Back in the safety of Mictlán, Sara and most of the group were asleep in a rundown barrack.
Leon woke to the sound of the faintest whisper. Raising his head slightly he saw Nedim across the room sitting on his bed.
Making very little noise, Leon got up and went over, “You okay there?” he asked.
“I was praying,” Nedim said, opening his eyes.
Leon sat, “Does it work?”
“It helps.” Nedim replied.
After a moment, Leon said, “Horrible, what happened to those people.”
“I agree, but at least when the dead are cut down here they simply rise from the ground elsewhere.” Nedim pointed out.
“It's convenient if anything,” Leon said, “We should be getting ready to go. There's nothing we can do here.”
Just then there came a knock at the door that woke most of the group. Leon answered.
It was Arloff, “You must see Lilith.” he said, stepping aside to reveal the throne room behind him.
Everyone gathered around Lilith, “Have you ever wondered what, or who, opened those portals from the Shadow Realm?” she asked.
“I'm not sure,” Leon said, “I've never seen how it's done. No one knows.”
“I do,” Lilith smiled, “Ever since the invasion began I've been sending my own people into the Shadow Realm. They haven't had much success, but an hour ago they saw this.” she said, waving her hand to create a live image of the Shadow Realm in front of the group.
The only thing that could clearly be seen was Eris, a hairless female with a large set of raven wings hovering in midair. Her skin seemed to be made of black latex and her face was almost completely featureless, aside from faintly glowing red eyes. Holding her hands out, a huge green portal opened up.
“Who is she?” Sara asked.
“I don't know,” Leon said, “I’ve never seen her before, but eyes like that should mean she's a Myrmidon.”
Lilith clasped her hands, “You know what that means!”
“Yeah,” said Leon, “We may be able to stop this.”
“The next time she opens a portal,” Lilith said, “I can open one near her location. If you can track her down and kill her, this could all be over.”
Leon turned to the group, “If anyone would like to back out, this is your last chance.”
Hurok laughed, “Let you take all the credit! I don't think so!”
“I think that means we're all in,” said Janah.
“Arloff will go with you,” Lilith said, then sensing another portal, “Well, what have we here? She just opened another one. There's no time to lose. Are you ready?”
“Yes.” Leon answered.
Lilith opened a portal. Leon went first, followed by the rest.
Arriving next to a shoreline with a nearby valley, Sara was astounded at the sight of the Shadow Realm. Stuck in perpetual twilight, the rocky landscape was a mix of black and blue hues. A full blue moon dominated its starry sky and even more so, a giant colorful world with rings circling it.
“It's beautiful,” Caycee said in wonderment. Without warning, she suddenly fell to her knees screaming in agony while clasping her head. Her brain felt like it was on fire as visions of what once was filled her mind. ***