Finding Fate

I brushed my hand along a jagged piece of rock in the opening of the temple. Lloyd stepped inside and let out a sound of awe.

"What's there?"

"This place-" I joined him and felt a foreign feeling rush through my veins, "-radiates power." The feeling spiralled up my spine, causing my body to shiver and my fingers to tingle.

"It's-"

"Just a cave," Harumi said, joining us with a bored roll of her eyes. I bit my tongue and grimaced.

The cave was large, and its floor practically didn't exist except for the skinny pillars that stood on angles. Anything below the pillars was pitch black, aside from some purple substance. It was woven into the walls that sparkled and glistened. It was beautiful.

Lloyd prepared to jump on a pillar, and I grinned, shifting into a bird. He landed with very little space to spare. Harumi jumped to a nearby one. Her balance faltered, my heart leaping in my chest as she shrieked before centring herself on the pillar. I let out a sigh of relief. Even if she was getting on my nerves, she was still my sister.

I spotted the stairs and began to fly over, but Lloyd called out,

"Wait! Don't touch the stairs yet! If the last mask is here, it won't come easily. Trust me, I've had my share of deadly tombs." I halted and hovered over the stairs. He turned to Harumi, "Follow my every step." He jumped on two pillars and on the third, it crumbled underneath himself.

"Lloyd!"

He jumped to an adjacent pillar.

"Okay. Don't touch anything with that symbol on it." He pointed at an odd infinity sign. "Where is the safest way for us to make it to the stairs?" Lloyd asked me and I flew closer to the pillars, mapping out a route.

"If you follow the–" The temple began to shake and I whipped my head over to Harumi.

"What's happening?"

"I don't know! I didn't touch anything," she said, her voice wavering.

"Lloyd, the exit!" I pointed to the exit as it began to close.

"No!" she whined as Lloyd hastily jumped back. "No, no, no, no, no!" The jaws of the cave closed with a thud.

Lloyd sighed. "Guess there's no turning back now."

"We're almost there. Just follow me."

Harumi and Lloyd followed me as I flew across the tops of the pillars. I was instructed not to touch the stairs until they had both jumped up; Lloyd was right. As soon as Lloyd had jumped onto the stairs, it began to crumble at his feet.

I flew into the tunnel, shifting back and Harumi screamed. The stairs had fallen from under her and she held onto the stable part of the tunnel.

"Grab my hand," I told her, reaching down to help her up. She looked up at me, terror etched into her features before swinging her free hand up to mine. "Lloyd! Grab her other hand!"

He waited for me to bring one of her arms onto the ledge before taking her other and pulling her up.

"You okay?" he asked breathlessly and she rolled onto her back.

"Yes, but it's hard to see," Harumi said out of breath and stood up. Lloyd picked up a nearby torch and lit it with his powers. We travelled down the tunnel which opened up into a circular room. Four large pillars made of rock stood in a square in the middle, and in the middle of them was a cluster of a purple substance.