Silent Sands

Chapter 4: Silent Sands

Floor fourteen is where the sinking sands reside. Getting stuck in them caused Yunica to sink, and she had no desire to see what was beneath them. The first room was a three way fork, and Yunica went right. That would end up being an exit for later. The top had a Roda's Fruit as a reward. Right led to immortal beings that would get back up no matter how many times they died. But there were a few worms that glowed red. Their death led up to stairs being opened up. Jumping up the massive staircase took Yunica to a cliff she had to fall to reach. It was guarded by powerful wind mages. Inside was a Golden Bracelet that changed the game. Yunica could now double jump! A slide was to her left that was the exit, but a hidden platform at the end had a gem on it. That brought her to the west room she'd already been in. There was a secret chest to her left that could only be reached with the double jump and wind magic. It contained a magic ring that lacked magic power. Yunica returned east and jumped up the second set of stairs. She found another hungry roo that gave her some shiny new boots for her fruit. In the next room...

Reah was standing there. A strange black orb was floating beside her, but Yunica was more concerned with a hug and the wellbeing of Lady Reah. Yunica told her hero what happened and why the search party is here before apologizing for getting Feena kidnapped. Reah actually took the blame for that. Feena was acting as a distraction at that time, and Yunica got caught up in everything. But it was all to prevent the Black Pearl, the orb beside Reah, from being taken. Feena was now jailed in Rado's Annex. As her sister before her, she asked the humans to leave everything to the twins. Before Reah left, Yunica returned the Silver Harmonica. As she did, the immortal monsters rose from the sands around them. Yunica took them out, but they continued to get back up. Rather than panic, Reah rang some bells, and the demons died. She'd give her friend the chimes as a trade and went to fulfill her mission.

A few floors later was another strange sight. A smaller building with no proper suspension was hanging off the side of the tower. Cadena and Miuscha had beat Yunica here, and they were joined by a new sorcerer. Hugo Fact, the missing mage and grandson of high priest Fact, has finally made his presence known. He and Yunica shared their greetings before discussing Rado's Annex. The mages sensed an overwhelming evil energy in the annex and were afraid of it. Yunica, though, had no such qualms. Lacking magical aptitude, she didn't feel anything and walked in. Waiting for her there was a trap and the evil witch Zava.

Zava tried to insult Yunica, but the desire to free her heros let them slip away. Zava would test the axe wielder by summoning another demonized mage.

Jenocres brought six turrets to aim their sights on Yunica. Depending on what their master told them, they would breathe fire in a straight line, sometimes forming patterns, or shoot several types of lasers. While they did that, Jrnocres would try to fry Yunica with electricity. Yunica never had to stand still. Moving around and avoiding the multiple hazards kept her on her toes, and she had to rely on hit-and-run tactics.

Sava was frustrated one of her familiars failed and planned to kill Yunica herself. Suddenly, a terrifying voice rang through the room. Dalles... He instructed Zava to stay her hand and return to the top of the tower. His plan was advancing on time, and he needed Sava to do something. As much as she wanted to fight, Zava left, promising to kill Yunica later.

Rado's Annex kept going up to a door with a demon face on it. The mages from earlier caught up to Yunica and told her how great the fight was. They then moved on to the door, which was the source of the evil energy. The magic around it was a curse, and only demons could enter the room. Cadena believed it was possible to fool the door, and the empty ring Yunica had was the key. If only they could refill it. Hugo mentioned a new type of immortal demon had appeared outside the annex, and Yunica took care of them. Before donning the cursed ring, which Cadena thought could kill the wearer, she spoke to Rico. Rico wished he had brought his grandfather's Blue Amulet, which would remove the need for the ring. But perhaps the necklace from earlier would suffice?

It did!

Inside the room was Lady Feena, trapped in one of the strongest forcefields Hugo had ever seen. Feena was safe, though, as the forcefield existed only to negate her powers and keep her in the bubble. The Holy Knights joined us now, and Feena felt it was time to tell everyone why the twins came here. To keep it short, the Black Pearl is cursed. For many years now, demons have ravaged Ys, so they're not connected to the outlanders in the tower. The demons spawned because of how the Black Pearl interacts with cleria ore. This shook everyone to their core. A sacred artifact is actually the ruin of Ys? 

But then Yunica raised a very important question. Why did the twins bring the Black Pearl closer to people who want to steal it? She actually questioned the goddess! The knights tried to scold her, but Feena defended her. But, to answer the question, they brought it here to seal it away. 

That explains the demons, but what of the humans controlling them? More importantly, how do we free Feena!? Galleon gave everyone their new orders, but there was something else to do first.

Galleon told Yunica to kneel before him and asked Feena if he could abridge the ceremony. He pulled out a sword and officially declared Yunica a holy knight. She's fought harder than anyone else and proven herself against the outlanders, thus earning the title. And with that, everyone went about their missions, and Sir Yunica Tovah continued the climb.

After dealing with wyverns, terrible spike traps, mosquitoes, and slippery floors (which required the Dragon's Claws to navigate), Yunica climbed to floor seventeen and met another demon general.

The Maneating Creeper, Khonsclard, rose from the sands. It brought forth bulbs that required Yunica to burn them. While doing so, though, the creeper kept trying to suck in its attacker. It also used several types of projectiles and earthquakes to impede her. Yunica eventually realized the plant could be stunned, letting her get safer attacks on the bulbs until she could target the demon's weak point.

Yunica started to ascend to floor eighteen, but the Holy Knights caught up to her. They said they were surprised at the lack of difficulty climbing, which probably means something... But they sensed this peace would be short lived. Roy hung back to tease his childhood acquaintance. Even though they are equals now, they'll always be friends.

And with that, all the knights went up to Blighted Blood.

---

A lot happened, and I hella skimmed it all. Writing these are taking longer than I expected, and the plot is about to speed up. Oh, boy! Also, why is she a sir?