The group had finally gathered back together. After a brief discussion, they understood the maze’s layout:

It was split into four regions, with one being the starting area and the other three being under the pit trap. Of those three, one contained tentacle monsters and was run by the tentacle person, one contained the pack of hell hounds and was run by Akolateronim, and the third contained all sorts of dangerous undead and the Guardian, as well as the exit.

Axehand and Horace had discovered the exit shortly after defeating the Guardian—that they claimed was underwhelming—but had returned to find their companions.

Now that everyone was back together and the maze was mostly cleaned of enemies, the group made a beeline for the exit and reached it easily. It was a door of white marble, striking against the maze’s black walls. The veins of black glass that ran all over the maze seemed to be focused here, and the doorframe—also made of black glass—was so packed with energy it shone purple.

There was also a sizable lock on the door. They had found no key, but the door swung open after a few polite knocks by Axehand, revealing the space beyond.

They found a large empty space, far larger than expected in an underground environment. The ceiling rose at least fifteen feet high, while the walls made a circle with a diameter of around fifty feet. There were also broken skeletons sprawled around the edge of the room as if something had smashed them into the walls so hard they died—a somewhat ominous sign.

This was an unreasonably large room, which was probably only built to accommodate the device in its midst.

The fake Prism was a large black crystal the size of a child. It released power in slow, regularly-spaced pulses, shining completely purple every time it did. The ripples echoed off the far-off walls and spread around the room, creating an environment so saturated with death energy that Laura found it hard to breathe.

“I will wait outside,” she said hurriedly. “This is too much.”

“Yes,” Jerry replied with a nod, “let’s not risk it. This will only take a moment, anyway. Axehand?”

The skeleton grunted as he took a step forth, raising small amounts of fine, white dust—the entire floor was covered in it. He slowly reached the crystal, resting his eyes on its black, shiny surface.

The crystal was covered in mystical, tiny veins woven in intricate patterns, and it contained several items Axehand could not make heads or tails of, as well as faint white lines that connected them all.

It seemed like the world’s most delicate and complex item. Axehand raised an axe to smash it to bits.

Laura had been planning to leave, but she’d stayed a few seconds longer to watch. She finally broke out of her reverie, realizing this might unleash death energy she wasn’t prepared to endure. She turned around to leave.

“Um, guys?” she asked. “Who closed the door?”

“What are you—”

Jerry turned to find that the door had closed. As heavy as it was, nobody had heard it move.

“Oh,” he said. “This can’t be good.”

Horace’s eyes sharpened. Axehand’s axe fell on the crystal…and with a plink, the axe flew back! The skeleton grunted as he looked at his arm.

“Overcharge him, Jerry,” Horace said quickly, and Jerry complied, but it was too late. Just as Axehand pulled back for another strike, this time using his full power, the entire room shook. The fine dust on the floor moved with it, rippling as it rose in waves, and one wave struck Axehand, managing to push him back.

But it was only sand, and he was Axehand. Pushing him should have been impossible.

“Break it!” shouted Jerry and Axehand lunged forth again, but the dust didn’t want to calm down. More and more of it rose into the air, whipping like a typhoon as it encircled the crystal and hid it from everyone’s eyes. Axehand reached through to strike the crystal but missed—it was no longer there!

“It’s flying!” said Horace. “It’s floating in the dust tornado!” He launched three arrows in a row, but each was pulled off-course by the dust.

Axehand prepared to jump when everything shook again. The skeletons around the room rose shakily, each missing at least a limb, and they instantly broke down into bones. The bones flew into the tornado, joining it, and Axehand retreated as it expanded, not wanting to be caught inside it. As strong as he was, there was nothing he could do if suspended in mid-air.

Horace tsked. “This is a problem,” he said.

The tornado began to stabilize. The bones seemed to move on their own, assembling on top of each other to form suspicious shapes, and the tornado bent to fit inside them. Slowly, a monster was revealed, and as it did, it roared.

Everyone’s eyes widened. Nobody knew who said it, but they all shared the same thought: “Oh, shit!”

A bone monstrosity occupied the center of the room. It stood fifteen feet tall, thrice a regular person’s height. Its body was made of bones, and filling it was a maelstrom of fine dust—it was now obvious that the fine white dust was ground bones.

The monstrosity had a humanoid shape but its skull was devilish with two short horns sticking out. Its long arms ended in sharp claws, and it was impressively slim and athletic, giving an impression of speed that such a large creature shouldn’t have the right to possess. It also had a long tail trailing behind it, ending in a razor-sharp appendage.

“Woah,” said Jerry, stepping back. “What the hell is that?”

“A bone monstrosity,” replied Laura, gritting her teeth. “I’ve seen a few before, but nothing like this… Only Arakataron could have created it!”

“And it’s protecting the fake Prism,” said Boney. “Laura, if we destroy the crystal, will this thing collapse?”

“Probably. It’s either that or breaking every bone in its body.”

“Hah, good one.”

“This is not the time for jokes!” she replied quickly. “That thing can slaughter us all!”

“It can certainly try.” Horace drew a few arrows, nocking them all at once. “My arrows can’t penetrate the dust, but they can break a few bones.”

“Axehand can—”

The monstrosity didn’t give them any more time. It charged.

Axehand was at its feet and didn’t back down. Already overcharged and at the peak of his power, he met it head-on. The monstrosity’s claws whistled through the air, faster than most people could react, but the twin axes were there to stop them.

The two collided with a rattling bang, multiple bones breaking off as they couldn’t stand the force. Despite being overcharged, Axehand barely managed to defend; he even stumbled, and crimson flames immediately flared in his eye sockets. This thing was a worthy opponent at the very least. It had challenged him, and now, he would rather perish than step back.

The broken bones didn’t affect the monstrosity much. They flew back to their original positions, quickly rearranging into a more robust shape. Layers upon layers of bones formed a massive fist to resist Axehand’s attacks, sending cold sweat down everyone’s backs.

This thing wasn’t only strong, it could adapt too!

“What a terrifying creature…” Jerry wet his lips. “Arakataron… The gap between me and the peak is larger than I’d realized.”

Boney stepped beside him. “I will protect you, Master!” he said, drawing a sword.

“Thank you, Boney, but I think you and I can do nothing here.”

Jerry’s soul had already probed the creature and found nothing. The bones weren’t controlled by soul ties. This thing wasn’t controlled through necromancy, or at least not the necromancy he knew.

The creature’s demonic head released a harsh, grating sound like nails on glass. Rearing a fist back, it slammed it down on Axehand, who had to dodge out of the way. The creature was enraged. It turned its entire body towards the double-skeleton, and boulder-sized punches rained down like a landslide.

Axehand was struggling. No matter how hardy he was, the force of these strikes was cataclysmic. The monstrosity was denting the rock below him, making his footing unstable. Maybe he could survive one strike, but definitely not two.

He weaved between the punches like a fly, dodging by a hair’s breadth. When forced, he used his axes to parry the strikes, not daring to meet them head-on, and even the parry made his entire body release cracking sounds.

And the worst thing was that the monstrosity was still adapting. The edge bones of its fists left to reinforce its body, exchanging power for speed. Axehand could hold on…but for how long?

Horace stepped forth. “Listen to me,” he commanded sternly. “I and Axehand will handle that thing. The rest of you stand back. Understood?”

Jerry nodded reluctantly. He wanted to help, but there was nothing he could do against this thing. Everything came down to good old brute force.

As Jerry and the rest of his undead stepped back, only Horace was left. His wiry body went taut. His left hand clenched the bow as his sharp eyes tracked the monstrosity’s movements, capturing minute changes to identify its patterns. For a few moments, he stood still like a rock, only staring—but with each second that passed, his eyes grew sharper.

Axehand was desperately enduring a rain of blows, but he was not afraid. His movements were aggressive even under the pressure, absorbing the damage as he scoured the monstrosity for weaknesses.

Horace’s eyes shone and he finally pulled his bowstring. He was ready.

Axehand’s eye-flames flared as he dodged a strike by the narrowest of margins. He was ready.

The two strong hunters were cooperating. Two sharp gazes fell on the monstrosity—and, for a moment, it shuddered.

A fist of bones descended, but an arrow struck its ribs accurately and blasted it aside. Axehand barely managed to alter his trajectory, and he spared a glare for Horace, who smirked.

Work around me. Let’s team up, he seemed to be saying, and the double-skeleton grunted in irritation.

Just this once, he seemed to reply. Horace smiled.

Just this once.

The monstrosity growled in fury. Its punches accelerated, but the two hunters were now harmonizing. Arrows intercepted the most dangerous punches, sending them out of Axehand’s way, and the double-skeleton dodged the rest. Their coordination wasn’t perfect, of course, but they were getting there.

Finally, a fist of bones completely missed the mark, and Axehand had a moment to breathe. Coincidentally, he was right beside one of the monstrosity’s legs. He stared. The leg towered there, thick and steady like an old tree.

The world’s best lumberjack would have none of that. In his mind, the room turned into a forest clearing, and the bone leg turned into a lone tree that seemed to mock him.

An axe smashed heavily into the leg, sending bones flying and making the entire monstrosity shake as it almost fell over. Axehand reared back for another strike, humming a jolly tune, when the leg went away.

The monstrosity turned, faster than he’d thought possible, and a lumbering tail was suddenly heading Axehand’s way. There was no time to dodge. He raised both axes vertically to block it, and as soon as they made contact, he knew that was a mistake.

Axehand was launched back at tremendous speed, smashing against the far wall and forming a massive indentation. “Axehand!” yelled Jerry, but his voice was covered by the monstrosity’s triumphant roar.

It turned to look at Horace, and it pounced.