The bright lightning blade pierced through the air, and Oscar leaped atop his deer anima, landing and running across the shaft of the polearm. Though the lightning was mainly concentrated on its tip, parts coursed through the pole. Oscar was unbothered by this as his deer anima continued to run with the electricity crackling around its metallic hooves.

The air was a torrent of lightning and wind, but Oscar maintained his 'Silver Sheen' to protect himself from the elements.

Suddenly, he felt the polearm moving, and he was flung higher into the air. The bronze ape was fast with its arms and tried to stab Oscar in mid-air, but Frederick and Emily came through together at the opening created by its wide swing.

Riding upon the speed of Frederick's wind, Emily twisted and turned around the molten pools, building up power for her strike. With 'Kinetic Core' and 'Weight Boost', she swung her two staffs onto the heel of the bronze ape. However, she trembled in shock at how the massive construct did not move a single inch.

Her instincts screamed at her to dodge, and she managed to kick off the ape's foot and do a backflip away. The blunt end of the polearm sped across through her vision in a blur as the sands erupted from its destructive path. She would have been crushed to a pulp if she had been a moment slower.

"Fred!" Oscar yelled from up high, and Frederick nodded.

Frederick strode ahead with everything he had, unleashing a flurry of slashes across the bronze ape's legs, but none inflicted any damage. Frederick cursed and continued attacking while drawing the bronze ape's attacks to allow Oscar to make his move.

Above, Oscar dove down with his Treble Lance and landed right on the dome of the bronze ape's head. However, instead of the result he had hoped for, Oscar stared in shock at the three silver lances breaking apart. The bronze ape was a true monster to withstand all three of their attacks.

"This golem is unnaturally tough. I don't think it was meant for Elite Exalts." Oscar said as he dodged another swing and rejoined his friends. They continued fighting with all they had, but their efforts were futile as the bronze ape never relented, nor did it back down. Instead, they were on the back foot and slowly losing the battle of attrition.

"Gol-4, do you know what it is?" Oscar panted. He couldn't believe that his attacks didn't even phase the golem.

"I'm sorry, but all my attempts to learn about it were blocked. The only piece that was public was its servitude to the Forest Heart Clan." Gol-4 replied.

"The golem remained here for a reason. There should be a way to defeat it." Emily felt her body heating up from the increasing number of molten pools. She used her 'Drowning Sand' to cover and fill up those pools until they became burnt patches of dirt, giving them more ground. Then she smiled, and her eyes shone.

"How about we try something else?" Emily laughed.

"Oh no, what is that laugh? What idiotic plan do you have?" Frederick twitched.

"Let's combine everything we have!" Emily replied as they dodged more of the polearms and molten rain.

"Combine…" Oscar pondered.

"Follow my lead!" Emily stamped her staff on the ground and tossed her anima, Oscar. "Fred, use your Guststream to allow my staff to follow through. Oscar, throw my staff anima with all you have."

"I understand," Oscar smiled and filled Emily's staff with all the Reis he could muster, and the anima began to shine with a bright orange glow from all the Ein that Emily poured into it. He felt the staff get heavier from the 'Weight Boost', and the screech of the spinning 'Kinetic Core' rang through his ears, but he threw with all his might.

He didn't use 'Shattering Wave' because of the risk of pouring it into an anima, but the Reis was enough as it shot across, through Frederick's Guststream, and rammed itself onto the throat of the bronze ape.

The resulting blow blew away the lightning and winds, letting the air become still as it once was before. However, Oscar and the others watched in fear as the staff anima did not do any damage to the statue. Emily knelt from exhaustion and cursed at how unreasonable this was.

The bronze ape slowly moved its arm, and they tensed up. However, it stuck its polearm into the ground and straightened its back.

"It stopped moving?" Oscar stared at the bronze ape golem. It stood tall with its polearm facing straight up, reflecting the sunlight off its clean blade, like the guards in the Blue Ocean Pavilion. Feeling something was off, Oscar cautiously approached the large golem with Gol-4 next to him, but the bronze ape did not respond even when he reached the soles of its feet.

"You may pass!" The bronze ape shouted and tapped its polearm on the throne, which began to glow brightly. The entire rocky hill and the ground under Oscar's feet began to tremble and quake as he heard something moving and gears turning.

In front of the throne, the sands parted, and large stone blocks revealed themselves, splitting open like a sliding gate and showing a stairway. The stairway was made of silver metal, shining brightly and contrasting with the golden sand. Oscar, Emily, and Frederick were in awe at the ancient stairway, wondering what may lie inside its mysterious depths.

"What is this?" Oscar murmured.

His small whispers did not escape the bronze ape's attention as it hummed and said loudly, "This is the Repository of the Elements. Step inside and undergo the test."

"A test? What kind of test is this?" Gol-4 levitated over to the bronze ape golem.

"You will see when you enter. My role is finished." The bronze ape waved its polearm over to urge Oscar and the others to enter the stairway, but they had their concerns about it. There was no telling what lay there, and the idea of another test made them wary.

"You are a golem of the Divine Stone Clan. You must tell me. What is this place? And what is its history?" Gol-4 tried to connect to the bronze ape's artificial core again, thinking it might be easier to undo what the Forest Clan had done since it was idle. However, his hopes fell short as he rebounded through the air from failure to link to its artificial core, caught by Oscar.

"I serve the Forest Heart Clan. I guard the gate to the Repository of the Elements and allow the worthy to enter. Anything else is inconsequential." The bronze ape said.

"Gol-4. It's hopeless. Unfortunately, it's too far gone." Oscar held Gol-4 tightly because the golem was starting to struggle out of his grip.

"No. There must be a way. We can't leave one of the Divine Stone Clan's works in such a state." Gol-4 tried to fly out, but Oscar maintained a firm hold on him.

"I'm sorry, Gol-4." Frederick tapped his sword on the bronze ape, who remained still. He stared at the spot only to find it was spotless. "This golem is too strong. It didn't take a nick of damage from our attacks."

"It would have made a great ally if we could fix it. What a shame…." Emily remarked. She swung her staff with all her remaining might against the still bronze ape, but it did not budge. Instead, she felt her arms trembling as pain coursed through her body from how hard the ape was.

"We should rest before we enter this place. Who knows what we'll have to face in the test?" Emily sat down and started to meditate, followed by Frederick and Oscar, who still held Gol-4 in a vice grip.

Gol-4 let out a mechanical sigh. "Damned Forest Heart Clan."

After several hours, Oscar and the others recovered and shared a meal. The large sun was starting its descent, and the night was settling. Up in the sky, Oscar saw there were no stars, only the darkness of the void and a single pale moon that barely illuminated the realm, leaving it in near-total darkness.

If not for the fire they had started with an elixir, they wouldn't be able to see each other.

"Let's head inside," Oscar felt the winds picking up and the sandstorms getting fiercer, choking out the fire and making it impossible for them to sleep soundly. Since there was not much comfort in sleeping outside, Oscar judged they could start the test.

He ran down the ancient stairs and immediately felt a sense of relief. Emily and Frederick came after him, and they, too, showed pleasant surprise. The stairway was cool, and the sandstorms could not enter it as if a barrier existed to prevent it.

Oscar removed his fabricator helmet and soaked in the refreshing air, smiling widely. Here, the harsh desert environment did not exist, nor could it penetrate inside, leaving only comfort and relief. However, he held onto his focus and carefully trod down the stairs with his bulwark at the ready as the vanguard of their group.

"I can see the end of the stairs," Frederick tapped Oscar's shoulder, indicating for him to stop. His green Ein flowed and summoned his green hawk anima. The hawk anima flew into the opening at the end of the stairs, connecting to his vision, a useful scout.

"Well? What's the room like?" Emily asked.

"It's a chamber with some circular pads. I don't see anything dangerous, but it could be a trap." Frederick responded.

After some deliberation, Oscar and the others walked carefully into the room at the end of the stairs. The whole place had elevated circular pads all over the floor, reminding Oscar of the landing port in the Pavilion. The room did not have any distinct markings or engravings on its walls, appearing like a normal room.

Slowly, Oscar stepped onto the circular pad, but nothing happened. He walked further inside, followed by the others, but there were signs of the test the bronze ape mentioned. Then a sudden burst of light came and went in a second.

"Emily?!" Frederick shouted.

Oscar turned and saw that Emily was missing, leaving only him and Frederick in this room. His eyes widened as they darted all over the room, trying to find any clues to Emily's disappearance.

"Emily!" Frederick's Ein burst out, and he stared around coldly with his twin swords at the ready. He didn't know what took her, and a chill expelled from him, radiating a fierce intent to kill.

"Calm down!" Oscar tried to go to Frederick, but another flash of light enveloped the room. Opening and rubbing his eyes, Oscar saw he was alone in the room. Frederick had disappeared. With a confused gaze, he turned to Gol-4. "Gol-4, what is this?"

"Teleportation!" Gol-4 exclaimed.

"Huh?" Oscar tried to move but found his feet were stuck, and another flash of light took him. He felt his stomach squeezing, and his yells echoed across the weird distorted space until he dropped to his knees in an unfamiliar place.

"This place is?"

The ground beneath was bolted down metal plates, the walls were blocks of rusted iron, and the pillars were steel—a grand hall of metal.

In another place, Emily stared at a rocky terrain with large spiky crystals protruding like trees. In this place, she felt heavy, as if the earth was dragging her feet.

As for Frederick, he ended up on an invisible floating platform. He saw a vast forest through the invisible floor, but the distance was so great that the trees looked like tiny shrubs. Then a fierce gale blew in all directions, whipping around his green hair.

A voice resounded across all three locations.

"The Test of the Elements has begun!"