The crystal dungeons hummed with protective frequencies as Raven materialized from the shadows, her expression grim beneath her hood. Commander Elena Crystalhart and Princess Aria were already there, studying the scene before them with careful attention.
Lady Ravenna's prison sphere hung untouched, its swirling patterns of perfect evolution continuing their endless dance. But on the floor beneath it lay her physical body - aged centuries beyond recognition, skin like ancient parchment, demon-red eyes staring sightlessly upward.
"Impossible," Elena muttered, examining the wards. "These barriers weren't breached. No one entered this chamber except authorized guards."
"That's what concerns me," Raven replied, her shadow-blessed senses detecting something subtler. "The corruption in her body... it's been completely drained. Not dispersed, not purified. Drained."
Aria knelt beside the corpse, her crystal-enhanced sight picking up details others might miss. "These marks around her neck - they're not random decay. They form a pattern." She traced the air above the darkened skin. "Almost like..."
"A collar," Raven finished. "One I've only seen in ancient texts from the Twilight War."
Elena's breath caught. "That's not possible. Those designs were lost with..."
"Maliki," Raven said the name like a forbidden curse. "The Shadow Lord who supposedly died in the final battle."
"But that was three centuries ago," Aria protested. "Even with blood magic..."
"Look at how old Lady Ravenna truly was," Elena gestured to the withered corpse. "Some powers can extend life far beyond its natural span."
Raven's shadows danced around her fingers as she examined residual energies. "The corruption extraction is more refined than anything recorded in the war chronicles. As if he's spent centuries perfecting his technique."
"But why reveal himself now?" Aria asked. "After hiding for so long?"
Their answer lay in a tiny crystal shard embedded in Lady Ravenna's withered hand. Within it, a message pulsed with fading energy:
"My dear sister... did you think you were the only one who learned to evolve? Three centuries of patience have taught me so much more than your rushed perfection ever could."
The three women shared knowing looks. This wasn't just a new threat - it was an ancient one, reborn through centuries of careful planning. Someone who had watched from the shadows as kingdoms rose and fell, learning from each generation's mistakes.
"The histories say Maliki was obsessed with true immortality," Elena said quietly. "Not just extended life through blood magic, but perfect eternal existence."
"And now he has Lady Ravenna's centuries of research to add to his own," Raven added grimly.
"Should we tell Thorne?" Aria asked, though she already knew the answer.
"Not yet," Elena decided. "Let her have this victory. Let them all have it. Tomorrow will bring its own battles - ones our ancestors thought they'd already won."
As they left the chamber, none of them noticed the tiny shadows that seemed to pulse with their own rhythm, carrying whispers of what they'd witnessed to distant places. In a chamber that hadn't seen light since the Twilight War, ancient eyes opened, gleaming with three centuries of patient purpose.
Everything was evolving exactly as planned.
[End of Book One]