Legends of Cubarlos

Chapter Eight

Yuuki walked with the hood over her head to protect her from the sun’s rays, her feet scuffing the sand as she walked. Saizo walked behind her, grumbling under his breath about it being hot. Yuuki’s face had blood splatters on it and Saizo had his sword draped across his shoulders, blood dripping from it. Yuuki went ahead and took out some of the monsters for Yuuna, hoping to keep her safe. The temple wasn’t far now so Yuuki picked up the pace. She wanted to get there before Yuuna so she could appear before Yuuna released the seal. She was hoping, deep down, that Yuuna would believe her words. If not, living as long as she had would have been pointless. Yuuki looked up and her eyes widened when she saw large stone pillars coming up from the sand.

“Found it,” she panted and Saizo grunted.

“It’s about time. I’m about to have a heat stroke,” Saizo muttered. Yuuki ignored his complaints and kept walking. She was amazed that the temple was easily found but then again the Earth temple and this Fire temple were awfully close together. Everything has been planned out delicately, Yuuki thought with disgust. Yuuki came up to the pillars and noticed that the temple was in ruins, stones here and there buried within the sand. A small cobblestone path with the pillars on each side led up to a platform with a stone roof hanging over it. Yuuki walked up the steps and saw in the entrance was leading underground. Her eyes darted to the side to see the pedestal to the left of the entrance. The entrance was sealed with a giant stone slab.

“It’s closed off,” Saizo said and Yuuki rolled her eyes as he stated the obvious.

“It’ll open with me,” Yuuki said quietly. “But it won’t stay open long, so hurry in once it opens.” Saizo nodded as Yuuki walked over to the pedestal, placing her hand on the surface of it. The platform shook as the door slid opened and Saizo rushed in, Yuuki quickly trailing behind him as it shut behind her with a boom. The passage was pitch black and Yuuki felt uneasy walking down stairs in the dark. Saizo lit a small match and walked down the stairs, Yuuki following him in the dim light. The stairs dragged on and Yuuki found herself wondering how much time had passed. Finally a doorway appeared that lit up the room beyond it and Saizo shook out the match as Yuuki took the lead.

“I smell lava,” Saizo said as he scrunched up his nose.

“I’m surprised they didn’t build this temple in a freaking volcano,” Yuuki muttered. “We are pretty far underground.”

“Why did they put the temple in the middle of the desert?” Saizo growled. Yuuki shrugged her shoulders.

“Perhaps the heat outside represents fire. I can’t say for certain,” Yuuki said as she examined the walls. She took a deep breath and walked down the corridor. They came upon a two-way street and Yuuki narrowed her eyes.

“A maze?” Saizo asked curiously.

“A test,” Yuuki said with a small smile. She placed her hand on her crest and black light shot from it, pointing to the right passage. “This should be pretty easy to find the altar.” Guided by the light from her stone, Yuuki followed it through the small underground mazes, torches lighting the path and finally came upon a gigantic door that led to the altar. Torches were on either side of the door and Yuuki removed her hood.

“Can you open this one?” Saizo asked looking at her through the corners of his eyes. Yuuki snorted and smiled at the ground.

“Unfortunately, I can’t. This is where we wait.”

“Where to wait though,” Saizo said looking around. “There’s not a decent place to hide ourselves.”

“The top of the door,” Yuuki said looking up. “It looks like it has a small ledge. We’ll stay up there and wait for her.”