The sky above the valley had turned the color of blood.
Black mist and divine light clashed, creating a storm that tore the air apart. Every flash was like the spark of a collapsing world.
Sylvia stood in the center of the maelstrom, her black gown whipping wildly as the chains around her spun like living serpents. In front of her, the six elite paladins no longer looked human, their eyes glowed with a strange light, their auras no longer purely divine.
Darian, the shadow paladin blessed by Velgrath, was surrounded by darkness that devoured all nearby light. Cracks spread across his body like fractured glass, and from those cracks, divine light leaked out.
"You think we fear death, vile creatures?" His voice vibrated strangely two tones at once, human and something else. "We've given up our souls to stop you."
Eryndor, the paladin of Nerys, smiled faintly. The water swirling around him was now crimson, reflecting the faces of the dead.
