The dawn broke through the night. The lingering warmth after the Soul Lamp went out had not yet dissipated. Lucas and Darlene stood quietly on the mountain top, gazing at the world that was gradually waking up in the distance. However, a trace of shadow hidden beneath the light quietly drifted. It seemed that the darkness had not truly dispersed, but was just lurking in a different way.
Lucas slowly let go of Darlene's hand and his gaze swept around. "We won, but why do I always feel..."
"Something's wrong?" Darlene softly continued, a hint of worry flickering in her eyes.
Lucas nodded slightly. "Yes, although the Nightmare Spirit has been sealed, the crack disappeared too smoothly... It makes me feel a bit suspicious."
Darlene's staff trembled slightly. Her remaining soul perception spread in the air, and she frowned. "Indeed, there seems to be some unknown fluctuations remaining in this space. It's not the Nightmare Spirit, but... it's very familiar."
Just as the two were about to leave, a deep vibration suddenly came from the depths of the mountain range, as if some huge being was slowly waking up. And then, a cold and eerie aura seeped out from the ground and gradually spread.
Lucas quickly drew his sword and stared warily in the direction of the source of the vibration. "It seems we still have trouble."
Boom -
Under the mountain top, an already - abandoned stone door slowly rose. The surface of the stone door was covered with complex runes, and one of them was emitting a faint blue light, as if responding to something.
Darlene's face changed slightly. "This is... the Seal Gate?"
"The Seal Gate?" Lucas's expression was solemn. "The crack just now was only the entrance of the Nightmare Spirit. Behind this door, I'm afraid, is the real source that's sealed."
Darlene nodded, her voice trembling slightly. "This may be the true meaning of the existence of the source of the Nightmare Spirit - it's guarding a deeper darkness, and this seal has always been hidden behind the crack."
Lucas raised his hand and placed the remaining embers of the Soul Lamp on the edge of the sword. As the faint light flickered, a scarlet eye pupil faintly emerged.
That eye pupil was slowly opening.
"This is..." Lucas's expression suddenly darkened, and he quickly stepped back. "Damn it, that crack... has never actually closed!"
Before Darlene could react, the Seal Gate crack. Countless black tentacles suddenly surged out from the door, wriggling like a swarm of snakes, and rushed straight towards the two of them.
"Watch out!"
Lucas swung his sword down. The sword qi was like a rainbow, cutting the tentacles off. However,
the severed tentacles did not dissipate. Instead, they quickly spread on the ground, like some strange living things.
"These things are absorbing the embers of the Soul Lamp!" Darlene exclaimed.
Lucas immediately reacted. "They're reviving!"
He quickly turned around and his gaze swept around. "We must stop these tentacles from spreading further, or the entire mountain range will be devoured by them."
Darlene took a deep breath, bit her fingertip, and carved new runes on her staff. The golden runes glowed faintly and turned into a light blade, hovering in the air above her palm.
"The sealing magic array is activated!" Darlene whispered. She thrust her staff into the ground suddenly, and the runes quickly spread, trying to suppress the tentacles again.
However, those tentacles seemed to possess some kind of intelligence. They avoided the coverage of the magic array and circled around to Lucas's back, trying to attack from another direction.
"Darlene, be careful!" Lucas leaped into the air and blocked the attacking tentacles with his sword, but the black liquid splashed and stained his arm.
A searing pain hit. Lucas's face instantly turned pale, and the sword edge trembled, almost slipping out of his hand.
Darlene immediately cast a spell. A beam of light enveloped Lucas, dispelling the erosion of the black liquid. "These aren't ordinary tentacles. They carry the curse of the Nightmare Spirit."
Lucas gritted his teeth. "Seal them. We can't hesitate any longer."
Darlene closed her eyes and began to chant the ancient sealing incantation. The light blade gradually rose with her chanting and turned into a beam of light stabbing straight at the Seal Gate, trying to close the crack again.
However, just as the seal was about to be completed, a pitch - black figure quietly appeared beside the Seal Gate, holding a black crystal in its hand and shattered Darlene's magic array.
Darlene suddenly opened her eyes and exclaimed, "Who is it!" The black shadow chuckled softly, its voice cold. "Did you really think you could seal us back so easily? So naive."
Lucas recognized that figure, and his gaze suddenly became sharp. "It's you... a clone of the Nightmare Spirit."
The black shadow slowly raised its head, revealing a face exactly the same as the Nightmare Spirit's. "You've only sealed a part of me. But as long as darkness exists, I will never truly disappear."
He raised his hand and waved. The black crystal let out an ear - piercing screech, and countless tentacles sprang out from the ground again, shrouding the entire mountain range in darkness.
Lucas gripped his long sword tightly and said in a low voice, "Darlene, we must destroy that crystal!"
Darlene took a deep breath. "Leave it to me. You go and hold him off."
Lucas nodded. His figure flashed through the darkness like lightning, and the tip of his sword pointed straight at the black shadow, while Darlene condensed the last trace of the fire of the Soul Lamp on her staff, ready to face this final showdown.
The darkness has not dispersed, and the light still remains. The real decisive battle has just begun.