The creature blocking their way was a monster Seraphine had never seen before. Its form was a mixture of shadows and stone, a grotesque mass of twisting tendrils and jagged edges. Its red eyes blazed with hatred, burning brightly like embers in the vast darkness of the sky. The ground that lay under its own cracked and split, as if the very chaos the Shadow King was looking to unleash was alive inside it.
Seraphine's breath caught in her throat. Danger, she had expected, but all of this.that was something bigger than any threat they had ever faced.
"Hold your ground!" she called out to her friends, her voice firm even as the fear chewed at her.
The shape of the creature undulated as it came forward, its talons grinding the soil with a scrape of metal on stone. Its voice boomed deep and shockingly loud, as if an earthquake was leveling the ground. "You're such a group of morons to oppose me," it said, standing tall. "The Shadow King will feed on your spirits."
"Not today!" Garin shouted, releasing an arrow that stuck into the creature's chest. The arrow splintered with a little resounding crash against something, but its hide didn't have a dent.
"That won't do it," Elara screamed, tracing more glowing sigils with her hands through the air. "We need to find its weakness.".
Swinging one of the monstrous creature's massive arms, a wave of destruction crashed through the air. Seraphine barely had time to dive out of the way, rolling to her feet as she regained her stance. The impact left a colossal crater in the earth and knocked several of the warriors off their feet.
"Everyone, spread out!" Seraphine barked, her sword exploding to life. She didn't know how much longer they could do this.
The creature let out a snarl of rage, and the earth jerked beneath its feet as it lifted both claws to attack again. But Seraphine saw something—its movement was slow, almost deliberate. It wasn't simply attacking from instinct; there was intelligence in its actions.
"Elara." Seraphine bellowed, her eyes narrowing as she studied the creature. "Do those runes mean anything to you?"
Elara's eyes darted back to the marks that seemed to glow under her skin, her face contorting into a look of dawning recognition. "It's not just an animal. It's a guardian, linked to the temple itself. These runes. they're a binding spell. If we shatter them, we shatter the creature's link to the Shadow King.
Then let's go!' Seraphine exclaimed, charging forward at the beast, sword raised in a fierce arc.
She was met with another thunderous swing, but this time Seraphine was prepared. She ducked and rolled beneath the creature's massive arm, her heart pounding in her chest. As she came up behind the creature, she saw a faint crack in its shadowy form, just below the glowing runes that writhed along its body.
With a battle cry, Seraphine leapt forward and struck a blow of such strength that her sword glow with the power of Light. It sliced through the dark tendrils like a scythe going through wheat. The moment her sword contacted it, the runes blazed up bright red, and the creature let out an ear-piercing shriek.
The creature lunged backward, its form unraveling. "No! You cannot stop the Shadow King!" it roared, but the desperation rose in its voice.
Elara's voice rose into the chant, the spell of containment she had been weaving since the battle started. Magic filled the air and wrapped around them and the runes on the creature's body blinked out as they weakened further.
It was getting weak enough now to be held.
"Keep it going!" Seraphine shouted, maneuvering to the other side of the creature. "Focus on the runes!"
Garin was already there, his arrows now tipped in magic, striking at the remaining runes. Every shot flared with electricity and with every blow, another rune dimmed out. The creature had already begun thrashing about in agony; with every blow, its form continued to decay.
But the guardian of the Shadow King was far from defeated. With one last, crazed roar, it sent out its massive limbs in all directions, shockwaves knocking Seraphine to the ground.
She struggled to stand, her head spinning from the blow. Air crackled with dark energy, and she saw the creature building up its power again, its form snapping into place once more.
"Elara!" Seraphine bellowed through gritted teeth. "We need more! Now!"
The mage's eyes blazed with power, her hands shaking as she frantically forced more magic into the spell. The earth cracked open beneath their feet, and the sky above churned with dark clouds.
And then, a blast of pure light erupted from the tome.
Seraphine clutched to her self the book that she had carried, and it poured out rivers of bright light all round her. Light chased the beast round in the bursting view, blotting it from their sight. The beast with a fierce howl was crumbling under their senses. The running lines burst into dark fire and the form of the beast in a heap crashed into ash.
For a moment they said nothing, only the rumble of thunder from so far off. The page of the book went dark, and Seraphine was alone in an abandoned battlefield.
Slowly, the others got to their feet, steadying themselves as if they feared their bones would shatter from the jolt. It was Garin who spoke, his voice tinged with incredulity. "That was… that was amazing.".
Elara exhaled slowly, sweat falling from her forehead. "That book. it was listening to us."
Seraphine glanced down at the book, its former glowing runes now dull. But its power remained, a weightless heaviness settled over her chest.
"We're far from in the clear," Seraphine whispered. "The Shadow King realizes we are coming."
Garin scowled and reached to wipe at the blood on his lip. "Good. Then let him come. We'll finish this.".
They walked fast, the sun now low in the sky. Its setting was not reflected in their steps that felt no portion of the fabric of time but took an eternity from under the heavy air of impending doom. The road to Lysandra's tower looked more treacherous now than it ever had; each minute came with seeming abundance of shadows for each one lived.
As they crested the slope that led to the mountain upon which Lysandra's tower stood, the first signs of the real battle before them started to emerge. Dark shapes move out on the horizon, too far in to be fully seen but close enough to be felt—a wave of darkness building, surging toward them.
"This is it," Seraphine said, her grip tightening around the tome. "We're almost there."
But as she spoke, a low, growling voice filled the air—one that echoed in her mind, so familiar and yet so terrifying .
You are too late, Seraphine. The world will fall, and you will kneel before me.
The voice of the Shadow King.
Seraphine's heart hammered in her chest. "No. We will not fall. Not today."
And so, the final stretch of their adventure started, for the Shadow War had entered its most perilous stage yet.