The knights tracked the cult deeper into the wilderness, to a hidden cavern where they found its members performing a dark ritual. Hooded figures chanted in unison around a glowing, rune-inscribed altar.
Shadow and Alaric attempted to stop the ritual, but the cultists summoned a shadow beast—an enormous creature formed of darkness and fire.
Shadow's blade reacted instantly, its runes glowing as if feeding off the creature's energy. With Alaric's help, Shadow defeated the beast, but the power coursing through the blade left him shaken.
Before they could capture any cultists for questioning, the survivors vanished into thin air, leaving only cryptic warnings of a coming reckoning.