The two of them left the safety of the inn and went outside to face the darkness, but a purple mist surrounded the ground floor.

“Is that–?”

“–Miasma.” Malakyh finished Aurora's sentence. “Stay close and try not to inhale the toxins.”

Aurora stiffened her chest and sucked in a breath. The sheathed daggers close to her chest in one hand while the other gripped Malakyh's cloak.

Ahead of them, however, the ground began to pull away from itself as something clawed its way from underground.

“M–Malakyh?” Aurora gripped onto his cloak tighter.

“The undead. The Curse is triggering them. Stand back, Aurora.”

The undead were relatively similar to Djinn; the only differences were how they were formed and who they hailed from.

He raised two fingers to his lips and recited an incantation to seal them. Instead of the ghostly silver chains used to imprison the Djinn, a talisman formed between his fingers, and he released the seal with a swipe of his arm.

The seals were tossed toward the undead and stuck to their rotting flesh. They roared in pain before dispersing into shadows until they were no more.

“Follow me and watch yourself.”

They followed the path of tombstones that weren’t there previously and a trail of purple miasma gas that seemed to reach toward their knees. Aurora pinched her nose and puffed her cheeks to avoid inhaling the poisonous gas, which, due to her height and daughter, would cover her entirely.

Malakyh removed his cloak hood to prevent this, releasing his coiled locks from its hidden perch. “Here,” he said, putting on the hood and placing the cowl over her mouth and nose. “Try not to breathe too deeply in shallow breaths until we escape this miasma.”

Aurora nodded. She wasn’t feeling as light-headed as before, so she put a pep in her step and followed Malakyh’s trail.

Once they reached the town center, they realized it was not the same quaint town as earlier. Instead of the townhomes, a large castle-like structure stood tall in the distance, right where Chief Albert was. Dilapidated ones replaced the houses, and tombstones littered the fields.

They had stumbled across an Altar, which had already overtaken the town.

“W-what do we do?” Aurora clung to his cloak, knowing fearfully that Lyra was inside.

Malakyh gritted his teeth, knowing this as well. His eyes narrowed at the open wrought iron door, begging them to enter its depth.

“We fight, that’s what. Are you ready?”

Aurora nodded. Knowing she wasn’t genuinely ready, she had no choice if she wanted to save Lyra, but before they could make their way inside, a horde of undead inched toward them as they emerged from the shadows and from underneath the ground.

“Blasted it all. These things won’t give us a break.”

Even if Malakyh was strong, Aurora knew his energy was best served by the Magycte Void Beast inside.

Aurora closed her eyes. I’m not a weapon. I’m not a monster… I’m an Ashbourne… I help others, not destroy. Aurora repeated the mantra, willing her powers to come out of her. She gripped Malakyh’s clothing for support, and a pulsating pressure of electricity scattered across her skin and leaped off her.

“What in Lumos name—.” Malakyh gasped, but Aurora didn’t open her eyes as she concentrated.

She could feel the surge of energy pulsating around her. She would need to release it. Please… Lumos, help me. A gasp released from Aurora’s breath as a gentle but firm push was felt on her chest, and a release of electricity was sent out in red waves around her, striking each undead with a direct hit.

They exploded into a shadowy mass without so much as a scream, as if they hadn’t even known they were hit.

Aurora opened her eyes to see the undead no more. She panted a bit, having so much power expelled from her all at once. Malakyh was over his shock, realizing that this was Aurora’s doing. He looked down to see her gripping his cloak tighter than before, her eyes lulled closed occasionally, and she looked pale, like she could pass out at any moment.

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He was about to offer her rest, but Aurora only shook her head as if she was reading his thoughts. “We have to keep going. Lyra needs us.”

He nodded, accepting her request, but did one thing. He scooped Aurora from off the ground and carried her in his arms so she could save her energy for the fight ahead.

Aurora didn’t protest and curled in his arms as they headed inside the Altar.

The second Altar was not as large as the first one but just as wide. Several armed spirit soldiers marched along the wide path, blocking them from the exit, where the next Great Void Beast was located.

Malakyh placed Aurora down on her feet, and she felt more restored than before. “I'll take the enemy from the front, and you cover our rear, but if you feel yourself depleting in energy, let me know, and I'll handle it from there.”

Aurora nodded and stuck by his side as he chanted an incantation. Blue wisps of fire circulated like a protective barrier. When an undead came too close to them, they evaporated into mist.

They continued like that down the long stone Hall of the castle, with tombstones sticking up from the ground. They found their way to the entrance, where an effeminate man with long, gracefully brown hair seemed to flow in the wind despite no windows. His ghostly, dull, silver eyes were sharp and profound, with soft features from his sculpted jawline to his posture.

He sat on top of a steed, wearing glistening armor. Behind him was Lyra, trapped against the wall with vines wrapped around her body. Her head lulled to the side unconscious.

“Lyra!” Aurora cried out, forgetting they were not out of danger yet. She would have run to her had Malakyh not stopped her.

“Wait, Aurora. We're in the presence of one of the Great Void Beasts… Paine.”

With the greeting, the Void Beast tipped his head in a bow with a hand on his heart. A crooked smile spread across his lips when he lifted his head to look at them. An illusion of a skull flickered on his face, revealing his true form.

Aurora flinched, hiding behind Malakyh from the man’s creepy grin. The undead spirits appeared in shadowy wisps and surrounded the entire area, waiting for their master to give them an order.

Malakyh pivoted his stance, and the chant that fell past his lips formed an iridescent ghostly sword made of white smoke. The Void Beast, Paine, also reacted, drew his elegant, long, gold sword, and dropped down from his steed.

“Aurora…” Malakyh whispered to the fearful girl. “Fight with all you can muster, but run if your power wanes or you grow fearful. Run back to the inn and try to wake up the others. Do not engage.”

Aurora’s bright red eyes widened and nodded. She couldn’t run, but she’d do whatever it took to save Lyra and this town. She just hoped she wouldn't lose herself in the process. Taking a deep breath, she focused on her power and could feel the surge of electricity at her fingertips.

Malakyh stood on the other side of the makeshift Altar graveyard, his eyes fixed on the figure before him. Paine, the Great Void Beast, exuded an aura of dread. With long brown hair cascading down his back and an effeminate grace, Paine looked almost serene atop his steed, a nightmarish creature with a skull-like face that seemed to leer at Malakyh.

Paine’s long sword gleamed in the dim light, an extension of the darkness surrounding him. Malakyh tightened his grip on the white smoke, the flames licking the blade with an eerie intensity.

"I have waited for this moment," Paine said in a whisper, yet it carried across the graveyard like a death knell. "To face a warrior worthy of my power."

"I will see to it that this Altar is cleansed and these spirits are set free," Malakyh replied, his voice steady despite the tension in the air.

With a swift movement, Paine urged his steed forward, the beast's hooves thundering against the ground. Malakyh met the charge head-on, their swords clashing with a shower of sparks. The force of the impact sent shockwaves through the air, and the spirits shrieked in response.

As they fought, Aurora held her ground. Her power banished the spirits that tried to overwhelm her.

Paine's movements were fluid and precise, his strikes lethal. Malakyh countered with ferocity, his fiery sword leaving trails of white fire in its wake. Each clash of their blades was a symphony of power and skill, neither willing to give an inch.

The battle raged on, a dance of death between two formidable opponents. Paine's steed reared and kicked, trying to unseat Malakyh, but he remained steadfast, his focus unwavering. Despite his efforts, the fight took too long, and fatigue began to creep into Malakyh's limbs.

Just as Paine seemed to gain the upper hand, a thorned whip lashed out, wrapping around the Void Beast's sword arm and yanking him off balance. Sly emerged from the shadows, her whip crackling with energy.

"Need a hand?" she called out, a smirk on her face.

"Perfect timing," Malakyh replied, breathing heavily.

With Sly's assistance, the tide of the battle turned. Her thorned whip and Malakyh's fiery sword worked in tandem, their attacks synchronized and relentless. Paine, caught off guard by the new assault, struggled to regain control.

With a final, powerful strike, Malakyh drove his sword through Paine's chest, the flames consuming the Void Beast in a blaze of dark fire. Paine let out a scream of agony as his form disintegrated, his essence banished back to the void from whence it came.

As the energy of the Altar began to dissipate, Sly hurried a Rift growing at its center and closed the tear in reality, sealing it shut. The spirits, now freed from their torment, slowly faded into the ether, their wails turning into sighs of relief.

"Lyra!" Malakyh called out, spotting her vined to the wall of the Altar. He and Sly rushed over, breaking the vines and helping her to free her.

Lyra's eyes fluttered open, and she looked around, disoriented. "Malakyh... Sly...?"

"We did," Malakyh confirmed, a tired frown placed on his face. They all knew too well that the triumph only meant they were that much closer to completing the astral contract.

As they emerged from the Altar, the dawn's first light breaking through the dark clouds, they saw the town's people exiting their homes, waking from their sleep, including Cassandra and Tierney.

They had survived another trial, and though the road ahead was uncertain, they faced it together.