Eli did something he should have done the moment he stepped into the dark church. He cast Light in The Dark. An orb of light materialized in the palm of his hand. All eyes went to him, including Ephraim's, who winced when Eli slammed it into the one who'd been fighting James. It sizzled when it touched the Corrupted Priest's pale skin, and for the first time, their opponent lost his smile.

Ephraim let out a wail. The sound did not come from his mouth, but from everywhere in the huge empty church.

Irene and Zack stood off to the side, unsure how to proceed, but James didn't hesitate in thrusting his blade straight into Ephraim's neck. Eli watched the health bar drop and slammed the orb of light into that particular clone again, thudding against its head as he struck again and again, bringing this Ephraim dangerously low on health. The second one rushed toward the one near death, but Princess returned from Amy's stable, slamming into the Corrupted Priest with enough force to throw them both to the floor.

Amy was on her hands and knees, holding on to Rufus using him as her eyes as she retrieved the violin. Dana stopped playing and went back to her arrows, firing again and again.

Princess whined as she was tossed aside with ease, showing the Priest's incredible strength. The two Ephraims joined together, becoming one, and struck out against James's sword, shattering the metal. The orb of light slammed into Ephraim, pushing him back a step. He pivoted and rushed toward the goop, still trying to reach Cruella. Absorbing that last bit of himself, Ephraim became whole again. His health bar slowly filled up to two-thirds.

A dagger flew through the air after leaving Irene's hand, finding purchase in the Corrupted Priest's side, poisoning him.

James was first to rush Ephraim, using his shield to slam the priest. Zack and Irene soon joined in with Princess close behind. They formed a ring around him while Eli healed whatever health they lost to the Priest's flurry of attacks.

Darkness bellowed out all around the Corrupted Priest, and everyone who had been standing close was thrown back.

"Enough!" Ephraim bellowed. This time the words passed his own lips.

Cruella, who was back on her feet but dangerously low on health, leapt to attack with a longsword thrumming with lightning. She didn't reach her target. Ephraim waved his hand in anger and the blackened arm betrayed her. The sword bit into Cruella's right leg, electrocuting her. Once down, her own hand began choking her.

"Lowly humans without power, thinking themselves strong," Ephraim intoned, stepping away from the clump of people that was Eli's party, walking toward him. "Ambitious, to be fair, but with ill-placed loyalties."

He paused right in front of Eli. "I ask you again, Priest of the Dying Light, and consider this question wisely. Do as the rest of your brethren and join me in extinguishing the Dying Light for good."

Ephraim glanced up at the orb of light hovering nearby, and just like that, it turned impossibly black. A feeling surged in Eli’s chest, power. His connection to the orb of light, now an orb of darkness, was enough to make him taste the sort of strength he could wield if he joined the other side. Eli looked around at his friends, who were getting to their feet, struggling to hold down Cruella's blackened arm. He wet his lips and gave the briefest shake of his head, dispelling the orb.

"No," he said quietly.

"No?" Ephraim asked, stepping even closer.

"No."

Ephraim moved faster than Eli could react, stepping up right next to him, so close that their bodies almost touched. The tall, Corrupted Priest looked down straight into Eli's face.

"If you do not wish to wake up willingly, so be it. Many have stood against the darkness," Ephraim paused, "brave, but ultimately foolish and meaningless. In the end, they all end up turning away from the light."

The corrupted priest turned into his inky black form, throwing himself over Eli. Everything turned to darkness. Rather than his skin being covered, for that was apparently not enough this time, Eli felt the Corrupted Priest pouring into his mouth, lungs, and belly.

Strangely enough, he had no problem breathing as he drifted in a sea of darkness. He could still move and even see his hands and the rest of his body. As he drifted in that blank nothingness, he was unable to sense or feel the church or his friends. They were all gone. Party messages did not work. Eli felt nothing. No, not nothing. He felt Ephraim.

The Corrupted Priest worked from within, corrupting Eli against his will. Like Cruella, his arm was blacker than even the darkness surrounding him. Desperate, he cast Light in The Dark, but an orb of darkness materialized, speeding up the spread of corruption as it grew up to his shoulder. With hands shaking and his breath coming in short, trembling bursts, Eli unsummoned the orb and cast Sigil of Light. The symbol appeared before him, bright enough to be painful to look at. Dark tendrils immediately began consuming the roots of the symbol in the sigil, corrupting it and spreading the filth throughout the entire area of the spell.

"No!" he protested. "Let me go!"

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"Eli," Ephraim whispered in his ear. "Darkness always wins, not because it compels, but because in the end, everyone embraces power."

"Let me go!" Eli said again. "Help! Someone help me!" Desperate, he opened his character sheet but found inky blackness spreading across his attributes. Throwing himself into the skills menu showed the same. Corruption.

The Lesser Cure spell still hadn't been touched. He cast it upon himself.

Ephraim let out an animalistic groan of pain. Eli's eyes widened in surprise at the receding corruption. It worked! He cast Cure on himself again and again, feeling himself getting lighter and the corruption retreating.

"Futile gestures," Ephraim whispered, and then Cure was taken from Eli too. The spell changed, adding to the corruption each time rather than cleansing it.

Drawing breath was becoming increasingly difficult, the darkness spreading faster across his skin. Soon, it would cover his entire self.

Ephraim whispered in his ear, "You will join your brethren soon, become one of my trusted lieutenants. Someday, you might even call me a friend."

Eli couldn't speak, couldn't scream. His body convulsed as he fought against Ephraim, and fought he did. But the end result was as inevitable as night following day.

"Finally you raise your voice to call out for me," a woman's voice sang in his heart.

"Huh?" Eli looked around but knew he would see no change in the darkness. The origin of the light and the voice was within him.

"Your actions are the reason for my waking. A true Healer after such a long time. I almost didn't dare hope, but then you became a Priest, and now I'm fully here, drawn back to this world."

"Um, what?"

"Such a nice slumber too, but I cannot be angry with you. Your presence returned me to waking. Not an easy task with the Light almost having faded from this world."

Eli suddenly found himself able to breathe. He drew in a blessed breath as a sense of serenity cradled his almost entirely corrupted body. Ephraim still whispered in his ear, but Eli did not listen.

"Who are you?"

The voice found this question amusing. "Interesting," she said. "A human not from this world, yet you have chosen to be a champion of the light in a time when the Dying Light is but a flickering flame."

"You... you know I'm not from here?" Eli asked. "I'm from Earth! All of us are. Can you send us back?"

She chuckled. "I did not call you to this place, so I cannot return you, but perhaps I might facilitate such a return once The Dying Light is restored."

Grasping for answers, Eli was desperate. "I'll do anything."

"You woke me from my slumber and I find your presence invigorating, my dear Priest. Perhaps together, we might restore some measure of order to this world. Elijah Davis. I charge you with bringing back the glory of the light."

"Are you god?" Eli asked.

"I am Light."

"Uh, OK? Well, if I do what you ask," Eli asked, "then will you send us back?"

"You are far too weak for such questions. You and I both must grow stronger. And your fellow earthlings. However you managed to enter this realm, Aryxia needs your help. Humans are not the only ones who are easily misled. The Dying Light once encompassed all races of Aryxia, even the misguided goblins."

"Goblins?"

"They are on your doorstep. Fed venom and lies, all races are capable of terrible deeds."

Eli didn't feel this was the right time to talk of goblins. "Can you save us from Ephraim?"

When she spoke again, her words were full of sorrow. "Staunch supporter. A defender to the end. Tragedy has come to this church, and the corruption runs deep. Search for your brethren deep within. Free them before it is too late and find yourself with new allies. One will not thank you, but your light will shine ever brighter, reflected by theirs. You will all have my love no matter what."

"...OK?"

"And you, my little spark, go forth as my Champion of Light."

"Wait! What is your name?"

"My siblings and I have many names. For now, you may refer to me simply as Light."

The Sigil of Light still remained on the floor, despite Eli feeling like hours had passed. Light exploded from the tree crown in the symbol, chasing away all signs of corruption. He bathed in the light and felt Ephraim's corruption lose its hold over him.

"No!" Ephraim screeched.

From one breath to the next, Eli was back in the church. Black gunk covered the floor in a pattern like it'd exploded off him. The Corrupted Priest did not reform. Everyone was gathered around Cruella, who was screaming loud enough to make his ears hurt. Eli was just about to ask everyone what'd happened when a familiar sound rang in his skull.

Ding! You have reached level 18.

Ding! You have reached level 19.

Ding! You have reached level 20.

A new pop-up appeared: You have been granted a talent: Champion of Light.

The quest changed as well: The Corrupted Lord is Slain. Uncover his secrets.

Ignoring all that, Eli hurried over to Cruella to see her writhing on the ground. The darkness taking over her arm did not disappear with Ephraim's death. It was eating into her flesh.

"Hold on, I'll heal her," Eli said, going down to his knees.

"Don't you think I've already tried that?" Samantha hissed, her eyes full of tears.

She'd summoned an orb of light as well, but that did nothing to help.

Eli ignored her and healed Cruella. The corrupting darkness bled away and dribbled onto the stone ground. She stopped screaming and sat up, blinking away tears and looking down on her restored limb.

"How did you do that?" Samantha breathed.

Cruella looked up at Eli, eyes wide. "How?"

Eli felt his face grow warm as everyone turned to look at him.

"I'm not sure," he said. "But I think I met the god of this place, or one of them."

"You met god?" Amy asked.

Zack got to his feet. "Did you come that close to dying?"

"You disappeared into the floor with all that goop on you," James added. "We couldn't do a thing."

Irene waved from where Eli had returned. The darkness had coalesced into the form of Ephraim's corpse. "Hey guys. There's a bunch of loot here!"

Cruella got up and rushed over, apparently having forgotten all about almost dying, or losing her arm. "Gimme!"

Everyone else followed, curious about what sort of items a level 28 boss carried. Eli was pretty sure Ephraim's level had not done him justice, as he was far stronger than anything else they'd faced. He'd been a person, sort of, not a mob, like the zombies or skeletons. Or had he?

"Whoa," Zacks said. "Look at all that stuff."

Eli blinked as a long list of items popped up before his eyes. The first one on the list made his eyes go wide with excitement.