The towering figure stepped forth from the crimson mist, each footfall shaking the ground. The sound of chains dragging across stone echoed with every movement. It was neither wholly human nor entirely spirit—trapped in the liminal space between the living and the dead.
"You… are challengers of the vow."
Its voice rumbled low, as though it rose from beneath the earth itself.
She moved forward, lifting her torch. The flickering light revealed the ancient circle beneath their feet glowing brighter, its shifting sigils writhing as though alive.
"We are not here to defy," she declared firmly. "We seek the truth—who this curse binds, and who desires for it to endure."
The Keeper of the Oath was silent for a long moment. Then, the chains wrapped around its form rattled, ringing like cold iron.
At last, a single command escaped its lips:
"Then… prove it with blood."