No other explanation.

  I tried to hit it with an arrow, but the projectile bounced off an invisible barrier. "It's immune! We can't damage it while it's channeling!"

  "The braziers!" Lothras pointed. "Look at the flames!"

  I turned to look. The four braziers were flickering in sequence. Then again, in the same order.

  "It's showing us the pattern!!" Kara shouted.

  “Let’s try and extinguish them,” I said, shooting an arrow towards the one closest to me. It did nothing.”

  “You need to stand next to it, it gives you the prompt!” Athos called out as he reached one of them.

  "Split up!" I commanded. "Lothras, take top right! Athos, stay there! Kara, bottom right! I'll get bottom left!"

  We scattered, each of us racing toward our assigned brazier while dodging the skeletal minions that still roamed the arena. The channel was building, the vortex of dark energy growing larger with each passing second.

  I reached the brazier just as Kara arrived at hers. Across the room, I could see Lothras and Athos were ready as well.

  “What was the order?” Lothras asked.

  I remembered. “Lothras first, then Kara, then Athos, then me!”

  Lothras struck the blue brazier with his sword. The flames guttered and died.

  "Kara!"

  Kara extinguished hers.

  "Athos!"

  The Swordsman did what he had to.

  "Go!"

  I activated the brazier, and the flames vanished.

  For a moment, nothing happened.

  Then The Sacrificer screamed, and this time it felt like actual frustration.

  The channeling vortex collapsed in on itself. The creature staggered, its barrier dropping, its form wreathed in crackling energy.

  The Sacrificer has been stunned. Vulnerability increased for 8 seconds.

  "Now!" I drew the Emberwood Longbow to full charge. "Everything you've got!"

  Arrow of Ash & Flames struck first, the devastating shot dealing nearly a thousand damage to the vulnerable boss. Athos followed with Saltstone Edge, the crescent wave carving deep into its twisted flesh, and Lothras's Radiant Edge added holy damage to the assault.

  -967!

  -828!

  -955!

  Kara kept stretching our damage to the maximum, weaving in Echo Strikes and Thunderous Accords in between.

  We hit insane APMs, using every skill we had and attacking with everything we’ve got. A dozen different DoTs stacked on the boss.

  The Sacrificer's health plummeted.

  Then the stun wore off, and the creature rose to its full height, its empty eye sockets conveying fury.

  "Clever," it hissed. "Very clever. But you've only delayed the inevitable."

  The braziers reignited, their flames burning brighter than before.

  And I noticed something else.

  The floor was wet.

  I looked down. A thin layer of dark liquid was spreading across the chamber, seeping up from the channels carved into the floor. It was blood, but somehow it felt and looked even more sinister, as if corrupted by unknown, dark magic.

  The liquid was rising.

  "The floor!" I warned. "Don't stand in it!"

  Lothras hissed in pain as the blood reached his boots, dark energy crackling up his legs.

  -67!

  -67!

  -67!

  "It's dealing damage over time!" Kara reported, already scrambling toward one of the raised stone platforms that lined the edges of the arena. "And it's applying slow as well!"

  “Oath of Healing!” Lothras tried to stabilize.

  The Sacrificer spread its arms wide, that horrible smile returning. "The blood of the faithful," it said. "Thousands of souls, given willingly or otherwise, their essence preserved in these stones. They hunger still. They always hunger."

  The blood level was rising faster now, already ankle-deep across most of the chamber. The skeletons seemed unaffected, wading through the liquid without difficulty, but we were taking constant damage just from standing in it.

  "Higher ground!" Lothras ordered. "Get to elevation!"

  We scrambled for safety, climbing onto the raised stone benches that surrounded the arena. The platforms were narrow, barely wide enough for one person to stand comfortably, but they were above the rising tide of blood.

  For now.

  The Sacrificer laughed. "Yes, climb. Cling to your little islands of safety. But tell me, how long do you think they'll last?"

  It gestured, and a wave of dark energy struck one of the platforms near Athos. The ancient stone cracked, then crumbled, collapsing into the blood below.

  "I can destroy your refuges one by one," The Sacrificer said. "Or you can come down and face me properly. The choice is yours."

  "We need to end this fast," I muttered, calculating our options.

  The boss was at forty percent health. We had maybe a dozen places left for safe positioning. The blood was still rising, reducing the time we could spend on the ground between movements. And the skeletons were still coming, climbing over each other in their eagerness to reach us.

  "Kara, can you heal through the blood damage if we go back down?"

  "For a while," she said. "But not forever. And I can’t move while doing it."

  "Then we make it count. Everyone, focus fire on the boss. Ignore the adds unless they're directly threatening. We burn it down before the blood gets too high."

  "Risky," Lothras observed.

  "You have a better idea?"

  He didn't.

  "On my mark," I said, drawing an arrow. "Three. Two. One. Go!"

  We leaped from our spots simultaneously, splashing down into the knee-deep blood. The damage ticked immediately, but Kara's Healing Notes was already playing, and together with her Soothing Melody, they provided steady healing to offset the DoT.

  The Sacrificer met our charge with uncanny delight.

  "Finally! Some spirit!"

  It moved to intercept Lothras, blade-fingers flashing in a rapid series of strikes. The paladin blocked what he could, but some attacks slipped through, adding more bleed stacks to his already lengthy list of debuffs.

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  Athos flanked, his Rising Tide building naturally thanks to the damage he was suffering over time.

  I fired arrow after arrow, maintaining pace while waiting for my skills to come off cooldown.

  The blood was slowly rising, significantly slowing our movement. Every step was a struggle, and dodging was almost impossible.

  "Something’s coming!" Kara warned.

  I saw it: a wave building in the blood, rising toward the ceiling.

  If that hits us, we’re dead.

  "Platforms! Now!"

  We scrambled for high ground, barely making it before the surge crashed through the space we'd occupied.

  The wave was devastating, destroying two more safe spots and sending skeletal minions flying across the chamber.

  When it subsided, the blood level had dropped back to ankle-deep, but fewer platforms remained.

  "It resets the blood level but destroys cover," I analyzed. "We need to trigger the surges strategically, give ourselves room to fight."

  "How do we trigger them?" Athos asked.

  "I don't know yet. Watch for patterns."

  We dropped back down and reengaged. The Sacrificer was more aggressive now, its attacks coming faster and harder. Lothras was struggling to keep up, his health yo-yoing between safe and critical with each exchange.

  When its health dropped to 25%, it stopped.

  The blood began rising again, faster this time.

  "Braziers!" Kara called out. "They're flickering again!"

  I looked. She was right:the four flames were showing a new sequence. "It's starting another Harvest!"

  "Same plan! Move!"

  We split up, racing toward our assigned braziers through the rising blood. The liquid was almost knee-deep now, every movement agonizingly slow. Skeletons grabbed at our legs, trying to drag us down.

  I kicked one away, fired an arrow through another's skull, and kept pushing toward my brazier.

  Lothras reached his first.

  “We need to start now!” he shouted.

  “I can’t get to mine,” I said, struggling with the skeletons.

  “I got it!” Athos shouted. “Orion, go to the last one!”

  I Leap Attacked through the horde of minions, then shot a Silk Shot towards the brazier.

  To my surprise, the Sacrificer cut the string with a wave of his hand.

  “I’ll get to it, start!” I struggled to move.

  Lothras dealt with his flame first. Athos was second.

  Kara barely made it in time to deactivate the third.

  I activated another skill I now had in my arsenal.

  “Shadow Travel!”

  "Now!" Lothras shouted, looking at the Boss. "Come on!"

  If I’d been a second late, we would have been in trouble.

  But I wasn’t.

  The Sacrificer screamed again as the channel collapsed, the stun taking hold.

  "Now! Burn it!"

  Everything we had. Every skill, every cooldown, every point of damage we could muster.

  “Arrow of Ash & Flames! Burning Arrow! Fan of Arrows!”

  -1,011!

  -449!

  -51!

  -51!

  …

  -92!

  -92!

  -92!

  …

  “Comet! Three-Blade Execution! Saltstone Edge!

  -602!

  -897!

  -911!

  -948!

  -826!

  “Radiant Edge! Purging Flame! Golden Dawn!”

  -997!

  -348!

  -104!

  -104!

  …

  “Tune of Death! Thunderous Accord!”

  -68!

  -68!

  +15!

  +15!

  -311!

  The Sacrificer's health plummeted as we maximized our damage output during the vulnerability window.

  The stun ended.

  We barely made it to the remaining platforms, gasping and bleeding and exhausted.

  But the boss was at ten percent health.

  We needed one more push.

  "Is everyone okay?" I asked, checking my party's status.

  "Alive," Lothras reported. “Too many DoTs.”

  "Managing," Athos said.

  "Running low on mana," Kara admitted. "My potions are on constant cooldown."

  The Sacrificer stood in the center of the chamber, the blood swirling around it like a living thing.

  It was visibly wounded now, with scorches and cuts all around its grotesque body.

  But it was still smiling.

  "Magnificent," it breathed. "Truly magnificent. I haven't felt this alive in centuries."

  "Enjoy it while it lasts," I said. "You're about to feel very dead."

  The creature laughed. "Perhaps. But not before I take one of you with me."

  It pointed at Kara.

  "Blood Tithe - Shackles of Death"

  The crimson aura that had surrounded her throughout the fight collapsed onto her.

  “Scherzo of Re–”

  -988!

  It was an instant kill. She couldn’t even cast her ability.

  “Ah, I missed this feeling!” it squeaked with joy. “Again! Again!”

  It pointed its finger at Lothras this time. “Blood Tithe!”

  This was bad. Our tank now had a 40% increase in incoming damage. And who knows what triggered the “Shackles of Death” part of the ability.

  10% or not, if we lose our front line, we won’t be able to finish the boss.

  The blood was drained from the whole chamber. The skeletons crumbled, leaving their ancient, broken bones behind.

  Things were probably going to go wrong.

  "Let's end this," I said, raising the Emberwood Longbow.

  The Sacrificer laughed, spreading its arms wide in welcome. "Yes. Let's."

  It moved first, crossing the distance between us with impossible speed.

  Athos intercepted it, his blade meeting those knife-like fingers in a shower of sparks. Rising Tide was at maximum stacks, his damage output peaked, his movements almost matching the creature's inhuman speed.

  -211!

  The block cost the swordsman dearly.

  “We have no healer!” I shouted.

  Lothras disproved me fast. “Oath of Vitality!”

  It wasn’t much, but it was exactly what we needed.

  "Dread Cry!"

  The debuff landed, slowing The Sacrificer's attacks just enough for Athos to gain the upper hand. He pressed the advantage, his sword carving lines of light through the darkness.

  -234!

  -256!

  -241!

  I added my own damage, basic skills and shots while I waited for Arrow of Ash and Flames to come off cooldown.

  Each arrow found its mark, chipping away at the boss's remaining health.

  The Sacrificer disengaged from Athos with a spinning slash that forced the Swordsman back. It turned toward Lothras, those empty eye sockets fixed on our healer.

  "The marked one," it hissed. "Time to collect."

  It lunged.

  Lothras met the charge with his shield, planting himself directly in the creature's path. The impact drove him backward through the rubble, his boots leaving furrows in the floor, but he held.

  "You want me," the paladin growled, "come and get me."

  "Gladly."

  The Sacrificer's attacks came in a flurry: Lothras blocked, parried, deflected, but he couldn't stop them all.

  -167!

  -189!

  -201!

  His health dropped into the yellow. Then the orange.

  "Lothras!" Athos shouted.

  "Almost there!" I called out. "Arrow of Ash & Flames!"

  The charged shot screamed across the chamber, striking The Sacrificer in the back and engulfing it in cinder.

  -834!

  The creature staggered, its assault on Lothras faltering.

  Athos capitalized on the opening, Blade Rush carrying him through the battlefield and into range. His sword carved a deep wound across the creature's side.

  -312!

  "Braziers!" I saw, and desperation washed over me.

  The others looked. The flames were flickering again, another Harvest incoming.

  Moreover, the pattern flashed through so fast I couldn’t even see it.

  "There are only three of us!" Lothras shouted. "We can’t make it!"

  “Guys!” Athos called. “It’s not immune to damage!”

  Just as he said that, his Horizontal Slash pushed the boss’s HP bar further down.

  "Then we don't let it finish the channel," Lothras decided. He pushed forward, driving The Sacrificer back with a series of aggressive strikes. "Keep the pressure on! Either it dies, or we do!”

  It was a desperate gamble. If we couldn't finish the Sacrificer before it finished casting, Harvest would probably devastate the party.

  But we had no other options. The puzzle was impossible to clear with just 3 members.

  There’s a reason dungeons are primarily for 6 people, I thought.

  The Sacrificer began to glow, dark energy gathering around its form. The channel was starting.

  "More damage!" I was shooting without aiming, into the creature, arrow after arrow slamming into its twisted body. "Don't let it finish!"

  Athos threw everything he had at the boss. Saltstone Edge carved through its torso. Comet launched him into an aerial strike that cracked the creature's skull. Basic attacks filled every gap between cooldowns.

  -287!

  -568!

  -234!

  The channel continued, the vortex building despite our assault.

  "Finish it!" I roared.

  We converged on the boss from all directions. This was it.

  Our last window, our final chance.

  Arrow of Ash and Flames. I held the charge to maximum, pouring every ounce of power into the shot.

  -891!

  Athos's Three-Blade Execution followed, the first sword bisecting the creature's midsection.

  -855!

  Lothras drove his sword through its chest, holy energy blazing along the blade.

  -989!

  The Sacrificer's health bar emptied.

  But it didn't fall.

  ?