The Abyss pulsed like a living creature, its shadows writhing around Seris and Mason as if sensing the intensity of their bond. Every heartbeat of Seris sent ripples through the black corridors, coiling the dark energy around them in recognition of the tether threading her to Mason. The silver mark on her collarbone burned hotter than ever, a molten thread binding power, fear, and obsession into one irrepressible storm.
"You cannot escape me," Mason murmured from the shadows, voice low and intimate, threading into her mind. His silver eyes glimmered with molten intensity. "Every heartbeat, every flicker of defiance, every thought… belongs to me. You will crave it. You already do."
Her chest constricted as shadows flared violently from her hands, twisting into whips and blades that cut through the black emptiness of the Abyss. She hated him. She feared him. And yet, she knew with terrifying clarity that she already belonged to him. His obsessive presence threaded through her every movement, amplifying her power while suffocating her independence.
From the deepest reaches of the Abyss, a colossal figure emerged: a god older than memory, molten-gold eyes burning with hatred and rage that had festered for eons. Its body twisted with black energy, coiling and lashing like living fire. Every step it took sent tremors through the black floor, reverberating through Seris's bones.
Seris lunged, shadows erupting around her hands, twisting into blades that danced and lashed with deadly precision. Mason appeared beside her silently, shadows wrapping around hers, threading his obsessive energy into her strikes, making each attack a perfect storm of lethal grace.
"You see?" Mason whispered, brushing a tendril of shadow across her arm, a caress and a shackle at once. "Every spark of rebellion, every heartbeat of defiance… threads you closer to me. Every strike, every thought, every breath… you are mine, Seris. One day, you will crave me completely."
The god roared, hurling a storm of molten-gold energy that warped the very air, but Seris's attacks, infused with Mason's obsessive tether, cut through its defenses with deadly precision. The Abyss reacted violently, walls twisting, shadows coiling, striking with both hunger and protective ferocity. Each heartbeat threaded with Mason's obsession, coiling tighter with every strike, threading her power, fear, and desire into an overwhelming storm.
She struck again and again, a lethal dance powered by her awakening goddess-blood energy and Mason's obsessive tether. The Abyss pulsed around them, recognizing the magnitude of their bond. The immortal god faltered, unable to withstand the combined force of Seris's power amplified by Mason's obsession.
Finally, it fell, disintegrating into molten-gold fire and shadowed fragments. Seris sank to her knees, trembling, chest heaving from exertion, exhilaration, and the unbearable heat of the mark. Mason knelt beside her, shadow tendrils brushing along her hairline and neck in possessive, intimate strokes.
"You are mine," he whispered, voice threading into her mind like molten silk. "Even your defiance strengthens the bond. Every spark of independence, every act of rebellion… belongs to me. One day… you will crave it. You will want me. You cannot resist, Seris."
Her hands pressed to the mark, coiling heat threading through her veins like molten silver, igniting her goddess-blood energy further. Shadows wrapped around her protectively yet hungrily, responding to both her awakening power and Mason's obsessive tether.
The Abyss pulsed violently, alive with acknowledgment of their bond. Resistance was futile. Desire was inevitable. The chains tightened, coiling around her mind, her heart, her very soul. Mason leaned closer, silver eyes storm-dark, molten with possessive intensity, daring her to resist, daring her to surrender completely.
Her awakening had begun—not just to her goddess-blood powers, but to the suffocating, intoxicating tether Mason had forged. The Abyss seemed to lean closer, alive and aware, anticipating the next surge of power, the next escalation of obsession and dark desire.