Ahead, among the silent trees of the forest, a dark tower appeared. He flew through one of the upper windows and found himself in a half-ruined ancient hall. At the far wall, a stranger sat on the floor, watching the newcomer with eyes that glowed brightly in the darkness.
"At last, you have come." The light in his eyes grew brighter, as if sensing the coming grim events. "And my ancient staff is with you. The first staff creates dungeons; the second is meant to act above. And she feared its power. Because it could lead you to me. Now my hour has come. My path in this incarnation is ending, but I would see it finished with dignity. For a long time, she kept me here in captivity, in blind hope of escaping the ancient prophecy and the punishment for her crimes. But the time to pay has come. You must destroy the system of ancient dungeons and powers."
He raised his hand to his chest and drew from it a round stone burning with fire. The light in his eyes began to fade. The stranger held the stone out to the Cursed.
"Take it and cast it into the underground source of power. Thus the ancient prophecy shall be fulfilled, and all paths that must be completed will be brought to their end. And you will be able to move on."
The Cursed took the stone. The stranger's head tilted back, his gaze of darkened eyes and a smile of sharp teeth following him as he left.
He returned and flew back down through the shaft. He emerged from the hall. But ahead of him, he was already expected. The dark, threatening figure of the Mistress hovered at the far end of the tunnel. She raised her staff, and destructive forces and fragments of stone crashed down upon him. He lifted his own staff and deflected her numerous attacks.
Then she swung her staff and sent a powerful storm in his direction, hurling him far back.
He flew back out through the shaft and began moving over the forest. Powerful explosions of earth kept erupting behind him. The Dungeon Mistress tried to catch him and reach him from the black depths.
At a certain spot, he used the staff, and a new shaft was formed. He descended through it and found himself in the chamber where an underground source of energy hung suspended in space.
The Cursed took the burning stone and threw it into the source. It flew forward and vanished in a bright flash of light. The light of the source began to intensify. The Cursed climbed back up the shaft, and at that moment the underground world trembled. The trees shook. A sudden shockwave threw the Cursed far forward. Then everything fell silent.
Grey ash drifted down from the night sky. The Cursed raised his head. Beside him lay the ancient staff. Its crystal no longer burned.
A new atmosphere swept into the night forest. The Cursed, still lying on the ground, saw shoes, legs, and the hem of a dress belonging to someone descending from above. A white-haired stranger with eyes in which an impenetrable black darkness swirled. She wore a short white dress. She descended and stopped a few steps in front of him. To her left and right, two more girls descended—similar to her. The same white hair, the same eyes filled with darkness, the same short white dresses.
The stranger in front smiled, revealing long, sharp teeth. A shocking contrast to her eyes filled with impenetrable blackness sent a chill across the skin and a rising, overwhelming terror. Her smile boded nothing good.
"The Cursed, we have come a long way for you," came the voice of the first girl. "You've made us worry. We thought the previous Messengers would kill you, and we would lose all the pleasure. But here we are—and here you are. So let us do what we came here for. Shall we dance?"
Her white arms stretched unnaturally and rested on his shoulders. Her black eyes were right before him. He felt his strength begin to drain away. She laughed as she circled around him with her hands still on his shoulders, and he circled with her. Then the other two girls placed their hands on his shoulders and joined the dance as well. Their arms stretched out to about 30 feet in length. The Cursed tried to use magic, but felt unable to. As if someone was draining his power.
The white-haired girls were laughing. Their clear, ringing laughter rang out through the cursed night darkness. The silent trees of the forest stood around and remained grim witnesses to the evil, incomprehensible sorcery.
Suddenly, the sword formed in the air and, with a single strike, severed the long arms of the first girl. She screamed and recoiled, her arms cut off, leaving bloodied stumps. The others had no time to react either. The blade's strikes cut off their arms as well.
Then the Cursed approached each of them and beheaded them. The creation of the sword was not pure magic, and thus it was able to pierce through the sorcery of the three witches.
He stood alone amid three headless, armless corpses.
Grey ash continued to fall from the night sky.