With the possibility of failure and all that accompanied it looming over their heads, the summoners focused everything they had on the ritual, pushing past their exhaustion and giving it everything they had.

The soul was agonisingly pulled through the portal and towards the centre of the door frame, looking like it was going to tear apart at any moment. Black blood, from the same jar that had previously spawned three vampires of varying heritage, began to boil over and haphazardly drift towards the soul. Slowly, small, fragile bones started to form around the soul, causing a wave of relief to ripple outwards.

The formation of the body was ten times slower than that of the previous summoned, with certain parts needing to be reconstructed multiple times as they repeatedly turned to mush or were reabsorbed by the black bolts of energy.

It was evident to all those present, that even if the body could be formed, the unfortunate creature would be crippled for life, having little to no chance of long term survival.

The moment the muscles had formed, attaching themselves to the skeletal structure, the creatures body started to convulse and twist in, what could only be interpreted as unbearable pain. This was confirmed five minutes later when the vocal cords eventually formed, allowing the creature to release a soul-wrenching scream before spraying copious amounts of blood into the air.

The joy Harken had previously shown had completely vanished, replaced with a pale, sad expression. "We need to summon a whole soul to maintain the balance, this one is snagged and, in the unlikely event that it survives, it can only have a pitiful existence. Rynheart, when the formation is complete.... kill it and throw the body into the black hole. It is the kindest thing we can to do."

Rynheart nodded solemnly, knowing full well the devastating impact a damaged soul would have on one's life, and strode forward with grim determination.

When he was a few meters away from the magic array, he drew his large bastard sword and planted its tip into the floor, his face an emotionless mask as he unflinchingly watched the gruesome spectacle before him with cold, resolute eyes.

After what must have seemed like an eternity for the poor soul, a small, weak looking female vampire fell limply to the floor. The girl's blood filled screams had subsided, and now the only movement she was making was her mouth opening and closing in ragged breaths as her unfocused eyes rolled around. A small beam of grey light, that was her soul, still stretched between the rift and her body like an umbilical cord, unmercifully providing her enough power to remain conscious, but to what extent, only the gods would know.

“Rynheart, please. Put it out of its misery," said Harken, who had always been relatively squeamish when it came to pain, not being able to stomach the pitiful site before him. "Sometimes death is mercy, especially when you're trapped in hell.”

“I am sorry little one, I will make it as painless as possible. Although I am the one to commit the deed, you can blame the Sun Clan for this,” announced Rynheart as he stepped towards the young vampire, raising his sword into the air, its point hovering menacingly over the girl.

Without hesitation, Rynheart plunged his sword downwards and into the small girl's heart, its overbearing size splitting her horizontally. Her ice-blue eyes revealed momentary shock before relief washed over them as her life was extinguished.

It was extremely rare for someone of his profession, but Rynheart prided himself on never killing a child before and, although it could be considered mercy to the girl, it took him a few moments to repress the disgust he had for himself.

After he had taken some calming breaths, Rynheart picked up both parts of the body, innards and copious amounts of blood spilling out, splashing over his black armour, and threw them into the portal. Even if it is a vampire, killing a newborn, especially one I have had a hand in creating and has done no wrong, is beyond repulsive. I will inevitably suffer the gods' wrath for this.

Turning his back on the doorway, not wanting to watch as it consumed the body and soul, Rynheart had only just returned to Harken when the room turned a sinister blood red as the portal's runes erupted in a dazzling light.

Everyone instinctively shielded their eyes, and the mage's chanting was momentarily broken as the girl's soul was irrevocably consumed, releasing a sickening wail before disappearing. After a moment of eerie silence, the portal's light dimmed to its original, post-sacrificial state.

That's thirty-three souls I have cast into the abyss tonight, Harken lamented. Although the failure had nothing to do with him, if you did not consider the fact the whole summoning was being carried out on his orders, even if it was under duress, Harken felt the pang of regret over the last, innocent soul.

The joy and excitement that had been clouding his mind gone, Harken cleared his throat. "That was one mistake too many. I know we are tired and want this over with, but let's do this properly. We-"

A wave of scorching air exploded from the black hole, interrupting Harken and dispersing the mist that had been concealing the door's shape. The door seemed to vibrate violently before massive, thunderous cracks began appearing all over it, sending small, black shards shooting outwards, embedding into the walls or unlucky individuals that were in the way.

As mage and knight alike dove for cover, black bolts of lightning flew outwards, smashing all but three of the jars. The jar's contents flowed towards the grooves carved into the floor before racing towards the doorway and being greedily absorbed, once again causing the runes, that had only just dimmed, to glow the brightest they had all night.

As the wave passed them, a cold, sinister chill crept down their spines as each person in the cave was struck with an intense feeling of dread as if they were standing in front of Death himself.

Violently shivering, many of the knights backed away from the portal, cold sweat dripping down their backs, as a few of the mages collapsed to their knees.

Antek’s figure, who had been standing next to the pedestal, flickered before appearing at the side of Harken and Rynheart. "It's not the worst case scenario but you two need to get out of here… Now!"

Pushing down the terror that threatened to overwhelm him, Harken shakily responded as he stared, wide-eyed, at the door. "Wa...What's going on?"