The battle raged on, the temple shaking and quaking underfoot. Eclipsed One's leader called forth wave after wave of shadow creatures; its shapes shifted and changed with each attack, but Aiden, Lyra, and Caelum fought on, driving forward with an intensity that seemed to grow with each passing moment.
Aiden struck with the blade of the Guardian, cutting through darkness with the stark light of the blade slicing through shadow like a beacon. Caelum's magic was set vibrating in the air; lightning and fire fell to strike down the creatures of darkness. She moved as a shadow among shadows, her dagger flashing true with the deadly precision that felled foe after foe.
However, no matter how many they killed, more arose in their place. The Eclipse Leader was getting stronger, feeding on the darkness of the temple.
Then Aiden understood that it wasn't about power; this was war of will. They must release the Eclipsed One's power over the land; bust his connection to the darkness.
"Caelum!" Aiden yelled. "We have to do the ritual. Now!"
Caelum nodded, his face pale from exertion. "We'll have to pool our strength at the altar. We can tie back the darkness, but it will consume every vestige of energy we possess."
Aiden, Lyra, and Caelum sat in a circle where they stretched out their hands, exhausting their sorcery. The Guardian's Blade brightened, and beam of its light spread across the space; but the Eclipsed One's leader struggled against it with all that he could muster.
"No!" he shouted as his shape convulsed with rage. "You cannot best me! I am immortal!
But the rite had not yet gone far, for the radiance of the Blade of the Guardian grew and burned brighter, and its brilliance chased the darkness away and scattered it beyond the precincts of the temple. Finally the warlord of the Eclipsed Ones shrieked aloud his maddened fury as his dark might was crumbling to dust like smoke dispersed on the wind.
The land began shifting. The air cleared, the oppressive weight lifting as the darkness retreated.
But it had a great cost. The energy that was used to bind the Eclipsed Ones' power drained the life from them all. Aiden fell to his knees, the Blade falling from his hand. Lyra and Caelum barely stood upright, their bodies worn and battered by the battle.
They'd won—but what was the cost?