The Sire's voice cut through the tension. "You think a few sparks can stop me?" Her form rippled and the shadows around her coiled like snakes ready to strike. "I have seen countless ages pass. Your defiance is nothing more than the flailing of a candle in a storm."
Damien tightened his grip on Nightshade, his narrowed his eyes, "Maybe, but even a candle can burn down the whole house if it's in the right place." He moved swiftly, charging at the Sire with Nightshade in hand.
Nightshade gleamed in his hand, cutting through the air as he slashed at the darkness. Feiyun followed his lead, her fire surging forward in a wave, its intensity fueled by her new found power.
The Sire countered with a flick of her wrist, summoning tendrils of darkness to intercept Damien's blade.
Shadows and crimson energy clashed, sending sparks of black and red into the air. At the same time, Feiyun's flames roared to life, burning through the Sire's defenses and forcing her to step back.
"You've become a nuisance," The Sire spat, her voice losing some of its calm. Her eyes glowed brighter, and the dark tendrils around her thickened, weaving together into a protective barrier.
Damien and Feiyun kept up the pressure, but each strike seemed to be met with more resistance. The Sire was feeding off the shadows, growing stronger the longer the battle dragged on.
"Damien!" Feiyun shouted with a strained voice. "We can't keep this up! She's too strong in this environment!"
Damien cursed under his breath. He knew she was right. The chamber itself was a source of power for the Sire. Every inch of it was saturated with dark energy that she was drawing from, making her nearly invincible. They needed to do something about it.
Damien's mind raced.
The library's hidden passageways had led them here, to what was essentially the Sire's lair. If there was a way out, they had to find it—and fast.
"Feiyun," Damien called out, dodging another strike of shadowy tendrils. "We need to disrupt her connection to the chamber. If we can break whatever's binding her to this place, we might stand a chance."
Feiyun's eyes widened in understanding. "You mean, destroy the source of her power?"
"Exactly. But first, we have to find it."
The Sire, overhearing their plan, let out a low growl of amusement. "You fools," she sneered. "There is no 'source.' I am one with this place. You can no more destroy me than you can destroy the night itself."
"Maybe," Damien shot back, "but we're going to try anyway."
Feiyun nodded at Damien, her flames intensifying once more. They couldn't afford to play defense anymore. They had to take the fight to the heart of the Sire's power. But how?... Then it hit him.
The Sanguine Arts were tied to blood, to life force, to something primal. Nightshade had been feeding off that energy, channeling it through him in every strike. If he could find a way to sever the Sire's connection to the chamber, maybe Nightshade could siphon off her power, even if just for a moment.
"Feiyun," Damien whispered urgently, "I have an idea, but I need you to keep her distracted for a little longer. Can you do that?"
Feiyun hesitated for only a second before nodding. "I'll do what I can."
With a deep breath, Damien focused, letting the Sanguine Arts course through his body. His vision sharpened, and he could feel the rhythm of his own heartbeat aligning with Nightshade's pulse. It was a dangerous gamble, but it was all they had.
Feiyun stepped forward, summoning every ounce of strength she had left. Flames erupted from her hands, turning from orange to a bright, almost blinding white. The chamber's temperature skyrocketed, and the oppressive shadows recoiled from the heat.
The Sire hissed, her form flickering as the light and heat threatened to burn away the darkness she controlled. "You will regret this," She snarled, sending more tendrils toward Feiyun.
But Feiyun stood her ground, deflecting the attacks with blasts of fire. Her flames grew wild and untamed, surging with power. The shadows continued to press in, but Feiyun held firm.
Meanwhile, Damien moved quickly. His senses were in sync to the flow of energy in the chamber, and he could feel the pulse of the Sire's power. It was faint, hidden beneath layers of darkness, but it was there—a core, a nexus of energy feeding into her.
He found it near the center of the room, a swirling mass of shadow, barely visible to the naked eye. With a single swing of Nightshade, Damien struck at the heart of the nexus. The blade cut through the darkness, and for a moment, everything stopped.
The Sire let out a bloodcurdling scream, her form flickering violently as her connection to the chamber was severed. The darkness recoiled, pulling away from her, and the chamber itself seemed to tremble.
As the swirling mass of shadows dissolved from the Sire's control, a dark, viscous energy surged toward Damien. It was like nothing he had ever felt before—an overwhelming force that latched onto him, drawn to Nightshade.
The blade, almost as if possessed, pulsed violently, greedily absorbing the dark power.
"Damien!" Feiyun shouted, her voice distant over the roaring in his ears, but he couldn't respond. His body was seized by the darkness flooding into him, a torrent of shadowy energy merging with his blood.
Nightshade glowed an eerie crimson-black as it drank in the last remnants of the Sire's power, and Damien felt something shift deep within him.
The chamber around them trembled, cracks forming in the stone walls as the very foundation of the room began to collapse. But that wasn't what concerned Damien. His body was heating up, unnaturally so. It was as if his blood was boiling beneath his skin, veins pulsing with a fire that was unfamiliar.
"D-Damien..." He heard Feiyun again, but her voice sounded far away. His vision blurred.
The Sanguine Arts was changing, warping under the influence of the absorbed shadow energy. Nightshade, now felt foreign in his grip, humming with chaotic power.
He gritted his teeth, trying to control the burning heat rushing through him, but it was too much. His body trembled violently, and every muscle screamed in protest.
Damien dropped to one knee, his breathing shallow. 'This...this is too much...' He thought, struggling to stay conscious.
Nightshade continued to pulse with dark energy, and he realized that it wasn't just the weapon that was absorbing the shadows—his very blood was melding with the darkness. It was rewriting him.
His heart pounded in his chest. He could feel the shadowy power reshaping his Sanguine Arts, mutating them into something far more eerie and strange.
Damien forced himself to stand, wobbling slightly. He had to warn Feiyun, had to get her out before...
Boom!
A deafening explosion shook the entire chamber, throwing both Damien and Feiyun to the ground. Dust and debris rained down around them as the stone walls fractured further, chunks of the ceiling collapsing into the room.
Damien's vision went dark for a moment, his body unresponsive as the heat reached unbearable levels. His mind swam in and out of consciousness, but before everything faded to black, he heard the echo of the explosion once more, followed by a rush of footsteps and distant voices.
Then... nothing...