"Well hello there, I don't think I've met a creature such as yourself in these parts." The blue ghostly apparition wore a large smile as it drifted in the wind, weightless as a feather. It was a cat, a large one with pale blue fur and black stripes striking across it.
Its body wasn't concrete, formed and solid as Mark was certain he could see through it.
The creature then disappeared from its spot startling Mark and appeared again just a few meters shy away from him.
"Did you think I deserted you? Oh you poor lonely thing."
Its voice was sly, there was a cunning to it, Mark was wary, but he felt no fear.
[Spirit Guardian] The Goddess's Eye recognized.
"You possess a semblance of Intelligence if I do say so myself. You possess the qualities to win the treasure of the temple… now a ruin."
'A temple?'
"Yes yes, I'm its guardian meant to protect it from those with evil hearts and to bestow permission for them to take their chances. It's been five hundred years since I last had a person go inside, and I've been bored out of my mind through that period, I can't leave the area where my creator has placed me, I'm bound by their magic, and my best chance for entertainment is coming across one such as yourself."
"Hmmm…"
"Don't you worry, I've left previous seekers to die, but I'll watch you myself and protect you before you get killed. That on my god Emon I swear."
"You really are desperate."
"And I take it that you aren't? Look at yourself… you would die in a couple of days if nothing drastically changes."
An eyebrow raised, what was he talking about?
"Am I Ill or something?" he blurted.
"Not that, you're hanging so tightly on your life after being here for a few days, what chances do you have when it becomes months?"
"Ohh"
The spirit cat with its ever present smile zoomed closer and phased through Mark, he went stiff at that moment and relaxed once the spirit phased out of him and leaned on his shoulder.
"There are great rewards to be won, and if you want to forfeit early, I'll give you the chance, my cold years are far beyond me now, I'll take whatever, so what do you say?"
Mark looked at the Cat's grin deliberating when a message popped into his mind.
Ding✓
[New Quest: Action and Serenity in the Ruin]
[Main Objective: Find the Temple's treasure for yourself]
[Reward: A new skill]
[Bonus Objective: Survive the temple for an hour]
[Reward: +10 Stamina]
Mark took in deep breaths and nodded to himself. He looked at the Spirit Guardian, and although he hadn't been around one before, nor did he know anything about them, he figured that the Spirit Guardian wasn't lying, and they were indeed great treasures to be won there.
Like the cat spirit had said, he needed to change his situation drastically.
"Take me there." He announced and the cat's mouth curved even more.
"Follow me."
Mark then began trailing behind the hovering cat, they went off path with tall trees and grasses in Mark's way.
The cat had no issues as it phased through every obstacle, Mark had to smack some plants aside so he could get passage, go around and above, and finally they got to the destination.
Large concrete structures stood on an expanse of green land, the grasses went short, nothing invasive and taking too large a space.
The plants had made their way across the temple riddling it with green here and there, almost everywhere.
Mark swallowed as he approached. He walked through the shallow sea of grass and once he stepped foot on the concrete floor of the temple, all the greenery, the weed that had stolen beauty from the place rescinded, like the soil had swallowed them.
"Oh oh oh!" He let out instinctively, like Santa Claus shaken by a kid's behavior.
The cat then stopped and turned to him, with its arms crossed.
"Once you cross the boundary on which I hover, you begin the trials for knowing if you're worthy of the Temple's treasure and unlike in the past, I'll keep my watchful eyes on you, there isn't many of you around that I'll be ok with you dying, and I've given you my word. Now, be most vigilant, some traps and challenges may come too swift for me to do anything and although I'm a Spirit Guardian under the god Emon, I have no power over lady death."
Once he heard the cat utter the word 'death', a chill ran through his spine, he had been close to dying a couple of times, and yet death seemed so far away from him now, he would always pull through was a belief he had since the goddess's appearance and it wasn't hubris on his part, neither was he reliant on the goddess's grace.
So why? Even he couldn't answer that.
Mark nodded acknowledging the spirit's statement, and he took his first step across the invisible boundary.
Mark didn't see it but once he did that, he felt a stroke of thin energy befall him.
He looked back to the transparent grass and the lush greenery behind him and took a deep breath.
He turned back to the temple, his brows slightly frowned in determination.
Two statues of winged lions sat on a column of concrete at his flanks and once he took a step, one which sank on the tile, the lions which faced the greenery behind turned with haste and spit fire at him.
The Goddess's blessing must have been in effect for he reflexively threw himself forward moving out of harm's way while the lions douse the place with flames.
Either that or he had great luck.