Liora kept looking at him in a way that made Rick feel uneasy. "That's interesting. I believe there is something strange about your spiritual presence."
"It feels like..." She stopped talking and shook her head. "No... Forget I said anything, and don't worry about it."
"If you really want to help, I won't say no."
"I've been trying to clean up this shrine for two days now, but the awful stuff is worse than I thought it would be. More help would be appreciated."
She pointed to the entrance of the temple and told them to follow her. "The shrine is for Aurelia, the goddess of light and healing."
"Three weeks ago, a merchant who was wrong about what it was brought a dark artifact here, thinking it was a holy relic."
"As soon as it crossed the threshold, corruption started to spread through the shrine. The artifact is gone, but the stain is still there."
Rick could feel something was wrong in the air as soon as they walked into the temple. It felt like they were walking through invisible spiderwebs, and the temperature got noticeably colder the farther they went.
The golden decorations that should have shone brightly looked dull and dirty. The smell of incense couldn't quite cover up the rot underneath.
"The corruption has gotten worse in the main sanctum," Liora said as they walked. "Dark spirits have settled there and are feeding on the leftover bad energy."
"I've been able to keep them at bay, but I don't have the strength to clean the area completely by myself.
"My acolytes are too new to help without putting themselves in danger."
She stopped in front of a big set of beautiful doors that glowed with a soft golden light. "I've put up a wall to keep the spirits inside."
"When we go in, I'll have to put all my energy into the ritual of purification. That means I will be weak. Your job will be to keep any spirits that try to get in the way of the process away from me."
"How dangerous are these spirits?" Natasha asked, her analytical mind already figuring out what was going on.
"Not very much by themselves. They're not real spirits, but they're just corrupted energy."
"What's even worse is that there are a lot of them, and they'll keep attacking once the ritual starts. They eat life force, so if you're not careful, their touch will drain your energy."
Carmilla took out her sword. "We can take care of that. What do these spirits look like?"
"Humanoid shapes with glowing red eyes that look like shadows. Holy magic and fire hurt them, but physical attacks will work too if you hit their cores." Liora gave each of them a serious look. "I won't lie to you... This is a risky thing to do."
"Now is the time to leave and forget about it if you'd like to."
Rick said firmly, "We're not leaving." He could feel Carmilla's determination and Natasha's focused readiness through the Spirit Bond. They were all with him.
Liora's face softened a little, and for the first time, Rick saw a hint of warmth in her amber eyes. "You have brave friends, young man."
"Okay... when I open the doors, hurry to the middle of the sanctum. I'll start the ritual right away. Keep me safe for as long as you can."
She put her hands on the doors, and light came out of her palms. The doors opened to reveal a nightmare as the barriers collapsed.
The sanctum was huge, with high ceilings and walls covered in ruined murals. There was a lot of dark purple and black energy in the air, and there were many shadowy figures hiding in the corners. As soon as the doors opened, they all turned to the entrance with bright red eyes.
"Now!" Liora ordered.
They hurried inside and stood around the high priestess, who was kneeling in the middle of the room. As she began to chant in a language Rick didn't understand, golden light began to shine from her body. The light got brighter, and the dark spirits screamed back.
After that, they attacked. Shadows came at them from all sides, moving in a way that wasn't normal.
Carmilla faced the first wave head-on, and her sword cut through spiritual bodies with deadly ease. Every spirit she killed turned into black smoke that quickly faded away.
Natasha made a wall of ice spikes that stabbed several spirits at once. Then she shot ice lances at the stragglers to finish them off. Her fighting style was precise and effective, with no wasted movements.
Three spirits had come up behind Rick and were about to attack Liora. His Basic Combat Awareness skill yelled at him to be careful as they charged at him.
He raised his shield to block the first one's clawed hand, and he could feel a creepy cold coming through the wood. His sword swung in a wide arc, hitting the spirit's core and breaking it right away.
The second spirit tried to grab him from the side, but Rick turned and stabbed it in the middle with his sword. The third spirit was faster and got past his guard, raking its ghostly claws across his armor. His health dropped by twenty points, which made him feel pain and drained his energy.
[HP: 200/220]
Rick gritted his teeth and grabbed the spirit by what looked like its wrist and pulled it close. He could feel the cold trying to take away his strength, but something else happened.
The Spirit Bond with Carmilla pulsed, and he felt a wave of warmth wash over him. Guardian's Resolve kicked in, giving him more strength.
He kept going even though it was tiring, and he stabbed the spirit in the heart with his sword at point-blank range. It blew up into smoke, and Rick staggered back, gasping for air.
"Behind you!" Carmilla's warning was communicated both through the bond and in person.
Rick turned around to see two more spirits rushing at Liora, who was in a deep trance and didn't know what was going on. He jumped in front of them and the High Priestess, holding up his shield to block both attacks.
The impact made him slide backward, and his boots scraped against the stone floor. Natasha's ice magic froze one of the spirits, which gave Rick the chance to kill the other one.
They fell into a rhythm, working together in a way that only spirit-bonded partners could. Rick could feel Carmilla's protective instincts, Natasha's calculated focus, and his own strong will not to let Liora get hurt.
The High Priestess's chanting got louder, and the golden light coming from her got stronger. Her holy power pushed the dark energy in the room back, and it started to go away. The spirits got more frantic and attacked with violent rage.
In the back of the sanctum, a giant shadow formed that was at least three times the size of the other spirits. Its red eyes glowed with evil intelligence as it rushed toward Liora like a wave of darkness.
"That's where the corruption comes from!" As she kept up her ritual, Liora's voice was strained.
"You have to destroy it, or the cleansing won't work!"