Rahz and his team knew what they had to do. There was no going home without defeating Lord Darick, No BBQ without clearing the 4 mode interchangeable kinetic cube, no sunlight without beating Master Assassin Chrysalis.
All the members of the team looked at each other and it was all it took for them to convey their feelings " I ain't no pussy, I'll show you Poak POak, Bitch"
The team had a couple of hours until the change in the field, so they decided to continue down the hall they were on at a little slower pace while looking for anything close to resembling a dark smoke. The second room brought out the importance of Elune and thanks to her new item, she was able to recast Eidolic Wards as fast as it was depleted. The new setting change the formation of the group. Riddick could be said to be a strict caster for the time being and with an assassin on the lose it was safe to say that he needed protection.
Rahz took the responsibility as the leader and move to the position at the front. He would be the first to experience the traps or challenges and that left the agile Midori bringing up the rear looking for any indication that the second Guardian would strike when they least expected. The next couple of halls were pretty simple, one was a long jump where if you happened to fall a pool of acid that could melt early level 30's would be waiting and the second left the team perplex. The whole hallway was dark as night and at the end of it was a set of stair going up and they were blindingly bright.
The road ended with a portal signifying the end of the easy road. Midori's instinct told her that inside those dark walls there was nothing but death waiting for them and she was right. Master Chrysalis was in fact an assassin but he took the more unusual route, that of the Ki weavers known as ninjas.
"Where there are shadows, There lies neverending opportunity" The Obsidian Order.
Rahz shook his head and said, "This is enough for today let's go back and meditate until the next beginner field"
The team turned around ready to leave but would Chrysalis let them return just after they walked so close to his ideal field.
Click... Clank... Clink... clank
swoosh!!
Star looking objects followed by a dark chain shot out from the dark floor similar to one of Riddick's chaos chains coming out of a magic portal. The chain came out from a hole on the floor and when it opened darkness started to flow inside. The whole thing looked like a shower drain but the team didn't have time to appreciate the skill because the chain quickly tied itself around Midori.
Midori felt a big pull towards the darkness but Chaos Fire started falling on top of the hole while Rahz quickly grabbed onto it and started pulling backwards. It was a Tug a War between Rahz and Midori that had managed to get her bearings back and Chrysalis.
RAITON!!!…. LIGHTNING SNAKE!!!
A Lightning Snake crawl along the chain and passed through Rahz's hands and on to Midori's body. Once again Rahz thanked the heavens for making Chrysalis Level 15 as a little higher his level and he could had been helpless. Rahz activated his chaos energy but it was a little late so Electric Current still managed to make him release the chain for a split second.
Midori's body moved immediately towards the darkness when Rahz had to let go of the chain, and the pressure of the team mounted.
"Riddick quick"
Riddick cover his hands with second level chaos fire and helped Rahz stop the chain from moving forward. It was now 2 vs 1 and with the element of surprise removed from the equation, it was easier for Elune to step in and remove the chain from Midori's body.
The lose chain was immediately wind up by master Chrysalis and came back into the floor.
RUN!!
The team back up into the previous hallway and tried to head back but the psychological warfare was won by the second guardian as the team slowed down even more. From time to time they would received some shuriken attacks and from time to time Dark smoke condensed behind one of the group members but nothing ended in a kill.
The team managed to return to the fire challenge despite being harrassed by Chrysalis the whole way but their happiness soon faded into oblivion.
Rumble!!!
Four walls pop out from the floor and encase the team while a bright light shone on them preventing Chrysalis from trying anything funny. All the team could see was the blinding light while in the outside, there were many changes happening.
" Changed 002 of 004, Moderate Difficulty Mode, Hmmm...Enjoy!!".
After all the changes were done and the field move towards the Next Level, the walls of the little room created to encase the team disappeared and they were finally able to see what had happened. The first thing that caught their attention was the fact that there was no longer a hall in from of them and no flame challenge, instead there was a wall stopping their advance and the hallway laid to the right. It was too late for Rahz and the others to regret, all they could do now was to rise above the challenge and survive.
The floor started moving underneath their feet and move them along the halls, if they wanted to stay in one place and wait, they had to walk against the conveyor belt like floors. It was now clear to the team why Mode 004 was call high speed as the floors will move them fast along the hallways and the traps and challenges would appeared at a high pace.
"Well is only mode 002 guys, lets start looking for the exit once more".
A year passed since Rahz uttered those words and they had never been able to return to the waiting room. Oddly enough, after they came into the Cube that fateful day, the field had not change into Mode 004 and it wasn't until the 6 month mark that it changed into mode 003. It was definitely the work of the mysterious voice that had giving them a chance, by the changes to a higher mode came the team were pretty much a fish in the water running around the halls and avoiding traps at a high speed. Even Master Chrysalis was not able to fluster them or gain an advantage anymore.
The Team's ability was day and night from the first time they arrived into the field and with the constant depleting of their Energy it had improve their levels. Rahz manage to reach Level 15 and had gained a new Skill called Chaos Mark. By Using one Chaos Rune he could place a Chaos mark on a surface that would detonate 5 seconds later.
Chaos mark was the kryptonite of master Chrysalis due to its flexibility and the ability to illuminate the areas that Chrysalis could used to ambush the team.
" I think that was the last portal, but how come we have not been able to find the road to the platform yet?"
The voice of the old guy responsible for the changes in the field had finally warmed up to the team and said, "The only way to get there is through mode 004, are you guys ready to try it?"
Rahz and the others looked at each other and nodded. It had been long time coming but their agility and fighting sense had been elevated to a new level.
"Changed 004 of 004, Extreme High Pace Field. Get to the portal and win"
The room started shaking and walls started to move around the area and if anybody pay attention the size was decreased by 30% from the previous mode. There was only one portal in the field and the team had a clear view of the stairs that led to it. Rahz and the others only had to pass through roughly 4 hallways and they would be home, however, it wasn't so simple.
The floor started moving at a high pace and the team started advancing towards the portal without having to do anything at all.
The fire trap started firing at a high pace as bolts were launched at the same time. The margin for error was none existent, if they got the timing wrong they would be the Fifth Gate residents for all eternity. Rahz took the lead like he had done many times in the past and started evading the fire while he used his Axe and chaos marks to change the trajectory of the bolts coming their way at a fast pace. The team followed behind him and it was like seeing 4 people dance in perfect coordination.
Rahz came out the other side of the flamethrowers and the smile on his face vanished abruptly. 15 ft away from him stood Master Chrysalis and the pressure he was giving off was nothing compared to before. The person standing in front of him made his hairs stand up and didn't show the flimsy personality of the past, it was time for the final bout.