire floor was on fire. Blue flames covered every surface, including the boundary walls. Only a small area around Owin, covered in the gray dust of the Withered Shade, was safe. Sand dunes turned to glass before his eyes.

Quest Compleeeee . . .

Owin's vision flashed rapidly. He wobbled, stunned, and waited for his vision to clear. A gentle, sweet voice spoke as if directly in his ear. The words appeared in his vision as she carefully enunciated each word.

Stairs to the Seventh Floor have opened

Stairs and the exit door lifted from the burning ground on his left, nestled in a corner of the boundary walls.

A bit of the gray dust caught fire.

"Go," Torban said.

Owin fed the bag the sword and leapt. He hit the stairs, felt the flames lick his foot, and fell into the void nexus.

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