The Abyss shifted beneath Seris's feet as if it were a living thing. Shadows stretched like fingers along the walls, reaching toward her, coiling protectively and aggressively at once. Each movement of her body sent a ripple through the black corridors, her heartbeat echoing through the darkness, tethered violently to Mason. The silver mark on her collarbone pulsed with heat, burning like molten silver, threading obsession and desire into her soul.
"You cannot escape me, Seris," Mason's voice murmured from the darkness, low and dangerous, threading into her mind like silk and steel. "Every heartbeat, every spark of defiance… belongs to me. You feel it. You know it. And you will crave it."
Seris's chest tightened. She hated him. She feared him. And yet, as her shadows flared around her hands, coiling into blades of living darkness, she realized she already was his. His obsession threaded into her every strike, amplifying her power, suffocating her independence while giving her strength.
Before she could react further, the Abyss trembled violently. From the black depths, an ancient immortal emerged. Its molten-gold eyes glowed with hatred older than memory. Its presence warped the shadows, coiling them into jagged spikes that lashed out at Seris. She lunged forward, shadows twisting like serpents, striking the immortal with deadly precision.
Mason appeared beside her, almost silently. Shadows around him coiled like protective chains, amplifying her strikes without overtaking them. "You see?" he whispered, brushing a tendril of shadow along her arm. "Every spark of rebellion, every heartbeat of defiance… threads you closer. Every act of power… belongs to me. Every thought… every breath… you are mine, Seris. And one day, you will want me."
The immortal roared, coiling dark energy whipping violently through the Abyss, but her attacks, amplified by Mason's obsessive presence, struck with lethal force. Shadows tore through its defenses, flaring violently as her goddess-blood energy erupted. The Abyss itself seemed alive, twisting around them, reacting to their bond. Walls pulsed. Floors rippled. Shadows coiled protectively around Seris, yet hungrily, as if the Abyss recognized the obsessive tether threading her to Mason.
When the immortal finally fell, she collapsed to her knees, trembling from exertion and the overwhelming heat of the mark. Mason knelt beside her, brushing a shadow tendril along her hairline. His silver eyes softened briefly, though their intensity remained storm-dark beneath the surface.
"You are mine," he whispered, voice threading into her mind, suffocating yet thrilling. "Even your resistance strengthens the bond. Every spark of defiance… every act of independence… belongs to me. And one day… you will crave it. You will want me. You cannot resist me, Seris."
Her hands pressed to the mark, coiling heat threading through her veins like molten silver, igniting her goddess-blood power further. Fear, exhilaration, and desire collided violently inside her, leaving her trembling. Shadows coiled around her protectively yet hungrily, responding to both her awakening power and Mason's obsessive tether.
The Abyss pulsed violently, alive, acknowledging their bond. Every heartbeat, every breath, every spark of power threaded them tighter, binding them together in a storm of desire, obsession, and fear. Seris realized fully that she was awakening—not just to her powers, but to the suffocating, intoxicating tether Mason had forged between them.
Resistance had become impossible. Desire was inevitable. The chains threading her to him tightened, coiling around her mind, her heart, her very soul. And the Abyss itself seemed to lean closer, alive with anticipation, waiting for the next surge of power, the next escalation of obsession and dark desire.