"Got it!" Josh shouted over the whine of the orange beams of energy headed the party's way, Ace and Belle making narrow dodges. "Become fleet of foot!" he continued, clasping his hands together as sparks flew from the feet of Josh's mount and the feet of all four of the raiders, the cast of Masukukaja making all of his allies more likely to evade the fire and beam attacks headed their way. Belle reinforced their defenses with a quick cast of Marakukaja, and not a moment too soon; Josh had missed one of the Runerigus in a shadowy corner.

By the time the whine of the orange beam reached his ears, it was too late; the HYPER BEAM had struck him clean in the face. He felt like his face was exposed to a very hot summer's day while the light of the beam passing through him made it almost impossible to see. An aural alert and his entire peripheral flashing red was an impossible-to-miss indicator that his health was dangerously low. He felt the impulse to drop to one knee, and followed it. "Better hurry what it is you're up to, Lars! I'm dyin' over here!" Josh snapped.

After whatever room-clearing spell Lars was going to fire, Belle got to work on patching up Josh's face with a casting of Diarahan, the burn marks vanishing as though he had never been harmed. "Thanks," Josh said with heavy breathing. "As much as both have merit, I think I enjoy traditional video games over this full-sim stuff." Now that there was room again, Josh re-summoned his "Raikou" mount and surveyed the room. Behind the dark corner where the ambushing Runerigus was, there was a small treasure chest. The knight had his mount kick it open, revealing a SMALL KEY for Belle to scoop up.



That still didn't open the shuttered doors locking them in the room, but Ace was right on that! Using his great strength, he was able to move the stack of stone blocks beneath a column of sunlight, the top one boasting a sun switch similar to the one in the main hall's antechamber. The shutters receded into the wall following a loud click. Josh, astride his speedy mount, led the way forward and around a hallway that led to a locked door perfect for the key Belle had found.

The hallway led to a throne room-like chamber with a motionless suit of red armor in its center, holding what appeared to be an extremely heavy axe in its right hand. Between the six pillars marking the bounds of a blue carpet were wall torches on three sides of the room. A change in the ringing of the adventurers' footsteps would lead astute observers to believe that they were standing inside the outer goddess statue's right arm. Ace approached the armor, which came to life and swung the axe at him. Even his improved evasion couldn't save him, the giant weapon easily slashing through him and causing him to recoil all the way across the room. The damage numerals that flashed in front of their tank's body were staggering; it would have easily inflicted enough damage to drop Belle or Lars in a single blow from a direct hit by that axe attack.

"Lars, I think it's fight night," Josh remarked as the in-game music changed to a driving track indicative of a minor boss battle.

While the axe-wielding brute was inhumanly strong, whatever was beneath that armor was also very slow. "Ranged attacks, everyone!" Josh suggested, staying astride the super fast Beast whose movement was very difficult to control in such an enclosed space. Even a twitch of the reins seemed to send him rocketing across the room. That was a blessing in disguise, as with how slow the foe moved, there was little it could do to hit him. He reined the hyperspeed cat from corner to corner, pelting the armorsuit with casts of ZIOBARION. Spiraling lines of lightning strikes circled the foe, the third of which shredded the armor.

A burly humanoid figure, helmet still covering its head, charged Josh with surprising speed, catching him and his mount off guard. By the time he could react and have Blitz the "Raikou" slide out of the way, it was too late.

A critical hit.

The hulking humanoid's crushing axe smashed into him, an intense tingling feeling overpowering him and causing him to fall limp in the saddle. The powerful foe turned around, raised its axe, and dashed toward Laurence Anderson next. Before the sub-boss got too close to him, all the action froze once Josh's hit points ticked down to zero. A terrifying prompt filled the center of Lars' display:

> Please select a new party leader.

The ice phoenix's very presence turned the tide of battle, Belle listening to Lars and urging Ace to distance himself from the COLD WORLD to come. Their combined might encased in ice, which melted within seconds as it gave up the ghost. Its body disappeared in a flurry of red wisps. That plan of action would have been impossible in the real world, as there would have been no time to drag both Ace and Josh away from the deadly area attack. That was the benefit of this being a game; being at zero hit points merely meant unconsciousness and the inability to act. Bashing in the face of an already-downed character wouldn't do a thing.

> Ace reaches level 41!

[player]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/996935022286209055/1051780378999926835/OOT_Secret_Sound.mp3[/player]

With the throne room-like chamber secured, Belle got to work not only patching Ace's wounds with a casting of DIARAHAN, but also a casting of RECARM followed by DIARAMA to get Josh back on his feet. It would get the swordsman back on his feet (and shortly back in the saddle of the Raikou look-alike), but the healer's resources were being stretched thin.

[player]https://fi.zophar.net/soundfiles/nintendo-64-usf/legend-of-zelda-the-ocarina-of-time-1998/69%20Spirit%20Temple.mp3[/player]

🎼 Spirit Temple | The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

The iron bars covering the two doors receded into the floor, letting the party progress further along the interior of the goddess statue's arm. "Let's go," Josh pointed at the newly-opened passage, guiding his electric ride toward its end.

The passage took the two to the outside of the goddess statue, the adventurers finding themselves standing on its right hand. In the palm of its hand was an ornate treasure chest Josh could not help himself but open. Within were a pair of silver arm pieces that bestowed their wearer immense strength.

> You obtained the SILVER GAUNTLETS! These bestow immense strength to the wearer, giving the power to lift and push enormous objects!

Josh turned around and showed his new find to the rest of the group. "I think we found the 'power of silver' the inscription was talking about." He looked down to see that they were directly above the entrance to the temple, just several stories up. "We could get back to the entrance really quickly if we dropped down. If you don't mind ferrying the others to the ground with Articuno, that is. Raikou can probably survive the fall," he suggested, gently patting the disguised Luxray's head. Their two companions grinned; were they really going to get to ride on a legendary creature like Articuno, one of the most exclusive mounts in the game, if only for a few seconds?

Not only did Josh and both their companions get to grace the back of the Iceborne Mirage, but they got to see Laurence Anderson flying of his own accord, too? He must have been playing for a long time to have discontinued gear like that. Slipping the SILVER GAUNTLETS on, he prepared to switch rides to the flying one of the group.

It was a tight fit, but all three sat snugly on the ice phoenix's back. With a powerful flap or two of the ice-type's sparkling, striking wings, as well as those of their black mage's, all four found themselves at the temple's entrance once again. Blitz was quick to follow, landing on all four feet after kicking up quite a bit of sand. "See? Raikou could have made it just fine! He's legendary for a reason!" Perhaps the landing would have been a bit rougher with Josh in the sand. He hoped the facade wasn't getting too annoying for the actual Avatar within the party. Josh was Raikou's Avatar only in this full-sim, make-believe realm. It was a dream he longed for, more than anything, to come true in the real world, despite the immense danger it would put him in.

Back in the Sand Temple's entry hall, Josh stepped up to the right inscription, reviewing its text and reading it aloud. "To pursue the future, return with the power of silver from the past." Still on foot, he and his trusty companion strolled toward the enormous, silver-and-black block. With the added strength the gauntlets gave him, he slowly pushed the block down the blocked hallway. He was grunting periodically from how much effort it took him despite his new toys. Eventually, the block slid into a perfectly-sized gap in the floor.

[player]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/996935022286209055/1051780378999926835/OOT_Secret_Sound.mp3[/player]

A new path was opened to them.

It was a mirror image of what the two had seen on the "past" side of the Temple of the Sand Spirit, with a futuristic foe to boot. A lone Claydol floated above the center of the fairly small, octagonal room with three doors in back. The central one was locked, but the left and right ones appeared to be unlocked. The Claydol would fire a searing SIGNAL BEAM toward Lars the moment it sighted him.

The microburst would severely injure the Claydol but not down it completely. The psychic-type retaliated with a searing, sweeping HYPER BEAM that tracked Laurence Anderson 's position. Josh had ranged attacks that would have otherwise worked, but he knew better than to subject a creature of earth to a lightning storm. Instead, he listened to the party leader's advice, taking the other melee combatant with him. While Belle would be able to keep the wind and ice mage patched up, she had no offensive skills of her own. White wizards only got offensive skills at very high levels.

Meanwhile, Josh and Ace had their own problem in the next room: a nasty combination of Hisuian Zoroark wielding an Aegislash, sword-and-board. Worse yet, the sound of rushing sand filled the room, the bottom of a sand pit slowly inching its way toward the duo. Having to work fast, Josh took the initiative by charging into the Aegislash's shield. The recoil left the foe wide open for a FIRE STRIKE from their barbaric warrior. Hopping back, the ghost-type retaliated with a nasty jump slash from its serrated edge. Josh was quick to finish off the sword-wielding fox with a STORM STRIKE of his own.

As if on cue, the sand stopped rising, letting Josh ride across it to a wide pillar in the room's corner. He had his mount kick open the small, wooden chest tucked away. Within was a valuable item indeed - the COMPASS.

You obtained the COMPASS! Now you can see the locations of many things hidden within the dungeon!

If Lars didn't notice the added information on his map after the battle was over, then he almost certainly would have noticed when the boys returned. "Looks like there's a whole second wing to this place, with something special on the other hand of the goddess statue," he said, pointing out the chest at the far end of the third level.

The ease of which Lars was spellslinging with ice and wind had Josh a little jealous. While the Knight of Thunder had some powers over lightning, they were much more taxing on him, already having nearly tapped himself out. He schemed behind the party leader's back to check treasure chests himself when possible. Even Belle was beginning to run low, if the lower right corner of his HUD was accurate. He didn't dare ask for the lone CHAKRA POT in the party's inventory; the black mage had made it clear that it was for him, and him alone.

"Like we have a choice; were you so quick to forget about that lock in our way?" Josh quipped back, gesturing toward the two sets of chains keeping the large, vertically-sliding door from moving anywhere. Instead, the Master of Faster led the way through the smaller one. Five silver, crystal-shaped objects floated about a half pipe-shaped pit with large boulders easily twice their size rolling back and forth in sync with one another. A crackling noise that sounded like movement of an ambush predator lying in wait also echoed, distinct from the ambiance of the rolling rocks. Worse yet, a ticking timer popped up in the center of the players' viewpoints, crawling toward the upper left corner of the HUD.

Several of the gems were right in harm's way, requiring timing to get in, grab them, and go. One floated above the pit's center but out of reach of those on the ground; it would require quite the jump or someone who knew how to fly to grab it. Josh began scanning the ceiling to try to figure out what was trying to get the jump on the party, but he could not see in the low light. With the clock ticking, he threw caution to the wind and reined his faux-Raikou toward an alcove in the pit's corner, where one of the floating jewels was. On contact, it disappeared, its collection indicated with a short tone. Ace split up from the knight, going to the opposite side to check the many nooks and crannies there.

With the group splitting up, they were able to divide and conquer the task of gathering the five "jewels of white" with ample time to spare. Once the fifth had been gathered, the portcullis blocking the way forward receded into the ground, Josh wasting no time leading the way to the back chamber and kicking open the small chest in its center. Within was the KEY to the locked door earlier in the east wing.

You obtained a SMALL KEY! This key will open a locked door. You can use it only in this dungeon.

"Bingo. Now let's beat feet and get out of here." While it was simple for Laurence Anderson to get back to the upper ledge, given he could fly on his own accord, and their other mage could levitate with floating magic, Ace had no way to get up on his own. Not easily, anyway. The young man slid forward on the thundercloud saddle his mount wore. "Hop on and hold on tight!" Once he felt the musclehead get on behind him, Josh squinted in concentration. The three boulders rolled across the room's half-pipe floor like swinging pendulums, the knight studying their timing. Once he saw them all cross the center of the room, he squeezed his mount's sides. The electric feline accelerated and leaped to the upper ledge. While it was still fun, it was nothing like riding the real Raikou. There was no adrenaline rush like riding Raikou in the real world.

After a small amount of backtracking, the Gym Leader inserted the key into its lock and turned it, the chains keeping it in place falling limp. Following a C-shaped hall to its end, Josh was forced to dismount. A brick wall filled with footholds stood in their way. While there was sufficient room for Articuno to spread its wings, though only just so, the others would have to climb. "It's a good thing this is just a game and not the real world," Josh chuckled as he began climbing. "I don't have the upper body strength to do this in the real world. Being a rider gives you impressive lower body strength, but doesn't exercise the other half at all."

Regardless of how the group ascended, they would find themselves on the other side of the east-wing door leading to the temple's grand hall. In the center of the small room was a large mirror, bright light filtering in from a hole in the ceiling. Small handles were on each side of it, and on the walls level with the mirror were a series of sun icons similar to the ones in the west wing. Josh had since coined the term "Sun Switches" for them. "Think you can move this, buddy?" he asked Ace, who was right on the task. Sliding off the "Raikou", he began to slowly rotate the mirror's base. Even for him, it took a lot of strength to do so. As the beam of light contacted each sun switch in a clockwise order, the quartet were greeted with a "dummy buzzer" noise, two of them spawning small treasure chests exposed by the light.

While he was moving one of them, something sent their barbarian flying, the only indicator of its size and position a large, circle-shaped shadow roaming near the mirror's location. Unaware of what was going on until it was too late, Josh kicked open one of the small chests. A blast of cold air rushed out of the chest and froze him in his tracks, his face stuck in a wide-eyed look of shock.