Solar Flare

The eighth-level mage stumbled back, his eyes widening in alarm as Luke's jet of raw curse mana smashed into his hastily erected wards. I flinched, half-expecting an earth-shattering explosion or a shockwave to ripple through the valley, but the blast of darkness simply flowed around his magical shield like water.

The mage's wards held briefly before they thinned and collapsed under their own weight, allowing the insidious curse to seep through. A scream tore from his throat as the shadows dripped onto his exposed skin, searing his flesh black wherever they touched. The darkness didn't stop there, but crept into his body like a living thing, coursing through his veins and turning them black beneath his now translucent skin.