Arthur launched the bolt of black and purple energy at point-blank range, the Bolt of Darkness slammed into Stern and sent the Crusader skidding back into the column causing it to crack further. Arthur darted away before the larger man could recover and renewed Shadow Corruption on him before quickly casting Drain. 

All told, the two DoTs would cause over a thousand damage over thirty seconds, but even still the man had about 50% of his health left despite all the damage they had done to the Corrupt Crusader. Arthur looked over to see Penny killing the last of the regular Crusaders freeing the tank to pick up the Boss again.

"DOWN!" Rob shouted and Arthur dropped to the floor as the air he had occupied was filled with arrows as the Ranger used the Barrage Talent to launch a stream of arrows at the Crusader Commander. 

Stern staggered back under the concentrated assault and despite wearing plate armor, several of the arrows punched through shaving off another small chunk of the big man's health. Arthur glanced at his Health Bar, it was full again between his natural regeneration and what he gained from the Drain spell. The Dark Magus had survived the near-miss from a blast of golden fire the boss. 

Thankfully the Void Shield had absorbed most of the damage but not all of it. Arthur had suffered some burns and the magical attack had consumed two of the three charges of his Void Shield before Arthur had managed to get out of range of the spell. 

Arthur activated the active component of his Dark Adept Talent. Black and purple energy started to swirl around him as the ball of energy he conjured doubled in size. The Bolt of Darkness slammed into the Crusader nearly causing him to fall over as the Shadow magic washed over him. Stern grunted in pain for the first time since the fight had started but moved implacably onwards but before he could close with Arthur, Penny slammed into him. 

The Wardens blade bit deep into the Crusader's body dropping the Crusader to less than 40%. Stern snarled something incoherently and backhanded Peny, flinging her away before kicking Arthur in the chest. The Dark Magus went down gasping for breath as a notification popped up.

<<<Battle Alert>>>

Cracked Ribs Debuff: Suffer bouts of pain, Decrease Stamina Regeneration by 15% (Duration 3 Minutes) 

<<<Battle Alert>>>

Arthur swiped the information away just in time to see Starn loom over him. He brought his warhammer up and down but, the head slammed into a shimmering layer of energy around the Dark Magus. A notification popped up, but Arthur ignored it as he felt revitalized despite the pain he was feeling. 

"NO! NOT NOW!" Stern screamed as Arthur launched another Bolt of Darkness into the Crusader's face. The man staggered back as he screamed in agony and clutched at his face as he staggered away from Arthur. 

Arthur didn't let up and continued to launch bolt after bolt at the Crusader until he dropped to one knee trying to ward off Rob and Arthur's attacks. "Mercy!" the man called out and Arthur glared at him.

The Dark Magus pointed to their surroundings, "Did they ask for mercy? Did your brothers and sister give it when they destroyed this place?" Arthur asked him as he glared at the other man before turning and striding over to the large crystal and touching it causing a prompt to appear.

Arthur looked back at the man who looked back in horror. "May you be judged as you and those like you, judged us," Arthur told the man as he activated the crystal causing it to pulse rapidly. Starn screamed in agony as he collapsed to his hands. His body withered and he convulsed as he keeled over as the shadow magic washed over his body and consumed him. 

Arthur stepped back and studied the man intently as the dark magic pulsed and writhed over the corpse until it started jerking and the tag changed to [Stern, Lord of the Dark Conclave of Damnation]. The corpse's eyes snapped open, and Arthur almost stepped back in surprise but stayed his ground as the body bowed its head in, difference towards him. "Take what lays within, for your service and reward." the man boomed as he pointed towards the far wall.

Arthur frowned as he studied it and noticed it glowed faintly before it started to retract into the floor revealing a hidden cubby. "Be warned, only those touched by the Dark or those that are followers of the Dark may pass through the Wards unharmed. All others will be cursed." Stern warned as Arthur took a step towards the wall. 

"What did you do!?!?" Penny spat as she looked at the other bodies rising around them. Arthur stopped and looked at the newly risen Undead without concern and noticed their tags had changed to [Damned Defender] and [Damned Acolyte] instead of the corrupt tags. 

"Nothing has changed, they just won't attack us on sight," Arthur responded then looked at the boss. "Right?" Arthur asked him.

Stern bowed his head, "Correct, as long as they are your allies and escorted within by you or another follower of the Dark, they will be unmolested by the defenders of this sacred shrine." Stern informed them.

Rob frowned before shaking off his surprise, "Does it matter Penny, these guys were looters trying to steal treasure from an already sacked ruin. They got what they deserved for their actions. Now since we lost all the loot from the bodies, I am going to raid the chest. Arthur go look and see what they hid away and hopefully, you find some goodies that made this whole thing worth it." the Ranger told them before walking over to the chest. 

Arthur nodded his head as he studied the entrance of the cubby and the glowing Runes and Sigils embedded into the stonework. He braced himself and stepped across the line expecting the worst, but thankfully nothing happened. Once past the line of Wards, Arthur followed a short hallway that ended at a door. It looked like a simple push and pull door with a simple metal rung handle on it and with just a little effort the door swung open revealing a small storage room. 

Most of the shelves were rotten and empty, probably taken when the shrine had been sacked back in the day by any survivors, but a few items remained. Two of those items grabbed his attention due to how they were displayed and what they were made from. 

One looked like a large disk, mainly crafted from gold with some silver inlay. He tried to bring up the items information but all he got was [Seal of Dominion] instead of any item information. One side of a disk had what looked like a fortress and the other had a cowled figure sitting on a throne who had a scepter in one hand and a sword in the other. 

The other item was a globe about the size of a small melon, crafted of some sort of silvery metal with all sorts of runes and cogs all over it. Once again, Arthur failed to get any item information but got [Clockwork Power Core] popped up. "With those items, you can change the world." Arthur whirled around nearly dropping them as he studied the figure shrouded in shadows.

While he couldn't see much, the white teeth of a smile of amusement at Arthurs reaction caught his attention as [Hades (Avatar), High God of the Dark Pantheon, and Lord of the Underworld] popped up over the figures head. "We don't have much time, since the Dark Parthenon has been destroyed, I cannot maintain my Avatar on the Material Realm for long. The Seal of Dominion and the Clockwork Power Core will give you a chance and give anything aligned with the Dark, something to rally behind. The question is Arthur do you want to step up and lead, or do you want to fade into the background and see what happens?" Hades asked as he studied Arthur. 

Arthur frowned and looked at the two items, "What exactly do you want? Everything you have said has been vague, please speak plainly." Arthur told the God earning another smile and chuckle.

"You know of the city called Vamoria?" Hades asked and at Arthurs nod, the God continued. "It was once the sight of where the Dark Parthenon was located. It was the heart and capital of a kingdom, but during the War of the Light and the Darkness as the people of this world called it, the city and the kingdom fell to ruin. For now, I want you to travel to Vamoria to gain a high enough Reputation with the people there and the mayor will be forced to deal with you. Only with the people's support can you found a Faction within any one city." Hades informed him as a prompt appeared.

Arthur frowned as he looked at the Quest then back to the Avatar, "What is a Faction?" he asked the man.

A smile blossomed on his face as Arthur studied the rest of the room. "A Faction is similar to a Clan, but it offers far more significant bonuses to its members and as a Faction, you can conquer villages, towns, and even cities bringing them under your control." the God replied as Arthur's eyes snapped to a cloak hanging off an armor stand. It seemed to absorb the ambient light around it. 

"Ok, I am in," Arthur told the God as he picked up the cloak and pulled up its information after accepting the Quest.

Arthur studied the cloak then looked up at the Avatar to see another white-toothed smile, "Good luck Arthur, you will need it in the coming days." Hades said as he faded away leaving Arthur alone to think.