The Vault chamber faded behind us as we pressed deeper into the Sanctum's underbelly.
Here, the air grew heavier, thick with ancient dust and something more — a scent like old blood and forgotten sorrow.
Finn shifted nervously behind me, crossbow raised.
"Feels like we're walking straight into a crypt," he muttered.
I said nothing.
My senses were sharpened, every hair on my body standing on end.
Something was watching us.
The corridor ahead was different from the ones before — narrower, the walls lined with strange sigils that pulsed faintly as we passed.
I recognized none of them, but they stirred something instinctual within me: caution, reverence... and fear.
At the end of the corridor, a heavy iron door barred our way.
It was massive, covered in a spiderweb of glowing lines that flickered dimly, almost like veins under a thin skin.
Finn reached for it, but I caught his wrist.
"Wait."
He raised an eyebrow.
I knelt, studying the sigils more closely.
A ward.
Powerful, ancient — and unstable.
"This door isn't locked," I murmured.
"It's sealed. Big difference."
Finn paled.
"Sealed to keep something in?"
I nodded grimly.
He took a careful step back.
"Maybe we don't have to go this way—"
Before he could finish, the sigils flared with sudden, violent light.
A low rumble shook the ground beneath our feet.
The door began to open of its own accord, screeching like a beast in pain.
Finn swore creatively.
Weapons ready, we braced ourselves.
Beyond the door was a vast, circular chamber, much larger than the Vault.
In its center stood a pillar of black stone, cracked and bleeding tendrils of darkness into the air.
Chains stretched from the pillar to the walls, taut and humming with energy.
At the base of the pillar knelt a figure — or what was left of one.
It was humanoid, clad in rusted remnants of Warden armor, but twisted grotesquely.
Darkness clung to it like a second skin.
And as we entered, it lifted its head.
Empty eye sockets stared at us.
A mouth torn wide in a grin that was more a wound than a smile.
Finn gagged.
I felt bile rise in my throat, but forced it down.
The creature spoke, voice rasping like dead leaves in the wind:
"New blood... come... join us..."
The darkness around it thickened, forming shapes — limbs, claws, faces — all writhing in silent agony.
This was no mere Guardian.
This was a Warden corrupted beyond death, twisted into something vile.
A Revenant.
I gripped my sword tighter.
Finn fumbled with his crossbow, fingers shaking.
The Revenant surged forward, chains snapping taut to hold it back.
But even restrained, its reach was long.
A tendril of darkness lashed out.
I ducked instinctively, feeling the corrupted magic singe the air above me.
"Move!" I barked.
We split, flanking the creature.
Finn fired, his bolt striking true — but the Revenant barely flinched.
Its body absorbed the blow like a stone absorbs rain.
Magic.
Only magic would hurt it.
I drew upon the relic-sword's power, feeling the Gauntlet of Oaths at my wrist ignite with light.
The Revenant shrieked at the sight, recoiling.
It feared relic-light.
Good.
I advanced carefully, sword glowing, the blade humming with ancient oaths.
The Revenant snarled, thrashing against its chains.
Its voice rose in a maddened howl:
"They left us! They abandoned us! BURN WITH THEM!"
Tendrils of darkness erupted from the ground, seeking to impale me.
I weaved through them, each dodge a near miss.
Finn circled wide, trying to draw its attention.
For a moment, it worked — the Revenant turned toward him, roaring.
I seized the opening.
With a battle cry, I drove the relic-sword into the pillar.
Light exploded outward, a shockwave of pure energy.
The chains shivered, then shattered.
The Revenant howled, a sound so filled with anguish and rage that the very walls trembled.
Darkness peeled away from its body, burning like smoke in sunlight.
It fell to its knees, clawing at itself.
I didn't stop.
I pressed forward, sword blazing, each step fueled by a single, burning truth:
This was not mercy.
This was justice.
With a final swing, I cleaved through the Revenant's chest.
It gave one last, gurgling scream — and then dissolved into ash.
Silence fell.
Only the flickering of the dying darkness remained, curling upward like withered leaves in a dead wind.
I lowered my sword, breathing heavily.
Finn staggered over, wide-eyed.
"Are... are we done?"
I looked at the remains of the pillar.
Cracks spread across its surface like spiderwebs.
Something deeper was breaking.
"No," I said quietly.
"This was only the beginning."
From the crumbling walls, a faint sound echoed.
Not words.
Not screams.
Laughter.
And it was getting closer.