As Ariana disappeared into the dark with the flame torch, silence returned to the tunnel. Shadows crept up the wet stone walls, and for a moment, it felt as if Kael stood in a void. But in that void, the heads of the five cultists began to glow with bloody red eyes and lips emitting an eerie, unnatural light. Even without the torch, they were visible. Symbols carved into their flesh pulsed like breathing wounds.
Kael narrowed his gaze. He could feel the magic build in the air.
They opened their mouths in unison, ready to sing again, their lips twisting into the opening verse of a dark chant—but before the sound could even form, Kael was gone from where he stood.
With a flash, he appeared before the closest cultist. The man smirked.
"You haven't learned any lesson from our last engagement. You—"
SWISH.
His words cut off as his head lifted from his shoulders and hovered midair for a second before plummeting with a wet thud.
