The air beyond the Void Gate was stifling and heavy with the weight of unearthly power. Swirling darkness loured overhead, its fingers writhing and reaching out like something living, hungering for their very existence. Seraphine, Garin, and Elara stepped forth in caution, their forms caught in the dim glow of the runes which still lingered behind them.
The room seemed to be endless; walls indistinct and constantly shifting. In the very center of it stood the nexus, a huge sphere of pulsating black energy, stained with streaks of crimson and violet. The shadows around it moved unnaturally, flickering and twisting as if somehow aware of the intruders.
"This is it," whispered Elara, her voice barely audible above the low, resonant hum of the nexus.
Seraphine felt the weight of destiny settle heavily on her shoulders. She turned to her companions. "Stay close. The Shadow King will know we're here. This is his domain."
Before anyone could answer, the ground beneath them convulsed and the darkness coalesced into a monstrous form towering over them. The Shadow King had emerged from the void like some phantom given mortal form. His eyes blazed with the twin suns of some eclipsing nightmare, and his voice had carried the weight of a thousand nightmares.
"You dare challenge me within my own domain?" he intoned, his voice echoing off the chamber walls. "You are bold…. and foolish.
Seraphine raised her sword, the blade radiating faintly in light magic. "Your rule ends here," she said, her voice steady despite the quiver in her hands.
The Shadow King laughed deep and cold. "Do you think that a little mortal can kill me? I am darkness. I am eternal.
A wave of his arm sent the shadows surging forward, assuming hideous forms. Garin was quickest to respond, firing an arrow that drove into one of the shadow beasts. It disintegrated into mist, but more took its place, their claws slicing and snapping.
" Hold the line!" Seraphine yelled, charging into the melee.
Her blade moved silently through the creatures, each stroke lighting up the darkness for a few moments at most. Elara, beside her, called up a blast of light that incinerated a cluster of shadows, but strain was etched into her face. Garin moved with practiced ease, arrow after arrow striking home even as the creatures drew ever closer.
Fight he did, the three of them huddled together under the onslaught. The Shadow King only seemed to watch them as his form loomed above, his power growing palpable with each passing moment.
"You are but pawns in a game you cannot possibly win," he sneered at them.
Elara stumbled, her light faltering. "We can't keep this up," she gasped.
Seraphine's mind raced. They needed a way to reach the nexus, to sever the Shadow King's power at its source. But the creatures were relentless, and the Shadow King himself remained untouchable.
"Garin!" Seraphine shouted. "Cover Elara! I'm going for the nexus!"
Garin nodded, stepping in front of Elara and loosing arrows in rapid succession. "Go! We'll hold them off!"
Seraphine broke free, and her focus locked onto the pulsating sphere at the center of the room. The closer she got, the stronger the pull of the Void grew - it clawed at her very being, trying to consume her, drawing her into its endless depths.
The Shadow King appeared before her in an instant, his form shifting like smoke. "Do you think you can reach the nexus?" he sneered. "You are nothing but a fragment of the light, a flicker destined to be snuffed out."
Seraphine gritted her teeth and swung her sword. The blade crashed into dark energy, and there was a collision of resistance; she was thrown back, but Seraphine picked herself up right away, unbroken.
"I am more than a flicker," she said, her voice fierce. "I am the light that will end your darkness."
The Shadow King's face grew darker. He raised his hand, and shadow energy surged toward her. Seraphine dove to the side, avoiding the blast by a hair's breadth. She countered with a strike of her own-the light from her blade slicing through the darkness.
Meanwhile, Elara and Garin fought valiantly to keep the shadow creatures at bay. Elara's magic was almost exhausted; her light flickered weakly as she tried to hold them off. Garin's quiver was nearly empty; his movements grew slower with every retreating step as exhaustion started to take its toll.
"Elara, we can't keep this up!" shouted Garin, unleashing his last arrow.
Elara gritted her teeth and called forth the final remnants of energy, letting loose a flash of light that momentarily cleared the area around them. She had fallen to her knees, her staff escaping from her weak fingers.
"Seraphine has to succeed," she said, her voice trembling.
Seraphine felt the full force of its power now that she was within striking distance of the nexus. The sphere pulsed violently, lashing shadows streaming out from its body as if living things. The Shadow King loomed behind her, his form growing larger and more menacing.
"You cannot destroy what you do not understand," he said, his voice echoing with dark amusement. "The nexus is a part of you, Seraphine. You carry my blood, my power. To destroy it is to destroy yourself."
Seraphine flinched, his words stinging her. She feared the darkness within her, the whispers that told of a tie she shared with the very evil she sought to destroy. And yet, the choice was long made.
"I would rather die as the light than live as your pawn," she said, holding her sword aloft.
The Shadow King roared, his form shifting as he lunged toward her. Seraphine thrust her blade into the nexus with all her strength. The jolt sent a shockwave through the chamber; the darkness around them convulsed violently.
The nexus began to crack, its surface splintering as light poured out from within. The Shadow King shrieked, his form unraveling as the nexus's power turned on him.
The tendrils of the Void wrapped around her like chains, pulling her into it. She knew she could not escape.
"Elara! Garin!" she shouted, trying to make herself heard over the chaos. "Get out of here!"
"No!" Garin shouted, running towards her.
"Elara, take him and go!" Seraphine said firmly. "This is my fight!
Elara hesitated, tears streaming down her face, but she knew Seraphine was right. She grabbed Garin, her magic flaring one last time as she created a portal back to the entrance of the maze.
She turned back toward the nexus, her body consumed by a light that swallowed her up into the Void. The last thing she saw was the form of the Shadow King disintegrating before her eyes as she heard his scream of rage and defeat.
The nexus exploded in a blinding flash, and then silence:.