872 years earlier

There wasn't a speck of light anywhere throughout the tunnel. No light, no hope, only dark coldness and blackness that swallowed everything up. Her eyes were wide open and she usually had a good night vision, which was closely as good to a vision of an owl, but it was too dark for her to even see her path. She felt as if she was blind.

Her heart was pounding loudly her chest, beating so loudly it amazed her that the heartbeats weren't echoing throughout the shadows. She gulped in shaky, heavy deep breaths as she wrapped her cloak more tightly around her body. The temperature was below zero, and her body heat was getting lower and colder each second. Anyone would have been tempted to turn around and ran away, running back to civilization where there was warmth and light. But she was sticking with her motive: to come into Shadow Hunt and collect what she was seeking for. And she refused to leave until it was finally in her grasp.

Determined, the young woman gulped in a large amount of air, breathing in deeply, as her feet moved forward and forward, further and further away from her last chance of escape and freedom but was getting closer to her treasure. It was now too late for her to change her mind, but she was too determined to give up now after all this time and keep on walking and walking until she would finally reach it.

The soles of her flat shoes were getting louder and louder with every step she took, loud as an elephant's stomp echoing throughout the entire eerie silent, dark tunnel. Sounds of various whispers, murmurs, and groans seemed to be coming from the wide walls, sounding like a mixture between beasts and people, all saying the same thing to her and was heard quite loudly in her ear, as if they were right next to her and whispering it right to her ear.

Turn back.

Finally she stopped and stood motionless for a second. Her vision was getting blacker and blacker, being a traitor to her as they were failing to see through the darkness. She then cursed herself loudly in her head for being stupid and not being a flashlight, torch, or a candle along with her for the journey. She wished she asked her sun-powered sorceress friend to accompany her, since her bright powers would be a life-savor for her. But unfortunately, she was on her own and was waiting valuable time standing around. She let out a frustrated breath before closing her eyes and cleared her head of all thoughts. Clearing her mind from memories or thoughts, and concreted hard on her goal of finding what she was seeking. She cupped her hands firmly together as if she was holding an priceless item in her palms, her lips in a straight firm line being pressed together, and recited an enchantment in foreign language.

She unclasped her hands and watched in slight amazement as an orb of energy in a light shade of green rose from her palms and was hovering over her head, shedding some light on the dark. It was dimmed, though, and nearly wasn't as perfect and bright like her friend's, but there was enough light in it to brighten the black tunnel; just a bit to help her see her path. She saw it was still straight ahead.

The energy orb followed her like a shadow, flying silently over her head like a ghost. Even with the glimmer of light by her side, she was still unsatisfied and getting more frustrated. There was absolutely nothing in the tunnel she could really see, but dark and cold blackness. The space was unlimited and so wide, she doubted there were even walls in the place.

Then as she took another step while she was given half a mind to turn right back as an act of frustrated defeat, the young woman stopped dead in her tracks. Bright white energy, with colors of gray and black and red swirling and mingling with the white color, was coming from her left corner. She quickly ran toward the bright light, immediately sucking in her breath and staring at the sight she came upon.

In front of her was a shrine, one which wasn't too big yet not too small. Decorated with hundreds of mini candles in dark red colors surrounding it, and flowers-mostly roses-in various types and dark colors covering every inch, the shrine almost looked like it was holy. Behind the candles and flowers, was a rather small wall that seemed more like a tombstone, with a crescent of a beautiful midnight raven spreading out her wings, as if she was about to take flight, and had an unusual crimson-blood red eyes and a mark on its' forehead: a sinister-looking capital S in loopy, cursive writing. In front of the tombstone was a little wooden pelt, which reached only to her knees, that contained a book.

The young girl slowly kneaded down in front of the shrine, speechless and out of breath. She hesitantly reached out to touch the book, lightly brushing her fingers against it. It felt extremely cool to her touch, cold as ice. The book, she was told, was as ancient as time itself. The book's jacket was cracked black leather, now more gray than black. There was no title, just streaks of dark blooded-red at its corners while the crescent of the red-eyed raven bird was on the center with its wings spreading and opening its' beak wide like it was about to speak. The book seemed to be attracted to her hands holding it, for it was now suddenly warm in her hands. As if it was alive, breathing. It seemed so fragile after being in these shadows for more than a thousand years, so fragile with age that one must handled with care and caution like caring for a newborn infant. And was the most powerful ancient power of the entire magical realm; no hero or sorceress or witch has lived long enough to dream about having magic one as powerful as this.

According to legend, it was said most of the many who tried to touch the book would parish, and only a very slim amount of few would survive if the power found them interesting.

She waited for a few moments to see if anything was going to happen. If the demons would start appear from shadows, ready to attack her, if the floor would begin to shake and swallow her up, burying her underground, or if the book itself would strike at her. She waited to feel the pain, for the ground to start shaking, or hear sounds of the monster's groans as they would sneak behind her. But nothing happened; nothing came out and there was no pain she felt. Instead, the only thing she felt was a strong surge of accomplished triumph and bitter yet sweet taste of victorious victory powering within her.

"It seems to like you," The girl didn't bother to turn around. She knew that edgy yet charming voice, rich and smooth like soft velvet, anywhere, and could feel his presence sneaking behind her and standing a few inches away. "Which means it finds you worthy to possess its' power, and see the same quality I see in you: great potential and ravishing beauty to go with it."

She chose to ignore him, not in the mood for his flirting games and had other things to focus on. Like finding the spell that would be the key to her desire. Delicately, she placed the book back on the pelt with the same caution as caring for an infant, and the book suddenly opened by itself. The girl quickly stepped back and watched in amazement and slight fear as the pages, that were fragile-looking and darkened yellow in age, began turning itself and flipping through many sections and pages, as if it knew what she wanted and was searching for the perfect spell. Finally it reached a certain page and stopped. The bright yet dark swirling colors still danced around the book, but the book sat motionless on its' pelt.

She took a deep breath and knelled down again near the pelt. She narrowed her eyes and used her hand as a shield of protection against the brightness, and leaned forward to the book. The writing on the page seemed be to the same as the sinister-looking 'S' engraved on the raven's crescent, and was in a mix of Spanish and Latin, languages she was required to study hard in school and taught by her mother when she was much younger. She looked over the writing and mouthed some of the words to herself. According to the language, the writing was both a powerful spell and curse infused with intense power.

Her jade eyes brightened with thrilled excitement. This was it, the key to her long desire which was now so close she could even taste its' sweetness.

"You must remember the power is as ancient as time itself, and is even more powerful than the mighty Dragon Fire. But it is also bathed with dark, black magic. And you should know that you must fulfill consequences and requirements in order to control the power and claim it as your own. You must give it back something in return, like a trade. But I will ask you one more time and you must take time to think hard about this before you answer. Are you sure you really want to do this?"

A low hiss escaped her lips while a growl rumbled in her throat, as she slowly turned her head away from the beautiful book and to the attractive young man standing behind her with specks of dark amusement gleaming in his coal-black eyes, that matched the tunnel's color and were narrowed into slits. She locked her eyes with his, and the two shared dark, chilled yet challenging glares, daring for the other to break the gaze first. After staring into her hard eyes for awhile, he finally shut his eyes. He looked at her and saw a look of fierce determination, and watched a smile of cold smugness turned up the corners of her lips. "I have came all this way to get it. I, frankly, refuse to leave without it when it standing right in front of me," She turned to her front, looking down at the brighten book with her twisted smile still on her lips. "Regardless of any price I must pay, I will do it with no questions asked. With this power, I shall become the most powerful, invincible witch to ever live."

And with that being said, she studied the spell, muttering it quietly to herself, and then recited it out:

"La sangre de mi cuerpo, la sangre de

mi mente, y del espíritu de mi alma Y

todo divino utilizo el cuervo
oscuro para tomar tu alma como su

propio Para el cambio de la Sangre

poderosa del poder del corazón, de mis
mareas, y de mi Sangre de luna del corazón, de mi salvación, y del destino
."

As the last word slipped off her tongue, the ground suddenly began to shake beneath them, and the book's glowing bright seemed to have darkened into a swirls and mixtures of red and black and gray. The swirls of dark colors spread around the book and covered every inch before it finally reached her fingers tips, which were pressed tightly against the pages.

She pressed her lips tightly together in order to mute the loud yelp built inside her throat she was half-tempted to let out as she felt a surge of powerful energy entering her body. Energy that was so cold and dark, it gave her tremendous thrilled fear and adrenaline. She felt as if she was stuck by powerful lightening, as the dark magic sunk deep beneath her skin and pulsed through her veins. The pain burned through her body like fire, and her body seemed weightless as it was being lifted high off the ground. Throwing her head back and spreading out her arms and legs, she let out a powerful shrieking scream that echoed throughout the entire place as the dark magic was becoming one with her, one with her soul, mind, and body.