The group had continued their journey when the sun had barely peaked over the horizon. The air was filled with mist as they carefully walked their horses on the jagged cliffs of the Obsidian Peaks. The air was freezing, and it bit at the exposed skin of their faces. The group had kept their resolve through it all, the men following Caelum people who fought beside him in many of the battles he fought. Seraphina couldn't help but feel slightly out of place among the men, their bond noticeable. Her thoughts were taken by a now familiar feeling: Lunara. She stopped, pressing her hand into the side of the rocky cliff.

"Do you sense something?" Caelum asked her, he hand hovering over the hilt of his sword. His men became uneasy as they looked around them.

"I sense Lunara here. What if it's the entrance to the Labrinyth?" She exclaimed, his fingers rubbing against the rock. Suddenly, the wall rumbles before a door sized hole slides downwards into the mountain, revealing a hidden entrance. Caelum led the charge, followed by Seraphina, prepared for the worst.

The  stone door shut behind them, plunging them into a thick unnaturally darkness. They began to panic until the talisman on Seraphina's neck began to glow and cut back the darkness.

"These walls could hold far more than stone, be careful," Caelum said, his men nodding in agreement. The entire crew had drawn their weapons, eyes squinting in the darkness.

They walked down a dirt path that was intercepted periodically with a stone staircase, leading them deeper into the bowels of the mountain. On the wall held a few scones, ordained with gems that had a sickly glow to them. The air felt damp and humid. The dirt was soft from the water leaking in from the rocks. One of the soldiers had tried to take a stone of the wall as the light source, but as soon as it left its spot, the gem became a useless stone.

The path became more intricate and periodically became a series of hallways with rooms. They began to search the rooms, finding sigils and items of Lunara; this confirmed their location. Each step they took further, Seraphina could feel the dark energy permeanating the walls around her. They reached a wooden door, and Caeluk reached to open it, but Seraphina stopped him.

"There's something behind this door," she said, sensing a presence, "something is watching us."

The group looked around, seeing nothing but rock around them. The tension of the group grew as their search became slightly more frantic. Caelum's eyes locked with hers, studying her face for a moment. He nodded, calling his men to stop the search, and he pushed open the door.

Inside this chamber, ancient relics lined the walls, armor, and weapons made of blackened steel and Obsidian. Caelum and Seraphina scanned the objects together, stopping at a familiar piece of armor.

This same armor from Caelum's castle.

They couldn't stop and ponder on it for too long. Behind them stood a blackened alter, which the men had begun to huddle around. The altar was made of blackened iron, adorned with iron thorns, which surrounded the altar. It was as dangerous as it was beautiful. One of them began to reach out to touch it.

"No, don't..." Seraphina reached out to stop him, but it was too late. In his pursuit to touch the altar, he had cut himself on one of the thorns. It was as if the altar was trying to hurt him. The blood dripped down his hand as he removed his gauntlet. His hand had grown gangrenous, and it quickly began to travel up his arm until he dropped to his knees. Dead.

The soldiers moved away from the altar, avoiding touching their withering ally. They decide not to stay longer and push on, going deeper into the maze. The walls progressively got damper as they progressed deeper, the ground turning to mud.

It wasn't long until they reached a room with a sacrificial blade in the center and a note.

"A sacrifice is required. Make your choice."

The group looked at each other, the soldiers growing uneasy as they began to debate on who it should be. Many citing their families, or how young they are. The debate continued until one of the knights, an older man with grey hair, walked forward. He removed his helmet and handed it to Caelum.

"It's been an honor, sir," he said before taking the blade and driving it into his throat. The debate had been silenced.

"Baras..." one of the soldiers gasped, walked forward, and placed his hand on the dead man, "he saved my life so many times."

"Mine too," another piped up, and the other joined in. They all took a moment before going into the now open door. They told the story of how Baras had saved them in Caelum's last conquest. He had held back a group of twelve men on his own, his superior swordsmanship something of legends. However, he knew it was his time. This battle was different, and he could feel his body slowing down. The sacrifice was so that the younger men, at the start of their lives, could live on. Caelum had ensured that there would be something made in his honor, although it would he hard to do such a man justice.

The air around them grew colder as they ventured deeper, the walls beginning to shimmer with an eerie light. The walls swelled like they were breathing, the magic this mountain almost coming alive. The amulet around his necklace flickered the first time inside that it had done that. Every step they took felt heavier, their bodies weighed down with dark magic.

They reached the end of the corridors and spilled out into a large room in the center that stood a man in a dark robe adorned with symbols of Lunara. His face was pale, and his eyes hollow, his hair a stark white. His face was littered with scars from battles and his use of dark magic.

"Who are you?" Seraphina asked.

"You came... I knew you would," he spoke. His voice cruncy. His hamd trembled as his leaned on his staff. Seraphina instinctively stepped back, and Caelum's hand raised to his sword's hilt. Though Seraphina waves him down, "You aren't seraphina, yes?"

"Yes."

"The newest vessel of Aurelia... you know it was like you once," he said.

"Like me?" He words sent a chill down her spine.

"I was a healer blessed by Aurelia long ago," he stepped forward, but the shadows hung to him like chains.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Lunara happened," he answered, "she didn't come from a curse. She comes... patiently. Like a whisper in the night, with promises of power, money, influence. Power of things beyong Aurelia... she promised salvation for the people of loved... she promised me strength to protect my loved ones."

"And you believed her?"

"I tried her powers to test it out. It seemed as if her promises were true... but then it was too late. Her promises were true in the beginning," he stopped for a moment, "one day, I realized I was no longer a healer. I was just a tool for her darkness."

Seraphina felt the weight of his words, feeling the implication weighing her down, "but you had a choice."

Caelum stepped forward, pulling her back away from the cleric.

"I thought I could use her powers without consequence," he laughed a cold laugh, bitter with his life.

"I won't let her touch me," Seraphina said.

"Funny... I said the same thing," he laughed louder, "go. But be warned. Lunara will not let you go so easily."

"Why are we always fighting with each other instead of balancing each other?" Seraphina started, "I don't think I've ever understood that in all my time growing up in my temple."

The other cleric paused for a moment, too, "because the sisters hate each other."

"But why? They complete each other. They are part of a never-ending cycle of growth and decay."

"We were once," he started, and the revelation caused Seraphina to gasp.

"What do you mean?" She asked, the room silent with anticipation.

"Your temple, it was to worship the sisters together, to worship the balance they provide us," he answered, "until his ancestor banned the worship."

He pointed to Caelum, and he face contorted in realism, "This was never mentioned in the royal records. How could they hide something like this? My father, my grandfather, and I have all suffered because of this. Why?"

"He feared her influence. He attempted to erase her from history - to erase her presence in your temple. The curse was Lunara's punishment for destroying the natural balance between gods."

"Then we are trying to right centuries of wrong," Seraphina said. Suddenly, Seraphina's vision goes black, and she is transported back in time. In front of her stands a woman who resembles her; it didn't take long to recognize her own features in the woman. She stood in front of the king - an older man who looked so much like Caelum - pleading with him to reconsider the ban. Her pleads fell on deaf ears, and she left.

Suddenly, she was transported to the alter, the woman's hand holding a bowl of black oil and herbs, standing at the blackened alter. She lifted the ceremonial blade, a jagged blade made of rare earth metals, preparing to enact her vengeance. Her vision stopped.

"No... it can't be," her voice trembled, and she gripped the pendent on her neck.

"What was it?" Caelum asked, "did you see something?"

"The person who cast the curse on your family was my ancestor," she was unable to process her shock, so her voice trembled.

"Your family... doomed mine," his voice was a mix of anger, confusion, and shock.

"Your family doomed themselves," she said, "she pleaded for the worship to continue, but your great great grandfather didn't listen."

There was a long pause between them, as Caelum tried to process his words. Finally, the Lunaran cleric spoke.

"The balance between our gods needs to be restored... let me help you," he spoke. Seraphina paused for a moment, uneasy about the clerics' true motive. However, she ultimately accepted.

"We will do what we must," she smiled.

The mountain began to shake, and the walls began to collapse. The party was thrown to their feet, unprepared for the earthquake. The Lunaran Cleric points to a small opening in the room.

"That way," the party didn't hesitate and made their way through the winding paths. Resting against the walls as the mountain shook harder, almost as if it was enraged. The walls continue to crumble as they begin to dig their way out before one of the knights hit sunlight. The warm glow provides an immense relief to everyone. When the last person made their way out of the cavern, it had fully collapsed, closing the Labrinyth off for good.

Although they made it out, Seraphina is still haunted at the revelation of her family. She had spent her entire life worshipping Aurelia and despising Lunaran worshippers; those feeling based on nothing but the words of a tyrannical king. Caelum reached out to her, wrapping his arm around her, sensing her growing burden. He looks up in the sky and sees the morning sun peaking over the horizon.

"We should leave soon... unless you want to stay?" Caelum gave Seraphina a sly smirk, causing her to laugh slightly; there was still tension between them from her newfound revelation, but it helped to ease some.

The party sets on the journey back to Seraphina's village, the Lunaran Cleric, following closely in tow.