Seige the temple.

It's a long flight of stairs to reach the peak, and yet the more difficult part is still going to be reaching the steps to begin with. The moment the party nears, they struggle to shield their eyes from the sand whipping up from beneath them, and before they know it, hefty tentacles attempt to pound them into a paste. Thankfully, the first onslaught is successfully dodged. The two largest tendrils are both crushed and filleted by Bek and Ariusia respectively while Mistress Dajy casts our her wings to help in shielding the others from the mighty winds.

"I can't affect anything, but I think that goes both ways," you call out loudly through the overwhelming sound of an army's siege. "Maybe I can go talk to the spirit!"

Lynx's cloak blows back in the breeze. Just before a smaller tendril attempts to grapple her, she flips backwards and lands with a nod. "Smart idea," you say. "Meanwhile, we'll fight our way through!"

"You got a good crew, Kyle, but remember who I am!" Vex shouts. "I'll keep them all safe. You gotta remember something. You're not in Tivera anymore, chumps. This place is my home. And you've got some good moves, bunny-girl, but don't forget this. You're a monk and so am I, but that isn't all I am. There's a reason they call me the Demon King!" Her toothy grin stretched wide as she plants one fight into her palm. Gorgeous golden bands draw around her arms like tattoos of sunlight, and as the energy course around her, the spirit's wind has competition. Sand blows around her as if surrounded by an invisible bubble. Then, she leaps.

Soaring through the air, she delivers a devastating blow to one of the largest tentacles of sand. Despite her small body, it's as if the tendril were punched by a giant. The crater left behind is massive, though it doesn't last long, as the appendage bursts into a shower of powder glistening orange beneath the sunset.

She strikes again, and again once more, demolishing the elemental spirit's army almost entirely on her own.

Then behind them, the ground begins to give way like a whirlpool of sand. The same voice as before booms out from every direction, and it sounds far more furious this time around. "Demons!" it growls. "You dare take the battle directly to my temple? You'll fall here. Sink into the dunes of the Oraang Desert, creatures of evil!"

"This again," Bek says. He spits dirt from his teeth, though there's no sense in caring anymore. Everybody is covered in sand. He grips the shaft of Foe-Hammer, and then springs towards the sinkhole much to the distress of those nearby. "We ain't evil, you dumbass! Whoever stole from your temple, that's who we're looking for, and if we gotta smack you around until you understand that, we will!" Then after throwing himself up into the air, he slams the head of his maul straight into the ground.

The weapon flashes with a mysterious power. Suddenly, energy stored within bursts forth, sending out a large shockwave beneath the surface in the shape of a cone. Not only does it disrupt the whirlpool, but it exposes yet another swimming fish of pale stone. He continues forth and swings his weapon down into its head, shattering the elemental's vestige to bits.

Ariusia makes a sprint towards the stairs.

Just before she makes it, Lalarin leaps overhead. With a spin of her bo staff, she shatters a tendril that was coming straight down to spear the insectrin's from above. She lands and protectively holds a hand up just in case another were to come.

"... I would have been fine," mutters the mantis.

"And that's fine by me," speaks Rabbit's Foot. "Regardless of who you are, or whether or not you wish for it, I'll always be here to protect you. That's what a hero does."

"Th-Thanks, I guess." A dark green shade fades into her cheeks. "If you want to say something so cool, I guess it's whatever."

"What was that?"

"Nothing! Let's keep moving. But like, you know how Lady Vex is the same class as you, right? Don't you wanna get in there and show her up?"

"Ariusia. I'm confident in my own abilities. My goal isn't to prove myself to everybody else, or be better than somebody. Vex wants to get in there and do damage. I want to keep everybody safe. Only if you get hurt will I feel like I've failed."

"You know, now that I really look at it, your suit actually doesn't look that silly."

"Somebody thinks it's silly?"

Meanwhile, you soar above the chaos. Though you aren't physically interacting with your environment, and instead simply perceiving from afar, you can't help but cover your eyes and wince through the storm of sand. Perhaps it's the fact that you're already projecting your sight, speech, and hearing, that your mind can't simply ignore everything else. Either way, you dart towards the pillar on top.