The deep mist was so thick that they could not even see what was deep below.
Even Thane, with his eyes, could see nothing.
"Hm?" Thane wondered.
"Let us rest for now. But once we have our strength restored, we must risk the danger and go down." Serpahina decided.
"The endless skeletons might be protecting whatever is in here. Which means, if we get it, then we might find our chance to escape or use whatever power is in here to fight back." Seraphina decided.
"We are your sword and shield. We will not succumb to the mist again!" The knight ordered.
Stratus and Salya kept quiet, but a clear distrust was in their eyes.
"Hm... About that... There are too many strange things about this place." Thane mused.
"First, why is the mist not reaching this place? Secondly, are we certain that there are still skeletons down there?" Thane asked.
"What do you mean? You heard them..." Stratus answered.
"Actually, when I came here, there were no skeleton warriors. I just saw the bones on the floor. And it all rose! Was that the same with you?"
Seraphina was surprised.
"It was. You mean, when you came here, there were no skeletons marching around?" Seraphina confirmed.
"Right."
"Is that important?" Vayne asked.
"It is! And that means, there is hope. You see, if there are skeletons down there, then they would have been summoned by a spell! But if there is none, then it means it was summoned! It was magically animated!" Stratus answered.
"Right... It means that whatever is controlling it does not have an infinite source of mana! It dispelled it!" Seraphina explained.
"Then... we should go now!" Salya grabbed her gear.
"Wait. Let's not be too hasty. There are still other ways we can resolve the issue. Ask yourself, why is there no mist here? It reached all the way up to the entrance of the water fall! And that place was far higher than this floor! Yet the mist does not reach it!" Thane explained.
Seraphina's eyes widened.
Almost immediately, Stratus and Seraphina began to cast a spell to brighten the area.
One used light, the other fire.
Both quickly ran around the room to observe every corner of it.
"What... is going on?" Vayne asked.
"Thane is right! There must be something in here that is repelling the mist! If we find that source, we might be able to use it against the magic that lurks in this place!" Seraphina explained.
As the light appeared on the room, Thane saw through his eyes that the holy energy of Seraphina was being absorbed by the bells!
Thane saw the bell and closely examined it.
A strange power was trembling from within the bell. The moment Thane touched it, his perception allowed him to sense how the magic entered the bell. And for a moment, Thane felt a familiar joy, a familiar sense of hope.
"Holy...?" Thane felt the power radiate.
All of a sudden, Thane suddenly understood what had happened.
"This bell... is this a seal? Then that means..." Thane quickly checked the large hole on the ceiling.
It was only known that he realized that the hole in the floor didn't show signs that the bell had fallen and broke through the floor, but something from below rose!
"It's trying to break free!" Thane recalled that the bell that had fallen was more damaged, and even parts of it seemed to have been melted off!
"So the angel attacked the bells to weaken the seals!" Thane realized.
"Princess!" Thane called out.
The Princess was surprised at Thane's sudden cry.
"I figured it out! This is seal! The bell holds the seal in this place! Cast your holy spell on the bell!"
"My holy spell?"
"Yes! Looks!" Thane went down and held the bell's massive chain that connected to the metal rod inside.
With a strong pull, the bell's metal rod swung and struck the bell.
GOOOOOONNNNNGGG!
A beautiful harmony was heard as the bell chimed.
GOOOOOOOONNNNGGG!
"Are you... Sure that this is working?" Vayne asked skeptically.
"Stratus, shoot a fireball down the mist! You'll see!" Thane chuckled as he made another pull.
He could see the magic being released with his supreme perception. And the resounding melody was dispersing the mist!
Stratus chanted and harnessed a small fireball.
"Lumina Flame!" Stratus cast the spell, and the fireball shot down the hole.
It burst into a powerful flash, leaving cinders floating everywhere. The dark and misty place was revealed.
As Thane said, there were no skeletons, and the mist was dispersing.
GOOOOOONNNGGG!
"Princess! Add your holy to the bell! These bells have been weakened!"
Seraphina nodded as she saw the effects of the bell. She held her hand out.
Unlike the chant of Stratus, Seraphina began to utter a prayer.
As she prayed, the light began to gather around her and created a cross before her.
"Let your light shine!"
At her declaration a bright beam shot forth towards the Bell.
But instead of being 'attacked' by the light, the bell began to greedily absorb the light.
The remaining three bells also began to light up.
"Ring it!" Thane ordered as he pulled.
Stratus, Vayne, and Salya pulled the chains.
But to Stratus's surprise, she couldn't pull the chains strongly enough!
Vayne and Salya showed their class differences and managed to ring it.
Vayne quickly moved, thinking that the chains that Stratus was pulling got stuck, but realized that they had the same resistance.
"That boy..." Vayne was shocked. It proved that Thane's strength was close to his!
"Hand me that chain!" Vayne ordered, and Stratus gave him the other chain.
With two chains on hand, Vayne tugged the two bells. Four harmonious bells rang out, and each ring of the bell now began to produce a faint light.
Many glyphs around the wall that were invisible at first began to appear.
A great howl was heard from within the deeper chambers of the temple.
BOOOOOM!
A booming and thrashing sound was heard.
"The Mist is vanishing! Princess! Your light is filling the temple!" Stratus reported.
From the room where the bell continued to ring, a bright light was coursing through the walls below. Each glyph began to light up with a great golden light.
"NNNNOOOOOO!" An enraged cry was heard, and the trembling grew worse.
From the depths of the room, a thick red light flowed on the walls and floor and began to light up the glyphs.
The bones where the red lights passed by began to move as they turned into skeletons. But this time, the bones were all gathering into one spot.
"What's going on?!"
"It's creating a giant!" Thane could see where all the magic gathered, and through his vision, he could see a gigantic figure standing up, and all the bones were gathering towards it.
"Keep ringing! Princess, keep shooting that light! Stratus, we have to go down there and stop that... thing!" Thane quickly grabbed on the rope that was tossed down. He tied it to a pillar nearby, and without any hesitation, Thane leaped down!
Stratus was shocked at Thane's action.
"Stratus! Follow the boy! I can sense it! The evil power within is desperate and is trying to destroy the seals!"
"Ooof.... The boy..." Thane heard it and was hurt even before he landed on the ground.
Stratus quickly acted and followed Thane, jumping down using the rope.
But even as Stratus was falling, she had already started her chant, and several fireballs gathered around her.
"Explosive Flame!" She shouted.
Three fireballs shot at the gathering bones.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
But as the smoke settled, the gathering bones were undamaged!