Marcus/Rocco
Meditation was torture.
Actual torture. And not the demon kind. Way worse. Because at least
during fights, I could hit something.
"Clear your mind."
"I am."
"You're thinking angrily."
I opened one eye slightly. "How does one think angrily?"
Seraphina stood across from me with the same calm expression she always
wore during training. Which somehow made it more annoying.
"You're doing it right now."
"I'm literally sitting still."
"Violently."
Behind me, Noah snorted loudly from the porch steps.
"I told you," he said to Riley. "He broods aggressively."
"I hate all of you."
"No, you don't." Riley replied calmly.
Unfortunately, true.
Rain still poured outside, turning the beyond the house grey and blurry
beneath the storm clouds.
Training had been moved indoors today because of injuries. Mostly mine.
And Noah's. though he kept insisting his shoulder was "dramatically
recovering."
Nobody believed him.
I sat cross-legged on the wooden floor with the bracelet resting against
my wrist, eyes closed again as I tried focusing the way Seraphina instructed.
Slow breathing. Controlled heartbeat. Awareness. Simple in theory, impossible in practice.
Because every time things got quiet, my thoughts got louder. My parents,
the fire, Aldo, the chains, the realm, Callie crying the other day after
hearing about dad.
Everything kept crashing together in my head.
"Stop resisting it."
My eyes opened again.
Seraphina stood directly in front of me now.
"What?"
"You keep trying to force silence," she said. "That is not balance."
I frowned slightly. "Then what am I supposed to do?"
"Accept the noise."
That sounded fake deep. And apparently my face showed that because
Seraphina sighed faintly.
"The realm reflects emotion," she explained. "Suppressing emotions
destabilizes the flow further."
Callie leaned against the wall nearby, arms crossed.
"She's right."
"Wow," Noah muttered. "Rare Seraphina endorsement."
Callie threw a pillow at him without looking. He barely caught it with
his good arm.
I exhaled slowly and closed my eyes again.
Accept the noise. Fine.
I stopped trying to silence my thoughts. And immediately, everything
rushed in harder.
Fire, smoke, blood, my mother screaming run, my father's voice. Callie
crying. Aldo smiling.
The pressure inside my chest tightened painfully. The bracelet pulsed
once. Then again. Stronger.
"Steady," Seraphina's voice said somewhere far away.
I focused on breathing. Slow. Controlled.
The pulse of the bracelet gradually matched my heartbeat. Then, the
world disappeared.
The realm unfolded around me instantly.
Dark sky. Endless chains.
Cold wind carrying distant metallic echoes through the darkness.
I stood alone beneath the massive floating chains stretching endlessly
overhead. Except- not alone.
"You're improving."
I turned immediately.
Dad stood several feet away wearing the same dark coat from my memories.
Calm expression and sharp eyes. Exactly how I remembered him. And
somehow, that still hurt every single time.
"You always say that right before something painful happens," I
muttered.
A faint smile touched his face.
"That's because growth usually is painful."
"Great. Glad suffering is apparently genetic."
His laugh was quieter than I remembered. But real. Or real enough.
I looked around the realm slowly. The chains above seemed louder today.
Not physically. Emotionally.
Like something behind them was moving. Watching and waiting.
"You feel it now," Dad said quietly.
I looked back toward him immediately.
"What exactly is trapped here?"
His expression shifted slightly. Not fear, but caution.
"The prison does not only contain power," he said carefully.
"That's not an answer."
"No."
Frustrating calm as always.
I stepped closer. "Then give me one."
Dad studied me silently for a moment before speaking again.
"The bracelet was never meant to simply strengthen its wielder."
The chains rattled faintly overhead.
"The power exists because something needed restraint."
My chest tightened slightly. "A demon?"
"No." the answer stopped me cold.
Before I could ask again- pain exploded through the realm. The chains
above shook violently.
A massive metallic sound echoed through the darkness as something deep
below moved. Not slightly. Hungrily.
The pressure hit instantly. Heavy. Ancient and wrong.
My breathing staggered. "What the hell was that?"
Dad's expression hardened immediately.
"Leave the realm."
"What?"
"Now."
The chains shook again. Louder this time. And suddenly, I felt it.
Eyes.
Something enormous staring directly at me from beyond the darkness.
Aware and wide awake.
Fear crawled violently down my spine. Not normal fear either. But
instinctive fear.
The kind prey feels before it understands why it should run.
"Dad- "
"Marcus." His voice sharpened instantly. "Wake up."
The darkness moved. Something started pulling against the chains. And
then, I saw them.
Two massive glowing eyes opening somewhere far below the abyss.
I woke violently.
My body jerked upright hard enough to send pain tearing through my ribs
again.
I gasped sharply. Sweat covered my skin despite the cold room. The
bracelet burned against my wrist.
"Marcus!"
Riley grabbed my shoulder immediately.
Noah nearly fell off the couch trying to stand too fast.
Callie was already beside me.
"What happened?"
I struggled to breathe evenly. The pressure lingered in my chest. Way to
real.
"The realm," I muttered.
Seraphina's expression sharpened instantly. "What about it?"
I looked toward her slowly.
"There's something inside."
Heavy silence.
Callie frowned slightly. "Inside the prison?"
"Yes." My voice sounded weaker than I wanted.
"It's alive."
Noah blinked once. "…That feels important."
Nobody disagreed.
Seraphina stepped closer carefully. "What did you see?"
I hesitated. Because even remembering it made my chest tighten again.
"Eyes."
The room stayed silent.
"Big eyes," Noah clarified quietly.
"Yes, Noah," I muttered. "Very big eyes."
"Just checking."
But Seraphina wasn't joking. Her face had gone completely still.
Dangerously still.
"What else?" she asked.
I swallowed once.
"It was trying to break free."
The answer changed everything. I saw it immediately in their expression.
Especially Seraphina's. because for the first time since meeting her,
she looked genuinely afraid.
Callie noticed too.
"…Sera?"
Seraphina didn't answer immediately. Her eyes remained fixed on the
bracelet. Thinking, calculating. Remembering something. Then finally, she spoke
quietly.
"If the prison is weakening already…"
She stopped herself. But it was enough.
Enough to make the room feel colder.
"What happens if it breaks?" Riley asked softly.
Nobody answered.
Which honestly felt worse than an answer.
Outside, thunder shook the sky. And somewhere deep inside the bracelet.
Something moved again.