[i]KILL HIM! KILL HIM NOW! HE TOOK EVERYTHING FROM YOU! HE DOESN'T DESERVE MERCY![/i]

Ash wasn't entirely accustomed to hearing voices in her head. More concerning was the fact that she was finding herself wholeheartedly agreeing with the malignant voice, which was hardly a position she thought she'd ever imagine finding herself in. Still, Thoburas had ultimately brought this upon himself. His senseless butchery was exactly what placed her on the path of vengeance all those weeks ago. Ash supposed that she could thank the gods that she would be the one to kill the dark elf, especially so soon. She could only assume Lord Cassander was dead, and she was more than ready to avenge his death. He may not have been her biological father, but he had been the one to love her and raise her... killing Thoburas was the least that she could do to honor his memory. First of all, she would actually have to kill him. The Dark Blade had carved its way through the elf's forearm, but it was far from being a mortal blow. If she did nothing, she'd end up being in a compromising position, especially given how resolute the elf had been in the past. She pulled the supernatural blade out of the elf's forearm and disengaged, if only for a moment. That was Ash noticed that the Dark Blade seemed to be feeding off of the blood of Thoburas. It had once only been the size of a large dagger... now it was the size of a short sword. Unless she was only imagining it, but that seemed rather unlikely. She usually was quite alert during a fight to the death. 

She had never been one to ever use a weapon larger than a dagger, so she expected something as big as a sword to be unwieldy within her hands. It was the opposite. The Dark Blade was weightless, practically lighter than the air itself. Moreover, a dark cloud was beginning to dominate her mind and entire body. The fatigue and damage done to her body during the duration of her fight with Thoburas seemed to magically disappear. She felt twice as strong and alert, and it took her only a moment to realize that the heartbeat that she could clearly hear wasn't her own, it was Thoburas'. That only further fueled a desire with Ash to snuff out that same heartbeat. It wasn't normal at all for her to be so bloodthirsty, but her desire for vengeance was being emboldened by the supernatural forces that were beginning to consume her. That was when Thoburas launched a fireball at her. It was more a last ditch effort to save his own life than anything else, and Ash's body ended up moving on its own. She slashed through the flames with the Dark Blade, reducing them to little more than a few hot embers. Thoburas had already collapsed to one knee, attempting to place pressure on his arm that was profusely bleeding. Thoburas was already a shell of his former self, far from the imposing juggernaut that he once was. His face had become so gaunt that it almost appeared as if he was only a breath's away from death. Likewise, his trademark grin had also been reduce to a halfhearted smile of defeat.

"Malachar... has... abandoned me." Thoburas spoke between labored breaths, almost as if his life force was escaping through his lips. "He... has chosen you... to be his new champion. Casting me... aside." Ash had tunnel vision now, bent towards a single purpose. She gripped the Dark Blade tighter as she began to approach Thoburas. "Kill me... and assume your rightful place as Malachar's champion!" As Thoburas said this, he closed his eyes, waiting for Ash to deliver the killing blow. If she was still in complete control, then she would have hesistated and struggled with the thought of doing the dark god's bidding. However, she was already far beyond that, and with a clean stroke, Ash cleaved Thoburas' head from his body. Blood sprayed out from the stump where his head had once been, but like the sacrifices from before, no blood would find its way to the stone floor.

The blood was drawn into the amorphous sphere of dark energy until there was none left. With her heightened senses, Ash managed to notice a new face form within the sphere - Thoburas. The final sacrifice. The screams of tormented souls finally ceased as the sphere finally broke free of its invisible shackles. As it came towards her, it lost it's spherical shape and became little more than a wave of dark smoke. For a moment, she thought it was going to consume her before it flew over her head, and out of the doors. It's destination was clearly to the outside, far away from its former prison. From there, she could only hazard to guess where it would go. The dark cloud in her mind mostly dissipated as well, and her fatigue and wounds suddenly reappeared. She ended up using much of her strength to keep herself from falling to the ground. The Dark Blade had reduced itself back to the size of a dagger, and she tucked it into her belt. Then she noticed, for the first time, the Mark of Malachar slowly forming on her right palm. This was only the beginning.