The stone staircase groaned beneath their feet as they descended, torches flickering in the stale air. The deeper they went, the more the world seemed to change — the silence grew heavier, like the darkness was pressing against their lungs.
Rael led the way. The markings on the walls pulsed softly as he passed, reacting to something inside him. He could feel it — Nyxthar watching.
"They once sealed me here, child. This place remembers."
The crypt opened into a vast underground chamber. Black stone pillars supported a ceiling webbed with roots and veins. At the center stood a ritual circle, etched in dried blood, surrounding a pool of thick, black liquid that pulsed like a heartbeat.
Around the pool, corpses knelt in prayer — unmoving. Their mouths were sewn shut with thorned wire.
Mira shuddered. "This is… madness."
Darius stepped forward, blade ready. "No. This is devotion. And something answered."
The ground shook.
From the pool, something rose — slow and deliberate. A massive humanoid figure, armored in cracked bone and vine-like tendrils. Its head was a twisted skull with glowing red eyes, its voice a guttural snarl that echoed through the crypt.
A Devoured Warden — an elite. Formerly human, now a vessel for something far worse.
It charged.
Rael didn't wait. He unleashed his power, and this time, he didn't hold back.
Tendrils burst from his arms, striking against the beast's armored limbs. Mira weaved fire through the air, her daggers landing bursts of flame across its back. Darius took its flank, striking joints and weak spots.
But the Warden was relentless — slamming the ground, knocking Mira into a pillar. Darius was grabbed mid-dash, hurled into the wall.
Rael screamed, pain and rage exploding from within. The mark on his chest split open, and from it, a new surge of abyssal energy erupted.
His eyes turned jet-black. His blood shimmered violet as it dripped to the floor and burned through stone.
Nyxthar's voice filled his mind.
"Now you see, Rael. You are not their tool. You are mine. Feed me."
Rael's tendrils thickened, becoming like living blades. He surged forward, cutting through the Warden's arm. The beast shrieked, staggering. With a final roar, Rael drove his shadow-blades into its chest, dragging it into the black pool.
The chamber trembled as the creature was devoured by its own altar.
Silence returned.
Rael stood, breathing heavy. His arms smoked, and his veins glowed faintly beneath his skin. The others stared at him — not in awe, but fear.
Mira helped Darius to his feet. Her voice was cautious. "That… was no ordinary power."
Darius didn't speak. He looked at Rael like a man realizing a sword might turn in his hand.
"We need to leave," he finally said. "Now."
They ascended as the pool bubbled behind them, something unseen shifting in the shadows. Outside, night had fallen. A full moon hung in the sky, crimson as blood.
As they walked through the abandoned village, a distant whisper echoed in Rael's mind.
"You are not alone, little star. The veil is thin. We are listening."
And Rael knew — this mission was only the beginning.