Iris could barely keep herself conscious while the worlds around her came in and out of focus. She gritted her teeth and put all her efforts into pressing herself against the tiny hands holding her. While they were surrounded by complete darkness, the terrible shrieks filled the air for a few seconds. When the light finally came back, and Iris started to distinguish people moving around frantically, the howls didn't stop. They became even more intense, echoing from the stone walls of the circular chamber.

The shrieks coming from the tear were high pitched, making ears hurt. It took Iris a moment to comprehend what was happening around her. The torches and impromptu fires were burning bright. The Inquisitors and the Mages cautiously circled the middle of the room, fending off any tendrils of darkness that tried to grab anything in their immediate proximity.

'We're back!' Cody shouted, trying to outcry the chaos around them. 'Iris needs help! She's hurt!'

Iris felt lightheaded, and her vision kept getting fuzzy. Suddenly someone kneeled right next to her and grabbed her chin, turning it toward him. She narrowed her eyes and blinked several times, trying to focus. He said something, but she couldn't distinguish the words.

'Iris! Draw the light!'

'Jayden?'

'Draw the light!' he repeated, and with one swift movement of a dagger, he cut the rope binding her wrists.

Iris raised her hand a bit toward the nearest fire, and her arm shook violently. At first, nothing happened, so she forced herself to focus on the dancing flames and tried again. This time the fire grew smaller while her hand illuminated with light. Suddenly she felt a comforting warmth spreading through her whole body, clearing away the haze surrounding her mind. She took a deep breath and looked at Jayden again. His face was pale, and his left eye was so swollen she doubted he could see anything.

'I'm good now,' she said but then grimaced. 'But it hurts like hell.'

Jayden raised his hand and hovered it barely inches from her bloody shoulder. 'I've got you,' he said, and his fingers alighted with a brilliant white glow.

Iris felt an odd pulling sensation as her torn flesh started knitting back together. The sickening pain dulled and became just a sore and itchy sensation. She instantly felt so much better.

'Woah, did you just heal her?' Cody gasped, his eyes big as saucers.

'That I did. Stay around, kid, and I show you how to do it too,' Jayden said with a smirk. Then he got up and offered his hand to Iris. She gratefully grabbed it and let him pull her to her feet. She swayed a little but kept her footing. 'I healed your wound, but I can do nothing about the blood loss. Will you be all right? We need all the Mages we can get right now.'

'I'll be fine.' She nodded.

'Good. Kid, do you know how to draw the light and keep it in your hands?'

'You mean like this?' Cody raised his hand, and the brilliant illumination danced on his fingers.

'He's so much better than you,' Jayden remarked.

'Shut up!'

'Enough dawdling!' Myrica shouted sternly. 'Everyone who can stand, go into the position right now!'

Jayden grabbed the siblings' hands and dragged them towards the other Mages.

'What are we doing?' Cody asked, not even trying to hide his excitement.

'Just watch me and to the same!' Jayden replied and looked at Iris. 'You too!'

'Mages, get ready!' Myrica commanded, her voice clear and loud over the shrieking monstrosity. 'Draw the light and keep it steady! Be ready to act on my signal!'

Iris nodded and drew the light from nearby torches, and so did the others. They let the accumulated radiance collect over their heads, creating a loose gleaming sphere.

'Inquisitors! Be on your guard. Once the monster fully crosses into our realm, you need to keep it busy long enough for Mages to bring it down!'

Iris was surprised when there was a collective shout of agreement, the knights smashing their swords at the shields, standing ready to face the creature from the other world. Their faces were grim but determined. Just then, Iris realised that there was no more oppressive Shadow Magic around them. As if the Grand Inquisitor's hold on people's minds has been lifted once he disappeared.

Myrica strode towards the centre of the room with a single dagger in her hand. The row of armour-clad Inquisitors stepped aside to make way for her. It was a mesmerising sight. Never in her wildest dreams did Iris imagine the knights respecting the orders from one forest people. But then, Myrica was emitting such confidence she could follow her to the Shadow Realm and back again if she only asked.

'Brath of the Shadow Realm!' she called in her beautiful songlike voice, which sounded eerily out of place compared to the disgusting shadowy shapes swirling just a few feet away from her. 'I am Myrica from the blessed people of the forest.'

A loud hiss rambled through the chamber. 'We know what you are, mortal! And we care not for your name! Come jussst a bit clossser, and we will talk!'

'I will do no such thing. If you are so desperate for more light, why not come here to face us? Are you afraid?'

'Afraid?' a high-pitched laugh echoed through the chamber, making Iris' skin crawl. 'You are but bugsss that will be sssquashed under our feet!'

'That remains to be seen. Let us not waste our breath on empty threats, then. I invoke you to cross the border, Brath. I call on your true name. Come and face me, Tarathiel, the Traitor of the People!'

Iris' eyes went wide when something clicked in her mind. Tarathiel, the ancient elder from Myr's tale. The legend said he was torn into pieces by the Forest Spirits, so there was nothing left of him. But he was the most powerful of all his kind. According to Alaife, people were crossing the realms from the dawn of time. To think he survived just to become this hunger driven monster...

The furious shriek was so loud the whole building trembled, sending the dust on their heads. But Brath, or Tarathiel,  could not ignore the summon when his true name was spoken. The darkness in the tear thickened and grew more prominent with every second.

'Move back!' Myrica ordered, while the hole seemed to stretch to unthinkable size, letting through something so monstrous, it was hard to look directly at it. Its body was fat and bulbous, like a gigantic slug, with countless tentacles slithering from its whole surface. It kept growing, and it almost filled half of the chamber right up to the high ceiling. People were screaming in fear and disgust. Someone was retching just next to Iris, and she had to try extremely hard not to join them.

Then, when it seemed that the thing could not get any bigger, its body seemed to break into two. It took Iris a moment to realise that the hole in the middle was a gaping mouth, with row and row of sharp black teeth dripping with something luminescent that resembled a liquid light. With a loud and sickening thump, the rest of the beast plopped on the floor from the tear.

And then the creature laughed. The sound was the most horrible thing that Iris had heard her entire life. It was like a thousand nails scrapping on the walls. Like helpless screams in the darkness.

Suddenly her mind was assaulted with a wave of desperation and terror, so strong she cried out in surprise, her whole body started shaking.

'Hold the light!' Jayden shouted through gritted teeth.

'You foolsss!' the monster hissed. 'You brought doom to yourssselvessss!' Before anyone could react, one of the dark tentacles shot out and coiled around Myrica's neck, lifting her from the floor like she weighed nothing. The dagger fell off her hand as she struggled with the relentless grip. 'And you, dear sssissster, will die firssst!'

'Get your filthy tentacles off her!' Arlo roared, jumping towards them. His axes flashed, reflecting the surrounding flames, and the cut tendril fell to the floor, releasing its prey.

The monster howled in fury and lashed other slithering limbs towards them. But they were ready now. The Inquisitors stepped forward with their weapons and shields ready. Once they realised they could hurt the beast with their steel, they didn't hesitate.

While the battle commenced, Kara helped Myrica to her feet and pushed her towards the Mages.

'Be done with it, quick! We won't hold it for long!'

Myrica nodded, and in a few long strides, she reached the gathered Mages. Iris noticed huge purple bruises already forming on her slender neck, but she didn't even pause. The beautiful sapphire crystal appeared in her raised hand.

'Infuse it now!'

Iris gritted her teeth and pushed the light toward the crystal, as did all the other Mages. Suddenly the gem started glowing, casting brilliant blue light all around them.

'We need more light!' Jayden shouted. 'Drew as much as you can and infuse it!'

Iris tried her best, but soon all the fires around them started to die down, while the painful screams of fighting knights filled the chambered with terrible echoes.

'You cannot ssstop us!' Tarathiel roared. 'We will devour every one of you!'

Iris' muscles suddenly locked up. The brilliant blue and white light pulsed over their heads, glowing brighter with every second, and she realised she could no longer move or even look away. The air started cracking with accumulated power.

'What have we here?! A dinner?!' the monster howled, dark tendrils reaching greedily toward the light.

When the last fire was extinguished completely, Iris felt a painful tug deep inside her. The crystal was still connected to them all, and as there was no more external light source, it started siphoning their inner light. Iris' eyes went wide with understanding. There were more surprised and painful gasps all around her. That's what happened during the Ritual.

'Jayden, we have to let it go now!' she cried.

'What if it's not enough?!'

'We're all going to die if we won't do it now!'

That was it - there was no other choice. The Mages could only hope it would work. Because otherwise, they were all doomed.

'On my signal!' Jayden bellowed. Iris has never heard such confidence in his voice. But her vision started to blur already, the tug of the crystal more painful with every shaky breath. 'Attack!'

Iris pushed with all she had. They all did. All this beautiful light wavered and then shot toward the monstrous body in the centre of the room. All the remaining knights fell flat on the floor, trying to get out of the way.

Tarathiel shrieked in surprise and pain. The light pierced right into him.

And then disappeared, leaving only darkness in its place.

The room went silent for a moment while everyone was holding their breath. But seconds passed, and nothing happened. The monster started to shake and erupted with an ear-splitting sound that shook all his bulbous body.

It was laughing.

'That'sss it? That wasss your bessst ssshot?!' the creature cackled.

'It's over. We are done for,' Jayden whispered so quietly that Iris was the only one who could hear him. She felt a small hand grabbing hers, and she squeezed it.

But then, the laugh died, replaced by a painful howl. The monster shuddered violently, and the slightest spark appeared inside of its slithering body. Iris watched with eyes wide as the light started to expand, getting bigger and brighter.

'NO!!!' The painful howl turned into the shriek of agony. Iris had to clasp her ears as she couldn't bear the horrible cacophony anymore. The air crackled and sizzled all around them. The rays of brilliant white light started shooting out from the thrashing body, illuminating the whole chamber and filling it with wildly dancing shadows. Then there was a loud crack as if something broke and a stream of blinding light erupted upward with enough strength to pierce right through the ceiling and all the storeys of the church above.

Iris fell on the floor, grabbing Cody and covering him with her body while the small debris fell on their heads. She could no longer look, as the light was far too bright. But a horrifying screech continued, and an incredible amount of light rushed up toward the sky with the whooshing sound.

Every second felt like an eternity while Iris trembled on the cold floor, clinging to her little brother for dear life. But eventually, the howls died down, and the world dimmed.

Iris gingerly opened one eye and looked around. The chamber was full of dust. The floor was covered with bodies. But then, people started rising, still dazed and confused. The centre of the room where the tear in the Veil used to be was empty now. No glimmering air, no unnatural shadows coiling around. Only a big pile of black dust littered the floor.

Iris didn't know how she found the strength, but she got up and dragged her feet toward the centre of the chamber. She had to see it up close to make sure it was gone. She stopped at the pile of dust and nudged it with her feet. Nothing happened. Her body shook with relief, and hysterical laughter escaped her mouth. Iris quickly clasped her hand over her lips, horrified by how loud it sounded in the sudden silence.

Then she looked up at the gaping hole in the ceiling, and she froze in shock.

'Woah! The sky is so bright!' shouted Cody.

And then the chamber erupted with cheers.