The Abyss hummed with anticipation. Shadows clung to the walls and ceiling like living things, twisting and shifting in patterns only Seris Vale seemed able to influence. Her mark pulsed, a silver thread of Mason's obsession intertwined with her own power, hotter than ever. Every beat of her heart reminded her that she could not escape him—not fully, not ever. And yet, a small, fierce part of her wanted to try.
She took a deep breath, forcing herself to steady the tremor in her hands. Her power had grown since her first battle with the rival immortals, but so had the tether Mason had woven into her soul. The Abyss throbbed with energy, responsive, alive, and she could feel it waiting for her choice.
"I won't be controlled," she whispered, testing the edges of her power, summoning shadows that flickered and writhed around her like serpents. They obeyed her will, yes, but the mark burned hotter, Mason's presence pressing into her mind like a tidal wave.
"You resist again," Mason murmured from the darkness, his voice threading directly into her thoughts. She flinched. He emerged slowly, silver eyes storm-dark, shadows curling around him like living smoke. "Do you feel it? Every heartbeat, every spark of defiance… mine. And yet, I cannot stop you. I choose to let you fight. Because your defiance…" His lips curved faintly. "…is intoxicating."
"I… I am not yours," she said, her voice trembling with effort, though a small shiver ran down her spine at his words. Her fingers twisted, controlling tendrils of shadow, striking at a cluster of approaching corrupted spirits without permission from him.
The Abyss reacted violently. The spirits shrieked as darkness tore through them, yet the mark burned hotter still, flaring in response to her small act of independence. Mason's gaze followed her every move, silver eyes glinting with obsession, a storm of pride, desire, and possessive hunger.
"You grow bolder," he said softly, stepping closer until the shadows around him brushed hers. "And that is exactly why I cannot leave you be. Every act of defiance… binds you tighter. Every spark of independence… twists deeper into my obsession."
Seris's chest heaved. She hated the truth, hated how the heat of the mark, the pull of his presence, made her pulse race. She wanted to run. She wanted to fight. She wanted—something she refused to name.
A sudden roar shook the Abyss. Another immortal had entered, a rival god drawn by her rising power. Its eyes glowed red like molten iron, and its aura burned with centuries of rage. Seris froze, instinctively summoning shadows to her defense. Mason's hand brushed her shoulder lightly—not enough to restrain, but enough to tether, to claim, to guide.
"You are mine," he whispered, silver eyes boring into hers. "Every heartbeat, every breath… every spark of defiance will feed our bond. And even now, as you resist, I feel it. I crave it. I crave you."
The Abyss flared violently, shadows spinning and lashing at the intruder. Seris felt the power of her own goddess blood surge through her, amplified by Mason's obsessive presence. Together, their bond created a storm of energy that neither she nor the rival god could withstand.
When the battle ended, the Abyss settled around them, shadows curling like satisfied predators. Seris sank to the floor, trembling, heart racing. Mason knelt beside her, voice low, intimate, obsessive.
"You are defiant," he murmured, brushing a lock of hair from her sweat-streaked face. "And I adore it. Every spark of resistance, every moment you push against me… it belongs to me. Even when you think it doesn't."
"I… I am not yours," she whispered, though the truth rang in her chest with every pulse of the mark.
"And yet," Mason said softly, pressing close enough that she could feel the warmth of him through the shadows, "you are. You will be. And perhaps… you already are."
The Abyss itself seemed to sigh, shadows wrapping around them, alive with recognition of the bond—fear, desire, obsession, defiance, and power all twisting together. Seris Vale realized she was awakening fully, not just to her own strength, but to the terrifying truth: Mason's obsession was inseparable from her own power, from the Abyss, from the darkness she had yet to explore.
She shivered, trembling in the aftermath, both terrified and exhilarated. She hated him. She feared him. And yet, in a way she could not yet admit, she wanted him—every tether, every spark of obsession, every impossible, intoxicating thread that bound her to him.
The Abyss waited, patient and dark, and Seris understood that this bond—dangerous, consuming, obsessive—was only the beginning.