The heavy stone door creaked open, revealing the ominous fifth level of the prison, a dark, suffocating corridor lined with thick iron bars.
The air reeked of dampness and despair, and from the cells, faint whispers and groans echoed - the sound of high-level criminals who had long been forgotten, their bodies half-starved, their minds teetering on the edge of sanity.
In the dim torchlight, a tall figure stood at the far end of the corridor - the Jailor. He was no ordinary guard. Draped in dark, sand-colored armor infused with ancient runes, his presence radiated a cruel authority. His eyes, like burning amber, gleamed with a merciless intelligence.
Flanking him were five elite Sand guards, each bearing enchanted weapons, their expressions blank but their movements precise - trained killers loyal only to Dune.
Peggy tightened her grip on her sword, her usual confidence now a little more strained. "They brought out the big guns."
Glacius narrowed his eyes. "And here I thought breaking into a fortress would be fun."
Yuki, sensing the overwhelming danger, instinctively stepped back. Glacius caught her arm, his voice firm but soft. "Yuki, hide. If you get caught, this is over."
She hesitated, biting her lip, but then nodded. She moved swiftly, tucking herself into a dark crevice between two empty cells, her heart pounding.
The Jailor's voice rumbled like grinding stone. "Intruders... Prince Kairo's allies, I presume?" His lips curled into a sinister smirk. "You should know this floor is not meant for escape - only for punishment."
Without another word, the battle erupted.
The five elite guards moved like a sandstorm - fast, relentless, and coordinated. Glacius barely dodged a blade of hardened sand slicing through the air, countering with a blast of ice that encased the weapon but did little to slow the guard down.
Peggy fought two at once, her strikes fierce but defensive. "These guys are faster than the sand constructs!" she shouted.
Glacius gritted his teeth. "They're not just soldiers - they're Dune's handpicked elites. This is going to get messy."
The Jailor didn't move - he merely observed, his glowing runes pulsing softly, waiting for the right moment to strike.
Meanwhile, the battle above the prison raged on.
Arson's flames roared against Dune's sandstorms, the sky a violent swirl of fire and grit. Every time Arson unleashed a torrent of heat, Dune countered with a wall of hardened sand.
Sylvia weaved vines through the ground, attempting to trip Dune or block his movements, but his control over the sand was so refined that he simply shifted the terrain beneath his feet.
"You're relentless," Dune growled, blocking another of Arson's fiery blasts. "But you -" he turned his gaze to Sylvia - "how can you stand beside the one who burns everything you create?"
Sylvia didn't flinch. "Because destruction and creation are two sides of the same coin."
Arson smirked, his flames dancing at his fingertips. "The destroyer can't exist without the creator. And the creator needs the destroyer to protect what she rebuilds."
Dune's expression darkened, his rage bubbling beneath the surface. "Pathetic. You think balancing each other makes you strong?"
Sylvia held firm, standing shoulder to shoulder with Arson. "It's what makes us unstoppable."
Their synchronized attacks intensified - Arson's fire would carve through Dune's sand walls just enough for Sylvia's vines to slip through, breaking his defenses bit by bit.
Back in the prison, Glacius and Peggy were struggling. The elite guards adapted quickly, using sand shields to block attacks and shifting their forms like fluid weapons.
Glacius wiped blood from a cut on his cheek. "We're not winning this by brute force."
Peggy ducked under a whip of sand. "Then what's the plan, strategist?"
Glacius's mind raced. He noticed that the Jailor wasn't attacking - just watching.
"He's the key," Glacius muttered. "The Jailor's runes - they might be connected to the elite guards' movements."
Peggy's eyes lit up. "So take him down, and the rest might fall apart?"
Glacius nodded. "Or at least lose their coordination."
But getting to the Jailor wouldn't be easy - not with five deadly guards standing in the way.
Hidden in her corner, Yuki clutched her chest, fear gnawing at her. "Kairo... please hold on."
_ _ _
Glacius launched ice spears with Peggy following up with Light Sword slashes.
Like that the battle on the fifth level continued, sand, light and ice clashing violently as Glacius and Peggy fought tooth and nail against the elite guards.
The Jailor still hadn't moved, standing like a statue at the end of the corridor, his glowing runes pulsing with an eerie rhythm, a constant reminder of the power he held over this floor.
Glacius, dodging a blade of compacted sand, finally pieced it together. "The runes - they're controlling the guards' movements!"
Peggy gritted her teeth, ducking under a spear of sand. "Then we cut the puppet strings!"
With a swift motion, Glacius summoned a jagged spike of ice, aiming not at the guards but at the Jailor's glowing runes. The ice shot forward like a frozen bullet, striking the Jailor's chest. The runes flared bright - then dimmed.
The guards faltered for a split second.
"Now!" Glacius roared.
Peggy unleashed a dazzling burst of magic, sending shimmering fairy dust spiraling into the weakened guards, knocking them back and disorienting them. Glacius followed up by freezing their feet to the ground, locking them in place.
The Jailor, enraged, finally moved - sand swirling around him like a living storm. "You dare-!"
But Glacius was already there, his fist encased in solid ice. "Too slow."
He struck the Jailor square in the chest, the icy impact shattering the last of the runes' glow. The Jailor collapsed, unconscious.
The elite guards, now severed from their magical link, collapsed too - weakened, their coordination broken.
Silence followed.
Breathing heavily, Peggy looked at Glacius. "Remind me never to doubt your strategies again."
Glacius gave a sly grin. "I told you it would get messy."
Yuki, still hiding, sensed the shift in the room and slowly emerged from her corner. "Are they... are they gone?"
Peggy wiped her brow. "For now. But we have to hurry."
At the end of the corridor, a massive iron door loomed - reinforced with ancient sand magic, glowing faintly with seals of imprisonment.
Glacius didn't hesitate. With a blast of freezing wind, he encased the door in a thick layer of ice. "Peggy-"
She raised her hand, magic swirling in her palm. "Got it."
With a combined attack - ice and fairy light intertwining - the frozen door shattered into pieces.
Inside, the cell was dark, colder than even Glacius's ice could make it.
And there, in the center of the room - shackled by thick chains glowing with a draining enchantment - was Kairo.
He was barely conscious, his head hanging low, dark blue hair matted with blood. His once-proud form was slumped against the wall, and his clothes - once symbols of Aqua royalty - were torn and soaked in his own blood.
The chains binding him weren't ordinary. They pulsed with a cruel magic designed to suppress his powers, every pulse seemingly sapping his strength. His wrists were raw, deep cuts from the struggle, and his breathing was shallow.
Yuki didn't need sight to feel the overwhelming pain radiating from him.
"Kairo..." she whispered.
Her heart broke at the sound of his ragged breathing. Tears streaming down her face, she rushed forward, kneeling in front of him.
Kairo barely stirred, but his lips quivered as though trying to form words. "... Yuki?"
"It's me," she choked out.
Her hands, trembling, found his bloodied face. She cupped his cheeks softly, resting her forehead against his.
"You're hurt," Yuki whispered, her voice cracking.
Kairo, even in his weakened state, tried to lift his head, but the chains weighed him down. "You... you're safe..." His voice was hoarse, as though every word cost him.
Tears spilled from Yuki's blind eyes, and she wrapped her arms around him, clinging to his broken form as though her touch could hold him together. "You saved me... but they hurt you..."
Peggy looked away, biting her lip, while Glacius's jaw tightened at the sight.
"We have to break the chains," Glacius said grimly. "They're draining his power."
Kairo coughed weakly, his head resting against Yuki's shoulder. "It's... Dune's powers... ancient chains... you can't..."
Peggy's wings fluttered in frustration. "We can and we will. You're not dying here."
Kairo didn't respond - his strength was slipping.
Yuki tightened her grip on him, sobbing softly. "Hold on... please..."
Glacius approached the chains carefully, studying the runes glowing along the metal. "This won't be easy..."
They had finally found Kairo yet they had another trial to pass.