The clash of steel echoed through the crumbling ruin as Kael and his companions braced for the assault. The air thickened with the unmistakable presence of the void, a dark power so ancient and pervasive that it seemed to suffocate the very life from the chamber. The ghostly figures moved with chilling precision, their hollow eyes fixated on the orb—their source of power.
Kael's heart hammered in his chest, but his resolve was unwavering. He had seen too much, lost too much, to turn back now. The orb could not remain in the hands of these twisted remnants. It had to be destroyed.
"Hold the line!" Kael shouted as the first of the shadowy creatures lunged forward, its jagged claws gleaming with an eerie light. He swung his sword, the steel cutting through the air with practiced ease, but the creature dissipated before the blade could make contact, reforming in a flurry of dark mist and reappearing at his side.
