The air inside the chamber was thick with dust and the heavy scent of ancient stone. The team moved cautiously toward the altar at the center, their boots echoing against the vast marble floor. Towering columns lined the chamber, their surfaces adorned with intricate carvings of battles long past. The walls bore the scars of time, cracked and weathered, but the statues remained pristine—colossal stone warriors standing in silent vigil around the room.
A deep, ominous rumble filled the chamber.
The statues began to shift.
Dust cascaded from their joints as the enormous figures creaked to life. Their glowing eyes, once dim, flared with an eerie light. Each of the towering warriors stood nearly twenty meters high, their forms sculpted with masterful detail. They bore heavy armor, etched with sigils of forgotten deities, and gripped weapons large enough to cleave a man in two.
Lucian was the first to react, his keen senses warning him before the others. He shifted into a low stance, his trait, Void Blade, activating in a silent burst of darkness. Shadows coiled around his arm, forming an obsidian blade that pulsed with malevolent energy. Without hesitation, he lunged at the nearest statue, aiming for its knee. The blade sliced through the air with deadly precision, but upon contact, it barely scratched the surface of the stone.
"These're tougher than they look," Lucian muttered, narrowly dodging a massive stone fist as it came crashing down where he had stood moments ago.
"Defensive formation!" Garrett barked, his voice carrying the weight of command.
The team responded instantly. Elena, the team's Stormcaller, raised her hands, summoning a swirling vortex of electricity. She released a bolt of lightning at the nearest statue, the impact sending cracks spiderwebbing across its chest. But the construct barely faltered, stepping forward with relentless purpose.
"They're resistant to magic," she warned, her brow furrowing.
Garrett activated his Titan's Strength trait, his muscles swelling with raw power. He met one of the statues head-on, catching its descending greatsword with his bare hands. The impact sent a shockwave rippling through the chamber, the sheer force nearly knocking the others off their feet. With a guttural roar, he pushed back, forcing the statue to stagger.
Meanwhile, Mira weaved between the fighters, her Nature's Grace trait allowing her to move with preternatural agility. She knelt beside Jason, the team's scout, who had been knocked aside by a sweeping stone arm. With a flick of her wrist, green energy surrounded his wounds, sealing them within moments.
"You're good to go," she assured him.
Jason nodded, activating Phantom Step. His form flickered as he teleported behind one of the statues, driving his dagger into the joint of its shoulder. The stone groaned in protest, but the construct remained operational.
The battle raged on.
The statues moved with surprising agility despite their immense size. Their strikes were deliberate, methodical, forcing the team to remain on the defensive. Some warriors swung their colossal weapons in devastating arcs, forcing the team to dodge with precision. Others stomped the ground, causing tremors that sent loose debris flying.
Lucian gritted his teeth as he narrowly avoided another crushing blow. He countered with a flurry of strikes, focusing on weak points, but the statue's resilience was incredible. Even as chunks of stone fell away, it kept coming.
Elena shifted tactics, her hands crackling with wind energy. With a powerful thrust, she sent a gust of slicing air directly at the statue's knee joints. The stone cracked further, weakening its stance.
"Now!" she called.
Garrett seized the opportunity, rushing forward with a roar. He drove his fist into the weakened joint, shattering the knee and bringing the statue crashing to the ground. As it attempted to rise, Lucian's blade found its way to the exposed core within its chest, slicing through the mana-infused stone. The glow in its eyes flickered and died as it collapsed completely.
Mira, seeing another statue advancing on Adam, quickly conjured thick vines from the ground. The roots wrapped around the stone warrior's legs, momentarily halting its advance.
"Adam, now's your chance!" she shouted.
Adam, who had been analyzing the battle, suddenly sprinted forward. His Insight ability had allowed him to determine the exact weak points of the statues. He leaped onto the immobilized warrior, pressing his palm against the runes glowing faintly on its chest.
"They're drawing power from these inscriptions!" he yelled.
With a surge of energy, he disrupted the mana flow, causing the statue to freeze mid-motion. Garrett took the opportunity to drive his fist straight through its core, shattering the magical link keeping it alive. The statue crumbled into rubble.
Jason continued his rapid teleportation, striking from unexpected angles. The statues, unable to predict his movements, struggled to counter him. He delivered precise blows to their structural weaknesses, hastening their downfall.
The team was relentless. One by one, the statues fell, their once-imposing forms reduced to rubble.
As the last remaining construct charged forward in desperation, Lucian, Elena, and Garrett combined their efforts. Lucian used his Void Blade to carve deep fissures into the statue's limbs, slowing it down. Elena summoned a powerful wind vortex, lifting the heavy construct off balance. Garrett, taking advantage of the moment, delivered a final, devastating blow, shattering the stone warrior into countless fragments.
By the time the last construct crumbled, exhaustion weighed heavily upon them. Their breaths came in ragged gasps, sweat slicking their brows. Some bore minor wounds, but thanks to Mira, none were in critical condition.
They regrouped near the altar, wary and alert.
Adam turned to Garrett, his expression grave. "These statues weren't just guarding this place," he said. "They were stopping anyone from reaching the altar."
Garrett frowned, considering his words. "Then the real question is… why?"
Lucian wiped his blade clean, a knowing smirk tugging at his lips. "Guess we're about to find out."
As the dust settled, the altar began to glow faintly, the runes carved into its surface pulsing with an otherworldly energy.
Something was awakening.