The Abyss stretched endlessly, its shadows weaving around pillars of jagged black stone, curling like serpents and writhing like living fire. Every step Seris took echoed as if the dark corridors themselves were listening, waiting, alive. The silver mark on her chest burned fiercely, a tether of obsession that Mason had threaded into her very soul. She could feel him even before she saw him—a pressure at the edge of her mind, molten and insistent, urging, guiding, consuming.
"You cannot hide from me," Mason whispered from the darkness, his silver eyes burning through the shadows, molten and storm-dark. Shadows twisted around him protectively, yet possessively, coiling as though the Abyss itself obeyed him. "Every heartbeat, every thought, every spark of power… belongs to me. You feel it, don't you? You cannot resist it, Seris. You will not."
"I am not yours," she murmured, voice trembling, though her chest heaved from the intense heat radiating from the mark. Even as she spoke, shadows clung to her fingers, obeying her commands, yet subtly bending toward Mason's obsessive presence. She hated him. She feared him. And yet… the tether between them coiled tighter with every heartbeat, every breath.
"You already are," Mason said softly, stepping closer. The shadows around him pressed into her like fire and ice at once, protective and possessive. "Even when you resist, even when you fight… every spark of defiance threads you closer. Every heartbeat… every breath… you are mine, Seris. And soon… you will crave it. You will want me."
The first threat arrived before she could respond. From the depths of the Abyss, a creature older than any memory emerged. Its eyes burned molten gold, radiating hatred that had been centuries in the making. Its body was wrapped in shifting dark energy, a storm of black and crimson coiling like fire and shadow, and every step it took caused the corridors to shudder.
Seris's pulse spiked. She extended her hands, summoning shadows like blades, twisting and coiling them with deadly precision. Mason's presence flared behind her, amplifying her power, threading obsessive intent into every strike without removing her agency. Each shadow strike she sent tearing through the creature was a perfect blend of her defiance and his tethering obsession.
"You see?" Mason murmured, leaning close. Shadows brushed her shoulders like a lover's caress and a predator's grip at once. "Every act of power, every spark of rebellion… belongs to me. Every heartbeat… every flicker of will… you are mine, Seris. And one day, you will understand the pleasure of it. You will crave it."
Another immortal emerged from the darkness, faster and stronger, their molten-gold eyes burning with ancient vengeance. Seris lunged, shadows slicing and ripping through the Abyss like living whips. Mason's presence surged, threading obsession deeper into her every movement, amplifying her skill, her speed, her lethal grace.
She felt heat coil in her veins, her chest tight with exhilaration and fear. Every strike was amplified by his obsession, yet she remained in control. The tension between desire and fear, defiance and surrender, coiled within her like a living thing, threading fire through her veins. She hated him. She feared him. And yet… she wanted him.
The Abyss itself seemed alive, reacting violently to the energy that threaded them together. Shadows leapt and coiled, twisting in recognition of the tether, wrapping themselves protectively around Mason and Seris, striking at any who dared approach.
When the last of the rival immortals fell, Seris collapsed to her knees, trembling from exhaustion and the overwhelming heat of the mark. Mason knelt beside her, brushing a tendril of shadow along her hairline. His silver eyes softened for a moment, just enough to make her shiver, yet beneath the softness was an intensity, a possessive obsession that could ignite or destroy.
"You are mine," he whispered, voice threading into her mind like silk and fire. "Even your defiance strengthens the bond. Every heartbeat, every flicker of independence… feeds the tether. And one day… you will crave it. You will want me. You cannot resist me, Seris."
Her hands pressed to the mark, heat coiling through her veins like molten silver, threading her power, her fear, and her desire into a storm that left her trembling. Her mind, body, and soul felt like they were in thrall to something both terrifying and thrilling, something that tethered her utterly to Mason's obsession.
The Abyss shivered around them, alive with recognition. Shadows curled protectively, yet hungrily, acknowledging the obsessive, inescapable bond forged in fire, darkness, and desire. Seris realized fully, with a shiver of both terror and exhilaration, that she was awakening—not just to her powers, but to the inescapable tether Mason had forged between them.
No longer could she defy it. No longer could she escape. Desire had taken root where fear had once grown. The chains of obsession tightened, coiling around her heart, her mind, her soul. And the Abyss itself seemed to sigh, alive and aware, as if approving, as if eager for the storm of obsession and power that now pulsed through them both.
The corridor ahead twisted unnaturally, shadows deepening and writhing as if alive. Seris could feel the pulse of the Abyss, the lingering energy of defeated immortals, and the undying obsession that Mason pressed into her. Each heartbeat of hers was tethered, threaded with power and desire, suffocating and thrilling at once.
"You are awakening," Mason whispered, voice low, intimate, and dangerous. "Not just to your powers, but to the tether that binds you to me. Resistance is useless. Desire is inevitable. And soon… everything will change. You will understand how deep, how consuming, how inescapable this bond is. And you… you will crave it."
Seris pressed her hands to the mark again, trembling, chest heaving, body quivering with a mixture of fear and something darker, something she did not dare name aloud. Shadows coiled around her like serpents, protective yet hungry, responding to both her goddess-blood power and Mason's obsessive presence. The Abyss pulsed violently, as if alive with awareness, with recognition of the obsessive bond threading through her soul.
She hated him. She feared him. And yet… in the dark, hidden corners of her being, she wanted him. She wanted the tether, the obsession, the suffocating and intoxicating heat of his presence. She wanted to feel the chains of fire coil tighter around her heart and soul.
The Abyss itself seemed to hold its breath. Shadows wriggled, walls pulsed, and silence fell—a pause that stretched into eternity, waiting for the next ripple of their power, the next surge of desire, the next test of the bond threading them together.
Mason knelt beside her, silver eyes storm-dark, tendrils of shadow brushing her cheeks and neck, lingering in intimate, possessive ways. "You are mine," he whispered, again and again, as if the words themselves could burn into her soul. "And one day… you will crave me. You will need me. And you will not be able to resist. Not now, not ever."
Seris shivered, trembling from exhaustion, desire, fear, and exhilaration. The Abyss pulsed, alive and aware, shadows curling around them, protective and possessive, eager for the inevitable storm to come. And she knew, with terrifying clarity, that she was utterly tethered to him now.
Her awakening had begun—not just to her goddess-blood powers, but to Mason's obsessive tether, to the suffocating, intoxicating chains of desire that would bind her forever. The Abyss itself seemed to whisper the truth: resistance was impossible, and craving was inevitable.